Amy's Assorted Adventures

Straight from the Halls of Hogwarts....

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:23:00 +0000

....via the African Bush

Here is the latest wild creature to pass through our home. And, if you'll look up on the left-hand sidebar at the list of things that have bitten Tom, you'll see it's been modified.

Click over to Tom's blog for more pictures and to see all the details on this beautiful bird.

Book Review -- 30 Lessons for Living

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:44:00 +0000

When I first saw 30 Lessons for Living by Karl Pillemer--as intriguing as the title was--it also seemed a bit cliche and pat. What did this book have to offer that was unique? As the author himself says in the first chapter, there are more than 30,000 self-help books in print today and people rush out to buy them hoping for a quick fix. Why read, or even better, buy another one?

30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans is exactly that. Advice that has come from hundreds of elderly people (or as Karl puts it) experts--those who have been there and done that. Many times when reading a self-improvement book I wonder how the author knows their advice truly works. Some of the marriage books have been written by people who have had multiple spouses (meaning divorces) so they may know what doesn't work--but do they truly know what works? For every parenting system touted in a book, there is another book showing the exact opposite. What do we follow?

30 Lessons for Living was written after hundreds of people, in the sunset of their life, were interviewed and asked what advice they would pass down to younger generations. Some of their answers may surprise you.

Karl's book breaks the lessons down into six major themes with five key lessons in each. As I read through the book I found myself convicted and challenged on many levels. I read about the lessons on marriage one evening just after a spat between Tom and I. And every lesson was one that I could take to heart--and even better, because they're tried and true, they are practical and doable.

I read the section on living well in your career as I did Payroll--so many good lessons for me in that section--and since I was having a particularly trying day--the lessons seemed even more needed. And the parenting section--so much good in there as well.

This is a book that I will mark up and highlight and return to again and again.

I could go on and on, but I highly suggest you read it for yourself.

Exactly Two Years Ago: I Can't Believe We Did That

I was given a free digital gallery to review. My opinions, as always, remain my own.

Kute Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:31:00 +0000

I'm going to share, from time to time, some of the quips and quotes that come out of our kids mouths.

When we show the kids new cartoons or movies, it's very important to them to know who the 'bad guys' are.

A couple weeks ago we showed the kids Tangled for the first time. We were nervous about how they would perceive the 'mom' in the movie because Repunzel obviously loved her and we thought the kids might be confused about a parent figure being the villain.

At one point in the movie though, Rapunzel's mom was refusing to allow her to leave the tower. After the argument between them leaves Rapunzel in tears, the evil lady threw herself down and sighed sarcastically, "Great, now I'm the bad guy!"

Johnny turned around with big eyes and said, "See! She's the bad guy! She said so!"

Problem solved. Since she had confessed with her own mouth the kids all knew who the villain was.

Exactly Two Years Ago (yesterday): My Week in Review (part one) The first post in a series that chronicled one of our craziest weeks.

Exactly Two Years Ago: Mr. Tom's (& Amy's) Wild Ride

Checking In

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:20:00 +0000

I know. I know. I've been absent. I apologize.

I wish it could be something exotic and adventurous that has kept me from writing, but it's just been work plain and simple--office work at its finest.

If I were a truly great blogger I would have whipped up loads of articles in my free time to have available to publish during busy moments. Sadly, I'm not there yet.

Here are some of my excuses in no order whatsoever:

Child needing multiple and daily injections for a week.

Piles of files to tidy and complete to wrap up a year of charitable work.

Child with convulsions caused by either malaria or epilepsy.

A staff member who stole from the orphanage and had to resign.

A Super Bowl Monday to organize in the middle of a workday (meaning I didn't get the day off)

An upcoming trip to prepare for.

Allergies that require me to take knock out medicine early each night.

An adolescent with math issues.

And so on and so forth.

This time of year must be busy all the time. As I scanned through my archives to find something I wrote on this date in other years, I came up empty

But, I do have an assignment for you! and I'll have another later in the week.

Today's assignment: Tom is preparing our brand new video (which I will be taking with me on the aforementioned trip) showing the kids and the orphanage over the last year. Every year he makes a new promo video and he's done amazing work. Trouble is, he feels like he's used up all his tricks. He says he has video block or director's block or something like that.

So, here's where your part comes in. Over at Vimeo we have four of our past videos. Could you take a peek and then let us know in comments what you like or what you'd like to see more of, or what would interest you in a video. We're shooting for a ten minute video. I can't wait to hear your ideas!

And........GO!

Fab Friday Foto XXXIII

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:57:00 +0000

"We hope you'll be our regular guests!"

Ba Dum Bum!*

Thank you very much! I'll be here all weekend.

I was in Mansa for two days. I'm very tired. Please forgive the Junior High Humor.

*Totally unintentional pun.

(Almost) Exactly Two Years Ago: Are We a Normal Family? A bonus chuckle for today

FAQ #2

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:42:00 +0000

I started this series last week with Question #1--Why Africa?

Next question:

Why Zambia?

Now that we knew we were heading to Africa, we just had to narrow our choice down to one of the 53 nations of Africa. Some were automatically ruled out because of the danger: Somalia for instance. Another criteria was that we really didn't want to have to learn a new language. We'd been there and done that. We were ready to go to a country where we could immediately jump in and get to work. Though we both speak Spanish to some degree (Tom is fluent) that wouldn't help us on the African continent.

We ruled out South Africa because we felt there were many misisonaries and mission works operating there already. And, there was the crime rate to consider. We took the fact that we were taking a large family overseas very seriously. That's not to say we let fear rule our decisions but we did look at all the options while seeking for God's Will for us.

There were a few countries we were interested in: Nigeria, Kenya, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia.

Tom had built a website for us so we could show future sponsors our past work and what we wanted to accomplish in the future. We were contacted by two different missionary couples in Kenya and Zambia. Both projects looked interesting. Both worked with children. The main difference was that the Kenyan project was going to be a private Christian school for wealthy students where the income would allow humanitarian projects to go forward. Tom and I would be teachers in the school.

The Zambian project was a school for underprivileged or orphaned children. Our main role would be equipping the teachers. We would have the chance to reach out more to the community.

Zambia seemed like a better fit, but we wouldn't know for sure until we took a closer look. Tom took off on the 35 hour journey to Africa. I could fill at least one whole post with his experiences over the next two weeks. He fell completely in love with Zambia and its people, crying on more than one ocassion (he's gonna love that I mentioned that) and remarking to his mom on his return that he had never felt so much in God's Will.

