Hello from Macha! :)
This
past week has been busy- filled with Jesus, excitement, and change. Some highlights of our week were VBS
and Health Fair round 2, Ebeneazer Orphanage, visiting Victoria Falls, and
traveling to Macha.
Monday
and Wednesday were homework days this week.
We
woke up Tuesday morning, ready to head out to Kabuyu (the bush) for a Health
Fair and Vacation Bible School. We were supposed to be there by 9, and we were
leaving at 8. We ate breakfast, loaded up and when we started the truck that
holds most of the girls, it would not start! We know that God works everything
out in His perfect timing, so that happened for a reason. Why? We do not know,
but we trust Him. We ended up sending out a group of 9 nursing students crammed
in a small vehicle to begin the health fair. We did not arrive until 10:15, but
everyone was forgiving and welcoming when we got there. We taught in their
small community church about dehydration, nutrition, burns, wounds, periods,
menopause, high blood pressure, and salt intake. The community was so involved,
asking great questions and really wanting to know the information. After each
teaching session, Pastor Todd (a new Zambian missionary from Alabama) would
speak about how the health topic related to the Bible. It was so powerful, and
he was able to pray with many individuals after we finished. After a few hours,
the other bus full of our team showed up! We put on Vacation Bible School for
the kids of the community. We had parachute games, water games, futbol (soccer),
face painting, coloring and a Bible lesson.
Thursday,
we all woke up at 5 am, ready to be at Ebeneazer Orphanage by 6 am. This is the
most beautiful and peaceful orphanage I have ever been to. There are multiple
houses on the compound that house children of certain ages. This particular
morning, we had the privilege of working alongside the "house moms"
of the babies and toddler houses. We
were able to be a part of their daily routine, bathe kids, dress them, feed
them, play with them, teach the toddlers lessons, and play with them. We also
had a futbol game at the end, which some of the older kids participated in. We
learned so much from the house mothers. They had such incredible hearts for
God, and for the children they call their own. The kids were so happy, and
really made an impact on all of our lives- we enjoyed it very much!
Friday,
we had Victoria Falls day and swimming! We woke up, and it had just rained,
which was huge blessing because the weather was cooler (90°F). We walked all around the
top of the falls, saw incredible views of the bridge from Zimbabwe to Zambia,
the Falls themself (which were very dry due to the drought), and incredible
gorge that God created. It was breathtaking. We also had face to face time with
baboons. They were not shy at all, and even grabbed Emmy's skirt and pulled it
pretty hard. It was a fun, interesting but scary experience. We then hiked down
to the "Boiling Point" which was very fun going down, but quite a
work out coming back up. At the boiling point, we were able to see people white
water rafting, and kayaking. The fun part is that we climbed the boulders to
different points in which we could just look out and take in God's beautiful
creation. After we finished hiking back up, we went to the market for some good
finds. We then ate lunch and went swimming at "The Sun", which a
beautiful hotel on the Zambezi River. We all had so much fun swimming, and just
relaxing in the hot sun.
Saturday
morning was bittersweet. We were so sad to be leaving Livingstone, the
Buckners, George, Bertha, and the Smiths. We had such an incredible time with
them, but we were comforted knowing that we would see them again before we
leave. We were also very excited because we were getting ready to start a new
adventure in Macha. As we finally arrived, we quickly unloaded and made
ourselves feel at home. We happy when we found out there were some Norwegian
Medical Students living with us for a few day. After dinner, Leah and Maureen
held "Saturday Night Fun Night." The Lord gave us the idea to do a
painting night centered around His creation in Africa specifically. We turned
worship music, as each girl ate cookies, drank lemonade or tea and painted a
picture of something beautiful in God's creation that stood out to them while
we have been here. We were impressed at how many artists we have on the team,
but everyone’s paintings were absolutely beautiful. It was such a fun night to
reflect on the Lord's creation.
In
the short time we have already been here, we have already created incredible
friendships. We have been playing sports at 4:00 pm every day with the
Norwegians and people from the community. We had our first clinicals already
and have connected very well so far with the other nursing students. It has
been fun to work together and get to know them all.
Another
huge blessing this week is the coming of Dr. Marilyn Simons! We could not wait
for here to get here, and will be starting class this week.
Please
continue to pray for the team, against any schemes of the devil, and as we dive
hard into our studies. Pray that as we have a month left, that we would
continue to live in each day for what God has for us.
We
love and miss you all!
-Leah and Maureen :)
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