3rd day of Projects

Hello everyone! We are on our third day of our mission trip in lukulu. The word of our day was appreciation. Our day was filled with appreciation starting out with prayer around the camp fire. Our reflection talked about how sometimes we have little patience with old ways and customs. Sometimes it is better to let go of those ways to make the most out of the situations given to us. 

In the morning Suzanne, Liz, and Lisa went to the local preschool to read to the children. For Suzanne, a second grade teacher, reading to the classrooms was as eye opener because she believed she had it hard with 25 kids in a classrooms but the teachers here have double or triple that amount. They were very inspiring. 

Also many of us had the joy to meet many of children that have been discharged from mothers milk. We were able to play soccer with all these children including twins that would have not survived without the donations from everyone back home. As much as we are thankful for your help in donations, the people in the program are just as appreciative. We were thanked through emotional words and song. 

Throughout the whole day many of our missionaries worked on the basketball court with many of the local people. Through the grace of a community and john and Dave leading this project we have made more progress today then we planned to. John took the lead to teach many of the local people some of which were children how to mix and pour concrete. Without John's faith and skills along with Dave's leadership this project would not be as successful as it is. We look forward to sharing the progress of this project throughout the rest of our trip. 

Later in the evening our missionary group gathered at church where we co lead the mass. Robert read, Matthew gave communion and the rest of the team took the intiative to sing (please look for our YouTube video coming soon) 

After mass we went to Sister Pat's and Sister Elizabeth's for dinner to celebrate the Feast of St. Ignatius. This is where we continued to grow as a mission. We reflected on the appreciations we have on each other as well as the appreciation we have for those back home and for the people in Lukulu. Overall, we agree that the appreciation has been overwhelming and has reminded each of us why we have come to this mission. 

Lastly, we celebrated Hannah turning 18 today (Hi Nana). Hannah spent her day giving to those in this town by leading over 100 children in songs and dance.

Thank you again for all those have given to this mission. We appreciate all of your help. God bless and we look forward to sharing more tomorrow! God is good all the time! 

Second graders at Kolb Elementary Mrs. Billette has toliet paper.

2nd day in Lukulu

Mousahili (hello) everyone! 

As always we start our day with prayer. With mass being celebrated in the evening we had a prayer service around a bonfire which is a first for the Love for Lukulu mission group. Today our reflection of the readings greatly applied to our trip as we let go of all of our materialistic things and focus on what really matters when it comes to creating a Christ centered life. When you see the smiles of the children and young adults from just simply holding their hand it really makes you reconsider what is most important in life. 

Suzanne, Joey, Lisa, Hannah, and Megan went to read to the second graders only to have plans change last minute. So instead the team decided to read in the middle of the concourse. Joey read chicka chicka boom boom to about 100 children. Their smiles during this time and laughter brought a lot of joy to everyone's eyes. 

In the afternoon our mission team was able to tour the local hospital and preschool. At the hospital we were greeted by a smiling doctor and we were able to see how they make good with what materials they have. At the preschool we got to see their classes and how some teachers teach over 52 students in the morning and then 52 other students in the afternoon. They again amazed us with how they do with what they have and enjoy every minute of their jobs. 

After our projects we played volleyball with many of the local older high schoolers. Joey, Bob, Matt and Alexis played on one team while Megan, nick, Robert and Lisa played on other with the locals. We each had our own experiences but we all enjoy how fun and competitive it was. The people in Lukulu always show us how to have fun regardless of how good you are at something. Brother Zach is very passionate about empowering youth through sports. It gives them something to escape from poverty, lack of confidence, and over all be apart of something. It's amazing how regardless of the language barrier we still could come together as a team and encourage each other. 

While the older kids played sports the younger kids had the privilege to color and get their nails painted thanks to Liz, Ann, Sherri, and Suzanne. By the grace of God and some help from the locals they were able to tame 150+ kids. 

Lastly, we visited the high school girls dormitory that the mission team from 2012 helped reconstruct. The girls were so extremely excited that we visited them and had plenty of songs and dances set up for us! One of the songs being "Happy Birthday" to the wonderful Hannah Metevia who turns 18 tomorrow!! Can't wait to share all the wonderful memories she makes tomorrow! 