To top it off, one of Tom's heroes, David Livingstone lived and worked in Zambia for many years and eventually died here. (Side note: David Livingstone actually died just a few hours from where we live now) It felt like all the pieces in the puzzle of our life were coming together. It felt right.

Tom returned from Zambia thrilled with what we would be able to do as missionaries to Zambia. In his short, two-week trip he had helped out at the fledgling community school, encouraged local pastors, and taught several Bible studies to college students. The possibilities seemed endless--perfect for someone who loves to be busy with many projects.

I was excited about working with local teachers to give them the tools they need to do their job, as well as assist the school in building and expanding in order to help even more children.

Now that we had a country chosen, all we had to do was raise the funds. and what a job that would be. Regular support as well as the initial cost of flying 8 people halfway around the world. We were ready to get busy, work hard and see what God would do.

Pests and Pestilences

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:46:00 +0000

Poor little Joseph is sick again. About two weeks ago he contracted a cough. He also began getting fevers. We treated him for malaria--the smart thing to do when a small child has a fever--but he didn't improve. I hesitated to give him any antibiotics because after his hospitalization (and the huge amount of medication that was dumped into his system) his body has been all out of whack. He had a terrible fungal diaper rash and thrush as well.

The medical officer that came out to make a house call agreed. He wanted us to be cautious about giving more medicines.

I used natural remedies: garlic milk and Vicks (baby version for the chest and back and the real version on the bottom of his feet), and once even a dribble of whisky. He looked healthy enough but he couldn't kick the fever and his cough sounded ugly. Finally we took him to the clinic where they prescribed 5 days of penicillin injections. This means taking him to the clinic three times a day.

Every morning at 6 AM, every afternoon at 2 PM, and every evening at 8 PM, Tom and I climb into the car and drive the 1 Km. (half mile) down to the clinic. The clinic person is rarely there on time so I will call them up or go to their house to remind them that it is time for injections. I'm not the only one there. To keep things simple, the clinic schedules all injections to take place at the same time. This is good for them, perhaps somewhat good for us since we know the nurse is supposed to be there at a certain time, but also not so good because it means a bunch of sick people loaded with germs and little regard for personal space have all gathered in one small area.

Usually I try to wait outside so there is some fresh air helping to blow away icky bacteria. Standing outside is better for Joseph in another way too. He recognizes the treatment room now. As soon as we enter the room, his little face scrunches up and he begins to fuss. He knows what's coming next.

So, the other evening, I arrived at the clinic and there was already some delay because the clinic had run out of syringes and the medical officer was hustling from room to room trying to locate some. It was dark and drizzly. I stood under the eaves of the clinic so as to avoid the worst of the rain, with a blanket thrown over Joseph's head to keep him dry. The treatment room was filled with people and even more were crowded around the doorway along with me.

I had been standing there about five or ten minutes when something landed on my neck. Something soft and rubbery. I pushed it off immediately and willed my heart to keep beating. My first thought was that it might have been a gecko. Every once in a while a gecko will fall from the ceiling when either through love or war, they get too frisky and lose their footing.

Gecko picture taken by Tom.
You can see more of his African Creature photos by clicking here and looking at the photo gallery

I fumbled with my BlackBerry to find the flashlight app to see what it was that had hit me, and more importantly where it had gone next.

Then I spotted it. Crawling up the wall in its unique hoppity, creepy way. A bat!

This is not the same bat. This is one that was photographed about a year ago on our front porch. I was so shaken this past evening after my close call that I couldn't get my camera working in time.

All the ladies standing in and around the clinic found my adventure quite entertaining. At least I did some good that night.

It has now been 24 hours so I'm reasonably certain I'm not going to grow fangs. My good friend in Belgium asked that if I do begin to sparkle to please eat the goats and not the children. With the adorable specimens we have around that may be a challenge.

Almost Exactly One Year Ago: Life, or Something Like It

Adventures in Shopping

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:51:00 +0000

So, earlier this month Tom took off for the bush with some friends of ours. He was invited to be part of a preaching/teaching team that went so far in the Zambian bush they were nearly in Angola. Take a look at the map below, keeping in mind that Zambia is about the size of Texas. (International readers, I apologize that that doesn't really work as a frame of reference for you.--Texas is our second largest state.) The story of his trip will be coming soon.

source

Because he was gone for ten days this meant we skipped two shopping days. By the time we were able to make it to Mansa it had been over two weeks since we had shopped. Old Mother Hubbard's cupboards were BARE.

Tom only got home on Saturday morning so our first opportunity to shop was on Monday. Not wanting to have to get back on the road on Friday again just to get back on schedule, we decided to buy two weeks worth of food.

I filled four carts with food and supplies. Even though I'd left my carefully crafted list at home, I managed to finish the whole thing in around 1 hour with the help of a couple phone calls to Jasmine. Before going through the check out lane, I went to the manager's office to pay our grocery bill for last month.

Rather than paying cash each week we use a business card and pay our bill at the end of each month. Just as we finished counting out the pile of cash*, the power went off. Thankful I had remembered to slip my headlamp into my purse that morning, I turned it on and we waited in the dim light for power to be restored.

About 15 minutes later the store decided to turn on their generator. We could now see, but there was still no progress on our bill being paid. We soon found out why. None of the computers in the store had come back up. Managers were rushing around trying to figure out the problem but they couldn't fix it. A whole hour went by before regular power came back on and the computers began to reboot.

* our largest Kwacha bill is only worth $10 so even $200 is a decent size stack--you can imagine the stack needed to pay for a month's worth of food for 30 people

Once the computers were on, the cashier slowly began scanning our purchases and we loaded them carefully into our reusable shopping bags.When packing our groceries into the bags, we have to be careful so they survive the bumpy ride home.

Finally, everything was scanned and packed. I handed the manager our business card so he could process our payment and then place the new purchase on the car. Trouble was--the card wouldn't work. He scanned it again and again before it finally went through. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned to go. But no! That was for the bill. Now we had to pay for this purchase. Again he struggled to scan the card. Again and again he ran it through the machine until the computer responded and then spat out our receipt. and what a receipt it was!

Sandra was our shopping buddy that day

When we finally exited the store and into the fresh air, we had been in the store for 4 hours!

Back in December when Tom and I went to Lusaka, we popped into the grocery store there for a few items that can't be found in Mansa. I had jotted them down in my planner.

This is my cart when I reached the check out stand.

There seems to be more than five items in my cart. Does this ever happen to you?

