Life on this side of the world isn’t all about adventures, game drives and encounters with snakes. Ever wonder what keeps us busy on a daily basis? Here’s a small glimpse into my world…

Students at MICS are only taught in English (besides Tonga class) but virtually every student has another first language. It’s pretty much the perfect place for someone who specializes in ESL. Since we settled here in February I’ve had the chance to work with a small group of students who are struggling with their English language skills. I love my job. I hadn’t taught ESL since I went on maternity leave with the boys so getting back into it has felt like returning to my sweet spot.

I have three groups throughout the morning with students from grade two, three and four. There are so many students I could be working with but with my current energy levels and pregnancy it’s been a good place to start.

For two of my groups we do a variety of activities each day. We review days of the week and shapes. We talk about how we’re feeling while trying to avoid the word “fine” (their favourite response here!). We read books and poems and learn new vocabulary. We work on letter sounds and putting them together to make words. We work on writing proper sentences. We learn through playing games and having conversations.

I am working one-on-one with my two students in grade four, teaching them how to read. Although the progress felt slow at first, they are starting to make steps forward and it is incredibly rewarding. One of my students is in grade four but he is fifteen years old. That is not uncommon here as students are often placed by ability rather than age, repeating grades if necessary. Some children do not have the opportunity to attend school in the early years but are still eager to work hard when they do. Part of my job is to help them catch up with their peers and give them the extra support that is difficult for a classroom teacher to provide.

This past Friday all of my students shared a poem we had been working on with the whole school and I was so proud of them. It’s a big deal for many of them who are early readers and something that I hope has boosted their confidence. Next week their classes will have the chance to learn the poem and they will get to be the ‘experts.’

As time goes on I also hope to work more closely with the classroom teachers, helping them learn new ways to teach the curriculum effectively. At the beginning of the term I had the opportunity to lead a short workshop on strategies to reinforce multiplication skills. Teaching adults is not my strong point but it was fun to watch them trying out the games I had introduced and now seeing some of them start to implement the strategies with their students.

While I don’t claim to know much about international development, I do agree with Nelson Mandela that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Each of my students has a very unique story, some of which are heartbreaking. I hope to share some of them as time goes on. The chance to get an education will no doubt give them hope for a better future and is changing their lives. I love what I do and it’s an honour to spend my days with these students. And we wouldn’t be here without the support of so many of you. Thank you for partnering with us and together, helping to make a difference in the lives of the kids we serve at MICS. Twalumba!

Last week was challenging for me. Very high temperatures and growing a human life have been successful at keeping my energy fairly low, or at least depleting it quickly. And now that I’ve started teaching, by the time I’m home with the boys (our school day ends at 1pm but starts at 7:30am) I feel done. I had little patience with Caleb and Micah and felt like I had nothing left in the tank to engage with them in a meaningful way and any interactions were dealing with behaviour. “No, flopping on the floor in a tantrum won’t get you what you want.” “No, lying down in the pile of sand for a sand bath is not a good idea. Don’t you know we’re trying to conserve water!” “I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your request a millisecond after you whined it to me. I will try to do better next time.” You know, that kind of thing. I felt embarrassed when we were out for dinner and they were being rambunctious while were were trying to have some grown up conversation. Really I should have just realized they are four, were up past their bedtime, hadn’t had much time with us and life as they know it has completely changed in the last two months. Sometimes I take for granted how remarkably well they’ve done with the transition and that maybe, just maybe they are still settling into their new life here.

All that to set the stage for Sunday morning. After getting up two hours later than I usually do (my love language is sleeping in!) I said good morning to everyone and opened my computer to check emails. In an ideal world, I would have kept the computer closed, asked my boys what they wanted to do and enjoyed a quiet morning of entering into their world but as I’m sure many of us find, sometimes it feels easier to choose the virtual connection over the one right in front of us. And I was fully aware I was doing it. Anyways, as I was looking at my email, Micah crawled up on the couch beside me and gently whispered in my ear, “Mommy, you’re exquisite.” My heart melted. Really? Did he actually just say that to me? Then he went into the kitchen, and whispered to Joel, “Mommy is exquisite.” (Before you are overly impressed with my son’s vocabulary, “exquisite” is a word he learned on Sesame Street’s word of the day, a brilliant feature of the show in my opinion. Ask him what it means and he’ll tell you it means “beautiful and special”.)

I am generally not a fan of cheesy Christian analogies and am not one to over-spiritualize things but as I reflected on my son’s words throughout the day, I couldn’t help but be reminded that that’s how God thinks of us. We are exquisite. It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve messed up and missed opportunities to love those around us. How he feels about us is not based on our performance. He delights in us, plain and simple. After feeling like I had failed many times over this past week, my son’s words were God’s grace to me and a reminder of how he sees us. You are exquisite!

