Arrival Day 1-- 2015

Upon arriving in the capital of Zambia, Lusaka, we were greeted by Sr. Pat, Fr. Rene and Lamek. We were then taken to the house of St. Francis of Assisi Oblates where we spent our first night. The next day, we woke up at 6am and were then on our way to the village of Lukulu! Our journey consisted of two flat tires, 7 hours on paved road, followed by a stop to eat and another 7 hours on a bumpy dirt road. The rest of our gang got a kick out of Tom hilariously bouncing all over the car while father bob was sound asleep. The trip consists of a ride through Kafue National Reserve, where we saw tons of monkeys, a lion sitting on the side of the road, and numerous Impala. Finally, around 8pm we arrived in Lukulu and were greeted with very warm welcomes. After a long day of travel everybody was ready to wash the inches of dirt off and hit the hay. 

Today we woke up for breakfast and then had the opportunity to go meet the tribal chief and his council, which was an honor. The newcomers of our mission group were able to explore the grounds of Lukulu, meet hundreds of kids that were eager to play, and get a look at the projects we have to come throughout the next week. 

We spent a lot of our day playing ball, making up games to play with the kids, and organizing the donations we brought in order for them to be passed out to the community. Mitchell's favorite part of the day was finding a group of kids that were as excited as he was to play some basketball! Hannah and Megan had an emotional moment reuniting with Chiama and Katunga, children they bonded with on their previous trip. Sho and Kendall were overjoyed to help the cooks pluck chickens before dinner! Alexis was able to deliver a new shirt to the security guard whom she sees every year, Jonas. As well as a new pair of shoes to the best dancer in Lukulu, Kaombo! Lastly, and soccer ball to a dear friend, Paul! At dinner, we were served a local delicacy and were able to participate in Lukulu culture by trying cooked minnows. Overall, we all loved our first day and are very excited to start the projects of painting, tiling, and brick-making! Thank you for your continuous prayer and support- we will write again tomorrow! 

P.s Mitchell says hi to his fam and Robby says to tell Chris Schoenerr good luck at Cornell!