Hippos smashed the wireless connection...

So sorry you haven't heard from the herd in a few days. We are doing GREAT! Livingstone is beautiful, but doesn't have free internet. (This message costs $50. We'll need a loan later.) Posting pictures would cost millions -- and we'd be home before they updated.

We can't wait to see you all!

Love from the team,
Tanya, Heather, Michelle, Ryan, Chad, Thersa, Carolyn, Jen, Kelli, Katie, Kari, Joe, Trina (and Skeletor)

Bugnets Are Great!

This is Tanya checking in again finally =)...for those of you who have been wondering if I'm really hear since I've been missing from the blog......=) But I promise you I have been working hard and having a wonderful time hear in Zambia. This is a picture of Me, Heather, Jen and Kelli that we took under our bugnet in our room at the Savoy hotel. All of us worked at the Makenzie Community School. What a joy it was to be a part of the ministry that is already going on at the school. We fell in love with the teachers and all 600 students. God is so Good! and I can't wait to share more stories of what I've learned.

Just Some Pictures!

(Katie here- and pretty much everybody else) :)

Dr. Zimba (and Friends) at Northrise

(Hi, it's Michelle) Here we are at the end of our last day of VBS - dirty, tired and so happy to be here.

VBS...Day 4

(Michelle and Ryan) Today was our last day of VBS. While we're looking forward to the rest of our trip, we are really going to miss these kids. They have left a huge impression on both of us and we will miss seeing them! The teachers at Mackenzie are so incredibly dedicated to the kids. Ryan is even coming home with a 5 year old pen pal!!!

Chad and Thersa-We have just completed our VBS program and all went amazingly well. I have always maintained that I'm not a cryer but I came awfully close today closing the final session. We had an incredible team and this made for such a succesful event. Of course all your prayers were an integral part! Today we took about 550 polaroids (they have been discontinued since we shipped the container in December) and had the kids use craft stick frames(the team put about 700 together the night before) for them. It was quite a thrill to watch their faces as the picture deveolped in front of them. Thersa has been a rock through all of this and I so much enjoy doing this with her.

A quick one from Joe and Trina

Joe here -- Sorry, but they're closing the computer lab in just a few seconds. I'll just be able to post some pics from today for everyone. Trina told me that we didn't have enough pictures of her working, just eating lunch, so we've got Trina working today! She was great carrying the cinder blocks that we were filling with concrete. We've finished the work at the farm today, so tomorrow we'll be at the VBS school with Kari and the gang. Get ready for a couple of pics of Joe and Trina, and a zillion little MEEEEINOWS!

The Zebras

(Kari here) We finished Day 3 at MacKinzie Community School today. When we arrived this morning, they were all lined up (dressed in their shirts from yesterday) shouting "sharks!" -- "meenows!" It was the best greeting EVER!

The youngest kids (a.k.a. Zebras) are a blast! There's about a million of them (seriously). It's a bit ironic that I am the Zebra Herder...given my vast experience with small children (read: zero experience with small children). It is good...very, very good. Kelli taught them a "Zebra Power" cheer -- which we shout with gusto.

Thank you all for praying...it has to make a difference. My heart is happy and full and broken and sad...all at the same time.

BABIES!!!

ART clinic (anti-retroviral treatment)

Hello friends! (Carolyn here) The past few days I've had the chance along with others on our team to work in the HIV/AIDs clinic outside the Children's hospital. I have learned a ton about current practices and treatment in Zambia thanks to Dr. Naomi (3rd photo down on the right.) She then set us loose to do some consultations as well. Although very interesting, the stories are heartwrenching. Many who come in are orphans, brought in by aunts, uncles, or siblings. We have been impressed with the availability of anti-retroviral medicines. It was fun to play with the kids a bit and see that some are staying healthy when given their medicines consistently.

Chad and Thersa-

Tshirt day at Mckenzie school! All the kids, in white, having music. We had close to 600 again today. Unfortunately not everyone can come. Some watch from a distance. All the kids are orphans and some are double orphans. What a blessing this school is for this neighborhood. Very emotional to be here, but the kids seem very appreciative. Driving back to the hotel we would see small groups walking with their new shirts and they would wave with big smiles on their faces.

