Zambia Mission November 2011

London

2011-11-19T04:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we did the whirlwind tour of London ... we were on the first Hop on Hop Off bus in the morning to see all that we could see. From Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, The London Eye and of course the Markets.

We were quite disappointed as the Queen neglected to show up for her High Tea appointment with us. Feeling a little snubbed we moved onto Westminster Abbey for a few photo opportunities.

During our stay most of use indulged in the legendary "Fish and Chips." With very large portions few of us managed to finish our orders. Next time we will do a little more sharing.

To pull our trip together we took the Tube to the theatre to watch the show Billy Elliot last night. It was a wonderful show filled with comedy and ongoing entertainment. We laughed until our guts ached. Perhaps a few too many "Papaya" words were said (talk to Zee about the meaning of "Papaya") but with the English accents it was easily overlooked.

Well ... our trip is winding down ... we are all gathering in the Hotel Lobby awaiting the arrival of our bus to the airport in the next 20 minutes. We have all had a great time and we will all be suffering from smile, laughter, tears, children, new friend and overall Zambia withdrawal.

We can't thank everyone that made our stay and experience in Zambia enough. Everyone was so welcoming, accomodating and took wonderful care us. Thank you for opening our eyes, helping us through the challenges awhile accepting us and our crazy Canuk ways. We look forward to being with you once again.

To an incredibly bonding experience ... "Cheers to Our Family of MT Commandos!!!"

Over and out for now the MT Commandos!

Watch for a few more pictures that will be posted in the next couple of days ...

Safe and Sound

2011-11-16T19:11:00.001-08:00

>
> We are all safe and sound in Lusaka and hopefully starting to stir to depart for Lusaka Airport. It is 5 am and we will be starting the first major leg if our journey home this morning. London here we come!!!
>
> We had a few hours yesterday before departing from Livingstone. There was just enough time to step off the edge ... Down into Victoria Falls by bungee and across the Falls by Zipline.
>
> Hmmm... How many participants do you think there were? Was one of them your family member?
>
> Make you guesses... Find out if you are right soon.
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone

Safari

2011-11-16T00:46:00.001-08:00

Baboons at Victoria Falls, Van Travel & Cross Border

2011-11-16T00:41:00.001-08:00

Victoria Falls

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Swimming and Braii Celebration with the Children

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More Feeding Day

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Miscellaneous Pictures

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Preparing the Soya Bags to Handout

2011-11-16T00:18:00.001-08:00

Market

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More Feeding Program Day

2011-11-16T00:05:00.001-08:00

Launch of the Feeding Program

2011-11-15T23:57:00.001-08:00

Safari

2011-11-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

We all had a great time on the Safari today. It was a great way to pull all we have done in Zambia together.

Hope you enjoy the pictures of the wildlife.

Sent from my iPhone

Zebra

2011-11-15T09:15:00.001-08:00

Safari Jeep

2011-11-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

More Elephants

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2011-11-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

Elephant Herd

2011-11-15T09:13:00.000-08:00

Elephants

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Hippos

2011-11-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

Safari Day

2011-11-14T23:28:00.000-08:00

We crossed the border into Botswana after a fast trip from the Hotel. Watching the speedometer hit 150 km/hr as we drove down the two lane highway.

Luckily we were crossing on foot and then by speedboat across the water to Botswana. Those bringing transport trucks full of goods had up to a week wait at the border in order to load onto a ferry for the crossing.

On our way to the lodge we saw many elephants roaming along with Warthogs. Can't wait to go into Chobe National Park where the animals are protected and roam freely.

Off we go...

Sent from my iPhone

Livingstone.

2011-11-14T19:49:00.000-08:00

We arrived by prop engine plane in Livingstone early yesterday morning. The plane we traveled on only held 17 passengers.

Our flight from Ndola to Lusaka was uneventful. We did have a minor holdup on the flight to Livingstone though ... After we were all loaded into the plane and heading to the runway the captain informed us that the right engine wasn't getting power. Needless to say we turned around so that the engineers could check it out. We were then on our way thirty minutes later.

We then spent the rest of the day at Victoria Falls in Livingstone. Although it is the dry season and the falls are not in their most grandeur they were still amazing to see and hear.

