A wonderful day- Wednesday Oct 28

 

Today was a wonderful day for me.  And as usual in Africa, there is always something that would never happen in the states. 

 

This week I am teaching the 5 oldest children from the 9 new children that arrived over the weekend. 

Shaibu - 10 yo

Tereshina – 8 yo Sister to Shaibu

Mary – 8 yo

Agnes – 8 yo

Kahilu – 5 yo but has been to first grade

Two of them speak Bemba, two speak Lenge, and one speaks Nyanga.  They all understand Bemba.  But not all of our children are able to speak Bemba.  And of course I can't speak any of those languages and they don't speak or understand English.  How is that for an interesting teaching situation?  But we are managing and I think it is forcing them to have to learn English a little faster. 

 

When there is a need for help, I call over one of the other children to interpret for me. How fun is that to have other children being assistants?  What is really funny is when one of them (especially Tereshina does this) looks at me and just talks in their language as though I can totally understand what they just said.

 

It is amazing the difference even in a day from how they were yesterday to today.  The cutest thing is seeing Sharon Shaibila (if she doesn't become a teacher I will be surprised) helping them, especially with writing their names today.  She just acts like a teacher.

 

It is unbelievable to see the eagerness and concentration that the children demonstrate in doing things.  Today was the first time they had ever used scissors.  They were all studies in concentration as they cut circles and triangles.  When it was time for our lunch/play break, Shaibu said he didn't want to leave.  He wanted to continue to do work.  They want to draw and write and color and do papers and work on things.  Some of the things I have done were kind of a bust, but others were good. 

 

They are sweet and beautiful children.  Kamau shared with me today that we now have a waiting list of 34 more children. One child they saw recently is being taken care of by a 91 yo grandmother. So the need is really desperate over here.  Working with these 5 is good training for how we need to work with other children as they come to school for the first time.

 

The very African experience today had to do with a rat.  During the play break, Prudence came running in to the school to get me.  The children had found a dead rat with a tiny baby still sucking on it.  There it lay on the ground.  The baby was moving a little.  I'm not very fond of small creatures like that so I had no desire to do anything with either.  One of our workers suggested that we just drop it down into the long-drop toilet.  The children did that.  Later one of the children said that we "killed the relish."  They eat mice and rats so that would be "relish" for their meals.  We laugh at so many things that the kids say.

 

Yesterday John was helping in getting some grasses for a play hut we are making outside the school.  He said to Teacher Bosman that "he was going the extra mile!"  He was working very hard and harder than most of the others.

 

October is said to be the hottest month and I think it has been in the upper 80s and sometimes 90s.  I have my own private air conditioning system.  I take a washcloth, get it wet and a little dripping.  Then I put it around my neck, getting my shirt wet as well as my neck.  It helps quite a lot.

The last joy of the day had to do with the Chimwemwe Ladies.  Over a year ago I had raised the question of whether they would be willing to be tested for HIV.  My question met with strong opposition.  However, in light of Kamau's comments about the mothers he sees dying, who want us to take care of their children, I thought I would try again.  There is also the threat of cervical cancer which is very high here because of HIV.  One mother with 4 children that will be coming, seemed fairly healthy just a few months ago.  Kamau and Miriam went to visit her yesterday and saw her weak and frail.  She now has cancer as well.  So I used Proverbs 14:1 as I talked to the Chimwemwe Ladies about what we as women need to do to be building our houses. 

 

I will get in touch with a US doctor in Lusaka whose specialty is cervical cancer.  We will see if he can set up a program to test women out here.  But in addition, about a dozen women said this time that they wanted to be tested for HIV.  So we will set a date and I will drive them up to the Liteta hospital to be tested.  For them to be willing to be tested is a tremendous victory.

 

So this is one of those days where I feel like God is using me here in Zambia.  And that is a tremendous feeling.

 

Wide-eyed little children

 

This morning the whole village was gathered at Mama Nora's house to greet the new children arriving today.  The children had made some banners and hung balloons.  Unfortunately in the heat, the balloons kept breaking and scaring the people in the house.

 

Kamau went and picked up the 5 children along with their guardians.  Some of the children have mothers who are very sick with HIV and are also taking care of blind older relatives.  So the children are coming here. 

 

The new Mary was greeted most warmly and will stay temporarily in Rose C.'s house until we get another housemother and house set up.  The girls in that house, which includes our other Mary, were thrilled.  The took her over to that house, holding her hands.

