Wilting Wednesday

Day 37

My last day started very early in the morning. Ashley and I decided that we would wake up early in the morning and visit Haven 3 before it was time to leave. Megan had told us that the kids were wide awake at 6 in the morning so we planned to leave our houses at 5:30 to be there by 6. When I woke up this morning it was still dark, the sun had not risen. I walked to meet Ashley and ran into Justin on the way. We said bye for the last time and then Ashley and I headed off to Haven 3 with our lights.

When we arrived at Haven 3, sure enough, the kids were up and moving around. The Aunties seemed surprised to see us so early in the morning, but they were very friendly. We played with the children from 6 until it was time to leave at 7:30. Dr. Weaver had told us that we needed to be ready to go by 8 so we could eat breakfast at 8:30 and leave by 9. Our time with the children was nice. We both got to take pictures and say good bye one last time.

For breakfast we had biscuits and gravy and then we were on the road headed to Lusaka. On the way we stopped for lunch at Tooters again. I believe we all got the same thing, chicken and chips. The drive was long and boring, many of us slept. Before entering Lusaka the bus and Kaki Jackie ran through a speed trap, but only Kaki Jackie was stopped, and Dr. Weaver was driving. She was not pleased.

Once we arrived at the Protea in Lusaka we had some free time to walk and look around. Lauren, Liz, Tessa and I found a nice place to eat and a movie theater that was showing the new Pirates movie. So we went back to the motel and invited everyone to join us for dinner and a movie. Most everyone joined us for dinner, but only Kara and Navieen joined the four of us. The theater we watched the movie was nice, and it only cost us 14,000 K which is around 3 dollars. Pretty good. After the movie we all decided it was time for bed.

Tomorrow we start flying home. It’s a very long journey home. Please pray for our safety. Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Thank you.

Ben 

Twalumba Tuesday

Day 36

Our last full day here is memorable in so many ways. Today was a long day with extreme ups and downs. 

Our morning started with a wonderful pancake breakfast. We then walked to Eric’s house to pick up the children for the last time. Today I carried Lee to morning language class. He did not fuss or cry at all. We arrived at Haven 3 and had a wonderful language class. No one threw a fit and the children were very manageable. At the end of therapy we played on the playground. Rachel and I sat on the teeter-totter on one end, and Anna and Ian sat on the other and we still outweighed them. Then eventually Kara came over and tipped the tide and Rachel and I went up. Not thinking, Kara stepped off slamming Rachel and I to the ground. Since Rachel was sitting on my lap she was laughing and smiling, and I was in pain.

We walked the kids back to Eric’s house after therapy and then I returned to say hello to Sydney in Haven 3 because it was the last day. I went to her room and picked her up for a few minutes. She was very happy and smiley, but when it was time for me to leave for therapy I set her down and she cried as I left.

Our last language session in Haven 1 was great as always. Lauren, Tessa, and I make a great team. I first worked with Ruben and then switched to Peace. Peace is a very loud crier, and likes to control her environment by crying. That girl can cry very loud and she has a very nice lip quiver as well. During our last part of the session we sat at the table and sang many songs and read books. Tessa was leading so she made up a Careful Bee story like our group always does. Today only one child fell asleep during our session. Nice. After our session was over we headed back for lunch. On the way back we had to wait for a while for a herd of cattle to finish crossing the path.

For lunch today we had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls. It was very good as always. After lunch today we all waited until it was time for Andrew’s funeral. We drove to the Havens before the funeral so we could present our good bye/ Thank you cakes to Haven 1 and 3 Aunties.

The funeral was tough. There was a lot of singing, and a lot of crying by the Aunties. The crying and wailing was like nothing I have ever heard in my life. Imagine a dozen mothers losing their son. The funeral started with the viewing of the body. Then we walked to the grave site, where the men are responsible for digging the grave. There we waited until the hole was dug and the coffin was brought to the grave. The coffin was buried and Megan talked about Andrew for a while. His background story and how he became sick. It was very sad and touching. The men said a few prayers and then the funeral was over.

Our group was then free to spend time at which ever Haven until it was time for dinner. I immediately went to Haven 3 where Nathan greeted us with a face coated in dirt. He made us all laugh, and lifted our spirits. I held Sydney most of the afternoon. She was wet and needed a bath, but I didn’t care. Megan was very nice and tried her hardest to get Sydney to smile at the camera. I didn’t even ask her to. She called me Sydney’s American boy friend. I also spent time playing with Rachel too. All the kids in Haven 3 are so much fun. I plan on waking up very early tomorrow morning to visit them before I leave.

One our way back to dinner we stopped on the trail and took a few small group pictures of us jumping and being silly. It was a great way to lighten the mood. We were all sad about all the things that had happened today, but God had given us much needed strength to make it through the day.  For our last dinner we had ham sandwiches, and quickly after we cleaned the Man house and packed the storage unit with all of our things we need for next year.

The rest of the evening I spent saying bye to the Zambians I have net here. I went and found Mark and we shared email addresses so that we can communicate with each other, we also took some pictures as well. Mark was very touched that we wandered out in the night to come and find him on our last night. I also visited Mrs. Mono for the last time and picked up the things she had made for me.

I spent the rest of the evening visiting with Webster and Justin. They too were very sad that we were leaving tomorrow. There was some left over shema from a meal prepared for our bus drivers, so Justin and Webster taught us how to eat shema like the Zambians do. They take it in only one hand, and mold it into a ball, and then they push a small hole in the top, like you would do for mashed potatoes, and then you scoop some sauce onto the shema, like Fritos scoops, and eat it. They laughed and we laughed too as we tried to learn this skill and eat shema like them. They were very entertaining tonight. We would mention packing, and they would say, “No, do not leave” so we wouldn’t. Justin loves shema so Webster calls him Shema man, and Justin replies and calls Webster Snow Man. It is very funny because Webster does not like being called Snow man.

Finally it was time for use to go and start packing. I gave Justin my soccer cleats that I bought in the market. He was very thankful and excited. Webster was very emotional when I said good bye. I went to shake his hand, the Zambian way, and then he leaned in for a hug, and then switched to the other side of a hug, and then said, “You are a very good man, may God bless you where you go.” I was very touched and I could tell he had tears in his eyes. He then proceeded to shake my hand the Zambian way several times firmly. He kept saying that he would never forget this night throughout the evening, and I agree with him. I will never forget this day either.

Tomorrow we are leaving after breakfast and driving 5 hours to Lusaka and spending the night. Then the next day we will fly out. Please pray for safe travel for all of us.

Thank you

Ben

Memory Monday

Day 35

This morning started with a very cold fresh shave, and a very warm bowl of oatmeal called Jungle Oates. After breakfast I left early to grab the kids from Eric’s house for therapy. I picked up Peter and he didn’t cry at all the entire walk over and he didn’t cry during therapy! Today was the first day of therapy in a while after taking a break in Livingstone. It was nice to be back into the swing of things working, loving, and spending time with kids. Unfortunately, many of us were very fatigued from the weekend and Monday morning was lethargic, and the children seemed to be feeling the same.

This morning during language class I spent my time with Peter. He did much better than last week. He didn’t cry and he participated little bit more. All the kids seemed tired, but at least none of the cried and threw a fit like many previous mornings. After our morning language session we headed over to Haven  1. Almost all of our group was asleep when we arrived, but eventually they slowly started waking up and we added them to our number.

Today I worked with Quintin and Gilamo. Gilamo was the first baby I held here in Africa, and I hadn’t interacted with him much since then, so it was nice to work with him. Both of the boys were very good during therapy as they both sat in my lap and listened to our songs and books.

For lunch today we had delicious pizza. Our pizza today had olives in it. (both kinds) I sat near Dr. Tullos and he informed me that olives are the perfect food in his opinion. I personally don’t like olives that much, but I didn’t notice their flavor when I was eating the pizza.

After lunch I headed back early to the Havens to work with the children a little extra. I worked with Caleb in Haven 1. He is the child I have mentioned earlier with the large casts on his legs. He is enjoyable to work with when I’m not doing therapy. He just sat there with me as he played with a stuffed frog. Eventually it was time for therapy and so I headed over the Eric’s house to get Jonathan. He is well again. Last Tuesday he was sick and out of it, but today he was very lively and out of control. We read part of Green Eggs and Ham, and we practiced up and down, and in and out. At we also worked a little bit on turn taking and following verbal commands. Jonathan was a handful today but I was successful in keeping him in position.

