It has Just Begun!

Bemba Lesson One:  Mulishani (Hello, How are you?)

                                  Bwino  (Fine, doing well)

     My flight here was sooooooo great!  I got on the plane in Chicago and sat next to a woman named Cindy.  She was from Washington D.C. and was intrigued by the book I was reading.  We began talking about the book "Heaven is for real" and the conversation carried the whole plane ride.  She wished me well and we exchanged information!  Then I boarded in D.C. and sat next to a woman and her two-year-old who were from Gambia.  She loved American and Americans and told me all about her vacation in the States and how she would love to move there.  Once we stopped in Senegal, I had a whole row of four seats to myself but invited this nice woman from Texas to come join me.  She was originally from Durban, South Africa and her and her son were heading back to visit family.  She showed me how to eat our certain plane food, chicken salad crepes and this special salad.  She shared a lot of her story with me and told me a lot about her nursing job in the States.  Once arriving in South Africa I meet up with Ann Courtney.  Hannah Covert connected me with her through her son Paul, who currently lives in Chicago.  She was super gracious and so nice, especially when my luggage weighed 200 lbs and we had to travel to her car!  :o)  That night we went home to her house where I cleaned up and then off to this beautiful mall we went.  She showed me around Joburg and then we went to dinner with her son Daniel and his wife Megan as well as their two young children Jude and Bailey.  THEY ARE SO GREAT!  We had Greek food and then went back to their house for tea and coffee.  Saturday morning we woke up early to go have breakfast with Paul's sister and then board my last flight.  The flight was quick and I met a girl named Kristen who is from South Carolina and living in Ndola.  She is here until December working with another organization and so we swapped information and are working on connecting this weekend.  It was really exciting to see how God placed people in my path and how not having movies on my horribly long flights could actually turn out good. haha.  

     So, today is my third full day here is Zambia and we are coming up onto Sara's second month!  When I arrived on Saturday, I was greeted with such a warm welcome!  It was so fun to finally be here and be with my "family".  We spent most of the day at the house hanging out with Mama Sylvia, Savour, Marvin, and Humphrey.  We had a family dinner and then a SERIOUS dance party!  ha.  Sunday we got up early and headed off to church.  I was welcomed by the kids at Hope House and the teachers from the school.  We tried hard to prepare ourselves as school was starting the next day.
     Today was our second full day of school.  I am in 5th grade and Sara is in 6th grade.  I am realizing more than ever how hard the language barrier is.  The toughest part for us has been relating to people and expressing our idea's and confusion.  In school I have been teaching Math and English and Sara is teaching English and Social Studies.  We have taken on a bit of a role at the school and trying to navigate what that will look like long term.  Sara and I will be running a reading program starting next week for the school and so much of our time has been spent on planning that out.  Monday-Wednesday we will have all grades and then on Thursdays we will be doing teacher trainings.  Currently, we have two students here from Stanford doing research and they have been an easy go to point.  It seems easier to transition when you are not the only one transitioning... you know?  :o)
     So far, things have been a bit overwhelming and seeming a little crazy.  Expectations that I thought I didn't have, have certainly come out and been altered and emotions have seen all areas.  We are so happy to be here though and I know God has big things in store for us.  I trust His plan will be accomplished even though I am not sure exactly what that is at this point!  Sara and I ask that you would keep us in your prayers and if you feel the need, we would love to hear from you via here, email, or snail mail!

Much Love!  SLE

Pabwato, an ant hill, and passport drama

 TOP NEWS IN ZAMBIA….IT’S ELECTION TIME! That’s right people, the presidential elections for Zambia are September 20^th and campaigning is in full force. I’m going to preface this now by saying that if anyone has heard the State’s warning American’s against coming here because of possible political unrest, or telling American’s currently living in Zambia to stock up on food, water, and shelter because of these elections that cautions like that are just plain silly. Zambia is extremely peaceful. Let me paint you a picture of election time here. Basically the two main parties (MMD which has been the ruling party for the past 20 years and PF which has been trying, and failing, to gain control, yet seems to have more favor here) are paying supporters to drive around with music blaring asking for support and passing out bracelets, shirts, chitengs, etc. in hopes they can bribe voters. President Banda is quite blatant in his bribing, creating a huge football stadium in hopes that the masses will come out for him. However, don’t kubaba, or don’t tell them. This means that one should take any and all gifts, be it monetary or whatnot, that President Banda is offering, but don’t tell him that you are actually going to vote for PF. My host brother, Marvin, has become quite the politician as of late, campaigning for PF during the day, and then campaigning to my mom and me at night. It is quite an exciting time to be here, actually, not scary in the least bit. I highly recommend anyone to visit if they want a good political show. Hehe.

