Grace in Zambia

This last week I have spent staying with people who work at a mission base in the Zambian bushland. The nearest town is 1hr30 drive away and life here is very simple, with a high rate of poverty for families in the villages. Here there is a small farm where maize is grown and a few goats are kept for breeding. An open, grass roofed hut serves as a school (pre-school and grade 1) and a church, which serves the local community. I've been spending time at the school, watching and teaching the grade 1 class. These kids will walk up to 7 or 8km to here from their homes, then back again each day when school is over. And yet they still have endless energy for playing and singing! It's been really cool to teach them a few lessons, English and science- they are such bright children. If I ever get the chance to come back here it would be amazing to see how they have changed and what they have learnt. It's been interesting to stay here, I've been sharing a cosy little hut with a...

I've been spending some time with an older class of children at the school, those who are about grade 2 level. A couple of the kids are deaf and so need to learn sign language in order to eventually going to a specialist school. So as few of us have been learning sign from a book, and then teaching it to the children. This photo is me teaching the alphabet to the class- they have lots of fun now spelling their names to each other in the playground! It's such a great experience to be able to teach lessons like this, hopefully this skill will stay with them all for a long time.

I had the best Zambian birthday experience as I turned 19 on Wednesday! My day started with a surprise cake and singing from some of the students here, before going to Bethesda with the teachers. A tradition here is to throw a bucket of water over the birthday child, and they like to pick a moment when you are least expecting it. So for me at school, they gathered everyone outside for a photo... We all looked at the camera and said cheese.. and then Grace got water thrown over her! They planned it well, I was very surprised :P Then I went, with some of the students who study at the OM Base, to a cafe close by and had milkshakes. As a usually chilly November birthday I've never been able to celebrate like this before! In the evening I had more water over me from some thoughtful friends, and then a little campfire with worship songs to finish the day. I just am so grateful for all the friends I have made here, this day really showed me just how blessed I have been in this place! ...

I joined with an American team who were here for a week, they were doing evening services for people in village communities. It was all held outside, open to anyone who was passing by. Children here get super excited by things like this and all come running to see what's going on. We played games and sang with them which was a lot of fun. At the end of the evening service about 30 people responded to the gospel message and were invited for baptism the next morning! So amazing to see people being reached like this. I'm still helping each day at the disabled school, it can be challenging as children need a lot of attention for different tasks but now that I know the kids better I think its easier. Part of the day I enjoy is the children's devotions in the morning, reading a bible story and having a few worship songs. All ages stay together for this, about 30 children, it's nice to connect with everyone and start the day with singing!

October 24th is Zambian independence day and its a big celebration for the people here! In the town's there are parades and shows in the stadium, and streets are decorated with bunting and flags. I was at Bethesda so we had a little party of our own with the children, there was singing and dancing and cake for celebration. In the photo is us teachers all dressed up wearing our special Zambian chitenge skirts!

This weekend I was invited to the wedding of a Zambian couple, I don't know them well but I think in this culture it's not a problem! The celebration involved a lot of cheering and dancing. In the photo I'm wearing an African dress which I had made, it's something which is easy to do here. I bought fabric on the market for equivalent to about £5, then went to a tailor who made it to be ready in the next 2 days! There was so much choice for colours and patterns, and the end result was so special. As of last week I have a room mate staying with me (shes in the photo with me). We get on really well and it's so nice to be meeting people and making new friends all the time I'm here. It will be hard to say goodbyes when my time here is up!