Half-Term and... The INVASION!

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