We have almost been here for 3 months and I realized that I have only posted once, . I had these really great intentions to post on the blog every week, but I guess that I have not done a very good job of following through with this. I will use being busy as my excuse, but if I am being honest, I have to admit that I have had some time and just haven't done it...
SORRY!
So here is my first official update on the blog...
The last couple of weeks Tom and I have been working at the construction site where the new school, orphanage, and multi purpose hall are being built. The orphanage roof was just finished last week and is looking very good. It is our hope that this building will soon be completed and the the kids can move into their new home. The other two structures (the school and multi purpose hall) have not been started yet but the construction of these buildings will begin soon. We have been making bricks for these structures since we have arrived so hopefully we will see some great progress on them in the next couple of months.
Since Pastor Charles and Ba Margret have been gone the last two weeks, picking up the new bus for hope ministries, I have been named the new foreman at the work site. (haha) I am still trying to figure out what this means, and the language barrier between myself and the other workers makes this job interesting and challenging. Basically we all just work together and the title foreman doesn't seem to fit, I do however have to make sure some of the projects that are assigned are being done.
Since the rainy season is officially here, the main project that we have been involved with the last couple of weeks has been building a new shelter to keep the bricks out of the weather and reinforcing the church roof so that we don't wet on Sundays. The church structure is made from scrap pieces of wood, I would call it a glorified wood shed, but church is not about the building and more about the people, and we have had some of the best worship services in this building. We were able to finish both these projects to the best of our abilities, but it would be a lie if I said that the church wouldn't leak anymore, because it still does, but it is better then before and at least we don't have to worry about the ceiling falling on us, which was truly a concern.
The other project that we have been involved in has been a rotating fund program where we are helping people in the village of Twapia (where we are doing all of our work) to start small businesses such as selling charcoal, tomatoes, or whatever else they want to sell to generate some income. Thanks to a generous donation from a friend back home, we have been able to start up this loan program and if it goes well eventually they will pay back the loan and we can then give it to another group of people so they can start their businesses. I hope and pray that this will be a successful program and some families here in Twapia will begin to be able to support themselves. I will be keeping you all updated on how this program is working throughout the next couple of months.
Tom and I have also been given the honor of preaching the entire month of November which has been an exciting and challenging experience, but so far so good. The people here are so gracious to us and easy to talk to, and they have told us that we have really blessed them through our messages, but I believe that they have really blessed us through their loving and gracious spirits. I think that these blessings are from God and maybe we should give all the credit to our Lord and Savior. Everyone is truly blessed because of Him.
Well I should get going, I still need to finish planning for the sermon tomorrow. So until next time, which will be in another 3 months, just kidding, goodbye. Thank you all so much for your love, support, and prayers.
Gods Love and Peace
Aaron
P.S. And just so you all know, my suitcase has still not come, I am losing hope.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Adventures in Nsobe
Last Saturday we ventured to Nsobe Game Park. Here's a glimpse into our adventure:
I, Amanda, found a really neat little playground with an old tractor, an imitation spider web to crawl on, swings, and a teeter-totter. I really wanted to play on the playground, yet I felt too big and thought I would break it, so I withheld. Minutes later, I found Rox and Aaron venturing to that same playground, going up and down on the teeter-totter. Sigh.
We also went on a safari-type ride through the woods and saw many antelope-like creatures, giraffes, and zebra. I, Roxanna, thought about jumping off the high-riding jeep to chase after a zebra, grab onto its spikey neck hair, and pull myself onto its back, kind of like a rodeo---African style. But alas, they didn't seem to like us following them and ran away too quickly. So we saw zebras, which is the one animal we wanted to see most, but my dream was cut short. Bittersweet.
Also at Nsobe, they have two restaurants. Enclosed in a glass cooler I, Amanda, saw this amazing chocolate cake. A slice was only about one dollar. After lunch I went up to the service bar to ask for a slice, only to hear that the cake was brought in by a church group and was not for sale for commoners. Heartbreak.
Later that evening we were invited to Pastor Judy's for food and fellowship. The evening was splendid, but true bliss came when Pastor Judy presented a big heart-shaped, marble cake, with white and chocolate frosting and chocolate chips dashed on top! Although the cake said, "Happy Belated Birthday Roxanna!" I (Amanda) felt like the cake was made just for me!! It was music to my soul, as alas, I could finally eat my slice, or may I say slices, of chocolate cake. Pure Joy.