Once therapy time was over for Jonathan I walked him back to Eric’s house and then I went back to Haven 3 to work for the last 45 minutes. Sydney, who I usually work with was taken, so I worked with Rachel, who is an older child in Haven 3. She was very fun today. I had her trapped between my legs and a table so she couldn’t get away and had to participate in what I told her to do. I would tell her to sit and stand in Tonga and she would follow my directions, which was very entertaining, because Rachel is usually a very bossy, disobedient child, but today we worked very well together.

After therapy we hurried to the soccer field, only to find out that they were not playing today. Dinner was great, and after dinner we had the GA Olympics. The Ga Olympics consisted of many ridiculous tasks that we had to do in order to gain points and win the Olympics. We also all had to choose countries that we wanted to represent. Me, being my stubborn self, decided to pick North Korea. By the end of the night after many laughs, and ridiculous happenings, I placed 3^rd in the GA Olympics along with Anna who placed 2^nd and Liz placed in 1^st

When we were finished with the GA Olympics I watched the stars for a while untill we were all informed that the little sick boy Andrew had died. We were all very sad, and there was a lot of emotional eating. Tomorrow there will be a funeral and then we will be leaving the kids for the last time. Very sad.

Our group is struggling with the death of Andrew on top of the stress of leaving Africa and the children. Please pray for the group that we will cope well and support one another. Please also pray for the Aunties and workers at the Haven. When they lose a child they take it very seriously, and it is like losing their own child. Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Ben

Sydney Sunday

Day 34

Happy Father’s Day

Today we went church for the last time here in Namwinga. The service went well. Afterwards we had lunch. Lunch was great today, we had a delicious chicken casserole. After lunch I headed straight to the Haven’s to spend some extra time with the children. I played with Sydney for a while. When I first went to pick her up she made eye contact and got very excited. For the first hour we played together she was out of control and very excited. Eventually it wore off and she was back to her normal cute self.

I played all afternoon with the kids in Haven 3. Katie Emma and Lenny were out of control, which was very fun. They were very energetic. After playing with the kids all afternoon we headed back to the Hamby house for dinner. After dinner my group was in charge of dinner clean up and I was in charge of drying.

After cleaned we headed to church service. There were many baptisms tonight which was so much fun to be a part of. After the baptisms I spent a lot of time talking with Eric and Leonard. They are both first year college students here in Namwinga. We talked about Livingstone and I asked them questions about their college experience. After talking with the guys I headed to the Man house where I heard Dr. Weaver tell funny stories till it was time for bed.

Please pray for a baby here named Andrew. He is not doing well at all and is in the hospital. Tonight it was announced that they were not sure if he was going to make it through the night. Please pray that his health will improve.

Thank you.

Ben 

Suspension Saturday

Day 33

Suspension Saturday!

My day started with a fire alarm going off at 6:30 in the morning. Great. I packed up my things and headed down to the lobby, where I met Dr. Tullos and Ian. They were both waiting for their Rhino walk to start. Apparently the side of the hotel the girls were residing did not go off. Eventually the alarm went off, and I returned to my room. I was wide awake now so I waited until 7:30 to meet Cari and Kara for breakfast before we headed to the markets together. Breakfast, as always was great. The hotel food was excellent. After breakfast we headed out to do some shopping before our exciting activity that we were going to do together later in the day.

Unfortunately, I got separated from them because of a misunderstanding. I thought we were going to meet in a certain market, but they took too much time in another shop and decided not to go to the market I was at. I waited for them and quickly realized that I needed to head back to the hotel or else I was going to miss our planned activity. It was a 45 minute walk back to the hotel. But on the way a Zambian man named John, who originally tried to sell me things, kept me company as I walked the long journey back. We talked about all sorts of things, Zambian copper, Namwinga, jobs in Zambia. It was very interesting, and nice.

I arrived at the hotel, Kara was a little stressed about me arriving late, but soon we were in a cab and headed to our destination. Our destination you ask? Well we went bungee jumping! On our way there we listened to great music which made us laugh. Once we arrived at the site we walked through a customs check point because the bridge is half way in Zambia and half in Zimbabwe. Once we started the process of starting to sign up for bungee, the lady informed me that they only took cash. Great. Well I didn’t have cash, but Cari and Kara did. The lady told me that there was a ATM in a nearby hotel, and she also mentioned a five minute walk, which was not the case.

I started my walk to the hidden ATM. I had to journey back through customs, back through all the creepy cab drivers, and passed a police check point. Finally after a twenty minute walk I arrived at the hotel where a very kind lady directed me to the ATM. During my walk through the drive of the hotel I noticed some ponds, and then a sign that said, “Beware of Crocodiles” Nice. Finally I arrived at the ATM, withdrew the money and headed back to the Bungee site. I signed up and was ready to jump.

Cari, Kara, and I were super excited. The girls in my absence decided that I should go first. So we went to the bridge and got suited up for jumping. It was very excited. All the workers were very nice. It was time for my turn to jump. Kara took lots of pictures. My feet were wrapped in no time and then it was time to jump. I scooted to the edge, raised my arms, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Bungee! I leaped up and out and began falling. It was an amazing experience; I loved every second of it. I bounced up and down many times until I stopped swinging, and then a man came down in a harness singing; which made me laugh. He grabbed on to me, pulled me upright so I was sitting and then they lifted me up to the top where I could walk across the bottom of the bridge over into Zimbabwe, and then walk back. I watched Kara jump after me and then Cari. Once Kara was on top of the bridge, she was so excited that she started jumping/running towards me, which I decided that I should do the same. It was a very picturesque moment. After we were all done we headed back to where our cab dropped us off and headed to Olga’s for lunch.

Olga’s was great again. I got a calzone this time. After lunch we did some more shopping, this time I was with Regan and Cari. I got a few things and then headed back to the hotel, because it was time to head back to Namwinga.

The trip back we were all very tired, so it was a quite ride. When we arrived at the Hamby house we ate dinner and then hung out till movie time, which I ended up not attending because the bulb broke and it took too long to fix it. So I decided to blog and then go to bed.

 Thanks for all of your prayers.

Ben

Free Fall Friday

 Day 32

Freefalling Friday! Today was awesome. This morning we had an opportunity to do whatever we wanted to do in Livingstone. Many had made plans the night before. A large group went on a helicopter ride over the falls and another group went horseback riding and still another group went to the markets to shop all morning. These activities did not sound to entertaining to me, or were too expensive. So I decided to find something I wanted to do that fit the time constraints. This morning after eating a wonderful breakfast at the hotel with Dr. Tullos and Ian I went to the front lobby area and booked a half day adrenalin packaged with a high wire company outside of Livingstone. Because most everyone else had plans already, only Tessa and I went.

Our driver was 30 mins late which was frustrating because of our limited time, but the workers were very accommodating. We arrived and within 10 minutes we were repelling down a huge gorge wall! What was super cool about this experience is there were only three other tourists there. So we had the whole place to ourselves this morning. We met a girl named Nichole, who took pictures for us. After both of us repelled down the cliff, we followed this awesome scenic trail through and up the gorge. It was an incredible view. Out next high wire adventure is called The Flying Fox.

The flying fox is a zip line that is stretched out across the gorge. You are harnessed superman style, and you run and jump off the edge of the cliff and fly to the other side! And then they pull you back. You get and incredible view again and you get to do it twice! The flying fox was a very cool experience. I could do it over and over again.

The next and final high wire experience is the gorge swing. The gorge swing is where you fall off the edge of a cliff and then free fall for 54 meters till you are swung our across the gorge. This was the most adrenaline pumping experience of the day. Tessa was extremely scared to go on it, and at the beginning of the day, she was convinced that she would not go on it, but she did. During the process then teach you how to fall, and you do a few practice falls. Because of our time restriction we went tandem because Tessa didn’t think she could do it by herself, and we would really be pushing the time if we went individually. Once we got to the edge and started to slowly back off the edge one step at a time, Tessa started to get scared, but the guy who was working was super nice and talked her all the way through it and she did it. “Tessa, I’m not going to make you jump, but I see a thumbs up in your eyes” That was part of what he told her. He was great, very professional. I was very impressed by all the staff there. Once Tessa got it back together we went and leaned back and fell off the cliff backwards. It was awesome. The free fall was so much fun. We swung back and forth till we came to a stop and were lowered down to the bottom of the gorge. Then we hiked back up and headed back into town to pay.

Our paying experience was frustrating. The machine took forever to connect to the network, but we eventually paid and made it back in time to leave with the group to Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls was incredible again! Now that it was day light you could see the mighty falls. It was incredible. We all got soaked as water rained down on us as it splashed high up into the air. God is good. His creation is amazing. I don’t think I could ever get tired of looking at Victoria Falls. The power and size is just incredible. I loved it.

