Recapping a Weekend

The dust has settled (mostly) and the guests have all gone home. We have just 3 volunteers remaining (including Brent and Sarah) so life is much quieter. This is good. I didn't quite make it to the end of the 7 posts blogging challenge, but I posted more last week than I had in many previous weeks so I'm going to call it a win.

The kids watching Mwata Kazembe pass by on his litter

Mutomboko was a success this year. For those of you who aren't familiar with the annual tribal ceremony, here are some recaps from some of my very first blog posts: 

Mutomboko 
Mutomboko part 2
Mutomboko part 3

This year the six oldest kids went to the main arena to see the ceremony. They didn't make it to the very end since it ran late and they needed to come home for dinner, but they enjoyed what they saw and it was a good experience for them. It's so interesting to watch them grow up. The same kids who cried the first year and were frightened by the musket fire are now old enough to enjoy the festival fully.

We had a total of 25 people with us for dinner Friday and Saturday nights. I stuck with our traditional menu of Chili and Cornbread for Friday and then of course Saturday we had the Pit-Roasted Pork served with Spanish Rice and Coleslaw. For dessert was Addictive Youngstown Chips (or as I like to call them: Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies) and Texas Brownies. It was all excellent! (or so I've been told. Heh)

Our sun ovens came in handy this year. We cooked the 8 pounds of beans in the sun ovens before finishing the Chili on the stove. The next day we slow-cooked the barbecue sauce all day in the sun ovens which meant I didn't have to worry about stirring it at all, and the flavors developed beautifully. For Saturday lunch we 'boiled' 30 eggs for lunch sandwiches. It only took 2 hours and they were cooked perfectly. No gas or electricity required at all. Wonderful!

We did our pig just as we have for the past several years. This was our seventh year in a row! I have nearly gotten over the anxiety that something might go wrong and that it won't get done properly or on time.
For a step by step post you can read it here. This was the largest pig ever! Forty-seven kilos! That's over 100 pounds of pig. Of course by the time it was roasted, and the fat had cooked off, and it was then deboned, there were only 12 kilos (26 pounds) remaining. That was one fat mama pig.

A funny thing to note is that I cannot stand pork. True story. I also don't care much for BBQ sauce. And yet year after year I prepare massive pots of BBQ pork. I have to wait for others to tell me if it's OK because I honestly think it tastes awful. Yet year after year I'm told it's some of the best barbecue sauce and/or pork people have ever tasted. Strange but true! 

For breakfast on Sunday morning I served Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls which are a wonderful way to end a weekend with friends. They all leave devoted to you and swearing eternal love--which is just as it should be. 

Moriah--yep, she's got swag!

Missionary Monday

Many people have asked for an update to the prayer request we wrote about a couple weeks ago. As it stands now, not much has changed but things are quiet. We did completely close down our boat project and removed the wood for the new house, the pier and the fencing. The only thing remaining there is the boat and we will be collecting that later this week. 

Tom has, understandably, been pretty depressed about the whole situation. He had poured his heart and soul into developing this tourist attraction and felt (we still do feel) that it would be good for the entire community.

We're hoping to start up the boat project in another place at some time.

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We hired a manager on a trial basis and one of his first responsibilities is helping us to reopen communication with the chief. We're hoping he can help to bridge the cultural divide we seem to be facing. Michael (our new manager) is also helping with much of the day to day coordinating with staff and visitors to free Tom and I up for other projects, admin work and our many responsibilities. Please pray that he works out and that we are able to increase our budget to cover his salary. 

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I wrote about the new baby we took in on Sunday. Sara is still struggling healthwise. The clinical officer here in the village believes she has developed pneumonia despite frequent applications of Baby Vicks, peppermint oil and taking Amoxycillin. We've now started her on daily injections of a much stronger antibiotic. Please pray that she recovers fully.

In the good news category: Sara gained 300 grams (10 ounces) this week!

