See what I see

Apology in advance - internet is VERY slow and expensive (we pay by the GB), so the pictures will be few.  This is a panoramic of the school, Mercy Ministries (all the kids were in class!).

Here you see the sewing room (it is the second door on the left of the first photo) with grade 6 and 7 girls hard at work! And in case you couldn't tell from all the hoods and hats, it's pretty cold here.

I've been able to spend quite a bit of time with these girls! (From the left: Norene, Peggy, Elena, Tamara, Rachel and Rachel)

Brandi teaching the kids songs right outside the school - today they learned "In the Jungle the Lion Sleeps Tonight."

And a small update on happenings around here/prayer requests!

 

Today I finally made it to the special needs class - and they are a very neat group of kids. I worked with one boy named Smart (cool name, right?) on his numbers and chatted quite a bit with another girl, Fatuma, while she was doing her work. I can't wait to get back in there next week!

Jessica, Brandi, and I have been without a vehicle since Saturday. The whole situation is complicated, but something needs to give! Tuesday we didn't even make it to the school for lack of a ride.

The woman who started and runs Mercy Ministries, Dorthy, has a daughter with autism and epilepsy named Mercy. 2 nights ago she suffered a seizure that caused her to fall off her bed, and she is a bit shaken up - as is the whole family. They ended up taking her to a hospital and were up all night, and so they are all very tired! Mercy is having a difficult time recovering also; she just wants to be up running around, and will not rest.

This brings me to something that I have seen to be very true of all Zambians: these are very strong people. The day after this incident with Mercy I was talking to a couple of the family members and when asked how they were doing they said they were tired, but were quick to assure me that God is in control. They deal with so much - especially these kids who live in the compound, yet every day I see their smiling faces. And it isn't fake! It's amazing that people who have so little are filled with so much joy.