Diary 4 (Saturday 1st March):
Well, looks like it’s gonna be another hot one today. It’s 11am and we
are still waiting for our 9/10am lift.
Len text to say there was a hold-up at the coach station so they were
having to wait for the next coach. I
guess Pastor George has waited with them, so we will have to sit tight …. Gives
me a chance to get ahead of myself with my diary as I didn’t manage yesterday.
I am sitting in the lounge, the door open, listening to a man next door
fervently, and very loudly praying and has been now for some time. Reminds me of the few months we had a
Congolese brother staying with us in our community house in Seaford; he would
be in the garden praying like this in the early morning and late in the evening
– suddenly all makes so much more sense.
Only difference here is that the neighbours don’t complain.
George and James have arrived so off we go ….
Arrived at the church to see lots of the children from the orphanage
eagerly awaiting our arrival. Pastor
Nathan said they had been waiting since 8am.
Unfortunately we had to take a run in to town first to change up some
money and get supplies for the IT and literacy projects beginning on Monday, so
they would have to wait a bit longer.
Jimmy jumped out to in order to press on with setting up the IT suite.
Town was even busier than before. Being totally unaware of the day, let
alone the time, we suddenly realised it was Saturday! Banks were already beginning to close, and
all the shops would be shut by 2 or 3pm. We went to two banks but they were
already closed and George was beginning to look concerned as we needed to get
some local currency. I noticed down the
road there was a Barclays bank. I suggested
we go here as I had connections with Barclays back home. He didn’t seem overly confident and didn’t
really want to go in, but we did. Two
very quick conversations and I was at the counter – sorted! Phew!
Now to find some CD players, but it was proving difficult to describe to
Pastor George exactly what it was we needed.
We went to two or three shops with no success, then we headed down a
street that was incredibly busy, then had to push our way into a store which
looked like it contained all sorts of household goods from fridge-freezers to
wardrobes. It was a mission to get
through the door and we nearly lost George.
There were no lights or windows in this store and having just come in
from the sunlight, it was impossible to see a thing. The aisles were incredibly
narrow and we bashed our legs on unseen objects here and there. Eventually we were led to what was supposed
to be a CD player with speakers. It took
me quite some time to adjust my eyes to make out the Samsung equipment but it
had been reduced by a couple of hundred kwacha so was looking good. We ordered
two and immediately George started to barter.
The guy laughed and I assume he was saying in Bemba that it was already
reduced, but he did knock a bit off the price.
We headed to the counter and left George to join the queue, while we
stood people watching – trolleys constantly pushing past with large items
people had just bought, lots of ladies buying up household goods. It was
incredibly noisy and got worse when two ladies had an obvious disagreement over
something and then a whole host joined in.
George was soon back for some more cash as they wouldn’t allow the
discount being that it was Saturday (there busiest day). He said there were a
lot of ladies in the store as buying goods for kitchen parties were common
place when young women in the family were due to get married. We pushed our way back out of the store, but
George stopped to talk to the man at the door (it is impossible to go directly
from A to B with George as he talks to everyone, whether he knows them or not –
a real people person who likes to bring a smile to people’s faces). This time, it turns out he was employing a
lad to carry the two boxes back to our car. This would require a tip (about
5kwacha – 49p) Getting back to the car
was a mission as there are no pedestrian lights so lots of jay-walking is
required and although most drivers are accommodating, there are those that like
to take their chances. I noticed that
Pastor George’s limp seems more obvious today – a sure sign he is very tired.
He, his wife and household family have worked hard to accommodate us and George
has done an awful lot of driving us all around.
His wife spent yesterday in bed and we didn’t see her this morning, so
when I asked him about it, he said that she has had malaria in the past and she
has been struck again as she likes to host, but has burnt herself out a
bit. George asked if we would mind going
in to the supermarket alone while he kipped in the car. We were familiar with this store now with the
dos and don’ts so we were fine, and he was only a phone call away. We determined to pray for Yvonne that
evening.
Getting back to the church proved a mission as there was a football
match on in the local stadium. The roads
and footpaths alike were streaming with cars and people. This added a new dimension to free for all
driving. Everyone needed to get
somewhere quickly so there was lots of hooting (more than usual) and
overtaking, even by buses on the dust footpaths – crazy!
Back at the church the children were eagerly awaiting our return so
straight to business. Sharon (a 32 year
old lady who runs the orphanage) and I helped Hannah carry out the footballs,
skipping ropes and t-shirts. Sharon was
keen that this was an orderly and formal occasion so Hannah stood in the yard
whilst 20 young faces lined the wall of the church. It had been decided that only 4 footballs
would be given to the children on this occasion to share, and the others kept
in store should they become lost or broken.
Once the ceremony was over and they could get on a play it was much more
relaxed. We all headed to the green
across the road and there we were to spend the next few hours. Hats and sun-cream were essential at this
time of day, but I’m not sure they accomplished much. This proved to be a very precious time; we
played all sorts of games with the girls whilst Jimmy joined the lads in a game
of footy. It was a real bonding time
with these girls whose ages ranged from about 9-15 years of age. We had a lot
of laughs together. Most of the children
seem to have a mum somewhere, but because they are part of such a big family,
they can’t afford to be kept at home so they had become street children. I can’t count how many times I have been
asked to ‘take me back with you’, to bring something next time I come, or
‘please don’t forget us’. One girl flung
her arms tight around my waist and cried begging me not to forget them when we
had gone back to the UK. I have said I
will write and send them some pictures.
Later I showed them pictures of my children and friends back home. They were blown away, especially when they
saw the pictures of some of the fundraising activities that had taken place to
raise money for the equipment we had taken over. One lad of 15 years exclaimed, ‘wow, those
people in the UK have really sacrificed for us!’ He was extremely moved. Toward the end of the afternoon on the green,
we had all sat around on the grass, exhausted, chatting. This same lad, Francis, had said how he would
like to eventually study law and asked us lots of questions about life in the
UK compared to Zambia. He was a very
astute young man, very genuinely caring toward the other young people there; he
had a very wise head on young shoulders.
Will be interesting to see where he is in a few years’ time.
One thing that is sadly and incredibly obvious is the loss of family
members due to Malaria. It’s big! Even
Sharon lost her husband in her mid-twenties (7 years ago) and tears welled up
as she was telling Hannah about it. Must
pray for Yvonne this evening ….
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