Children and Joy

 

Many of you who read this have been here to visit and have met the children.  We are blessed to see the progress and growth over a long period of time.  And what a blessing it is.   I will give some updates.

 

When Mary came at 9yo she had never been to school.  She was first put in with the youngest children.  Soon she was with the children her own age.  (That is how we are continuing to place children.)  Now she is one of our most outstanding students, reading, and enjoying school.

 

Paul, Prudence, and Precious came less than a month ago.  Paul has been one of the leaders in building the wire cars.  He had learned how to do that from an older brother he said.  Prudence always has a smile and loves receiving affirmation.  And in this short time, Precious is excelling at her school work.

 

Roman came as an angry and belligerent little boy.  He had been told terrible things about us.  Now he is extremely sensitive, caring, helpful, and sweet. 

 

Adam was one of the first boys who came.  For so long he only really played by himself.  Even though his brother Moses is here also, he was very much a loner.  He also seemed to have a more difficult time learning English.  Now he is one of the first to raise his hand when there is a question asked at school, and he even gets some of the answers right!  He plays with other children as well.  Adam continues to love wheels and anything mechanical.  He had pure joy last week as we had a very kind mechanic working on the tractor.  This mechanic was heard to say, as he put his arm around Adam, "We are fixing the tractor."

 

Sharon S. was talking to me last week about when school would close for the end of the first term.  I said it would be Wednesday.  She said, "No, Thursday."  We went back and forth a little bit.  Then I said to her, "Do you like school?"  She said, "Yes" with a big smile.  She didn't want school to end.

 

It is also a great joy to see the way that the teachers love the children and interact in such affirming and caring ways.  If anyone doubts the power of love and encouragement on the lives of children (and probably adults too), they should come and spend time with us here.  The results are all around us.

 

Three continents at dinner

 

I think I have commented in other blogs about the number of nations represented at different gatherings.  Yesterday we went to Lusaka with other members of the Chisamba Community Church to lead the service for the sister congregation.   Afterwards we had been invited to lunch with friends from the church.  As we sat around the table, under a huge shade tree (we were told that that kind of tree comes from South America) I was once again struck by all the countries represented and English accents I was hearing.  There were folks from Holland, Germany, USA, Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – 3 continents - and only 12 adults. 

 

It was so interesting when 2 of the folks from Zimbabwe told a couple of jokes.  Nobody got them because they were a play on words, and the expressions were not used by any of the rest of us.

 

Mechanics, Sailors, and Crafters

 

As we are getting close to the end of the first term of the school year, we have been doing some very interesting things.  We began by working on a play village outside the school in the mud, after some very big rains.  As we talked about what you would find in a village, it became clear that some of the boys were very interested in making cars.  Children here build amazing cars out of wire and bottle tops.  They put a long handle on them so they can stand up or run and have the car going along right beside them.  So we have a group of the children who have been constructing cars.

 

Several children had no interest in either the cars, or building a village.  What they became interested in was making designs with yarn (called cotton here) and twigs.  Today it expanded to crocheting.  So I went to Liteta after school and bought more "cotton."

 

And finally a group of the children loved having all the water to play in between the school and the office and stores building.  They were out there in water almost up to their hips, wading, looking for fish, playing in the water, etc.  Today they took 2 large blue bins, the kind they sale for keeping Christmas decorations and other things in, and pretended that they were boats.  They took turns sitting in them, sometimes being pushed by others.  I know in the states that there are some schools that have to set up a water table for water play.  Ours has been provided by God with the rain and grasses.

 

This all reminds me of the way my mother talked about growing up, and going to school in a one room schoolhouse in Kansas, playing in the woods and along the creek during recess.  Even when I was a girl we would build pretend villages out of grasses, use things around us to make things, and pretend in very creative ways.  I'm afraid our kids in America today have too much provided and already made, so that they don't always get to experience the joy of creativity.