Frequently Asked Questions

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:44:00 +0000

I want to set up an FAQs page on this blog to help answer some of the very common questions people have about what we do here in Zambia, how we got here, what our mission is for and to the people of Zambia, etc.

A high school student wrote me saying that she wants to do a class presentation on our family. This gives me the perfect opportunity to compile some questions and post them in a series and eventually get them onto a page at the top of the blog.

Please let me know if you have any questions to add to my list or if I can further clarify answers I give here.

Why Africa?

In the late 90's Africa was entering the news more and more. Story after story highlighted the problems the continent faced with warring tribes and factions, poverty and lack of development and worst of all, HIV and AIDS which were sweeping the continent leaving behind a trail of orphans.

In 1996, I had been reading accounts of missionaries who were working in Africa and it sounded really interesting. After working in Mexico as missionaries for three years (our first three children were born during this time), we had been in Texas for 4 years. While we hadn't been idle and had always kept busy with many different mission projects, I thought there might be more out there for us to do still.

When I broached the subject with Tom, he brought up the very valid point that we had five small children (and another on the way) and was Africa really the right place to take such a large family?

I shelved the idea and carried on with the big job of raising my family, supporting my husband as he worked two jobs and learned a new craft. I was homeschooling my oldest three and nursing a newborn and taking care of two toddlers as well. Life was full and busy.

A year later, Tom took a job in a town across the state and went out there ahead of us for a month. When the kids and I moved out with him, I found that he had had a life-changing moment somewhere there. He told me he felt that God was calling us to be missionaries in Africa.

We've often talked about why God called us at different times and I feel that part of it was so that when we encountered trials and troubles there would always be a sense of teamwork and shared vision.--We had both been given the direction and purpose. We were in this together!

Tom and I are both from missionary families and had lived in four of the 7 continents. Adding Africa to that list would be an exciting new challenge.

Now we knew which part of world we were headed to. We only had to choose which of the 50+ nations would be our new home. And what we'd be doing, and how we'd support ourselves. And were we crazy to be even considering this at all? Details, details.

Stay tuned for the next question next week.

Exactly One Year Ago: Travel Fun

Almost Exactly Two Years Ago: Henry

SIMC--Noah's Ark was Full

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:01:00 +0000

Children's church started off with the usual action songs

The kids paid close attention as Tom started the story

Noah and his 'sons' built the ark

Not sure what was happening here.....

....but Beauty sure enjoyed it. Peter was not sure.
P.S. did you know Peter and Beauty are siblings?


Then it was time for the animals to board the ark. First the lions.

Then the dogs.

Finally all the animals were loaded in the ark

After a long voyage, the animals hopped free


Henry (center) closed church with a prayer which included thanking Jesus for Jesus. Classic!

Join more bloggers from around the world:

Exactly Two Years Ago: Fab Friday Foto--one of my favorites

Book Review: The Odds by Stewart O'Nan

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:50:00 +0000

The Odds by Stewart O'Nan is the fiction story of a couple who have to come to the end of their ropes both in their marriage and their finances. They head to Niagra Falls and a honeymoon suite, not as a way to rekindle their love life, but to try to beat the system in the casino and find a way to survive bankruptcy.

I found this a hard read--not a long read since it only took me a day or two--but it was painful. I could see reflections of me and my marriage in the characters. Not to say that my marriage is in trouble, but any relationship has to be carefully tended to make sure it thrives instead of stagnating and the author captured perfectly the inertia that can infiltrate a marriage.--the habits that seem small at the beginning, but slowly erode the ties that bind.

There weren't many plot turns and twists, and I found the casino part mildly interesting but a little hard to follow.

Then, the ending caught me off guard. It wasn't what I was expecting.

Would I recommend this book? Probably not completely, but I didn't hate it either.

I received a digital galley from Penguin Group, U.S.A for reviewing. My opinions, as always, are my own.
I am not an Amazon affiliate.

Exactly Two years Ago: Say What?

Cooking the Old Fashioned Way

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:08:00 +0000

So, rembember last year when the electric company threatened that we would have no power for 20 days during the day? and then we had it anyway? Well, they've done it again! Only this time it was a promise, and they followed through.

The crazy thing is that they are doing this work during rainy season when we lose power frequently anyway due to storms and rainy conditions. So, we are not only losing power when a storm hits, or when there isn't enough power to go around. Now, we lose it three days a week. I did a guest post yesterday about one of the blessings we can draw from this experience. Go ahead and read it if you didn't get a chance yet.

A brazier

Things got a bit worse though last week when we ran out of gas for our stove. Add to this that the bakery the supplies our bread is dependent on the same power source as we are. We were faced with rationing the bread in case we couldn't get some for a while.

Our solar ovens haven't worked well during the rains. We'll be glad to get back to using them in a few months, but for now they're packed away.

The evening we ran out of gas I decided on a nice, one-pot lentil dish for dinner. When your 'stove' is a pile of goals in a flimsy metal dish, you want to limit your pots.

I prepped all the ingredients in the kitchen before carrying them out to the porch on a tray. I felt all fancy as I laid out my mise en place. And, yes I had to Google that.

Waiting for the coals to be just right is probably the hardest part because putting a large pot on top too soon could put out the fire and stop the heat. Of course the holes in the side of the brazier help to keep oxygen flowing. Once I put the pot on top I just had to keep stirring from time to time to prevent burning. If the coals seemed to be cooling, I would remove the pot and taking the brazier by its handle I would swing it from side to side like an altar boy with incense--only harder and faster--to shake off the ashes and add oxygen to the fire.

Then we spent the evening waiting and relaxing. I didn't get any pictures of the finished product because it was quite late and dark before we ate. And, as delicious as the lentils (with rice) were, they weren't exactly photogenic.

God has been good to us during this time of energy (all types) shortages. He's been giving me a clear mind during working hours so I'm actually getting a fair amount of work done. Thanks for all the prayers and kind words you've been sending my way. You make me smile!

Exactly Two Years Ago: You Just Never Know --if you ever struggle with your bank read this.

Learning How to Pause Life for a Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:38:00 +0000

JDaniel4sMom has a nice weekly feature about slowing down and learning to pause life for a moment. She invites other bloggers to guest post. I was supposed to share a post ages ago, but somehow life never slowed down long enough for me to get to it. How's that for irony?

So, I'm happy to finally be guest posting there today. Please go and have a read.

