Day 28: Life in Chongwe thus far

          Well, I am blogging sooner then I thought I would because we are back in Lusaka for the night…something that we didn’t think would be happening  until the camps were over. The other three girl’s visas expire tomorrow so we have to go back to the immigration office again. Because of how early we need to be there, Mama Margaret told us to just hitch a ride into town with Ba Humphrey and stay the night. So here we are….sitting in the office updating everyone back home.

        Life in Chongwe is very different then in Lusaka. For one thing, Chongwe is a country village so everything here is done similar to the old fashioned way. We bathe in tiny plastic tubs, wash laundry and dishes in tubs outside and then hang dry all of our laundry. We get up at 5am for morning prayer and go to bed around 8:30pm. Sweeping is done on hands and knees with tiny brushes, followed up by floor polish that’s applied the same way.  They eat porridge for breakfast and Nshima (a paste like dish made from ground corn) and Veg (boiled greens) for most dinners. We go to sleep at night listening to thousands of frogs and grasshoppers  and wake up to the rooster crowing outside our window.

          But the two differences that get me the most are the fresh meat they have for dinner and the types of eat they eat. If they want chicken for dinner, they slaughter a hen right outside their backdoor and prepare her for their dinner. They literally have fresh meat. As for their meat preference….these people eat nearly the entire chicken, and by that I mean liver, feet, organs  and all. There are few parts that they throw away. Quite the new experience for me! By the way, boiled chicken livers is actually not that bad. Yep, I ate part of a chicken liver. Talk about the ultimate experience!! That was my first taste of all out African food, and it was not bad…not bad at all. Not my favorite by any means! Not at all!! Nor am I eager to eat it again!! But since it was set before me I had to be polite to the ladies that prepared it for me and at least do them the courtesy of tasting it.

         Part of the Teen Mania team arrived last night, but half of them missed their fight so they won’t be here until Saturday. So for today at least, we have 45 new people milling around getting used to being here, which meant that things were slow in Chongwe. It was one last relaxing day before things  get busy. Monday morning is Camp Hope #1!!  Praise the Lord for all the sweet children this entire team of EOH and TM missionaries will be able to minster to!!! 300+ orphans are about to be touched by God!! I pray that the Lord will be glorified through our actions over these next few weeks. May His name be magnified in highest praise as we serve Him through these precious little ones.
                                                            “For the glory of God!”