A Typical Week

Sunday

I ride with about 15 of the NBR Boys to Church on the Rock in Kitwe. It is affiliated with Sarah Rose, the organization that Heart of the Bride works with. Edward Mwansa is our pastor, and his wife Barbara leads worship. I love holding the orphans and sitting by the street and NBR boys during church. I am also taking turns teaching youth Sunday School with Austin and Cami Loveys. Last week was my first time, and also my first experience having a translator. It is really hard to keep the momentum going! I have also taught Sunday school for the younger kids twice, because there was no one watching them, or I was asked since I was standing by the kids.

Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday

These are full school days with the kids, from 8:00 to 3:30. Since I there are so many different needs, I only take a half hour break for lunch, so I have been pretty tired by the end of the day. Most days I go for a walk, and a couple of times I have gone to the Boys Ranch. It is about a 30-40 minute walk there, so I haven't done it as often as I'd like. I have wondered sometimes where my evenings have gone, but it is partially because it takes a lot longer to make dinner (no Lean Cuisines here) and heat up my water to bathe.

Wednesday

We have a half and then I drive the kids to the orphanage in the afternoon, which is about 30 minutes away. I have been so amazed at the Walker girls' maturity and love for the kids as they work with them! Pray that we would be a blessing during this time. We haven't been able to do very many organized activities or teaching, because there are so many kids and different ages. We did help with homework last week, which went really well. On Wednesday night Cami and Austin teach a Bible study with the NBR boys, and I have gone to that sometimes.

Friday

This is another half day, because of PE. The kids love this, and I think the workers on the property get a kick out of seeing us do aerobics and other games in the back yard. On Friday nights we eat and have Bible study together; Candace is leading us through Jeremiah.

Saturday

I love sleeping in on Saturday mornings and having a long quiet time. Sometimes I catch a ride to get groceries, but more recently I have gone to NBR just to hang out. Cami does crafts with them, and then they usually play soccer. On Friday or Saturday nights I can usually I can convince the Walker kids to watch a movie with me. Sometimes I spend time with my friends Luke and David, who are working at a school for orphans near NBR. It has been hard in some ways to adjust to a simpler schedule, but I am appreciating it more and more. I'm excited to break out of the routine next week to go to Livingstone with Stephanie Barron and the Loveys.