Those of you with small children should look around her blog. She has really nice ideas for preschool activities. There are even a few giveaways to enter--just don't win, 'cause I'm trying to. ;)

If you have clicked over here from JDaniel4sMom's blog, welcome! Thank you for visiting my corner of the world. Be sure to come back tomorrow and I'll share photos of how we cook when there is no stove available.

Africa's Next Top Model?

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:06:00 +0000

The other day as we sorted through donated clothes, we came across the most adorable outfit for a baby girl. It was a sundress, with matching hat and diaper cover. Adorned with red, white and blue stars and stripes, it would be perfect for the Fourth of July, if that were actually a holiday over here.

Anyway, we couldn't wait to dress Naomi up in the teeny-tiny dress. Still slightly big for her, we put it on anyway. And then, of course it was time for a Photo Shoot!

She looked so beautiful with the backdrop of the green grass. The sun hat covered up her bald head and made her just a bit cuter.

Then, as I stood her up to take another shot, the excitement of playing Baby Super Model proved too much and she was visited by the Ghost of Milk Past.

Even with regurgitated milk on her face, she's adorable. Don't you agree?

Exactly One Year Ago: Randomness in my City on Sunday

Exactly Two Years Ago: Excuse Me, Ma'am, Your Hyperbole is Showing

Honey, Honey

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:04:00 +0000

My daughter recently sent this photo from Secret to Humor is Surprise* to my son. It brought back some funny memories.

You see, when my kids were little, they were a little squeamish about eating the spots on the banana that have gotten a bit over-ripe. Being a really good (and really smart) mom, I told them they were honey spots and, since all children love honey--who wouldn't after watching an episode or thirty dozen of Winnie the Pooh?--they ate those bananas right up.

This little white lie meant I could buy the cheaper bananas and even leave them sitting on the counter for awhile without worrying about them getting too squishy. The squishier, the more honey**! I couldn't lose!

I don't remember how old my kids were when they finally discovered the truth about bananas but they were old enough to shoot me looks of pure disappointment at the fact that their beloved mother had deceived them. Bananas are not really a source of honey.

More importantly, they learned that moms don't always tell the truth. It was a dark day in the Morrow household. Some of them may still hold a grudge--I'm pretty sure T.J does.

For my part though, I have no regrets. I would do it again in a heartbeat. And that's one of the things that makes me a great mom!

Have you ever deceived your kids for their own good?

*While this page on Facebook has some truly funny stuff, much of it is inappropriate or as they say on the Interwebs, Not Suitable for Work. Read at your own peril.

**Have no fear, my children were never in any danger of bodily harm. A bubbling banana was thrown away--all others were fair game for snacks or baking.

Exactly Two Years Ago: Invited to a Ball

A Look Back at 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:11:00 +0000

So, I got this update all ready to send you over the weekend, and was ready to hit publish on Monday when our internet went down--yes, again!! Anyway, here is the look back at the good, the inspirational, the bad, and the adventure! Enjoy!

After ringing in the New Year with the kids, I was reminded that I was indeed in Africa when not even a week into January, I was stuck down with malaria again. We found out what may be the kids' least favorite video. We prepared for our first ever family trip to the States since 2002. We had a sixteen hour bus ride, a 10 hour flight to London, some time for sightseeing there, before another 10 hour flight to Houston and our reunion with the rest of our family. We had a lovely time in Texas and Alabama, at a church conference and then visiting with relatives and friends

I started February off with a reminder to please, Give the Gift of Life. After a couple weeks of much needed Family Fun, we headed back to Zambia and the Real World. I was so happy to be back with my babies though whether I was watching them play with toys or water. Reality hit hard at the end of the month, and we called out for help.

In March, a new baby joined our home--though not the kind you'd expect--and a harrowing experience left me wondering if I was fit to look after anyone or thing at all. Then, while still waiting to see if Joshua would be able to join our household, a much needier child came to our door. We had to take him in! Tom's fascination with snakes continued--coming much too close for comfort at one point. Snakes aren't the only thing Tom and I differ about--I shared our travel differences here. I battled with the Boogey Man, but since I'm still here to tell the story, I won! and that was in big part to having all of you by my side. I like-a you! The kids of the orphanage, like Peter and Nathan also kept my spirits up. When Tom left for a trip to the U.S, I counted my blessings instead of crying.

The very last day of March, we took in three new babies, I introduced them here, so the month of April was off to a rip-roaring start. My days carried on in a 'normal' way, looked for the benefits of my temporary life of solitude, and complained good-naturedly when things bugged me. I wrote about my weekly shopping adventures. Then we got word of a big challenge we would need to face, which later led me to reflect on God's Sense of Humor. We did a photo shoot with the kids, which with 21 kids, you can be sure led to bloopers. The merriment continued with a Happy Easter celebration. Life took a tragic turn around us, but we kept our eyes on Him, even when precious Joshua went Home to Heaven.

In May, I held a party that no one showed up for, but the cake was amazing! My kids told stuff about me. I opened up about some of the struggles of parenting orphans. Tom was still in the States, but we kept love alive. Just because Tom was away, didn't mean the snake adventures ended. Life carried on, the nannies learned to dance, the kids learned a life skill, and a new baby graced our home. Denny continued to improve, though this came at a price. I shared some of my childhood kitchen memories. With Tom away, I took over his Bible class. The weight of looking after so many children was tough. Grace made me smile with her attempts at fighting off sleep. Meg came to volunteer for the summer and became a very dear friend as well. I was so glad for her presence when as the month came to a close some very sad events took place. A wonderfully sweet baby got sick out of the blue and then tragically passed away. Then, I got the worst news of my life.

June should have been a happy time for me, with Tom's return from the U.S, but instead it was spent preparing for and attending a funeral. Life in Africa still kept me guessing though as odd things were delivered to my gate. Coming home to the orphanage, after my time in New York, I found new residents--some human, some not.

Then before I knew it, July had arrived. Life continued at a Fever Pitch with new babies--some very sick--and a house full of volunteers. Life was good, but I didn't get to share much about it online because I fell off the cyber map when our internet was knocked out for three weeks.

At the beginning of August I tried to sum up an entire month in one post. That was crazy! I also eulogized a very special little girl. I traveled some more, including via bus where at one point I took on some drunken passengers. We welcomed a new group of volunteers to the orphanage. One of the projects they helped with made a bunch of little girls really happy. Johnny continue to challenge us. We celebrated the birthdays of four of the kids. When the last visitors of the season left, I was faced to acknowledge the pressures I'd been under. We learned how to harness the power of the sun to make something really important for the orphanage. Just when I thought life was easing up a bit, a new baby joined our home again. Two of our babies with eating issues, improved.

