Simplicity.

So it’s been almost 2 months since I started making my home here in Zambia.  I am still in awe that this gets to be my life’s story.

After the team left in July, I spent most of my time with the school in Luanshya, which only has students in Grades 1-3.  The children are very quiet, but they are incredibly sweet and most of my break-time’s are spent just walking around with 5 little boys all holding my hands or arms.  The teachers here are incredible.  Esnart teaches Grade 2/3 and she has been with us for a few years now.  She can be quiet at first, but she does the best read-alouds that make the children giggle uncontrollably. Simon is a new teacher who just joined our team in May.  He has never taught before, but he is handling the new responsibilities very well.  The children clearly respect him, and he is eager to learn new tricks and strategies for teaching these Grade 1 students.  Every day I come in he has a new question about a book he’s reading on classroom management or reading philosophies.  Those first few weeks of being on my own, I spent a lot of time observing and modeling for the teachers.  I would teach maybe one lesson a day while the rest of my time was spent watching them or working with individual students.  I tested all of the kids on reading and math to see what levels they are at so I know how to approach things when I start teaching in September.  I did the same things over in Ndola, where we have Grades 1-5 with only two teachers.  Dorcas has been with us for quite a few years and she actually stays in the house where our school meets.  She is very funny and is extremely good with our Grade 1 students.  Sandra just joined us in May and she definitely has a heart for kids.  She is pretty quiet, but she did a great job with all the parents who came in for our open house last week. 

Schools in Zambia go year-round, so they have the months of April, August and December off.  Last week the students were busy taking their end-of-term tests and then parents came for “open” day to pick up their report cards and talk to the teachers.  I was able to tell them a little about myself and why I’m here, as well as show them pictures of their student from when the team was here in June.  It was such a blessing to meet the parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, or whoever else is caring for our students.  One mother raved about how her Grade 2 son reads so much better than his older brother (who is in a government school) and many more asked if we had open spots for their other children because they recognize how well their students are doing in our school.  There is still a lot of work to be done, but it’s days like these that remind me that we ARE making progress and impacting these communities.

So far my “holiday” month of August has been full of relaxation, planning, and learning.  Monday I spent a good 3 hours hand-washing clothes in the tub and my hands definitely bare the scars to prove it.  It seems pretty counter-productive when the detergent rubs open my skin and I start bleeding all over the white socks I’m trying to clean.  (Yes, Shannon DID warn me not to wait too long to do my wash.  Lesson learned.)  But even that can’t get me down cause the victory in taking down all my clean, dry clothes at the end of the day was totally worth it J  This month I will be spending my Tuesday and Thursdays mornings with some students from Luanshya to hopefully get them caught up with their reading skills.  From 8-10 I have about 10 Grade 1 students and then 10-12 is for Grade 2/3.  It’s been fun to have smaller groups of students that I can truly concentrate on and cater lessons to their needs.  For the next two weeks, I will be doing a teacher training seminar on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  The four teachers from our schools, as well as random community teachers who heard about the program, will be coming to watch a DVD series from Penn State’s education department.  I will be doing follow-up lessons and discussions to give them some practical, hands-on tools they can use in their classrooms every day.  I’m slightly nervous that all these people are coming to learn from me (who has never actually taught full-time!), but I know that God will get me through.

Other than that, my life here is not particularly glamorous.  In fact, when I tell people how much I love it here, they constantly ask me, “But aren’t you bored??”  And I simply smile and answer, “Not even a little bit.”  Cause here’s the thing: my heart craves simplicity.  I LOVE the fact that my days are filled up at school and my evenings consist of coming home, hanging out in the garden, sitting on the porch learning how to make nshima or roast groundnuts, watching the news, and taking walks with my dear new friends.  I love that some days I walk 30 minutes into town just to buy a Fanta and then walk back.  I love that I leave at 8:30 to walk to church with Miriam, only to sit around for an hour until the rest of the church arrives and we start the service.  I love that I can walk to school with Charity, fully intending to work on lesson planning, only to spend the entire day talking about life and relationships in the office.  I love that every day after getting dropped off by the taxi, I am greeted by 15-20 children on the street who just say, “Muli shani!” (How are you?) over and over again cause they like talking to the white girl.  I love that most nights I take a walk with Daniel and Adolf to pick up fresh vegetables at the market in our neighborhood.  I love that I am learning to recognize the difference between mango, avocado, and banana trees.  I love that I go to my friend, Chisha’s, shop just to hang out and listen to music.  I love that at least once a week the power goes off and I get to have dinner by candlelight.  I love that I can confidently catch the two taxis I need to get to and from school every day. I love that I am learning about the MANY different tribal traditions here in Zambia.  I love that I can usually sit at a table filled with people speaking Bemba and understand the gist of the conversation.   I love that this is my everyday life.  That even when I’m not actively doing ministry at the school or church, I am being filled by God’s spirit and (hopefully) dispensing it to those around me. 

As always, thank you for encouraging me every step of the way.  I can’t even begin to tell you all the things I am learning and the visions that God is planting in my heart.  Please continue praying for me and all my beautiful friends here in Zambia.  God is so good.