I will do my best to be brief in writing our final update, however with over a week to write about, it may be tricky…
Friday night: Continuing from where Ashley left off, on Friday night, Ashley, Leanne and I took the Sr.’s “out”. For this occasion, we started off by showing them.. a movie containing the extreme events that took place while in Livingstone. They really enjoyed watching it. Once it was over, we said goodnight to the boys and then headed to the girls dorm where we had fun playing games and talking with them. There is an election this year here in Zambia, and in order to vote, citizens need to have their ‘voters card’ validated. A young girl, about our age is stationed here at Sakeji to validate the cards of the villagers in this area. Her name is Mwengala. We have been talking to her the past couple of days, and learned that her job is very boring. Feeling bad for her, and having a house all to ourselves, we decided to invite her over to hang out for a bit. It wasn’t long however that we all decided it was late, and time for bed.
Saturday: Today was a fairly normal Saturday here at Sakeji, however, we had the opportunity to visit Hillwood Children’s Home. It was a about a half an hour walk in the blazing hot sun, but it was well worth it. Soon after arriving we found Esther and she introduced us to some of the orphans. We had a really fun time playing with them for the afternoon. Esther offered to drive us back for dinner, and we gladly accepted. Ashley and I piled in the back of Esther’s truck along with about 12 of the kids, and with Leanne up front we headed off to Sakeji!
Sunday: We went to the Samehina village for church, it was quite a bumpy ride. The church building has collapsed so we met in the school building. There was a very small gathering of people after having waited for about 20min, but the singing was still incredible. Once back at Sakeji, we were responsible for Sunday school, which went well. We were also on river duty, and this is when Ashley was “unplatted”, and ended up coming to dinner with an afro.
Monday: Lina Burklin, the Gr. 5/6 teacher, took us into “town” (Ikelenge) this afternoon, and we were able to purchase some chitenge’s, as well as visit the market, where we were overcome with the fresh stench of dried fish and caterpillars. Mmmm!
Tuesday: A fairly normal Sakeji day; honestly can’t remember much else!
Wednesday: After a long, but productive day at school, Ashley and I were able to have a really good chat with Mwengala – we learned that she is a Christian, and a youth leader at her church! She is going into her first year of university, and studying to become a teacher!
Thursday: We were on games today, and while Ashley and Rachel took the Jr.’s, Leanne and I had fun teaching the Sr.’s how to play “The Chair Game”; it went really well, and despite a few scrapes and bruises, the kids had a lot of fun! Instead of Ladies’ Bible Study, the Towse’s invited us over to watch Louie Giglio’s ‘Indescribable’ movie. What an awesome reminder of the God I serve, who chooses to love ME!
Friday: We enjoyed spending this night in the girl’s dorm room, playing ‘Animal Basket’, complete with actions and some very hilarious sounds. Once the girls were in bed, Jill, Lina and Rachel took the 3 of us star-gazing on the air strip. The moon was fairly bright so there weren’t millions of stars out, but it was still BEAUTIFUL!
Saturday: The Sr.’s, Mr. Towse, Miss Sheach and Miss Janette left today for a net-ball tournament at Amano in Chingola. An 8hr drive… blah! Since Miss Sheach was gone, I was responsible for the Gr. ½’s! They had earned a class party, so after giving them each a cupcake for a treat, Ashley, Rachel, Mrs. Towse and I took the kids rollerblading! Lots of work but lots of fun!
Sunday: Ashley and Leanne went into Ikelenge for church, I wasn’t feeling well so I stayed back and was able to have a time of reflection on all that has happened, and all that God has shown me through this trip – very beneficial! We took Sunday School again today (our last one!), and were on river duty. After having gotten to know her a bit more and swapping emails, Mwengala left. It was hard saying good-bye but it was awesome to have met her, here out in the bush!
Monday: So Monday was the beginning of half-term, a two day break for the kids and staff half-way (ironic, I know) through the term, and what an interesting but fun day it was! Routine is very different but our day was still fairly structured. There were EGGS at breakfast, as well at hot chocolate! Such a treat! The three of us had the morning “off”, so we took the time to relax and reflect on our time here at Sakeji. We also began marking the presentations we had the Gr. ¾’s do on their habitats. After morning tea, we decided that it was high-time we made good use of this break to get some long overdue exercise. There is a loop that runs from Sakeji, through Hillwood farms, ending up at the river. It usually takes a little more than an hour to walk, but we were determined to get it done in less than an hour and be at the river for lunch at noon. We had been walking for about 40min, with about 15min left, when Mr. Ronald came speeding by in a truck. He screeched to a stop when he saw us and offered to drive us the rest of the way. Having walked for 40min in the blistering hot sun, and not wanting to run the rest of the way to be on time, we gladly accepted. Nshima was served for lunch – delicious (with the right relishes)! Rest hour was also spent down at the river, and Ashley, Leanne and I took the opportunity to tan while floating on inner tubes in the pool. Because it is half-term, a water slide is set up from the top of an ant hill ending up in the pool – we had a LOT of fun on that! There is also a zip-line that is set up for the older kids, and Leanne and I had the guts to try out the infamous “Flying Fox”. Dinner was a little different, as the kids and staff ate separately. It was difficult watching the kids eat their meal after spending three hours in a pool, but it was well worth it. Vicki Saunders (the cook) surprised us all with fried chicken for dinner (along with many other delicious side dishes)! After dinner and getting ready for bed, we ALL met in the main sitting area for ‘half-term movie’; we learned tonight that Sakeji had won EVERY net-ball match they played at Amano! We were all so proud! When movie was finished, Leanne, Ashley and I decided to visit with the Gr. 5/6 girls in their dorm room until bedtime. We had lots of fun sharing stories and playing – quiet – games. Once we said goodnight we packed up and headed home!
Tuesday: What a day this was! Everything was fairly normal; got up, got ready, came down for breakfast, and decided to come back to the house to brush our teeth and do devotions before taking the kids for some organized games. I am so glad we came home when we did, because within 3min of being home, we hear Leanne scream “EWW.. Uhh.. Guys?”; we come running to find massive swarms of ants at the foot door. We ran to check if they were anywhere else, and found them covering the windowsills at one side of the house – thankfully they chose the side opposite our bedrooms to invade. We had no idea what to do! After screaming and running around trying to find some civilized way to rid our house of the insects.. we found the DOOM. I was given the job of spraying them until they struggled no more. This, unfortunately means that our house still smells like DOOM.. BUT we haven’t seen any more ants. Once we figured we had killed them all we went down to meet the kids for games. On the way we ran into Jill Avery who informed us that they were army ants, and did a number on us with the comment “Oh ya, those are the ones that, if you were injured, would eat you alive.” Horrified, we said a quick prayer and ran to the games cupboard to get the supplies we needed for our wide game. We taught the kids how to play ‘Jackets’ (a form of capture the flag, or eggs) and they LOVED it! We did a bit more marking between tea and lunch, which again was down at the river. For dessert, as a treat, we had ice cream. A weakness of mine, I couldn’t stop myself from having a bit of both oreo-cookie AND chocolate surprise. Absolutely delicious. We stayed down at the river for the afternoon again, to help supervise swimming and what not. As soon as swimming was finished, we were given 10min to run up to our rooms, change and meet at the ‘football’ field. We were going to have a staff vs. students ‘football’ match. Leanne and I were all for this. Ashley has developed large blisters on her feet, and decided it would be best to serve as a cheer-leader instead. A couple of the Brass-Tax workers, Barry and Derek had come to play too, and Barry had brought long sleeve, cotton jersey’s for everyone to wear. Just what you want to wear when it’s 35 degrees celsius and you’re running around a field non-stop. Needless to say, it was a really fun game; score: 0-0. With 5min left to play, we heard an eruption of cheers from the sidelines and were happy to see the victorious Sr.’s piling out of vehicles after just arriving back from their trip. It was nice to have everyone back again for dinner. We finished the half-term movie, and then once the kids were in bed the staff had a little get-together to send off Barry and Derek, who were leaving the next morning. Stories were shared, and games were played – Leanne and I DOMINATED as a team in Dutch Blitz! Eventually, the events of the day caught up with us and we trudged back to the house, feeling exhausted, but having survived, and thoroughly enjoyed a Sakeji half-term.
Now, were back to the grind, as the second half of the term is underway. We only have two full days left here at Sakeji; a sad thought, but in all honesty, we have been so blessed just to have had the opportunity to experience something like this, not to mention meet all the incredible people we have come to know and love. I am going to miss this place, as are Ashley and Leanne; but there is comfort in knowing that a piece of our hearts, and our effort will always be known and appreciated here, as well as knowing for sure that a piece of all those we have met, what we have seen and experienced, and what God has done in our lives while in Zambia will come home with us. I have no doubt that Sakeji School has made an impression on my heart, and I pray I wont soon forget it.