I was very excited in September to receive my first ever blog critique. As well as things were going with the children, I was still struggling with staffing issues. It helped to reflect on a project we'd done in August and how grateful the children were. Then, the creepie crawlies returned! I was not a happy camper. As the world remembered September 11, I shared where we were in the days that followed. I took a special trip to Lusaka with Jasmine to help her celebrate her 16th birthday. She was reunited with a special friend while there. September 20 was election day in Zambia. It was a bit scary, but everything turned out alright. We began holding Children's Church with the kids each Sunday, starting off with the story of Joseph first of all. We wound up the month by giving you an opportunity to help with a special project, and you came through amazingly!

October rolled around, all dry and dusty--though the rains were beginning to appear. Our family continued to fall in love with Joseph. I had been taking part in an online Bible study that was restoring my joy. I learned even more about joy by watching the children dance one morning. We began giving the kids an opportunity to take turns traveling with us to do the weekly shopping. Johnny was one of the first, and he did not disappoint. This is his story: Part one & part two. I loved seeing our children form into such a beautiful family! I was reminded again, I am just a manager of God's work. And, yet another baby joined our family and we decided to name her Naomi and she, before long had taken up permanent residence in our hearts. Shortly after this, Tom and I traveled to Mansa for an overnight stay to collect our new chickens. Our experience with the hotel and restaurant made for fun reading--knowing I would write about it made it less horrendous. We started a new form of gardening which should prove to be a big help in the long run.

My first post of November was a costume contest from Halloween--which sadly, I did not win. A critter got into my office with destructive results. I reflected on our uncertain future. Babies, of all types were everywhere! I also reflected on the laws of the universe. Then, disaster struck again, quite literally. The full devastation took time to come in come in but God took care of us. Getting back on top of everything gave us a few crazy days. But, in the midst of everything, my bedroom got a much needed makeover. We celebrated the birthdays of several of the kids with cupcakes they'd made themselves.I jumped right into Thanksgiving preparations that were wonderfully traditional but the very next day Tom was headed out on a very African adventure.The month ended with happy news about Naomi.

December started off with one of the most exciting events of my life. Then after a very busy week in Lusaka, we got home to find our internet was out--again! A week later I was back online. We got busy with Christmas preparations including a tree and Christmas cards. Santa Claus made a few appearances both in Mansa and Kazembe--boy, was that an adventure! Christmas week wasn't entirely the joyful time it could have been, with one very sad event, but also a small Christmas miracle. Despite everything, the kids were able to have a wonderful Christmas Day celebration.

All in all, it was a good year. There were some moments I wouldn't have chosen to pass through, but they have made me stronger and brought about God's plan in some way--even if I haven't seen all of it yet.

Now, let's see what 2012 has in store for us. Bring it on!

2010 Year in Review: Click here

Exactly One Year Ago (if this were published on time): The Three Stooges
Exactly Two Years Ago: With a Little Help from Our Friends

Garden Glories

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:28:00 +0000

I thought I'd share a few photos of our landscape gardening project this morning. Nothing like some greenery to start the year off right, correct?

Mary Mary quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockle shells

And pretty maids all in a row.

I truly didn't mean to make everyone in the northern hemisphere jealous today. I merely wanted to share how I can just walk out of my kitchen, barefoot if I like, and clip fresh herbs and leaves straight out of my garden. It's delightful! Sorry if things are brown and bare and wintry where you are......Did you enjoy a White Christmas though? I'd say we've even.

I'm linking to Sundays in my City by Unknown Mami and Fresh Mommy by Tabitha

Exactly Two Years Ago: A Funny Witch Doctor Photo

Shiny and Sparkly

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:57:00 +0000

Months and months ago (nearly two years ago, apparently) I saw a handy idea for jewelry storage. It was posted by Creative Junkie*. It was so long ago that I had to run a search for the original post. Not having access to a Michaels or Hobby Lobby or any crafty store, I made a few adjustments to the design.

(*Side note: This blogger is a provocative writer--I enjoyed the idea, I take no responsibility for the words attached to it)

A few months went by, and I finally got organized enough to start the project. I wanted to do it as a mother/daughter activity. Jasmine and I found some wood and got our handyman to cut two squares out. Then we covered the wood with a neutral fabric and added a strip of patterned fabric to the bottom half.

And that is where my creativity ended. I didn't get organized to finish the project. I had all the hardware I needed, but the wood was hard and my resolve was not, so the project stagnated.

A couple more months went by, and we 'found' the project during a room clean up. It was moved to Tom's workshop where it was promptly lost again.

A couple more months went by and Tom rediscovered the project and all its pieces. Joy! It was moved to his worktable.

Then, a few days ago, I was working at my computer when Tom walked in with the finished product. I was overjoyed! It's always a good day when something you set out to do is completed by a helpful elf (AKA loving husband).

I immediately hung it on the wall and placed my jewelry in their proper places.

And here is the final display:

Isn't it beautiful? Tom said it looked much better than he imagined. "Like something wealthy!"

And that is a wonderful thing indeed!

Exactly Two Years Ago: I'll Be Home for Christmas--how technology has changed how we celebrate Christmas.

The Other Side of Christmas Week--part two

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:20:00 +0000

For part one of this story, click here.

After the nurse carried Gladys away, I sat back on the bed stunned. I picked up my phone and sent a Blackberry chat message to Debbie. She cried with me and I was so grateful again for God sending her to me at just the right moment.

Then, I had to call Meg. Gladys was more her baby than mine. She didn't answer her phone--later she told me that she saw that the call was coming from me and didn't want to here the words--so I left a voice message and felt sick to my stomach after.

I wondered how the other ladies in the ward were viewing me. In the space of 3 hours, two moms had lost babies but the reactions were very different. I had very little outward show of grief. I shed tears but they were quiet and mostly unseen. The other mother had cried aloud and at length. I voiced this question to Debbie and she reminded me that "we do not grieve as those who have no hope". Very true.

Zambians are also very social people. Part of the outward grieving is to let their family and friends know that they are sad and in need of special comfort. The entire village will gather at the sound of the wailing and wail also to show camaraderie and community.

I wanted to hold out hope for Joseph, but as I looked at him, lying so very still on the stark hospital bed, I wasn't sure. We still didn't know what was attacking his body. He had shown some improvement after some fluids via IV, but once the drip stopped he looked wan and weak again.

