5/22 Moringa Team Update

Sorry for not sending an update yesterday. The line was crazy and I went to bed. So here we go!

Monday:
The moringa team had a day of relative rest today. We woke up and planted about 8 more trees in the grove in front of Dr. Thinus' house. There are a few more that we'd like to plant, but we're going to wait until this Thursday during our workshop with the church planting students.
After planting the trees we went to Agape for another scrumptious meal (with moringa added to it!). Because we didn't have anything planned for the afternoon, Dr. T's secretary took us to the market downtown so that we could buy fabric for skirts. We then picked up some liner and went to the tailor to have them made. This Thursday afternoon we will get new skirts, custom made! While we were downtown we stopped at the butcher shop, which also sells soft-serve ice cream inside. Once we got over the smell of the store, we picked up our ice creams, ate them outside on the curb, and headed back to Dr. T's early. Holly and Jim worked on a presentation for the 2 workshops that will be holding this week.

Tuesday:
"The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit." -Nelson Henderson.
While we know that this is not THE meaning of life, it pretty much sums up the moringa team's experiences here.
This morning we got up early and headed to Ndola to meet Sue Beare from Isubilo, a British NGO. They do work with orphans, HIV patients, and underweight babies. They had asked us to hold a workshop for about 40-60 people and so we were very nervous. It went well though! We set up our impressive array of books and materials and then Jim gave an introduction of Agape, STS and what we are all about. Holly then gave the presentation on the moringa to the audience, which consisted of volunteers, those who are HIV positive, and a few grandparents that were the main caretakers of underweight babies. As always, it was heartbreaking. They really seemed to understand the message (despite the translator) and all wanted some moringa seeds. We showed them how to plant, dry, and use the tree and made it a little interactive. When it came to the part where we told them how to grind the tree with a mortar and pestle, Jim asked for a volunteer so that we didn't make fools of ourselves trying to figure it out. She was very good and managed to create a fine powder far quicker than we would have. After the presentation we gave all the participants a handful of seeds and the main agricultural guy at Isubilo, Tenga, 84 seedlings. Tenga seems responsible and knowledgeable, so hopefully this time next year they will have a healthy grove.
On the way home we stopped by a store called "The Hungry Lion" for some Zambian fast food. We ate fried chicken and fries and then snoozed on the long drive back home.
Tonight at 6:20 pm we will be featured on ZNBC in a 30-minute documentary. It's the highlight of our week! We'll be sure to make copies so that we can bring it back home.
Tomorrow we are going to Kitwe Central Hospital to give a presentation on the moringa to some doctors. This was arranged by our friend, Dr. Gil, who assures us that it won't be a tough crowd but we aren't totally believing him. Jim is busy preparing as we type.
We hope that everyone in the States is doing well and enjoying our blogs. We enjoy writing them! Take care and please keep praying for us.
p.s.- Those of you concerned about our hygiene will be pleased to know that we finally got some clothes washed so that we do not have to wear t-shirts covered in mud after 3 days of digging anymore. :-)