Joy and Sorrow

In the previous email I reported on our daughter's engagement.  However, today we had some very sad news.  When we got up this morning we had a phone text message from Wendy, our dear friend from the Community Church.  She and her husband, Jeff, moved last May to Nigeria where he had a job.  They are originally from Zimbabwe, and as with many of our friends had had to leave their home in that country.  We have missed them.

For those of you who have visited us here in Zambia before that time, you may remember them from our Friday night gatherings or the braii we have had with our Zim friends.  The text message this morning said that Jeff was in the hospital in Nigeria with malaria and was very sick, asking us to pray.  During our church service, Benedict received a call that Jeff had died.  So please pray for Wendy who has to close up everything there in Nigeria, come to terms with her husband's death, and we assume travel to South Africa where one of their daughter's live.

We are all shocked by this news, but we know that Jeff is rejoicing in heaven.

Written for the blog

On a personal note:  An engagement

Last night was a very special night for our family.  We knew that Jude, our daughter Kristina's boyfriend, was going to ask her to marry him.  They are both from Ghana and he wanted to do in their tradition.  So our dear friend Janis, hosted the party - a surprise for Kristina.  We had hoped to be able to use Skype and actually see what was happening.  But we had a very big rain storm which often means the internet is not working.  And we were without electricity all night. 

So at about 1:30am we got the call from John, our son-in-law.  He had the phone on speaker phone.  So we were able to hear Jude ask Kristina (not a real clear connection) and everyone who was at the party clap and cheer.  Then the cheers after Kristina said yes.    Apparently he had brought her a couple dozen roses along with a couple of balloons and of course the ring.  We were able to hear several people who then prayed for them.  It was so special.

Christopher our son, and Janis the hostess, both said they were moved to tears. 

So here we are, half a world away, on the very continent that Jude and Kristina are from, listening to their engagement which is taking place in the US.  How wonderful that we could be part of it just a little bit.

Accident on the Great North Road

 

This morning as I pulled onto our road that runs parallel to the Great North Road I saw that there had been an accident almost directly in front of the market.  A very large truck carrying a 40 ft container was off to the side and obviously in a serious accident. 

 

We decided that since that would be a huge interest for the children and it was an immediate teaching point that we would do some things with it.  So after our morning meeting, we all went up to the site of the accident.  We had talked about the kinds of questions we wanted to know the answers to. 

 

The driver of the big truck was there with a big gash on his shin, with obvious stitches.  (When you look at the truck it looked like people might have died in it.)  So the children asked questions and the driver was very gracious to answer.  You can just picture it: a lady cooking on a brazier, him sitting on some rocks, people sitting around the planter under the big tree.  Turns out there were 5-6 adults and 2 young children in the cab.  There was a bed behind the seats, so they were really packed in.  No one else was hurt.

 

Of course the children were interested in the stitches, so he explained how they did that.  They couldn't quite understand how the accident happened, so I had him take 3 small sticks to show what had happened, 3 trucks involved. 

 

While we were there an airplane flew low overhead, so some of the kids went to look at that.  Then an ambulance pulled up with 4 people in it.  One of our children asked about who was dead, and the teacher was able to explain that ambulances weren't just for dead people, but when people got sick.  I think the people in the ambulance were just  checking the scene of the accident. 

 

We then walked over and looked more closely at the truck.  The driver limped over and ended up giving us the triangles (red ones used to alert other drivers of an accident), a music tape, a very used clipboard from the inside of the cab.  Selita and I went to the market and got 3 cabbages and some tomatoes to give to them. 

 

We are now waiting for word that the tow truck or whatever they are going to use has arrived.  We will all go down and watch that.  We are also going to have the children draw what they have seen and write about the answers to the questions.

 

While we were standing and looking at the truck, Roman came up and put his hand in mine.  He said to me, "I'm feeling bad."   I asked him why.  He said, "because of the man."  What a loving heart. 

 

Erna said several times that the Lord protected that man and the others.  God must have more work for them to do here on earth.  Actually at one point the man said, "I'm going to church."

Serious Chimwemwe Ladies

 

On Saturday we had an extra meeting of the Chimwemwe Ladies.  The idea was to help the new members learn how to make the bags.  However, I had been unable to find crochet hooks in Lusaka.  We gathered anyway in the Assembly Room of the Community Center and had 3 stations that we rotated through.  In the middle on the carpet the women sat and learned how to prepare the plastic bags to be crocheted.  At one of our school tables women learned to make beads from paper.  At the second table, the women worked with some stamping materials that had been donated by a visitor several months ago. 

