Day 171 - Finishing Touches

Wow! It is hard to believe that this is the last day at the orphanage. There is still work to do and the men will continue once we are gone, but SO much has been accomplished in the last 6 months. Of course, the final day was a little stressful trying to complete all the last minute things. Men were working on getting glass in the windows, hanging doors, installing latches and locks, building and varnishing picnic tables, putting up shelves, ceiling strips, and finishing the rock planters around the buildings. The two big projects of the day were to get the water running and the electricity working. About noon when the tank was hoisted onto the water tower and the last pipes were connected, there was running water in the sinks and toilets! What an accomplishment.
In the midst of the crazy day, one of the workers approached Zack to see if he would be willing to go to the hospital to drive his wife home - she had delivered twin girls the day before (The doctor had never detected two babies during the pregnancy so they were only prepared for one baby. What a surprise!) Otherwise, the new mother would need to walk the 2 km to their home. We pulled into the hospital and they brought out the two girls (it is customary in the African culture to wait several days or even weeks before naming a baby - to ensure they survive, etc.), so the mother and I each held one of the babies in the cab on the way to their home. Both babies looked healthy and weighed about 2.5 kg each at birth. The mother and I carried the babies into the family’s two room home that barely fit the mother, myself and two chairs in the first room. It was quite a humbling experience to be a part of life’s little miracles! I will be excited to visit them when I return in a couple months to see how much the babies have grown! We got back to the site just as it was time to knock off and Pastor Navice and the workers had gathered to say their goodbye’s. He was just in tears as he expressed his gratitude for everyone who had been a part of the project and for everything that had been accomplished. The workers were also thankful for all the skills that they learned and the bonds that were formed between themselves and the Americans and also amongst each other. A lot of good has been done in this community and I hope they are all proud of what they were able to accomplish it! Some of the workers stayed around to help finish some of the projects. Right at dusk the electricity from the generator started and all the buildings lit up! That brought tears to my eyes! All in all this was probably one of the best days in Serenje! Here are some of the final pictures I took around the site.

(TL: Girls bathroom, TR: multi purpose building)
(ML: looking at the two classrooms (with doors and picnic table), MM: Kitchen with shelving and sinks, MR: the men putting in the window panels, also the planter box made of rocks)
(BL: the guesthouse with water tower, BR: Kitchen/living room area of the guesthouse)

Day 169 - Farewell Party

Today we threw a party for the workers by providing them with a noon meal and handing out some gifts to show appreciation for all their hard work over the past 6 months. Ketty and a couple other women prepared and cooked the meal for about 60 people all morning and the workers were so thankful for the bountiful meal. Zack had compiled some tools and clothing items to hand out in raffle and the workers were so thrilled to be receiving the gifts. However, the best gift of all came from Randy and his wife, who had bought Bibles for all the workers (he was not able to get them all before he left so we handed them out). This was probably one of the greatest moments at work, because they were so grateful to have their own Bible (either in English or Bemba). A couple times a week before work begins, one of the workers who is also a Pastor leads a devotion, but for some who have not had the opportunity they will get to read the gospel for themselves for the first time! After we went back to work, a couple of the men who were putting up ceilings in the guesthouse, sat around reciting and discussing verses to one another! Pretty cool!

(TL: Women stirring nshima on the fire, TR: The women who helped prepare the meal)
(BL: Daniel, Pastor Henry (a worker and the Pastor at Teta, Zack, and Henrich, BR: the men after they received their bibles)

Day 165 - Just like good 'ol fashion barn raising.

So no new news on the Borehole. We started the day trying to lift up the tank stand. It was a cold rainy morning. No one was especially excited about what was before us, but with a few motivational words we all started lifting. It took a couple of hours, lots of chatting in foreign languages, and about a hundred different ideas. One broken rope and a couple dozed 6" nails, and one close call later, we had er up. there was much celebration. Daniel did some welding and is now rock solid. I went to the top tonight to see how shaky it was. it didn't move a bit. I'll get the tank up next week. Oh yeah, one last trip to lusaka to get a few things.

(This excerpt was borrowed from Zack's blog. Just to give you a little background the past couple weeks Daniel, a friend of Hope Ministries from Lusaka, has come to help weld and put together the water tower stand that will hold a tank to supply the orphanage with water. This is a massive structure was assembled by the tool shed, then moved about 200 yards to a location by the guesthouse. Now remember there are no machines in Zambia so it took over 35 men (this things weighs a LOT) and a truck to move it from the shed to the guesthouse. Then the following morning it needed to be hoisted up onto the cement footings. WHAT A PROCESS TO THINK THROUGH with no machines. I watched, video taped, and prayer that the structure would not fall on anyone during the event.)

