Last week I was walking home from tutoring my kids in the village, minding my own business, just thinking about how things went when all of a sudden someone was talking to me.
I had met this man the day prior and found out he was the headman of one of the local villages. He was very chatty, not to mention, very drunk. Needless to say, the next morning around 10AM he was still drunk.
Here's how the conversation went...
Headman... "Good morning madam. How are you?"
Me... "I'm fine, how are you?"
Headman... "I'm fine. But I'm thinking you could help me."
--> This is when my mind started racing thinking what in the world is he going to ask.
Headman... "I'm thinking you could bring me one of your white friends from America to be my wife."
Me... "No sir, I can't do that."
Headman... "Why? Because I'm black?"
Me... "No sir, not because you're black, but because I'm not about to marry off any of my friends to someone who is always drunk."
Headman... "Oh madam, I can change."
Me... "No sir. I can't do that. I need to go now, but have a good day."
---End of conversation.
Sometimes I walk away from things that happen thinking to myself..."did that really just happen?" And sometimes it just amazes me.
I thought I'd share it here to give you a laugh.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Monday, May 29, 2017
Dreaming
It's okay to dream big, right? Man, I dream about being able to teach some of these kids all day everyday...
My heart hurts when I think about academics here. We just got term 1 results back for a lot of our sponsored kids and man...most of them are struggling. The sad thing? It doesn't seem to affect teachers. In some ways I don't blame them because they don't know any other way...but when a kid gets 40% in a subject and the teacher writes that they're doing fairly well, my heart hurts.
Then I look in some of their notebooks to see the exams that they took and they're having to label parts of a computer or a beaker. Seriously? Some of these kids have probably never even seen a computer and they definitely don't use a beaker in science class, they just take notes and listen to the teacher talk.
I dream about what it would be like to pull them out of the local school and teach them everyday. I dream about what it would be like to get kindergarten and first grade curriculum and start with the basics. I dream about what it would be like to teach in English all day everyday and immerse these kids. I dream about what it would be like to give these kids a good education where they can do hands on things, learn in ways other than taking notes, and have fun doing it.
Pray with me about this. What do we do? How do we best support these kids academically? Our sponsored kids are required to come to tutoring every Saturday morning, but that's only 1 hour/week. Sometimes I wonder...how do we make a difference in 1 hour/week. Then I see it; a kid is starting to read, a kid who can solve a multiplication problem on their own, a kid who is now able to write a complete sentence. If only we could spend more time with these kids. If only, if only, if only....the thoughts go on and on.
Help us dream and brainstorm how we can do this better. Help us push and challenge our kids to grow academically every single day. Pray for these kids. Pray for these teachers.
My heart hurts when I think about academics here. We just got term 1 results back for a lot of our sponsored kids and man...most of them are struggling. The sad thing? It doesn't seem to affect teachers. In some ways I don't blame them because they don't know any other way...but when a kid gets 40% in a subject and the teacher writes that they're doing fairly well, my heart hurts.
Then I look in some of their notebooks to see the exams that they took and they're having to label parts of a computer or a beaker. Seriously? Some of these kids have probably never even seen a computer and they definitely don't use a beaker in science class, they just take notes and listen to the teacher talk.
I dream about what it would be like to pull them out of the local school and teach them everyday. I dream about what it would be like to get kindergarten and first grade curriculum and start with the basics. I dream about what it would be like to teach in English all day everyday and immerse these kids. I dream about what it would be like to give these kids a good education where they can do hands on things, learn in ways other than taking notes, and have fun doing it.
Pray with me about this. What do we do? How do we best support these kids academically? Our sponsored kids are required to come to tutoring every Saturday morning, but that's only 1 hour/week. Sometimes I wonder...how do we make a difference in 1 hour/week. Then I see it; a kid is starting to read, a kid who can solve a multiplication problem on their own, a kid who is now able to write a complete sentence. If only we could spend more time with these kids. If only, if only, if only....the thoughts go on and on.
Help us dream and brainstorm how we can do this better. Help us push and challenge our kids to grow academically every single day. Pray for these kids. Pray for these teachers.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Village Girls
When you read this can you please just stop and pray for our village girls?
