DRU’S VIEWS

This is a newsletter that Dru Smith (one of the staff at Lifesong Zambia) has sent out. With her permission I'm posting it here to give you the opportunity to support her in one of her ministries.

Special Edition – February 2010

“No one can look quite so kindly at you as the poor when you take an interest in them. Or more expectantly.”

Carlo Carretto “Why O Lord?”

This special edition of “Dru’s Views” is being written due to a desperate need. As many of you know, for the past 7 years I have been raising support for several children, mostly former street boys who were served by the ministry I helped to establish in 2000, Friends of the Street Children. Friends was no longer helping them, and they were in need of ongoing assistance to continue their education. When I left Zambia in 2004, I promised I would not abandon them. Three of the boys have no family and have been totally reliant on donors to survive. I didn’t know where the money would come from, but I knew that if I would be faithful, God would be faithful. He has not failed us. I have never directly asked for help, but the time has come when I must make a special appeal. It is due to the determination of these young people that the need has come—a blessing indeed. As they have progressed in school, their expenses have grown to the point where we cannot manage with the resources available.

In order for you to know these young people, I’m going to share their stories and an estimate of their expenses for 2010.

Daudi Ibrahim

Daudi is 22 years old; he is an albino with limited vision and a single orphan—his mother died 5 years ago. His father is a Muslim, but he supports Daudi’s decision to follow Christ. I first found Daudi living in the streets and surviving by guarding parked cars. His parents were divorced, and his father would not allow him to stay with his mother. Since his father was often working out of town, there was no food in the house. As an albino, Daudi was an outcast even among the other street boys. We had to be persistent to persuade him to come to the feeding program where he could wash himself and eat. When he finally came, the other boys would not eat with him. Slowly he was accepted and gained confidence. When we opened Piano House, our shelter for street children, he was one of the first to move in. As the others grew to know him, he won them over and became very popular. He has a special gift for music and was our song leader. I learned about a school for the visually impaired in Ndola, a partnership between the government and Lions International. I took Daudi there, and he said he would very much like to go, especially since as he said, “There are so many just like me.” He was 16 years old and started in the second grade. He skipped a few grades, became the “Head Boy” in grade 9, and is now in grade 11 at Mumbwa High School in Lusaka, a boarding school with a special unit for the visually impaired. He is very bright and has taught himself to play the keyboard and guitar. He treasures his large print Good News Bible, and he is the leader of his Scripture Union Bible study. He attends the United Methodist Church. When on break, he likes to visit Lifesong School for Orphans (the project I currently am working with), and we allow him to teach a class from time to time. The students respond to him very well. His ambition is to someday be an English teacher. Budget for 2010 $1,800

Benson Kunda

Benson is about 22 years old also. He has no knowledge of the whereabouts of any family members or even if his parents are alive. His parents divorced, and when Benson was 6 years old, his father took him away from his mother to another town far away. He has not seen her since and has very little recollection of her; he does not even know her name. He was not allowed to attend school, was mistreated by his father and stepmother, and was once locked in a small room. He managed to escape, and went to his sister for help, but she refused. When he stole some money to buy food, he was beaten and sent away. He lived in the streets and earned money by working at a tavern, where he started drinking beer. He was caught by the owner and taken to the police; he spent 9 months in jail. He was only 10 years old. When released he went to Kitwe where he joined other street boys and followed their example of sniffing glue and smoking marijuana. In 2002, he learned about Friends of the Street Children. He came to the program for food and eventually was invited to stay at Piano House. In 2003, he was enrolled in Matete Basic School in grade 7. He says school was difficult, but he got up at 4:00 a.m. to study. When Benson completed high school in 2007, Friends of the Street Children said they would no longer keep him. It was at that time that I took responsibility for his support. We rented a small cabin, and I gave him an allowance. I found him a job working as a houseboy for a friend of mine, who says he is the best he has ever had—honest, quick learning and hard working. Benson’s hope was to study medicine; however, we were not able to get him into a bio-science program. In January he entered Cavendish University in Lusaka in pre-law. He recently sent me a message stating, “I am doing a foundation program until April and am taking six subjects, which include math and statistics; common law and politics; study, writing, communication and research skills; introduction to information and communication technology; introduction to social development and entrepreneurship; introduction to business accounting. I haven’t got even a scintilla of time to waste because I must pass in all.” He is expected to be at Cavendish for three years. Although Benson struggles with emotional pain from his past, fear of rejection and spiritual doubts, I pray he is on the road to recovery and will someday be able to meet his goals. He’s now off to a good start. Budget for 2010 $6,000

