Ok, so we've obviously done a ton in the past week, but I'll try and sum it up to the best of my ability :)
Day 10 (Saturday Jan 17)
-We listened to a presentation from a man named Dr. Sibalwa from the University of Zambia in Lusaka on Community Development. It was REALLY interesting. After that, I think I just did reading and classwork the rest of the day until we said goodbye to Papa J that night (Jeff Johnson).
Day 11 (Sunday Jan 18)
-Today I went to church at my new church home Shampande for the first time. It was awesome, just like Mochipapa. The worship and prayer here is so passionate. I love it! I'm not sure what happened today, but I probably did coursework and relaxed most of the time.
Day 12 (Monday Jan 19)
-This day was tough, but wonderful (which is most days honestly). We went to visit people who have HIV/AIDS. My group went to see Joyce and Edgar. Joyce was very quite and shy, but had a very beautiful smile. We believe she is suffering from depression because she lost a baby a few years ago and her family lives close to her, but not with her. Also her husband never comes to see her. Basically, he just takes care of the two children. Next was Edgar. Edgar has a faith that can move mountains and in my mind has. He has AIDS, lost his child, and his wife left him because he got sick. Many times one spouse when runaway when they find out the other is sick and/or has HIV/AIDS. Despite all his pain, suffering, and loss Edgar still loves God with all his heart. And when he was asked if there was anything we could do for him, he just said he wanted a Bible so that he could read God's Word. We didn't have any, but trust me it works out :) After all this, I think we had debriefing and then did more schoolwork.
Day 13 (Tuesday Jan 20)
-This is another Trust Assessment day. We travelled to the Pemba zone to do them. My group (Bratch, Leah, Melinda, Margie, and myself) went to Jembo. They were an older Trust that is doing well, but need some revitalization. Next we had lunch at the Pemba Wesleyan Bible College, where Mike and Cindy Helvie will be serving. It was a great and humbling place. The students bring their whole families to live on the campus while they learn, and they plant maize (what's used to make nshima) to help support themselves. After this, we headed back towards Choma, but stopped at another trust that I can't remember the name of. They were doing very well raising layers (chickens that lay eggs :). This day was even better than usual because there was a TON of flooding, and we got to ride in the land cruisers that have the air intake up high towards the roof so basically we could go through almost anything we came across. The water at times was almost up to the windows! I'll try to get a pic of it up soon.
Day 14 (Wednesday Jan 21)
-Today we just had class and I think we did coursework after that. O yea, but to start of the day we had devotion with the WHIZ staff.
On the way back from class though, I saw Edgar from Monday. He asked me if I remembered him, and I said yes. Then I asked him if he still needed a Bible, he said yes. So I went into our house and Audrey gave me her extra to give him :) As I was giving him the Bible, three guys walking by stopped and said they needed Bibles. So Brittany and I walked with one of them down to WHIZ to see if we could get them some. Moreen gave us three of the few they have, and we gave them to the man. He was very happy. Bibles here are a tremendous need!
Day 15 (Thursday Jan 22)
-Another amazing day... We all went to visit the village of Nakabanga. It was a rough ride, but fun ride as always. Today was different than most though because when we got to the village we were greated and had a ceremony/introduction type thing. Then we helped construct a piggery, and I played soccer with Ethan and the kids. Next we ate lunch. It consisted of NSHIMA, chicken, this cabbage and onion stuff, and goat. Of course, it was all great!
Now comes the hard part. We went to see a 7 yr old girl named Miriam who has tuberculosis and might have AIDS. She was so beautiful, but looked so sad. It broke my heart. I felt so helpless. We did give her and her mother supplies to make enough nshima for about a month or so :) After this, we said goodbye to Nakabanga and took off to see another family. This lady was named Win. She lost a baby, her husband died, and she was now struggling to support her two children. When asked if there was anything we could do, she said she needed food. And it just so happened we had brought a bunch of supplies to make nshima as a gift. So she was happy and we were too! Finally, we headed back to Choma. On the way, I talked to our bus drivers Kaumba and Kaunda. They're awesome! The assistant pastor of Shampande that works for WHIZ and just so happened to be with us today. His name's Francois, and he needed a Bible with a concordance to teach and preach from. So I gave him mine :) I'm still amazed at how thankful he was.
Day 16 (Friday Jan 23)
-Today we had class, worked over at the construction site for a few hours and then fellowshipped with the WHIZ staff. We played volleyball and soccer. Next we did coursework. Also today was sort of the birth of our concrete idea about Bibles, and we spent most of the day talking about it.
*Basically, the people here need Bibles!
So, we (the Team Leader group- Brandon, Nick, Audrey, Charlotte, and myself) are planning to have a Bible offering at IWU and College Wesleyan (maybe College Wes could incorporate this into their Mission week in early Feb). There are tons of Bibles in America that we have, but don't use. So why not send them where they're needed and will be used? We need a few dollars with each Bible so that we can buy Tonga Bibles once the English ones get here (they speak English and Tonga here). Our plan on how to get them shipped is ask each person who is coming here for a trip from the church or school to donate one of there two allowed 50 lb bags of luggage. They can fill one bag with Bibles and bring them over. The short term teams coming between now and December are... professors from school in February (Bill Millard, Steve Conrad, Karen Hoffman, Rob Dawson), May-Term medical student group, World Impact team, College Wesleyan group, and next Fall's semester abroad here. That's a lot of Bibles that people could bring here!
Day 17 (Saturday Jan 24)
-Today so far, I've been to town and typed this. In town I bought a chitenge to have my lil sis Shemiah a dress made for her birthday :) I miss her soooo much! I think the rest of today will be spent doing classwork and maybe a little relaxing.
