It’s been a couple of days since the last post and all I can say is nothing has gone according to plan and the personal spiritual attacks are on, at for me yesterday was a rough day.

Our trip to the fisherman’s camp by dug put canoe on the Zambezi was cancelled due to the waters being flooded and we couldn’t get to the boats. But these flooded waters we are told have brought an increase in fish to the area which is helping the economy.

We couldn’t make it to Kalomo to see Pastor Malala as there was a conflict in schedule, half way around the world and hours away from seeing our good friends from yesterday.

My lower back went out and cause a major pain and hinderence for me all day. Stafford, another man in our group and our group photographer, mentioned he received word I would be healed through dance, well it is definitely lessened up just praying for full healing today.

The food prepared all day contained gluten, so needless to say I had rice cakes , bars, salad and rice for lunch and dinner.

The mental attack hit me hard in my history of feeling lonely and left out, this demon from my past needs to go for I know its false.

Then my tooth ache flared up again and thronged into the night, thanking God it eased off this Sunday morning. Taking round 2 of anitbiotics now and praying for healing and no side effects.

 

Powers will try to stop you mentally and spiritually when there is Gods will at hand. There is a history of witchcraft in the area so we need to be strong and vigilant that we don’t allow anything in. If only North Americans knew how real these forces are, the stories the locals have, the forces they’ve fought. Africa is spiritually alive and is not for the faint of heart.

Last night we drive almost an hour to another village for an outdoor service, what incredible voices the locals have!! It was a powerful night with Pastor Chris, Pastor Marenga and Stafford all preaching. The message is that these people are not forgotten, they are loved and that God sent people across the world to show them. This isn’t just for Africa but the Lord loves us all and has not forgotten any of his children. Please keep praying these villagers truly feel the Love and peace of God, despite circumstances they are happy. Let that grow!!

 

Praying the Lord keeps us safe and strong against these forces! We are here to save, to help and to show the Love of God to his children. Please keep praying for us as we travel back to Livingstone today and that we are able to hear why our plans keep changing.

Driving out to Simbelele you drove through an extremely poor village. The streets are lined with trash, there’s no work for these people and dozens of half built brick homes sit abandoned. This place makes you appreciate the worst life you could have back in North America. It really hits you hard when you drive past the rock crushing fields, has an eerie vibe that makes you feel like when the Egyptians controls the Jews to build for them, straight out of a movie scene. In a country that has a 75% unemployment rate this is where people without work will crush rocks up to sell piles to construction workers. This doesn’t sound so bad until you realize that the piles of rocks you see in those pictures, that takes a 7 to 10 days to produce and are only worth 8-10 kwatcha. Lets make this more real, the exchange is currently $1 CAD = 7 Kwatcha or $1 US = 10 Kwatcha…means that week + worth of labour is worth about $1 Canadian to $1 US. Out here a pop costs 5 kwatcha, a loaf of bread costs 9 kwatcha. This is sad reality for most of this Country. The ironic part is this country is rich in minerals, gold, copper and even oil, but the industry sector left many years ago and the only real export they have up and running is tourism to Victoria falls area and Copper.

We ended up spending the day in simbelele, and man was it a toasty 35 degrees out! Sun block helps but still getting some good colour. It was good to see the installation of the water pump go in, once the borehole is dug they need about 1.5hrs to install the hand pump then lay down the concrete pad. Sadly the pump isn’t usable for 3 to 4 days while the concrete dries but after that the pump will service the village of about 300 people and their new fruit trees for decades to come.

When we first landed we had saved a few thousand kwatcha on the food we won, well we were able to take that money and purchase a pile of lightly used clothing for the village children. Sadly there were more kids than clothing but our local team will be back after we are gone to bring some for the rest of the children.

So much more to say but not enough time, we are off on a 3hr 4×4 trek to the next village so until the next post I will leave you with this….be grateful for the opportunities we have in Canada, in North America….we are so blessed so take today and be thankful for your opportunities in your life!!

 

We made it safely to Livingstone on Tuesday Aug 2nd and were welcomed in classic African style with enthusiasm and welcoming arms! It was so amazing to see Sylvia, Brian and Marenga after a long 4 years away. Being around this group and their “Agape Hands Ministries” you just see how many different things they are into to help the locals that are forgotten by the government. As part of the “Beyond the Gate Ministries” team here we are working together with them on many projects, the blessings we see on this trip are just beginning! Now up until our arrival the Livingstone area was still cool at about the mid to low 20’s, well apparently the heatwave waited just for us cause its 32 to 35 out for our entire trip. Good thing our Canadian Summers are just as hot so prepared me for the heat, sunscreen and hat in hand!
So our trip started off with surprise to get the ball rolling. As soon as we left the airport we went to the a local grocery store to pick up some groceries for ourselves but mainly gifts of food for some locals that are working with us. 3 shopping carts full later we go through the cash register and win a raffles we didn’t even know how it worked, the whole bill was zero’d out and all the food was free! We were ecstatic!! The Lord blessed us to start this trip seeing in what amazing ways he works.

