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