7/21/09 from Dan

Greetings to everyone in the States! Since I have not updated everyone, I will give some reflections on my time here since arriving this past Friday. But to start, I will tell you of the progress of today. First of all, the HIV Education Team 1 (William, Carrie, Jami, Matt, and Dan) went to two schools today, one in the morning at Mutamba, it was our first time there this week. It was a great school, with a highly organized administration. We asked for 6 classrooms and for 20 people to be in each classroom, single gender. The Deputy Headmaster said "No Problem" (a common Zambian phrase). And lo and behold, 20 minutes later we walked into each classroom, with the exact number of seated students. I have been here 6 times, and that was a first. We found that they knew very little about HIV/AIDS, so most of us spent our time going over HIV/AIDS information, to set a foundation. I had a great group of guys (Grade 8 and 9), they were very lively and, as the class went on, they became very talkative. In Zambia, the students are used to lecture style, so to transition to more discussion based teaching takes time. But these young men caught on fast, with the help of candy. Then the Deputy Headmaster gave us a ride to the other school (Greyson Basic), which was VERY GENEROUS. This was our second day at Greyson and unfortunately some of the students that we had yesterday were not in school this time. Also, the pupils had to cut out early, so our time at this school was a little less regulated, but we taught as much as we could. Then we took a trip to the Copy Shop (took a long time). Then, in preparation for an illustration for tomorrow, we bought two liters of Coke Zero and walked back to a side alley and dropped half a pack of Mentos in and watched it fountain into the sky (the boys on the street enjoyed it thoroughly). Then we stopped at the corner store and enjoyed an ice cream under the retiring sun. It was a great day here in Zambia.

The HIV Team 2 (Tannen, Jami, Heather) spent the morning working on future STS things for the upcoming semester, they have been the busiest of bees in this hive. Then they went to Pomodzi Girls in the afternoon and tag-teamed a group of 25 girls. We have been to Pomodzi many times, so it is always good to revisit a place and encourage old friends and make new ones!

The Agriculture Team (Jim, Uncle Jack, Reuben, Alden) nearly finished the irrigation system, only some final sprinklers are left to put in. The project has become a larger scale project than even they expected. They have irrigated around an acre from a single well, which is a pretty impressive feat.

The Construction Team (Joel, Drew) got the wood for the shade house today and nearly finished the shade house already. They have a couple hours of work left tomorrow and then they will turn their efforts toward building furniture for the clinic.

The Health Team (Mike, Jake) worked in a clinic today, diagnosing and treating Malaria, treating a baby with pneumonia, and making home visits in the community. Pretty impressive!

And Liam continues to paint, make new friends, and prove himself to be a lot more of a Zambian than any of the rest of us lame "Muzungus."

As far as reflections go, it is good to be back in a place that is truly beginning to feel like a second home. It is strange to walk through the streets of Mufulira and see the things that have changed and how many things have stayed the same. This place and the people soak into you, especially when you drink of the experience time and again. As things in your own life change, things here change too, but in a different way. It is fascinating to be here, it always is. I am looking forward to and asking God to open our eyes to His movements, His hand, His face. So continue to pray for us, that He would give us open eyes to see Him and open doors to share Him with others. Thank you for your prayers. They are what makes what we do of Him. Please continue...