 

 

We checked into the Waterfront lodge Tuesday afternoon and are staying in tents for the first few days, it’s the perfect set up that has just what we need for our team. The first night wasn’t as restful as we hoped with interruption s from a neighbouring tent through the night, details I don’t need to get into. But the Lord gave us strength and our team was off for another days.
Our official first Day began on Wednesday,
Now I want to jump right in but first I should introduce our trusty new truck the ministry bought, the Buffalo, aka the beast. This truck is tall and 4x4s without an issue. It was previously owned by a British movie documentary director but was an amazing find for us. Fits all of our gear, and is open air….who needs air conditioning when the canvas walls roll up!!

So off we went, in The Buffalo and before even leaving the road to the lodge we run into a group of wild elephants. What magnificent creatures these are, thankfully we were in the trucks cause still need to be careful with these creatures. Now to the village Siambelele. Here is where we drilled the first water well. By the time we arrived they had already hit water but it is always a sight to see the curiosity and excitement of a village when a borehole is drilled. This borehole is right at the edge of the village beside a home made soccer field that will soon be lines with 120 fruit trees. The villagers will be able to water them with the borehole and are helping to plant the trees but it will take years before the trees nature and produce fruit. We are try I.g to find more mature trees to many but they just aren’t that easy to find sadly. About 60 mango trees are planted so far. The grounds is so hard but the village boys have a lot of strength to get the holes dig for us. I as t to try to dig more but they keep wanting to do it so I don’t have too. They are truly restful for the help I just wish there was more we could do.

The key to everything out here is getting those water wells dug and finished. They haven’t had any wated. In 4 months and none in site. Its amazing how green some areas still are but its not enough to grow food and sustain the people. One thing about the locals is they are so used to drinking only little bits of water they might drink 1 to 2 bottles worth in a day. That would be in heard of back home! Yesterday it was so hot the kids were taking the non potable water from the truck tank that we use to wash our hands and drinking it. It was slight brown and something people back home would touch. How these kids drink that is beyond me, they must have a stomach of steel!!

How is this trip even possible? From how it came to be to affording it to dealing with the most stressful year I’ve had Between work, bouts of depression, family health issues, my uncle’s sudden passing, joining a charity board, fundraising, last minute tooth infection 2 weeks before my trip that I now need for oral surgery and all while pulling 12-14hr work days almost every work day plus weekend work….its been a year and only half way through it!!

At a dark and very unhappy moment earlier this year I felt lost, and yes very depressed. Even my close friends were noticing I was more tired and down, I was noticing I wasn’t smiling as much. With work loads getting overwhelming and life out of balance I needed to find a way back to my happy place, It was then I remembered my 2014 trip to Zambia! Such an incredible memory and group of people, it was life changing and I needed to get back!! That night I went online to a workout based website I’m part of, similar to Facebook, but no one knows my real name there. I posted a couple pictures and just how much I wanted to go and get back to a deeper meaning in life. The next morning I woke up to a Facebook message that I noticed was sent less than 6 hrs after I made my post. My friend in Zambia was asking if I felt called to come back to Zambia with a group he knew from North Carolina. My jaw dropped, couldn’t believe the timing! It was a sign for sure! That started the talks and prayer of what I knew on my gut God was calling me to do. Then came the thought of how to afford it. Even working 12 to 14 hrs a day wasn’t going to pay for that trip in such a short time. See going to Africa in August and staying in Livingstone is quite a bit pricier than our last trip that happened in November. Well wouldn’t you know it, I’m part of the 3.0L VW/Audi dieselgate scandal settlement and after over 2 years of waiting the courts settled in April, perfect to to pay for my trip. I got my vehicle fixed and received my sorry money which paid for 80% of my trip!