At the falls there are many shops where you can buy African items from the village. This experience was very frustrating though because all the shops had the same things, nothing I wanted. They owners are very pushy, saying anything to get you to come over and listed. They talk forever about everything and they pull all sorts of guilt trips to try to convince you to buy there junk. So I bought nothing. Many of the group bought items, but I just didn’t see anything I liked.

After the falls we went to our Sunset Cruise at the David Livingstone. The cruise takes you on the Zambezi River where you can seem some wild life and eventually the sun set. It was a relaxing experience. It was nice to sit and visit with friends, and eat interesting snacks that were provided. After the cruise our night was pretty much finished.

Tomorrow is our last day in Livingstone! Though I have enjoyed my time here in Livingstone I am very much ready to be back in the Havens with the babies. Thank you for all your prayers. Continue to pray for safe travel as we head back to Namwinga tomorrow.

Thank you

Ben

Terrain Thursday

Day 31 Thumbs up thursday!

Today was another great day full of wonderful and new experiences. God is good. Our day started early in the morning with a delicious hotel breakfast provided by the Livingstone Protea. Then we loaded up on our bus and headed to our safari. On the way to our destination we picked up some others, specifically two Japanese women who were very entertaining. One of them had brought a bunny puppet to take many of her pictures with. We saw her throughout the day with it and she would always wave to us. It was very entertaining.

Though I didn’t know until today, our safari actually takes place in Botswana! So we crossed the border on a boat and signed in for the day in Botswana. We first visited a very nice Lodge where the first part of our adventure would begin. We all got on a boat and headed off to see crocs, hippos, elephants, and all sorts of things. The river cruise was pretty cool. Our boat had an upper and lower deck. I spent most of my time looking from the upper deck because there were less people. Luckily there were only people from our group on our boat.

After the boat cruise we headed back the Lodge for lunch. There I ate goat meat, and chicken and rice. It was all very good. Shanna accidently ate a bee and got stung. That was interesting. After our lunch we loaded up in our safari vehicles and headed out to the bush. There we saw giraffe, warthogs, impala, hippos, elephants, crocs, buffalo, wildebeest, and all sorts of birds. Unfortunately we did not get to see any big cats.

The safari was great. We were all exhausted afterwards. We headed back to Zambia and many of us took naps. When we arrived back at our hotel we split up and went to get dinner. A large group went to Olgas, which is an Italian place in Livingstone. I got some really good pizza. We had to wait a very long time for our food, but it was good, and the walk was nice.

After dinner we all hung out in each other’s rooms planning our activities for tomorrow an d blogging and looking at pictures.

Thank you for your prayers.

Ben

Wacky Wednesday

Day 30

Today was an awesome day in Africa. This morning before The two groups left for Livingstone Ashley and I decided to wake up early and arrive at the Havens an hour and a half earlier than normal. I had so much fun playing with the babies in Haven 3. I had them all to myself. This morning I went to Sydney’s room where I sat in a chair next to her bed and talked with Rachel and Kelsey. The girls were so funny and wound up. I took lots of pictures and videos of them. Eventually Sydney got tired and so I held her till she fell asleep in my arms.

Once I put Sydney to bed I joined the rest of my group who had just arrived for a makeup therapy session. Because of our limited transportation we had to make two trips to Livingstone. The later group consisted of members that had gotten sick and missed therapy time, and needed to make it up. I didn’t need to make up any hours but I volunteered to stay behind and work with the kids. It was worth it. Playing with the children was fun. I worked with Jonathan, he was feeling much better today and back to himself. I also worked with Tigen, who fell asleep in my arms as well when we went to the play ground to play.

After our language session was over I got to feed Kelsey some shema and chicken, and after that it was time for us to leave. We headed back to the Hamby house for lunch and then loaded Kaki Jackie once Dr. Tullos arrived. The trip on the way to Livingstone was nice, apparently they just finished this nice road. When we got to Livingstone we quickly unpacked and then took a quick walk around the place to see what was nearby. We found some small shops and a grocery store and a burger and pizza place. After exploring we headed to a very nice lodge where they served us tea and desserts as we watched the sun set over the Zambezi river. It was so much fun, and there were also monkeys everywhere. Our table was attacked and they broke some china full of sugar packets.

After eating we walked around and took pictures of monkeys, friends, the river, and the sunset. It was an awesome evening. On the grounds there was a guard that had a slingshot that shot at the monkeys who got to close to the guests. What an awesome job. After high tea was over we headed to Victoria Falls to see the Moon rainbow over the falls. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen/experienced. The sun was completely down, but the moon was full and bright so we could walk around in the dark and see the falls and the rainbow. We got completely soaked but it was an amazing experience. The best part is that the group I was with went at just the right time where there was no one else out there but us because it was so cold and wet. It was incredible.

Once we were done running around in the wet, we huddled together to keep warm until it was time to leave. A lot of us got some great photos of the “Moonbow” in the falls. Tonight in Africa there is also a Lunar eclipse. It was awesome to see the moon slowly fade away and turn a dark red color. Tonight was something I will never forget. God is good.

After we got back to the motel, Tessa and I were starving and we ran into Dr. Tullos and Ian who were going to get food at the burger place that I mention earlier. So we joined them but ate at the pizza place. The pizza was great but afterwards we realized that there was an awesome two burgers for one deal at the burger place, and the special was called Wacky Wednesday! Which goes perfectly with our alliteration days of the week, so we were disappointed that we didn’t participate in Wacky Wednesday. O well. After eating pizza I watched the end of the lunar eclipse at the hotel pool and then headed for bed after a nice warm shower.

Thank you for all your prayers for safety. Please continue to pray for our safety as we travel around the Livingstone area.

Thank you.

God is good.

Ben

Tremendous Tuesday

Day 29

Tuesday! Tuesday was a great day. This morning we had pancakes and then we headed early to Eric’s house. Today I picked up Peter and walked him over to our first session. He was great all the way till we arrived at Haven 3 for therapy and then he started to cry. He cried for a while but eventually calmed down. 

Today’s therapy went really well. During our time in between therapy times I grabbed Leah. Her head was shaved over the weekend so she looks a lot different but she was still very pretty. I held her as long as I could until it was time to start our next session. Today I got to work with Ruben and Dorcas. Today I was in charge for the session. None of the babies fell asleep today which was slightly disappointing, but it was a very good session. We sang many songs and I made up a story about Benny the baby bee.  During our session we sang about the wise man that build his house upon the rock, and the entire room joined us in singing, it was very fun.

For lunch today we were spoiled with fried chicken and mashed potatoes. The food was very good. After lunch we headed back to the Havens. I worked with Jonathan today again, but he had a fever today and was very low energy. He was a completely different child today. Apparently there is some illness going around the Haven’s right now. Hopefully most of the kids and us will remain healthy. For Jonathan, since he is so active, I planned all theses active boy activities, but because he was feeling ill we ended up reading “The Cat in the Hat.” He seemed to pay attention well to the book. After working with Jonathan I worked with Sydney as always. Today I pushed her on a little scooter for the first time. She really enjoyed it.

After our therapy time was over Tessa and I went and played soccer with the college students. The guys let us warm up with them and stretch with them. It was really fun to play with them. Tessa got to kick a PK, and we both got a few touches on the ball and some successful passes. However, because we played soccer, we were late for dinner. Tonight we had potato soup, and watermelon. The soup was great and the watermelon was even better.

Once dinner was finished I hung out in the Man house talking about the kids at the Havens and the HIZ PATH program. Eventually we slowly drifted off to bed.

Please keep us in your prayers. Tomorrow the group is traveling 2 hours south to Livingstone, where we will stay till Saturday. Please keep our safety and health in your prayers.

Thank you.

Ben 

Musk Monday

Day 28 

Today was another great day in Africa. I am now in Dr. Tullos’s group for the first time. Our schedule consists of a language group in the morning with the Toddlers at Haven 3. Then we switch to Haven 1 and work with 6-9 ish month old babies; also language. During the afternoon we work with special needs children which include Crites, Jonathon, and Rita.

The language session this morning went really well at Haven 3. Last week we had some difficulty with behavior in the groups and it was hard to keep the group on task and focused. This morning however went very well. I worked with Lee. Lee is usually a very quiet child during therapy time and he was this morning, however he is always well behaved which is always appreciated. It was encouraging to see many of the children that usually cause problems perform well during the session.

Our next session took place in Haven 1 with younger babies. The session always starts with some tummy time, and language enrichment. It’s very low in structure and a lot of one on one time, which is my favorite. During this time we got to work outside for a little while so the film guys could get some outdoor shots in. During this filming I lost the fun baby I was working with, Peace, and received another baby, Ruben, who later on during the session peed on me. It was a great trade. The last part of our language session in Haven 1 usually consists of lots of singing and reading books to the babies. Today we managed to put 3 out of the 5 babies we were working with asleep during this time! Tomorrow I have a chance to lead and I hope to beat that record… we will see.