 

There were 58 women present and 25+babies and children.  At times we were serenaded by a baby "choir."   The executive committee had challenged the women to be serious about what we are doing and it seems that is happening.

 

Fishing

 

Yesterday after church we went to Brian and Angie's house, friends from the Chisamba Community Church.  A year ago Brian had gotten about 14 fingerlings (small bream fish) and put into their reservoir.  The reservoir is a long cement area where several wells keep water flowing in. The water then flows to the irrigation and out through the center pivots they have for watering their crops.  After a year, the reservoir is filled with fish. 

 

Our plan was to get some fingerlings to put into our pond behind the Community Center.  The first attempt was made with mosquito nets used as a big fish net.  Sena and Rose (volunteer from WI) were in the water trying to collect the fish.  That system did not work.

 

So we began to fish, using dog food as bait.  What fun!  You just put the line in, waited about 5-10 seconds and then you had a bite.  We ended getting about 12 fish.  I even caught a couple.  So hopefully in about a year, our pond will be ready for fishing.  It will be great for the children to have a place where they can come and fish.  Visitors and volunteers, too!

Paul, Prudence, and Precious

 

On Saturday, Paul, Prudence and Precious, our next 3 children arrived.  At the end of this week their 3 year old sister Charity will arrive. As the car drove up with the children, all of our children from the Village went running up to welcome them.  Within a short time, they were kicking balls together and playing. 

 

This morning was their first day to come to our school.  We learned that Prudence is actually a cousin to the other children.  When she was about 4 her mother died and she went to live with the mother of these children.  Now she has lost a second "mother." 

 

It was a great joy during our opening time with the whole school, as we were singing and doing motions to songs, the 3 children had huge smiles on their faces and were just beaming.  What a joy for us to see!

A Family of 7 children

 

A couple of days ago we got a call from one of our friends who owns a farm nearby.  Their housekeeper gave birth 2 weeks ago.  Something must have gone wrong after the birth.  The mother died leaving 7 children.  The father is not anywhere around.  He has abandoned the family. 

 

There is no one in the extended family to take these children.  Those family members that are still alive are already taking care of 9 or 10 children.  So yesterday, Kamau met with the remaining family members and the social workers to determine what could be done.  After contacting other orphanages in Lusaka and elsewhere, we determined that we would take the children here.  The 2 week old will go to the House of Moses, a lovely facility for infants and babies.  Then in approximately 6 months, we will bring her here.  The 4, 6, 9, and 11 year old will come here tomorrow. 

 

Our family will be growing!

 

Blood Vessels and the World

 

At our school we have been having a wonderful education about our body.  Kayla, Arna, and Sarah from IN and KY have been using a variety of all kinds of everyday items to show us how the body works.  As I'm writing this, I'm sitting in the Assembly room and the children are learning about the digestive system.

 

Kayla just asked them what they learned about yesterday – the heart and blood.  It was amazing what they remembered.  One of the things that surprised all of us is that if you put your blood vessels end to end there would be enough to go around the world 2 ½ times.  One of the questions was, "Even to the US?"   We learned that the blood is red when it leaves the heart because it has oxygen, and it is blue when it returns to the heart – all the oxygen is gone into the body. 

 

Today we were all surprised to learn how long our small intestine.  The children are great listeners and remember many of the things they are hearing, and asking great questions.

 

 

Moringa Trees

 

Last year at the Orphan Summit in Florida, I met a family that is involved with ministry in Zambia.  One of the daughters has started a ministry called "Stop the Spread" - STS.  They make a couple of trips a year to Zambia.  Jim, her father, has studied about the moringa trees and is working to bring seeds and seedlings to places in Zambia.  Last year he gave us about 70 seedlings, but because our irrigation was not yet in place, they didn't survive. 

 

Last night the team of 9 from STS stopped on their way to the copper belt.  We had dinner together, and all but 2 kept traveling.  Jim and Pastor Joseph from the north, spent the night.  This morning they worked with Mr. Banda who is now overseeing our gardens. 

 

It is very interesting that these trees grow in areas of the world where there is great starvation, lack of good nutrition and not the means to deal with the problem.  These trees are super nutritious and have all kinds of vitamins in the leaves.  So you dry the leaves, make them into a powder and add them to food or drink.  More Vitamin C than an orange, more Vitamin A than carrots, more calcium than milk, etc. 

 

So we will be planting these trees.  I even want to put a few around our house.  Hopefully in a year we will be able to use this with the children as well as sell it at the market.