This trip means the world to me and it must show because everywhere I turn around its like people are getting the bug to help us help those in need. Friends are coming out of the blue donating money, jerseys, toys, balls, toques and most importantly, prayer!!! In a world where there are so many selfish people and we are told “you deserve it” I think we need a reminder there is more to life. We need to remember our humanity, how to help each other and especially how to truly love each other!! We get so caught up in our day-to-day lives makes it hard to stop and look around. So here is the question, what truly makes you happy? I mean giddy happy where you’re glowing? Where people around you are affected and can’t help but be affected? What can you do to take your thoughts off of yourself and learn the pure joy in working hard for helping others? We were not built to be selfish, we are built to be in relationship with one another, what better way to do that than to give someone a hand up. Life a life of purpose!!

As we go into this time of travel I just ask for prayers for safety, for luggage to arrive on time and for our team to be energetic and ready and willing to truly listen to what God would have us do while we are there!

I thank the Lord for this opportunity and for each and every one of you who are helping and praying for us! God will bless and multiply our works! Now…..let’s go drill some water wells!!!!

God Bless!!

Its amazing just how quickly this entire experience has flown by. I’ve been home for over a week and still haven’t finished reflecting on this trip. Really there’s no other way to explain it other than a life changing experience. Its not everyday you get the chance to fly across the world to live in a completely different way of life. Its funny how living in a country where we have everything its rare to find people who are truly content and happy. But with these villagers in Zambia, even though they have so little, stretch everything they are given, life is hard but they’re overall happier. Sure there are depressed people everywhere but on a whole they aren’t so distracted with “things” that they forget to cherish family and friends.

I know looking back on this past year God has done a great deal of work in me. Not to say I’m great now or that I don’t need to work on things daily but he sure did open my eyes. I’ve always been a higher strung person and a workaholic, but looking at my life I know I needed a change. Life was getting to stressed out, to on all the time and to focused on the unimportant areas of life. What was I working for? A car? A house I could never afford? New technology and clothing? This seemed pointless and fruitless to me now when all it did was make me sad in the end. Cars break, clothing fades, houses need fixing and to much work makes a person burn out. This isn’t life and it shouldn’t be the normal but sadly it is. All it took was a friend of mine pushing me to experience a life changing trip with his church for me, and I thank God I took the plunge.

(Village of Samson)

     Looking back a bit further to what brought me to this trip its amazing how it all worked out. Through my job in the Trade show event industry i had met a WCB (Worker Compensation Board) rep who helped me put together a Health and Safety manual for my work after an accident had occurred. We ended up becoming friends and he has since become a mentor to me. This trip had come up with his church for the summer of 2014 but I was unable to make the timing work and so I continued with my work. I had become unhappy in my job and kept feeling a pull to quit my position and trust that God had a plan for me. I had no idea what was in store but made the decision that after the busy trade show season was done in may i would leave my job and help them train a replacement. After i left that job I thought I was going to have a nice quiet summer spending my days kayaking and hiking and then just cleaning at night for my brothers business just to pay the bills. I thought I just needed some refocus time, but guess i was wrong. Soon the trip to Zambia was rescheduled to happen around November now, not only did this give me time but the cost of the trip on a whole dropped dramatically! All of a sudden what was once unattainable was now a possibility. I prayed and talked to a few people, I questioned everything and how would i survive being Celiac and eating in Africa. Traveling across the country was annoying enough to find food let alone across the world to a developing country. Sure I made due with eating rice cakes and GF bars i brought from home but it worked! I didn’t know how I would afford it and i didn’t have a main job lined up but I felt the Lord push me to go, and this was truly a test of faith building for me. I agreed to go and made the most incredible friends leading up to the trip. With our bi-weekly meetings we got to know each other and create bonds before we flew across the country together.  The great part was after i decided to go God sent a temporary position to me working with a trade show promoter for the entire summer up to the end of September. For a few months I worked a full time day job and still cleaned at night but this paid for my trip, God truly provided me the ability and strength to go! Once the trade show position was done I was provided with a Christmas Mall decoration job that I do every year and not only did this position cover all my bills for two months it also finished 1 day prior to me flying out. The timing of this entire trip has been perfect, nothing by chance but i know its Gods timing. Its interesting how God has been working on my faith, how much do i trust Him with my life. I don’t have a full time job, didn’t know how I’d survive when i got back, had issues with my cards in the Netherlands…..Through all uncertainties he’s teaching me to step back and trust Him to take control.

Now I’m home, back to routine! Or as much as i can be. A piece of my heart remains in Zambia with my family out there. Funny thing is the lessons don’t end, now I have to trust God to lead me in a direction and work at not falling just back into the North American way of life. I don’t want to and I refuse to get stuck in the rat race again. God is teaching me peace and contentment, trust and faith! I don’t want to ruin that with selfish greed or feeling sorry for myself when i see all that others go through daily. Oh if you only experienced it all first hand you would truly understand just how good we all have it. Blessings are coming to those who wait, and even though the next year isn’t planned, I know He has already blessed me with work through January. Not even two days after i get home I receive a call from a show promoter I’ve worked with in the past and he wants me to work with him for his show at the end of January. It came as a surprise but shows God has his timing. You may not always have the plan in advance but trust God will bring you where He wants you.