Frila
Thank you again, to all who have been praying for us. We SO appreciate your prayers, and there were days when they were all that kept us going. Thank you, a million times over. We cannot wait to be back home to share these stories, and many more, with you in person. Although they were long, we hope you have enjoyed reading these updates. A “reflective” update may show up once we’ve been home for a while. May God bless you, and we hope you have a wonderful summer!
Erika, Ashley and Leanne
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Sunday 5 June 2011
The Calm after the Storm
The Calm after the Storm
Greetings from a little oasis in the bush of the northwest corner of Zambia! We are nearing the end of week five here in Zambia and it honestly astounds me to say we have already been gone for five weeks. However, when I think back on all we have seen, the people with whom God has brought into our lives, the places we have traveled, the lessons we have taught, the lessons we are being taught and the children who have stolen our hearts; it seems like we have been here much longer. I want to apologize for not writing for taking more time than usual to write this, but with the business of school and the overwhelming task of trying to express what is going on in the hearts of three women, I have procrastinated writing to you.
Since we have last written to you, there has been many activities going on around the school including, the regular routine of classes, activities and lessons (swimming, guitar, piano, etc.) as well as chaos and activity surrounding the building site (the new dining hall that is being built). We have a visitor here for the week named Natalie, who was the girl that we spent the day with at Kalene, so it’s nice to have another Canadian girl our age here. We actually found out that she and her mom are flying out of Lusaka on the same day as us, which is quite neat!! New workers from the UK named Barry and Derek have arrived with a specialty in welding and are working with local workers to put together the tin roof for the dining hall. The trusses were raised on Thursday and God blessed all of the workers and those around with safety, as the heavy machinery and welding could be potentially very dangerous. Thursday was also the day that Jim and Paul, two of the Brass Tacks workers from the UK (and the men who took us on our trip to Kalene) left Sakeji and flew back to the UK on Saturday. We will most definitely miss having them around, but it was such a privilege to have met them!
Last weekend we had the opportunity to travel into a local village for church, which was quite an enjoyable experience. At the break between the gospel message and the breaking of bread service we went outside to socialize with the women and we met little Christopher who we figured was about 16 months from a conversation Gwen had with the mother in broken-English. Leanne was holding Christopher and we were all cooing at him and taking pictures trying to get him to smile when all of a sudden he started “leaking”! The looks on both Leanne and Christopher’s faces were absolutely priceless! Leanne, trying not to be rude, just sort of laughed awkwardly as she decided what to do with this baby who had just relieved himself all over her. Christopher’s face however, was extreme glee, as if he knew exactly what he had just done and was proud of it! We have several photographic records of this occasion, which we will be happy to share with you when we return home :)
Last Sunday afternoon we were teaching Sunday school and Leanne and I went to the library to pick out a book to read the juniors for that week’s lesson of ‘Daniel in the Lion’s Den’. A few of my seniors were in the library looking at books and one of the boys, JP, came over to me randomly (I’m not quite sure what provoked him) and said, “Miss Ashley, you smile too much for a person of your age!” I laughed, as this comment caught me completely off guard and said back to him (with a frown on my face), "Would you rather I walk around like this all day JP?" Neither of us could hold our laughter in and agreed that maybe it would be better for me to smile. I shared that story with the juniors later when we were doing Sunday School and most of them thought it was pretty funny. After Sunday school one of the grade three girls named Ellie came up to me and said, "Miss Ashley, I like that you smile all the time. It's because Jesus lives in your heart." God used this little girl to remind me, that even when things seem confusing and we get worn down from the worries of the world around us, we should have the biggest smiles on our faces because the Creator of the universe loves us so much that He sent His only Son to bring us life. He did not sacrifice His life so we would go around worrying, fearing and complaining, but rather living life ABUNDANTLY!!!
An exciting even that took place on Tuesday evening at Jim and Paul’s flat was the “platting” of Leanne and my hair! A friend of Jim’s wife Joyce and her three daughters came and plated (which is just the British and Zambian way of saying braiding) our hair. It took them two hours with two of them on each head. Joyce could speak very good English as well as her oldest daughter Jackie and so Leanne tried to explain to them the way that we were thinking of having it done. The way we tried to explain it was “corn rows”, but they did not understand that so Leanne said “Just do the top part tight to our head and then the rest of it loose.” They nodded to agree that they knew what we meant, however, when we saw the end result we had to try very hard to keep back the laughter. The back braids were all done the way we thought, but then the ones at the front were “tight to our head and then loose”, which to them meant braid it for about two inches and then tie it. So the front of our hair had these short pieces braided and the rest was just our natural hair. To be honest we looked quite funny and after we heard the daughters whispering in Lunda, probably saying something like, “Those crazy Canadian girls sure like their hair looking strange”. We took pictures before we finished the braids ourselves back home. Whenever we look at the pictures or think back on it we just laugh at the results of broken communication.
Wednesday evening we had a farewell party for Jim and Paul and a belated celebration for Lina’s 25th birthday. All of the staff and visitors gathered in the Main Sitting Room and played team Pictionary, which was quite competitive as it was boys versus girls. It’s so great to be able to get together with the staff and just relax and laugh after a long day of school and such. The snacks (of course) were exceptional including cheese scones, carmel corn, regular popcorn, rhubarb muffins and chocolate cake; all homemade of course!!
We had a special opportunity on Thursday afternoon to travel into Ikelenge with Mark, Pam and Phil to the local high school. Every Thursday they go in to share a gospel message with the students at the high school. It was neat to see a local high school and compare how different it was to Sakeji. First of all the basic school was quite close where all of the elementary students go to school and we arrived just as school was getting out so there were kids everywhere! We got into the classroom where the meeting would be held and were greeted by the two girls behind us. It was also interesting because most of the students were around our age or just a little younger. Mr. Ronald shared the message from Mark 5 when Jesus heals the man possessed by demons. He talked about God’s almighty power to heal and Jesus’ response to the man when he asks to follow Jesus. Jesus says to him, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the LORD has done for you and how merciful He has been.”
I have reflected on this passage, since then and it has made a few of my own questions clear. For those of you who don’t know, for the past few months I have been considering the possibility of staying at Sakeji until the end of the term (July 21st). When I arrived here the longing to stay grew as my love for the children and the desire to be used as a teacher and mentor for the students increased. I wrestled with the thought of staying and going and for quite some time I was in much turmoil trying to make a decision. After consulting many of you for wisdom and spending nights praying and begging God to make it clear, I finally stopped worrying and gave the issue completely to Him. I am still waiting on Him to continue to make it clear, but each day I spend with Him He continues to bless me with His peace knowing that in His time I will know. When thinking of what to entitle this entry, I thought of Jesus calming the storm with simply His voice. In the same way He calmed that storm, He has called out and said, “Peace, be still” to the storm that has been raging inside of me. I praise Him for His ability to calm even the most intense of storms.
There are many more stories I could share, but we have to save some for when we return, as reading on a screen isn’t nearly as exciting as a story being told in person.
As we continue to get closer to these children we see their needs and would ask that you pray especially right now for the young women at Sakeji and in this country. This week we have been enlightened as to the probable fate of many of these women and it has caused us great heartache and sadness to see these beautiful young women that we love to dearly and think of what life is like in the villages and towns back home. If you could pray that God would give them the strength and courage to stand strong when the enemy comes knocking whispering lies to persuade them into believing they are anything other than the most beautiful creation God has made. Another request is for the young men. That they would grow up with a strong faith and relationship with their Creator. That they would also be men convicted to following Christ’s example of a husband in the way that he loves His bride, the Church. The need for permanent help here at Sakeji is still very real, as the need for another teacher is great. Please pray that God would continue to prepare this person (or people) and that when His time comes for them to be at Sakeji, they would be a devoted servant to the LORD.
I must wrap this entry up as the Sunday evening get together is starting and the seniors are playing the music, so I am very excited to listen!! I love you all dearly and cannot wait for the day when we are reunited. I pray that we would each be changed more and more each day into the likeness of our Father.
May you know and experience this week, the GREATNESS of God’s love for YOU!
Ash
Greetings from a little oasis in the bush of the northwest corner of Zambia! We are nearing the end of week five here in Zambia and it honestly astounds me to say we have already been gone for five weeks. However, when I think back on all we have seen, the people with whom God has brought into our lives, the places we have traveled, the lessons we have taught, the lessons we are being taught and the children who have stolen our hearts; it seems like we have been here much longer. I want to apologize for not writing for taking more time than usual to write this, but with the business of school and the overwhelming task of trying to express what is going on in the hearts of three women, I have procrastinated writing to you.
