Hardman's Blog: October 2009

I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this trip has been. We started with over 30 hours of flying to get here. The flights were a blur. We tried to sleep when we could. We had a 7 hour layover in London & were able to grab a bite to eat & stretch our legs. Arriving in Lusaka was incredible. There were a group of wonderful women singing to us as we exited customs. It is incredibly HOT here. The first day we were here was VERY hard on all of us as we tried to adjust to the time change (We are 9 hours ahead of PST). Several of us fell asleep sitting up!! We have been guided around by two very amazing people. Our guides are named Chimwemwe (Joy) and our wonderful driver George. We were able to go out to the Healing Place School on Sunday & meet with the parents & children at the church next to where we are building a class room for them. I am truly humbled by the friendlyness & faith that the people of Zambia have. We were invited to join Chimwemwe to go to church service on Sunday as well. It was a lot of fun to see the celebration of life, love & God by all the people in the church. They are all VERY passionate about their faith. We were able to purchase building supplies to start our digging of the foundation. I know I can't begin to post all the pictures I have taken on this site so I will post a few & then hook up a link to an upload for everyone to see. The most profund thing I see here is the Love these teachers have for the orphans. Most of the children are double orphans & are living with extended family. The Pastor at the healing place has 7 children & has 6 orphans living with them. Today (Monday 10/19) we were up before the sun to get out early to beat the heat. We had spent Sunday night putting together the packages for the children from the donations from the community. There were knit caps, crayons, pencils, workbooks & soap along with many other fun things. The kids absolutely loved them we kept seeing them wearing there knit caps later in the day. EVERYONE here sings....the are some of the happiest people I have met. There patience with the children & their faith in there community is incredible. There is a profound history of people coming to do service work & help out but do not follow through on their projects here in Lusaka. There are soooo many projects 1/2 completed. The children love the camera. I have had a blast taking pictures of them & then showing them what the look like. Most of them have never seen themselves. We have all jumped in & connected with the children. We have several out at the work site that watch us work. When we arrived out at the site today we were surprised by several parents & relatives that came to help with the digging. With their help we were able to get so much more done. We are going to be able to get further than we planned. the well digger is due out tomorrow as well. I know I have rambled on....we are all doing well....we have all been toch by the people here. the poverty is devasting to see...but still everyone you meet is sooo nice & pleasant. I am very thankful for all the friends& family that helped me raise the money to take this trip. It has been worth every minute to see this with my own eyes.

Woke up today to a day full of soccer, family, friends & homecoming!! Both Taylor & Kate had soccer games today. Taylor's team (Rampage) played really well, but lost. Kate's team (Grasshoppers) won. Then it was off to Dennis & Diana's house for a wonderful lunch, pumpkin picking & playing in their veggie garden. Our family is so very blessed to be part of such a wonderful group of family & friends!! We raced home to get ready for Homecoming. Taylor & Dean looked great!! They are off to dinner & the dance...we will have to pick them up about 11:30 this evening!! Here are some pics I took today. I LOVE fall in the Pacific Northwest. This has to be my absolute favorite season of the year. The colors are AMAZING!!