During the afternoon I had the privilege to work with Jonathan. Jonathan has mild cp, and autism. I really enjoyed working with Jonathan. He is quite a handful and loves to squirm around, but he is such a happy child. He did not cry or show discomfort, he only smiled and clapped. Today we did some turn taking activities, and we did various activities focusing on “in and out” and “up and down” then we practiced some Tonga words like run, stop, sit, stand, and jump. Jonathan loved running and stopping and falling to the ground and so did I.

After working with Jonathan I walked him back to Eric’s house where he stays and I came back to work with Sydney. Today me and Sydney were privileged enough to get some film time. Sydney did her classic “deer in the head lights” look when the camera came out, but eventually we got some looks. Today was very exciting. Sydney needs to learn to walk and usually when I try to practice with her she stands for about 5 seconds and the fusses and stops standing, but today for the cameras she took many steps forward while holding my hands which is more than I have ever seen her do, even with the Aunties. So that was a very fun and exciting event this afternoon.

After therapy time was over we headed back to the Hamby house for dinner. The power had been out all day so we ate sandwiches. Later in the evening we had a group care and share time where we talked about a lot of our experiences here. Over all it was a great discussion. After that time was over we watched a movie out on the porch. Webster and Justin wanted to sit next to me so they said that I must sit in the middle of them both. They are funny guys. I have really enjoyed getting to know them. They are not looking forward to me leaving, and I agree with them.

Thank you for all your prayers.

Ben

Singing Sunday

Day 27

Today was probably one of the most memorable days here in Africa. This morning for worship we visited the Kasibi Church of Christ. Kasibi is a small village about a 30 min drive away from Namwinaga. The road was extremely rough. Our land cruiser bounced up and down over the bumps as we headed to church. I sat next to Webster on the way to church this morning. We had fun as we tried to survive the big bumps being in the back of the cruiser. He also shared with me a lot of cool things about the small villages we passed on the way.

Once we arrived at the Church many people took pictures and then we started service. The church there has a building, but there were too many people to fit inside the building so we sat outside under a pavilion made of branches and straw. We sat on benches made of brick buy the locals there. When visitors come they often want the visitors to participate in the service, so Mr. Ragsdale, and Dr. Hopper spoke this morning, and Dr. Tullos had communion comments. The entire service was translated back and forth between Tonga and English. At the end of the service they had a ladies small singing group perform and then a small mens group; both groups where very entertaining.

After those groups were finished singing they ask the Harding students to sing for them, so we sang “We love you with the love of the Lord” and then two other songs in Tonga which Webster, our night watchmen led us in. I believe our singing went well, we received many good comments about it. People seem to appreciate my bass because I was the only male singer in the group besides Ian (who does not sing bass).

After singing the service came to a closed, we all lined up and shook hands with everyone who was present at the church service, then we headed to the village where there was a meal prepared for us and entertainment. Leonard, who is our cook here at the mission, is an elder and the church, so he  prepared us a meal afterwards consisting of shema, rice, chicken, rolls, cabbage, and cake. I was asked to help serve the food along with Megan and Ashley who work in the havens daily. My job was to open the glass coke bottles. I was happy to help and I enjoyed the company of Ashley and Megan.

Once the food was served we headed out with our plates to some benches where we could watch and listen to the locals play and sing music. They had made a guitar, and a bass, and then there was a banjo, and two drums. The food and music was great and afterwards people danced in a circle around the music group. Eventually Dr. Weaver and Tessa pulled me into the circle to dance with everyone before we left.

On the way back I had the privilege to sit with Justin and Webster in the back of the land cruiser. The entire time we were laughing as we bounced around in the back of the vehicle. Mr. Ragsdale, who was driving, accidently clipped and tree and did some fishtailing in the sand. It was a crazy ride back to the house, but a great adventure overall.

Once we were back I changed clothes and then headed to the Havens to play with the kids there in Haven 3. I have become very attached to Haven 3 and I love being with Sydney. I was able to get a lot of great pictures of the kids today. We got to take the kids that were old enough outside to play. It was fun to watch them run around and enjoy something different. Bennet was extremely entertaining this afternoon. He was imitating all sorts of sounds which were very amusing. Tessa and I would start laughing and then he would start to imitate the way we laughed which made us laugh even harder. He is a very smart boy, and he can also say my name, which is a plus.

When we came back from the Havens dinner had not yet been cooked so we waited, tonight we had pancakes and bacon. It was very good. Once dinner was finished we went to church and worshiped and then afterwards we had two baptisms. It was great to be a part of something like that again. The power was out, but the moon was so bright that you could still see anyways. God is good. When the power came back on the film guys, Tyler and Mark interviewed me for the video their making. They asked a lot of good questions. Many of them I will probably continue to process as my time here ends, and when I get back to the States.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. Our Pharmacy group traveled to Livingstone and back safely. Tomorrow the head back to Lusaka and fly out. Please keep them in your prayers. Today Dr. Hopper and Scott Ragsdale and their wives left for Livingstone and will soon fly back to the States as well. Please pray for their safety as well.

Thank you

Ben

Shema Saturday

Day 26

Today most of the group went into Choma to shop. A few of us decided to stay behind and enjoy our Saturday here at the mission. After breakfast I headed to Haven 3 with Shanna and Ashley. I have started to realize that I am really going to miss the children here and so I want to spend as much time as possible with them. This morning at Haven 3 I worked with Adam for long time. Adam is a younger baby at Haven 3 that is behind. I talked to him and I sat him in the bumbo seat for a long time. During that time I also worked with some of the older girls who were awake and running around. Katie and Emma were very entertaining this morning. Some of the children are more fun when there are less clinicians around.

When it came to be meal time at Haven 3 (around 10:30) I went and picked up Sydney so I could feed her again today. I enjoyed feeding her as I did the day before. Today their shema had little fish in it. They smelled very fishy, and apparently the taste is very strong too. Ashley tried just a little bit of it and she had to eat something else to get the taste out of her mouth. After meal time I got to play with Sydney a little bit, she was in a great mood, and very fun. I was talking with Megan, and she told me that the best times to come and enjoy the kids at their highest energy is about 6 in the morning and right after lunch meal time.

Later on Megan needed me to hold and feed Ellen for her. Megan is super busy at the Havens so she handed her over to me. Ellen is a newer baby at the Havens and isn’t doing very well. I believe she is still slightly dehydrated and she doesn’t feed well. I held her for a long time and tried to get her to suck on her bottle. Eventually after praying and humming some songs she had small spurts of energy to suck on her bottle. God is good. I hope that she will continue to improve, She is slowly getting better I believe.

After feeding Ellen it was time to head back to the Hamby house for lunch. Mrs. Hamby was there and pulled out all the leftovers and cake! It was all very good, and it was nice to sit by her and talk about all the interesting things she has experienced. When lunch was finished, I took a small break before heading back to the Havens and I played Tessa in ping pong. She beat me in the first game, but I won the second game. It was nice to relax and enjoy the Saturday without a strict schedule.

Eventually we headed back to the Havens. This time I helped Tessa with her capstone project. All I did was help elicit responses or get her next baby ready to go. After a while the room we were working in was filled with children wondering what we were doing. It was pretty entertaining to watch them surround the new toys that were brought to be used for testing.

Eventually we had to leave for dinner. By dinner time everyone was back from Choma. Dinner was great and afterwards Liz and I played doubles in ping pong against Ian and Tessa. We lost, but Liz and I were a great team and we won the spirit award. Ian also taught me a new game. He bought an African game in Choma. It was fun to learn and play, he beat me the first time we played but the next two times we played, I won.

Tonight was finally movie night. We popped popcorn, and they pulled out the projector and the screen and we watched Tangled. I just love a good princess story! O well. Maybe next time I will get to choose the movie. Tangled wasn’t that bad and afterward some of us had hot chocolate and talked until we slowly retreated to our rooms.

Tomorrow we are going to a different church outside the mission. I am looking forward to this experience. Apparently it is great fun.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. God is good.

Ben

Faculty Friday

Day 25

Over all today was a great experience. I left breakfast early to get the boy toddlers from Eric’s. Our morning language session went well this morning. There were few crying and most cooperated. I held a toddler named Rachel. She is a wiggle worm and very whinny, but I would take her stubbornness over a crying toddler throwing a fit.

When our morning session ended some of the clinicians took the boys back to Eric’s house. I decided to follow some of the girl toddlers to Haven 3 for Shema time (meal time). There I found Sydney in the group waiting for her lunch! I was very excited, I sat down next to her to see how she was doing, and then an Auntie handed me a bowl of shema and rice, so I got to feed her lunch. I really enjoyed it, and she seemed to enjoy it too. My day was made.