Oh the rewards of patient endurance!
Luckily for Amanda, I, Roxanna Eda Marie Alleman, was born.
THE END.
Stayed tuned for further adventures from Africa.
I, Amanda, found a really neat little playground with an old tractor, an imitation spider web to crawl on, swings, and a teeter-totter. I really wanted to play on the playground, yet I felt too big and thought I would break it, so I withheld. Minutes later, I found Rox and Aaron venturing to that same playground, going up and down on the teeter-totter. Sigh.
We also went on a safari-type ride through the woods and saw many antelope-like creatures, giraffes, and zebra. I, Roxanna, thought about jumping off the high-riding jeep to chase after a zebra, grab onto its spikey neck hair, and pull myself onto its back, kind of like a rodeo---African style. But alas, they didn't seem to like us following them and ran away too quickly. So we saw zebras, which is the one animal we wanted to see most, but my dream was cut short. Bittersweet.
Also at Nsobe, they have two restaurants. Enclosed in a glass cooler I, Amanda, saw this amazing chocolate cake. A slice was only about one dollar. After lunch I went up to the service bar to ask for a slice, only to hear that the cake was brought in by a church group and was not for sale for commoners. Heartbreak.
Later that evening we were invited to Pastor Judy's for food and fellowship. The evening was splendid, but true bliss came when Pastor Judy presented a big heart-shaped, marble cake, with white and chocolate frosting and chocolate chips dashed on top! Although the cake said, "Happy Belated Birthday Roxanna!" I (Amanda) felt like the cake was made just for me!! It was music to my soul, as alas, I could finally eat my slice, or may I say slices, of chocolate cake. Pure Joy.
Oh the rewards of patient endurance!
Luckily for Amanda, I, Roxanna Eda Marie Alleman, was born.
THE END.
Stayed tuned for further adventures from Africa.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
6 Weeks In!!
Muli Shani! It has been a long time since we’ve updated this blog, so Roxanna and I (Amanda) are going to do our best to bring you up to date with bullet point blipits:
Roxanna and Amanda have been sick off and on over the last three weeks. Either something in our food or reactions to medications have been our culprits! Roxanna has been hit with some painful infections and fevers which have knocked her down for a few days, but thankfully medicine has helped bring her back to her normal self. Amanda has been affected by some medications over the last few weeks. Her and Roxanna both took a medicine called fansidar, which fights malaria, although neither of them had it. Roxanna did not react to fansidar, but Amanda had some pretty horrible reactions. The reactions knocked her down for a couple of weeks, but she was finally able to recover after drinking A LOT of water to flush it out of her system! We have come to the conclusion that Satan is trying to prohibit us from doing the work we can and should be doing here by making us sick, but God has been faithful as always, and after going through these experiences we feel stronger and actually more connected with the people here.
A few weeks ago we found out that our visas, which are supposed to allow us to stay here for six months, were not the only necessary documents needed to allow us to stay here for that amount of time. We went to the immigration office and found out we needed a Temporary Residency Permit, which costs around $300 for three months, and would then need to be renewed after three months for the remainder of our time for $350. Needless to say, we were a bit shaken! The Zambian Embassy in the United States did not tell us this information, nor did customs inform us of this Permit, so we had one week to find the money to pay for them! Once again, God is good and He does provide. We are still here in Zambia and we will stay here until our plane ticket makes us go home!
We found out this last week that our seventh graders will not be taking the government test because they missed the deadline to enroll their names. They will have to wait until next November to take it. We're a little bummed, but we know that the pupils can use the extra year to prepare.