Thank you for continuing to read and share our blog please keep us and the people of Lukulu in your prayers! God is good all the time!!!

Sup Allie -Joey 

Hey Kristen -Matthew

Hi Madi -Robby Rob 

1st day of projects

Hi again everyone! Today was our first full day in Lukulu. We started it out with mass in the Loreto sisters home. Father Chibwe's homily explained how when in doubt to trust Jesus to lead you. Also he stressed the importance of listening to everyone you that come in contact to. We applied this to our daily projects by any doubt we may have had we gave it up to God knowing he would make it into something successful. This was very evident that God is most definitely with us during our basketball court reconstruction. It has home very smoothly so far and we hope it continues

Today we also had the opputunity to see the mothers milk program operate. It was wonderful to meet the mothers and children that many of our donations have gone to. We spent a lot of time holding the babies and understanding the history of how they have gotten stronger and gained weight since being part of the program. We also had the chance to learn about the mothers and guardians and how they have traveled days to visit this program every Tuesday. We are more than happy to fund this every year and we are blessed to have sister Pat lead this program for us. 

As the day went on many of us were trying to understand what to do next and try to understand what we wanted to do with the kids. Many of us sat talking about this and as we walked outside we all worked together to create a volleyball court and play games with the kids. One of the best memories for Lisa, Hannah and Megan was trying to teach the children the chant "head and shoulders, knees and toes" only to have some of the kids already know it and we ended up having a huge group join in. As much as we are trying to help the kids, the kids are teaching us about always being kind to others and making the most out of every situation. 

We have arrived!!

Hello everyone,

After 3 long days of travel we have finally arrived in Lukulu Zambia. We have been blessed with a great welcoming from both Lusaka and Lukulu. We are incredibly grateful for the hospitality from the parish priests as well as great driving from Sr. Pat and her helpers! Please continue to keep us in your prayers and we will give a better update tomorrow!

God is good all the time! 

Last blog!

Hi everyone!
As we travel down the infamous Lukulu road we pass the time by waving at the locals and watching their little pink palms and pearly white smiles emerge from the red dust of Lukulu. It's an amazing site to watch how eager they are to make sure they wave back at the "macua" (white people; very common to hear this word amoung villages) As we stop at the capushins mission we bypass a funeral for the Angola refugee children. Many of which tried to escape the terrors of their country but did not make it. The priests and police officials were telling the children during the funeral not to run from the gun noises. (They set off a series of guns to commemorate these children) Another stop along the way was at Holt Spirit parish where we met Father Francis, friend of Fr. Bob from 2 years ago. He was living in a grass hut and is now the parish priest of Holy Spirit. He has built the hospital, church, parish, and housing for all of the staff. This man was truly an inspiration to us to see how much he has impacted the people of his village. Also to see how you truly can start with nothing and build an empire. Needless to say the arrival is much worth the trip. Lukulu is truly captivating. With the amazing children, determined school kids, inspirational Sisters, and incredible priests you really can't go wrong. We were able to take the boat down the Zambezi river which was amazing scenery and Joe's first time! Sister Pat arranged for us to help with mothers milk on Monday since we would be leaving Tuesday. We met a baby who was 3 months old weighing less than 5 pounds with a mother who was 12 years old. She admitted the baby on September 3rd and is still not gaining the weight. I could not even fathom what this poor girl was going through. The mother is at the hospital by herself with no money to feed herself. the baby is admitted into the program receiving free formula. Sister pat gave her a bag of sheema and money for extra. She is truly an inspiration to so many people. Please keep her as well as the next baby in your prayers! Another baby was hydrocephalic and her mother was in the hospital with TB which is still very prominent in Zambia. Sister Pat is taking this baby into a more modern hospital to see what they can do to help. We can't thank her enough for what she does.
Take a second to say a prayer and thank God for everything and everyone that you have tonight. God is good.. All the time! Our flight leaves tomorrow be home soon everyone!!

En route: Lukulu

Hello everyone!! 

