Faith and mango season

Its mango season and EVERYONE loves mangos! They are bright, refreshing, so sweet and plentiful, and we don't at all mind getting sticky and orange!

Mango's are another one of God's unique creations. In the midst of the driest of driest times these sweet, juicy fruits daily grow bigger and bigger!

The rainy season just "tips" them off during their final ripening.

Faith's aunty was to come about 2 days ago to discuss discharge plans. She couldn't come.....Faith is delightful. She loves to show off - squeeling and screaming and bouncing up and down and even dancing. She is walking quite well nowadays - about 10 steps and then thump down to the ground on her well padded behind!

Christmas at Kasensa

A very merry Green Christmas from all of us at Kasensa! 

Sue, Shelly, Cleny, Lillian, Lucas, Richard, Kellon, Vigness and the others who weren't around for the photo: Mandelina, Theresa, Nelia, Jackson and Jackson! 

Babies - Fanwell, Emma and Faith 

For the next few weeks we'll have Tiffany and Layne here. While doing at least one home visit (Cornolius) and spending time with Simakakata folks, and a few other things we'll also "chill" a bit. Chilling in this context means taking a bit of down time - not cooling down! 

Thanks for appreciating the work and for sponsoring the babies and the costs to get them back to family as soon as possible. 

2013 UNZA graduates sponsored by ZMF-C

Carlos Muleya, Osco Moondooma and Dawyn Chendela all graduated last week from the University of Zambia. Osco and Dawyn are now Social Workers and Carlos's area of study is demographics and economics.

Thanks donors for sponsoring these guys, some since these guys were in high school.

They are grateful - and they have worked hard. Besides handling their academic loads they've they've had to do this in the very foreign culture of city and university. Not an easy task for a village kid where life for them is very basic: no running water, no electricity, polygamy family - many, many kids, very little spoken english, very little books and other "stuffs" needed to be on a level playing field with the other academics at the university.

So, good on them, good on you and thank you God for blessing donors and hard-working, focused "kids".

Lukas drawing on new sign post

We are making 3 sign posts. We give pretty clear directions, so we think, but inevitably folks end up at some other gate somewhere...and they're mostly all gated by blue gates. "I'm at the blue gate" they'll say...."where are you, I can't see your house!"

Richard, Lucas and Jackson Munyati have all been drawing, measuring, painting....and the verandah smells nicely of oil paint.

Should be finished by next week. The guys are also welding together frames and poles/stakes so the signs can be pushed into the ground.

Tiffany and Layne are bringing reflective tape to put along the outside borders.

Lucas is our new sponsored GAP student. Kellon is the other. That will be another blog!

Conceptor and her granny

Every 3rd monday of the month is Milk Day. This granny had apparently met me while her daughter, mother of Conceptor, was dying at Kalomo Hospital. Conceptor is the 5th child, dad is caring for the other 4 children and the grandparents are caring for the wee one. She is a sweet little baby girl - now 6 1/2 months.

Conceptor uses the milk formula and has started on solid foods now with her two new teeth!

The Kalomo District is quite large so travel for granny and baby started last night at 22 hrs. And this is the rainy season!

Granny and I discovered we were age mates - a few months apart. But there are a LOT of differences - she bore 9 children, and has lost one. She has about 30 grandchildren - we have 4!

We are kindred spirits. I'll see her again in February - I won't have her travel that distance with the baby in January. I know now how rough those roads are and with a few more months of rain, they could be nasty!

Now, this is rain!

It rained today! So far this rainy season there has been about 140

mm. Last year, at Christmas time, I'm told there was above 400 mm! So....as of today, we're at 195 mm! God is good! The cows are happy!

Today was milk day - so I gave 3 of the mom's/grannies a ride to the tarmac in the big truck - and then they huddled in at someone's house until the rain subsided.


And while we waited for some of the rain to clear, the kids played, the babies slept, some ate mangoes!

Collecting termites, measuring snake

After the first decent rain, the termites appear then the kids come with their collecting vessels! Only the bodies are eaten, not the wings. 

A variety of snakes are found on this farm. This curled up dead guy was killed and then thrown into valhalla (the woodburning boiler!). 

While the sponsored students were cleaning up leaves from the yard a puff adder was disturbed  ....he/she got the same treatment.