A v. Z and the 4 P's

Sweet baby Emma

 Yesterday morning it was raining so Papa Wes stopped by to drive Kailyn and Jamee to Kabanga, the village where they teach.  He ended up sitting down with us and rather than go to morning devotion, we all ended up having our own with him.  We each shared about Francis Chan’s message we had heard the night before.  Papa Wes is so great to talk to.  He is so knowledgeable in The Word and you can tell he has a great relationship with God.  “Papa Wes” is definitely right as he is such a father figure to us girls here. 

I then went on with my usual Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule:

8-9: Tutor Misheck in math

 9-10: Help however I can, usually construction with Papa Wes or work around the school for Mama Lala with Mallory if it’s raining

10-11: Work on language arts with Cambree (With fun horse facts since she loves horses)

11-12: More work around the school; currently re-doing the big bulletin board in the dining hall 

12-2:   Lunch/break; I cook while Mal reads Redeeming Love* aloud (lol)

*Such a great book.  I read while in Nicaragua/Guatemala last year and it was life changing. 

2-2:30: Reading with Kefbert and Emmanuel – they are WILD but so much fun

After that, Mal and I work on whatever else needs to be done and play with the kids when they’re finished with homework.  This afternoon was especially fun.  The sun finally came out and we had an Americans vs. Zambians soccer game.  All of the kids started singing the Zambian national anthem so we joined in with ours and tried to sing even louder.  They laughed at all of the high notes.  As for the game, we lost with our team of four girls, Caedmon, and Cason (Blu and Darbi’s sons).  We were significantly outnumbered and outmaneuvered, but it was a blast.

After the soccer game

Climbing the tower

At the top

That night we climbed the water tower.  We were too late for the sunset, but a lightning storm was off in the distance.  We listened to worship songs and sang along.  At times, a lightning strike would match with the music.  AWE-some is an understatement.  It was so very peaceful to just sit back and enjoy God’s creation, something I do not do often enough at home and will definitely be making a point to do so.

This morning, I opened my Bible to my daily reading (I’m doing “The Bible In a Year” by She Reads Truth – love this app) and happened to read Psalm 29:7-8:

“The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.  The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the desert of Kadesh.”  Or in my case, Zambia.  This verse could not have fit more perfectly after our experience on the water tower overlooking the lightning storm.

            Today we began our normal Tuesday schedule.  Mallory and I will now be joining Kailyn and Jamee at the Kabanga School.  Normally we will all ride bikes there, but since the road is so muddy from all the rain we have been getting so Papa Wes drove us.  It was mud-riding heaven for all my LaGrange redneck friends.  Mallory was like, “I wish I had a four-wheeler!!!!!!” (Please read that last sentence with a country twang).  We were skidding and sliding all over the road, but Papa Wes is a great driver, thank goodness.  Anyway, I can basically summarize our day in four words: pupils, painting, pushups, and pancakes.

All the kids were waving at Mallory and me when we arrived at the school, excited to see new faces.  I joined in on Jamee’s class of 69 students and Mallory joined in on Kailyn’s class of 60.  Just to give an idea of the school system here, it’s 6 brick and cement buildings holding 500 students with only 5 teachers.  This does not include Kailyn and Jamee.  When I walked in the classroom, all the kids stood up and yelled, "Good morning Madam!"  The teacher in charge of Jamee’s class did not show, so we were on our own.  Jamee handled it great but the language barrier is certainly frustrating.  She began by teaching the students about nouns and verbs, assigning them to either write noun or verb next to the words we had written on the board.  After, they would race up to either Jamee or me for us to check their work.  Many did not understand what was asked of them but some got all of them right.  After English, we played a math game that got a little intense.  Jamee divided them into teams and a student from each side would race to answer the problem (simple addition or subtraction).  Whoever finished first scored their team a point.  The students were excited and very loud by the end.  They are definitely a competitive bunch.  Fortunately, the game ended with a tie. 

Kailyn prepping her class for a test 

Jamee handing chalk to a pupil for the math game

We made our way back to New Day around 10 am.  Papa Wes said he needed help in the house they are preparing to move the boys into so Mal and I joined him.  We helped him hang curtain rods above all the windows.  This involved hand sawing metal pipes, which I was eager to try.  After hanging the curtains and a lunch break, we got to work painting the ceilings of the house.  This took a lot of coats of paint and most of the afternoon.  I used the roller, so by the time I was finished I was covered in specks of white.

When I picked up Agnes after painting, she pointed to my face and said, “You’re dirty.”  I asked her to help me and she tried to pick the paint from my eyelashes.  We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the kids.  Little Emma was running around and I heard her say, “Ray Ray!”  Yay! She’s finally calling me by name! Well, close enough anyway.  The kids then challenged Mallory and me to a push up contest.  Even with Emma on my back, I managed to win, encouraged by the kids counting/yelling as I went.  Emma had so much fun and held one arm up like a little bull rider.  SO STINKIN’ CUTE.

"Bull-rider" Emma

Push up challenge against Mal 

For dinner, we had our first “Ark Family Dinner” and it was amazingggg.  Jamee and Kailyn made pancakes, Mal sizzled some bacon, and I cooked eggs.  Breakfast for dinner, my dad’s favorite.  We may have gotten a little “Aunt Jemima drunk” after drowning our pancakes in syrup.  I think it was due to the sudden large dose of high fructose corn syrup to our diets…  We literally laughed the entire meal as we stuffed our faces.  Now we are all plump-full of pancakes and sitting on the couch while Jamee reads Redeeming Love to us.  Even writing this blog is a little bit of a struggle as I am so fulla and sore from the combination of cutting pipes, painting, and doing so many pushups with the kids.  It reminds me of how much I need strength from God, both physically and spiritually.

“I love you, O Lord, My strength.” - Psalm 18:1