February 2nd Highlights
Reflections by Kathleen: Another week has passed since I wrote my last report. Here are some of the highlights of this week.
Sunday we attended a local church pastored by Pastor Zulu. They had great singing. There were about 100 people, including the 11 of us, packed into a small structure with the thatched roof. We sat on wooden benches. They seated us and I looked over to where Sena was and she was holding a baby. It sure didn't take very long. Pastor Zulu is an excellent preacher, and sometimes very funny and dramatic. He preaches in English with an interpreter. They both went very fast so sometimes it was hard to understand. But he has so many good points that it was still an excellent sermon. The service lasted a little over 2 hours.
Monday we all took the day to go to Chimanga Game Preserve. This is a place first used as a family retreat by a wealthy family. About 20 years ago it became a resort and game preserve. To get there we traveled on one of the main roads - dirt road and very bumpy. Makes us appreciate that our farm is on the Great North Road - well paved. We had a wonderful meal there. While we ate it was really raining. But when we got into the safari vehicle to drive around to look at the animals, it stopped raining. We spent over 2 hours driving around. We saw lions, cheetahs, all kinds of antelopes, kudu, peku, ostrich, all kinds of beautiful birds, giraffe, zebras, and at the end the elephant family with the cutest baby (5 months old). Steve even was able to touch the mother under the watchful eye of the trainer. We had a driver and a guide and it was great fun. On the way home Steve and Sena were riding in the back of the our truck. By the time we got home it was pouring rain and the 2 of them got pretty wet.
Yesterday our family took Steve and Drew to the airport to return to Maryland. We were sad to see them go. What a big help they were and such fun co-workers, but they were eager to return to their families. Then we spent most of the day in Lusaka and did some shopping. Good Shepherd School, where Sena goes, had collected money and we were able to get books, and games to use in the school.
Today we (Sena, Kristina, Christine (farm managers daughter) and I) were at the school. Sena always helps with the 14 preschoolers. Kristina and Christine do tutoring in different classes. Once again I got the oldest class. Since it is Friday all the shifts of classes come in the early morning. I was expecting the teacher to be there and I would either just watch or work with small groups. Well, the teacher said that he had a problem. Apparently in the rain last night all of his things had gotten wet and he wanted to be able to go tend to that. So I had Level 6 & 7 - about 30 students for 2 hours. We worked on short vowel sounds with my little homemade papers with the vowels written on them for each student. Then I read one of the books I had gotten - The Gingerbread Man. Then we "wrote" our own story on the board so we could all read it together.
How different from what parents expect for children in our country. Some children come barefoot. Some have old uniforms. Most of the clothing is very old and may have holes or be very worn. The walls of the classroom are unpainted cement. No electricity or lights. The floor is a mixture of dirt and cement. Some of the desks today held 3 children. They are meant for 2-3, but with the big kids, they are kind of packed in tightly. A couple of children pulled out maize (corn on a cob) during break, probably their only food all day until the evening meal. Their maize is much tougher and not as sweet as what we are use to.
Tonight we have some folks coming here for a sharing group. Tomorrow we are expecting Rich and Melissa and their daughter to come out from Lusaka. She is the deputy head of US AID here in Zambia. The amazing thing is that they lived in Bel Air, MD before coming to Zambia. Rich was a friend of our Pastor Craig.
Sunday our group will probably split between 2 different churches. Monday a YWAM (Youth with a Mission) Team will be visiting from Lusaka to see what we are doing here.
We have been getting lots of rain. Roads, cars, and shoes are pretty muddy. The temperature is very nice although we do sleep under fans. I'm trying to bring some of my organizational skill to all the many activities of All Kids Can Learn Zambia. There are so many ways that a persons gifts and talents can be used here.
Sunday we attended a local church pastored by Pastor Zulu. They had great singing. There were about 100 people, including the 11 of us, packed into a small structure with the thatched roof. We sat on wooden benches. They seated us and I looked over to where Sena was and she was holding a baby. It sure didn't take very long. Pastor Zulu is an excellent preacher, and sometimes very funny and dramatic. He preaches in English with an interpreter. They both went very fast so sometimes it was hard to understand. But he has so many good points that it was still an excellent sermon. The service lasted a little over 2 hours.
Monday we all took the day to go to Chimanga Game Preserve. This is a place first used as a family retreat by a wealthy family. About 20 years ago it became a resort and game preserve. To get there we traveled on one of the main roads - dirt road and very bumpy. Makes us appreciate that our farm is on the Great North Road - well paved. We had a wonderful meal there. While we ate it was really raining. But when we got into the safari vehicle to drive around to look at the animals, it stopped raining. We spent over 2 hours driving around. We saw lions, cheetahs, all kinds of antelopes, kudu, peku, ostrich, all kinds of beautiful birds, giraffe, zebras, and at the end the elephant family with the cutest baby (5 months old). Steve even was able to touch the mother under the watchful eye of the trainer. We had a driver and a guide and it was great fun. On the way home Steve and Sena were riding in the back of the our truck. By the time we got home it was pouring rain and the 2 of them got pretty wet.
Yesterday our family took Steve and Drew to the airport to return to Maryland. We were sad to see them go. What a big help they were and such fun co-workers, but they were eager to return to their families. Then we spent most of the day in Lusaka and did some shopping. Good Shepherd School, where Sena goes, had collected money and we were able to get books, and games to use in the school.
Today we (Sena, Kristina, Christine (farm managers daughter) and I) were at the school. Sena always helps with the 14 preschoolers. Kristina and Christine do tutoring in different classes. Once again I got the oldest class. Since it is Friday all the shifts of classes come in the early morning. I was expecting the teacher to be there and I would either just watch or work with small groups. Well, the teacher said that he had a problem. Apparently in the rain last night all of his things had gotten wet and he wanted to be able to go tend to that. So I had Level 6 & 7 - about 30 students for 2 hours. We worked on short vowel sounds with my little homemade papers with the vowels written on them for each student. Then I read one of the books I had gotten - The Gingerbread Man. Then we "wrote" our own story on the board so we could all read it together.
How different from what parents expect for children in our country. Some children come barefoot. Some have old uniforms. Most of the clothing is very old and may have holes or be very worn. The walls of the classroom are unpainted cement. No electricity or lights. The floor is a mixture of dirt and cement. Some of the desks today held 3 children. They are meant for 2-3, but with the big kids, they are kind of packed in tightly. A couple of children pulled out maize (corn on a cob) during break, probably their only food all day until the evening meal. Their maize is much tougher and not as sweet as what we are use to.
Tonight we have some folks coming here for a sharing group. Tomorrow we are expecting Rich and Melissa and their daughter to come out from Lusaka. She is the deputy head of US AID here in Zambia. The amazing thing is that they lived in Bel Air, MD before coming to Zambia. Rich was a friend of our Pastor Craig.
Sunday our group will probably split between 2 different churches. Monday a YWAM (Youth with a Mission) Team will be visiting from Lusaka to see what we are doing here.
We have been getting lots of rain. Roads, cars, and shoes are pretty muddy. The temperature is very nice although we do sleep under fans. I'm trying to bring some of my organizational skill to all the many activities of All Kids Can Learn Zambia. There are so many ways that a persons gifts and talents can be used here.
posted by Irmgarde | 3:46 PM
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