Our return to Zambia March 2011

After being gone from the orphanage for so long we were certainly eager to return and see “in person” if things were going as well as they appeared to be through our weekly phone calls.  During the 2 hour bush drive in we noticed that the rains appeared to be good with the roads still wet (but travelable) and most of the local crops fairing well.  It did our hearts good to see all the kids and the housemothers at the orphanage healthy and happy and we enjoyed getting to meet not just 1 but 2 new babies.

In addition to baby Salomi (which we talked about in the previous post and have since determined she will be staying with us long term) we now had a new baby boy named Mainza who was born in November of 2009 (just 1 month older than our Jakob).   We asked more about him we were told that his mother recently passed away after being sick for quite some time and that his father was previously deceased.  His grandmother had brought him to the orphanage not long after stating that there was no one that could adequately provide for him as her and her husband were old and already had two other children they were currently caring for (one being Mainza’s brother).  At 15 months of age he weighed only 6.8 kgs (15lbs) compared to Jakob who weighted 9.8kgs (22lbs), wasn’t able to stand even with assistance, and was covered with some sort of rash all over his skin.  The photo taken above was taken almost 1 month after his arrival when he was already picking up weight and looking better. 

We are happy to report now that after taking him to the local nutritional clinic and given extra assistance he is now picking up weight nicely and his skin is looking much better.  Praise to God  that his HIV test came back negative and with the diligent care of the housemothers his leg strength is slowly increasing.  While not one to move around much on his own yet, you call tell that this precious treasure is very observant and while still a little weary of the Makua (white people) he is definitely attached  to his new mother and very observant and smart, even at such a young age.   Above is a photo of all four of our babies in a cute “real life” pose.  (from left to right is Mainza, Genesis, Esther and Salomi).

Jakob was more than thrilled to have a new play mate and be back home around his local friends, the dogs, chickens, pigeons, and all the familiarity of life in Zambia.  There is no doubt that this boy was built for the bush.

 

The Wells. the Garden, and work permits

We were very happy to discover that yes, things had indeed gone as good as we had heard (and hoped) during our time in the States.  While both wells were not working when we arrived and Charles was having to drive quite a distance with the quad to get water for all the orphanage needs, I was very thankful that upon further inspection, the one well was able to be fixed with relatively little effort (meaning only 1 days labor instead of many).  The well by the orphanage is still dry and despite our best efforts to remove the new pump that was placed inside not long ago, it appears that it is stuck and not wanting to budge with the 1 ton block and tackle that we we rigged (along with the towing power of a vehicle as well).  In fact, the casing  of the well started to come out instead of the pump and so we are going to have to put that project on hold until we have a larger block and tackle (as well as adequate time) to “tackle” it again.  Please pray that God gives us wisdom and favor in that because the hope is that we can use that pump to see if there is water in one of the other dry holes that was dug. 

Praise God that the rain was plentiful enough that the garden was still doing good (and flourishing) and that despite everyone still being in the learning process as how to best optimize space, weather and soil conditions, and what plants grow best where, the garden is providing 95% of their vegetable and produce needs.  In fact, we already see the need to expand the garden to be able to grow more but due to time restraints that might need to wait a while.

Unfortunately along with the good rain comes a lot of critters that we don’t normally describe as good.  One day Charles and I discovered this puff adder right behind the chicken coup where Jakob and the other children often play.  Puff adders is one of the top two causes of snake bite deaths around here in the village.  Praise God that He used His creation to alert us to this danger and take care of it before any of the children got hurt.

March also saw Amber, Jakob, and I making a trip up to Lusaka (Zambia’s capital) to renew our work permits.  Even though we were pretty sure they would renew them and had no reason to believe they would not it is always a bit of a nervous (“trusting in God”) time.  Thankfully, God showed us favor, the submission process went even quicker than expected and we returned to the bush to wait out our time before we would receive an answer.