We continue to learn what it means to listen and put aside our cultural norms, as our relationships with the people here grow. This last week I, Amanda, had a conversation with Teacher Juliet, which began as a simple conversation about her pupils and their abilities, and then ended with the strife faced by people here in Zambia. Teacher Juliet pointed out a specific child in the school who has a physical disability in her spine that disfigures her upper body around her shoulders, who has and continues to just touch her heart. The pupil does not seem to be held back by this disability, which speaks volumes to Teacher Juliet. She is happy and loves spending time with her friends, and her friends love spending time with her. Teacher Juliet went on further to explain that the pupil is also an orphan, like so many other children in Zambia who lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. The conversation then went to the difficulty of educating pupils because their home environments do not encourage education. There is lack of resources, like books, in the homes and the parents often do not speak English, which is the national language of Zambia and is used in the government schools and upper education schools. The pupils remain behind in their education because of lack of exposure. Teacher Juliet is so dedicated to the school and its pupils because they are the future of Zambia and she, like the other teachers, recognize the great need of exposure, education, and care that the pupils need. They nurture, encourage, feed, educate, and teach the pupils that there is a different, healthier lifestyle outside of the ones they are surrounded by, and that they can make a difference. Not many other adults tell the children or encourage the children in these areas, so the teachers have taken on the responsibility themselves to really educate the students not only on school-related lessons, but also life lessons. Teacher Juliet led this whole conversation and even when I stood up to step out for a moment, she grabbed my hand to sit me back down to tell me more. The teachers just want to share with us their struggles and their lives here. They want to know that someone else cares and we’re realizing that it is far more important for us to listen while we’re here than to teach. I also realized that although people here in Zambia are surrounded by this environment everyday that does not mean they are immune to it. They fight these struggles everyday because they continue to be affected by them and only want to change their circumstances through the education and encouragement of their children.
A few weeks ago, Amanda and I (Roxanna), were walking with another teacher named Judy in Twapia to visit Teacher Juliet while she was sick. We had the opportunity to learn something from her that we are realizing is the cornerstone of so many Zambians’ lives: the strength of their faith. When we asked Teacher Judy what her biggest challenge at the school is, she answered that it’s the transportation to get to and from the school everyday. Like many instances here in Zambia, this was not the response we were looking for. We expected something like limited resources or the high amount of students in one classroom. But also like many instances here in Zambia, her response held a lot more weight than we first realized. She continued to explain that she lives in Ndeke, far from where the school is in Twapia. It takes her about an hour and a half one way everyday on a bus, and sometimes she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to afford the bus fare to make it out to school through the week until Friday. She said at the beginning of Hope Ministries, it was very hard. They had no money and no resources to do anything. Some people would come along to work with it and, realizing there was no money in it, would leave right away. She explained that this ministry is not about money. If you look for that you will fail. But because the others at Hope, including herself, have a vision for these children at the orphanage and the school, one that is purely focused on God and His kingdom, because they have faith, He has provided for them. Some friends came along and helped Hope Ministries. Sometimes neighbors would see that Teacher Judy and her family needed something and would give it to them. And every week since I’ve been here, Teacher Judy has made it to school everyday. This conversation blew Amanda and I away. The faith that this woman has is beyond anything we’re used to in the U.S. We’re learning that this is a staple of the people here: living life by faith. Some might say it’s because they have to; they have no other hope but to trust in God, which is good enough reason. But I like to think that it’s simply because they’re on to something more about the meaning of life than many of us from the U.S. understand. Even with all the resources in the world, it means nothing if there is not faith that there is a God who has supreme control. Their unyielding, powerful faith is something I continue to learn from everyday.
Teacher Judy and Teacher Juliet invited us into their classroom to help with math and letter sounds. Teacher Judy said it’s not about us teaching, but about us connecting with the students and showing them we are there for them. I don’t think we could have said our purpose for being here in clearer terms.
May the power of God continue to amaze you in ways you never expected, and may His unfailing love overwhelm, protect, and guide you, as He fights to be the cornerstone in your life.
In Him,
Roxanna and Amanda
Roxanna and Amanda have been sick off and on over the last three weeks. Either something in our food or reactions to medications have been our culprits! Roxanna has been hit with some painful infections and fevers which have knocked her down for a few days, but thankfully medicine has helped bring her back to her normal self. Amanda has been affected by some medications over the last few weeks. Her and Roxanna both took a medicine called fansidar, which fights malaria, although neither of them had it. Roxanna did not react to fansidar, but Amanda had some pretty horrible reactions. The reactions knocked her down for a couple of weeks, but she was finally able to recover after drinking A LOT of water to flush it out of her system! We have come to the conclusion that Satan is trying to prohibit us from doing the work we can and should be doing here by making us sick, but God has been faithful as always, and after going through these experiences we feel stronger and actually more connected with the people here.
A few weeks ago we found out that our visas, which are supposed to allow us to stay here for six months, were not the only necessary documents needed to allow us to stay here for that amount of time. We went to the immigration office and found out we needed a Temporary Residency Permit, which costs around $300 for three months, and would then need to be renewed after three months for the remainder of our time for $350. Needless to say, we were a bit shaken! The Zambian Embassy in the United States did not tell us this information, nor did customs inform us of this Permit, so we had one week to find the money to pay for them! Once again, God is good and He does provide. We are still here in Zambia and we will stay here until our plane ticket makes us go home!