Photo credits to my good friend Cheryl at Bamboo Life Photography

One of the things I have been looking forward to about living on campus is being part of life with the boarding kids. The building we live in is also shared with the boys and girls dorms so they truly are our neighbours. Caleb and Micah have gotten more comfortable greeting them as they pass by our veranda several times a day. We had been talking about the idea of eating supper with the boarding kids one night a week as they will become our extended family here. So after two weeks of settling into life on campus, tonight was night number one. I was a bit hesitant as they eat nshima every night, which is the staple food in Zambia. It is made with maize flour (cornmeal) and has the consistency of stiff mash potatoes. It is often served with a side or two, referred to as the relish . Tonight’s was beef and cabbage. Joel and I ate it often in Zimbabwe (called ‘sadza’ there) and enjoyed it. We tried to prepare the boys ahead of time as we attempt to do with every new experience here, but to be honest I wasn’t expecting them to like it. But to our surprise they both ate it up and even went back for seconds. They are on their way to becoming true Zambians and I’m thankful that the staple meal isn’t a barrier to them getting to know the community around them. Not every day is easy, but it is truly amazing to see how well they are adapting and embracing their new life.

I had it all planned out. In the remaining months of living in Zimbabwe in 2007, we would start trying for our first child. I would give birth in the spring of 2008 and have three kids, each two years apart. Those who know our family at all, know that didn’t happen and those who know me really well, know that what followed were some difficult years for us, but in June of 2010 we were thrilled to welcome Caleb and Micah into our little family.

I had always assumed we would have more kids but we also began dreaming with Jamie and Arja about the idea of moving to Zambia together. Through a series of events and what we believe was God’s direction, in late 2012 we eventually gave up the idea of having a third child. Even though I’ve had peace and felt like it was the right decision for us, I’ve been grieving the idea of not having the bigger family I had always imagined. While I celebrated with friends who shared the news of their pregnancies or held their tiny newborns, the pain didn’t go away. Watching my friends with siblings of different ages, I wondered what that would be like. I knew that doing the right thing for our family didn’t mean that it would be easy. When the boys were born I bought personalized Christmas stockings for our family with two additional blank ones for any future members. Each year pulling them out of the box awakened the ache inside of me, this year being no exception.

Only a few days later in the midst of the craziness of preparing to move to the other side of the world, I started to feel off and way more tired than usual. I had some symptoms similar to my previous pregnancy but knew it was virtually impossible. I decided to buy a test so I could enjoy my occasional glass of wine over the Christmas holidays in peace. Even the night before I tested Joel and I agreed that the chances were extremely low. Then it happened. That extra line came up quite quickly as we got the shock of our lives. I am pregnant!

This baby truly is a miracle and a gift from God. We are amazed and grateful that I have a little life growing inside of me. We have confirmed there is only one in there this time and have heard the heart beating strong. A few weeks ago we had an ultrasound at Macha and saw our little one moving around, growing right on track. Time is flying and this past weekend already marked the halfway point. The timing is all a bit overwhelming but we are excited to raise our baby, at least in the early years, in a beautiful community in rural Zambia. The hardest part of motherhood with the boys was not sleep deprivation, the long hours feeding, or juggling two babies at once, but the isolation of our Western culture. There will be new challenges where we are, but I’m guessing that being alone won’t be one of them. We are already part of a wonderful team with the Sanfilippo family and our community is starting to grow around us. Living on a school campus certainly won’t hurt either. We have affectionally named our little one “Zambino” for now and can’t wait to welcome them into our family in July. We will monitor my pregnancy and decide where to give birth in the coming months.

We knew moving to Zambia would mix up our lives. Never in a million years would I have guessed that a few weeks before we left, we would discover this little and not-so-little development. In many ways it still doesn’t feel real but the growing bump and the recently-felt kicks are certainly helping it sink in. Life is a crazy and beautiful story with unexpected twists and turns and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We look forward to keeping  you updated on our little Zambino who has already had quite the adventure in their short 20 weeks.

It’s here. The day we’ve been waiting for, for over a month since our arrival. We are moving to Macha! As I write this, Jamie and Joel are there dropping off a van full of luggage and groceries. In a few short hours we will all be on our way. Our family will be moving to our house on campus as it’s already empty and the Sanfilippo’s will be in a house closer to the hospital until theirs is ready. Prayers are appreciated that things go smoothly so they can finally move home as soon as possible and that the well will be finished quickly. In the mean time we will do our best to use as little water as possible but are thankful for good rains that have helped.

We are incredibly grateful for our friends Joleen and Bruce who have opened up the Nahumba guest house to us for over three weeks. It has been good to be among friends in a comfortable setting and get to know the town of Choma where the majority of our shopping will be done. But when it comes to Africa, I’m a bush girl and can’t wait to get there. And more importantly I am eager to start settling and begin our work to serve at MICS. That is why we’re here. The boys will likely start school tomorrow and begin their normal routine.

While we’ve been in Zambia for over a month, in some ways today feels like day one. We are thankful for the prayers, emails and messages of  encouragement that have helped us through this challenging month. We still need them as we adjust to our everyday life in Macha and look forward to keeping you updated on our next set of adventures. Twalumba!

Four weeks ago we said goodbye to our families and started on this grand adventure. Almost three weeks ago we left Lusaka to stay at Nahumba guest house in Choma. In case you were wondering what a typical day is like while we’re in transition, here’s a little glimpse…

Much of the day is spent outside…

There is work to be done…

We finish off our day with a delicious dinner together…

And bedtime stories before being tucked back into our mosquito nets for the night!

