The AQ team has been taking packets of cement out to Kamfinsa this week to encourage the church to keep working on Pastor Albert's house.  Tim went out there on Wednesday to continue teaching the Freedom In Christ material after almost 3 months absence.  It was pretty encouraging as almost 20 adults turned up to join in the course and this was a really key session for them all to hear.  In the West the devil has worked hard to convince people he doesn't exist, in Zambia he has a different tactic - to convince everyone he is much more powerful than he really is.  The church was quite encouraged to hear that they actually can resist his schemes fairly easily - know the truth and the truth will set you free, then continue to stand in that truth and stay free!  I'm enjoying teaching them a lot.  Teaching with the AQ team and the KBUC students is also going really well.  This week I did 10 hours of teaching and about the same in preparation and marking - I'm only setting the KBUC students assignments but as there are 60 of them this year that's a fair bit to mark, the good thing is that I actually have time to mark it thoroughly here which is actually pretty satisfying. 

When we came home last year it would be fair to say that we were exhausted. The last two years have been draining physically, spiritually and emotionally. We'd been living life as a sprint. It doesn't take a genius to work out that you can't live life that way.

I read this on a friend's blog and thought it was interesting.
If the World were 100 PEOPLE:

50 would be female
50 would be male 

26 would be children
There would be 66 adults,
8 of whom would be 65 and older

There would be:
60 Asians
15 Africans
14 people from the Americas
11 Europeans

33 Christians
22 Muslims
14 Hindus
7 Buddhists
12 people who practice other religions
12 people who would not be aligned with a religion

12 would speak Chinese
5 would speak Spanish
5 would speak English
3 would speak Arabic
3 would speak Hindi
3 would speak Bengali
3 would speak Portuguese
2 would speak Russian
2 would speak Japanese
62 would speak other languages

83 would be able to read and write; 17 would not 

7 would have a college degree
22 would own or share a computer

77 people would have a place to shelter them
from the wind and the rain, but 23 would not 

1 would be dying of starvation
15 would be undernourished
21 would be overweight 

87 would have access to safe drinking water
13 people would have no clean, safe water to drink

Sources: 2012 – Fritz Erickson, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Ferris State University (Formerly Dean of Professional and Graduate Studies, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay) and John A. Vonk, University of Northern Colorado, 2006; Returning Peace Corps Volunteers of Madison Wisconsin, Unheard Voices: Celebrating Cultures from the Developing World, 1992; Donella H. Meadows, The Global Citizen, May 31, 1990.

Yesterday I went with the new SAQ team to Kamfinsa for a Kids day and had a great time - it didn't rain until just after we got back to base and what a downpour! While at Kamfinsa we played all sorts of games, 2 of the favourites involving balloon bursting.  Children running up and down the church bursting balloons with their bottoms (see left) and even the elders trying to burst each others balloon tied to their ankles - great fun!  Most pleasing of all was to see how much the community has come together to plant and grow crops.  Bananas, Maize and other fruit and veg abound! The community bore-hole is still awaiting repair but it will happen soon - we are on the case.  And funds for the pastor's house and hammer-mill project are still coming in.  We have £1683 so far towards the hammer mill and promises of more donations beside

So, after 2 months away, we already seem back in the swing of things. A few of our things still need to find a home, but it's mostly sorted. In many ways life has just carried on the way it always has been, and we've  just slotted right in, but at the same time there have been crazy goings on, the details of which I'm not going to disclose here. But God is sovereign and still on the throne.
Above is a picture of Noah I took earlier today when I was coming back from a few KOP visits. It's not a particularly good photo. but LOOK AT THE MASSIVE SNAKE!!!! It's a young python. We don't normally see them so big around here. It was over 3m long! It is dead btw before anyone asks.

A certain man was taken by his friend on an exploratory drive outside the city away from where anybody lived. They left the main road and drove for a while until they found a secluded and seemingly insignificant expanse of land. A few tired shacks remained, and some animals grazed peacefully. The friend, Walter, turned off the engine and got out of the vehicle. He started visualising and describing the incredible plans he had to develop the area. He was offering his friend Arthur the opportunity to buy the surrounding land and make a killing in the process.