We found out this last week that our seventh graders will not be taking the government test because they missed the deadline to enroll their names. They will have to wait until next November to take it. We're a little bummed, but we know that the pupils can use the extra year to prepare.
We continue to learn what it means to listen and put aside our cultural norms, as our relationships with the people here grow. This last week I, Amanda, had a conversation with Teacher Juliet, which began as a simple conversation about her pupils and their abilities, and then ended with the strife faced by people here in Zambia. Teacher Juliet pointed out a specific child in the school who has a physical disability in her spine that disfigures her upper body around her shoulders, who has and continues to just touch her heart. The pupil does not seem to be held back by this disability, which speaks volumes to Teacher Juliet. She is happy and loves spending time with her friends, and her friends love spending time with her. Teacher Juliet went on further to explain that the pupil is also an orphan, like so many other children in Zambia who lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. The conversation then went to the difficulty of educating pupils because their home environments do not encourage education. There is lack of resources, like books, in the homes and the parents often do not speak English, which is the national language of Zambia and is used in the government schools and upper education schools. The pupils remain behind in their education because of lack of exposure. Teacher Juliet is so dedicated to the school and its pupils because they are the future of Zambia and she, like the other teachers, recognize the great need of exposure, education, and care that the pupils need. They nurture, encourage, feed, educate, and teach the pupils that there is a different, healthier lifestyle outside of the ones they are surrounded by, and that they can make a difference. Not many other adults tell the children or encourage the children in these areas, so the teachers have taken on the responsibility themselves to really educate the students not only on school-related lessons, but also life lessons. Teacher Juliet led this whole conversation and even when I stood up to step out for a moment, she grabbed my hand to sit me back down to tell me more. The teachers just want to share with us their struggles and their lives here. They want to know that someone else cares and we’re realizing that it is far more important for us to listen while we’re here than to teach. I also realized that although people here in Zambia are surrounded by this environment everyday that does not mean they are immune to it. They fight these struggles everyday because they continue to be affected by them and only want to change their circumstances through the education and encouragement of their children.
A few weeks ago, Amanda and I (Roxanna), were walking with another teacher named Judy in Twapia to visit Teacher Juliet while she was sick. We had the opportunity to learn something from her that we are realizing is the cornerstone of so many Zambians’ lives: the strength of their faith. When we asked Teacher Judy what her biggest challenge at the school is, she answered that it’s the transportation to get to and from the school everyday. Like many instances here in Zambia, this was not the response we were looking for. We expected something like limited resources or the high amount of students in one classroom. But also like many instances here in Zambia, her response held a lot more weight than we first realized. She continued to explain that she lives in Ndeke, far from where the school is in Twapia. It takes her about an hour and a half one way everyday on a bus, and sometimes she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to afford the bus fare to make it out to school through the week until Friday. She said at the beginning of Hope Ministries, it was very hard. They had no money and no resources to do anything. Some people would come along to work with it and, realizing there was no money in it, would leave right away. She explained that this ministry is not about money. If you look for that you will fail. But because the others at Hope, including herself, have a vision for these children at the orphanage and the school, one that is purely focused on God and His kingdom, because they have faith, He has provided for them. Some friends came along and helped Hope Ministries. Sometimes neighbors would see that Teacher Judy and her family needed something and would give it to them. And every week since I’ve been here, Teacher Judy has made it to school everyday. This conversation blew Amanda and I away. The faith that this woman has is beyond anything we’re used to in the U.S. We’re learning that this is a staple of the people here: living life by faith. Some might say it’s because they have to; they have no other hope but to trust in God, which is good enough reason. But I like to think that it’s simply because they’re on to something more about the meaning of life than many of us from the U.S. understand. Even with all the resources in the world, it means nothing if there is not faith that there is a God who has supreme control. Their unyielding, powerful faith is something I continue to learn from everyday.
Teacher Judy and Teacher Juliet invited us into their classroom to help with math and letter sounds. Teacher Judy said it’s not about us teaching, but about us connecting with the students and showing them we are there for them. I don’t think we could have said our purpose for being here in clearer terms.
May the power of God continue to amaze you in ways you never expected, and may His unfailing love overwhelm, protect, and guide you, as He fights to be the cornerstone in your life.
In Him,
Roxanna and Amanda
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