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I'm so excited about the good response we're getting for our Every Child Needs Their Own Space Christmas project. We're looking forward to presenting the kids with their very own toy boxes so they feel like they are special and unique.

If you are interested in getting on board with this fun project, click the link and then go shopping. We recommend getting the packages in the mail by mid-November as it takes 4-6 weeks for packages to reach our little village.

My mother-in-law brought up a good point. Make sure your boxes weigh less than 4 pounds. It can be cheaper to send two lighter packages rather than one heavy one.

You can also send a donation designated for this project so we can buy the plastic toy boxes here. 

Thank you all for your help with all our projects. We couldn't look after these little ones without you.

Exactly one year ago: Book review of The Noticer

Sundays in My City--Lumangwe Falls

Before I get started, I want to answer some of your questions about our pool and the post I wrote here.

1. The giant rubber band is actually strips of inner tube tied together. These rubber strips are the go-to material for all the junior Macgyvers here in Zambia.

2. We haven't had too much trouble with gawkers but we try to swim at off hours--lunch time when everyone is home eating or napping or evening when people have left their fields and gone home for dinner. It helps that the pool is above ground because no one can see into the pool by just looking through the fence. There is the tricky moment when you have to drop your wrap before climbing and then descending the ladder but we are getting good at timing it just right.

Now, on to the main part of the post!

 

 Like I mentioned before, we had visitors last week. It was wonderful! and even better was getting the chance to take them to all our special places. On Monday we drove to Lumangwe and Kabwelume Falls. In my opinion these are some of the most breathtaking waterfalls in Zambia. We adore them!

The only reason we don't go to them every week is because they are a little bit far from our house. They are  80 miles (130 km) from our home. In a developed area this wouldn't be a problem but when half the trip is over a deeply rutted dirt road you rethink the drive. 

We piled 9 people into our Landcruiser and hit the road. The first half (while crowded) was nice. Then we got onto the dirt road. Everytime we hit a pothole we who were sitting in the back bounced all over--bumping into each other and nearly coming off our seats. We giggled a lot but by the end we were sore, sore, sore. 

The other issue was the dust. It is the dry season right now and all the fields are dried up and to add insult to injury they've been burned as well so the air is full of dust and ash. Landcruisers are not known for their good seals and it showed. 

 

These Bibles were brand new at the start of the trip. It's a good thing they were wrapped in plastic.

A shot of my leg--the 'bad tan' line is actually what was not covered up by my yoga pants. My face and chest looked just as bad.

It was wonderful to get to the end of our journey and see the water. The first waterfall has parking and picnic area at the top of the waterfall. The pleasant little river you see here tumbles along and empties over the edge of this:

 

Tom was standing right on the edge--just a few yards from where we were eating lunch. There are no guard rails or precautions. It's slightly scary but also nice to see the waterfalls in their natural, pure state.

 

A

After lunch we walked down the ravine. Slipped and slid is probably more accurate. While not as difficult to do as when I came in rainy season and the ground was covered with mud and there were millipedes everywhere, it was still hard work. 

 

This is what greeted us at the bottom. Tom may or may not have tried to scale this rock face. Since his mom reads this blog I'll leave it open.

A

Lumangwe Falls! Absolutely stunning!

We jumped right in to swim. It was wonderful to wash off all the dust.

M

Our friend, Tommy, is not drowning. Have no fear. The current was strong and real swimming wasn't possible but it was refreshing and safe. The only problem was the dead monkey floating next to the rocks at the shore. Aren't you glad I didn't show you that picture? You're welcome.

 

T

There were large rocks all throughout the area we were swimming in, so Tom asked me to sit on one for a while so he could practice camera angles and settings. The sun was behind me and I'm sure this could be fixed up in Photoshop or some such program but I'm not there yet.

A

After swimming for awhile and then climbing (or crawling) out of the ravine, we drove for about 10 minutes to another waterfall called Kabwelume. We parked in the parking area and then took a pretty walk through the woods to get to this beautiful sight. 

