from Africa to Asia.

First of all, sorry about not blogging for so long. I know all of you await all of my posts anxiously. I can't imagine the distress that 2 weeks without an update must have caused you :P But seriously, a lot has happened since I left Zambia on January 19. I'll do my best to hit all of the high points, share some fun tidbits, and let you in on how I am feeling about all of it. All without boring you hopefully. After we left Zambia, we flew to Cape Town, South Africa for a short holiday in between volunteer stints. The day was filled with emotion as I balanced the sadness of leaving Zambia with the excitement of exploring a new country. Not to mention a bit of frustration at the airport (we won't get into that) and a surprise appearance at the Cape Town airport by my boyfriend. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it took me until the next day to really believe that he was in Africa with me. Also, he brought Christmas to Ava Michelle and me! We got lots of treats from our families and friends- thanks for all of you who sent something along. Our little celebration may be in the running for Best Christmas Ever, mostly because I was expecting to skip American Christmas this year. Plus the little taste of home was a nice surprise. Cape Town was a breath of fresh air from the "Real Africa" that Zambia claims to be. There were Western restaurants, everyone spoke English, and we got to be the tourists instead of attracting attention ourselves. If I hadn't known any better, I might have thought I was back in America! As is evidenced in my pictures that FINALLY got posted (sorry for the huge delay- Africa isn't very photo uploading friendly) we stayed pretty busy. - City tour on one of those double decker buses: another bucket list check! - Simeon's Town to see the Penguin Colony: I was overwhelmed with joy! Plus, I even got to pet one... after he bit me of course. - Safari: A must-do in Africa. Our vehicle got stuck in sand and we had to disembark (that was the best antonym thesaurus.com could give me for "board") while the staff tried to pull it out. Don't worry, we ended up being within like 7 feet of an elephant!! Can I add that to my bucket list just to check it off? - Hike up Table Mountain: 2.5 hours almost straight up stairs but at the top we were in a cloud! Then we rode down in a cable car that overlooked the city. - Jade: We met a woman one day who stopped us to ask for some corn flakes and milk. As we walked to the grocery store with her, she told us about herself and asked all about us- she was so excited just to have a conversation with someone- and then we got on the topic of Jesus. Long story short, she ended up becoming a Christian. God is so good! Then 4 flights, 5 security checks, 2 movies, and countless aluminum-wrapped meals later, we arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The organization that is "in charge" of us here is called Star Kampuchea and is very well organized. We had a day-long orientation the first Monday filled with culture tips, expectations, possible issues, language lessons, and a traditional Cambodian dinner- it only took me a couple days to eat strange things here. Let's just say that even crickets and frogs don't taste like much if you deep fry them! Then Tuesday we went on a tour of the city and visited a local market. There are lots of other volunteers here as well so I have not only got to learn about Cambodian culture, but befriend people from Australia, England, China, Sweden, and Denmark. Talk about culture shock! We are living with a family and they are great. It is a grandma, a mom and a 7-year-old girl. The grandma doesn't speak English but we do our best with charades. If all else fails, I just smile and say "Akun" which means "Thank you". The 7-year old, Panna, is your typical little girl- likes to talk A LOT, never runs out of questions, and loves to sing and dance. It's going to be a fun 8 weeks (no sarcasm intended). I am working at an organization called M'lup Russey, previously known as ICC-SKY. My project is to create a training program for Emergency Foster Care Families. I'm realizing that the language barrier and minimal knowledge of Cambodian culture, and the fact that I'm not a real social worker, make the task a little more difficult. But I am SO excited to have an actual project with an end goal and tangible results along the way. Not to mention the people I work with are great! Side story: For lunch, I bring the rice and surprise that grandma packs for me in the morning and stay at the office to eat with some of my "co-workers" <- can I say that yet? Anyways, we all sit on the grass mat in the middle of the kitchen floor, place whatever side (aka the part of lunch that isn't rice) we brought in the middle and it becomes free game for everyone. Pot luck every day! It's awesome!! Back to M'lup Russey... they are a Christian organization- what a surprise in a Buddhist country. I even got to attend Bible Study at the office yesterday morning. Granted, it was ALL in Khmer (pronounced Kah-mai) but I really enjoyed it. Different language, same God. How cool! Ironically, M'lup Russey is anti-orphanage for a lot of valid reasons I won't get into now. Funny that I go from volunteering at orphanages in Zambia to working for a place that fights to get kids out of them and reunited with their biological families. I have been incredibly encouraged this past week. From getting experience in a field I am passionate about to sweet messages from my friends to enjoying the simple life of a third world country, I couldn't be happier. Here goes part 3 of this little adventure!! For those of you who wish to see pictures... Zambia: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151451518699179.546294.624354178&type=1&l=bd40b44dc9 Cape Town: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151453344379179.546470.624354178&type=1&l=0c3c27cbf5

For every end, there is a beginning.

