Destination: Lusaka, Zambia

here we stayed at a place we called the farm. a beautiful villa, easily and comfortably hosting the 7 of us, and the residents that live their, this was, and will most likely be the nicest place we stay. having its own orchard, a lake, and my personal favourite, a volleyball court. this place was amazing. we did various random ministry activities in the city the first week in lusaka, but it was the second week there that will remain as the favourite to us all. for the second week we spent every single day in a compound about a kilometer from our farm. no running water, no electricity, dirt houses, this has been my fav part of outreach. we also visited the volunteer school they have going there. (theres no government schools, so they struggle to keep these running) we met and got to know the teachers, and played with the kids. we had a goal of our own as well. they had an overgrown, brush area near the well, that was on the edge of the community and we, along with much help from the community, slashed the brush, cleared the ground, and fashioned wooden goalposts to form in my opinion an amazing pitch

you can sorta see it in the back ground, but a better pic coming soon.

we took the time to get to know the teachers as well, and something that began as polite courtesy turned into another great highlights. we invited the teachers over for dinner one night, that night was something special. starting out semi-awkward. we were eventually all singing classic songs, and laughing non-stop. this was a time when raf and i proudly sang the zambian national anthem which we both learned from Abigail the weeks before. i think the greatest part of the night, is that it led to connection with the teachers. over the years they have been helping there, they said they have had teams like us come in and help, which have been great, but, they ONLY focused on the kids. ya the kids are great, but those teacher who volunteer their were outstanding. always welcoming us into their class to teach a lesson on english, sports, or God. (our adopted three areas of expertise) it was nice to show appreciation to them as well. and their appreciation for our appreciation, is undoubtably a highlight.

so ya, this communtnity called 'Grippes' was amazing. another best part about it was a lady called Brenda. hold on actually, let me back up. as we walked and prayed through the community hoping for things to happen. we discovered something about Africans. they are way to hospitable and way to generous. even one we would just say hi to, (or muliebuangie in Nianja) would insist we come into their house and give us something to eat. there house no bigger than a bedroom, and the food was often their own dinner. yet, they always, always, graciously insisted.
So this brings us to Brenda. Brenda's house is on the outskirts of the compound and exactly on our pathway home. we met her the same way we did the others, except we all felt something different for Brenda. we all basically, the word is, adored her. ill give you the background info. she lives in a house made of mud. about the size of a kitchen, including her bedroom. she has two children, Faith and Christopher. she's Divorced. and she never, doesnt smile. both her kids go to the school we work at, so we see them there alot. and try our best not to favor them. at school chris' friends call him Cesar because of the Cesarean section operation brenda had when he was born, and both of them like the nickname. which was odd, but i liked it as well, so Brenda's spends most of her day in the house. cleaning, laundry and making her living. she has one source of income. her entire income comes from samosas. she makes them every morning, starting at around 6h00. and by noon she should have enough to sell for lunch. if she makes about 40. she can hopefully sell them all at lunch. so now, heres the shocking part. not that their delicious, which they are. their literally incredible. but she charges 500 kwatcha per samosa. which is like 10 cents. these delicacies would go for 1 or 2 bucks each back home, and here basically free. these are brenda's entire means of living. weve been to her house when shes making them, and she taught us how. it really is a perfected skill on her part tho. actually some times id just be walking by, to or home from the school, and id find raf outside, eaither playing the guitar or eating a samosa, just chatting to Brenda. so we saw brenda often, and by the end, loved her family incredibly. so before we left, we bought 5 kgs of rice and the same of flour. a bunch a cooking oil. and delivered it to her. this is all that shell need for the samosa's for quite a while. she was blessed. and so were we. she made us some last samosa's and we took some photos with them.

chris.(ceazer)

faithall of usso along with the time i went to the market with zig zag, and the time we went to his house, we did some soccer clinics with a guy named cossmos, and the church service i preached at. these we all the main highlights and events in our time in Lusaka. two a the greatest weeks. Oh! and the scene of the Lusaka Open. but thats a differnt story entirely.

Ayoba.