Since we have last written to you, there has been many activities going on around the school including, the regular routine of classes, activities and lessons (swimming, guitar, piano, etc.) as well as chaos and activity surrounding the building site (the new dining hall that is being built). We have a visitor here for the week named Natalie, who was the girl that we spent the day with at Kalene, so it’s nice to have another Canadian girl our age here. We actually found out that she and her mom are flying out of Lusaka on the same day as us, which is quite neat!! New workers from the UK named Barry and Derek have arrived with a specialty in welding and are working with local workers to put together the tin roof for the dining hall. The trusses were raised on Thursday and God blessed all of the workers and those around with safety, as the heavy machinery and welding could be potentially very dangerous. Thursday was also the day that Jim and Paul, two of the Brass Tacks workers from the UK (and the men who took us on our trip to Kalene) left Sakeji and flew back to the UK on Saturday. We will most definitely miss having them around, but it was such a privilege to have met them!
Last weekend we had the opportunity to travel into a local village for church, which was quite an enjoyable experience. At the break between the gospel message and the breaking of bread service we went outside to socialize with the women and we met little Christopher who we figured was about 16 months from a conversation Gwen had with the mother in broken-English. Leanne was holding Christopher and we were all cooing at him and taking pictures trying to get him to smile when all of a sudden he started “leaking”! The looks on both Leanne and Christopher’s faces were absolutely priceless! Leanne, trying not to be rude, just sort of laughed awkwardly as she decided what to do with this baby who had just relieved himself all over her. Christopher’s face however, was extreme glee, as if he knew exactly what he had just done and was proud of it! We have several photographic records of this occasion, which we will be happy to share with you when we return home :)
Last Sunday afternoon we were teaching Sunday school and Leanne and I went to the library to pick out a book to read the juniors for that week’s lesson of ‘Daniel in the Lion’s Den’. A few of my seniors were in the library looking at books and one of the boys, JP, came over to me randomly (I’m not quite sure what provoked him) and said, “Miss Ashley, you smile too much for a person of your age!” I laughed, as this comment caught me completely off guard and said back to him (with a frown on my face), "Would you rather I walk around like this all day JP?" Neither of us could hold our laughter in and agreed that maybe it would be better for me to smile. I shared that story with the juniors later when we were doing Sunday School and most of them thought it was pretty funny. After Sunday school one of the grade three girls named Ellie came up to me and said, "Miss Ashley, I like that you smile all the time. It's because Jesus lives in your heart." God used this little girl to remind me, that even when things seem confusing and we get worn down from the worries of the world around us, we should have the biggest smiles on our faces because the Creator of the universe loves us so much that He sent His only Son to bring us life. He did not sacrifice His life so we would go around worrying, fearing and complaining, but rather living life ABUNDANTLY!!!
An exciting even that took place on Tuesday evening at Jim and Paul’s flat was the “platting” of Leanne and my hair! A friend of Jim’s wife Joyce and her three daughters came and plated (which is just the British and Zambian way of saying braiding) our hair. It took them two hours with two of them on each head. Joyce could speak very good English as well as her oldest daughter Jackie and so Leanne tried to explain to them the way that we were thinking of having it done. The way we tried to explain it was “corn rows”, but they did not understand that so Leanne said “Just do the top part tight to our head and then the rest of it loose.” They nodded to agree that they knew what we meant, however, when we saw the end result we had to try very hard to keep back the laughter. The back braids were all done the way we thought, but then the ones at the front were “tight to our head and then loose”, which to them meant braid it for about two inches and then tie it. So the front of our hair had these short pieces braided and the rest was just our natural hair. To be honest we looked quite funny and after we heard the daughters whispering in Lunda, probably saying something like, “Those crazy Canadian girls sure like their hair looking strange”. We took pictures before we finished the braids ourselves back home. Whenever we look at the pictures or think back on it we just laugh at the results of broken communication.
Wednesday evening we had a farewell party for Jim and Paul and a belated celebration for Lina’s 25th birthday. All of the staff and visitors gathered in the Main Sitting Room and played team Pictionary, which was quite competitive as it was boys versus girls. It’s so great to be able to get together with the staff and just relax and laugh after a long day of school and such. The snacks (of course) were exceptional including cheese scones, carmel corn, regular popcorn, rhubarb muffins and chocolate cake; all homemade of course!!
We had a special opportunity on Thursday afternoon to travel into Ikelenge with Mark, Pam and Phil to the local high school. Every Thursday they go in to share a gospel message with the students at the high school. It was neat to see a local high school and compare how different it was to Sakeji. First of all the basic school was quite close where all of the elementary students go to school and we arrived just as school was getting out so there were kids everywhere! We got into the classroom where the meeting would be held and were greeted by the two girls behind us. It was also interesting because most of the students were around our age or just a little younger. Mr. Ronald shared the message from Mark 5 when Jesus heals the man possessed by demons. He talked about God’s almighty power to heal and Jesus’ response to the man when he asks to follow Jesus. Jesus says to him, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the LORD has done for you and how merciful He has been.”
I have reflected on this passage, since then and it has made a few of my own questions clear. For those of you who don’t know, for the past few months I have been considering the possibility of staying at Sakeji until the end of the term (July 21st). When I arrived here the longing to stay grew as my love for the children and the desire to be used as a teacher and mentor for the students increased. I wrestled with the thought of staying and going and for quite some time I was in much turmoil trying to make a decision. After consulting many of you for wisdom and spending nights praying and begging God to make it clear, I finally stopped worrying and gave the issue completely to Him. I am still waiting on Him to continue to make it clear, but each day I spend with Him He continues to bless me with His peace knowing that in His time I will know. When thinking of what to entitle this entry, I thought of Jesus calming the storm with simply His voice. In the same way He calmed that storm, He has called out and said, “Peace, be still” to the storm that has been raging inside of me. I praise Him for His ability to calm even the most intense of storms.
There are many more stories I could share, but we have to save some for when we return, as reading on a screen isn’t nearly as exciting as a story being told in person.
As we continue to get closer to these children we see their needs and would ask that you pray especially right now for the young women at Sakeji and in this country. This week we have been enlightened as to the probable fate of many of these women and it has caused us great heartache and sadness to see these beautiful young women that we love to dearly and think of what life is like in the villages and towns back home. If you could pray that God would give them the strength and courage to stand strong when the enemy comes knocking whispering lies to persuade them into believing they are anything other than the most beautiful creation God has made. Another request is for the young men. That they would grow up with a strong faith and relationship with their Creator. That they would also be men convicted to following Christ’s example of a husband in the way that he loves His bride, the Church. The need for permanent help here at Sakeji is still very real, as the need for another teacher is great. Please pray that God would continue to prepare this person (or people) and that when His time comes for them to be at Sakeji, they would be a devoted servant to the LORD.
I must wrap this entry up as the Sunday evening get together is starting and the seniors are playing the music, so I am very excited to listen!! I love you all dearly and cannot wait for the day when we are reunited. I pray that we would each be changed more and more each day into the likeness of our Father.
May you know and experience this week, the GREATNESS of God’s love for YOU!
Ash
Sunday 22 May 2011
When it rains, it POURS.
Well we have officially survived our first (Friday night), and hopefully only, Zambian rainstorm. We were told it was really nothing in comparison to what rainstorms are like in the rainy season, but it was an interesting experience for sure. Ashley, Leanne and I had been stargazing on the trampoline, which we had moved to our desired spot. As we were lying there a black cloud, filled with splashes of lightening, slowly enveloped the stars. All of a sudden, we heard the pitter-patter of rain on the metal; we all looked at each other, jumped of the trampoline and moved it back as quickly as we could. We ran into the main sitting room of the dorm just as it was coming down and from there sprinted to our house. The evenig was spent at home, having to practically yell at each other despite the fact that we were sitting in the same room.
Saturday was a day for adventure. We woke up, started the routine as usual – breakfast, going to class, helping with letters home, and then the bell rang for “Morning Tea”. We left Sakeji just after 10; Ashley, Leanne, Rachel Buckley (a Scottish girl who has been teaching here between her 3rd and 4th year of “uni”) accompanied our chauffeurs, the Brass Tax workers: Jim and Paul. It was a very bumpy ride, to say the least. We started our adventure by visiting a small orphanage in Ikelenge. We, unfortunately couldn’t stay long, and soon were back on the road after picking up a couple packages from the post office. We were able to see many of the local villages as we drove past and all of the people, who had no problem staring at the 5 white people driving past in a vehicle, were very quick to smile and wave at us – we of course all waved back, which caused many children to run after us for as long as they could.
Our first “stop” was Kalane Hospital. I had heard about it from my dad’s visit a number years ago, but it was good to see for myself. The accommodations at Kalene are well built but scarce. Just the essentials are present; things aren’t kept as clean, but they do their best to keep up with the many locals who surround the hospital daily for help. We had a tour around the hospital, which was very interesting. We were allowed to walk right through any ward we wished, which was a little alarming because we know that at home that is strictly forbidden. Despite our nerves, Jim led us into the maternity ward where we met some new mothers and their newborn babies – simply adorable! However, some of the mothers looked so young!