(Celebrations in Samson after seeing a water well get drilled)

There’s so much to take away from an experience like this, all I can say is I highly recommend going on a short term trip like this, working with a developing country. As much as you help them they truly help find a calmer and more content, thankful side of yourself! Learn to not be so on, not everything is urgent or needed. Your cloths from a few years ago are still ok. That scratch on your car isn’t something to rage about. That 1000sgft condo is plenty of room to live. Your slightly broken or slower technology does not need to be replaced. The amount of wasteful spending we do to keep up with society is disturbing, and keeps us selfish. Our society says “we deserve it” but I know that’s the wrong statement to live by. Who deserves high end items? Who deserves to have clean water? Who deserves healthcare? Who deserves the latest and greatest instead of fighting to survive? Our life has become confused with necessity vs wants. Look around your room, your home, if you lost all of this stuff would it truly be the end of the world? Time for our new daily perspectives to change I think. Its one thing to hear it but its another to live it!

(Our team resting after a long day working with over 400 kids!)

     To the people of Zambia, my new family whom I love dearly and have affected my life eternally! I’ve never seen so many happy, yet curious faces. Your angelic singing, the rhythm that makes even us white people clap and sway! You’re uninhibited joyful songs and prayers, as loud as your voice will go! You have taught me how to take a step back, engage with each other and understand its OK to not be busy all the time. You’ve open up my bottle i put God in, and though this is a work in process, I know God is way bigger than I let him be through me. Your love and true generosity towards the villagers have affected me forever. Giving everything you have and withholding nothing, a lesson I still need to learn. Thank you for being you, for welcoming us with open arms and just loving us like Family! From our Canadian team (Simeon, Angie, Gerry, Rylan and myself), i know I can speak for all of us when I say Thank you! We love you and Miss you all!

 

Gods plan can take us beyond our wildest imaginations, just need to let your own plans go and trust in His plan!

God Bless!!

 

Sarah

 

Made it safely into Amsterdam last night and out what a difference from Zambia! It’s about 7degrees out but while everyone is bundled up out here I find my fleece jacket more than enough, must be cause I’m Canadian! still surprised I’m ok with the cold after spending 3 weeks in 30-40 degree heat.
     So as we entered the Netherlands all I could notice is the amount of windmills and very well organized lands.

It’s definitely winter with all the clouds and rain but its a good change up. Everyone pre warned me about driving in the Netherlands was crazy, but guess I’ve driven Vancouver enough that I really don’t find this much different, well besides the fact I can’t read any of the signs! So thankful to have rented a car, couldn’t imagine lugging both bags around on transit all over the country, even if it is quite small.
   So everything went amazingly smooth, pulled some euros out at the bank at the airport which was great, my luggage arrived safely and so did I, minus a lack of decent sleep. I managed to get to Rotterdam by 6pm and settled into my hotel, it was small but such a comfortable bed at Hotel Rotterdam! Typical European style room, compact everything! I found this little pub around the corner that was able to make me some food, some of the best chicken I’ve ever had! As I looked around I noticed they collected bills from around the world , happy to  say the Canadian $5 bill was on of the most unique looking ones. I just happened to have $2 Kwatcha on me from Zambia so we added that to the collection. One thing that caught my eye in the pub was this guy

The Dutch gnome ! There are tales about these guys but I just thought it was cute.
   Thankfully I was exhausted so went to sleep back at the hotel pretty quick and had a much needed 11+ hours of sleep. Cold is still here and my voice is still raspy but feel good. Had a bit of time to kill so drove around and took a look at Rotterdam, reminds me of Vancouver Just with more history.

Clear blue sky and sun is shining, such a gorgeous day out!! Now if only there was a coffee shop open around.

Had  a great day visiting  my Family, Coby and Jan and Oom  Piet this afternoon before I head off to the East. Tomorrow morning I’m off to hunt for the town of Westendorp! Hoping it goes well cause I want a picture with my names sake town sign. Time to rest up for the hunt! Goodnight everyone!!

I’ve been trying to find the words to describe this trip to Zambia. First I must say I was honoured to be able to go and felt so blessed by everyone! Brian, Marenga and Patrick are such a blessing with such pure hearts to go after God’s will and to help those in need you can’t leave them without the passion they carry!