 

 This is to the right of the waterfall shown above. With everyone walking around on the bluff you can see the magnitude of the waterfall.

 

 I leave you now with my favorite shot of the day.

Tom took all the photos in this post except the first two. 

He's a whiz with the camera and I love him for it.

Now, go check out other wonderful sights from around the world:

 

Sundays in My City--Mofwe Lagoon pt. Two

Last week I shared part of our little slice of paradise with you. Now I'll share a few more photos. These were taken on a recent trip we made with our friends.

First we head out of the little harbor, navigating through papyrus reeds. 

The lagoon widens and we enter the main water area.

 

Here is the handsome captain of our vessel. 

The flowers are beautiful and there is plenty of opportunity for birdwatching.

We even spot a fish eagle.

Along the way we come upon a canoe with fishermen. We had to be careful to to disturb their nets.

After negotiating and bargaining we buy some of their fish.

This man found Thomas hilarious.

As we headed home we made use of the plenteous fauna and flora. I can't decide if he looks more like Peter Pan or Robin Hood.

Lovely girl and pretty flower.

My beautiful friend used both lily pads and flowers to adorn herself. It's an island sprite!

Join others around the world for peeks into their Sundays.

Sundays in My City--Mofwe Lagoon

I promised to write about our boat and little slice of paradise and so here it is. I have so many beautiful pictures that this will have to be a two-parter. You can come back next Sunday to see the rest.

A typical fisherman in his canoe

The beautiful lily pads. The locals have an interesting use for them. 

I'll show you next week.

Fishing traps--made out of grass or bamboo

Fresh fish

A typical fishing hut. 

 You can see the size and scale in this picture.

A homemade dehydrator for the fish. 

It is constructed from half an oil drum with bicycle rims woven with wire for the drying rack. 

You can see the extra racks in the background.

Sadly, sometimes the fire gets out of hand and burns down the little huts.

I'm going to think twice about setting foot on those islands again after Tom brought home this picture. Can you see it there?

Tom wanted to pick up this very dangerous cobra to get a closer look,

but those in the boat convinced him not to. I'll be forever grateful.

Fishing for the day is done. Time to head home.

For others, it's time to paddle out into the lagoon

for night fishing with small lights.

For more peeks at life around the world visit:

Africa Animals

When I visited Livingstone, Debbie and I took a safari drive. I've been into smaller parks before but this was one of the National parks and so had many more animals. It was really interesting! This particular park was 22 square kilometers.

Even before we reached the park we came across these elephants just walking near the road. No fence at all!

Hello there!

I can't help but think of Madagascar when I see zebras now.

Impala

Warthogs. Also known as Pumbaa.

Hakuna Matata

Oh, for heaven's sake. I've forgotten the name of this one. Who can help me out?

All I can remember is that his bottom looks like he sat on a toilet seat with wet paint on it.

Hornbills

Debbie was most excited to see the giraffes. She wrote a college paper once about how she was most like a giraffe because they have the largest hearts. I agree!

This baby was adorable

I'm sorry. Did we disturb your lunch?

Wildebeests. Apparently the legends here say that the wildebeest was created from spare parts of animals: impala, buffalo, and hyenas to name a few. 

Our guide said we were really lucky to see these because they had been across the river in Botswana.

Buffalo! Not like the water buffalo from India or the Bison in the U.S.

Our guide warned us that buffalo are dangerous because they will charge at you without warning. The one on the right stared straight at us the entire time.

As the evening drew near and the sun went down we came across a field full of baboons. 

There were also impala, zebras and guinea fowl all happily enjoying their suppers.

This little guy stole my heart. 

Do you think I should adopt him?

Now it's your turn!

Which African animal would you most like to see?

Take a guess--which animal was my favorite and which animal made me squeal with excitement. And remember, I'm still looking for the name of that other animal.

Anyone who gets the answers right will get their name in lights on Friday.