After picking up Natalie (a Canadian McMaster student, spending a couple of weeks in the hospital and at the airplane hanger at Kalane), we headed to the “Hydro”, the source of the Zambezi. Upon arrival, we met Silver, the caretaker of the hydro plant and some of the children who were visiting his house to meet his newborn son, Jonathon. The kids were quick to follow us down to the “scenic” area of the hydro plant. It was very beautiful. We set up a picnic lunch and enjoyed some fellowship before deciding to dip our toes into the Zambezi… just to say we did! Leanne and Natalie were feeling extra adventurous and slid down the rocks of the small waterfall there. We had some fun with the kids, and took some pictures before heading up to Silver’s house to meet Jonathon.
Jim kept us on a very tight schedule, because there were places to go and people to see, visiting was not really an option. We headed back to Kalene where we picked up Danya, a local villager who works as a maid for John and Karen Louden. She invited us to come visit at her house, so since we were not able to take the truck the whole way because of road conditions, we followed her on the 10min. walk to her village. When we were there, she ushered us into her house right away. I had a seat that could see out the front door, and when in conversation with the other adults I could feel someone watching me. I turned to look out the door and saw five small children staring at me – I had fun playing peek-a-boo with them for while before we came back outside to read a story to them. Danya’s oldest daughter, Amy translated as best she could as Ashley read from “The Beginner’s Bible” which she had found in the house. A little boy was lingering near me and I held out my arms to him, he came right to me and plopped himself down in my lap. By the end of our time there he was snuggled right up, and fighting to stay awake. I truly believe that I left a piece of my heart in that village as I set the boy down and almost cried as all of the kids watched us walk away until we were out of sight. Just looking at the surroundings as I held the little boy broke my heart… this is really the way they live, everyday. I pray that somehow, God inspires them to go beyond what they know of village life, to dream big, and to live their lives wholeheartedly for Him.
As I said before, we were on somewhat of a strict schedule as we were to be at “The Orchard” by 3, for afternoon tea. Bruce Poidiven met us at the gate and ushered us into the hanger, where we met Paul and Mark – two volunteers from Ohio who are installing new plane engines. Marilyn Poidiven welcomed us and led us to “The Orchard”, and infamous getaway for tired missionaries. Complete with a dip in the pool and homemade donuts, we had a lovely time. Bruce and Marilyn know all of our grandparents as well as some who fellowship at our different assemblies. They say “Hi” to everyone back home.
Our ride back to Sakeji was just as bumpy as ever, but we arrived in one piece. Ashley, Leanne, Rachel and I joined Miss Janette Young in the main sitting area of the dorm to watch ‘Though None Go With Me’ to end our night. A tear-jerker, but an excellent way to end our adventure.
This morning we went to church in a local village about a half-hours drive form Sakeji. We got there and eventually, after meeting many of the church members, walked for twenty minutes before we reached a small pool of water, which we were told is the source if the Sakeji River. We were very blessed to witness three sisters in Christ get baptized! It was a very cool experience! We then headed back to the church – I walked back holding a small toddler… this proved to be very strenuous as the walk isn’t easy and it was about 30 degrees celcius. Nevertheless, we arrived back for the Breaking of Bread and then headed back to Sakeji after saying goodbye to all of our new friends. We were all exhausted by the time we got back. Having only an hour until Sunday School, we wolfed down lunch and then headed over to the hall to pick out songs and arrange chairs. Ashley, Leanne and I led Sunday School for the Gr. 1-9’s and shortly after that was done, were responsible to River duty until supper.
We are all still very tired, but have to stay awake for a couple more hours as we are going out for an evening meeting in a few minutes.
I apologize that this is so long, I know… it’s only two days worth; but there is just so much to tell! We are really enjoying getting to know the kids a little more everyday. God has a special way of reminding us of His love daily, and for that we are thankful.
We love and miss everyone back home, but assure you that we are well and safe. Please keep us in your prayers as another week of school begins tomorrow! That’s all for now.
Tizao nana.
Saturday was a day for adventure. We woke up, started the routine as usual – breakfast, going to class, helping with letters home, and then the bell rang for “Morning Tea”. We left Sakeji just after 10; Ashley, Leanne, Rachel Buckley (a Scottish girl who has been teaching here between her 3rd and 4th year of “uni”) accompanied our chauffeurs, the Brass Tax workers: Jim and Paul. It was a very bumpy ride, to say the least. We started our adventure by visiting a small orphanage in Ikelenge. We, unfortunately couldn’t stay long, and soon were back on the road after picking up a couple packages from the post office. We were able to see many of the local villages as we drove past and all of the people, who had no problem staring at the 5 white people driving past in a vehicle, were very quick to smile and wave at us – we of course all waved back, which caused many children to run after us for as long as they could.
Our first “stop” was Kalane Hospital. I had heard about it from my dad’s visit a number years ago, but it was good to see for myself. The accommodations at Kalene are well built but scarce. Just the essentials are present; things aren’t kept as clean, but they do their best to keep up with the many locals who surround the hospital daily for help. We had a tour around the hospital, which was very interesting. We were allowed to walk right through any ward we wished, which was a little alarming because we know that at home that is strictly forbidden. Despite our nerves, Jim led us into the maternity ward where we met some new mothers and their newborn babies – simply adorable! However, some of the mothers looked so young!
After picking up Natalie (a Canadian McMaster student, spending a couple of weeks in the hospital and at the airplane hanger at Kalane), we headed to the “Hydro”, the source of the Zambezi. Upon arrival, we met Silver, the caretaker of the hydro plant and some of the children who were visiting his house to meet his newborn son, Jonathon. The kids were quick to follow us down to the “scenic” area of the hydro plant. It was very beautiful. We set up a picnic lunch and enjoyed some fellowship before deciding to dip our toes into the Zambezi… just to say we did! Leanne and Natalie were feeling extra adventurous and slid down the rocks of the small waterfall there. We had some fun with the kids, and took some pictures before heading up to Silver’s house to meet Jonathon.
Jim kept us on a very tight schedule, because there were places to go and people to see, visiting was not really an option. We headed back to Kalene where we picked up Danya, a local villager who works as a maid for John and Karen Louden. She invited us to come visit at her house, so since we were not able to take the truck the whole way because of road conditions, we followed her on the 10min. walk to her village. When we were there, she ushered us into her house right away. I had a seat that could see out the front door, and when in conversation with the other adults I could feel someone watching me. I turned to look out the door and saw five small children staring at me – I had fun playing peek-a-boo with them for while before we came back outside to read a story to them. Danya’s oldest daughter, Amy translated as best she could as Ashley read from “The Beginner’s Bible” which she had found in the house. A little boy was lingering near me and I held out my arms to him, he came right to me and plopped himself down in my lap. By the end of our time there he was snuggled right up, and fighting to stay awake. I truly believe that I left a piece of my heart in that village as I set the boy down and almost cried as all of the kids watched us walk away until we were out of sight. Just looking at the surroundings as I held the little boy broke my heart… this is really the way they live, everyday. I pray that somehow, God inspires them to go beyond what they know of village life, to dream big, and to live their lives wholeheartedly for Him.
As I said before, we were on somewhat of a strict schedule as we were to be at “The Orchard” by 3, for afternoon tea. Bruce Poidiven met us at the gate and ushered us into the hanger, where we met Paul and Mark – two volunteers from Ohio who are installing new plane engines. Marilyn Poidiven welcomed us and led us to “The Orchard”, and infamous getaway for tired missionaries. Complete with a dip in the pool and homemade donuts, we had a lovely time. Bruce and Marilyn know all of our grandparents as well as some who fellowship at our different assemblies. They say “Hi” to everyone back home.
Our ride back to Sakeji was just as bumpy as ever, but we arrived in one piece. Ashley, Leanne, Rachel and I joined Miss Janette Young in the main sitting area of the dorm to watch ‘Though None Go With Me’ to end our night. A tear-jerker, but an excellent way to end our adventure.
This morning we went to church in a local village about a half-hours drive form Sakeji. We got there and eventually, after meeting many of the church members, walked for twenty minutes before we reached a small pool of water, which we were told is the source if the Sakeji River. We were very blessed to witness three sisters in Christ get baptized! It was a very cool experience! We then headed back to the church – I walked back holding a small toddler… this proved to be very strenuous as the walk isn’t easy and it was about 30 degrees celcius. Nevertheless, we arrived back for the Breaking of Bread and then headed back to Sakeji after saying goodbye to all of our new friends. We were all exhausted by the time we got back. Having only an hour until Sunday School, we wolfed down lunch and then headed over to the hall to pick out songs and arrange chairs. Ashley, Leanne and I led Sunday School for the Gr. 1-9’s and shortly after that was done, were responsible to River duty until supper.