We walked down to the "boiling point" where the falls meet at the bottom. In our walk we encountered a huge troop of baboons. The babies swung in the trees near us. At some points on our walk we could have easily touched them they were do close.

We then walked through the rocks at the top of the falls where the water flows. There are pockets if water throughout with some deeper than others and still being fed by the Zimbeze river. We were all do hot that it didn't take long for us to strip down and go swimming.

A little shop was also enjoyed at the falls as a small craft market was set up.

Time to go ready to start the day. It is 5:45 am here and we need to be on the bus at 6:45 am. Today we are off to Botswana on Safari.

We have wireless in our hotel room so it looks like our updates will continue via iPhone typing and email. I'll try to get a couple pictures on my phone to share and if possible will hook up to a computer to send more.

Sent from my iPhone

Updates

2011-11-13T14:05:00.000-08:00

We have had a very busy time working on the Farm. Most of us have been up by 6:30 am each day as breakfast was at 7 am each morning and once we were finished we were on the move. Most days we did not start getting ready for bed until after 10 pm. We have tried to write the blog updates with as few errors as possible each day but unfortunately time, exhaustion and technology often made it impossible to post our blogs.

We hope you enjoy the back log of blogs we have just posted. We all have so much more to share to but if we tried to write down all we experienced and observed in a day the writing would not stop.

As of tomorrow we will be in Livingstone until Wednesday. Then we will be headed to Lusaka where we will overnight andfrom there we will catch our flight to London on Thursday. We will then be leaving London early Saturday and arriving in Calgary late Saturday.

We hope to continue to post blogs over the next week and as well as pictures. Hopefully once we reach London the SPOT locator will work once again. It has come to our attention that we are out of the SPOT area and are not being located.

Last Day in Ndola

2011-11-13T14:02:00.000-08:00

November 13, 2011

Today was our last day in Ndola area. We started our day off by going to Pastor Mukwavi’s Church. Once again the Church service was uplifting and a great way to start our day. Jason shared the history of Remembrance Day while Reg and Shelley led the membership in a few songs.

After Church we all mobilized to go to Kitswe (another city) approximately 45 minutes away from Ndola. The market is known for having great arts and crafts. Those of us that reached the market enjoyed our shopping time and returned with bracelets, paintings, wooden bowls and much more.

Those that did not shop (Sandra, Shelley and Brian) instead spent the day sitting on the side of the road with one of the vans. We had all piled into the two vans but as we caravanned to Kitswe the radiator hose blew on one of the vans. Lucky for the group that stayed with the van a couple of men decided to be good Samaritans and help them out. One of the men walked off to a friend’s house and returned with the hose off of the friend’s vehicle. With a little fancy mechanical work they all got the hose hooked up and were able to head back to Ndola after about six hours.

We are all now frantically preparing and organizing for our early departure to Livingstone tomorrow morning. We could not come all this way without seeing Victoria Falls and going on a Safari. The next couple of days are full but will be full of new adventures.

Swimming and Braii

2011-11-13T14:01:00.001-08:00

November 12, 2011

Today was the last full day with the children from the Farm and from the Oil of Joy Home. To celebrate all the work completed during the week and to just have time to have fun with the children we all went swimming at the pool at one of the hotels.

For the majority of the children it was their first or second time to even have the opportunity to go swimming. Swimming here is not a common activity and the children do not know how to swim. Many members of our team took it upon themselves to help the children learn how to swim. Instructions like keep your legs straight, move your arms and keep your belly up could be heard throughout the pool area.

It was amazing how quickly the children started to feel comfortable in the water. Cannonballing into the pool soon became the excitement of the day. Even those that could not swim jumped in to see if they could make the biggest splash. Jason remained in the deep end on stand bye to escort the non-swimmers to the edge of the pool after they made their big splash.

After swimming we returned to the Farm for a Braii (Zambian Barbeque). We feasted on chicken, beef and sausages cooked over a charcoal barbeque. While the food cooked everyone enjoyed the vibrant music that played while they danced.

We all had a great day although it was tough to say goodbye to the children and all the caregivers at the farm.

Feeding Program

2011-11-13T14:00:00.001-08:00

November 11, 2011

Today was the official launch of the feeding program. The turnout was great … we know that we had at least 275 children in addition to their parents and extended in family in attendance. As well, we had government representatives and many special guests.