Our second language class was much better than yesterdays. I still worked with Memory (terrible child mentioned in previous post). Today she was much better, I was able to put her in a baby chair, and work with her in smaller amounts of time; working with other children when she was distracted. This worked well. The other babies I got to work with were Megan, and Pauline. Megan was great today and was imitating different sounds very well and easily. Pauline was quiet today which is unusual, but she was well behaved and smiley. Always good.

After lunch instead of taking a half an hour nap I decided to head to the Havens by myself to hang out with the kids for a half an hour extra. I worked at Haven 3 with Sydney and some others for a while before the others arrived. This time ended up being great. A lot of the kids were more comfortable and talking more than they normally would. It was fun to watch and interact with them. I tried to teach Sydney to color on paper. I think she is still too young, she was just fascinated with the paper itself. I also got to interact with Rachel, and Kelsey who are sisters. I got some video of them saying “hello” and some pictures of all of them.

Once every one arrived I did therapy with Sydney for an hour till her bath time, and then I worked with Heath. Heath is still doing well. Regan our OT helped me work with him for a while to get him to sit up by himself. Every time I got him into the position he would start to cry, but after he held the position for a while he would slowly tilt his head back till he fell into my lap with a big smile on his face. He just loves to lean his head back, and he loves looking at faces. He is a very cute smiley baby. After I worked with him for a while I put him back and worked with Sydney a little at the end until it was time to leave.

After our session I headed over to the college to help Liz and Lauren with their capstone projects. I was just there to help answer questions and collect the tests after they were finished. After that was finished I headed back to the Hamby house where I played Tessa in ping pong and got destroyed and then we had a big welcome dinner where all of the George Benson college faculty came and ate dinner with us. It was very good. We had rice, chicken, beef, coleslaw and cake! It was delicious. Before we ate we sang some songs, and some people spoke. Part of our group sang our Tonga songs we learned for the entire faculty, it was a great evening.

After dinner I listened to a great conversation with the camera guys and Megan (American worker from the States who has worked at the Havens for 3 ish years) and some of her close friend/coworkers talk about the Havens and the message they want the video to have. It was an interesting conversation. I really have a lot of respect for Megan, her friends, and the Aunties. They are basically mothers to these children and it is very emotional for them.

Later on I was in the Hamby house helping Mrs. Hamby count her post cards that she sells. She is a successful photographer and travels the word and sells post cards. She has been to 92 different countries. It was very entertaining to listen to her talk about her life experiences. Somehow Mrs. Hamby finished what she was doing and the conversation turned into all the girls talking about their worst dates, which is not what I wanted to talk about so luckily for me Justin and Webster were sitting outside with their charcoal to keep warm. I sat with them and talked for a while until more people joined us as people left the house. Webster and Justin are very fun to talk to. They love to answer questions and many times they ask great questions that I don’t know the answer to. At the end of our talk tonight Justin said that he enjoyed our talks, so I hope to talk with them more often before I leave soon.

Thank you for all your prayers.

God is good.

Ben

Thematic Thursday

Day 24

Thumbs up Thursday! Today was probably the most successful thumbs up Thursday. The group took many pictures with our thumbs up and we had several toddlers participate in thumbs up Thursday.

This morning we headed over to Eric’s house early to bring the male toddlers over for our morning language session. The film guys filmed the process of bringing them to therapy and well as covering some shots during songs, and other activities during our morning language session. Some of the toddlers were distracted by the big cameras and the men behind them, and others were afraid and cried (Seth) Over all I thought the kids did all right. There were less fits thrown today which is always good. Many of them seemed very clingy, I think the cold weather might have had something to do with it, they don’t like the cold here. After our session was over a group took the kids back to Eric’s house. While we were waiting Tessa and Ashley sat on the kids swings and Dr. Tullos and I took pictures and videos of them being goofy.

Our other morning session went well, but was not filmed. Today I worked with Memory. Memory is a 1 year old twin girl. I have never worked with her before, apparently a lot of the clinicians like her, but I did not. She’s a child that usually gets her way by crying but Mr. Ben doesn’t play that way, so we had time out, and we had walking time, I even passed her off to other clinicians. Eventually I just put her back in her bed, because she was distracting others and getting nowhere. After working with her I worked with Miller and Pauline. They were both great and very entertaining. We practiced sharing and taking turns as well as talking as all ways.

Since today is Thursday we always have our traditional lunch of Shema. It was very good today and there was plenty of delicious sauce to put on it. During lunch, Anna found on her chicken wing, a piece of bone that looked like some sort of claw. We did not decide what it was, but there were many talon references. Part of the table decided that she in fact did not eat chicken but something else, like bat, pigeon and rat. We are not sure exactly. Anna also thought it would be appropriate to poke me with it as well as slip it into my pocket... Thank you Anna.  

Today was also Ian’s birthday! Happy birthday Ian. Today he turned 14. We had chocolate cake with our lunch as well as an exciting evening which I will describe later.

The afternoon sessions went great as always. I worked with Sydney the entire time. She was so much fun. She says “bye” now and waves. It is very cute, and she gets more and more talkative every day. Today during snack time we had bananas, because she is younger than the toddlers I was given the task of breaking up bits of banana and feeding them to her. Come to find out, Sydney really dislikes bananas so I ended up having mushy banana all over my hands, scrubs and shirt. Somehow she came out of the ordeal pretty clean. The film guys wanted some video of me and her interacting. She pulled her classic “deer in the head lights” look in front of the cameras and cried a little. Eventually she ignored them and started interacting.  

Today the end of therapy was rushed. Because of Ian’s birthday, we ate dinner on Jordan’s Rock. Jordan’s rock is a big rounded rock out in the middle of the bush where you can see the sun set and have a nice fire. We cooked hot dogs, took goofy group pictures, jumping pictures, and cooked somors. It was a great evening. We stayed till it got dark and enjoyed each other’s company. Afterwards we drove back to the Hamby place and then looked at all our pictures we have taken of the kids here.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Thank you.

Ben

Wilderness Walking Wednesday

Day 23

Today was another great day working here in Africa. This morning in our language class Kara basically sprung the idea of me leading the session. I was not prepared, but I read a few books to the group and then handed it off to my class mates to sing songs and interact. The children were better behaved today than yesterday. There was less crying and more participating, which is always good. Today I worked with Lee who was in a good mood during the entire session, which was awesome. During or time on the play group I took some pictures of the kids playing and I also got some footage of Lenny covering her head and legs in dirt/sand. I don’t know why she was doing this, I just figured she was being a kid, so I sat next to her and played in the sand as well, but I did not rub it all over myself.

During our next session in the morning I got the opportunity to work with Megan and Miller, these two are probably my favorites to work with during this time. They both seem to listen to what I say and enjoy playing with me. Today I thought up a new song to sing to them. It goes to “The wheels on the bus” and it goes like this. The babies in the Haven go…Da da da and so then ends with, all day long. Then proceed with ba ba ba, ma ma ma, na, na, na, wa, wa, wa, basically whatever ever you want to throw in there. The kids seemed to catch on quick because it is so repetitive. It was fun. Megan is getting better at walking; Miller continues to talk more every day. God is good.

On our way back to the Hamby house for lunch Ashley, Tessa, and I were walking. I was walking about 8 feet ahead of them on the road, and they were walking together behind me. I hear a rustle in the grass and keep walking, but about a second later I hear two screams and I turn around to see them both running towards/past me! Apparently they saw a snake. Tessa said she just saw the back of it, and Ashley says she saw the head. Ashley claims it was a cobra, (a golden colored one) but according to 13 year 364 day old African snake expert (Ian) he says it was just a harmless African garden snake. I have to say, I think I would rather side with Ian on this one.

What made this experience even better is that on the way back Ian lead us a different way back to the Havens which is even quicker, but we have to cross through a corn field, and right before we started walking through it Ian says, “Corn fields are where most people die from Mamba attacks.”  I was laughing, I thought it was pretty funny, however Ashley and Tessa were both scared. It was a great walk.

Our afternoon sessions went really well. I got to work with Sydney again today! We had so much fun. While I was working with Sydney I sometimes interacted with a child named Bennet. He is one of the funniest kids. He is a very smart baby, and will imitate almost any face, sound or motion. It was pretty entertaining. Sydney was great today. We are closer to saying Ben. She has the /b/ and the /n/. Unfortunately constant endings at her age are pretty hard, so I decided I would settle with Bena, by getting her to say, “be be be and na na na” So productive. She was talking up a storm today though and it was hard to say bye today. I ended up saying bye to her three different times. It’s going to be hard to leave her. I was able to change my profile picture to a picture of Sydney and me. We have the same face. For some reason she always looks like a deer in the head lights when you pull out the camera, but other times she smiles. O well.

