It’s been awhile since our last post…I apologize for that! We have had quite a few busy weeks here since Christmas so I will take a moment to fill you in.
We had such a nice Christmas break. Our Christmas morning was welcomed with a torrential downpour (something I can say I’ve never experience before). We celebrated a very quiet, quaint Christmas morning with our family and my niece Lindsey. It was so fun letting the kids open their couple of presents and with no rush to be anywhere they actually could open something, leave and go play with it for awhile…instead of their normal frenzy of unwrapping EVERYTHING and then being so completely overwhelmed not playing with anything!
On New Year’s Eve Kevin’s parents and grandma arrived. It was a wonderful gift to have them here. We were able to celebrate Christmas (again) with them and were showered with so many gifts. Thank you to all of you back home who sent little things for us…whether it be coffee creamer or fake snowflakes, every thing was ooohed and awwwed over…I assure you. They also brought piles and piles of notes and cards from families, churches, and children from Moline Christian. I was just re-reading all the encouraging words this morning. Thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We cherish those notes.
Interestingly enough, the day Kevin’s parents arrived our water supply went out. We hadn’t had any water issues for months. So they definitely got a first hand view of how hard life is without water. They even helped pull the pump out of the ground at 11:00 at night in the rain. We were covered in mud, dripping wet, with headlamps on. Welcome to Zambia! :O) And after all that…it didn’t work. So no showers. The guys did get something working to fill the tanks temporarily and eventually did resolve the issue at hand.
After a few days of R&R and getting the northerners adjusted to life here in the African bush, we loaded up the van and took off for Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. It was quite a trip. What we thought would be a 7 hour trip took almost 11. Ouch. We experienced a flat tire which is never fun in Africa, and an unexpected 2 hour delay at immigration getting into Zimbabwe. We were able to visit the Mosi-O-Tunya National Park the next day and hike through the rainforest and see Victoria Falls from every angle. It was breathtaking. We also were able to stay on the Zambia side and visit Livingstone Island. We took a little speed boat across the river…yes, across the main river that just ahead of us headed into one of the largest waterfalls in the world…and onto the island. Once there we were able to stand literally at the edge of the falls. We even were able to swim at the edge. Crazy, I know. And I’m scared of heights!
After a few days of family fun we headed back to our little village of Nyangwena and arrived just in time for Kevin to make the PTA meeting. At this meeting the parents were given a new uniform for their child, which was so desperately needed. We learned that white shirts and light khaki pants don’t fare all too well with small children in the bush. Also, many of the uniforms didn’t fit the children right. We were able to size each child for their new uniform as well as size them for new durable shoes. It was such a blessing to see how excited these parents were! And to see the children wearing them the next day was even more of a blessing. They were so proud!
Kevin’s mom was able to volunteer in the the classroom a few mornings. Kevin’s dad helped around the grounds and on the tractor. He also worked on many odds and ends that were adding up around here. Grandma was on entertainment duty as she kept Hudson occupied most of the time.
While they were here they were able to experience one of our favorite days of the week…Chapel Day! An extra special treat was that all the parents decided they wanted to do a day in the fields together. This is part of the program here at The Esther School…the children do not have to pay fees but their parents have to volunteer a certain number of hours per month. The parents have plowed and planted a large field down behind the school, and on this particular day they all came out to weed and harvest. We decided to walk all 50 children down to the field and sing “thank you” to their parents, as well as many other favorite songs…one being “Pharoah, Pharoah” led by my niece Lindsey. :o)
They flew out last week Wednesday and we miss them terribly! Just spoke with them today on facetime and they are home safe and sound. Even returned to a snowday…God’s little gift to my mother-in-law!
This past Sunday Kevin came up with the idea to organize a giant game of capture the flag. At first I was skeptical…even a little scared having our children as well as all the village children running through tall grasses and trees! A cobra was just killed down by our preschool this week, so I had reason to worry. But it turned out to be so fun! Tons of children showed up and were so eager to play. Many already knew the rules…we had strikers, and defenders, jail keepers, and “special ops”. We played about 4 or 5 games until it was dinner time. As we were saying good-bye they asked…actually begged as to when we could play again. It was so wonderful to see all their smiling faces and just enjoy some good old fashioned fun.
Please enjoy some pictures of the last few weeks. Thank you again for all your prayers and support!
The DeKam Family in Zambia 