Feel free.

I still wake up every morning and have to remind myself that I'm in Africa but we have finally fallen into some sort of routine. Bear with me as I try to fill you in on the events of the past week while finding the balance between "sufficiently illustrated" and "overly detailed".
Last week was our first full week at a single organization- thank goodness for consistency! I think that more than wanting to know what our schedule held day to day (that still changes on us often), I wanted to see the same kids over and over so I could build relationships with them. I've mentioned this "new" place before- Dayspring Ministries. It consists of a church pastored by Joseph Mwila and two "orphanages" run by his wife, Lillian. The 21 boys stay at Grace Center which is at the same place as the church and about a 7 minute walk from our hostel. The 20 girls stay at Faith Center which is a 10 or so minute bus ride in a place called Luangwa. I hesitate to call the establishments "orphanages" and their residents "orphans" because it feels anything but. It is actually called Dayspring Street Project so a lot of the kids were taken off of the street or from homes where their parents couldn't care for and send them to school. (In Zambia, you need to be sponsored to go to a good primary school and a lot of families can't afford that.) The kids are required to maintain contact with their families and being the holiday season, many of them have left Dayspring to spend it with brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.
We divide our time between Grace Center and Faith Center and try to hang with the kids for about 4 hours or so a day. We have been working with the younger kids on their reading. It's actually really cool to see how excited they get about sitting down and working through a book. There are times when I need a break from helping them sound out words before they are ready to stop. I've even caught the 10th and 11th graders engrossed in the fairy tale books I snagged from Faith. The boys love frisbee so we throw it around a lot. We are planning to teach the girls to bake something "American" for the Dayspring Christmas Party on Friday. Chocolate chip cookies are always a winner but Zambian grocery stores do not have have the baking supplies that Food Lion has and we don't have access to a functioning oven. We'll figure something fun out.
I know it may not sound like it so far but we've even managed to have a life outside of Dayspring. Zambians are so hospitable and this is easily one of the friendliest places on earth. Whenever we go somewhere, they always greet us and then say, "Feel free. This is your place."
Saturday we attended a Kitchen Party (basically a Zambian Bridal Shower) with Ivor. We wore our new African dresses, called "chitenges", which apparently give us credibility. People kept talking to us in Bemba expecting us to understand and someone even asked if we were Zambian! We spent the first hour or so outside with the women as we ate the first round of food they would offer us. Thankfully I wasn't too hungry because the meat was chicken feet and chicken heads. I'm all for trying new things but I think anything with a beak attached is where I draw the line. I stuck with nshima and a piece of regular chicken. After a while, Ivor invited us to join him and the men inside. We sat and talked until the bride's family arrived and what an entrance they made! The men (plus Ava Michelle and I) shifted to the outskirts of the room and then women came in from every direction. Some were carrying pots and drinks on their heads while others crowded around and joined in with chanting and shrilling. All of a sudden, people started throwing money on the floor in front of the women with the food until they set it down and then the eldest woman explained what each dish was. The "hidden meanings" behind the ceremony were explained to us by one of the older men. The bride's family coming to the groom and his place is a sign that he is now welcome at their home as part of the family. The food brought is representative of a typical meal he will find at the bride's family's home. And if enough money isn't offered when the women come, they can leave with the food. Talk about a sure way to kill a party! The women then left to prepare drinks and plates while the men took turns privately offering the groom advice. Then, of course, we were invited to eat again! As we left, the groom (Daniel) invited us to visit his and his wife's place for dinner before we leave Zambia. Meal invitation #2 (#1 was Lillian's last Monday).
Sunday we went to Dayspring for church. They call themselves a charismatic church and when they worship, they WORSHIP! Everyone was dancing as they sang and boy, was it a joyful noise unto the Lord! They even sang songs by Hillsong and Matt Redman! (I let the worship leader listen to my iPod today and he wants to copy my worship music so I wouldn't be surprised if Phil Wickham and Sidewalk Prophets make an appearance soon.) It was so encouraging to hear the excitement in people's voices plus mixing Jesus with dancing is a win-win situation. Pastor Mwila talked about how each of us is a member of the royal priesthood and that being so, how important it is that we spend our lives fulfilling the assignments God has for us rather than pursuing our own agendas. What good truth. Pastor Donald, the worship leader, had us to his home for lunch with him and his wife, Precious. Again, delicious food and plenty of it. Plus he informed us that when we clean our plates, it sends the message that we are still hungry which is why Zambians insist we eat until we are about to explode. Mental note: leave food on plate. He insisted on showing us his and Precious' wedding video and telling us the detailed version of how they met. And again, as we they decided we come back before our time in Zambia is over. Meal invitations #3 & #4.
Last night was probably the strangest meal situation. Background: A couple weeks ago, we met these Egyptian contractors who are building a shopping mall. They were having dinner at the restaurant attached to our hostel. By chance, we ran into them last Thursday at a take-away called Food Palace. We bonded over the fact that we are all foreigners with little knowledge of the city and few friends. (Of course that has changed significantly for us). They invited us to "Indian Monday"- which is usually "Indian Friday" and what they deem their weekly meal at Sazzy's Indian Cuisine. It was great conversation and cool to hear about Egypt and make mental lists about all the things we should when we finally make our way to the Middle East- on the next world tour of course. So there's one for the record books: 2 Americans eating at an Indian restaurant with Egyptians in Zambia. Talk about culture shock.
Side note: Hitchhiking here is safe and if you can't find a taxi, a lot of times someone will give you a ride if you are going in their direction. On our way back from Wusakile (yes, the town names are crazy) Saturday night, Ivor got us a ride to our hostel with a South African. Are you allowed to add "hitchhiking in a foreign country with a foreigner" to your bucket list after you do it??
Sorry this is so long but I hope it gave you a little insight into our life here. I still have a hard time believing this is really happening sometimes but I am so grateful for all the friends we've made and all the experiences we've had in such a short period of time. I guess the lack of a schedule allows for crazy adventures like these.
For those of you partnering with Ava Michelle and I in prayer, please continue to lift up our time here. That we find a balance between patiently letting God guide our way and taking advantage of opportunities He gives us. Also for everyone at Dayspring- the staff who so sacrificially give their time and money and love, and the children who are so filled with joy and already stealing my heart.
Tell America hello for me (and if you feel the need to whip up some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in honor of our culinary venture failing on Thursday, feel free).