 

 

 

The Julie Wall

 

On our verandah, we have not spent the money to pour cement for the floor, so it is still dirt.  Since it has been a very large dry area in the rain, it has also become something of a storage shed.  Not pleasant to look at.  So before recent guests arrived, I had the idea to build a waist high wall about half way down.  Half would be the storage, junky area, and the other half would be a nice sitting area. 

 

So one Saturday, Julie (a volunteer from CO) and I went out to start using the discarded blocks to make this wall.  It didn't take me long to realize that this wasn't a job for me with the condition of my back.  So throughout the day, Julie worked away.  The string we ran to make sure things were straight was really a ribbon.  It seemed appropriate since ladies started the building.  It has proven to be a wonderful thing and now we have a table and chairs out on the verandah for sitting and also doing work.

 

On that same day, Paul (a volunteer from MD) was here.  He came up to the school to help me hang curtains.  As he said: seemed a little backwards – a man hanging curtains, and a woman building a wall.

 

Earlier in the school year I was told by the children that if we set up a play kitchen, that would be for the girls.  Some of the boys were quite surprised to learn that Benedict and Teacher Bossman's husband both know how to cook and make food.

 

So on Friday, I was working on landscaping outside the school/Community Center.  I had gone home to change from my skirt to pants and work clothes.  After I returned and started digging, Brighton said to me, "You are a boy."  I asked why?  He said because I was digging. 

 

So I guess no matter where you go in the world, there are definite ideas about what men do and what women do.  Sometimes these ideas are very different.  But I still love to dig in the dirt, and I love it when Benedict cooks and I don't have to!

 

Who is my Neighbor?

 

Our Bible lesson this week was the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Who is my neighbor?  We discussed who are neighbors are.  As part of our understanding, we invited the 2^nd grade class from the Okada Community School to come on Friday for a couple of hours.    

They are our neighbors.  There were about 30 of their class of 38 who came.  Their teacher is Jen, one of my friends.  We had practiced with our kids all the events of the 2 hours they were here.  We put them together as buddies.  It was interesting to see which of our children really took that so seriously.  We sang some songs, including the National Anthem with 2 children holding up the flag.  Some of our children performed a play that they had been working on of the story of the Good Samaritan.  We had the traveler, 3 robbers, 3 donkeys, 3 people riding them, and 2 inn keepers.  It was very cute and I was glad that they actually were willing to act it out in front of the other children.   Then we set up a variety of activities: coloring, water colors, duplos, Lincoln Logs, tinker toys, sewing cards, puzzles, and reading books.  The buddies got to do 2 of those things over about 45 minutes time.  It went very well, with coloring being the number one favorite spot.

 

We also talked about the "neighbors" we know from around the world, friends who have come to our Village.  

 

 

Not so chimwemwe at Chimwemwe Ladies Club

 

The word "chimwemwe" means happiness.  At our meeting on Wednesday, 4 women had complaints to make to the executive committee.  One of the complaints actually was encouraging.  It seems that some of the women aren't talking to other women because of various disagreements.   Judy, who brought the complaint, was saying that even after the Bible studies we have had, some women are giving each other the cold shoulder.  They aren't living up to what we say we are about – of growing in being Godly women. 

 

One suggestion was that these women should be suspended for a time.  I saw that that would be a nightmare – accusations flying.  The final solution had 2 parts.  The first is that we will begin each meeting by singing together.  As the women sing and dance, we hope that they will be kinder to each other.  The second part of the solution will come at the end of the meeting.  At some of the churches around us, after the service, everyone shakes hands with everyone else.  A big circle is made.  So we have decided to do the same at our meetings.  In that way, women will have to at least shake each other's hands and then  we will see where it goes from there.

 

Mary Zulu said she was encouraged because a year ago, this issue probably would not have even troubled the ladies.  Now they are aware that such behavior is not good. 

 

Happy Birthday!

 

We have begun to have some special events to celebrate the children's birthdays.  At school they wear a "crown" all day.  In the morning we sing "Happy Birthday" to them.  I am teaching them the song the way my mother always had us sing it.  The last line is changed to: "and may God bless you!"  

