Brendan woke up feeling nervous and excited. He had been looking forward to this day for a year. It was finally his turn to participate in the Lechwe Science Fair. At Lechwe, students in Grades 3, 4, and 5 can choose whether they want to participate but it is mandatory for Grade 6 students. Brendan had worked together with Patric to come up with a project. For a few weeks we tried to get a plant to bend through a sort of maze toward the light (phototropism) but abandoned that project when absolutely nothing happened. We settled on a project that they could do in half a day, since that was about their attention span and we were running out of time. Their project was on insulation so they had six jars of hot water wrapped in different kinds of material. Every 30 minutes they measured the temperature over the course of three hours. We helped them make bar graphs to chart which cooled the fastest and which retained its heat the longest. Brendan, in particular, is very detail-oriented and he worked hard to make the poster board perfect.
I went in the morning to help Patric and Brendan set things up. There were about eight projects from his class. Later, Peter and I went back to school to view all the projects.
Earlier in the morning, the judges had come through and questioned each of the children on their projects to see if they understood their project and whether it was truly their project or their parents’. Peter overheard one judge saying that he thought Brendan and Patric’s project was really a “parent project” until he talked with the boys. They could explain exactly what they did and the results and what the charts meant. They did receive help from Georgi and I because we wanted them to learn in the process and we didn’t want them pouring boiling water into jars! But it was their project and they had every reason to be proud of their work. Winners for each class will be announced next Friday.
I got a kick out of watching Peter at the science fair. He was like a little kid. He was interested in every project and eager to ask the children questions about what they did. He had a twinkle in his eye and a big grin on his face. He was so affirming and encouraging of each one. After about an hour, he was exhausted (hard work for an introvert) but for as long as he lasted, he was wonderful!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
People are always coming and going at MEF. People that we knew for even a short time, feel like close friends when they return. Doug is teaching at the UCZ Theological College through June but his wife Lynne had to return to her teaching post in Toronto awhile back. But she was back in town for a short time so we got whoever was around together and had a potluck. Lynne is one of the most gracious women I know, always with a smile on her face and a listening nod of her head. It was good to see her again though the time was brief.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
We had an Open House for the participants in Peter’s program. This year there are eight students in the Peace Program, with one more coming in a month or two. There are four students from Zambia and the others represent Lesotho, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. For most of the evening, they talked Zambian politics. My friend, Sara from Uganda, sat next to me and we discretely rolled our eyes at each other. Sara is quiet, though not without opinions. She’ll just never get a chance to be heard in this group of chatty individuals. Some individuals were ready to leave after an hour or so but one person spoke up and said, “We came together, we must leave together.” So then someone would give us a formal word of thanks and they would all be shifting to the front of their chairs to leave and then one would re-open the discussion again. This happened several times. It was quite amusing, actually. At least for us, but maybe not for those itching to end the conversation and go home!
Friday, March 6, 2009
It was a good day for Brendan. He and Patric won first prize in their class for their science project! Brendan was congratulated and given a book on space. Lechwe does a really nice job with their assemblies, giving awards every week to different children and being encouraging. Each week, a different class presents a play or presentation so they get used to memorizing lines and being in front of people. They are being taught better manners than I could ever teach as a bonus. In the afternoon, Brendan and Jason played in a soccer match against another school and Lechwe won 2-0. There was much celebrating!
We went directly to a Missionary Fellowship gathering at Mindolo Dam. All day, I knew I was getting sick but I did my best to push through it. But it got worse at the gathering. And the time of fellowship did nothing to lift my spirits. We sang a few hymns that I didn’t not know or recognize since I wasn’t even born when their praise book was published. And the singing was accompanied by an accordion, I kid you not. But we did get to sing, “Pass it On” though without the accordion because he didn’t know the chords. When is the last time you sang, “It only takes a spark . . .?” 1969. It was a good year, apparently. And then we got to hear the gospel message preached to us (we are all missionaries, for goodness sakes!). Over dinner, our only good friends in this group, Jerry and Brenda, told us that their family is moving to Dar es Salaam at the end of the month. I think the next time Missionary Fellowship meets, our family may have other plans.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
I am finally emerging into the land of the living again. I haven’t been really sick at all since we moved to Zambia but that is something I can no longer say. When we got home from Missionary Fellowship, I crawled into bed and lay there shivering for an hour before I started to sweat. Off and on all night like that. Saturday morning, I was sure that my malaria test would be positive but it wasn’t. So I figured it was just the flu. I had a bit of a cough but it was mainly the fever, aches and headache that I was battling. I felt better Sunday morning so I thought the worst of it was over. But the fever hit again in the afternoon, making me suspect malaria again. But by then, the clinic was closed and since Monday was a holiday, I wouldn’t be able to get tested again until Tuesday. Not wanting to wait and take my chances, I decided to take anti-malarials without it being confirmed. I had talked with Georgi, our doctor friend, and she thought it was malaria, especially since lots of people have had malaria and only the second test has come back positive. We had bought Coartem (anti-malarial) for Peter to take to Prague in case he came down with it there so we dug that out and I began treatment. I started to get a bit better on Monday and then the fever finally stopped Tuesday. But now I had a horrible cough and no energy whatsoever. It sounded like the same thing that Jason had, malaria and then a bacterial infection. Our Rep, Kathy, suggested getting on antibiotics, and that seemed like a good plan, especially since I am hoping to lead a trauma awareness workshop in Lusaka next week. So now I am on antibiotics and that is helping a bit. Although today I lost my voice almost completely. But I am coughing less and I have a bit more energy to do things around the house.
Peter has been wonderful, taking over the household, and letting me just sleep. The boys always thought it would be cool if I went away for a trip and Dad took care of them and they could eat French Toast every night. They aren’t so sure now. The boys have been sweet and kind which I appreciated. Couldn’t yell at them even if I wanted to. I can barely talk to them. Asking them to do something is almost like a game of charades. But we are working together and surviving.
While Peter was at work, I took to closing the door and curtains to make it seem like no one was at home. Every day, there is a steady stream of people coming to ask for jobs or piece work. What can you expect when unemployment is at 80%and the mines are closing down around Kitwe? One instance earlier in the week, I couldn’t ignore the insistent knocking, though I tried my best. Finally, I answered the door and it was the same guy I had taken pity on before for his gonadal ulcers. I couldn’t understand what he was saying so he pulled out some medication to show me. He kept saying, “Cut my penis,” and making hand gestures. I was feeling loopy from my anti-malarial medicine still and found myself horrified that maybe he was asking me to do that for him. I tried to focus on what he was saying and finally asked him what exactly he wanted. Thankfully, no cutting was involved. Just money. Whew! I staggered back to bed.
It’s been quite a week. I’m glad that I usually don’t get sick but I guess it was finally my turn. I’m glad to be feeling a bit better since we have guests coming this week. Bill Forbes, an old friend from our PMC days, is visiting with a World Vision intern, a Fuller grad. We are looking forward to catching up with Bill and meeting Elli. At the end of next week, I am off to Lusaka on my own to teach a trauma awareness workshop. I have a bit of prep to do for that yet but it will get done. But you can pray for my full recovery as well as continued health for the rest of the family. We’ve been hit hard and are ready for a break!
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