The community volunteers worked hard preparing food for the children to eat. Most of the meals were cooked outdoors on the charcoal fire. The children were served an enriched soy porridge in the morning and then a lunch that included meat, vegetables and nshima. The children devoured their meals.

The excitement for the children was receiving the special gifts in Ziploc bags. The children all sat in a circle and waited patiently as we made our way around to hand out the gifts. The children were bursting with excitement as they delved into their bags to see what they received.

Children in the feeding program are all at risk due to low weight. They come to the program on Fridays to be weighed by the Community volunteers to check if they are gaining week. Those children that are still underweight then receive a bag of enriched soy porridge powder to make eat at home. The Community Volunteers do a wonderful job of running the program.

It was a very emotional yet enriching day.

Off to the Market in Ndola

2011-11-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

November 10, 2011

This morning we had the opportunity to embark on an adventure to see the market in the City of Ndola where we are staying. The market was composed of stand after stand covering a few blocks. This is where the locals in Ndola purchase the majority of their groceries.

There were vegetables, chickens, eggs and the most enormous avocados you can imagine. Some of the stands were like the flea market stands you see in Canada as they were filled with used shoes, clothes, blankets, CD’s, cell phones and many other miscellaneous items. As well you could find many of the items needed in the homes like brooms (made of elephant grass wrapped together) and African dress.

Back at the farm peanuts were shelled from the harvest back in the spring. Then Regina (the Boy’s house mother) roasted the peanuts. As a late afternoon snack we enjoyed warm freshly roasted peanuts. Wow, talk about yummy!!

We finished up the rebuilding of the desks and organized the rooms. Tomorrow is a big day as it is the Celebration of the Grand Opening of the Feeding Program at its new location on the Farm. We are expecting many people bright and early tomorrow morning many of whom will be walking over 25 km’s to our location.

Painting at a Halt

2011-11-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

November 9, 2011

A beautiful day, sun shining and very hot! Painting clothes on once again we arrived at the farm ready to work and hopefully complete the majority of the painting. As planned the painting crew and plumbing crew started work immediately.

We were finishing up a first coat of the coloured paint over the primer and the second coat in the first room. The paint in the buckets was quickly running out … Andrew (contractor working on the building of the other house) was on his way with more. Whew the last little bit of paint was used up and we could see Andrew on the horizon arriving with more. As we pried open the bucket to our surprise … the paint was a salmon colour. It didn’t match the taupe we were painting.

Off to the paint store to see what could be done. After a few hours of searching the true problem came to light … there was no pigment left and there was uncertainty as to when the next shipment would come. Unlike Canada this does not mean you can just run to another paint store nope, the painting instead is on hold until more arrives. We had managed to get the exterior and the rooms first colour coat completed so although it could use one more coat it still all looks great.

Onwards to the next plan … desks to fix and varnish.

Community Visits

2011-11-13T13:57:00.000-08:00

November 8, 2011

A group of us joined the community volunteers to visit villages. We were visiting vulnerable and orphaned children that are going to be moving into the housing program at Mercy Touch when the building is completed. To get to the villages we walked through dirt paths and crossed a swamp. It was amazing how well the community volunteers knew the area and knew every family home we were going to visit. There were no street signs or directions posted and without our leaders we would surely have been lost.

In the villages there was often a store. There was no comparison to our grocery stores. Instead it was usually a 4 x 6 building with an assortment of a few items which often included; tomatoes, onions, potatoes, seasoning.

As we arrived in the Village and handed the first sweet out word would quickly spread that we were there. Very quickly all the children would gather where we were. The children were so excited to receive a sucker or a bouncy ball.

One of the greatest novelties for the children was viewing the pictures we took of them on our cameras. Many of the children have never seen themselves and have no idea what they look like. The giggles that often followed were very cute.

We came across a woman doing her laundry. She had a great set up, three wash bins were she rinsed soaped and rinsed. She washed next to the well that had been hand dug many metres deep. To get the water she would lower a canister by rope down the hole and then let the canister fill. Once it was full she would pull the bucket up by hand and dump the water into her wash bins.