But to Arthur it seemed ludicrous. He questioned Walter “Who on earth is going to drive 25 miles into the middle of nowhere for this absurd project? The logistics of the venture are mind-blowing.” Walter explained to Arthur, “I can take care of the main project myself. But it’ll use up all my money. This land bordering it, where we’re standing now, will in just a couple of years be jam-packed with hotels, restaurants and convention halls to accommodate the people who’ll come to spend their  entire vacation here at my park. I want you to have the first chance at this surrounding acreage, because in the next 5 years it’ll increase in value several hundred times.”

Looking  back on the offer, Arthur reminisced, “What could I say? I knew he was wrong. I knew that he had let this dream get the best of his common sense, so I mumbled something about a tight money situation and I promised that I’d look into the whole thing a little later on.”

As they returned to the car, Walter sighed and warned Arthur, “Later on will be too late. You’d better move on it right now.”

And that is how Art Linkletter missed out on the opportunity to buy up all the land that surrounded what was to become Disneyland. His friend Walk Disney tried to talk him into sharing the dream, but Art thought he was crazy.’

This made me think a lot about vision- where do I see various aspects of my life going? What is the vision God has given for it? How is the vision being out worked? Am I dreaming big enough?

What about you? 

James Turner (SAQ 2011) is one of the guys determined to help Kamfinsa raise the money for their hammer-mill! He is pictured below running a marathon for that cause.  We still need more funds!!  If you think you can help raise support too, please do it soon.  We want to have the hammer-mill in place for the next harvest and the rains will be here in the next few weeks if not before.  Once the hammer-mill is in place, it should help motivate more people to grow food on their land all year round.  It is a big step and big steps need support.  Thanks again James! 

We have just returned from the best safari experience ever.  I think this was the best one I’ve ever done!

God really did create some crazy creatures! To watch them makes you stand in awe of our Creator. Such beauty and creativity.

On the way into the park one day I was just talking to God and saying how awesome it would be if I could just see some lion cubs or lions eating a kill. Little did I know that would happen within a few hours. At seeing it, joy and praise flowed from my heart. It was a truly awesome sight! Here are some pics...

We've been involved with Kamfinsa for a little while and got to know various people. Mary is a lovely lady who goes to the church there. She had a baby a month or so ago. Not long before the baby was born I asked he if she had any baby clothes, to which the answer was no. So I gathered some bits together to give to her. It was quite cool to hear yesterday that she was so touched by our act of kindness that she named her baby after Tim. W

A teacher's nightmare is quite possibly what I'm becoming. Having been a teacher in the UK you would think that would be the last thing I would do, however I think it's that experience which is turning me into a nightmare.
This morning I had a meeting with the head and deputy of our local school. The majority of the kids we support in KOP go to this school and a few weeks ago it was the 'Open day'.  It was my first experience of such an occasion, it's like a parent's evening with a weird Zambian twist (which can't really be fully explained, although parents had to pay before seeing the teachers). I think I was like one of those 'nightmare parents' who asks far too many questions and ones that you, as the teacher, don't really know the answer to. I don't think Zambian parents really ask too much other than how their child is doing or ask what grades they got. Cutting a looooong story short 'my' kids had not done well. In fact their results would be more aptly described as awful. Well, to be fair, a few of the kids did actually do well. The ones who haven't are being followed up.

Along with the results papers, the teachers handed out some of the exam papers. Bad move on their part. They didn't know who they were giving them to! Without boring you with all the details the exams were shocking; bad questions, wrong answers marked right, right answers marked wrong, etc etc. Even I would have failed to get 100% on the Grade 5 English paper because it was so insanely ridiculous! Don't let me get started on the maths. But suffice to say that I'm not surprised that the kids are failing. It has also been brought to my attention that it's a common occurrence that some of the teachers are drunk, and more shockingly that Grade 8 and 9 girls' grades are affected by their reciprocation to the advances of their male teachers (which is scarily common here in Zambia). All in all a mess! Sadly in this area the 1400 pupils have no other choice as to which school they attend.

So this morning, as I said, I had a meeting to address these issues. Man alive. They were grateful for my input, however I may have bitten on more than I can chew! The issues are massive.....lack of English (which enables the kids to access the curriculum), lack of staff (27 teachers for 1400 kids), huge classes with cramped space, hungry children, lack of resources, lack of facilities (toilets etc), vandalism, poor attendance, the list goes on. And somehow they think I am going to help them address all these issues. Wowzer.

Wouldn't it just be easier to start a new school?