We are all still very tired, but have to stay awake for a couple more hours as we are going out for an evening meeting in a few minutes.
I apologize that this is so long, I know… it’s only two days worth; but there is just so much to tell! We are really enjoying getting to know the kids a little more everyday. God has a special way of reminding us of His love daily, and for that we are thankful.
We love and miss everyone back home, but assure you that we are well and safe. Please keep us in your prayers as another week of school begins tomorrow! That’s all for now.
Tizao nana.
Sunday 15 May 2011
Sakeji School
Ashley, Erika and myself arrived safely at Sakaji on May 7, 2011. Our pilot Don, took us on the three hour flight over Zambia and it was neat to see the different rivers, the large swamp, and the general landscape. We received a warm welcome when we landed and we were able to met several of the other teachers and families living at the school. Ever since we first landed, I (and I am sure that I can speak for Ashley and Erika) have been blown away by the hospitality that we have been shown by the people here. None of us were really sure what to expect Sakeji to be like, but I am sure that it has exceeded any expectations that we may have had. The people here are very understanding, welcoming and helpful. We have been fed wonderful meals and have been inspired by the amount of food that is homemade (even though this is a necessity down here, it still is quite an accomplishment). We have also had the privilege of trying some new food including guava, rice cakes and mealie meal.
Although the grounds are nice, and we were even given our own house (which in itself is crazy!), the life of Sakeji abides in the people here. The kids arrived yesterday and we have already fallen in love with them. We have been given the privilege to teach a science unit to a grade 3-4 class, and the rest of the time will be involved in supervising and helping in different grade levels along with other activities and lending a hand in other areas where help is needed. Ashley is helping with the grade 5&6 class as well as the 7&8’s, Erika is working with the 1&2’s and I am helping in the 3&4 classroom. There are about 70 kids in total. We had a couple of preparation days before the children came which was allowed us to get a bit of grasp on the routine, although by the time Tuesday came around it was good to have the school filled with children.
We have already experienced a couple of days in the classroom and all of us are really enjoying being involved in teaching, planning and even the opportunity to help out with some marking (it will be interesting to see how long we enjoying the markingJ).
The girls here love to play with our hair as it is apparently soft and as we all enjoy the feeling there is little hesitation to grant these girls their wish of plating our hair.
We are also starting to see the differing personalities of kids and becoming friends with them.
For interest sake, Sakeji is building a new dinning hall and so we get to see that process as it unfolds.
For the two Sundays that we have been at Sakeji we had the opportunity to go into Ikelenge to attend a local church there. The singing is wonderful and it is so encouraging to see the bond that fellow believers have with each other even though we are from different sides of the globe. It is also a good place to learn common phrases in Lunda, to practice them and to learn how to act in this different culture. One common new appropriate action when greeting someone is to shake their hand and then clap your hands together a couple of times as a sign of respect
The days here begin early and end early, which is a new routine to get used to. Overall the three of us are doing really well and enjoying this marvelous opportunity that God has given us to be here in Zambia at Sakeji. I myself have found that many new friendships have been formed and old one’s strengthened. So far it has been a really interesting, encouraging, and learning experience and I am excited to see what God has in store for us for the rest of the trip.
Leanne
As a side note: We were given the amazing opportunity to be guests on the CVC radio station the night before leaving for Sakeji. It is interesting that we all had to wait to come to Zambia for a chance to be on live radio. We were able to share our experiences in Livingstone, our impressions of Zambia, and our purpose for being here. It was so amazing to be able to openly express our love for the Lord, and our desire to serve Him to the 7 countries that the station is broadcasted to.
Although the grounds are nice, and we were even given our own house (which in itself is crazy!), the life of Sakeji abides in the people here. The kids arrived yesterday and we have already fallen in love with them. We have been given the privilege to teach a science unit to a grade 3-4 class, and the rest of the time will be involved in supervising and helping in different grade levels along with other activities and lending a hand in other areas where help is needed. Ashley is helping with the grade 5&6 class as well as the 7&8’s, Erika is working with the 1&2’s and I am helping in the 3&4 classroom. There are about 70 kids in total. We had a couple of preparation days before the children came which was allowed us to get a bit of grasp on the routine, although by the time Tuesday came around it was good to have the school filled with children.
We have already experienced a couple of days in the classroom and all of us are really enjoying being involved in teaching, planning and even the opportunity to help out with some marking (it will be interesting to see how long we enjoying the markingJ).
The girls here love to play with our hair as it is apparently soft and as we all enjoy the feeling there is little hesitation to grant these girls their wish of plating our hair.
We are also starting to see the differing personalities of kids and becoming friends with them.
For interest sake, Sakeji is building a new dinning hall and so we get to see that process as it unfolds.
For the two Sundays that we have been at Sakeji we had the opportunity to go into Ikelenge to attend a local church there. The singing is wonderful and it is so encouraging to see the bond that fellow believers have with each other even though we are from different sides of the globe. It is also a good place to learn common phrases in Lunda, to practice them and to learn how to act in this different culture. One common new appropriate action when greeting someone is to shake their hand and then clap your hands together a couple of times as a sign of respect
The days here begin early and end early, which is a new routine to get used to. Overall the three of us are doing really well and enjoying this marvelous opportunity that God has given us to be here in Zambia at Sakeji. I myself have found that many new friendships have been formed and old one’s strengthened. So far it has been a really interesting, encouraging, and learning experience and I am excited to see what God has in store for us for the rest of the trip.
Leanne
As a side note: We were given the amazing opportunity to be guests on the CVC radio station the night before leaving for Sakeji. It is interesting that we all had to wait to come to Zambia for a chance to be on live radio. We were able to share our experiences in Livingstone, our impressions of Zambia, and our purpose for being here. It was so amazing to be able to openly express our love for the Lord, and our desire to serve Him to the 7 countries that the station is broadcasted to.
Friday 6 May 2011
The end of an incredible week in Zambia!
Wow! The past few days have been absolutely incredible! I will not be able to convey everything that has gone on and the experiences that we have each had, since I don’t want you to be reading for hours and I need to get to bed as we fly out for Sakeji tomorrow. Basically God has been bringing people into our lives and teaching us so much in this past week and I can’t even begin to imagine what the next six weeks will entail.
Tuesday was our first full day in Lusaka and what a great day it was! Lindsay made us pancakes for breakfast (she is an incredible hostess!) and we headed off to Chifundo to see the grade seven class. All of the other classes are on break until the beginning of next week, but the grade sevens come for a half day all throughout the year. We were a little late leaving for Chifundo because us girls were enjoying our sleep a little too much! Once we finally got to Mercy (you might hear me call it Mercy or Chifundo, they are the same school where Lindsay works) we met some women in the adult classroom who were working on some sewing projects. It was really neat for us to see the women in action and they were very kind showing us what they were working on. One of the teachers instructing the young women was working on crocheting a purse out of videotape! It was a super neat looking bag! We looked at some of the skirts that the women had made and Leanne and I decided to buy one each! They were so beautiful and it was so cool to be purchasing a skirt from the woman who had made it! We got to see the grade sevens for a little bit, but it was quick as they were in the middle of a lesson. They all stood up to greet us with “Good morning madam!” It was such an incredible feeling to be addressed with respect like that and it gave me some butterflies as I anticipated the upcoming weeks at Sakeji.
After leaving Chifundo we went to the Chainda compound to pick Simon up as he and Jess and some others were making deliveries to some of the houses on the compound. While we waited for Simon we hung out on the ‘football’ pitch where a lot of the children were playing. As we got out of the car the children swarmed us as we were new ‘muzugus’ that they wanted to meet. We got to talk and play with the kids for a bit; Leanne played football with the boys (which she found a little difficult in a skirt), Erika took photos with the children who were quite amused with her digital camera, and I made up a handshake on the spot which I taught to some of the boys. We did a shake, ‘pound-it’ and explode and when we exploded we made an explosion noise. The boys thought it was hilarious! It was sad to have to leave, as I’m sure we could have spent the whole day there hanging out with the kids, but it got all three of us excited for going to Sakeji.
We picked up Simon and went into ‘town’ which is actually what we call downtown, but here it is just called town. We needed to go in to pick up our bus tickets to Livingstone and exchange some of our US $ for Zambian Kwacha. It was also neat to see downtown Lusaka as it has big commercial buildings, similar to what I am used to being in a city centre, but there was lots of sand and TONS of people selling things on the streets. Traffic getting into town was horrendous so as we waited Lindsay gave us a bit of coaching for what we needed to do once we got to the bus stop. However, no amount of preparation would have gotten me ready for this experience. As soon as we pulled up people flooded our car trying to direct us one way or another. I was so grateful to God for Lindsay at this point because she remained calm and told us exactly what we needed to do. We got out of the car and went straight to the booth and purchased our tickets. It was the strangest feeling, but to be honest I have never so badly wished I was not white. As I prayed for God to protect the four of us in that moment He blessed me with a peace, knowing that even amidst the madness of that scene He was holding us in His hands. Lindsay came to pick us up and we headed back home.