All the women’s kitchens were a small designated area outside the home. Wood is collected to keep a small fire going that they cook all their meals on. Using charcoal to keep the fire burning is preferable but most of the women do not have the money to afford charcoal.

Preparing meals and general housekeeping fill the women’s days. There is no running water and the comforts that we enjoy in North America in these small villages. There is no air conditioning to combat the heat or running water to help make the preparation of food, bathing and house chores easier.

For most of the families living in the villages though they show great pride in their homes. Often flowers outside the front entrance can be seen planted in disposed of containers, they are often sweeping the dirt floors and entrance to their homes or they try to hang cloth to decorate the exterior.

Most of the men spend their days working on the farms. At this time of year they are beginning to sow their seeds by hand after having ploughed the fields by hand and when possible with the help of animals. Some of the vegetables planted include; maize, tomatoes and onions.

It was an emotionally exhausting day. The homes we say were maybe 10 x 10 if lucky. The roof was made of elephant grass, cardboard or any material that might provide protection from the elements. Most homes included extended family members and often the children of family members that had passed. This meant that it was not unusual to have 8 to 10 people living in one house. Feeding everyone without a stove or a fridge to store food in was difficult to comprehend let alone all sleeping together in the home and having a small area to sit. Add to this the lack of running water and sporadic if any electricity at all. Going to the villages was an eye opening experience and it makes one realize how very privileged we are in Canada.

MT Team

Community

2011-11-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

Washing Clothes

2011-11-08T13:54:00.001-08:00

Children in the Community

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Community Visits

2011-11-08T13:51:00.001-08:00

Mill

2011-11-08T13:49:00.000-08:00

Football Fun

2011-11-08T13:48:00.001-08:00

Plumbing

2011-11-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

Dinner at Mukwavi's

2011-11-08T13:46:00.001-08:00

Church

2011-11-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Painting Starts

2011-11-08T13:43:00.001-08:00

Oil of Joy

2011-11-08T13:42:00.001-08:00

Pictures taken at "Oil of Joy House," the girls' home.

Our First Day at the Farm

2011-11-07T21:44:00.001-08:00

November 7, 2011

We began our journey out to the farm in two vans filled with painting supplies, gifts, day packs and of course many people. The girls from the Oil of Joy House were given the opportunity to join us at the Farm and miss school. Like most children they happily joined us and took a day off school to help at the Farm instead.

Not long after starting out we managed to be pulled over by the police at a check point. Who knew that you were not allowed to even have your camera in view in an industrial area? Although Shelley assured the police that she had not taken any pictures they insisted on checking her camera. They definitely enjoyed the pictures as the police didn’t stop at the Africa pictures … they continued to view the pictures through London before handing the camera back.

Our insides were shaken as shortly after leaving the check point we started down the only road servicing the area. Down a dirt road carved amongst vegetation Kathryn (house manager) drove us. We were having an off road experience on a road as she managed to maneuverer around pot holes, through ruts and vegetation on both sides.

As we drove where it appeared no one existed we would see people walking down the road (often a mother with a small child) or we would see people in the distance walking through the untamed landscape. As we saw very few homes it made one wonder … Where are the people coming from?

Upon arrival at the Farm we saw the Mill on the farm hard at work. People from the surrounding area come to the mill on the farm and pay a small fee to have their maize ground so that they can use it for their cooking and when possible they sell their excess. At the mill today was a mother with two young children. Kristy being friendly and all smiled at the young children instead of smile this brought on tears from the children (1 ½ and 2 ½). They have never seen an albino before!!! When the grinding was completed the mother with a young child wrapped around her and one walking beside her loaded the maize atop of her head and started her journey home.

Soon after arriving at the Farm we all split into our groups to work on our jobs for the day. One group worked on the plumbing in the bath house, one group painted and another group headed out into the community to meet children that may be candidates for the Mercy Touch Housing Program.

Later in the afternoon Sandra decided that she should test out her off road driving skills. A young mother had come to a Clinic for help as the baby hadn’t been fed properly. The Clinic has a new policy about underweight babies, any baby that is underweight must be referred to the Mercy Touch Feeding program. The mother walked 25 km from her home to the clinic and then to the Farm for help. The Feeding Program provided the mother with two cases of powdered formula. Knowing the mother and Five week old baby a 25 km walk ahead carrying formula as well as donated baby clothes Sandra took it upon herself to drive them home. Three hours later, with kidneys almost failing and shaky knees Sandra successfully returned.