 

At the end of the school day the birthday boy or girl gets a little packet of a shiny pencil, some stickers, etc., little things I have around.   Then in the evening, at their house, they have a birthday cake.   So far the cakes have been made by people in our house since we have a stove. 

 

With the celebrations, other children want to know when their birthdays are.  This is some different than the way we celebrate in the US – big parties, lots of presents, much hoop-la. 

 

 

An artist hidden in the bush

 

Several months ago, Maureen, one of the Chimwemwe Ladies, showed me some drawings that her son had done.  They were quite good.  When I was in the US in Dec., I got some drawing paper, colored pencils, and note cards for him.  Last week he had returned from his grandmother's village and came to the school.  I gave him the sketch pad and pencils.  A couple of days later he returned with several very nice drawings. 

 

Erna, our mentor teacher, has had some art training and offered to help him.  When she saw his work the other day she said, "I can't help him.  He is too good."   However, she did show him how to use pastels.  On Thursday and Friday he worked in our large Assembly Room while the children were having school around him.  He was there for about 4 hours each day working the whole time.  Thursday he did an almost exact representation of the cover of an elementary age language book.  Friday, Erna set up a still life and he drew that.

 

Now the interesting thing that I have discovered is that he is made fun of in the village.  I don't know if he is slightly autistic, or just socially different or challenged. Even as he works in the classroom and children gather around to admire his work, he doesn't speak to them or really respond to them.  Apparently he has no friends and doesn't hang out with people his age.  He is in his early 20s.  I noticed some of our workers stopping and really looking at us when I would be talking to him.  It seemed strange, so I asked someone about him and got this info.  So now the word is getting out that he is talented.  Maybe it will affect his standing in the village. 

 

If there are any trained artists out there who want to teach art for a bit, you are welcome in Zambia!!

 

Next Cottage is Full

 

Yesterday "Mother" Sylvia moved into the next cottage with the children who will be her family.  Prudence, Precious, and Paul are all from one family.  There is also Gift (small), Sharpi, Roman, and Joyce.  There is one more girl that will join their family.  The children were so excited, and Sylvia said yesterday that the children couldn't wait to go to sleep in their new rooms.

 

We have interviewed several more women to be our next housemothers and there were several very good candidates.  So soon a new mother will join our community.

 

 

Birthdays

 

Today was Roman's birthday – he is 8, and Sharpie's birthday who is 7.   This is the first time we have begun to celebrate birthdays with everyone.  At our morning meeting at the school we made a special "crown" for them.  We all sang "Happy Birthday to You" with my mother's last line – "and may God bless you."   They also got to hold our new Zambian flag while we sang the National Anthem, something we do on Mondays and Fridays.

 

During Period 4 we had small goodie bags for the 2 of them.  Some of the older girls helped Sena and Rose (our volunteer from WI) made a cake yesterday.  They will make 2 more this afternoon so there will be enough for everyone.  We have special birthday plates that the children can use when they eat meals on their birthday.

 

 

That's Africa

 

Yesterday we were going across the road to Ibis.  Sena thought she saw a cat.  Turned out to be a monkey!  We pulled down a dirt road and had the joy of watching about 20 monkeys in the trees.  In this area of Zambia we don't see many of the animals found in other places.  So it was so great to see monkeys that just live near us.

 

A couple of weeks ago I was looking in some boxes of material I had put in a closet.  I discovered that the termites had also decided that the cardboard of the box made good eating.  On the material was "dirt" like termite mounds are built from.  Parts of the boxes had been destroyed.  And one box that held extra school supplies had wooden rulers that were eaten by the termites.

 

Next to Ibis is a low area that in the rainy season fills up with water.  To our surprise, we have seen children fishing there.  During the dry season there is no water there.  But now the children catch small fish.  Benedict has asked the folks how the fish got in the water.  There are some interesting ideas.  One is that the fish come down from the sky with the rain.  Another idea is that they come from a lake some distance away that is not connected to this small pond area.  What we think may happen is that eggs are laid that remain dormant during the dry season and then hatch in the rain.  Are there any scientists out there?