Life seems so hard for them, so unfair in some cases.
Just the other day I was standing and talking with one girl; she is probably about 16 years old. I'm thinking she is now pregnant, although she didn't come out and tell me that it's true. She is only in 7th grade, and she's pregnant. Now, from what I've have heard this girl does sleep around a lot, but it just makes me wonder, who has she been learning from? Do her parents love her? Do they try and teach her what is right? Do they discipline her in a way that won't make her rebellious?
As I was talking to her I asked her if she wants to get married someday. She said yes. I asked her if she wants to have kids someday. She said, "Yes, but not now, because if a girl doesn't get an education she doesn't have a good life."
In many cases I agree with what she has said. It does seem that girls here who aren't in school and trying to get an education do end up pregnant and then all hopes and aspirations seem to vanish. Or, in some cases, a girl will be in school, but she will still end up pregnant causing her to drop-out and that's the end of her schooling.
Pray for these young people. It's not just the girls. It's the boys too. Pray that the Lord would intervene in their lives and would reveal what a good marriage is supposed to look like. It seems that there are so many single parents in the village. Even the handful of couples have almost all had previous relationships and kids with other spouses. Pray that they would see what a marriage of a couple following whole-heartedly after Jesus is supposed to look like and they would desire it for themselves. Pray for a revival to happen here; that young men and women would begin to seek this for themselves. Pray that we would be able to model this; to model what a Christ-centered marriage is supposed to look like.
Back to the 16 year old girl, pray that if she is pregnant that she wouldn't have an abortion. Abortions are legal here in Zambia. Pray that God would use this time in her life to draw her closer to Himself and that she wouldn't dwell in shame and regret.
Life seems so hard for them, so unfair in some cases.
Just the other day I was standing and talking with one girl; she is probably about 16 years old. I'm thinking she is now pregnant, although she didn't come out and tell me that it's true. She is only in 7th grade, and she's pregnant. Now, from what I've have heard this girl does sleep around a lot, but it just makes me wonder, who has she been learning from? Do her parents love her? Do they try and teach her what is right? Do they discipline her in a way that won't make her rebellious?
As I was talking to her I asked her if she wants to get married someday. She said yes. I asked her if she wants to have kids someday. She said, "Yes, but not now, because if a girl doesn't get an education she doesn't have a good life."
In many cases I agree with what she has said. It does seem that girls here who aren't in school and trying to get an education do end up pregnant and then all hopes and aspirations seem to vanish. Or, in some cases, a girl will be in school, but she will still end up pregnant causing her to drop-out and that's the end of her schooling.
Pray for these young people. It's not just the girls. It's the boys too. Pray that the Lord would intervene in their lives and would reveal what a good marriage is supposed to look like. It seems that there are so many single parents in the village. Even the handful of couples have almost all had previous relationships and kids with other spouses. Pray that they would see what a marriage of a couple following whole-heartedly after Jesus is supposed to look like and they would desire it for themselves. Pray for a revival to happen here; that young men and women would begin to seek this for themselves. Pray that we would be able to model this; to model what a Christ-centered marriage is supposed to look like.
Back to the 16 year old girl, pray that if she is pregnant that she wouldn't have an abortion. Abortions are legal here in Zambia. Pray that God would use this time in her life to draw her closer to Himself and that she wouldn't dwell in shame and regret.
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Song & Dance
Sorry for not posting in a long time. We were in Michigan for a few weeks celebrating my sister’s wedding and Benjamin’s brother’s engagement, and we did not post while we were there. Now we’ve been back for a week and a half and honestly, I haven’t felt inspired to write. Blogging is harder than you would think. It can feel hard to describe emotions or something culturally that may seem so irrelevant to many westerners, but I’ll give it a go.
I titled this post song and dance because I wanted to describe a bit about worshipping with Zambians. It is very different than worship in West Michigan. We had church this morning and a large part of the service is worship through song. The praise team is made up of the housemothers from the children’s home and some of the kids from the children’s home. Sometimes there are a few others from the villages that join as well. The only instrument is a drum.