As we bring our Mongu visit to a close we could not be more content with the people we met along the way, stories we've heard, and memories we've made. This trip was about helping to build a dormitory for youth retreats however we quickly came to realize that it was more so about building relationships with everyone that we came in contact with. The youth that helped cleaned their meeting center are such hard workers. It's amazing the work that can be done when you have such a driven team. You never realize how much you have touch someone's heart in the moment but having the ability to communicate with the people we meet is awesome because we've received so many messages of how grateful people truly are that we actually care. Ali received a message of a son telling her how thankful he is that she brought a smile to his fathers face because he thought his job as a prison deputy was boring. (Ali was very intrigued by the prison so we met with him so she could ask questions. He even took pictures of the prison that morning when he found out we were coming) it meant the world to Ali and definitely warms your heart. Fr Bob is working towards getting that same person who messaged Ali, Emmanuel, involved with the oblates. He told his family he would be in contact with the bishop and would make sure he had someone to talk to and get started. You could tell his mother was so appreciative of someone showing that they cared once again. We would like to thank everyone who has shown such great hospitality to us throughout our time here: Fr. Singini, Fr. Valentine, The Malumo Family, and many more. It was a pleasure getting to know everyone and making new friends along the way. (Especially bonding while being locked out of the oblate house after dinner!) 

Now today is the day that we make our way to Lukulu to help with Mothers Milk Program, share our faith, and meet sooo many people we wish we could pack in our luggage and take home with us! Thank you all for your continued support and please continue to keep us in your prayers for a safe journey this morning! Again thank you so much there's no way this could have been possible without everyone back home! God Bless! 

Fr. Bob gets picked up by Zambian police!

So as you can see from the title we have had an eventful couple of days! Starting with Monday Ali, Jill, Joe, and Alexis were at the youth center working on the dormitory. Little did we know that Fr. Bob and Fr. Singini were well on their way to the police station! Turns out Fr. Bob didn't get his visa approved.... JUST KIDDING!!! Fr. Singini left his drivers license at home and Zambian police don't mess around when it comes to no drivers license. We  went about our day as usual after that! We had Lunch then met with the youth groups of St. Lawrence and St. Francis! They are very dedicated to their parish and are trying very hard to get more youth involved! Lastly we were able to sit in on a live radio debate at St. John's secondary school hosted by the oblate radio station. (Secondary school is high school) the debate was where the community of Zambia needs to focus on ending corruption. (They use corruption to describe people taking bribes, mostly doctors treating rich people because they pay them more or in the career business giving the job to someone who has offered you money) some blamed the parents for setting a bad example for their children and some also blamed their generation because they have their own minds and can think for themselves. It was so intriguing to see such young ambitious minds intellectually debating things like this in Zambia.

     As for Tuesday we began our day at the youth center as always then Ali, Jill, and Alexis decided that they knew their way around Mongu enough to visit the Malomo house again. Well we quickly realized that we did not know our way around Mongu and got lost. However we met some adorable school kids and intelligent teachers along the way! Somehow by the grace of God we stumbled upon the main road that at least led us to the youth center to take a breather. Mind you there are no clouds and the weather here is currently reaching 100 degrees. So we now have a whole new respect for the walking culture of Zambians. After our breather we got directions from the friends of the Malomo family and made our way there! Once we arrived she cooked us rice and veggies aside from the main dinner meal she had to make for the youth group meeting. She took is into the markets to buy bangles that the locals wear, it was quite the experience!  Lastly, after supper hosted by the Akah family, Joe finally talked Fr. K into taking him to get a hair cut from the locals! Joe was very surprised that a haircut here is only 1 US dollar.

    Today was pretty lax minus the dormitory work we had. We moved lots and lots and LOTS of sand. So we then suggested to the contractor that we wash and and paint the walls to use our skills to their full advantage :) we have to give credit to these amazing workers that they work sun up and sun down with very little breaks! They are very hard workers! Then lastly we met with the Lourdes youth group and talked about the challenges that they face as a parish. Afterward they hosted dinner for us all. The youth funded and prepared this dinner themselves. As a mission group we will be giving a donation to each parish and sending thank yous along with the gifts we gave them earlier!

So thank you so much for all of your prayers and support again we greatly appreciate them and don't know where we would be without them. However before we come to an end we would like to congratulate Chad Kingsbury on becoming the Gilrs Soccer head coach at Nouvel Catholic Central!!! Goodjob Dad I love you!!!! -Alexis

God bless!!