Merry Christmas!
Things have been good. Last Friday, December 20th, I went to a school in Choma (not one of the Brethren In Christ schools) to meet up with some teachers that I took to Nakeempa for a workshop earlier in the month. I almost postponed it as I still wasn't feeling 100% but I'm so glad I went! The original trip to Nakeempa was great and I connected with the two ladies that I chauffeured. Annie and Amanda. Both teachers, both moms. Quickly turning into good friends. I managed to track down Annie's phone number and I asked them if there was a time they were free to help me turn some of my English literacy games (specifically: ABC Bingo and The Alphabet Jive song) into something that would work in ChiTonga. They were happy to help and are excited to see the final copy (I'm still typing / doing the prep work) and use it at their school. It was great seeing their enthusiasm and they worked so hard. (I was no help at all when it came to alphabet sounds and words in ChiTonga!) I explained the two items in English and then they took over! (Writing an English translation beside so I can find the right pictures for the Alphabet song book!) It's turning out great. I'm quite excited about it. I'm hoping to finish it up before school starts on the 13th again.
I met these two teachers through Nakeempa school (as I mentioned - the school ended up scheduling me to come out for my "What do you want me to help you with?" goals workshop on the same day these ladies were to present a workshop for the teachers as well. I was being used for my wheels but it was a blessing! I got to attend the workshop Annie and Amanda put on, first a general review about literacy and a reading lesson plan (which was very informative for me and I found out many of the teacher lingo for such things as sight words - "look and say" words). Then I learned more about the THRASS program (Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills). These two ladies teach at St. Patrick's School in Choma (the other side of town. It's a large and lovely government school).
On Friday we became even better friends. (And hey - they were doing my work for me!) :) On Saturday I ran into them in a shop in town. It was like we hadn't seen each other for years! I got a very warm welcome, even a kiss on each cheek! I'm starting to run into people in town that I know now… and recognize! :) (Before, I would hear my name and have NO idea who it was - I'd met too many people too fast!)
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| Wonderbake coffee with Sugar packets: Tablespoons instead of Teaspoons and fortified with Vitamin A! |
On Saturday I got to meet my friend, Julie, at Wonderbake for coffee. It was great. I had to say good-bye to my new and good friend, Dorothy, on Weds. as her and her family were heading to Canada for home leave… for 6 months! At least she'll be back here eventually! So it was nice meeting Julie for coffee and hearing all about her travels (she had just been in the US for a month and a bit). AND she brought goodies! Stuff I asked her to bring, or had my brother or parents send to her to bring! It was like Christmas! (The candy canes she brought really helped with that too!) I'm looking forward to having coffee with Julie once a week (After we're back from our Lusaka / retreat trip!)
Christmas! We weren't sure what Christmas Day would be like and thought it would be quite busy so we celebrated just our little family on Christmas Eve with some carols, the Bible story of Jesus' birth (read from the children's Bible), and presents. I was surprised at how many presents we actually ended up having for the kids (Julie's package helped as I wrapped some of the fun stuff I found in it!)
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| Kate when she saw a present with her name on it! |
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| She wrapped a lollipop up for herself "incase I don't get any presents" Too funny! |
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| These flashlights I found in town were a hit! |
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| Snow White costume came in the package that Julie brought. Found the wings and wand in town! |
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| Swings for the swing set! Malachi thought they were skate boards for them. :) |
Christmas Day: We were told the service started at 9am, so we did the sensible thing and showed up around 10:30. It ended up being perfect (there were only two others in the church at that time even… though a few more outside getting ready for the Braii that was to happen after church). A Braii is a large BBQ pretty much. Yum! The service started around 10:45 so we guessed about perfect! It was nice, a couple carols, a couple people speaking very briefly about what Christmas means to them (me included - they called my name - I guess I was doing too much eye contact?!) My answer "Emmanuel. God with us. God comes to earth to show us what he's like in the person of Jesus." Someone else, "food!" :) A sermon on the Christmas passage in Isaiah. More songs and prayer. It was pretty short overall though. Both kids fell asleep - it was very hot today (over 30C I would guess) and both of them were up late and up early! (Why get up at 5am when you've already opened your gifts?! To play Uno with daddy?!)
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| Malachi all ready for church. "He is very smart" they said. Means the same as "looking smart" :) |
After the service they started the gift exchange (yes - we knew about it!) I'm pretty sure I overspent but I had fun! And Christmas is about giving right?! :) They had the kids first. Started off with one child and then the child that received a gift called the person they had and gave their gift. It was entertaining when our kids were called - they were both fast asleep! I woke Kate up but she wasn't having any of it. There were plenty of laughs and I accepted and gave her presents on her behalf. Andrew did the same with Malachi.
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| Andrew giving his gift. Conrad got my name so I was up next! |
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| Half of our church. It's L shaped. I was sitting on one of the nice plastic green chairs on this side, taking a picture of the other side. This space is also my office on Fridays. |
Then we went outside for the Braii. I asked a couple young ladies to come with me to the house to get the two cakes I made the day before. People were offering to bring food for the Braii and I didn't know what to bring so Andrew said they were looking for cake so I asked and yes! Hardly anyone has an oven so cake is difficult. And to buy at the grocery store is expensive ($20-$25 for a small round one). I was scared they'd melt in the sun or flies would get stuck to the icing - so I left them at home! It worked out really well. They held them while I drove the 5 minutes back (on really potholed roads by our house! Hello rainy season!) And they whisked them off somewhere and started serving them! It was pretty tasty if I do say so myself. And yeah for dessert first!
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| We were all hiding in the shade! Brought the chairs outside for the Braii! |
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| The Braii pit and the rest of the church sitting outside. Our church is small. These two pictures are it. About 25 people? |
The young men were cooking the meat on the Braii pit. T-Bone (beef) steak first. Yum and then Chicken. Yum. They served the men first. Then the ladies and children. It was pretty tasty. I was one of the last to get served - but they were starting at one end it seemed. Turns out they thought I didn't eat meat! Ha! Wonder where that came from? So we joked about that a bit! During the Braii I talked to a couple of the ladies nearby me. Overall it was a good time even though it was hot! We ended up departing quickly though as Kate had been having some issues with diarrhoea all day and finally missed. :(
We had a somewhat relaxing (and hot) afternoon. Then started preparations for supper as we were having 3 people over.
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| New friends. Lisa, Jenny, Micke |
Chatted with my parents on FaceTime for a bit, and my brother for a bit too. Had a nice supper time. I ate way too many peppermint meringues and burnt sugar fudge!
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| Kate's a walker when she talks! |
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| Malachi's such a big boy! |
Overall a very nice day.
Tomorrow - off to Lusaka….
Merry Christmas!
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