We sing some songs in English, and some songs in local languages. It took us a while to catch on to some of these Zambian worship songs, but we try! A lot of the praise songs involve motions or dancing. Zambians are almost always clapping or swaying while they sing. Other times we are all dancing in a large circle around the benches.
It is an amazing thing to watch some of the kids help lead worship. I was watching one of the girls from the children’s home this morning. She is about 9 years old. She was standing up front, swaying back and forth (she’s got the moves), her hands out in front of her, eyes shut, and in watching her it was like I could see a connection between her and Jesus as she sang and danced.
There is something so beautiful about teaching these young children that they can help lead worship and dance before the Lord. It is so freeing! (…minus the fact that I’m white and can’t dance like they can so sometimes it can feel embarrassing) As we live in Zambia longer and longer I want to become more like Zambians when I worship. I want to feel free to dance before the Lord.
I titled this post song and dance because I wanted to describe a bit about worshipping with Zambians. It is very different than worship in West Michigan. We had church this morning and a large part of the service is worship through song. The praise team is made up of the housemothers from the children’s home and some of the kids from the children’s home. Sometimes there are a few others from the villages that join as well. The only instrument is a drum.
We sing some songs in English, and some songs in local languages. It took us a while to catch on to some of these Zambian worship songs, but we try! A lot of the praise songs involve motions or dancing. Zambians are almost always clapping or swaying while they sing. Other times we are all dancing in a large circle around the benches.
It is an amazing thing to watch some of the kids help lead worship. I was watching one of the girls from the children’s home this morning. She is about 9 years old. She was standing up front, swaying back and forth (she’s got the moves), her hands out in front of her, eyes shut, and in watching her it was like I could see a connection between her and Jesus as she sang and danced.
There is something so beautiful about teaching these young children that they can help lead worship and dance before the Lord. It is so freeing! (…minus the fact that I’m white and can’t dance like they can so sometimes it can feel embarrassing) As we live in Zambia longer and longer I want to become more like Zambians when I worship. I want to feel free to dance before the Lord.
Monday, March 27, 2017
Emotions
Sometimes it amazes me the range of emotions I can feel in one day. It seems so much greater than most anything I ever felt before on a typical Saturday, and today happened to be one of those days where I can’t believe everything I felt.
The day started off with a knock on our door from a friend. She wanted to sit and talk because there was a problem. My heart broke for her as she shared what happened. We prayed together because Benjamin and I didn’t really have any other advice and we needed to turn it over to the Lord.
Awhile later, I remembered that it was Saturday morning and tutoring was happening in just a few hours, one of my favorite parts of the week. We implemented a new check-in schedule that worked well and allowed us to have extra time with our students. To make things better, my group of 6 students was great today! It felt like we accomplished so much and they were focused the whole time. I left tutoring feeling as if I had more energy than when I started.
As the afternoon rolled around there was an intense windstorm and some thunder that seemed to fit what would come next. I went go to Mama Ruth’s house where Regina and I sat with one of the older girls from the sponsorship program to tell her the news that she was being removed from the program. She recently became pregnant, at 17, and now she isn’t going to school or coming to Saturday tutoring because the other students are making fun of her.
Next came her story. She was living with one of her grandmothers. Her father has a handicap and I believe he hasn’t cared for her in a while. After she got pregnant, her grandmother kicked her out, so she moved in with her other grandmother, Mama Ruth. Her mother lives in town because she left the father a few years ago when he was extremely sick and all she does since her daughter got pregnant is cry and become extremely mad at her. The mother tells her, “What do you think you’re doing getting pregnant? My husband and I can hardly take care of ourselves because we don’t have work. What do you think you’re doing bringing this baby into the picture?” Her father, the one with the handicap, now hates her because of this mistake she’s made.
My heart broke as I listened to her story. Her life isn’t going to be easy. She’s going to have to fight for her and her baby. As we were leaving, I turned to her, looker her in the eye and said, “I want you to know that I love you and I still support you.” I feel like everything in her life right now is filled with shame. I want her to know that someone cares for her, that someone loves her, and that Jesus is still there for her.