Once we got back home a man who we think was named Charles came to show us some of the artwork that he had done and to see if Lindsay’s guest would be interested in any. His work completely took my breath away and we each got a variety of things. It was so neat to be able to purchase original artwork straight from the artist himself. It reminded me of the beautiful painting I have back home from Ben Sloetjes and it was so neat to be able to support another incredible artist on the other side of the world. The really neat part of this was that the man offered to paint us our own pictures and deliver them at the end of the week. I have never had a painting made customly for me before so this was such an amazing thing!
Later that night, we (Lindsay, Jess, Atotwe, Simon, Erika, Leanne and I) travelled to CVC which is the Christian radio station in Lusaka. Lindsay’s friend Choolwe is the broadcaster for the evening show called “New Gen” which runs from 18:00-20:00 so we were going to see the station and listen to the evening program. To transport all of those people we had to get the big 15 seater van from the office. At the office we met a man named Cosmas who is the head of the school on the compound. He is currently building a high school on the compound and we all joked about us coming back to teach at his schools once we finished our degrees. Although it was casual conversation, I couldn’t help but be excited at the possibility of coming back! We also met Ken and Kathy Riemer who are the head couple for SIM (the organization that Lindsay is here with). It was neat to meet fellow Canadians (from Oakville) and their children had actually gone to Sakeji! All of the connections down here are crazy!! Once we got to CVC we found out that that night they were having guests on the show that were motivational speakers and they discussed the topic of mindset, vision and goal-setting. It was not only a great opportunity to be in a live radio cast, but to hear what these gentlemen had to say was interesting and encouraging. It was so cool for me to see the way God introduced that message to me that morning as I read Romans 12 which talks about renewing and transforming our minds. He continued to bring this theme out through the rest of my week.
The next morning I was up at 5:00 am for a shower as we had to be back down to the bus station for 6:30 with a bus to Livingstone at 7:00. Everything ran fairly smoothly and although the bus was packed for nearly the full six hours, the ride was fairly decent. We arrived in Livingstone and got to Jolleyboys which was the place we were staying for the next couple of days. I clearly have no experiences in hostels because what I was expecting was completely different than what Jolleyboys was. It was an extremely nice facility with incredibly low prices! We unpacked quickly and then hopped on a taxi that took us to Victoria Falls. I cannot describe to you in words what Victoria Falls is like. Hopefully my pictures will do a better job of describing this place, but I don’t think even that will be able to do it justice. After sunset we headed back to Jolleyboys and had a nice big dinner as hiking around the falls had taken the energy out of all of us. It was neat for the four of us to get to know each other better and laugh about some of the adventures we had had that day. Later in the evening I was able to have a really good talk with Simon about life and God as we had each earlier shared some of our story with each other on the bus to Livigstone. It was excellent to share what God has been doing in my life and listen and discuss some of the questions he had. At the end of the night I was smiling so big because I have been praying that God would bring people into my path on this journey that need to hear about His love and that would benefit from my testimony. I would ask for you to join me in praying for this continually with Simon and all of the others that we have come across so far and are yet to come across.
The next day was an action packed day and one of the most incredible of my life. Starting with observing God’s beautiful creation in our game park drive, participating in some “extreme” activities and ending with a beautiful sunset cruise that was included in our game park price! Witnessing firsthand the majesty of God and the awe-striking wonder of His handiwork, was simply breathtaking. We have tons of pictures, videos and stories to share with you when we get back home, but for now I will leave it at that :)
Later that evening, back at Jolleyboys we were lounging in the sort of common area and were able to have some interesting conversations with some people who were on vacation from their projects with the Peace Corps in Zambia, Namibia and Botswana. Their views and perspectives of what they had seen so far in Africa, were a little shocking and left me feeling a little unsettled as I went to bed. After praying, reading my Bible on the bus home and discussing it with the girls this evening, we realized that these people have a completely different perspective on being here. While their mission is very project oriented, our main goal here is to give the Love that is overflowing within us indiscriminately. In John, Jesus calls us to “love as I have loved” and in being obedient to that we are here to share a love that cannot be measured or limited.
Taking that perspective and mindset, the three of us head off to Sakeji School in the morning where we will be challenged, stretched and used by God to love in whatever way the people we encounter need us to love. Although I have no clue what the next six weeks will entail, I have full confidence that if it is even a taste of the adventure we have had so far this week, we are in for a crazy ride!
I love you all and wish you could be here experiencing these people and places with me, but I ask for your prayers as we go on to the next chapter of this journey. Our enemy will be working hard to distract us and we beg that you pray against this. We long to be used completely, never lacking in zeal and I ask for you to join us in these prayers. If you have any specific prayer requests or notes you would like to send us personally, you can send an email to ashley.e.nugent@gmail.com and I will pass it along to the girls. Your prayers and messages mean so much to us!
We miss each of you!
With love from the Creator of Love,
Ash (and the girls)
Tuesday was our first full day in Lusaka and what a great day it was! Lindsay made us pancakes for breakfast (she is an incredible hostess!) and we headed off to Chifundo to see the grade seven class. All of the other classes are on break until the beginning of next week, but the grade sevens come for a half day all throughout the year. We were a little late leaving for Chifundo because us girls were enjoying our sleep a little too much! Once we finally got to Mercy (you might hear me call it Mercy or Chifundo, they are the same school where Lindsay works) we met some women in the adult classroom who were working on some sewing projects. It was really neat for us to see the women in action and they were very kind showing us what they were working on. One of the teachers instructing the young women was working on crocheting a purse out of videotape! It was a super neat looking bag! We looked at some of the skirts that the women had made and Leanne and I decided to buy one each! They were so beautiful and it was so cool to be purchasing a skirt from the woman who had made it! We got to see the grade sevens for a little bit, but it was quick as they were in the middle of a lesson. They all stood up to greet us with “Good morning madam!” It was such an incredible feeling to be addressed with respect like that and it gave me some butterflies as I anticipated the upcoming weeks at Sakeji.
After leaving Chifundo we went to the Chainda compound to pick Simon up as he and Jess and some others were making deliveries to some of the houses on the compound. While we waited for Simon we hung out on the ‘football’ pitch where a lot of the children were playing. As we got out of the car the children swarmed us as we were new ‘muzugus’ that they wanted to meet. We got to talk and play with the kids for a bit; Leanne played football with the boys (which she found a little difficult in a skirt), Erika took photos with the children who were quite amused with her digital camera, and I made up a handshake on the spot which I taught to some of the boys. We did a shake, ‘pound-it’ and explode and when we exploded we made an explosion noise. The boys thought it was hilarious! It was sad to have to leave, as I’m sure we could have spent the whole day there hanging out with the kids, but it got all three of us excited for going to Sakeji.
We picked up Simon and went into ‘town’ which is actually what we call downtown, but here it is just called town. We needed to go in to pick up our bus tickets to Livingstone and exchange some of our US $ for Zambian Kwacha. It was also neat to see downtown Lusaka as it has big commercial buildings, similar to what I am used to being in a city centre, but there was lots of sand and TONS of people selling things on the streets. Traffic getting into town was horrendous so as we waited Lindsay gave us a bit of coaching for what we needed to do once we got to the bus stop. However, no amount of preparation would have gotten me ready for this experience. As soon as we pulled up people flooded our car trying to direct us one way or another. I was so grateful to God for Lindsay at this point because she remained calm and told us exactly what we needed to do. We got out of the car and went straight to the booth and purchased our tickets. It was the strangest feeling, but to be honest I have never so badly wished I was not white. As I prayed for God to protect the four of us in that moment He blessed me with a peace, knowing that even amidst the madness of that scene He was holding us in His hands. Lindsay came to pick us up and we headed back home.
Once we got back home a man who we think was named Charles came to show us some of the artwork that he had done and to see if Lindsay’s guest would be interested in any. His work completely took my breath away and we each got a variety of things. It was so neat to be able to purchase original artwork straight from the artist himself. It reminded me of the beautiful painting I have back home from Ben Sloetjes and it was so neat to be able to support another incredible artist on the other side of the world. The really neat part of this was that the man offered to paint us our own pictures and deliver them at the end of the week. I have never had a painting made customly for me before so this was such an amazing thing!