We have now been in Zambia for 17 days and we continue to be in a time of ‘in between.’ Since leaving Lusaka we’ve been staying at the Nahumba guest house in Choma, run ironically by our friends Bruce and Joleen from back home who moved here in September. They have graciously opened up the place to our two families as we continue to be in transition and it’s nice to have familiar faces around as we navigate this next stage.

We continue to wait for the well to be finished at MICS so there will be enough water to support our families living on campus (and more importantly to help the school continue to function). Progress has been made but things sometimes take a little more time on this side of the world and are often more complex. Decisions are made that are better in the long term, but mean that they take longer.

Our friend and teammate Jamie wrote a great post about what it’s been like. I’ve been trying hard to find the beauty in the waiting. But I’ll be quite honest, it’s a challenge. There are moments throughout the day and I try to hold on to them like gold… seeing our kids playing in the dirt outside all day, climbing trees, starting to reach out and connect with local kids, meeting their new teacher, a beautiful sunset, life-giving rain and enjoying a meal of chicken and chips, to name a few.

But we are all wearing down. We don’t know when we’ll get to move to Macha and that part is hard. No doubt there is an end in sight, we’re just not sure when to look forward to that. Our duffle bags are piled in a corner, mostly untouched as we live out of one or two bags, often thinking of things that would be useful but are buried in who knows what bag. We are around people all day, people who we love and are grateful for and are easy to live with, but we crave our own space as I’m sure they do. Some of us have a little more introvert in us than others. Time together with just our family takes a lot of intentionality, something that is easy to come by back home, something we probably have too much of there.

I find being in limbo I am getting impatient with my kids, who really just need some extra love and attention. It’s is especially hard when I’m running on empty. They have been out of school for a month and a half and need some structure. But school is a 3 hour round trip at the moment, half of it on bumpy dirt roads and it’s just not realistic yet. I crave meaningful work that goes beyond domestic life. Besides a few supply days, I haven’t been teaching since June and I long to set up my classroom, get to know the kids at MICS and help those who need it.

Every day gets a little bit harder and I’m not sure when this stage will end. And I know the next one will have it’s new set of challenges. Nobody said this would be easy. We chose to come and I’m glad we did. Things wouldn’t be as far along as they are if we were waiting in the comforts of our Canadian homes. I want to be here. There is beauty all around and I feel like I belong here. But it is hard.

So what do I do as I wait? I pray for patience and for grace. I do my best to choose gratitude. As we drove on the uncomfortable and bumpy dirt road yesterday, I wanted to complain but instead I searched for as many things to be grateful for as I could and it wasn’t so bad. But I also mess up. I am short with my family, I am critical when I should be encouraging, I withdraw when I need to engage, I feel sorry for myself and I think of what I miss from home.

I know trials can be turned into joy and God can use them to develop perseverance in me. Sometimes the most beautiful things happen in the waiting and I don’t want to miss out on this day because I’m waiting for the next. 

It’s hard to believe I’m writing this from Zambia. After talking and dreaming about this for over three years, we are here. There has been so much build up and hard work from so many people to get to this point. But eventually we dealt with all (or almost all) of the details, packed our many bags, checked them all in, said our goodbyes and were on our way.

Probably the part Caleb and Micah were most excited about was the plane ride as this was their first. The first leg to London consisted of lots of TV shows, some colouring and about an hour of sleep from each of them. Because we had a 12 hour layover in London we decided to get a hotel which was a great decision for our family. The late sunrise in that part of the world made it still feel like night time, we changed into PJs and went to bed. Each of the boys slept a good 6 hours. I, on the other hand, was worried about sleeping through the alarm and missing our next flight so I was checking the clock frequently. But a few hours of sleep, a shower and a room service picnic were definitely nice.

Then came the 11 hour flight to Johannesburg. Micah slept about 5 hours and the rest of us got none. I never expect to sleep on planes but I assumed the boys would. But Caleb happily watched his shows (thank God for individual TVs) and kept busy. I caught up on some movies and worked on my Tetris and Pacman skills.

Finally, we had a short layover in Joburg and were on our way to Lusaka, the capital city in Zambia. Caleb finally fell asleep, dead to the world, resulting in a rough start to his Zambian experience but eventually perked up in the van, all three 4 year-old boys having a lively conversation while the rest of us went in and out of consciousness. We were thankful that all of our luggage made the long journey with us.

Now we’re at a beautiful guest house on the outskirts of the city having just enjoyed 11 hours of sleep. Exhaustion has its benefits when dealing with a seven hour time change. We’re not sure how long we’ll stay here before we make the six hour drive to Macha. The presidential election is on Tuesday and we’ve received varying advice on when to travel. We are also waiting to hear how things are progressing with the new well that is being dug at the school. We can’t completely move into our new homes until the new water source is hooked up. Please pray that process goes smoothly.

Thanks for all the love and support that has helped us get to this point. I can’t believe we actually made it and are about to start our new lives in a part of the world we already love.