 

The others are younger and were very wide-eyed and probably a bit overwhelmed.  We had all made cookies that were first shared with the guests and the new children inside their house.  There was enough to then share with all the other folks playing and talking outside.  The 4 who had arrived yesterday were already playing with the children already here and seem to be adjusting fine.  The youngest is quite a little outgoing boy, and knows no strangers.  For anyone who has been here and met Pastor Emmauel's youngest son, Coco, he is just like him.  A very active 4-year old. 

 

Tomorrow we will have the 3 oldest start coming to our school.  The others will remain in the Village and June Patty will organize some activities for them as they get adjusted to being here and until we have set up a more organized pre-school.

What a Morning!!

 

Yesterday was quite a morning.  In our service we referred to what the children had been learning about, the replica of the temple they had constructed with everything that went inside, including the girls sewing the curtains.  As part of our service we "cleansed" ourselves by writing things on a small piece of paper that we were sorry to have done and wanted forgiveness for.  We then burned them up.  So it was very meaningful.

 

Then Kamau preached quite a good sermon on "Thankfulness."  He was really able to engage the children and all of us.  There were more children from the community there so our attendance was about 70, probably - only about 20 being adults.

 

As the service was coming to an end, a truck drove up and Benedict went to check.  The provincial social worker came a day early with 4 of the children we were expecting on Monday.  So the whole congregation went out to greet them.  Fortunately they didn't seem totally overwhelmed, staying in the back of the pick-up. 

 

They are 4 children from the same family.  Actually we were expecting the 2, 4, and 6 year old.  At the last, the elderly grandmother refused to send the 2 yo.  But she did send the 8 and 10 year olds.  So whereas we were expecting 3 from that family, we received 4.

 

More children come later today, so I will be planning today for the way they can enter into school.  The children that came yesterday do not speak English and have never been to school.  It will be exciting to see them grow and learn quickly.

 

 

Airplanes, Monuments, Ice Cream, and Fire Eaters

 

Yesterday we loaded up 3 cars with children, teachers, and one mother to go to Lusaka for a field trip.  The children were so excited about going.  And what a day it was.  (I'm reporting from what the children and others reported since I was unable to go.) Lusaka was chosen as the destination of this field trip since we have been discussing "Building to God's Glory" and how people build and make things in villages and cities.

 

The first visit (after 2 stops on the way for potty break) was at the airport.  A very nice man took them throughout the airport: through security, all around the airport, and back through customs and baggage claim.  For those of you who haven't been to Lusaka, the airport is very small.  There are probably only 10-15 arrivals a day, and the same for departures. I'm sure they got to see things you would never be allowed to see at any airport in the US.  The exciting thing was that they got to see a plane take-off – Kenyan Airways.  They couldn't stop talking about that.

 

They then visited the tomb of the former president, Mwanawasa.  They took a picture of everyone there.  They also drove by the Freedom Statue.  Lunch was served, free of charge, by the women at the Dutch Reform Church, where Teacher Bosman's husband helps to pastor.  Even that was exciting for them.

 

They then traveled to the Arcades Shopping Center.  This is like any shopping center you would see in the states.  There they bought soda and ice cream.  It just so "happened" that in preparation for Independence day on Saturday, there were some traditional dancers, musicians, and even a fire eater!, performing.  This was totally unplanned and was quite something for them to see.

 

On the way home they stopped at Beit Cure Hospital thinking that they could take Gift small home.  He is there because of his broken arm.  He was not released, but all the children went into the ward and prayed with him.  The children commented on others they saw there with casts on their legs and arms.  This hospital is primarily an orthopedic hospital for children.  We expect Gift to come home today.

 

Today the children don't have school, but I have taken paper and pencils to each house.  They are to draw or write about the things they saw.  On Tuesday we will be discussing 3 questions I asked them before they went:  What did you like best about the trip?  Why does a city need an airport?  And what are the differences between Lusaka and our neighboring Nyrienda Village.

 

At one point in the trip, Sharon Shaibila asked, "What country are we in now?"  Also Adam lived up to his reputation of liking motors, wheels, and things that go.  He was the only one who told me about seeing a yellow back-hoe, a caterpillar, and a crane!

 

Now we will be preparing for the arrival of 8 new children on Monday.  But what an experience they had in the big city.