As I was sitting there listening to this girl’s story, one of Mama Ruth’s other grandchildren, who was recently sponsored and is in my tutoring group, leaned over to me and whispered, “Auntie Allison, I want to learn to read. Can I come on Monday?” This girl has found such a special place in my heart even though I haven’t known her long. I whispered back, “What time would you come?” After she sat and thought for a few moments, she said, “Maybe 16:00.”
How I wish I could teach every child to read. Sitting here typing this I can think of handfuls of kids that I would love to give one-on-one attention so they can learn how to read. It just feels like there are never enough hours in a day to meet all of the needs that are in front of me.
Then tonight, I was on dinner preparation for the team and Benjamin and Bernard, one of the boys from the Children’s Home, came running into the kitchen saying, “She’s having babies! The pig is having babies!” Benjamin was hoping that his pig would have babies before we left to come back to the states for a few weeks. He spent a long time by the pigpen and his pig had 8 babies. There was so much joy and excitement as a bunch of kids were standing around the pigpen guessing how many babies there would be.
After dinner we had abiding with Christ night with the Children’s Home. We were split up into 4 groups and told to choose a Bible story and create a skit. We then presented these skits and they had us laughing and enjoying ourselves. In addition to the skits, Benjamin and a few boys made chocolate chip muffins that we got to enjoy together before the kids went off to bed.
Now I’m sitting here, it’s after 11 PM (way later than I typically go to bed) and one of the baby pigs isn’t doing well. It is the runt and Benjamin is sitting here with it wrapped in a blanket trying to keep it alive feeding it with a dropper.
What a day! What a lot of emotions! Sometimes I just want to lock myself in the house so I don’t have to hear about another child who can’t go to school because they don’t have the money to pay the school fees, or another grandmother who doesn’t have money so she hasn’t been able to feed her family for the past few days. But then I remember these are daughters and sons of the almighty King. He loves them so much and He wants each and every one of them to know Him deeply and intimately. That’s why I’m here. I too, want people to know their Heavenly Father. I want to love them to Him, so if my day is filled with many emotions I can’t even begin to imagine what the Father feels for all of His children.
Pray with me tonight:
-for the friend who has been hurt
-for the kids in my tutoring group
-for the 17 year old who is now pregnant
-for the 10 year old who so badly wants to learn to read
-for the kids in the Children’s Home
-for the grandmother who hasn’t had food in 3 days
-and for us to continue to love deeply as our Father does
The day started off with a knock on our door from a friend. She wanted to sit and talk because there was a problem. My heart broke for her as she shared what happened. We prayed together because Benjamin and I didn’t really have any other advice and we needed to turn it over to the Lord.
Awhile later, I remembered that it was Saturday morning and tutoring was happening in just a few hours, one of my favorite parts of the week. We implemented a new check-in schedule that worked well and allowed us to have extra time with our students. To make things better, my group of 6 students was great today! It felt like we accomplished so much and they were focused the whole time. I left tutoring feeling as if I had more energy than when I started.
As the afternoon rolled around there was an intense windstorm and some thunder that seemed to fit what would come next. I went go to Mama Ruth’s house where Regina and I sat with one of the older girls from the sponsorship program to tell her the news that she was being removed from the program. She recently became pregnant, at 17, and now she isn’t going to school or coming to Saturday tutoring because the other students are making fun of her.
Next came her story. She was living with one of her grandmothers. Her father has a handicap and I believe he hasn’t cared for her in a while. After she got pregnant, her grandmother kicked her out, so she moved in with her other grandmother, Mama Ruth. Her mother lives in town because she left the father a few years ago when he was extremely sick and all she does since her daughter got pregnant is cry and become extremely mad at her. The mother tells her, “What do you think you’re doing getting pregnant? My husband and I can hardly take care of ourselves because we don’t have work. What do you think you’re doing bringing this baby into the picture?” Her father, the one with the handicap, now hates her because of this mistake she’s made.
My heart broke as I listened to her story. Her life isn’t going to be easy. She’s going to have to fight for her and her baby. As we were leaving, I turned to her, looker her in the eye and said, “I want you to know that I love you and I still support you.” I feel like everything in her life right now is filled with shame. I want her to know that someone cares for her, that someone loves her, and that Jesus is still there for her.