Brian ( on the left) is probably the happiest person you’ll ever meet. He always has a smile on his face and has a personal mission to make all who are around him  smile! Him and his wife Sylvia are such a blessing and so full of passion! They welcome everyone with open arms into their homes and love all who are around them. There life is truly based on God’s will and direction!
     Patrick (in the middle) is one of the most passionate story tellers and preachers around. The way he  makes words come alive and the listeners on the edge of their seats, it’s a gift! Hard to believe we was once shy! He is a man of few words, or so he says, but he has a gift too reach others in such a dramatic way.
     Marenga ( on the right) is a pastor and is one of the humblest, giving men you’ll ever meet. There were a few times on busy days he would skip eating to give his snack to someone else how was in more need. Pretty sure he’d give away his shoes off his feet if he saw someone in need, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d already done this before. He has a smile that welcomes everyone and such a huge heart for the remote villages around, his whole life is to help others.
    These three men in Zambia create the most amazing dynamic and unique team. They balance and thrive off of each other and I know God brought them together for a reason. These men are my African family, along with their friends and family. They inspire me and push me to be more than I thought I could be. They encourage all and no matter the challenge they push through.

 

This trip is the beginning of something big in my life and the growth in process of a seed that was planted 6 years ago. With 101 sponsored children ready to go to school, 3 VBS day camps with the kids and 8 bore holes almost completed, this trip has Changed thousands of lives,  not to mention our own! All I can say was it was only by the grace of God we got that far. With set backs, sicknesses and extreme heat we had our share if challenges, not to mention the extreme lack of gluten free food for myself ,  but  the Lord brought us all through safely!

   So now I sit on a plane, descending  into Nairobi, staring at the sun rising over Mt. Kilimanjaro reflect on what’s all happened. I can’t believe the trip is over,it went way to quickly! Africa is a whole different world from Canada but has taught me so much. Its a slower pace of life and though it’s also far from perfect it’s people seem way more receptive to thanksgiving than our first world countries. One thing that really got to a few of us was the openness and lack of judging. There’s a freedom here in expression and worship that you just don’t get back home. They all sing with such passion and full volume, I stare  in wonder why I feel so suppressed in my own singing and why I can’t get over the self judgment and worry about what others think. Same goes with the freedom of movement. These people just flow and feel the rhythm! My question is why can’t us Caucasians do the same? What is the restrictions we put on ourselves? Something I really need to take a page from is the African hospitality. They welcome everyone with open arms, when they see a stranger they invite you in, sit you down and offer you a drink if they have any. They let you speak and take their time not rushing you as if you’ve interrupted their day. Our north American daily lives get so wound up and self centered on how to get ahead we forget to live in the moment and enjoy those around us. We stayed over a week in Brian’s house with his wife, 4 girls and another friend, and there’s 7 of us. Not once did we feel like a burden, just a welcomes guest with overwhelming joy and love.
   Being out in the villages ,  and even on the outskirts of the main cities, you look at just how different and hard life is for people out here. Mud huts that literally wash away after two years. Hand dug pits for washrooms, no close water, no electricity, most of them don’t even have shoes! Seeing the village children running on extremely hot, rocky dirt playing in bare feet just made me realize how tough they really are. We need to remember just how much we have to be thankful for. Our lives are only complicated  by our own selfish ambitions, wants and pride! If we took more time with God, then family and friends, maybe we’d see more of the joys in life and less stress. We’re all a work on progress and I’m no different. This trip was an eye opener but it will still take work to ease up on my life long workaholic, self centered focused life.

Take a time out, look around you and give thanks for all you’re blessed with!

Sunday December 7th started off as a normal day going to church in Magrimundi, but turned out there was a bit more of a surprise in store. When we got to church they sat us in the front side on the church and called Simeon and Angie up to the front. They got married in BC 9 months ago but since they’ve done so much work for the villages out here so the church decided to through them a surprise African wedding.

It was amazing to see the outfits, dancing, celebrating and all the energy put into it. They made cakes for us all and had Simeon and Angie serve cake to the entire church. They gave us all gifts of cups and Zambian material that can be used as a wrap. After that was done they had a bunch of school children from the sponsorship programme come up wearing there new uniforms and backpacks to say something about their opportunity and gratitude. It was a great service! Church ended up being about 3.5 hrs long so right after church we drove straight to Livingstone. It was back to the heat for us!!  

We went to  Sampson  on the way back to   Kalomo to see  the two  boreholes being Drilled. It was quite the site seeing the villagers watching, ladies dancing and rejoicing that clean water was coming closer.