After therapy we walked back for dinner. After dinner I went to a student bible study held at the college only to find out that it was cancelled because there was a guest speaker speaking at the church. This guest speaker happens to be the two guys that arrived yesterday from Harding, so I was a little disappointed that I missed out on an African devotional, but I’m very thankful that I went to the one last week. The devotional was still good. At the end we were dismissed but nobody moved and we were confused but a few seconds later it was apparent that they were waiting for us to leave the building first! A new cultural lesson learned!

Thank you

Ben

Terror to Terrific Tuesday

Day 22

Terror Tuesday. Today during our morning session the toddlers were in fact terrible. They each took turns crying and throwing fits. Our morning session was not pleasant. After working with the toddlers we headed to Haven 1. Today I got to work with Megan. We worked on how not to cry or whine when wanting something. We also spent some time walking around. She is getting more confident when walking which is good. Hopefully she will be able to walk by herself by the time we leave.

For lunch today we had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls. It was quite delicious and I went back of seconds. During lunch we talked about what we wanted to do in Livingstone while we are there part of next week for our “African Vacation” Some of us are very excited to go, others of us are hesitant because we want to spend as much time with the babies as possible.

Our afternoon sessions went much better. Today I got to work with my favorite child. Today I decided I was going to adopt her. Just kidding. Today when I went to go get Sydney she sat up in her bed and raised her arms with a big smile. “Well if you insist” I thought in my head. We had lots of fun today working on our sounds. Today Megan, a worker at the Havens from America explained to me why Sydney always wears a warm onesie. Apparently she has always been a smaller baby, and here in Africa they think smaller babies need to be kept warmer so that is why she is always bundled up. So after Megan got through explaining why she took off Sydney’s onesie and said, “your free” She got really excited and laughed. She was so cute without her onesie on, she still had another layer of clothes underneath. When it was  time for Sydney’s bath the Auntie didn’t even recognize her because she didn’t have her onesie on. It was funny.

At the end of the day it was hard to leave Haven 3. The kids there were in great moods compared to the kids in the morning. It was very refreshing to work with them. After leaving Haven 3 we found Ian with two chameleons. He had a big one and a small one. He named the big one after his African friend David and the smaller one after himself because Ian is small and David is big. Ian let us hold them and take lots of pictures; I kinda want a pet chameleon now. This evening another group of people arrived from Harding. They are here to take video of what we do throughout the day. We had dinner together and then they got situated in their housing.

Tonight a group of us went to the soccer field in hopes to catch some of the students playing soccer. Unfortunately they had gone to dinner, but Muso and Mark (Mike) came and threw the Frisbee disc with us. It was funny to watch them learn how to throw and catch because it is something they are not use to at all.  After playing Frisbee we retired for the night.

Thank you

Ben

Mantis Monday

Day 21

Today was another great day. We had cooler weather throughout the day which made our walks back and forth to the Havens very pleasant. Its so funny talking to the Zambians here about the weather because they think it is so cold and we Americans think it is comfortable. They are out walking around in jackets, hats and gloves, and we are walking around in tee shirts and jeans.

Today we split up into new groups again. I am still working with the same group; Jill, Shanna, and Tessa, but we are under a new supervisor, Kara, and we are doing language therapy instead of feeding and swallowing with Dr. Weaver. This morning I must admit I did miss feeding therapy. I think I mostly miss the kids I was working with but eventually once I got back with some of my favorites to work with I had a lot of fun.

Haven two is currently being cleaned and painted so the girls from have two are staying in Haven three, and the boys from Haven two are staying in Eric’s house which is across the street from the Havens. Today during our first class I noticed a praying mantis close to where I was sitting. I picked him up so he wouldn’t get trampled by the toddlers (I really like praying mantises). A few minutes later a lizard interrupted therapy, grabbed my praying mantis friend and then took off…sigh, circle of life…

After our language group in the morning we went to Haven 1. I am happy to say that the babies that I worked with a week ago are showing great improvement since I last worked with them. Miller is talking more, and Megan is starting to get the hang of walking, and she didn’t even try to beach herself on my lap today, instead she used her arms to pull up and stand. Today I also worked with Caleb. I have never worked with him before but he was screaming throughout the time, apparently he does this a lot. Caleb has casts on his legs. Kara thinks he just gets frustrated because he can’t more around like the other children his age. So today I pushed him around in a baby stand cart thing? He seemed to enjoy that, and after being pushed around for a while he was clam enough to talk to and continue therapy. I pray that Caleb will become calmer during our sessions. Apparently he is always a screamer.

The afternoon sessions where great as well! Being in Kara’s group I get to spend an hour and forty five mins in Haven three! Which is my favorite place to be. I worked with Sydney all afternoon (my favorite baby/cutest baby) She was very talkative today. I’m not sure exactly how old she is, but she is probably a litter under 12 months. I very much enjoyed working with her this afternoon. Today we worked on /b/ in hopes that she will say my name before I leave, but we didn’t just work on b the entire time, I’m not that selfish : )

For dinner tonight we had tacos! I was really missing Mexican food so it was a nice change from the other things we eat there. They were very good. After dinner I spent some time looking at photos I took and then I talked with Webster and Justin (the night watchmen). They were very entertaining tonight. We talked about snow, and I showed them some pictures of snow on my computer. I also showed them what roller coasters where. There were so amazed. They think that Americans are very brave and strong for all the thrill seeking we do. They mentioned the bungee jumping at Victoria Falls and they said, “that is looking for death”  they are both very nice men. They want me to spend the night with them patrolling. I told them that I needed my sleep to work, but I said maybe I could Friday night. I’m still not sure if I’m going to. It would be hard to function the next day. They said that they watch till 6am when the sun rises. So I could sleep till 12 the next day and catch up on sleep. Still not sure though, we will see.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow, I love  all the time I get to spend in Haven 3.

Thank you.

Ben 

Singing Sunday

Day 20

Today was another day to relax and enjoy being here in Africa. Church service was good today as well. During the middle though when all the children get up for Sunday school, all my class mates left to go teach so I say by myself, but it wasn’t so bad. Today we had left overs for our meals. During the afternoon a small group went to the Havens to work on capstone projects. I went along to help. It was nice to just hang with the children and not worry about doing therapy. I hope I get more opportunities to interact with the babies in a non therapy setting.

After we finished working at the Havens we were all very tired. I cleaned my room this afternoon, it really needed some work. The guys a few doors down from my room got attacked by ants. Literally thousands of ants were everywhere, not all in their room, but right outside the room. I guess they had some food trash or something, or maybe their room was in the way for where the ants wanted to go. They sprayed and then ants eventually retreated back to the back yard. I had never seen so many ants. I had never been bitten by ants until today as well. They were tricky. They would get on you so quickly and easily and then dig their pinchers into your leg. They were very annoying.

Once the ants were fought off we had dinner and then we waited around for evening church to start. Church was long tonight for a Sunday night service. They had singing, and a long lesson, and then more singing, and then they had some groups of students coming up to sing. It was close to a two hour event.

Once church was finished we headed back to the house and hung out, filling out therapy hours, playing cards, and enjoying each other’s company. Looking forward to a good night rest before we start a new week working with the babies.

Most of the group that was feeling ill is starting to feel better. Thank you for all your prayers, I hope that the spell of nausea will be done. I’m told though everyone gets a turn…I don’t want a turn.

Ben 

Sweet Saturday

Day 19

Sweet Saturday. Today was finally a day of rest. We had breakfast and then a few of us met up with some of the college guys to watch a game of soccer. Today the Mathematics majors played the English majors. I didn’t have the opportunity to view the outcome because a group went to Kalomo to do some shopping. On the way we picked up some Zambians who were also headed into town.

When we got to town we immediately went to the gas station store to get some drinks and to get some smaller bills. I found some banana ice cream! So Tessa, Kari and I got ice cream. Our next visit was to the bank, Kari needed some money. While I was waiting outside the back I saw a man with an AK-47. He was a guard at the bank so I wasn’t worried or anything, I was actually excited I got to see one in person while in Africa. Soon after we left the bank and headed to the market. We bought fabric, and looked for soccer cleats. I ended up finding a pair that fit and got them for a very cheap price after bringing him down from 175,000 to 65,000 which is 40ish dollars to a little over 10 dollars. I am planning on leaving the cleats here in Africa because I have some in the States and I just wanted some to play soccer in while I was here.