It's hard to believe that 8 weeks in Zambia, leg number 1 of this world adventure, have come and gone. I've spent the past week trying to take each day at a time which is easier said than done! It's been tough to fight the sadness that comes with leaving the girls at Heartspring who (whom?) I've come to adore while they keep asking how many more days we will be coming to play with them. Then doing my best to keep the anticipation I have for vacation in South Africa at bay as I book a hostel and research ways to spend our 5 days as tourists. Just like the other seven, the past week has been filled with wonderful memories. I realize I haven't done a very good job at sharing stories with you so here goes... On Tuesday, I was sitting on the patio at Heartspring while a few of the girls "plaited" (aka braided) my hair. They got tired of standing so Jennipher (a precious 6 year-old with no front teeth) told me to lay down and she positioned herself so my head could rest on her lap. The girls continued to plait while two others, Olice (pronounced Ol-issy because they don't understand silent "e"s) and Lumunu (the youngest one) rubbed my arms, playing with the freckles and scars that show up on my skin but not on theirs. You will be pleased to know that my hair is currently in tons of little braids and will remain so until I can't stand it anymore (per a promise to keep them as long as possible). This may sound incredibly simple and mean nothing to anyone except me and the girls but that is part of the beauty of it. Simplicity and shared experience, a lot of what this trip is about. There wasn't any pressure to explain a game easy enough for all of them to understand. I didn't have to navigate the language barrier that seems to hinder so much of our interactions. All I had to do was be with them, loving and being loved.And that was enough. I think it's almost always enough. We get so caught up in wanting results from our work and feeling useful that we forget how far those little moments go. As if that wasn't enough for one day, that night we got a call from Big David- the Grace boy whose Facebook picture I was tagged in this week for those of you who might have seen it. He just wanted to call and check on us. When I said that we missed them, he said, "We miss you more." After some chit chat and catching up he said, "Which one am I talking to?" My response, "You don't even know who I am?!| Big David: "Oh, hi Risa." I guess some things don't change even after 8 weeks in Africa. On Wednesday, I managed to cook nshima all by myself! I am not typically culinarily challenged but Zambian cooking is a whole other level. Just imagine a huge pot (we cooked for 17) on a charcoal braizer. You stir the nshima, which is the consistency of THICK mashed potatoes, with a giant wooden spoon. Nchimunya (the oldest girl) just kept adding mealie meal until it was almost impossible to stir. I had to hold the pot handle between my knees, stand up and stir with both hands. Boy was I sweating afterwards! Again, it seems simple but it's taken me two weeks of helping with lunch to get to that point and boy did it feel good! Like I said, our time in Zambia is almost up. I get the question, "When are you coming back?" a lot. I can't bear to think about not returning one day but the thing with kids is that they grow up and who knows where they will be if and when I make it back. And just like with every other transition in my life, I can't stop from thinking about what I could have done better and the liklihood that I am leaving loose ends. Honestly, I'm just glad good byes are over... On the other hand, I am excited for a week of relaxing in Cape Town- making our own schedule, letting ourselves be silly tourists, exploring a completely new city, and being in a place kind of like America. Well, we hear it's like Little London but it is pretty developed and there will be a lot of White people (aka we won't stick out) so that is close enough to the US to clear up the teensy bit of homesickness I may or may not be feeling. Thankfully, God's faithfulness is enough to cover any sadness or longing. His Plan has been perfect so far (even if it hasn't been what I expected) and I trust that His timing will continue to be just as impeccable. I've realized that He has orchestrated this whole trip so that I won't even have time to be sad about one thing ending because there is only a bus ride or a plan ride in between me and the next adventure. We left Kitwe and Dayspring for Livingstone and Heartspring. Then we are leaving Livingstone in a couple hours for Cape Town and in a week, we will be preparing to land in Cambodia for 8 weeks. I have also realized that, busy or not, I can partly control whether or not my life in Zambia stops here. I'm not a big fan of technology but it does give me the opportunity to communicate with the friends I've made and will make. I can come home and share my experiences with people and spread awareness so that the needs of the kids I've come to love can be met. I have been given a beautiful gift, of which everyone here and at home has been a part. I'm not the same Risa I was 8 weeks ago and I know that I still have a lot to learn. Thanks again to those of you who have supported me, written emails, sent packages, prayed for this trip, given me the names of contacts in the countries we are visiting, and for the countless other things I don't even know about. I am blessed that each of you is a part of my life. Cape Town.. HERE WE COME!!!