Later that night, we (Lindsay, Jess, Atotwe, Simon, Erika, Leanne and I) travelled to CVC which is the Christian radio station in Lusaka. Lindsay’s friend Choolwe is the broadcaster for the evening show called “New Gen” which runs from 18:00-20:00 so we were going to see the station and listen to the evening program. To transport all of those people we had to get the big 15 seater van from the office. At the office we met a man named Cosmas who is the head of the school on the compound. He is currently building a high school on the compound and we all joked about us coming back to teach at his schools once we finished our degrees. Although it was casual conversation, I couldn’t help but be excited at the possibility of coming back! We also met Ken and Kathy Riemer who are the head couple for SIM (the organization that Lindsay is here with). It was neat to meet fellow Canadians (from Oakville) and their children had actually gone to Sakeji! All of the connections down here are crazy!! Once we got to CVC we found out that that night they were having guests on the show that were motivational speakers and they discussed the topic of mindset, vision and goal-setting. It was not only a great opportunity to be in a live radio cast, but to hear what these gentlemen had to say was interesting and encouraging. It was so cool for me to see the way God introduced that message to me that morning as I read Romans 12 which talks about renewing and transforming our minds. He continued to bring this theme out through the rest of my week.
The next morning I was up at 5:00 am for a shower as we had to be back down to the bus station for 6:30 with a bus to Livingstone at 7:00. Everything ran fairly smoothly and although the bus was packed for nearly the full six hours, the ride was fairly decent. We arrived in Livingstone and got to Jolleyboys which was the place we were staying for the next couple of days. I clearly have no experiences in hostels because what I was expecting was completely different than what Jolleyboys was. It was an extremely nice facility with incredibly low prices! We unpacked quickly and then hopped on a taxi that took us to Victoria Falls. I cannot describe to you in words what Victoria Falls is like. Hopefully my pictures will do a better job of describing this place, but I don’t think even that will be able to do it justice. After sunset we headed back to Jolleyboys and had a nice big dinner as hiking around the falls had taken the energy out of all of us. It was neat for the four of us to get to know each other better and laugh about some of the adventures we had had that day. Later in the evening I was able to have a really good talk with Simon about life and God as we had each earlier shared some of our story with each other on the bus to Livigstone. It was excellent to share what God has been doing in my life and listen and discuss some of the questions he had. At the end of the night I was smiling so big because I have been praying that God would bring people into my path on this journey that need to hear about His love and that would benefit from my testimony. I would ask for you to join me in praying for this continually with Simon and all of the others that we have come across so far and are yet to come across.
The next day was an action packed day and one of the most incredible of my life. Starting with observing God’s beautiful creation in our game park drive, participating in some “extreme” activities and ending with a beautiful sunset cruise that was included in our game park price! Witnessing firsthand the majesty of God and the awe-striking wonder of His handiwork, was simply breathtaking. We have tons of pictures, videos and stories to share with you when we get back home, but for now I will leave it at that :)
Later that evening, back at Jolleyboys we were lounging in the sort of common area and were able to have some interesting conversations with some people who were on vacation from their projects with the Peace Corps in Zambia, Namibia and Botswana. Their views and perspectives of what they had seen so far in Africa, were a little shocking and left me feeling a little unsettled as I went to bed. After praying, reading my Bible on the bus home and discussing it with the girls this evening, we realized that these people have a completely different perspective on being here. While their mission is very project oriented, our main goal here is to give the Love that is overflowing within us indiscriminately. In John, Jesus calls us to “love as I have loved” and in being obedient to that we are here to share a love that cannot be measured or limited.
Taking that perspective and mindset, the three of us head off to Sakeji School in the morning where we will be challenged, stretched and used by God to love in whatever way the people we encounter need us to love. Although I have no clue what the next six weeks will entail, I have full confidence that if it is even a taste of the adventure we have had so far this week, we are in for a crazy ride!
I love you all and wish you could be here experiencing these people and places with me, but I ask for your prayers as we go on to the next chapter of this journey. Our enemy will be working hard to distract us and we beg that you pray against this. We long to be used completely, never lacking in zeal and I ask for you to join us in these prayers. If you have any specific prayer requests or notes you would like to send us personally, you can send an email to ashley.e.nugent@gmail.com and I will pass it along to the girls. Your prayers and messages mean so much to us!
We miss each of you!
With love from the Creator of Love,
Ash (and the girls)
Monday 2 May 2011
Well, we’re HEEERREEE!!! Its crazy to think that its actually real. As I type this.. I’m sitting in Zambia, listening to the crickets chirp outside writing this up for you after thoroughly enjoying a traditional meal of Nshima (details to follow). It’s about 10:56pm and extremely dark outside. But before saying anything else I think we need to first update you on what has happened on this adventure so far...
Saturday, April 30: Families (immediate and some extended) met up at Perkins family restaurant in Toronto to get to know each other and pray for us collectively as a group before sending us off. We arrivde at the airport and said our goodbye’s – long and hard but obviously necessary – and as we gave a final wave before going through a door into security Leanne says “Well ladies, we’re on our own now”.. Whoa. Thankfully, passage through security was a lot easier and faster than expected. We boarded the plane and were off Canadian soil by 9pm. It was a 7 ½ hr flight all together which included a delicious dinner (complete with CHEESECAKE for dessert!) and the movie Cars. One flight attendant, Steven, took interest in who we were, what we were doing and where we were going. He, and his co-worker Carl made us feel right at home.
Sunday, May 1: We arrived at Heathrow around 8:40am local time (2:40am our time) and since our luggage was automatically being put onto our next flight, wandered around the airport wondering where to purchase a day pass for the local transit system. Steven, Carl and another flight attendant Andrew found us arguing as to where we were to go next: Arrivals or Connecting Flights? They simply said “Follow us” and led us to where we needed to go, and with the tips Steven gave us in mind, bought a day ticket for the ‘Underground’. After riding the underground, which is basically like the subway in Toronto, we found ourselves in the heart on London, England (CRAZY!) where we bought a ticket for the day tour on a double-decker bus. The bus took us to Buckingham Palace where we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the changing of the guards, and after wandering around the streets of London, all while taking pictures, we hopped back on the bus and drove past Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Around lunch time we decided to pause the touring for some food. We walked around for a bit, and after trying to call home several times with no avail, we found ourselves in a quaint but very homey English pub called ‘The Wellington’. Ashley ordered a roast beef dinner, Leanne, fish & chips, and “bangers” and mash for myself – all absolutely DELICIOUS! There was a human rights protest going on after lunch so the tour bus routes were a little messed up which made it difficult for us, as well as made traffic absolutely horrible. But, despite the little set-backs, we were able to drive over London Bridge and see the Tower Bridge. Around 4:00pm local time (11:00am) we got back on the underground and headed back towards the airport – we were all exhausted!
After checking in at Heathrow we browsed the mall while waiting for our gate # to show up on the “Departures” screen. We ended up bussing from our gate to our flight which we boarded at about 6:45pm (1:45pm). The flight to Lusaka was good, about 10hrs; we all tried to get as much sleep as possible, some were more lucky than others.
Monday, May 2: We “woke up” this morning around 5:30am (11:30pm) to the sun just rising over the African plain; I couldn’t help but bust into the prelude of “The Circle of Life”..it just seemed fitting. The plane landed about 6:20am (12:20am) and we after waiting in a very slow-moving line in the Lusaka Airport, met up with Lindsay England; she is living in Lusaka, and her sister Nicole who we met at Brock helped us get connected with each other. We, with the help of some very persistent locals (who ended up leaving us empty handed despite their efforts) were able to fit everything into Linsday’s SUV and then headed to our “home” for the next 5 days. Lindsay lives on a compound owned by the Evangelical Church of Zambia. After unloading all of our things, Linsday asked us if we would like anything for breakfast – we all kind of looked at her, looked at each other and said “breakfast?” – not only was it about 9am local time, but 3am “normal time” for us, but since we had had such a weird sleeping pattern having been flying the whole night we all felt as though it was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. So we took a nap to rejuvenate our energy, woke up around 12pm (6am) and each had a quick shower.. felt soo nice! Ashley and I were able to call home, very briefly; my call was unexpectedly cut short unfortunately, but it was good to know that those at home know we’re safe.
Lindsay then gave us a tour of the house and yard of the place she is staying at and then took us into town to do some grocery shopping. We wound up at Manda Hill Mall where we bought some groceries for dinner. It’s going to take some getting used to seeing “18,000” on a price tag. $1 US = roughly 5, 000 kwacha’s, which is the local currency). After making a brief stop at the Arcade’s market to look around, we went over to Chifundo (which means ‘Mecry’) Mission School, where Lindsay is working. We met some of the workers at the school: Dorthy, and her two daughters Naomi and Mercy, Jessica (from Texas) and Simon (just arrived Saturday from England). We took Jessica and Simon back to Lindsay’s house for dinner where we met up with Atotwe, a friend of Lindsay’s who lives in this compound. Atotwe helped us make Nshima, which is a staple food for the locals here; it kind of looks like mashed potatoes when it’s cooked. He made fried chicken and vegetables to go with it and to be honest, it was delicious! It wasn’t at all what I expected but it was quite tasty, and very filling.