Everyone including the children worked heads down today with few breaks. The excitement to have the opportunity to help with painting was contagious as each child took a turn with the roller or paint brush. By the time we finished up for the day just about everyone had a splash of paint on themselves and some more than just a splash.

After all the work it was time for a little play. The children and members of our teams join together for a fun football scrimmage. The rain had come down hard earlier in the day leaving behind puddles and lots of mud. The children were no match for the mud as they slipped, slid and ended up covered from head to toe in mud. It was quite the sight to see … mud oozing between toes, pile ups of children and huge smiles that went from ear to ear. Contagious laughter could be heard all over the farm. What a great way to end a day of hard work!!

Bet you wondering what Jason has been up to today … other than the fact that he managed to require two Band-Aids after cutting his finger trying to keep a roll of toilet paper from falling there have been no further mishaps. Let us hope he is on a roll!

Watch for the pictures we are hoping to post soon ...

Off to bed in preparations for another full day tomorrow … The MT Commandos

Dinner at Mukavi’s

2011-11-07T21:43:00.001-08:00

November 6, 2011

We all had a wonderful evening at Mukavi’s home. We enjoyed wonderful food, great company and a singing quartet. We enjoyed a delicacy of deep fried catepillars!!! Zee refused to even considering trying it and Robyn who knew she was going to throw up … even gave it try … and threw up!!

Sunday

2011-11-06T08:00:00.001-08:00

November 6, 2011

This morning we were greeted by a loud, enjoyable rhythmic chorus coming from the doorway of Mukavi's Church. It was so inviting and uplifting. Twenty-two of us (the girls from the Oil of Joy House joined us) had climbed into the two vans Mercy Touch uses as transportation to go to Church this morning. It was quite the sight as we sat on laps and some crawled into the back cargo area of the van.

Upon arrival many of the members of the congregation came out to greet and welcome us to the Church. We joined in the singing, clapping and dancing. It was a fabulous experience, full of life and love while devoting time to recognize and learn about God's influence in our daily lives.

Members of our time quickly became visiting congregational members. Reg played his guitar while singing a special song (I Can Only Imagine) that he started to sing to his son before his son was born. Shelley joined in and shared her upbringing in South Africa while introducing our visiting group.

Mukavi has graciously invited us into his home this evening for dinner. It will be a wonderful opportunity to get to know him and his extended family. We have all been treated as family and feel so very welcomed here.

The weather is warm and most of today has been beautiful with sunny skies. With that said … a thunderstorm made its way through during our orientation meeting this afternoon. We are at the start of the rainy season but hoping that we can ward off the rain for another couple of weeks.

Tomorrow bright and early we are off to the farm. We have planned two days to paint the exterior and interior of the school house for the feeding program kick off on Friday. Hopefully the rain stays away so that we can get it done in our timeframe.

Well it looks like Jason may just have his own part to the blog each day … his mom is not here but somehow he stilled managed to get his socks and underwear washed for him. Who knew that if he didn't pick up after himself that the house staff here would wash them by hand and hang them to dryJ

The picture attached is off the makeshift Basketball net that Mark rigged up for the girls.

Signing off the MT Commandos

**Thanks for posting that we arrived safe and sound Todd. Hopefully we will now have regular computer and internet access.

Arrival & Adventure of the Missing Key

2011-11-06T07:57:00.001-08:00

November 5, 2011

After a six hour journey we arrived in Ndola. Driving in the country side was a wonderful adventure. We would drive for 15 – 30 minutes and would then come upon a town/village. Lining the road we would see many stands selling a variety of items.

We encountered the largest freshest looking watermelons, saw stands upon stands of tomatoes, onions, nuts and yes we even we treated to the sight of a large tray full of plump catepillars. All the food was displayed in pyramids and looked very inviting as we drove past.

We saw people working hard making concrete blocks to pile to build the walls for their homes. By making I mean that they were combining all the materials necessary to make the blocks and bricks and some instances they blocks were made in advance. Then they would use the grasses to create the roof. In some areas you could see people redoing their roofs in preparation for the upcoming rainy season.