Kafuti Kilombe

Kafuti was born in Zambia to Congolese parents in 1991. His father died when Kafuti was just a baby. A few years later, while visiting relatives in Congo, his mother died. Kafuti and his sister, Mary, were moved from house to house of various relatives. Wherever they were sent, they were abused—beaten, made to do hard labor, denied food and other necessities. When he was 8 years old, Kafuti ran away and, through perseverance and cleverness, found his way back to his home in Kitwe, where he learned his older brother had moved and no one knew where he was. A neighbor took Kafuti to Salem Children’s Village—a not-so-nice shelter for street children. He stayed there one year before he ran away with two friends. I found these three little boys in town and took them to Piano House. We enrolled him in the 4th grade at Matete School. When I had to leave Zambia in 2004, I realized that the future was grim for Kafuti and others like him at Piano House who had no family to go home to. We located his older brother, and I purchased a small house that we rented for income. The two boys lived in a small cabin in the back. Later there was trouble with his older brother, and he agreed to move out. Kafuti, only 14 years old, learned to take care of himself while he attended school. He is active in his church, a small non-denominational congregation, leading praise and worship teams and serving in several offices. He completed his grade 12 exams in November 2009, and we are waiting for the results, which will not be released until March. In the meantime, he is taking computer classes and helping at Lifesong School by teaching the children chess and other games, helping with sports activities, and listening to children read. His goal is to study mechanical engineering and someday join the Zambian army. Over the Christmas break, he traveled back to Lubumbashi in Congo and found his grandmother’s home. Sadly, she has died, but he found many relatives who were overjoyed to see him. Some thought he was dead. They apologized for his mistreatment. He also located his sister, who is married and has a small child. The reunion brought back many painful memories, and Kafuti was sad to see how his relatives are suffering from poverty. But it has started the healing process, and he hopes to help them someday. Budget for 2010 $2,500

Vincent Munsanje

Vinnie was born in 1992. His father died in 1994 and his mother in 1997. He has been raised by his father’s sister and her husband. He has only one sister, who is married and lives in Livingstone. In 2001, he ran away from home after being accused of stealing some money. Later, it was discovered that the money had only been misplaced, but the family could not find Vinnie who had traveled the 65 km to Kitwe and was staying in the streets. God was with him, because after only 4 days, he was found by a field worker of Friends of the Street Children and taken to Piano House. Two weeks later, after contacting the family, he was returned to his home and enrolled in the 1st grade—his first opportunity to attend school. He says he enjoyed his time at Piano House, especially playing with his friends Kafuti and Daudi. (They still ask about each other and visit now and then.) I just enrolled Vinnie in the 10th grade at Caritas High School in Ndola. He did very well on his grade 9 exams, and I am very proud of him. He lives in a small house with his aunt and uncle; their two sons (Amon in grade 4 and Kelvin in grade 6); their daughter, her husband and baby; and a cousin. The uncle, who is in poor health, earns only a limited amount of income by doing small jobs now and then. He was laid off from his job with the town council several years ago. Vincent attends the Roman Catholic Church and enjoys playing soccer. He told me he would like to be a lawyer someday, because when he was falsely accused of stealing, there was no one to come to his defense. Budget for 2010 $600

Kelvin Kangwa

Kelvin is 21 years old and lives with his parents. His father works underground in the copper mines. Kelvin quit school after 7th grade because there was no money. He said his father is a heavy drinker who rarely brings enough of his pay home for food, let alone to pay school fees. They have a 2-room house with a small room in the back. Living in these three rooms are 25 people—Kelvin, his parents, his grandmother (who is mentally ill and was found wandering in the streets), 4 brothers and 4 sisters, Jonathan (see next bio) and his brother, five cousins and six of their children. Six of the boys sleep in the room in the back; another relative is in prison and will be released the end of March and join them. I met Kelvin when he came with friends to help prepare the yard in my house. He was a good worker, polite and I took pity on him. I asked if he would like to go to school and he responded with a definite “yes.” So I took on another student. He is not much of a scholar. He just wrote his grade 9 exams and failed miserably. I have enrolled him on a trial basis at a school that teaches an automotive electrical course. Since he did not complete high school, he has to take some remedial language and math lessons. If he does well after six months, he will be able to enter the regular program. I have little hope at this time for his success with his extremely limited English and poor educational background, but with God all things are possible, so I pray for a miracle. Budget for 2010 $700

