The last few days have been much more quiet as our numbers have lessened being beginning early Friday morning. Myself, Jami and Matt are the last of the Americans to depart. We said many of our farewells last night to those we have met, worked with and shared these last two weeks. This morning was filled with our final packing, and some football with the children in the backyard. Until next time. Mwende Bweino.
Reuben
Monday, August 3, 2009
Matt's Last Blog 8-3-09
Hello everyone, it's been a while since any of us have blogged because we are running around like crazy people trying to get things done. I have been asked to summarized the last few days in one final blog. We finished up with the schools on Friday with sketches, games, presentations and songs. Jami, Rebecca and I rewrote the words to Amazing Grace to speak about HIV and it turned out really nicely. It was difficult to sing though because by Friday we all had sore throats and runny noses, but we are all feeling a lot better since then. So Friday night we showed the Jesus film in Murundu and if it is possible to drown in small children, it would happen in Murundu. Jami, Reuben and I were given the task of crowd control and it was nearly impossible, however with a few choice Bemba words like STOP and NO, and the use of a big stick we survived. Pastor Joseph and Dr. Thinus prayed for the crowds when the movie ended, and they all seemed to be excited about it. However, when the dust cleared we were all covered in dirt, about five shades darker, and unable to take a shower because the water in Mufulira turns off at ~22:00. Reuben had a bandage on all night and when he took it off, it was the closest thing to Zebra that I've seen since I've been in Africa. I don't know about anyone else, but I washed my hands about four times the next day and used hand sanitizer and each time I got a little lighter in color.
On Saturday, we took William and Heather to the Airport, but stopped at a snake farm first. It was a little sad to see the place so run down, but it's cool to stand less than a foot from a black mamba or a cobra that are being stored in unlocked display cabinets. You think about the people around you and wonder if someone will decide to slide one of the panes of glass to the side. So we said our goodbyes and came home to find that Jami and Dan had been working non stop for about 12 hours to ensure that the STS local clubs were sustainable. You could see how tired they both were, but there was still a lot of work to be done. We came back home for a traditional South African meal and the frantic packing began.
On Sunday morning, we all went with Dan, Carrie, Bashidan, and Liam to see them off. We watched the beginning of a copper plate import business taking off as Dan and Joel purchased hand made copper plates. We said our goodbyes, hugged and took pictures as four of our team left for home. Hopefully their flights all went well. After leaving the airport, we stopped at the roadside markets and Jami argued with a man named Brian for an hour trying to get a giraffe. She got the carving, but not for the price she wanted, so she swore to never wear a dress in Africa again. Jami met with Ida to set up the STS computer and library, while Reuben and I discussed the nature of sin and the Law with Dr. Thinus. Once at home, Jami was still working like... well normal for her... but incredibly hard to finish the STS budget before we all leave. We said our good byes to some of our friends and finished packing. I think that we will all welcome the rest that the 20 hour plane ride can bring, but we will definitely miss Zambia, especially the people that we have come to know and love.
-Matt
On Saturday, we took William and Heather to the Airport, but stopped at a snake farm first. It was a little sad to see the place so run down, but it's cool to stand less than a foot from a black mamba or a cobra that are being stored in unlocked display cabinets. You think about the people around you and wonder if someone will decide to slide one of the panes of glass to the side. So we said our goodbyes and came home to find that Jami and Dan had been working non stop for about 12 hours to ensure that the STS local clubs were sustainable. You could see how tired they both were, but there was still a lot of work to be done. We came back home for a traditional South African meal and the frantic packing began.
On Sunday morning, we all went with Dan, Carrie, Bashidan, and Liam to see them off. We watched the beginning of a copper plate import business taking off as Dan and Joel purchased hand made copper plates. We said our goodbyes, hugged and took pictures as four of our team left for home. Hopefully their flights all went well. After leaving the airport, we stopped at the roadside markets and Jami argued with a man named Brian for an hour trying to get a giraffe. She got the carving, but not for the price she wanted, so she swore to never wear a dress in Africa again. Jami met with Ida to set up the STS computer and library, while Reuben and I discussed the nature of sin and the Law with Dr. Thinus. Once at home, Jami was still working like... well normal for her... but incredibly hard to finish the STS budget before we all leave. We said our good byes to some of our friends and finished packing. I think that we will all welcome the rest that the 20 hour plane ride can bring, but we will definitely miss Zambia, especially the people that we have come to know and love.
-Matt
Saturday, August 1, 2009
8/1/09 from Reuben
The house has been very busy as we work to complete our projects in the final days. Friday was our last working day at Joseph's house and the clinic. We wished our future doctor and pharmacy friends (Mike, Jake and Alden) well at 4 am this morning, as they departed for Livingston to see victory falls. Joel, Liam and I finished up everything we could on the clinic and hung the "Gracie's Place" sign above the door before departing. The team constructed desks, benches and shelves for the clinic, all of the furniture is being stored at Joseph's house for safe keeping until the doors on the clinic are in place. Our work has made a good start and we hope to see the clinic come to be a place of health and healing.
The agricultural work has gone well. We finished seeding the intensive cultivation plots on Thursday, with 500 seeds in each of the three plots, just north of the shade house. The shade house is filled with over 1000 planting bags, 1073 to be exact :D Many bags and seeds remain and Joseph has the additional supplies in safe keeping to continue with more planting bags in the future. We have shared seeds and planting bags with several other people and hope to spread seeds and knowledge of moringa farther this year.
The irrigation system for the vegetable garden and moringa is working nicely. Bringing water to the field is perhaps the best accomplishment of this year's work in the fields. This will enable much more ease in growing the moringa and other crops year round.
Many hands, minds and hearts have helped with this year's work and many people will continue the work here in Zambia after our American team has departed. May our work continue to grow and bring life and health.
Mwemde Bwino, Good Journeys,
Reuben
The agricultural work has gone well. We finished seeding the intensive cultivation plots on Thursday, with 500 seeds in each of the three plots, just north of the shade house. The shade house is filled with over 1000 planting bags, 1073 to be exact :D Many bags and seeds remain and Joseph has the additional supplies in safe keeping to continue with more planting bags in the future. We have shared seeds and planting bags with several other people and hope to spread seeds and knowledge of moringa farther this year.
The irrigation system for the vegetable garden and moringa is working nicely. Bringing water to the field is perhaps the best accomplishment of this year's work in the fields. This will enable much more ease in growing the moringa and other crops year round.
Many hands, minds and hearts have helped with this year's work and many people will continue the work here in Zambia after our American team has departed. May our work continue to grow and bring life and health.
Mwemde Bwino, Good Journeys,
Reuben
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