Despite a negative malaria test, the decision was made to start him on quinine injections. Quinine is sa lifesaving, but extremely harsh drug. It can have terrible side effects--one of which is deafness--and is usually reserved for emergency cases. I hated that we had to give that to tiny Joseph, but there was nothing I could do.

He was also started on a second, more powerful antibiotic. His little body was being bombarded and I just hoped that we would see improvement soon.

Later that morning we were moved to a private room. I was so thankful! The room was tiny, but the bed had linens on it, there was a sink in the corner--no running water, but I could bring water in and do dishes--and a couch which turned out to be useless since it had no seat to it. That was OK. Remember my packing list from yesterday's post? One of the things I packed was a folding camp chair. Lifesaver!

I have to say here how grateful I was (and am) for our friends. The hospital was an hour away from home, so impractical for Tom to come back once he'd dropped us off. But, our good friends, Sanjay and Jackie stay there in that town. Three times a day they brought meals. I was so grateful! There was really nowhere else to get food. Jackie was a star--not only bringing a sandwich, but bringing full cooked meals. She even remember napkins and everything! It made such a difference to have that break in my day when meals and some conversation walked through my door.

Meanwhile, Joseph was still quite sick. He was so uncomfortable and seemed to be in pain, but didn't want to be held much or touched. He just lay on his back tossing his head back and forth and whimpering softly. He had no energy to drink so every two hours I had to coax him to take some milk from the bottle and then slowly pour more into his mouth bit by bit.

There would be times when his eyes would roll around and I couldn’t tell if he was just tired or was dropping into something worse. My nerves were totally shot after caring for Gladys and how that had ended. I searched Joseph’s face endlessly hoping to see a spark of improvement.

The hospital still hadn’t taken any blood to test. The stool sample I’d given them had been corrupted. So, after 3 days, we still had no idea what was wrong.

Then, miraculously, Joseph began to show interest in his food again. He still couldn’t drink much at a time, but he wanted to—and that means all the difference in the world. He also tolerated me holding him again. I was able to pour all my love into him with cuddles and kisses. He even gave me half a smile. Nectar for my soul!

After a third night on an IV drip, he was finally rehydrated. With regular feedings I was able to maintain his fluid levels. It was Christmas Eve and I was hopeful we could go home. With careful instructions on his medications still needed (they could all be given orally) I was confident I could finish is convalescence at home. I just wanted to be at home with my family!

Thankfully, the doctor agreed. I bundled Joseph up, gathered our many survival possessions and his all important medicines and climbed into a taxi for the hour long ride home. As a special gift from God, my taxi driver was playing Christmas music and I sang along and felt a bit of Christmas spirit entering my soul.

Coming home after time away and jumping back into a household is always a challenge. When you’re doing it on the eve of arguably the biggest holiday of the year, when you are completely sleep deprived, well, let’s just say it is a recipe for disaster.

My family had done a wonderful job in my absence, baking some of my favorite cookies and wrapping all the presents for the little kids.

Later that night, as we cleared up from dinner, Jasmine asked me why someone had put away all the cookies but left about six still on the tray. I thought that was weird too, and then it dawned on me—Buzz had struck again! That naughty, rascally dog had eaten a few dozen cookies right off the tray. No more cookies for Christmas Day! Unfortunately, that was the proverbial last straw for me. I began to weep. All the pressure and struggle of an entire week culminated in that moment. We had to have the special Christmas cookies! Or Christmas would be ruined!

Tom very wisely bundled me off to bed with the sage advice that it would all be better in the morning. And, do you know? He was right. I got up every couple hours to feed Joseph (he was now crying for his food. Hallelujah!) but was still able to wake up early. I stuffed stockings, set out a special breakfast, and wrapped the few presents our family would receive, just in time for my big kids and hubby to wake up. Then, we were able to do our Children's Christmas Party.

Day by day, Joseph improved. His trademark grins returned. One day he even giggled! He giggled! He was on his way back! Aside from his half shaved head (we really ought to do the other and create a baby Mr. T), you can't even tell he was sick.

Thank you all for the encouraging comments you've been leaving me. I really appreciate your encouragement. Having a cyber community means the world to me!

The Other Side of Christmas Week

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:33:00 +0000

This is a long story--it will be in two parts.

The week leading up to Christmas is supposed to be full of fun. There should be gift wrapping, and hiding or piling presents under the tree.

There should be cookie baking and decorating. The scent of cinnamon and cloves should be wafting through the air.

There should be "tales of the Christmases long long ago".

Sadly, for our family here in Africa, this wasn't the case. Tuesday morning, December 20th, I realized that two of our children who seemed to have been battling some type of stomach bug were not doing well at all. Gladys had been unwell for some time--she was wasting away--but we couldn't find the cause. We gave her extra food, changed her diet, coaxed her to eat just a bit more, treated her with antibiotics, took her to the clinic, gave her vitamins, but she was really listless. We cuddled her close, and gave her rehydration drinks, but she just got worse. After failing to get an IV started with the local clinic on Monday, I sat up all night feeding her rehydration fluid. She took in the amount of fluid she should have, and didn't lose much, but she still didn't improve.

Joseph had also been troubled with a funny tummy. But, rather than bouncing back after electrolyte laden drinks and extra care, he got worse.

Tuesday I realized we would have to take a trip to the hospital. This is not the no-brainer it would be in the U.S or Europe. Many times there aren't even doctors in the hospitals. Since this was right before Christmas, this was an even greater possibility.

I also had to pack carefully. The hospital only has the very basic of equipment and very few staff members. I have to prepare for days ahead and think of all eventualities. I needed clothes and diapers and food and bottles for at least a couple days. I needed to pack dish soap and a bottle brush to be able to clean the bottles since the hospital is an hour away and I wouldn't be able to dash home to do dishes. Plus, there would be no nurse to look after the sick children to give me a break. I would need to be there the entire time.

Picture a Civil War hospital from Gone with the Wind (only with IV antibiotics and plastic bags) and you can imagine what I was taking the children to.

Thankfully, we found the hospital fully staffed (by Zambian standards) and even the District Head of Health was there. As soon as I got the two babies into the children's ward, nurses and doctors tried to start an IV. They succeeded with Joseph fairly quickly, but Gladys' veins were just too small.

Since she was still able to drink, the docs suggested we just keep up with the bottle feeding every 15-20 minutes. This I did. Meanwhile, Joseph began to look a bit better with the IV drip going.