Jonathan Mwape

Joe is 22 years old and cousin to Kelvin’s mother, with whom he lives. His parents were divorced. His father is living, but Joe has had no contact with him. Joe lived with his mother, grandmother and sister in a house that belonged to his mother’s brother. When he died, he left the house to Joe’s mother. But when she got sick, another sister sold the house. Joe’s mother’s health gradually improved, and she started a small business selling vegetables. Later she got sick again and died after a few weeks in the hospital. Joe went to the streets to try to earn money, but he went home at night. Eventually he became friends with some of the other street boys and started staying in the streets and sniffing Genkem (a mixture of floor tile glue and gasoline). He came to St. Michael’s Church for the feeding program, washing and literacy classes. He says the field worker encouraged him and helped him to see that he had no future living in the streets. When Piano House opened, Joe was one of the first boys to live there. When his cousin learned he was there, she took him home with her and, because of his age, he started attending school in grade 4. He could speak no English and couldn’t read, but he tried. He would sometimes run back to the streets, especially during school breaks. In 2004, just before I left to return to the U.S., I was disappointed to find Joe in the streets again and high on Genkem. However, he realized his mistake, went back home and has never returned to street life. He says, “Thanks to God. He took me away from the streets. I am a good boy and I can never go back.” Joe has struggled with his studies; his English is limited, and he is not very good at academics. He has just barely passed his grade nine exam on his third try. However, what he lacks in intelligence, he makes up for in determination. He has been accepted and enrolled in a special afternoon remedial program in the 10th grade. This is actually better than the regular high school classes, because the teachers are paid based upon whether they are actually in the classroom and teaching. Often in the regular schools, teachers fail to show up for class! Joe attends the Chimwemwe United Methodist Church. Budget for 2010 $500

Joseph Mulenga

Joseph is about 21 years old. He came to Zambia in 2002 when he ran away from Congo. I have never been able to get his entire history; some of it is too traumatic for him to relate. But it involves family abuse, being a child soldier and living in the streets. He came to Piano House asking for food; he was covered with blood from being beaten by one of the mentally ill people who roam the streets. We took him in as a resident and worked to communicate with him. He pretended to be deaf to disguise his nationality, since he spoke only French and Swahili. Eventually we earned his trust, and he started to communicate with us as he quickly learned English and Bemba. It was obvious that he’d come from a middle class family and was educated, so he was enrolled in a public school in the 6th grade. He did very well, and we were proud of his behavior and progress. However, many of the executive committee of The Friends of the Street Children were prejudiced against his Congolese background, and they threatened to send him back to Congo. So when I left, I decided to enroll him in boarding school. He managed well except for a few poor grades mid-term; he always seemed to pull them up after I wrote a letter scolding him! In his senior year, he was named boarding captain, a high honor. However, he was led astray by friends, and one night he went out without permission, started drinking, and got caught returning after hours. This was grounds for immediate dismissal with no appeal. Fortunately we were able to enroll him in a local high school; I moved him in with Benson and told him he’d better shape up. He wrote his exams but failed. He then got into some more trouble using alcohol, ended up in jail, and then went back to Congo to find his sisters. He returned, determined that he had to correct his mistakes. Once again, he has been given another chance and is currently attending remedial classes at Mindolo High School; he plans to re-write four subjects this year and four next year. He is active in the youth group and choir of Chimwemwe United Methodist Church. He knows that he will receive no further assistance if he gets in trouble again. Sometimes we have to be patient, especially when these kids have had such a hard life with no one to guide and lead them. Budget for 2010 $1,500

