Zambia 2019

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...

Today was our last day at Mtendere church. After Alice’s surprise birthday breakfast complete with balloons and singing we departed our accommodation for our now familiar and scary drive through the markets to the church. After devotion led by Diane, we had a surprise visit from the GB. They were making a presentation of Chitenges -a traditional piece of African material used as a skirt or used to make other clothing, to our whole team in return to our presentation to them yesterday. Next was our cultural presentations. We started with Ireland’s call closely followed by ‘I’ll tell my ma when I get home’. Phil and Holly B did a repeat of their “ Singing the rain” dance from the Strictly fundraiser and the GB girls did a magnificent dance (eat your heart out Denise Henry) on an uneven concrete floor. The Zambians replied with a range of outstanding folk dances and a variety of games. Next we headed out to the local market for materials to make traditional outfits . On this ...

Hello, welcome to my blog (Victoria Emerson)  😊 . This morning we woke up to what looked like a murder scene, Holly B had a nose bleed, the 1st of 4 from the day. It was an early start with a 7:30 breakfast in preparation to board the bus at 8:15. The bus came on time at 8:15, but we were on Zambia time and didn’t leave until after 8.30!  When we arrived at the church we were greeted by lots of smiling faces, we got lots of hugs then the young kids had to go to school for a test. We continued into the church to meet the youth that we have got to know over the past few days. We shook hands as that is how they greet each other in their culture. During the first session we had a talk about love from our very own Ashley Parks based on loving God, loving our neighbour and loving ourselves.  When the talk was finished some of the GB girls and officers had came to visit us. We have them many items such as jumpers, notebooks and resource books. The girls were overwhelmed and so...

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...

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...

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...

The team assembled at 12.30pm on Friday 2nd August, squeezed onto the coach and with 28 large suitcases the bus was bursting at it’s seams. After the sardine-like journey to Dubin, we unloaded and checked in with Ethiopian Airlines. After a quick dinner the team boarded their first of three flights. The journey was long, but team members amused themselves with in-flight entertainment, playing ‘Team Bingo’ and cleaning up a nose bleed.  For the most part sleep evaded us, despite Michael’s best attempts to snuggle up to Ashley; however Mark would be undeterred and assumed his usual posture, drifting off ease with his eyes and mouth open.  After 14 hours in the air, and 2 hours waiting on runways we finally arrived in Lusaka. Feelings of tiredness and impatience immediately disappeared however when we came out of Lusaka airport to the beautiful sound of the Mtendere Youth Group singing to us - “Welcome in Jesus’ name!”  On arrival to our accomodation the team sett...