Day 164 - African Meal

Tonight, as Navice and his family had done a month ago when the Cornerstone group was getting ready to leave, they hosted a Zambian meal at their home for us (we provided the money for the food, because it was too much for them to support). Ketty and her daughters worked for hours to prepare all the food over a fire and it was all piping hot when served it. The meal started off by the host or hostess going around washing each person's hand with water over a bowl, because no utensils are used when you eat an African meal. Then we were served nshimia, which is a corn meal mixture (a little thicker than malt o'meal with a pretty bland taste), grape leaves (like collard greens), pumpkin leaves, sweet potato leaves, sweet potatoes, roasted chicken, a mixed vegetable salad, and caterpillars (Yes, I tried a couple). This is a very elaborate meal for them, because usually Zambian families can only afford meat once a week. Their staple foods are usually nshima, greens, and little fish (which we did not have tonight. Thank goodness! It is a roasted minnow type fish that you pop in your mouth and eat whole!). All in all, I think African food is pretty good, but I do not eat it every day. We have been cooking American dishes at the office for most of our meals, but Daniel has cooked African food for us a couple nights. (L: Ketty stirring the nshima, R: Part of our Dinner Caterpillars! YUMMY!)

Day 162 - 163 Brookside Group and Borehole

The Brookside group has been fun to have around this week. The group of 7 here are Associate Pastor John, Pastor Tim and Senior Pastor Steve, along with Michelle, Amy, Molly, and Traci. Four times a year the pastors from America come to do a week of bible teaching for local Pastors, so this week they are working through the 1 Corinthians.0. The women came along to do a morning session with the Pastor's wives and then put on a VBS in the afternoon with the orphans. It has been a ton of fun to have them around and have the 25 pastors and their families camping out at the orphanage. Talk about a lot going on!!

Also, Hope Ministries has hired a well drilling company to come drill a 45m borehole to ensure they have their own water source (the city water is not good and it is only on for 4 hours a day at the site). However, after a few days of drilling in a couple different spots the company was only able to get a quarter of the way into the ground, because there was a think layer of rock. This is not a good situation and it will need to be resolved soon or the orphanage will continue to use the city water!

Day 161 - Kamena II

This morning the Brookside Group, Navice, his family, and I headed out to Kamena again to do another food distribution for the families in the bush. It was a bright, sunny day as we traveled first to Teta, where the group was able to worship for a few minutes at the small church made of twigs and grass. Then we moved onto Kamena to worship with Navice's church. It was great to be back and recognize some of the faces from a month ago. I had printed some of the pictures I had taken on the first trip to Kamena and handed them out to people! Wow were they thrilled to receive that picture. They were singin' and dancin' and yellin'! It was a lot of fun. We also went back to the school, because the group had brought some supplies to the headmaster. We returned to Serenje late that afternoon.

(TL: Me and a little girl a Teta, TR: Teta Church)
(ML: View from the back of the Truck on the way to Kamena, MR: A baby at Kamena)
(BL: People gathered for the food distribution, BR: Girls at Kamena, )

Day 157 - 159 Last Trip to Lusaka

Wednesday morning a little after 5 am Zack and I, and one the workers, Henry, and his daughter headed out to Lusaka. Henry's wife was taken to a hospital yesterday about 2 hours away for emergency surgery. Thankfully she was ok, but I had gone to the hospital when they were getting ready to drive her down yesterday and it was not good. It was great that we were going through that town anyway so he could have a ride.
Well trips to Lusaka are interesting to say the least. First, we hire one of Zack's friends Henrich, to come sit in the back of the Cantor the whole day so that none of the supplies get stolen. Second, you can't just go to one shop to buy supplies you have to drive around, order things, and wait and wait until they are ready. It usually makes for a hassle and we tried to split up to do some things, but that doesn't always work either. Third, we carry a lot of money with us for supplies so it is always a little nerve racking walking around through the streets with that in your pocket.
Another reason we went down to Lusaka on Wednesday morning was because a group from Brookside church was came in on Thursday for 10 days and we met them at the airport to help hall some of their supplies back North. We had planned to leave Lusaka with them that afternoon, but were so delayed getting the supplies we ended staying another night in town and really didn't leave until noon on Friday. I wish I would have taken a picture of the Cantor because it was jam packed of plywood, finished doors, pipes, plants, food, a well, and so many other little things but hopefully we got it all!

Day 153 - 154 Kapishya Hot Springs

We decided to leave Serenje for Easter Weekend and travel north about 5 hours to Kapishya Hot Springs. It is a lodge about 40 km off the main road through a Utopian community that was designed by a British man in the early 1900s. He built English style shops, hospitals, schools, and chapels and trained the local people to become blacksmiths, carpenters, and farmers. Most of these building are still in place today, including the large manor on a picturesque estate property. The area is still owned by the family of this man. His grandson, now runs a lodge and safari company around the property and has build a lodge next to the hot springs his grandfather discovered when he purchased the property.

