There is something so captivating and stunning about sunrises and sunsets. Zambia has no shortage of beauty in this department! We have arrived in "cold" season, and let me tell you - it is glorious! There is something so very cozy about waking up and needing to wrap up in blankets and socks to stay warm. The nights dip down to about 14 degrees, and it gets to about 23 degrees during the day. This has been my favorite season since arriving!
April was the last time I made a blog post...oops :) The Grace kids had a two week break from school, and our kids took a homeschooling break, as well. It was refreshing taking this time off. There were endless games of bump, skateboarding, and time spent with the babies.
London spends the most amount of time in the baby house, and pours her heart and soul into it. We usually take a 15 minute break from homeschooling in the morning, and she'll run up to snuggle and lend a hand. The ladies that care for the babies are amazing, and they are always encouraging and affirming London. When one of the aunties heard that our family is leaving in 2 months time, she started tearing up and said she'll have to hide London's passport so she has to remain behind ;). London is going to have such a hard time leaving "her babies" and those caregivers behind.
The older boys at Grace do a wonderful job of teaching and including the younger boys in soccer. Austin has been loving being able to join in on the Saturday afternoon games!
The Grace boys and girls were involved in a soccer and netball tournament a few weeks back. It was such a good day out! The girls played hard, and had a ton of fun. The boys ended up winning the soccer tournament in a shootout! There was a lot of excitement surrounding that win! The tournament also included some games - like watching a bunch of women race across the soccer field with buckets of water on their heads. Or, watching men racing with big bags of corn on their backs. It was fun to see such culture in their games!
Last month we celebrated Ivy's birthday. It still hasn't sunk in that our baby is SIX! Her birthday requests were: To go to Mwaiseni, and to have icecream. We had so much fun with the college kids - games, hanging out, and playing capture the flag with water balloons :) Ivy is a constant source of joy to our family, and we are just so proud of the little lady she is!
On to the farming side of things! The harvesting of popcorn and maize is complete! The popcorn will be sold, and the maize will be shelled, and ground, and used in the feed for the pigs, and also for nshima.
The second flock of layers are in the barn! They are just starting to come into production!
The fish harvest also happened this past week!
From the fish ponds, they were brought to the processing plant where they were gutted and descaled. Can't get fresher than that!
Jon is also getting things prepared for the installation of new greenhouses this coming week! This is a big, but exciting project!
That about wraps things up! Please continue to pray for the work being done here at Seeds of Hope. Thank the Lord for the people that financially support the children here each month, and pray that more hearts will be moved to sponsor here. As a family, our time in Zambia is rapidly coming to a close, so we'd appreciate prayers for peace and strength as we get closer and closer to having to say our good byes.
Thanks for reading. May your eyes be opened to all God's goodness in the coming week.
Much love,
Renae