After sitting in the bus for a couple of hours we all needed a bathroom break. We stopped in a town where we each paid 1000 Kwacha to use the facilities. This meant hovering over the toilet and hopefully you remembered to bring a little tissue in with you as one was not provided. All was kept very clean and tidy though.

We arrived at Fatsmol (our guest house in Ndola) without any issues. We have each been assigned to our guest rooms. Lucky for us Westerners … we are staying at one of the only places in Ndola that has running hot running water and electricity. For the majority of the people living here there is no hot water and the electricity comes and goes if they have electricity. It has been explained to us that electricity is purchased through a pay advance card that plugged into an electricity source. When the amount purchased runs out on the card there is no longer electricity until a new card is purchased.

Our dinner meal was enjoyed at the Oil of Joy girl's house. All the girls helped in the preparation of the meal. They did a fabulous job organizing and feeding over twenty of us. The girls are great and we all enjoyed visiting. We had time to read stories and watch the girls dance. We look forward to seeing them again tomorrow.

During our visit to Oil of Joy House Jason's key to his guest room went on a mysterious adventure of its own. Somehow during our walk over or ride home the ONE and ONLY key to Jason's room jumped out of his pocket. Adorned with flashlights on their heads a group of the guys went on a search for the missing key. After searching the vegetation within our Guest House compound; retracing the steps walked; and a search through the vehicle it was declared that the key had gone awol.

The troops were then brought in to rectify the situation. Knocking on my door led to two of the maintenance men from here entering my room with a large barrel and three milk crates. They proceeded through the room into the bathroom where they set up their ladder to climb to the ceiling. With a screwdriver in hand they pried open the tile roof; hoisted themselves into the ceiling space and crawled across to Jason's room. They then proceeded to break into his room via the ceiling. Having arrived in his room they used their tools to dismantle the lock allowing access into the room. Needless to say Jason is now the proud recipient of a brand new lock at his expense that he will be leaving behind.

We are starting to think that Jason may need his own blog of his "break the mold adventures."

The people that we have met have all been very welcoming and friendly. Huge smiles are seen across many faces as they greet us and always welcome us. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Arrived at Lusaka

2011-11-06T07:55:00.001-08:00

November 5, 2011

We have arrived at Lusaka Airport. This is the 32 passenger bus we are traveling on to Ndola. We hope to arrive around dinner – probably a five hour drive.

Everyone is in great spirits especially after having freshened up in the bathrooms here.

It is overcast, warm (20) and slightly humid at moment. All feels very pleasant.

Of course everyone else also says hi, we are doing well and love to you all.

Over and out for now … the MT Commandos.

(written on the 5^th but we were unable to upload from the mail on our cell phone)

We have arrived safely in Ndola! - Update on the Mercy Touch Zambia Team

2011-11-05T19:24:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,

We have arrived safely in Ndola! We do not currently have access to to sending updates by phone email. Hopefully we will be able to try from a computer tomorrow.

It also looks like the GPS points have not been posted to the site. However, we are here and everyone is well.

(sent on behalf of the Zambia team by Todd Hutton. Todd is in touch with Shelly via text messaging).

Arrived in Lusaka

2011-11-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

We have arrived at Lusaka Airport. This is the 32 passenger bus we are traveling on to Ndola. We hope to arrive around dinner time - probably a five hour drive.

Everyone is in great spirits especially after having freshened up in the bathrooms here.

It is overcast, warm (20) and slightly humid at the moment. All feels very pleasant.

Spencer, Robyn and Kristy send a special hi and love you mom and dad.

Of course everyone else also says hi, we are doing well and love to you all.

Over and out for now ... The MT Commandos

Will update again when we have service:)

Heathrow Airport

2011-11-04T10:14:00.001-07:00

Windsor Castle

2011-11-04T10:09:00.001-07:00

>
> During our seven hour stop over in London we had the opportunity to visit Windsor Castle.
>
> It great to get out in the fresh air and stretch our legs.
>
> Everyone has been behaving for the most part ...
>
> We had a little run in with the security at the castle for taking prohibited photos.
>
> And... a little missing Malerone. Good thing we have lots to share.
>
> Having Fun ... MT Comandos
>

Our bags ready for their flight to Zambia

2011-11-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our Team

2011-11-03T17:45:00.001-07:00

We met at Boston Pizza before heading to the airport.

