But first- let me take a selfie!

This morning was an early start with a 7:30am breakfast before heading out to the CCAP Synod of Zambia offices where we met the General Secretary, Reverend Sevatt Kabaghe. We learnt about his life and work including his role within the CCAP Synod of Zambia and the wider community.

After a tour of the offices we met Rev Kabaghe’s family and tried some incredible muffins baked by the Reverend’s wife. We also discovered Kenny‘s hidden football talent with the revelation that he went for trials at Manchester United! (Back in the day of course, although he could still probably beat Michael like he did in the tennis exhibition match!)

After our visit we went to lunch with the General Secretary before heading back to the church for icebreakers and discussions with the church youth about contemporary issues facing young people today and how our selfies and social media should reflect our lives as Christians. It was great to get to know the people we will be working with this week and we look forward to being able to engage with them in their community.

We returned to the lodge, only stopping for ice cream and groceries on the way. On our return we had a swim in the pool which was pretty chilly before having some much needed showers and a tasty (but pretty spicy) dinner.

Finally we spent some time together reflecting on our day and listening to an inspirational devotion from Jenny. We bonded over some games and Michael threatening Ashley with a spider.

An update on our game of human cluedo: Michael killed Mark with a pen in the breakfast area; Christine killed Holly B with a plastic bottle on the kitchen and Holly T killed Rachel with a hand sanitiser in the pool.

(Alice)

Comments

Transformers!

Today was a day for learning, fun and getting to know the youth of Mtendere better. At usual, we started our day at 7:30 for our breakfast, which was particularly entertaining this morning because Michael was in possession of Mark’s razor, much to the annoyance of Mark, who’s beard is growing as we speak. Just to rub salt into the wounds, both Ashley and Michael decided they should wear the exact same clothes as Mark- they must’ve been jealous of his fashion sense! We then boarded the bus to Mtendere where we opened with a devotion which really showed us some of the differences between the Irish and Zambian cultures and ways of thinking. Moses who gave the devotion really was on a roll and had to be reigned in by the youth director of CCAP. Once Moses had resumed his seat, we started to look at the idea of Moral Transformation in Young People. The Mtendere group had loads of energisers to warm us up and they also taught us some Zambian songs. After some group d...

Elephantastic

Today was our day of rest and relaxation but don't let that fool you - it was filled with action! We had a well welcomed lie in this morning till 8:30am this morning followed by our usual breakfast antics! The nosebleed saga continues with another victim known as Archie falling to the clutches of a nosebleed right before he chowed down on his Malerone and Nutella toast. Once the crisis was averted we headed off on our adventure to the elephant orphanage whilst passing some Zambian landmarks on the way past such as the Zambian Supreme Court. We arrived at the orphanage and got to see the elephants feed, drinking 2 litres of milk in under 10 seconds! Almost as fast as the team finishing their amazing 5 star dinner (see more later)! The park ranger spent some time telling the stories of how each of the 4 baby elephants arrived at the orphanage; everybody enjoyed learning about the elephants and how vital they are to not just the local ecosystem but to the world through t...

Where God wants us!

On Sunday morning, we set off on the Synod bus (once the flat tyre got fixed) to Mtendere church. We were welcomed by the minister, the youth director and Diane and were introduced to the congregation. The choirs in Mtendere were unbelievable, they sing without any instruments and their voices are just amazing. This provided us with a pretty tough act to follow when we were asked to perform a piece, we chose ‘Lion and the Lamb’ and the congregation seemed to love it! This was then followed by a really good sermon, conducted in both Nyanja and English based on the theme ‘Be where God wants you to be.’ At 3 hours long the service was probably the longest many of our team members have experienced, but did not feel long- it was a great experience. Following the church service, every week they greet every single member of the congregation individually by lining up and shaking hands, it was great to meet so many of the Zambians. We hopped on the bus again and drove through the m...

Zambia 2019

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