Jasmine accompanied me to the hospital since it could be challenging for me to handle two sick babies at once. We were put into the general children's ward. I had asked for a private room, but there were none available. We shared the eight bed room with three other patients and their families. There was a 6 month old baby one bed over that was coughing and gasping for air--obviously a bad case of pneumonia. "That baby is going to die," was Jasmine's comment. My heart broke that my sixteen year old daughter who should be out enjoying her first car, perhaps her first boyfriend, trying out makeup and new dance moves, has seen death up close and personal enough times to recognize its face.

Later that night, as we continued to watch over the babies, Gladys' breathing changed and she got very cold. Immediately we asked for hot water bottles and when there were none to be found, we poured hot water into any container we could find and I held them close to her body as we cuddled on a chair. She was still able to swallow, but had lost the desire to suck or drink from a bottle. I continued to pour tiny amounts of fluid into her mouth ever 15 minutes.

As all of this was going on, I noticed that the baby two beds over had grown very quiet. Her mom noticed around the same time, and a nurse came over to check. That sweet baby was gone. Immediately the mom began to weep and wail with loud cries. All of us in the room felt her pain. For two hours she cried aloud and spoke to the baby and moved restlessly around the room. It was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen or been a part of. The father had quietly left the room and returned two hours later with a taxi driver so they could take the baby home. As sad as I was, I was also glad not to have to listen to her cry anymore--it was exhausting--and yes, I feel badly for feeling that way.

A couple more hours passed. I continued to push the fluids and adjust the hot water 'bottles' to keep Gladys warm. She had warmed up and was resting quietly. Jasmine had gone to sleep in one of the hospital beds getting some well deserved rest since it was now the early hours of the morning.
About this time my friend Debbie popped up on my Blackberry Messenger. I was so glad to have a friend to talk to at that very moment. We chatted about my U.S kids, a recent mission trip they'd taken together, and various other light topics. It was a great distraction as I dealt with the fact that someone's precious baby had just died and I was holding the fragile life of another in my arms.

Gladys had fallen asleep, so clutching my phone in my hand, I climbed up onto the hospital bed and cuddled with Gladys. It was just after four in the morning and I'd been awake for nearly 48 hours. Without realizing it, I fell asleep still holding Gladys. I awoke to the doctor entering the room. Immediately alert, I began briefing him on Gladys and the changes I'd seen, and what treatments had been given. It was then I realized that Gladys was not breathing.

Glancing at my phone, I saw that I had been asleep for only 15 minutes. In that short time, Gladys had passed from my arms to His. I was really sad. and disappointed. and confused. Whatever bacteria or virus had attacked her was just too strong. The nurse wrapped her carefully in a sheet and carried her away. I would have loved to have just lain down and given into my exhaustion and grief, but there was another baby--little Joseph, who was still very sick and needed my attention.

Come back tomorrow to read part two.

Meg wrote a beautiful post with her memories of Gladys. Please go check it out and take a moment to get to know this precious child who lived with us too briefly.

The Magic of Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:38:00 +0000

Christmas Day we started the day early by holding a party for the kids at 10:30 in the morning. After all the suspense building through December, we knew the kids couldn't wait any longer.

I started off by reminding the kids what Christmas was all about and how we gave gifts to honor God's greatest gift to us.

My kids really love the 'magic' and fun that surrounds Santa and they're excited to share that with the little kids.I told the kids that Jesus lets Santa help bring presents to them.A happy compromise? I don't know.....but it worked for us right now.

Timmy then told the kids that we had to call Santa to come with the gifts by reading Twas the Night before Christmas. When he got to the part at the end "....and to all a goodnight!" Santa burst through the door carrying a huge sack of presents.

Moriah took off running to the other side of the room in fright, but she was easily calmed and was more than happy to go up to get her gift once she figured out what was going on.

Janet--4 years old

Chola--6 years old

Lizzie--23 months

Ernest--5 years old

Johnny--5 years old

The kids then dug into their presents, ripping paper off and pulling out their collection of toys. Each child received a Beanie baby or two, and a car or small toy or doll depending on if they were a boy or girl.

Grace (9 mos.) was more interested in the tag than the toy

After the gifts, out came the party elements: streamers, silly string, party poppers, Christmas crackers, candy and cookies--twenty children all strung out on sugar and Christmas joy is a sight to see.

I hope you all had as much fun in your holiday parties as we had at ours.

Last Year' s Christmas: Christmas is for Kids
Exactly Two Years Ago: A Message from Baby New Year

Sunset of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:51:00 +0000

What a year 2011 has been! At the beginning of the year we had 17 children in our care. We’ve now grown to 22 children. I will be writing up a Year in Review post in the next week or two. That's going to be interesting!

Be sure and come back tomorrow also for pictures from our Children's Christmas Day Party.

You all have made an amazing difference in what we've been able to do here at Kazembe Orphanage. Because of many of you, we now have 100 chickens providing fresh eggs daily. Because of your help and support, we could give Denny, Ana and Ephraim a home during a time when we considered closing our doors to new children.

We would like to give you an opportunity to help once more as 2011 draws to a close. As you consider all the blessings you’ve been given this past year, would you think about making a donation to Kazembe Orphanage to help us finish this year strong and get a great start for 2012?

Some specific needs:

1. We’ve outgrown our fridges with all the new children. We need $1500 to purchase a large fridge unit.

2. Timothy and I will be traveling to the States this year in the spring. Timmy will be wrapping up his 10 year service to Zambia and heading off to college. I will be traveling around the U.S speaking about the amazing work being done here at Kazembe Orphanage. The air tickets will cost around $3000 total.

It is so easy: You can donate by clicking on the button on the top of the page. If you're reading this via email or a reader, click on the title of this blog to go to the main website. Any donation whether $25 or $50 or $500 will make a huge difference in what we can accomplish this coming year!

Again, thank you for all you’ve done to help us this year. We look forward to working together with you to do more and more in 2012. May God bless and keep you this coming year!

Secret Santas

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:55:00 +0000

Christmas is not a really big deal here in Zambia. It's an official holiday, government offices are closed for a week or two in December, and all the shopping malls and grocery stores are covered in decorations and play Christmas music starting in early November. But, as far as the average person celebrating the reason for the season, it doesn't really happen.

That doesn't mean that people aren't well acquainted with the commercial side of Christmas. It is common to be greeted with, "Where's my Christmas?". In all the years we've lived in Zambia though, we've never had anyone give us a Christmas gift. Not that I'm really looking for gifts, but it would be nice to have some give along with the take.

To that end, this year I decided to teach my staff what a blessing giving to others can be. I started our weekly meeting one Tuesday with talking about what Christmas means, where the holiday originated, how Santa Claus came to be, etc.