Letters Written

2011-11-03T11:00:00.001-07:00

These are a few of the letters the children have written to share with the children living in the Mercy Touch homes.

Some of the Peace Cards the children made

2011-11-03T10:55:00.001-07:00

The children in grades 1/2 and 5/6 worked on these cards to give to the children in Zambia.

Putting together the Gift Bags

2011-11-03T07:51:00.001-07:00

Less than 12 Hours ...

2011-11-03T05:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm up early, I can't sleep. A few jitters are running through me ... I still have a list that seems to keep growing of things to do before I leave. I must keep reminding myself to keep focussed and all will come together.

I can't believe I am actually leaving today. It is going to be tough saying goodbye to the dogs, tougher to say goodbye to my husband and even tougher to say goodbye to my seven and eight year olds. I have never been away from all of them by myself for more than four days at a time. The comfort of having one of them with me will not be part of this adventure. Making it tougher is that fact that I am so used to always having technology close at hand for the phone call, Skype, text and email. Ahhh... that reminds me I must pack a Teddy Bear to use as my surrogate family:)

I am going to be heading into a world where technology is not the day to day norm. I have been told not to expect much but ... what does that really mean to me? Will I be able to connect to email and update the blog? Will my phone work? Can I manage two weeks without searching Kijiji looking for great deals? How will I find the directions to the nearest Starbucks without my map app? You will find out along with me ... will the Blog be updated on a regular basis? I guess it's wait and see.

The gift bags to give to the children are packed. I have beautiful Peace Cards accompanying me and some wonderfully written letters from some of my friends children to share with the children. It is hoped that a few of the children living in the Mercy Touch Homes will write back.

Here are a few of the excerpts from the letters ...

In Canada we have some of the coldest winters reaching down to about -30 Celsius where I live.

Here in Canada people go up to grade 12 in school then onto university (even girls) if they want.

In Canada we have bears, moose, beavers, wolves, cougars and some other animals. What kinds of animals are there in Africa?

I keep trying to imagine what things will be like when I arrive in Africa. I have looked at pictures but I am anticipating that different senses will be at work upon landing. What will the smell in the air be? Will it be quiet or loud? What sounds will I hear? As I look around and take in the landscape, people and animals what will I feel? How will all that I am experiencing effect me?

Enough reflection ... I must keep working on my list of things to do ... focus!!

Have a great day and I'll try to keep you posted as we start our journey ...

Preparation to Leave Canada

2011-11-02T06:21:00.001-07:00

October 30, 2011

I can't believe it ... only four more days until our Team leaves for Zambia and two days of travel to reach our final destination...

In preparation for the trip many things have been happening...

I think I have been poked and prodded enough times in the last few weeks to last a lifetime. Who knew how lucky we are in Canada not to have to worry about Malaria and many other illnesses. My emergency medical kit is now ready to go along with the various prescriptions that I will be carrying.

Alexander's class and their buddies designed Peace Trees and made them into cards using water colours to give to the children in Zambia. I recently had the opportunity to see the finished results and "wow!" their finished products give off a peaceful aurora and are absolutely breathtaking. The time, effort and care each child put into their card and the message they each wrote inside is meaningful and from the heart. A big thank you goes out to the teachers for organizing and carrying out this activity in support of the Mission to Zambia.

To go along with the cards and an assortment of small items have been purchased and donated that will go into large ziploc bags. A pre-Christmas celebration with a group of 100 - 160 children will be held at the Mercy Touch Farm. Again with the support of the teachers and some of the children at Lauren and Alexander's school we all worked together to prepare the bags for their long journey across the ocean and three continents. It will be exciting to see the faces of the children when we have our Christmas celebration and hand out the special gifts.

I have started my packing with the following goal ... "Pack lightly but bring all that I can." This has come to mean to me ""... bring only what I really need ... and leave in Zambia all that I can." Any extra space in my bags will then be used to pack items that can be used by the children in Zambia. These items will include the Christmas gifts for the Children's party, some children's clothing, inflatable balls, toiletries and any other miscellaneous items I think would be helpful.