Andella Chabaninge

Andella is 14 years old and lives with her grandparents, parents and three brothers. I met Andella when I helped with the feeding program for street children at St. Michael’s Anglican Church in downtown Kitwe. Her grandparents worked at the church, and the family lived in a 2-room cabin in back. She was 5 years old and did not attend school. A small private school rented the church during the week, and Andella stood outside the door listening to the children recite their lessons. When they practiced for their Christmas play, Andella memorized everyone’s part! It broke my heart that this bright little girl would be denied an education because she had brothers, and the family couldn’t afford to send all of the children to school. So I enrolled her in preschool. Last year she wrote her grade 7 exams; she did quite well and is now attending Mama Monty Basic School in Chimwemwe. She is very shy, but she enjoys coming to my house for an overnight. She loves to read and will bury her nose in any book she can find! Budget for 2010 $600

As you can see, I must come up with at least $14,200 this year to continue support of these young people. If you can help in any small way, it would be greatly appreciated. Some people are making a monthly pledge. All donations go 100 percent to the kids; there are no administrative fees involved. A tax deductible contribution (you will receive a receipt) can be sent as follows:

Check made out to “Wings of the Morning” with a note clearly stating it is for “Dru’s Kids in Zambia.” Mail to:

Enright Flight Ministry

1919 Jackson Lane

Port Orange, FL 32128

Also, I want to humbly and heartily thank those who have so faithfully contributed over the years and have made it possible for these children to survive and have a future with hope. “I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes…” God will reward you.

Dru Smith

c/o United Methodist Church – Kafakumba

PO Box 70839 Ndola Zambia

Email: kafutismom@zamnet.zm or kafutismom@yahoo.com

I Now Eat Lemons with Salt

Oh hey guys. How are things? So, here it's been raining, and raining and then the sun comes out, and then it rains again. I really don't mind rain too much. Except that I don't have a lot of clothes, so when some get knocked out of commission because they're wet it kind of stinks.

We got the water heater on the guest house fixed today. I like cool showers but not so much cold ones. I've had to do the old point-the-shower-head-away-and-jump-in-and-out trick for the past week. But since I'm the only one on campus with hot water I'm not complaining.

I've been taking tea and some meals with the staff lately, which means I've been eating a lot of Nshima. It's basically corn mash thats boiled pretty thick. You ball it up in your hand and then use it as a “spoon” to eat your other food. I like it, but they always give me way too much. Speaking of food, I hopefully won't jinx myself, but so far I've had no stomach problems, and I've even drank some unfiltered water (accidently, and intentionally). I've got some pretty crazy GI helping supplements just in case. I've also had no side effects from the antimalarial that I'm taking. I guess I'm happy about that, but I am a little curious about the crazy dreams, hallucinations, and feeling of impending doom.

We finished up the roof of the staff housing block. The brick-layer is back to patch up the holes around the top. When he's finished we'll be putting in a new toilet, doors and windows. Then a paint job and some electrical work and it'll be done.

I've started some research on a chicken barn to put at the new plot. Lifesong would like some layers to supply eggs for the kids, and to sell any extra. Poultry is not my area of expertise, so I'm enjoying learning a little bit about it. In the process I'm learning a little about Zambian building practices.

I'm going to put up a special post soon about Dru's boys. I just need to get it all organized and transferred to blogspot. Until then, try and stay warm. Heh.

I spreken

We were working on the roof Thursday, and it started to rain so I grabbed my stuff and headed for the guest house. On my way I saw Kafuti and told him to come in. So we sat around and talked and ate watermelon for a while. At one point he asked me if there was much blood-shedding in the US. I told him "not too much" and mentioned how many people I thought had been murdered in Ft. Wayne last year. I told him there were some places that were pretty bad in big cities, and said every now and then something really bad like Columbine will happen. He kind of looked at me a little bit and then said that in Congo the power will only be on for like an hour at a time and then be off for maybe three.

After a second of confusion, I realized he had asked me if we had a lot of LOAD-shedding in the States. (when power companies shut down parts of the grid because they don't have enough power for everyone) I started laughing and explained what I had thought he said, and told him I wasn't really crazy. There's still a little bit of a language barrier amongst those who speak English.