Life has become quite busy for me as of late. School starts on Monday, so this week Teacher Judy and I have been monitoring our sixth graders while they clean up the school grounds. Since this tends to be boring work, we decided to play some educational games after working to treat the students that actually showed up. This has just filled my heart with joy. I wish I could put into words the elation I feel in being so blessed to have this classroom of mine. The excitement these kids have to learn is just incredible. I must admit, I was hesitant on how some of the games I found would fly, but there was no need to be. In just the three days that we have been playing and learning together I already see my students becoming more at ease with me, and understanding my fast, jumbled talk. I love them.

As mentioned before, Hope Fellowship is in the works of building a new church. Now last week I thought I would be building every day. However, office work kept piling up, and cars kept breaking down, making it only possible for me to come alongside the construction crew on Friday. If any of you have heard the term ‘back-breaking’ work, yet never experienced it, try destroying a termite hill with a pick. Five days later and I still have the blisters to prove how hard the work is. Props to the men and women who do it day in and day out. I would chip away at a section of the hill for about a half hour, and the lead man would come and kill it in like five minutes. I may have some typing skills, but they sure trumped me Friday. It was a wonderful experience to work with those men, though, and prove that we Abusungus don’t fear a little dirt, sweat, and sore muscles.

Oh, the passport drama! Stacey, listen up here. So upon arriving in Zambia over a month ago I was stamped as only a visitor even though my visa clearly states I am here on business. This means I was only given 30 days in the country before having to either ship out or somehow get it re-stamped. Being the forgetful person I am, thirty days came and went, and a week later I remembered that my visa was expired. Let me tell you, even when the passport control people jokingly say they are taking you off to jail, it is not so funny. Thankfully, the lady who was/is assisting me in this whole matter is ever so kind and loves the reason I am in her country. Therefore, instead of taking me to jail (which she legally could have done) or making me pay some exorbitant fee, she just gave me another 20 days to get things all settled. Unfortunately, this means that I will have to leave my lovely Zambia before those 20 days are up and return making sure to inform the border control that I am here on BUSINESS!!! Fortunately, leaving the country only entails maybe a safari trip in Botswana for a day or two. So Stacey, when you fly in, even though you are super jet-lagged and it is taking all of energy to just stay awake, make sure they stamp you as Business and not Visitor. They probably won’t say anything to you, they will just take it and stamp it, so be persistent.

I thank you all who may be reading this, and a special thanks to all who are praying for me. I had a super cheesy quote to share about how beautiful life is, and something about how great God is, but of course I left that journal at home so instead you get to read about me babbling about the quote. Hope you enjoyed it!

Love,

Sara Blumenshine

Is it the 25th yet?

HEY EVERYONE  (Even Sara):
     Man how time is ticking, but not quite ticking fast enough.  I have had a great few months preparing for Zambia but now it is just time!  I am so grateful for the many of you that have financially supported my trip and prayerfully committed to supporting our trip!  The count down is on...  19 DAYS!  Today is officially my last actual day in Chicago!  I am packing and heading to Michigan tomorrow afternoon and then the days get even busier than before!  I am feeling so many emotions at this point it is hard to distinguish what is real, what is in the moment, what is God, what is nerves, or what is genuine freak/worry!  ha.  Thursday I was able to meet with Sue Braun (Sue works at University Ministries, North Park University) and she was very gracious and helpful about all of those emotions.  Today is a good day!  I am very excited and through my conversation with Sue, I have been able to label many of those above emotions.  I have been able to see the point of reference and understand it better.
     I am SO EXCITED to read through Sara's blogs and it makes me even more ready to go!  Thank you all so much for all you have done and the journey has already begun but will get even better in 19 DAYS!
     Chicago folks, I will be back in the city the 12-14 with my brother Eric and then again on the 22nd of August till I leave on the 25th!  I would love to see you before I go!  Love you guys and Sara, hope your well.  Give our family love for me!  See you soon girl!  :o)

Love, SLE