SHARKS! and MEEEINOWS!

Working smarter, not harder

Joe here -- So, it turns out that chipping our way through dried clay isn't exactly the most efficient manner of working in the banana farm. We had another local farmer (a Dutch man who manages a banana grove across the city) visit us and politely mention we were doing this the very hard way. So today, instead of digging holes in concrete, we prepared holes to be soaked with water overnight. It turns out that the moist soil digs up much more easily and holes that took us a half hour-45 minutes to dig would actually only take about five minutes. Oops.

Trina's ready for some work--but no digging holes for us today!

Here are a couple of pictures of me helping out before lunch. They were still making concrete before the food came, so Boyd (a Northrise student majoring in IT) and I pitched in and shoveled gravel for about a half hour.

Shoveling shoveling shoveling

Joe and Boyd, just before lunch

Lunchtime!

Game of the Day: What Time is it Mr. Fox?

Ryan was a very popular Mr. Fox! Before and after the game, the boys wanted to be picked up OVER and OVER again!!

Hey there! (Carolyn and Amy here)

Yes, there is a medical team, we just can't keep up with the blogging capabilities of the VBS folks and the McGarry's... thought you'd enjoy a few unrelated but delightful pictures at least.

the hospital, the loo, and some banana plants

A Warm Welcome From Our New Friends

(Tanya checking in for the team) It was such a blessing to hear the children of Mackenzie school sing and dance their hearts out! We had a very full day today. We had the privilege of ministering to over 550, quite a few more then we thought, but we had a great day sharing the story of creation, singing and playing lots of games. The weather is crystal clear and although it was a little cold this morning it warmed up by the middle of the day. Well it's 9:00 pm here and they're about to lock up for the night. Bye for now!!

Zambians Love Photos

One thing we learned today is that Zambian children LOVE to have their pictures taken. But most of all, they love to SEE themselves in pictures. Every time I took out my camera, I had a huge group of posers! Thank God for digital cameras! I took lots of pictures of these guys today...then the boy next to me in this picture insisted we have our picture taken together. He only wanted it to be the two of us...but that doesn't happen at the Makenzie school! 5 more kids joined us:)

Katie's 1:30 Appointment

Kelli and the Swarm Game

Ryan directing traffic during games

We saw over 600 kids at Mckenzie School today and the other location had around 400. It was little hectic getting started but everything worked out. Pretty tired now! Weather has been nice and no mosquitos yet. The team is hanging together just fine and the Northrise students are a tremendous help. Tanktop and Mamma T are hanging in there!

We dug holes today, what'd you do?

Joe here -- Trina and I spent our first day on the farm team today, digging holes for banana trees. Northrise is rolling out an agricultural program over the next year, and they will be doing research on the trees (organic fertilizer/soil composition/watering techniques) and will be using the crops to feed both the school and the city.


The holes were about 18"X18"X18"

The soil itself was more akin to concrete than what we might consider dirt. We dug about one hole every 45 minutes or so, depending on how hard the ground was. I've NEVER encountered ground this solid.


The way we worked was one person used the pick (or hoe) to loosen the soil, and then the other person would shovel away the dirt. We went about an inch at a time.

Trina, no surprise to anyone, was a standout team member--the only woman on the team, and carrying a flaming skull child to boot! We were a great team, and had a load of fun working together. Can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow!


Lunchtime!

Michelle and Heather by chicken coop (get it?)

Kelli and Katie by the farm manager's house and bananas

Sunset by the new dormitory (but the dorm is not in this picture)

More pics

Joe and Katrina and bananas...they'll be digging holes for more plants tomorrow at the farm.

