Our Journey Begins

Hello Everyone! Today is our second day here in Zambia. On Wednesday, we spent nearly the entire day in London. From Buckingham Palace (where we actually saw the Queen herself) to Big Ben, we sure got the whirlwind tour of London, England. It was exciting for us to run around the city on less than two hours of sleep and still manage to catch our 7:05pm flight to Lusaka, Zambia. On Thursday, Christine, Ron, and Ndalah greeted us at the airport bright and early. Excitement filled each of us as we were about to begin our journey in Zambia. We drove 15 minutes til we reached the MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) House where we would be staying for the next two days. The house is very nice--one house is for the guys, and there is another small building that the four girls are staying in. It takes us about 5hrs to open the door everytime because there are so many locks! I have made it a challenge for myself to try to open the doors in less than two minutes. A night guard named Chris watches the house at night, as well as our cute german-shephard Max. Ron and Larry took a walk and purchased some sugar cane, which they shared with us later that evening during dinner. Christine prepared pasta and salad for us--quite delicious. We actually ended up eating over candle light (soooo romantic) because the power went out. After an exhausting day we all took a nice shower and fell asleep quite quickly.
Today (Friday), we went to MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Assosiation). They took us into a small village where we helped do some farming work. We split the group into two teams of four each, including Ron. Each team helped a farmer make new garden beds, which required much hoeing and digging. The Zambian children seemed very intrigued by us, and looked at us sheepishly. We would wave to them, and they usually giggled and waved back. I think it was really great for all of us to have this experience. These people clearly do not have the resources that we have back home. Larry. Laura, Matt and Christi spent their time with the district leader of the agricultural Cooperative and local pastor. He was a very interesting man, and had a lot to tell us about life. Somehow Matt found his way trying to search for cobras, while Larry gave out his Starburts and attempted to play volleyball with a shopping bag (very strange kid that Larry is...) (He's standing right next to me, so I can't say anything too bad...that will have to wait until next time). Overall, I'd say this has an excellent beginning to our trip. I look forward to the service that this team will do while we are here, but more importantly I look forward to what we will learn and how God will grow us.

We miss you guys!!!

-Ali