Skip to main content

Reptiles & Eagles


We woke up again to another sunny day with a refreshing wind. We gathered ready to go at 8am but unfortunately the bus broke down and didn’t arrive until after 9.30. 

Then after almost an hour of travelling, Diane rang us and told us that the youth conference we were taking part in had been cancelled. This sometimes happens in zambia.

After returning to base, we had coffee and digestives with Diane and then decided to go to Kalimba Reptile Park. We had a guide who told us all about the snakes. Some of the group had their picture taken with a python round their neck. The brave ones were Michael, Victoria, Lyndsey, Rachel, holly T, Ashley, Alice and Phil.

Then we were shown baby crocodiles which had been reared from eggs at the park.

We were also shown large tortoises. Again the group were allowed to hold one. Christine, Jenny, Holly T, Holly B and Alice got some cute pictures.

Lastly we went to see the adult crocodiles who get fed twice a week on live chickens. They live for up to 70 years and their eggs are buried in the river bank. The keepers then collect them and incubate them and out the babies into the nursery’s to rear.

After a picnic lunch we went to a football match in a local township. A local Zambian team, the Green Eagles played against a South African team Orlando Pirates in the first leg of the CAF Champions League tie. Despite the 400 places between the two teams in the African club ranking, the lower ranked Eagles won 1-0. The boys were very excited, the girls not so at the 8000 people in the stadium. I think people were more interested in us as only 15 white people in the stadium (us and the SA goal keeper.)

After football we went to a restaurant called Marlin where we had some fabulous food with Diane Cusick despite the power cut.

Philip then did his emotional devotion on Deuteronomy 8 v1-16 on discipline and God testing us through suffering. We finished off the night with a game of family fortunes won by the ‘Hills’ family made up of Lyndsey, Ashley, Victoria, Holly B and Rachel.

(Christine)
















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...

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...

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...