from Dayspring to Heartspring

Being back in Livingstone is bittersweet as a lot of things in life are. The bitter: It is blazing hot here. And that is coming from a girl who spends every day of a North Carolina summer working with horses in jeans. Escaping the sun is tough in itself but the lack of air flow indoors is enough to drive you back outside. The sweet: Sunscreen is impossible to keep from sweating off so I am getting real tan real fast. I even proved to the girls that I am not "White" by comparing my arm to a white dress we were washing. So now they call me "Tan" and themselves "Brown". The bitter: We aren't nearly as familiar with this town as we had gotten with Kitwe. We don't know where to get exactly what we want for the best price or what times are best to avoid crowds. The sweet: We get to explore again and try different places. Plus there are SO MANY WHITE PEOPLE! (Livingstone is pretty touristy) so we don't get nearly as much attention. The bitter: I miss all of my new friends from Kitwe. The staff at Kambalange Guest House took such good care of us and let us make ourselves at home there. The place we stay now is much smaller and not quite as homey. Ivor stayed in the Copper Belt to work for a couple weeks before making the venture up here to take us to the airport. To be honest, I miss the guy. And the Grace boys... gosh how I wish we could have just brought them along with us! We have already heard from 4 of them either checking up on us or wishing us a Happy New Year or just sending a text to say they miss us. One of them even listed me as his family member on Facebook! And when you are an only child, things like that go a long way. The sweet: We have gotten to spend time with Tinta, the 22 year old whose mom owns the hostel we stay at now. She is alone most of the day every day so it has been a blessing to be able to keep her company. Being back at Heartspring has been nothing short of wonderful... The girls there- ages 5 to 16- remembered us and were so excited we came back. They even memorized Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Little Sally Walker that we taught them last time. The older ones have been teaching us how to cook and I wash clothes with the younger ones almost every day. No wonder all of the women have killer biceps- stirring nshima and scrubbing out stains is tough work! They are all very patient with me and I think they actually enjoy getting to help the White, I mean Tan, girl. We play lots of clapping and dancing games in addition to cards and Start- basically Monkey in the Middle meets Dodgeball. Unfortunately, they don't speak Bemba in Livingstone so my weeks of practicing don't pay off so well here. The language here (did I ever mention that Zambia has 73 tribal dialects?) is Chitonga- Tonga for short. So the girls have been teaching me how to say simple words and phrases. I'm not good enough to share those with you yet... I don't want to downplay what a transition the past week has been but I also know it has been exactly what God wants it to be. He has removed me from the "home" we built over the past 6 weeks and has brought us to navigate life in Livingstone. He has stretched me from loving teenage boys through conversation, Bemba lessons, and jamming to Ava Michelle's and my iPods to the complete opposite end of the spectrum- loving little girls who barely know English and find the utmost joy in girly games that I've never really cared for. He has reminded me that this isn't about comfort or feeling useful or having good stories for a blog. It is about relying on Him and letting myself be sent to love the fatherless in a way that can only be done through the Father. It is about eagerly learning and patiently teaching, selflessly giving and graciously accepting, determinedly searching and gratefully finding. It is about so much more than Ava Michelle or myself and our world adventure. It is even more than Dayspring in Kitwe or Heartspring in Livingstone. It is about the beautiful Plan that has been knit together, causing our paths to cross for a short time, our lives to intertwine for much longer and our experiences to affect us more than is even imaginable.