On Saturday afternoon we went white water rafting down the river that runs by the lodge. It was a beautiful, calm river (only a few rapids), so it was a great way to see the property. Saturday night and Sunday morning we were able to enjoy the hot springs and celebrate Easter! It was a nice weekend away from building!

Day 150 - Living at the Mapontela and the Hope Ministry Office

So living in Serenje is not to bad (I think again most people believe I am in a hut). Hope Ministries rents an office next to a nice guesthouse (really the only guesthouse in town) called the Mapontela, which is run by Steve, an American ex peace corp worker who married a Zambiam woman. I have been staying at the guesthouse, so have a nice bed and bathroom. The office has 3 bed rooms (6 beds), a kitchen/dining area, a bathroom, and a laundry/supply area. Really it is two big rooms makeshifted into little areas. But there is an stove/oven, refridgerator, and a couple other nice American amenties that keep everyone feed and close to the comforts of home. Laundry has to be done by hand in the sink, the water turns off from about 7 am to 1 or 2 pm, and the electricity is usually on but other than that it really isn't too bad here. Once the guesthouse is done everything will be moved from the office over to the site, but the overflow of people (depending on the group size) may still have to stay at the Mapontela!

(L: Picture of the front of the office, R: Dinnertime Justin, Kory, Zack, and I (Brian's taking the photo)

Day 148 - More Painters

After the workers knocked off today, we stayed late to finish some things and a couple of the orphans and neighbor girls came over to watch me paint. They asked if they could try and one by one they each helped me roll a wall on the multi purpose room. We sang and danced to the VBS songs the remembered from last summer and then they sang other songs to me in Bemba. This is why I love it here!

Day 146 - Progress

Here are just some photos to show progress over the last couple weeks!



(l: sinks being installed in the bathroom, r: red paint on the trim)

(l: top coat of floor being poured, r: bathrooms painted with ceiling bordered up and bathroom doors on)

(l: primer on the outside of the guesthouse, r: primer on the inside of the multi purpose room)

Day 145 - Inspectors

During the day we typically have a few of the neighbor kids at the site running around and playing in yard, but today 4 orphan boys stopped by to see the facility. I gave them a tour through all the buildings and they just had huge smiles on their faces. They seemed really excited to know that this was going to be their new “home.” They also asked if they could sit in the van to see what it was like inside. I doubt any of them had ever rode in a vehicle.. Oh the little things in life that make a child's day!

It has been amazing to see all the people come through the building. It seems almost everyday Navice, Randy, or Zack are giving some group a tour of the place. People are just so impressed with the work and structure. They don’t see buildings like this around the area much, so I think it is something that the whole community will take pride in for years to come!

Day 143 - 144 Workers

The job site is a busy place most days. There are about 50 workers who were hired when the project first started. There was no place for the guys to post an advertisement or somewhere to submit a resume, so the opportunity for a job was spread through word of mouth around Serenje and over 100 men came to see if they could work at the site. The guys really had to test run the workers the first week to see if they could perform and some passed and some were fired. What a process to go through, but all the workers seem to do a good job with their daily tasks. Here are some quick facts about the workers: (pic: the American and Zambian workers)

• Work beings at 7:00 hours sharps and ends at 16:00 hours each day, because there are men who travel over 20 km each way to the town. Thankfully most of them have bikes, but they still need to leave their homes by 4:30 and don't return until 18:30 riding on awful, dirt roads.


• There is a 72 year old man who does this daily. Amazing! First because the average life expectancy in Zambia is somewhere is the 40's and second because he is in great shape!


• Each worker earns between 10,000 - 20,000 Kwatcha ($2 - $4 US) per day depending on their skill level (this is average pay in the area).


• Most workers have never used power tools before, so after lessons they have enjoyed the efficiency of the tools on the site. However, they still do most of the work by hand.





• I mentioned before that there is one woman on the job site who paints with me. Grace , has a 6 month baby girl who comes with her to the site everyday. The baby is watched by Grace's niece and nephew, 5 and 7, who were orphaned and that she is now supporting. They sit on the grass day after day playing and napping. They are very innovative with their toys and games. They have a checker game drawn on a piece of card board with glass pop tops as their pieces and they have a kite made out of plastic grocery bags. Daycare is a little different here. (pic. Grace's nephew and daughter)
  

• Typically at noon the workers have a little maize and some greens they cook over a fire to eat. However, one day last week they were thrilled to find a branch with two beds (they call birds beds?!?!), because they could cook them to eat. They also dig for caterpillars which provide a lot of good protein in their diets.
  

It has been a lot of fun working with the Zambian people. Although their can be frustrations with communications, work ethic and sometimes the standard of work (well to American standards), the relationships that have been made are much more important.