Not Much to Report

Things are pretty much the same here as the last time I posted. I had a pretty relaxing weekend at the school. Went to church on Sunday. I walked to the New Life Center hoping to use their internet which is faster and doesn't have the data limit that Lifesong does. When I got there I found out that it was down and probably wouldn't be working for a while so I walked back. Nice Sunday stroll. That means I probably won't be able to post any significant number of photos until I get back. Sorry.

I spent some time researching chicken houses since we're thinking about putting one on the new property. Poultry is not something I know a lot about, so I enjoyed researching that.

I used a slasher for the first time last week. It's the Zambian form of a lawn mower. Basically it's a long flat piece of steel with a handle on one end and a five inch bend on the other. You swing it back and forth and cut the grass. It's surprisingly effective, and a little easier than it looks, though I will admit I was ready to be done by the end.

I challenged the guys I work with to a little contest. I told them I'd cook them supper if they could give me a math problem I couldn't answer. Zimba and Morgan are both taking evening classes and are in grades 10 and 9, and I'm not sure about Lawrence's education. I don't think they've heard of calculus, which is a good thing because I'm not sure how much of that I could pull out after five years.

I helped Morgan with his homework the other night. Math and Science. They're really smart guys, they just haven't had the opportunity to go to school. I think working at Lifesong has really given them an appreciation for education. Then it gives them a stable income. That's a pretty huge impact on their lives.

I found out Zimba is a pastor. I'd really like to hear him preach, but their church doesn't have an English service, and I'm not that fluent at Bemba. Yet.

Well since it's apparent I don't have any real news I'll make my ignoble egress. Maybe I should work up a love interest to spice up my life. I'll see what I can do.

Wash your bikini

Three days without a post. That's a little more like the Tyler we all know and love. But really you guys should be happy for me. It means I'm not sitting around wondering what I should be doing.

Mwashibukeni means good morning. Actually I think it literally means "You have awaken." Figured I'd clear that up.

This week we kind of jumped into a project. We've started renovating a couple of housing blocks for staff to live in. The vast majority of houses here are concrete block construction with cement floor and steel sheet roofs. I should have taken a picture of the one place before we started cleaning it up, but I didn't so you'll just have to imagine. On the worst block we tore off the entire roof. A mason is coming in tomorrow to repair a couple large cracks and extend the walls up to help keep down the heat. Then hopefully next week we'll drop a new roof on, replace some windows and doors, and put in a new toilet. After that a good cleaning and some new paint should make it pretty much ready to go. The block I worked on today had a roof that was in much better shape, and the walls are all solid, so we just replaced some bad sheeting and roofing timbers. It is currently being used as a chicken coop, but we told the hens to start looking for somewhere else, so I think they'll be moving out over the weekend.

Being up on the roof, I got a little red today. Nothing serious, but a little more than normal. All of the Zambians think it's hilarious that white people get red, with too much sun. I find it less humorous. By the way, special thanks to Jon and Amy for the sunglasses. They have been great to have on the roof working with reflective steel sheeting. They also look great on little kids (and me, but that goes without saying).

So, everyone here thinks I should learn Bemba (including me) and the way they try and teach me is to just speak Bemba and act like I should understand. I normally try and give them an eyamukwai or awe depending on what I think they're saying. Or I'll just act like I understood and speak back in English. I'm actually pretty good. I held a thirty second conversation with Charles today in which I discussed what we had done on the roof and what we were going to do flawlessly. Everything I said was a guess at what he said, so I wouldn't say I'm fluent, but if I'm right I might as well be.

One of the guys I work with named Zimba has four little girls. They and one of their friends come over to the guest house almost everyday after school. We sit around and chat, and then they play games on my computer while I read until I tell them it's time to go home. At which time a lot of whispering in Bemba ensues. They whisper and then glance at me and then whisper some more. Eventually one of them (normally they make Dorca the three year old) tell me what kind of treat they want. Today they wanted an orange, yesterday was some chips, sometimes it's sweets. So then I give it to them and they say thanks, and off they go. Until tomorrow.

Still about a week behind

Well, more than a week later I'm finally getting to finishing off the story of VBS. Thanks again Leslie for talking about Friday.