Once we were finished in the market we headed back to the house for lunch. After lunch we had nothing to do till 3 when we planned on playing soccer with some of the college guys, so we watched some House on a laptop. When it came time to play we all headed out excited to play. When we got there no one else was there. Apparently they had forgotten. Eventually we talked to Mike who is a student here that we interact with often. He brought a ball and we got to play some before dinner.

After dinner I took a cold shower and then we all hung out and split up into groups to watch movies and play games. It was nice to have a day where we could take it easy and rest. Unfortunately many in our group our still not feeling well. Hopefully they will recover by Monday when we start therapy again.

 Thank you for your prayers.

Ben

Football Friday

Day 18

Today was another good day. We had biscuits and gravy for breakfast and then we were on our way to the Havens for therapy. Today it was my turn to lead the feeding class. Throughout the week each member takes a turn leading the activities during a therapy session, so today it was my turn. Today was also the last day for my group to participate in feeding class. Next week we will be back working on language with other groups of children. The morning sessions went well. I got to work with Heath today. He is still doing well, making slow progress. This morning I also got a chance to work with Leo, but he did not crawl for me as he did yesterday to Shannon. Leo did just get up from a nap though before our session started so he was very lethargic throughout the session.

After our morning sessions we headed back for lunch. Today we had the famous apple cake. It was very good! Unfortunately Tessa was sick today and feeling nauseous, so she didn’t get to try it, but for dinner I convinced her to try a bite. The afternoon feeding class went well. Most of our babies were asleep by the end of the session. They were all worn out. After our last feeding class I went to Haven 3 as always and worked with Heath again. He is such a happy floppy baby; I can’t help but work with him. We worked hard and had a lot of fun.

After therapy today we had dinner and then went to the soccer field to play Frisbee, but after awhile of hanging out, Mike and Meshack came with a soccer ball so we played some soccer. It was a lot of fun to play and hang out with them. They are really nice guys and they enjoy interacting with us. After playing soccer we headed back to the Hamby house. I found Tessa sick on the couch watching Pirates of the Caribbean, so Ashley, Anna, and I watched the rest of it with her until we ran out of power on the computer. The power went out again tonight. This is three nights in a row the power has gone out. I usually don’t mind. We always have a game to play or people to talk to. For the rest of the night we just visited until we got tired and headed off to bed.

 Please continue to pray for our group, especially our health. Today we had two sick, Tessa and Dr. Weaver.

Thank you for all of your support.

Ben

Traditional Thursday

Day 17

Another Thumbs up Thursday has come and gone. This Thumbs up Thursday was probably even more unsuccessful since my last since I am not evolved in feeding group with the little babies. Besides that, today was a good day. Some of our group is starting to feel sick and worn out. I pray that we will get better and continue to have high spirits as we share our lives with these children and allow God’s to work through us.

Today I first worked with Ruth. She is a twin of Marcus in the TB room, which I have talked about before. Today she did very well. She did all her stretches, but she did not do well during tummy time. She did not attempt to lift her head very much, but at the end of the session she was demonstrating good head control when we worked on sitting upright without aid.

During the next session I worked with Lincoln. He is a very, very smiley happy baby. These are the best kind of babies. They make the session go so fast with the giggle and smile at you as you work with them. Today Lincoln rolled from his front to his back and then back to front for the first time. Also, Leo started crawling for the first time during our session. It was rewarding to see theses milestones first hand. After our two morning feeding sessions I worked one on one language with Leah again. She again was so happy and giggly. She made the time go by quick as we laughed and talked and talked.   

Today was our traditional Zambian meal of the week. We had Shema which is ground corn, roots and milk. We also had rice, chicken, cabbage and rolls. It was all very good just like the first time. I really enjoy eating the Zambian food. I wish I had the opportunity to eat it more often.

The afternoon feeding class went well. I worked with Louise. She was very hungry at the start of the session so I fed her. She at very well but during our later stretches and muscle stimulation I think she probably spit up 40% of what she ate. It was disappointing to watch, but she did very well with all the stimulation and stretches.

Once the feeding class was over I headed over to Haven 3. Today the group that was already in there decided to play a terrible joke on me, and some others, by locking me out and putting a sign up in the window saying that I was not allowed in! They know that we love Haven 3 very much and always come there at the end of our day. Eventually after much pouting the let me in and I worked with Heath. Heath is the floppy baby I have mentioned before. He just doesn’t have a lot of muscle in his arms, legs or neck. So this afternoon I worked on reaching out with toys, and we had tummy time (working on lifting our head, and upper body) and then we worked on hold our head while sitting upright, (with assistance). Though Heath is a floppy baby he is very happy and usually as a smile which makes him very fun to work with. I think he is continuing to improve. I look forward to seeing what he can do by the end of our time here.

Thank you for all your prayers!

Ben 

Waboka Buti Wednesday

Day 16

Walking Wednesday returns! Today was a great day. Feeding class went really well in the morning sessions. I worked with Sibojean. He was very happy and at the end of the session we worked on sitting and he was able to do so without my support by the end of the session. I hope he continues to improved in the duration of time he can sit without aid. After our feeding sessions in the morning we went to Haven 1. I walked into a room and picked up the first baby that smiled at me. Her name is Leah. At first when I picked her up I was thinking her name was pronounced like Princess Leia from Star Wars, but then I realized this was not the case and quickly got over it.  She was very amused by me so we played and laughed the rest of the morning till it was time to head back for lunch.

For lunch today we had Beef enchiladas. After lunch I took a quick nap until it was time to head back to the Havens for afternoon therapy. Afternoon feeding class was a little rough today. We were in a room packed with crying babies and Dr. Weaver had to leave early for a meeting. So Shanna and I were doing C stretches with a baby on the floor while holding another one trying to calm them down. By the end of the session we were handing out our vibrating toys trying to appease the children.

After the feeding session I headed back over to Haven three to finish out the afternoon. I worked with Thomas at first. He still isn’t talking. It is starting to get frustrating. I also worked with Heath, who is the floppy baby. We had some tummy time, some muscle stretches, and we practiced reaching out arms out; trying to build some muscle in his floppy arms. The afternoon session always ends with snack time at Haven 3 so I put Heath back in his chair and interacted with Sydney as she ate. She is still the cutest baby.

On our way back to the Hamby House for dinner I practiced some Tonga words that I learned from Webster on some of the people here. I said, How are you? In Tonga,  the lady looked at me surprised and answered back in Tonga; overall, success, she understood. Then as we were walking across a bridge I noticed that a car was coming down the road and there was no place to stand out of the way so I yelled Zuza Zuza! (which means run run!)  And ran across the bridge. There were little Zambian school girls walking in front of us and then turned around and laughed at me. Success. I am very much enjoy learning new words and using them, and the people here enjoy teaching and hearing there language come out of a funny sounding American.

Most of us at dinner rather quickly so we could play soccer with the college students. It was an intense game of soccer. We didn’t play full field We had teams and one team would try to score for five mins and then the teams would switch and the other team would try to score, that way we weren’t running up and down the field the whole time. It was very enjoyable and a good way to get to know some of the college guys.

After playing soccer, I decided to go to the college bible study. The power went out so we had candles and flash lights. We sang songs and read scripture and a guy basically just guided a discussion over the scriptures. Near the end of the study he called me out and asked if I had anything to say. I really didn’t have anything to add, so I said I had nothing extra to add.

After devo I headed back to the Man house were everybody was hanging out. Most of the group say and talked and enjoyed the rest of the evening before we headed off to bed.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I am getting more and more comfortable working with babies and the new skills I have been learning. I thank God for all the great work he does through us here. God is good.

Thank you

Ben 

Tonga Tuesday

Day 15

Tonga Tuesday! Because of our interactions with Webser the previous night we decided that today should be Tonga Tuesday and we would try to use the Tonga words we learned last night. It was fun to use the few words we knew and share them with others.

Today was a good day. I am getting more use to feeding class, and some of our babies are making progress. One of the babies named Heath is a very floppy baby. He doesn’t hold his head up or use his arms or legs. I worked with him today and got him to reach up with both hands for a chew toy. This was great progress for Heath and I hope he continues to improve.

Today for lunch we had a wonderful lunch. It was Dr. Weavers favorite, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and chocolate cake. It was all very good and we were all very full. Afterwards I was able to fit in a nice 30 min nap before our afternoon sessions started.

On our way to out afternoon session a very strange thing happened as we walked to the Havens. No one talked the entire time! I could not believe that a group of six girls could be so quite as we walked for 30 mins but they were. Amazing. I doubt it will ever happen again.

After our afternoon sessions were over we had dinner, during dinner a group of three girls from Abilene Christian arrived. They are all undergraduates studying in different areas. They are interning here for 7 weeks. I’m not sure exactly what they will be doing while they are here, but they are here. It was nice meeting them.