Then, I offered up the suggestion that each of them could draw a name of a coworker and exchange gifts at our next staff meeting. I promised to provide cookies and juice as my gift to all of them. We agreed that the names would be drawn in secret, but then the gifts would be given publicly so that gratefulness and giving thanks could be part of the lesson learning also.

A few days later I had to explain the procedure to an employee that wasn't at the meeting. I explained that there was a price limit of K15,000 (about $3) so that no one went crazy and made others feel badly about their gift. "But," this staff member wanted to know, "what if I spend K15,000, and the one I'm exchanging with only spends K1,000??" We had to hold our laughter in. It was such a cute and human reaction. I spent time talking with him about the joys of giving and how the act itself blesses us.

The day of the party arrived and everyone was so excited. They came clutching their little parcels. We started with one lady and then whoever she gave a gift to would give the next gift to the name she had drawn and on it went. They all did a really good job. The top two gifts? Local cloth and underwear!

After the gift exchange, they performed a song in Bemba (the local language) that they said was a Christmas song. It definitely had the word Bethlehem in it.

Then it was time for the food portion of the party. We served peanut butter cookies, decorated gingerbread cookies and some peanut butter popcorn.

During the original planning meeting I had put spices in a bowl to show the ladies what Christmas smells like. Then at the party I told them that the gingerbread cookies are what Christmas tastes like.

Almost everyone put a portion of their snack into a bag to eat later--whether to make it last, or to share with friends or family, I don't know.

They all seemed to have a good time and are looking forward to next year's part already.

Exactly One Year Ago: Gifts from the Heart

Santa Visits Kazembe

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:43:00 +0000

And now for the back story:

Ever since our second Christmas here in Kazembe back in 2008, Tom has been excited about sharing a bit of Christmas fun with the children in the village.

The first year, he put on a Santa hat and walked through the village carrying a pillowcase filled with hard candy. He passed it out to every child he saw. They loved it and he had a really good time.

The second year, the kids were ready for him. They knew he was going to come around on Christmas Eve and they were all determined not to miss out on a chance to get a sweet. Crowds formed around Tom and our two sons almost as soon as they drove down to the village center, parked and began walking down the road.

Trouble was, it wasn't just a few sweet, innocent children. It was teenagers and even grown people as well. Before long, a near riot had begun. Tom and the boys had to make a run for it, tossing candy far off into the distance to create a diversion. Tom left Timmy behind to toss candy and keep the crowd occupied while he made a break for the car and started the engine. As soon as the car was running, Timmy threw the remaining candy into the crowd and ran for the already moving vehicle and jumped into the back. Tom promised himself he would never do that again!

In 2010, Tom came up with an excellent plan. He would creep through the village in the dead of night on Christmas Eve, scattering candy on the ground near the houses for the children to discover upon awakening on Christmas morning. He would be just like the real Santa Claus.

To avoid problems, Tom let the police know what he was planning and at 2 AM Tom and Timothy headed out into the darkness with 3,000 hard candies ready to cover the ground like modern day manna.

He came home tired but so happy as he thought about how pleased the children would be. He slept in that morning as visions of colored candies danced in his head.

Around noon on Christmas Day Tom got a call from the police department. He was told that all the candies had been gathered up by the villagers and turned in to the police. The villagers were convinced that the candy had been left on the ground by Satanists. When the police explained that it was Tom, they said, "No, he always comes in the daytime!". Nothing would change their minds so the police made out like bandits in the candy department that year.

This year, with a new Santa suit to play with, Tom had a new plan. He would sit outside one of the shops high up on some steps and have the kids come up one by one to get their sweets. Knowing that crowd control can be an issue he hired some young men (along with our teenagers) to help keep the kids in line--literally. To avoid anyone getting candy and then rejoining the line, permanent markers were purchased to draw a line on each child's hand.

The day approached and Tom was so excited! As you can see from the video, he rode a trailer into the village, hoisted his huge sack filled with 10,000 candies onto his back and prepared to make the children of Kazembe very, very happy.

I wasn't around to witness what came next. So, here is Timmy with the account:

Well, first, I jumped down from the trailer and began pushing my way through the crowd forming a path for Santa Claus. Once I thought there was a bit of order, my dad pulled the bag of candy off the trailer which excited the children and they began to swarm toward him. I pulled kids and pushed them away, allowing Santa Claus to walk up the stairs to the porch where his chair was.

The children's excitement was almost too much too handle as they pushed and shoved trying to climb up the steps. I continued to push them back leaving a clean line for Santa.

This was the first year where we would have an orderly system of passing out the candy so the urchins did not know what to expect.

Santa Claus teased the crowd by lifting up handfuls of candy and allowing them to fall back into the bag. By this time, the crowd had grown to around 7,000 children.

Santa gave the order and I looked into the crowd for the first child that caught my eye. I found a small girl around 7 years old, with torn brown clothes and a shaved head. I held her hand over her head to identify my actions to the crowd. They all observed in noisy amusement as I drew an X onto her palm. I then pulled her up onto the porch and Santa gave her a handful of candy.

Not a second after that, every child in the crowd realized the key to getting candy and charged toward Christina and I holding out their hands for the 'mark'. That was the trigger that caused the chaos. It became a blur of screaming children. I tossed children right and left trying to protect Santa Claus. The kids began climbing onto each other and it looked like a scene from a mosh pit.

Just when I thought the area was secure and clear of children, I looked behind me and saw 5 children who had climbed up and were scrambling for candy right out of the bag. I ran over and started pulling kids off. For every child I pulled off, two more took his place. I grabbed one very large child and using great force managed to pull him off the candy only to find it was a grown man with a scruffy beard. He said, "Don't worry about me. No, no, don't worry about me!" I let go of him in my surprise and he dove right back into the bag of candy.

Next thing I knew, my father and his 'bodyguards' started throwing the candy into the crowd where the children scrambled around on the ground picking it up. With the kids distracted, we ran for the car, clutching the empty sack, and drove away grateful that no one had been hurt.

I wonder what plan we'll come up with for next year......

Related post: Christmas Candy Toss (2009)

Christmas Week

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:27:00 +0000

Merry Christmas!

I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas.

We had an interesting week. It involved a staff Christmas party, a children's party, two appearances by Santa, a hospital visit for two of our kids, and so much more.

I will work on recapping all the news over the next few days. Some of the news is happy and some will break your heart. That is life in Africa. It's all part of the adventure that God has laid out for us.

Christmas last year: Christmas in Africa