African update
Hello from Zambia!
I am just now sitting in an internet cafe in Lusaka, where my sunburned arms are trying to hammer out as much greetings to my LJ friends as I can on a limited timetable! :) I've been here for two days and already I'm burned - the sun is brutal here! But it was my own fault, in my excitement to jump into "team schedule" I forgot my sunblock at home. :) Things have been wonderful so far - I've seen wildebeast grazing and lions playing with each other like kittens; I've eaten chicken curry wrapped in a pancake with chili marmelade and diced apples; I've walked through the dusty streets of Ngombe beneath walls overflowing with orange flowers as we knocked on doors, bringing the Gospel to the people in the community surrounding our new church property. :) I've got a million other details to share, but not time to share them all just yet - I'll write more as often as I am able to make it here. :)
Thank you all so much for your prayers! Thus far I have stayed healthy, encouraged, loved and deeply blessed during every hour of my stay. :) My three days in South Africa were amazing, but at the same time felt more like a vacation than anything else... Zambia feels more solid beneath my feet. I stayed up late last night with Sophie, she was roasting groundnuts in the oven (peanuts... did you know they started off all soft & mushy? I didn't) to use as a filler in the Easter baskets for the children in our church. We drank tea and talked all night and the oven made the house smell like hot peanut butter. :) It is so wonderful to be here. I am so excited to get to know everyone.
Today is the team's day off so I have been running errands all morning. I looked at dozens and dozens of fabrics, trying to decide which ones I wanted to have made into skirts and tops by our tailor, Clive. He is in our church here and does exceptional work. :) The names of some of the people here are so interesting - I've met Shadrak, Vusumzi, Mulando, Levy, Moses, Frintz, and more that I can't remember yet. :)
Ok, my time is up! More to come, my friends. My love to you all.
Rita
I am just now sitting in an internet cafe in Lusaka, where my sunburned arms are trying to hammer out as much greetings to my LJ friends as I can on a limited timetable! :) I've been here for two days and already I'm burned - the sun is brutal here! But it was my own fault, in my excitement to jump into "team schedule" I forgot my sunblock at home. :) Things have been wonderful so far - I've seen wildebeast grazing and lions playing with each other like kittens; I've eaten chicken curry wrapped in a pancake with chili marmelade and diced apples; I've walked through the dusty streets of Ngombe beneath walls overflowing with orange flowers as we knocked on doors, bringing the Gospel to the people in the community surrounding our new church property. :) I've got a million other details to share, but not time to share them all just yet - I'll write more as often as I am able to make it here. :)
Thank you all so much for your prayers! Thus far I have stayed healthy, encouraged, loved and deeply blessed during every hour of my stay. :) My three days in South Africa were amazing, but at the same time felt more like a vacation than anything else... Zambia feels more solid beneath my feet. I stayed up late last night with Sophie, she was roasting groundnuts in the oven (peanuts... did you know they started off all soft & mushy? I didn't) to use as a filler in the Easter baskets for the children in our church. We drank tea and talked all night and the oven made the house smell like hot peanut butter. :) It is so wonderful to be here. I am so excited to get to know everyone.
Today is the team's day off so I have been running errands all morning. I looked at dozens and dozens of fabrics, trying to decide which ones I wanted to have made into skirts and tops by our tailor, Clive. He is in our church here and does exceptional work. :) The names of some of the people here are so interesting - I've met Shadrak, Vusumzi, Mulando, Levy, Moses, Frintz, and more that I can't remember yet. :)
Ok, my time is up! More to come, my friends. My love to you all.
Rita