After goodbyes, a quick lunch, and cleanup we saddled up and took a couple hour trip out to Nsobe game camp. On the way there Dru informed the large van that the bathroom facilities where somewhat lacking. In fact we all shared an outdoor latrine that was unsafe to use at night due to the possibility of a wild animal attack. The truth is that the accommodations (including bathrooms) were very nice. We settled in and placed our dinner orders for the evening. Then we were alerted to a giraffe sighting down the road, so everyone grabbed cameras and we took off to see what we'd find. Sure enough just down the road we came to some giraffes mozzying around, eating trees and what not. I left the rest of the group to see if I could get some pictures from a different angle, and was mildly successful. My success was somewhat diminished by the fact that I Missed seeing Taryn and Holly attacked be ants. Ah well, C'est la vie.

The next morning we got up for a game drive, which we had beautiful weather for. We were able to see more giraffes, impalas, some bush-bucks, and maybe a couple others that I'm forgetting. We also saw some pretty sweet cabins with outdoor bathrooms that were quite unique. We unfortunately did not see any Zebra. Quite disappointing.

After the drive we went back for some excellent breakfast, and then kind of twiddled the rest of the morning away. I personally appreciated the game camp, because it allowed some time to kind of unwind and process the week. It was removed enough from the school that you could kind of think and analyze, and not be forced to think about traveling and getting home and what awaits there. (of course I wasn't going home, but it gave me a break between the segments of this trip that I really appreciated)

About 11.30 or so we took off for Ndola to drop the team off at the airport. And from there on you'll have to check with other resources to see how things are going for them. I spent a somewhat lonely but good-for-me weekend back at the school. Coming with the team definitely gave me a bit of a warm up period for my time here. It allowed me to come in slowly I guess, but it was still a bit of a shock to sit in the guest house on campus, alone for the first time really, and think about the fact that I'm in Africa. I definitely had the same experience in New Zealand when I was between jobs and didn't really know what I was going to do. Kind of a “what have I done” feeling, but that has mostly passed now and I'm starting to settle in to a more sure role here. Starting. It has been a great time for me to look at my priorities and motivations in life. So in short I'm really glad I'm here. I'm excited to continue building relationships with staff and kids, and see how I grow while I'm here.

I don't know if this will strike anyone the way that it did me, but I guess I'll share it either way. Andrew Peterson is one of my favorite songwriters and I've been listening to him a lot while I'm here. He's got a song called “Silence of God” that I really like. I've been recently grappling with how I can deepen my relationship with God, and it sometimes gets a little discouraging when I feel like I'm not making “progress.” It's easy for me to wonder if I'm doing something wrong or if God's just that hard to get to know. Anyway in this song AP says:

There's a statue of Jesus on a monastery knoll
In the hills of Kentucky all quiet and cold
He's kneeling in the garden silent as a stone
All his friends are sleeping and He's weeping all alone
And the Man of all sorrows he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought

I guess it's just a good reminder to me personally, to know I have Him at the hand of the Father pleading to him that our relationship will grow, and generally that in a sometimes overwhelming and discouraging continent He likewise is concerned in the affairs of these peoples hearts.

Guest Blog

Leslie graciously accepted my offer to guest blog, so here's the recap of Friday.

Friday was our last day to spend with the kids and when we got to the school we did the usual songs before breakfast. It was fun to see how well the kids knew some of our american songs after only 4 days of singing them. I was still lost on their songs, but I pulled off a pretty convincing “watermelon, watermelon…”

After the singing John told the kids that the Americans were going to go hide and then they would find us and we’d have a special “talk.” I think this made our whole team a little apprehensive. I immediately had flashbacks of a Ukraine trip where we had a scavenger hunt which involved tieing the american boys to trees in the woods. One of our guys was tied for 2 hours before his team found him! Anyway, we soon found out that John was referring to us hiding in the meeting area to hand out t-shirts to the kids… relief.

Once the shirts were handed out we headed out to the football field. As I approached the massive sea of green tees I saw something that made me very very happy. Let me just explain by saying our team (mine and heather’s: team joshua: the team who started the shouting of the team name, causing us to be envied by all other children and despised by all other american leaders) was probably the most chaotic of teams due to our large number of little boys (not sure if this was true, but we kept saying it). But today I saw children running all over the place… utter chaos… except in one little corner of the field stood a little row of boys and a little row of girls with Ezron (our oldest boy at 13) marching up and down the middle, shouting:

Ezron: WE ARE…

Kids: JOSHUA!