Leanne and I were able to talk to Atotwe while making the Nshima, and what he was telling us about reminded me of the importance of listening to God’s voice for the plan He has for your life, instead of just barging ahead and living life as you think you should, doing what you want, when you want. 1 Thessalonians was the verse that was inscribed at the top of my journal page this morning, and it reads: ”Knowing brethren that you are loved, and were chosen by God”. I am just in awe in remembering that He chose to love us enough to give us the opportunity to be saved from our sin by sending His only and only Son to die for us on the cross of Calvary; not only that, but He ALSO desires to play an active role in our lives as Christians, leading and guiding us in His truth. Atotwe and I shared similar experiences in having a hard time with what God was telling us to do, and not being able to see the bigger picture. It’s comforting to know however that we don’t need to worry about seeing the whole picture, or putting the puzzle together – the picture will be painted, the puzzle will be completed in His perfect time if we lean on Him for strength and look to Him for guidance in our lives.
In closing we want to share these verses with you for encouragement:
“Every time (we) think of you,(we) give thanks to God; whenever (we) pray, (we) make requests for all of you with joy, for you have been (our) partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And (we are) certain, that God, who began the good work within you, will continue it until the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it is right that (we) should feel as (we) do about all of you, for you have a special place in (our) hearts, you share with (us) the special favour of God, both in imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the good news. God knows how much (we) love you, and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. We pray that your love will overflow, and that you will keep growing in knowledge and understanding. For (we) want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of salvation—the righteous character, produced in your life by Christ Jesus—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.“ [Phillipians 1:3-11]
Frila
Saturday, April 30: Families (immediate and some extended) met up at Perkins family restaurant in Toronto to get to know each other and pray for us collectively as a group before sending us off. We arrivde at the airport and said our goodbye’s – long and hard but obviously necessary – and as we gave a final wave before going through a door into security Leanne says “Well ladies, we’re on our own now”.. Whoa. Thankfully, passage through security was a lot easier and faster than expected. We boarded the plane and were off Canadian soil by 9pm. It was a 7 ½ hr flight all together which included a delicious dinner (complete with CHEESECAKE for dessert!) and the movie Cars. One flight attendant, Steven, took interest in who we were, what we were doing and where we were going. He, and his co-worker Carl made us feel right at home.
Sunday, May 1: We arrived at Heathrow around 8:40am local time (2:40am our time) and since our luggage was automatically being put onto our next flight, wandered around the airport wondering where to purchase a day pass for the local transit system. Steven, Carl and another flight attendant Andrew found us arguing as to where we were to go next: Arrivals or Connecting Flights? They simply said “Follow us” and led us to where we needed to go, and with the tips Steven gave us in mind, bought a day ticket for the ‘Underground’. After riding the underground, which is basically like the subway in Toronto, we found ourselves in the heart on London, England (CRAZY!) where we bought a ticket for the day tour on a double-decker bus. The bus took us to Buckingham Palace where we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the changing of the guards, and after wandering around the streets of London, all while taking pictures, we hopped back on the bus and drove past Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Around lunch time we decided to pause the touring for some food. We walked around for a bit, and after trying to call home several times with no avail, we found ourselves in a quaint but very homey English pub called ‘The Wellington’. Ashley ordered a roast beef dinner, Leanne, fish & chips, and “bangers” and mash for myself – all absolutely DELICIOUS! There was a human rights protest going on after lunch so the tour bus routes were a little messed up which made it difficult for us, as well as made traffic absolutely horrible. But, despite the little set-backs, we were able to drive over London Bridge and see the Tower Bridge. Around 4:00pm local time (11:00am) we got back on the underground and headed back towards the airport – we were all exhausted!
After checking in at Heathrow we browsed the mall while waiting for our gate # to show up on the “Departures” screen. We ended up bussing from our gate to our flight which we boarded at about 6:45pm (1:45pm). The flight to Lusaka was good, about 10hrs; we all tried to get as much sleep as possible, some were more lucky than others.
Monday, May 2: We “woke up” this morning around 5:30am (11:30pm) to the sun just rising over the African plain; I couldn’t help but bust into the prelude of “The Circle of Life”..it just seemed fitting. The plane landed about 6:20am (12:20am) and we after waiting in a very slow-moving line in the Lusaka Airport, met up with Lindsay England; she is living in Lusaka, and her sister Nicole who we met at Brock helped us get connected with each other. We, with the help of some very persistent locals (who ended up leaving us empty handed despite their efforts) were able to fit everything into Linsday’s SUV and then headed to our “home” for the next 5 days. Lindsay lives on a compound owned by the Evangelical Church of Zambia. After unloading all of our things, Linsday asked us if we would like anything for breakfast – we all kind of looked at her, looked at each other and said “breakfast?” – not only was it about 9am local time, but 3am “normal time” for us, but since we had had such a weird sleeping pattern having been flying the whole night we all felt as though it was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. So we took a nap to rejuvenate our energy, woke up around 12pm (6am) and each had a quick shower.. felt soo nice! Ashley and I were able to call home, very briefly; my call was unexpectedly cut short unfortunately, but it was good to know that those at home know we’re safe.
Lindsay then gave us a tour of the house and yard of the place she is staying at and then took us into town to do some grocery shopping. We wound up at Manda Hill Mall where we bought some groceries for dinner. It’s going to take some getting used to seeing “18,000” on a price tag. $1 US = roughly 5, 000 kwacha’s, which is the local currency). After making a brief stop at the Arcade’s market to look around, we went over to Chifundo (which means ‘Mecry’) Mission School, where Lindsay is working. We met some of the workers at the school: Dorthy, and her two daughters Naomi and Mercy, Jessica (from Texas) and Simon (just arrived Saturday from England). We took Jessica and Simon back to Lindsay’s house for dinner where we met up with Atotwe, a friend of Lindsay’s who lives in this compound. Atotwe helped us make Nshima, which is a staple food for the locals here; it kind of looks like mashed potatoes when it’s cooked. He made fried chicken and vegetables to go with it and to be honest, it was delicious! It wasn’t at all what I expected but it was quite tasty, and very filling.
Leanne and I were able to talk to Atotwe while making the Nshima, and what he was telling us about reminded me of the importance of listening to God’s voice for the plan He has for your life, instead of just barging ahead and living life as you think you should, doing what you want, when you want. 1 Thessalonians was the verse that was inscribed at the top of my journal page this morning, and it reads: ”Knowing brethren that you are loved, and were chosen by God”. I am just in awe in remembering that He chose to love us enough to give us the opportunity to be saved from our sin by sending His only and only Son to die for us on the cross of Calvary; not only that, but He ALSO desires to play an active role in our lives as Christians, leading and guiding us in His truth. Atotwe and I shared similar experiences in having a hard time with what God was telling us to do, and not being able to see the bigger picture. It’s comforting to know however that we don’t need to worry about seeing the whole picture, or putting the puzzle together – the picture will be painted, the puzzle will be completed in His perfect time if we lean on Him for strength and look to Him for guidance in our lives.
In closing we want to share these verses with you for encouragement:
“Every time (we) think of you,(we) give thanks to God; whenever (we) pray, (we) make requests for all of you with joy, for you have been (our) partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And (we are) certain, that God, who began the good work within you, will continue it until the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it is right that (we) should feel as (we) do about all of you, for you have a special place in (our) hearts, you share with (us) the special favour of God, both in imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the good news. God knows how much (we) love you, and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. We pray that your love will overflow, and that you will keep growing in knowledge and understanding. For (we) want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of salvation—the righteous character, produced in your life by Christ Jesus—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.“ [Phillipians 1:3-11]
Frila
Saturday 30 April 2011
Ashley has invited Erika and I to share on this blog with her and I am excited to share with you all the exciting things that have happened and the amazing things that I anticipate God will do as the three of us take this journey together. I was given the privileged of joining Erika and Ashley on this trip and it has been wonderful thus far to begin a friendship with them this year. I have been touched by the amount of support that I have experienced individually and that we have experienced together. God has been teaching me to rely on Him for all of my needs and trust Him, even when I think I have everything under control (which is often not the case). I feel like He is telling me " It is ok Leanne, I am more than capable to supply all your needs" and He has proven just that. I am excited to see all that God has in store for us this trip, as I know that are so many people that are keeping us in their prayers. My desire for this trip is that God would use all three of us to further His kingdom, His glory and that we would grow deeper in our relationship with Him. However, as I am beginning to see, His plans are much bigger than anything anyone could comprehend and I imagine that He has something great planned in store for us.
Leanne
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