After dinner we threw the Frisbee around for a while, got eaten by mosquitoes and then decided to head back to clean up. Webster met us again tonight and we practiced singing, and we learned a new song! It was fun working with Webster. After singing practice, I sat down next to him and I asked him different Tonga words, and I spelled them out first in Tonga, and then wrote what it meant and then I wrote it phonetically; which he did not understand at all. It was fun learning new words and learning what sounds they use in Tonga verse America. I can’t wait to learn more words tomorrow.

God is good.

Thank you

Ben

Monsoonia Monday

Day 14

Today was the first day in our new groups. I am now working with Dr. Weaver in the feeding class with Shanna, Jill, and Tessa. Some of the babies have feeding issues because either their cheek muscles are too weak to suck so they spill, or they might be older but don’t have good trunk supports so they don’t eat like they should. In our class we do a lot of stretches on the lips, cheeks, and in the mouth. We also do stretches a lot in the arms and legs to loosen them up. We practice sitting up, and we also have tummy time, where they can practice holding their head up and hopefully learn to roll over. We also have various chew toys, pacifiers, and vibrating toys to stimulate facial muscles. Now you know what feeding class is all about. Our morning starts in Haven 3 where we work with two separate groups of babies, and then we move to Haven 1 where we get to pick up a baby and interact with them before we eat lunch. After we finish lunch we return to Haven 1 and work with younger group of babies (0-4 months ish) During this group today I worked with Tawpangwa. We did just fine through the whole session, and then I was peed on… I smelled like urine. Lucky for me I brought some extra scrub pants to change into. There wasn’t really a place for me to change so Dr. Weaver stood in front of a door way because there was no door. Thanks Dr. Weaver. This being my first peed on experience, it really wasn’t that bad, thankfully.

After working with our afternoon feeding group we get to choose what Haven we want to go to and pick a child we want to interact with for the rest of the afternoon. I choose to go back to Haven 3. I love the kids in Haven 3 the most. They are sick, but they are so entertaining and I love to interact with them. Today I got to work with (the cutest baby) Sydney. She was adorable as always and well behaved. We worked on talking and I tried to teach her my name. She talked but no success on the name, but that’s alright, we have plenty of time left.

After our time is over in Haven 3 we are done for the day. We walked back to the Hamby House and had dinner. After dinner we went and picked up some things from Mrs. Mono’s house. I bought some fabric I liked (in the market) and she made me some scrubs! They are really neat and very African. I like them a lot. One is a little too big, but I think Mom can fix it once I get back to the States. Tessa and I played drums for a while and then I tried to build another card house. We met up with Webster at 7:30 like he planned and we practiced the Tonga song he taught us Saturday night. We are sounding better. He wants us to sing it this coming Sunday! So we are planning on practicing more this week.

After the group finished singing Ian, Tessa and I stayed with Justin and Webster and we talked for hours about the various things. They taught us some Tonga words, and we taught them about the weather in America. They could no believe how cold it gets. And they were amazed that now in America its summer and here in Zambia, its winter. We talked about snakes in American and Africa, and they gave us Tonga names. It was really fun interacting with them. After tonight I consider them friends. They were so nice to us. I asked them how they became watchmen and they described how God provided a way to work where they are now, and they are so thankful, and so am I. Webster is very funny, he made us laugh all night. I look forward to hanging with them tomorrow night and learning more Tonga songs and words.

Thank you all for reading! I appreciate all your prayers and thoughts. If you have any specific questions you would like me to answer you can email me or post a comment!

Thank you.

Ben

Smorgus-Board Sunday

Day 13

Today we arrived to church on time! The church service was much easier to understand today, I think it’s a mix of us getting use to the accent and the speaker today was a much slower speaker. The singing and sermon were great. After church we headed back the Hamby house to make our lunch. Lunch and dinner today were a combination (smorgus-board) of leftovers because Lenard (our cook) is not available.

After lunch a group of us headed over to the Havens to work on their capstone projects. I decided to go along and help since I need the hours, and I enjoy working with the babies. After working on the projects for a while we headed over to Haven 3 just for fun to say hey to all the kids there. Even though they are the sick ones, they are so much fun.

When we finished up with Haven 3 we meet some boys outside of Eric’s house (which is a home for the older orphaned children) They had a soccer ball and so we walked with them back to the soccer field and played soccer for the rest of the afternoon. I also got attacked by 6ish little boys after Bryan jumped on my back and yelled, “Get him” Lucky for me the boys are the perfect size to pick up and twirl around, and they loved the extra attention.

After soccer I cleaned up and then helped make dinner. We again had leftovers, so really I did nothing, but I was there in the kitchen if needed. After dinner we went back to the church and enjoyed more singing and a lesson.

Once church was finished we headed back to our house. Tessa and I decided to build a card house which surprisingly turned out to be successful. I never thought we would finish. There were many pictures taken during the process of building and also during the process of tearing it down. Tearing it down went much faster.

Tonight four planets align in a row, so the group is waking up at 4:30 a.m. to see it happen. Hopefully we can see it and then get some rest before our busy Monday.

Thank you for all of your prayers! Our group has remained in high spirits and in good health. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to serve the people here.

Thank you.

Ben

Super Sweet Saturday

Day 12

Today I woke up bright and early so I could take a much needed shower (Which was freezing!!!) before we headed off to Choma for a morning of shopping. After eating breakfast we piled into Kaki Jackie and started our bumpy, crammed, hour long trip to Choma.

Once we arrived at Choma we first stopped at the post office to the group could mail their post cards to friends and family. Then we headed towards the markets. We were allowed one hour in the market and then we were to meet at a nearby grocery store. My group consisted of Ian, Tessa and Ashley. Since Ian has been here before we followed our little 14 year old adventure guide around the busy markets. Most of our stops were at fabric shops looking for cool patterns and colors. I found some that I like and hope to make them into scrubs. I also found this really ugly crawdad fabric that was perfect for Tessa since she is from Louisiana. It was terribly ugly but she got it anyways as a joke. After shopping in the markets we meet up with our group at the grocery store. There we found interesting types of cookies and we found ICE CREAM. They were nice little individual serving size cups of ice cream that cost about .60 cents American, so we got them. They were pretty good. We decided that banana, which is the flavor I got, was the best.

Afterwards we met up in a park and had lunch. Our supervisors bought us all chicken and fries. It wasn’t very good, but I didn’t mind since I had just finished off some banana ice cream. In the park we found a large talon so some bird. We don’t know where it came from, but no worries, we took pictures of it….and with it.

After finishing lunch we headed into this museum where there was lots of art on display, and then it had a shop where you could buy crafts that had come from villages in Zambia. I bought a few things there for people back home, I would love to list them, but I want to keep it a surprise till I get back to the states. The museum was really fun. They had some very cool art work there and neat gifts you could buy as well.

Once we were finished at the museum, we raced back to Namwingia so we could attend the Zambian wedding that was taking place! All the girls were extremely excited compared to me, but I was interested to see what a Zambian wedding is like. It was a very exciting time.  Lots of music and lots of dancing. The wedding party dances down the aisle and then when they are finished the audience has the opportunity to dance as well. Some of our group got up to dance a little bit. I, did not. It was fun to watch and see all the excitement. Everyone parties, but here the groom is suppose to be very serious during the whole wedding, and the bride is suppose to look down and shy during the wedding. It was interesting and it was funny to see the audience dance around then to try to make them laugh or smile.

After the wedding we went back to our place and had dinner. After dinner we went and played more ultimate Frisbee, but this time some of the girls from the college came and joined us. They laughed as they tried to learn the new game. It was fun to teach them something new, I pretty sure they had a good time.

The sun set and it was getting dark so we ended the game and headed back to the house. Tessa and I played her new drum that she got today and then Kara and Kari came and joined us and we tried to freestyle rap. It was terrible, but very funny. Thanks to Kara for documenting. Since we were making all this noise eventually the night watchmen Justin and Webster came over. Webster played the drum for a while. He was pretty good, and he laughed at Tessa’s attempts to play the drum well. We talked to them both about their manes and what they mean, and Anna and Ashley came over. Shortly after we asked if he would teach us a song in Tonga (the native language here).  He was so happy to teach us. He taught us all the parts, Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass. He was so patient with us, but after he was finished he was so excited that we sang with him. He told us that we needed to sing to the church someday. We told him that we needed to practice more and get our whole group involved. Webster is planning on teaching and working with us more on Monday night. We are all very excited.

The people here are so nice and open. They love to interact with us and they love to share their lives with us. I have truly enjoyed getting to know them, and I can’t wait to continue to making relationships.

Thank you

Ben