Ezron: WE ARE…

Kids: JOSHUA!

Oh, I was so proud. I walked straight up to them, gave ezron a big ol’ hug and started chanting and jumping right along with them… sigh…

Anyway, after this great moment for the Joshua team the kids all gathered together to put on a show for the americans. This consisted of poems given with great flare, songs, and some dancing that was… interesting. Then it was our turn to sing a couple songs for the kids. Somehow I don’t think they were as impressed with us as we were with them.

After the performances another soccer game ensued… this time sheila was invited to play… amazing considering no girls were allowed! And the rest of us girls got our hair braided… amazing that none of us ended up with lice… seriously.

When the time came to say our goodbyes I headed back from the field with Ezron at my side. Knowing that he was a 13 I was hesitant to hold his hand because I didn’t want to make him feel awkward. So instead I just patted his hand as if to say, “I love you buddy.” But to my surprise he quickly took my hand and held it. Oh my heart melted. Many more goodbyes followed, but this was one of the few that will stick with me forever.

we headed back to the new life center to pack, eat, shower and get ready for a night at the game reservation, which deserves a few key points highlighted

-beautiful scenery

-lots of monkeys, giraffes, and ants

-bathrooms in our tents… yeah, I know… pretty cool

If you’re interested I will be posting more on my blog but considering the length of this post I will graciously spare you

Thanks for stepping in Leslie. Her blog is at holymonkeys.blogspot.com Check it out.

VBS week

As I mentioned a few posts ago the theme for the week was “Running the Race.” We had four days that we would be teaching lessons and then Friday we would have a program and say goodbyes. We were all about dividing into teams on this trip. First we set teams of three to each take a lesson day. Then we divided into teams of two plus a teacher, to divide up the kids. We then took subgroups A and C, and B and D, and merged them into companies Echo and Foxtrot respectively. OK the last sentence was bogus, but otherwise it's true.

So here's how it all shook out. Most mornings we would set out walking from the New Life Center around 7.00AM. It's about 2km to the school and takes about 30min to get there, unless you walk as slow as I do and then it takes a little longer. Often Mr. Mumba would find us on the way and offer/force us to ride instead of walk. (which was really OK by me since I wanted to get there before lunch) When we arrived the kids would be outside standing in rows by grade and we'd have a little sing along time. We taught them a few songs and they taught us a few. At 8.00 the kids would eat breakfast and we'd either help serve or finish up odds and ends for the lesson that day. At 8.30 we'd meet at the Football Pitch for some more singing and the lesson. (this is where the teams of three were in charge) Then we broke the kids into six groups to do a discussion, craft and small group activity. (teams of two plus teacher) Sheila and I were Team Mary, and Lynette was our teacher. She did a wonderful job translating and our small group time always went pretty well. We then had a short break after which we gathered in the field for some large group games.

I think all the groups did a great job on their lessons. Somehow a lot of us overestimated the target age, so there was a little bit of adjusting and reworking, but the team was really flexible and it all worked out really well. Leslie, Kent, and Sheila had the first day with preparation for the race, Tony, Chelise, Holly and Taryn took day two with endurance, Katrina Leah and I rocked day three with encouragement, and David, Heather and Tracy cleaned up with the prize on day four.

As a little side note it's raining right now. I think it's rained everyday this week. It's kind of fun.

Some highlights for the week:
-Leslie made a huge 200 piece puzzle. The kids each got a piece and colored it and then we put it all together at the end of the day.
-A massive game of soccer each morning just before lunch with a referee calling offsides, a shootout to break ties and the whole nine yards. Pretty intense.
-Seeing the kids quiet down and work whenever there was coloring or classroom time. These kids are really well behaved, and respectful.
-Being called Uncle all day by the kids.
-Taryn letting me use her camera equipment.
-Chanting “Team Mary HUH, Team Mary HUH” louder then the other teams.
-Last but certainly not least, being absolutely mauled by about a thousand kids every minute we were there.