 

Energy and a whole country

 

Right now there is a shortage of petrol in the whole country.  It is hard to understand why this is the case.  I'm told that at the few stations that actually have petrol, police are on duty and there are long lines with some people having to push their cars up to the pump.  Most of our cars here at the village use diesel and that is available.  Alan Patty just returned from Livingstone and said there was only 1 station between Livingstone and Lusaka (a 6 hour drive) that had petrol.   This happens periodically here, although there are often more predictions than reality.  This time the prediction became reality.

 

 

Trees and a little boy

 

As it is all over the world, kids love to climb trees.  Well, last night Gift small (we have a Gift big and a Gift small) fell out of a tree.  He fractured his arm.  They took him to the little local hospital in Liteta.  They used cardboard and white wrapping to put it into place temporarily.  Then today Benedict took Gift to Beit Cure pediatric hospital.  Unfortunately, he had eaten breakfast so they wouldn't put him under to set the arm.  So he and Miriam (the mother that is with him) will spend the night and then he will have the surgery in the morning.  He was very brave although he said, "It is paining."  So please keep him in your prayers. 

 

The Temple

This week the children built a temple, based on the description in the
Old Testament. They made it to scale and had all the things that were
made for the temple. The girls even sewed the curtains to hang.
Felix made the various items described. Everyone helped make the
blocks using mud from our pond. They figured that everyone needed to
make about 30 blocks each. Paul, Brighton, and Isaac were the ones
most interested in the actual constructing. Isaac figured out a way
to make the big pillars in the front. It was quite something. It was
a learning they will never forget.

New House almost ready

Today the workers will work on pouring the cement for the veranda for
the next house for children. Inside, the house is almost ready, beds
in place, table and benches, mattresses. Kamau and Miriam have been
purchasing the things needed in the kitchen. So we will be ready for
the children to arrive in a week. We will then have a 2yo, 2 - 4yos,
2 – 5yos, and 6,7, and 8 year olds. Nora is the new mother and she
has been here for a couple of weeks and worked previously with
children at other facilities. The other children are excited for the
new arrivals. We will be setting up a preschool right in the village
for the younger ones. The older ones will join our school.

Consuming Fire

I was reminded this morning where the Bible says, "Our God is a
consuming fire." Out our living room windows and across a small dirt
road, the grass was on fire. The flames were leaping high into the
air, and lots of smoke as the wind was fanning the flames and blowing
the fire away from us. My experience now in Africa tells me that all
the dry grass will quickly be burned up and within a couple of weeks
tufts of green grass will appear in the charred ground.

I think that is what the Bible means. Our God wants to burn up all
that is dead and worthless and dried up. When that happens it is hot
and dangerous. But the result is that then we have new living growth
that can come up where it was being choked by the old.
"Our God is a consuming fire."

School in the Bush

 

There is nothing like having a school surrounded by the bush.  Yesterday one of the conservation farming students stopped by the school with her met monkey, "Joyce."  Such a cute and alive face it has.  All the children loved seeing it.

 

Today as the children arrived, there was much excitement.  One child had brought a turtle.  Another had found a chameleon.  Of course, some, including one of the teachers, were almost frightened of the chameleon.  There was a live locust nearby, so we put it next to the chameleon. In an instant his tongue went out and the locust was half gone in his mouth. 

 

So we don't have to bring nature to the school.  It just comes to us and is all around.

Sunday Morning Excitement

The big excitement this morning was that one of the guards saw a buffalo on our property.  Buffalo can be dangerous so we were warning the children about it.  Kamau called our friend who leads hunting safaris in Zambia and Zimbabwe.  He was able to come and see the buffalo.  He said it was a young one who would not be dangerous unless cornered.  It gave me the opportunity at church to talk about the meaning of the words of the song, "The name of the Lord, is a strong tower.  The righteous run into it and they are saved."  I used the example of climbing up the water towers to get away and to be safe from the water buffalo.  That is the way we can run to the Lord for safety.

Building Focus

We are concentrating for the next 2 weeks on finishing 3 buildings within the Village.  We have identified 2 new house mothers.  One, Nora, is already living here and is a wonderful woman.  We now have 17 children on a waiting list, all in very difficult situations, waiting for the houses to be done so that they can come in.  At the school we are planning how to prepare for their arrival, expecting that none of them have ever been to school or know how to speak English.  We are eager for them to come - a joy and a challenge!