Then to just see the process of drilling 50-70metres down just to prep for the water well.

We left the site at dusk but we’re all happy to see these two holes go in before the rains come and cuts Sampson  off from the town.

As usual more stuff popped up and we ended up getting back to the house later. The sad part was I was getting sick again and wasn’t feeling good at all, so as soon as we got there I dropped my stuff and tried to get some sleep. We had a big day ahead of us on Monday in the village of Samson and last thing fences with barb wire or broken glass bottles cemented onto the top of cinder block fencing. TheRe are bars  on every windows and the doors have extra bar doors that are locked shut at night. You literally are locked ins I needed was to be sick. Only problem is it was so hot in the room it was hard to breathe. After a few hours of trying I had to get some fresh air, and thankfully people were still awake at 11:30pm. See the thing  about Africa is that everything is locked down, especially houses. I remember my first night there a few weeks ago I had to go to the washroom and just To get some fresh air from the small bathroom windows. Takes a bit to climatize but hey when even to locals complain about the heat you know it’s not just because you’re Canadian!
    So I got sick, again! Sept this time it’s more like a cold instead of when I got sick after the zambezi river. Its never fun being sick when you’re away on a trip, even worse when you’re working a VBS day camp for kiss the Monday for 300 kids bur almost 400 showed up.

    Monday was a slower VBS dayI’m the village of Samson,  due too having 100 more kids than planned. We got set back trying to plan out more food to accommodate and what we had planned would work. The teachers and people there were great keeping all the kids in line, literally with sticks, and lots of songs. It surprises me at times when they suddenly sing English songs too. Of course we had pastor Patrick tell a story and the whole team did. Large skit with two translators helping. It was a hot day but we all made it. And we realized teaching a couple hundred village kids “British bulldog” becomes very dangerous. Stampeding kids everywhere!!!
      One thing I’ve learned this trip is just how tough these kids are. They’re running on rocky ground with no shoes, hardly get clean water, eat once to twice a day And  don’t have good cloths cept for school uniforms. it boggles my mind seeing 7-8 year old kids looking after the baby’s, they’re strapped to their backs and taking care of them like an adult. They don’t complain about it either they just do what they have to do. Walk a few KMs on there own to school, the market or water source. There kids are resourceful. Some  of these kids have never seen a white person so everywhere  we went I had a crowd follow me. The eyes staring at you,comments in other languages, laughter and curiosity, the grabbing of your hand, touching your hair  and poking your skin to see it change from white to red. Its like we were from another planet and they couldn’t understand us. Being surrounded by there curious children is an experience you never forget. Just looking right at them and touching their hand was like it made them feel special! These were priceless moments!

   In this village we worked with the volunteer headmaster and teacher. These two don’t get paid but have such a passion to help the village they are just pushing to try to get the government to sit up and notice them. They started 1 year and two months ago, and there are well over 400 school age children here. There are actually 700 households in the area so we don’t have a good number. The school structure was a tiny stick framed, mid packed buildings. The mud has all been washed away from the rains and it now looks like this, it resemble an animal pen to me. Since that building. Was way to small they are currently using an open air covering that resembles a pole barn. Its large but still not enough for the amount of kids. So the headmaster of the school went to the head man and was given 500m x 500m plot where they plan to build a fully enclosed solid structure. This man, Maxwell, was so inspiring and so enthusiastic it was hard not to get a push towards his dream. The team ended up providing the village with soccer Jerseys and balls which instantly got the kids excited and playing football and handball. It was a site to see!!
  
 
   To go to a village that no one thinks of or has ever given anything too to help out really makes you see the gratitude. There are so many forgotten villages! 

Tuesday came and though I wasn’t feeling great in the morning still managed to get out with the group to see Victoria Falls. Its really not as impressive this time of year but I can only imagine during the summer what A site it would be being over a km long. The Zimbabwe side looked like it was an impressive waterfall but we couldn’t get to close to it.

Definitely a lot more rock this time of year! What surprised me though is hearing that the main source of water for the falls is a small rock in the north end of Zambia. One day if I come back might be a site to see!
   We had such a great day climbing down to soak in the zambezi then hiking up a bit to play around in a waterfall. Such a refreshing time after so much heat! The crazy part was seeing the rain coming at us from down the canyon and then hiking up in a thunder and lightning storm. We had the three young girls with us who are 6-8 years old. So three of us got one each on our backs and started up the canyon. Legs were burning and lungs were hurting but we made it. I was surprised I could actually carry one of the girls since I wasn’t 100% but it worked out. Got a bit scary when we were suddenly surrounded by baboons but thankfully they were more interested in staying dry under the trees than our bags.