We'd normally head back the the New Life Center around 5.00, and take some time to clean up relax and talk about the day. For the first half of the week cleaning up for me consisted of taking a shower and the putting on the same clothes I'd been wearing since I didn't have my bag. A special thanks and shout-out to Tony for letting me borrow his sandals, and to Kent for letting me borrow a couple of shirts. I'm sure that made the stench a little more bearable for everyone else. Despite the lack of hygiene I really enjoyed the time we spent in the evenings as a team. The girls did a great job of putting together supper each evening, then we'd whip up some popcorn and talk or play games.

Dru's “adopted son” Kafuti came over one night and told us about his childhood. He comes over to my place after school a lot. In fact he's here right now.

On Thursday evening the Lifesong staff made dinner for us. We went over around 6.00 and they were still cooking, so we hung around with them. They tried to teach us traditional Zambian dancing. Unfortunately I think some video was taken, which is really a frightening thought for me. I should just point out that I don't have a single dancing bone in my body. There were a few from the team who got into it. I'll let either them or said video reveal their identities.

For the meal we had traditional Zambian foods, some excellent, some good, and some interesting. Probably the most interesting were the fried caterpillars and termites. Umm... yeah. They weren't bad they just tasted like burnt bugs. Probably not something I'd choose to eat everyday but I'm glad I tried them. My favorite was some roasted cassava eaten with ground nuts (peanuts). Their staple food is Nshima which is a corn mash that you ball up and kind of spoon other food into your mouth. I kind of like it. They gave us entirely too much food, and I wasn't even close to finishing.

I guess that just leaves Friday and Saturday, and since this is already ridiculously long I think I'll leave that for later.

This has been “Lifesong VBS” with Tyler. Tune in next time to hear Dru say “It's not safe to go to the bathroom at night because of the wild animals.”

Executive Decision 1#

For the sake of my readers I will not try to be something I am not. Namely a good event reporter.

The ramifications of this decision are as follows: I will not attempt to walk you through the week in a play by play fashion. Instead I will attempt to give you an overview of the week and fill in details as they come.

I apologize to those who feel slighted or incomplete with out a detailed itinerary. For those that feel I've overlooked any essential information please comment or email and I will do my best to fill in any and all excluded details.

Ahhh, I can now return to this blog with a feeling of ease knowing that I have removed many a weighty expectation. Some of you may not understand this, and some of you may relate to this all too well, but I am definitely more comfortable with low expectations. Nevertheless I will try to continue in my normal excellence, bringing you only the most interesting of stories and the most profound insights.

TIA

I have the fortune of having pretty cool friends, and I miss you all. I've finished the only book I brought along and there's only so much you can do by yourself in a house. Please don't get me wrong, I'm very glad to be here and I'm enjoying myself greatly, but I figured I should let everyone back home know that I do appreciate you and I miss you when you're not around.

The VBS week story is going to be put on hold for a second. I've gotten an offer for a guest blog from one of my pretty cool friends, and a week synopsis from another. (yes mom I should have journalled. When you're right you're right.)

So until I get those I'll do what I do best. Ramble.

I've been helping the Maintenance staff do their thing most of the time that the kids are in school and then hanging out with them and the teachers during breaks. I'm struggling a little with knowing how to spend time with the older boys. I have been able to just hang around and talk with them a little, but I'd like to find more ways to build relationships with these guys. Good news is I have some time, but that would be my main prayer request.

Everyone wants to teach me Bemba. I am unfortunately a little slow, but everybody gets a kick out of me trying. Today Lawrence taught me "Isa" (total guess on spelling) which I'm told means "come here". So I yelled it at him while John, Andrew and I where waiting on him and everybody about died.

For those of the team wondering, apparently the novelty of touching white skin does not wear off. Also "Whos the King of the Jungle" and Alleluia/Praise Ye the Lord continue to be a favorites.

Mom you can rest easy knowing that I have several surrogate mothers who are doing their best to make sure I'm looked after. I figure if you know you're going to get really dirty in a day it's a good idea to wear an already dirty shirt. (especially if someone else is washing your clothes and they're doing it by hand) Apparently Lynette, Monica and half of the kids disagree. I've also been well schooled in how to take care of every little nick I get on my hands or feet.

I find myself forgetting that I'm white every now and then. It's going to be weird coming back to the states and seeing white people all over. I might start touching peoples arms and hair to see what it's like.

OK that's probably enough disjointed snippets for now. Until next time, Stay Classy.