(Katie and Kelli) DUUUUUUDDEEEEEEEE!!! Today was our first "glimpse" into all the different ministries and outreaches such as the two schools (where we will be helping), the Childrens Hospital, and the farm land. First we went to Mapolo school and the welcoming reception was craziness! Once the kids saw us drive by they started chasing after the car, and then at one point when Katie and I turned around (we were sitting in the back) we saw 7 or 8 kids trying to push the car while it was motion! After the visit to the Mapolo school we went to the Mackenzie school, where we will be working with the kids! We were blown away at the poverty surrounding Ndola. Not only that, but we were humbled by the sadness that was present at the Children's hospital. However, to end our day on a good note, we visited the future Northrise Unviersity's construction site where they will be building many more dorms and facilities for future students. What a heart Moffat and Doreen have for the people of Ndola. Kelli and I are truly humbled and blessed to be a part of such a God-driven vision! More pictures will be uploaded soon from our day's adventures. Also, game of the trip....BANANA-GRAMS! Kelli hates it because she can never win and Katie puts up with it because it is Kari's FAVORITE game! Kari, it's all you girl!

Seeing Ndola

Kari here...

We visited the schools at Mapalo and MacKinzie this morning. Beautiful faces!

Tanya, Ian and I had the opportunity to join Moffat and others for a meeting with the mayor of Ndola this morning. It is clear that the officials see Northrise University as a significant part of the city's development. The deputy mayor attended NU's last graduation ceremony and spoke glowingly of his experience. We are off to the children's hospital and the land this afternoon. So so so good. We are grateful to be here.

Hello OC

Hi All,
Jen, Tanya, and Heather here in Ndola in the Northrise University computer lab!! We are so impressed with the technology here!! Our church service this morning was awesome. Moffat spoke about communion and our need to focus on unity of the body, selflessness, and reverance. It was a great message. The Northrise University Choir also sang...they were AMAZING!! They sang with such passion...we LOVED it!!
Funny story...today during our meeting about VBS...Tanya announced the kids' groups names...the zebras, the monkeys, and the giraffes...Kari leaned over to Tanya and mentioned that "monkeys" have been known to be a derogatory term in certain courtries...and perhaps we should check it out. After talking with a few of the university students, Kari was right and so, Tanya renamed the monkey group to the lions instead...and of course...she couldn't stop laughing. A year of planning right down the drain!!
Blog-Out-Bloggers,
JTH (...you figure it out)

What a welcome!

Joe here -- Trina and I had the most awesome welcome that we could have hoped for!



Kari and Moffat giving us a first rate Ndola welcome!

Today we split up into our respective groups for a bit of an overview of our time here. Katrina and I are going to be doing any of a number of tasks this week, from pouring concrete and laying the foundations of a chicken farm, to digging holes for banana trees, to general landscaping around the school. Fortunately, the team leader has been really great about working with us, and recognizing that Trina won't be able to do really heavy work. We'll be able to see what the team is going to be doing in the morning, and, if needed, we'll hop over to the vacation bible school team and help with the kids. We'll see what the week has in store!

We made it

(From Michelle and Ryan) Greetings from Ndola! After a 10 hour flight to London, a 4 hour layover, a 10 hour flight to Lusaka and a 4 hour bus ride to Ndola, we arrived safely at our hotel. Thank you all for your prayers:) Today is Sunday and we're getting ready to go to church here at Northrise. After church, we'll spend today working to get ready for the week (unpacking crates, organizing supplies, etc.) More later...love you all!

Greetings from London

(6/27 - Kari and Katie here) Our flight from LA to London was uneventful (and on time). Very little drooling and snooring on the red-eye. Our merry band is having a great time. Just had breakfast/lunch/dinner/dessert -- as we have no idea what time it is. Off to Lusaka, Zambia in an hour!

Almost there!

Joe here -- After a five hour flight to London, a 12 hour layover, and then a 12 hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.....we're almost there! On our flight from London to J-Berg, Trina and I sat next to an American college student who was part of a short term missions trip herself. She was part of a group of about 20 people from Louisiana, and they were on their way to Malawi.


Trina picking up luggage after FINALLY landing in Johannesburg .


Hands up and looking forward to a LONG nap at the hotel. Go Red Sox!


What hotel is complete without a scale replica of Michelangelo's David?