We made it to the top and wandered around the viewpoints of the falls. We finally got to the viewpoints and had a great time taking pictures and just hanging out!

We were all soaked but having a blast!

After that we went to the market, otherwise known as the vulture pen by me! I’m not much of a shopper so the high pressure, corner you in a tiny shop and trade/haggle your way to a half decent price was not my favourite time to shop. After 3.5 hours and 10 out of 52 shops hit I was exhausted and done! Rylan was in heaven haggling so he helped me at the end which was great. I have so much stuff I don’t even remember what I purchased now, guess it will be like Christmas when I get home and open everything up again!

   We left Livingstone for the last time late last night and are now in Kalomo again for the next day. Looks like more rain so thankful for the break from the heat.
    So I woke up with a lovely surprise of no voice this morning, hoping to have it back by tomorrow. Apparently my accent at a whisper is a bit harder for the guys to understand, it’s funny how many people whisper back to me though without thinking, it’s pretty funny!

So I feel like I have so much to catch up on as the last few days have been so busy, just didn’t have energy to really do it before. I’m not sure where this week went but its crazy to think on one week I’ll be in Amsterdam on the sort visit there. Just praying my visa or debit works there so I don’t get stuck!

   Let’s start with earlier this week, Monday we had already put together the school supplies so Tuesday we decided to start the day by visiting a couple of the schools to review the students and pay fees. This to a lot longer than we thought, as usual, so we only got two schools done. We drove out to Livingstone and checked out a local market. Must say I’ve never been much of a shopper so these markets really overwhelmed me. It was about 40-50 shops lining the street with people waiting to get you into their shop. Then it’s intense pressure shopping, very pushy and you really have to work their prices down. I bought a wrap for $50 Kwatcha, which I thought was decent, worked her down from $150, but then found the same wrap for $25 kwatcha down the row. Every 5 Zambian Kwatcha is worth roughly $1 Canadian, so your constantly doing math while shopping. Trick is to make sure they know your Canadians as well, they typically don’t over charge as much cause it’s assumed the states is rich and Canada is not as well known as tourists. We’ll be off to Victoria falls on Tuesday to do most of our shopping then but this was a good taste. Had to laugh that Rylan and Gerry were way more interested in the shopping than I was. The day didn’t work out as plans but t least the guys had met another bore hole driller and got a step closer to getting these bore holes for water wells drilled. Its a shame the first guy we talked too didn’t get on the ball right away so poor Simeon and Brian have been scrambling daily trying to arrange now 8 holes before the rains come.
    So Thursday we walked around the village of Nazilongo and went hut to hut and met and prayed for a few people. This was definitely a bit smoother than my first village visit but think I’m learning to just stop over thinking and let God show me what to say. As we wandered around the village the children would follow us everywhere!!
     

Think we shocked them when Rylan and I started to pick up and play with a Chameleon. Apparently they are seen as superstitious animals that are dangerous and curse you if they change your colour. Its a shame I don’t have any photos on my phone of it bit what an incredible lizard.
    Later that night we had a church service in the local church. Its pre service started at about 4:30 and don’t think we left till after 10pm. Its was an amazing time, was a small building but packed it out. Only issue is their doorways are not built for tall people!
  

There were three drums in the building so a few of us Canadians attempted to play, yeah we have nothing on the natural African rhythm and beats! Brian, standing in the blue in the left of the picture, has this unbelievable ability to clap out some of these most complex beats. Not something you can pick up on quickly but managed to get a few complex claps in sync.

Their enthusiasm, harmonies and drum rhythm is contagious! You can’t help but get up and want to join in. I only wish I could sing like them! There’s no holding back, no care in the world, they just belt out every song with all they have. Its the most incredible songs I’ve ever heard, and I can’t even understand a word of it!        So the church service finally began at about 6pm or so and then the music really kicked in gear. We all took turns preaching a bit and for most of us this was our first time speaking in front of a crowd, and with a translator. Went really well I think! Funny  part was this church has no electricity, so they had a portable light bulb they hung from the rafters, they don’t need much out here but they really do know how to get by! I know me and Angie were writing our sermons the morning of. I had some notes but what had to be said wasn’t coming, till Thursday morning came then God put on my heart what I needed to say.