As I was sitting there listening to this girl’s story, one of Mama Ruth’s other grandchildren, who was recently sponsored and is in my tutoring group, leaned over to me and whispered, “Auntie Allison, I want to learn to read. Can I come on Monday?” This girl has found such a special place in my heart even though I haven’t known her long. I whispered back, “What time would you come?” After she sat and thought for a few moments, she said, “Maybe 16:00.”
How I wish I could teach every child to read. Sitting here typing this I can think of handfuls of kids that I would love to give one-on-one attention so they can learn how to read. It just feels like there are never enough hours in a day to meet all of the needs that are in front of me.
Then tonight, I was on dinner preparation for the team and Benjamin and Bernard, one of the boys from the Children’s Home, came running into the kitchen saying, “She’s having babies! The pig is having babies!” Benjamin was hoping that his pig would have babies before we left to come back to the states for a few weeks. He spent a long time by the pigpen and his pig had 8 babies. There was so much joy and excitement as a bunch of kids were standing around the pigpen guessing how many babies there would be.
After dinner we had abiding with Christ night with the Children’s Home. We were split up into 4 groups and told to choose a Bible story and create a skit. We then presented these skits and they had us laughing and enjoying ourselves. In addition to the skits, Benjamin and a few boys made chocolate chip muffins that we got to enjoy together before the kids went off to bed.
Now I’m sitting here, it’s after 11 PM (way later than I typically go to bed) and one of the baby pigs isn’t doing well. It is the runt and Benjamin is sitting here with it wrapped in a blanket trying to keep it alive feeding it with a dropper.
What a day! What a lot of emotions! Sometimes I just want to lock myself in the house so I don’t have to hear about another child who can’t go to school because they don’t have the money to pay the school fees, or another grandmother who doesn’t have money so she hasn’t been able to feed her family for the past few days. But then I remember these are daughters and sons of the almighty King. He loves them so much and He wants each and every one of them to know Him deeply and intimately. That’s why I’m here. I too, want people to know their Heavenly Father. I want to love them to Him, so if my day is filled with many emotions I can’t even begin to imagine what the Father feels for all of His children.
Pray with me tonight:
-for the friend who has been hurt
-for the kids in my tutoring group
-for the 17 year old who is now pregnant
-for the 10 year old who so badly wants to learn to read
-for the kids in the Children’s Home
-for the grandmother who hasn’t had food in 3 days
-and for us to continue to love deeply as our Father does
Friday, March 17, 2017
Prayers Answered
We just received word this morning that our appeal has been accepted and our two year work permits have been approved! They should be sent to Livingstone for us to pick up in the next week or so. Praise Jesus for answered prayers!
Monday, March 13, 2017
Learning Trust
As I sit here in the shade on this sunny and 80 degree day with a slight breeze rustling through the nearby bushes, I hear the sound of kids playing on their day off from school and my heart desires to be at rest. It loves this place I now call home.
It just feels hard. My heart wants to be still, content, and filled with peace, but it feels like we can't do anything about our visa situation. And yet, the Lord whispers, "do you trust me?"
And so we wait. We wait to hear what the immigration official will say when we call later this week.
The boys swinging on the hammock next to me can't stop laughing because the rope keeps breaking as they fall flat on their backs. I am reminded of the joy that is exuding from them as they play together. This is the kind of joy I want to be filled with; an overflowing joy from my Heavenly Father.
Pray with us as we trust in the plans of our Farther this week.
Allison
It just feels hard. My heart wants to be still, content, and filled with peace, but it feels like we can't do anything about our visa situation. And yet, the Lord whispers, "do you trust me?"
And so we wait. We wait to hear what the immigration official will say when we call later this week.
The boys swinging on the hammock next to me can't stop laughing because the rope keeps breaking as they fall flat on their backs. I am reminded of the joy that is exuding from them as they play together. This is the kind of joy I want to be filled with; an overflowing joy from my Heavenly Father.
Pray with us as we trust in the plans of our Farther this week.
Allison
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