It has been a while since I have last updated you. Please accept my apologies.
The end of Guatemala brought about team changes and I am now on a team with these beautiful women. From left to right: Bethany Montgomery, Miranda Dinges, Kendra Harrell (who has returned to the states), Jamie Rae Besier, Kelly Franke, Me and Allison Edwards (also our fearless team leader). We are team Audacity. As we were praying for our new teams, every single one of us was told by the Lord that were were bold and audacious and that this next season would be all about that. 
We spent the month of November in a little village called Kazembe located on the border of the Congo and Zambia. We flew in to Lusaka, Zambia and took a 15 hour bus ride to the village to stay at the Kazembe orphanage for the month. Amy and Tom Morrow, the owners of the orphanage, were amazing. We were able to all put our gifts to use there. There were 28 children housed at the orphanage, ranging from ages 1-10. There was never a dull moment with them all around. About 15 of the children are school aged and there are two different classrooms. For the month, in the mornings, I taught the 1st grade class. I had seven students and they were sweet. It felt good to be back in a classroom even if it was first grade and they were doing self-paced curriculum.
Chola, Ernest, Queenie, Eli, Theresa, and Beauty (not pictured…Johnny)
In the afternoons, we did a class for the nannies that worked at the orphanage and we answered any questions that they had about God and what it really means to be a Christian. I also had the opportunity to teach a class on classroom management and disciplining all of the children at the orphanage. It was a really great opportunity. I fell in love with the nannies. They were just so sweet and just need people to come in and disciple them. The village that we were in, is in desperate need of a church that preaches the gospel in a solid manner. There is a Pentacostal church, a 7th day Adventist church and a Jehovah’s Witness church in the village. At least one of them have a witch doctor preaching at it. They are hungry for Jesus, but just don’t have anyone to take the time to do anything with them. Be praying for someone to plant a church in this village.
We also just got to hang out with the kids and give them all some individual attention. It is difficult for them to get it with so many kids and so few adults, so it was an honor to be able to invest in them. Moriah became one of my favorites quickly. I would adopt her in a heartbeat. This little sassypants became one of my best buddies. She has the sass of a teenager and a heart of gold. She loved to cuddle and read books. I loved spending time with her. Plus she began to call me momma and there is just something that happens in your heart when you get the title of mom for an orphaned child.
In our extra time, we helped cook. We learned how to make so many things from scratch. The nearest grocery store was over 2 hours away. Who knew that all it took to make homemade syrup was sugar, water and heat? It was a lot of fun to try new recipes. We also had the pleasure of eating Thanksgiving dinner with the Morrow’s. Since they are an American family, they blessed us with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I got to make the pies, which is my favorite part.
As always is the case, when you love well, goodbyes are hard. This month goodbyes were difficult. It was hard to say goodbye to the children, but I am hoping that I will someday be able to see them again.
Check out their website here: http://kazembeorphanage.com/