I won’t get into it too much but there’s some history about my parents protecting me and moving across the country to do so. I thank the Lord they had the strength and we’re given the ability to do so. I didn’t know this till layer on but I was told a few ladies were crying as I spoke. There’s healing that needs to be done out here in Africa and a lot of women have been pushed aside as if what’s happened to them doesn’t matter. To stand up an say it does matter and that these cycles can be broken was just what God wanted me to tell them. I think seeing that us white north Americans can have some of the same problems they do makes them feel a bit less like they got the short end of the stick. We all have problems, just best not to judge a person by how they look.
   That brings us too Friday, the day we handed out all the school sponsorship supplies. We were at the church in sweltering heat with about 200 people from 9am till 7:30pm straight. Now one thing about Africa is that people don’t use deodorant but do sweat a lot. The people are awesome but sometimes it’s a bit hard to take the smell when you’re confined in a room.

We had the students and parents come by school and group, its just unbelievable how long it took. It went well and happy that stretch of the trip is over with. We all came back to the Lodge, had some food and ice cream and just crashed!!!
   Today is Saturday and we ended up doing another VBS with the kids in another remote village called Mukwela. These kids have so much energy! First thing that caught my eye when we walked in was these two boys wearing Tim Hortons Timbit hockey Jerseys!

And suddenly it felt like home!!
    The day went great, Patrick told two awesome stories, Brian sang, the rest of us acted and sang along. Its not easy working with so many people and only one translator, the pastor. But the day went great and the kids will never forget it! I won’t either because wow they wore me out playing handball, the boys were crazy playing soccer, and all the kids just mauled Rylan and myself. Its hard to imagine what they’re thinking of when they poke my white skin, just want to hold my hand or touch my hair. Being surrounded by 50 kids doing that is still very intense, hard to explain. Although I did scare one kid today, yeah not all kids understand why we look different, add height into the mix gets a bit scary I guess.
   This trip is flying by too quickly, and I’m sure  I’m missing a few things! All I can say is if you get the chances, experience a developing country! It’s a whole new experience and something you’ll never forget!
   

Monday we spent the day at the church in Kalomo putting together all the school supplies for the 100 sponsored children. What a day of organizing! We had three schools, boys and girl grade 1 through 8 to pack for. Each student receives a grain bag full of new shoes, back pack, books, pens and pencils, a Bible, socks, a school uniform and some are receiving sweaters too.

It was crazy when half way through we had a torrential downpour happen and lasted almost an hour. Leaks started popping up everywhere and you could hardly hear over the rain pounding on the tin roof, but we kept going and finally finished by 6pm. We are waiting for the kids to write there final exams to hand out these supplies but they will be dispersed on Friday. Its weird to think it’s summer time here so school is our for a month between terms. The interesting part I learned is most of these children are from the villages and that these uniforms will be some of theirs only good clothing. Talking with the guy that sold us some of the supplies, he was saying in grade four he went to school with no shoes. This is crazy to think no student here gets free education and all schools require a uniform. Average school fees are only about 100 Kwatcha, or $20Cad, but still most can’t afford that let alone the supplies.
     Something that shock me was the ages, there’s an 8year old trying to get into grad one and a 16 year old trying to get into grade 8. This is normal here! And hardly any village kids make it to grad 9 or higher it seems. At this rate the circle of life will remain and progression will just stay slow. Not sure how this can be changed but between a mindset change and drive to go and help from those able this will eventually turn around.
  

This is one of the sponsored children from the village of Magrimundi, her name is Dorcus and she is a bright young lady but a bit shy. Her family is the type that wants to make a change! They are working hard to create a rental income from the house they have and live in a smaller place beside the bigger house. They are thinking long term how to make ends meet since its tough out here and doesn’t look like it’ll change anytime soon. The father had an experiment sitting out front when we arrived. He had a price of a broken solar panel and wired it up to try to charge his Cell phone.

Not sure if it worked but I was impressed at him even trying. This is the thinking that will help change the villages!
    Today when we visited a few of the   houses that Berea Built a few years ago and got the heat first hand how the recipient’s were going. These were incredible stories of having nothing, being incredibly sick and being abandoned to stories of joy, blessing and thanking God for ll he’s done. They know hard times don’t last forever, maybe they need to teach that to us now.
     At the one house we learned that they had a dream to restart a business selling at a stand different goods to their neighbours and area. The had previously had a stand but when the church move them it was to a remote area they didn’t have anyone to sell too. With that not being an option they consumed the goods and shut down. Now the area is being built up and through a friend of mine who donated money were were able to help her with the overhead to purchase to goods to start up the shop again. It was amazing to see Mrs. Tombe be so happy she was rolling on the floor. Its amazing how far a bit of money can go out here!

Life is about realizing your blessings and seeing these families who were given houses feel so blessed by them!