Day 5

Today was full of adventures! This morning started with mass led by Father Bob at Sister Pat and Sister Liz's house. From there, we were able to experience once again the wonders that God is doing through Sister Pat and the Mothers Milk Program. Twenty babies came with their mothers or caretakers in order to receive formula and HEPS, which is a high energy protein supplement made by the women of the village. These are used when the mother does not have enough Breast milk to properly nourish their babies, or, when the mother has passed away in childbirth or is too sick from HIV to breastfeed. Often times in this case, a grandmother or sibling of the child will take over care of them. The babies we saw today were all healthy and thriving because of this program and the amazing things it is doing. 

While some stayed with the mothers and babies at the program, another group went to work with the new industry started by Lukulu's current priest, Father Rene Talabo. This industry is brick making in order to build new housing on the parish grounds. It has created many jobs and is now a thriving business here! Our group was happy to help by moving the bricks from where they are being made to neat piles of 1000 bricks. The goal is to make 60,000 and they are currently at 3,000 finished. Although they have a long way to go, the workers are thankful for the work and were extremely excited to demonstrate to us how they are made! 

Following this morning's activities we continued to make progress on the girls dormitory! The painting is coming along nicely and we are excited to begin laying tile starting tomorrow.

Before dinner, Father Bob, Tom, and Steve sat outside entertaining one group of children with the "Amen" song that is sung in mass while Hannah and Megan played with another group! Mitchell spent time at the basketball court running some drills and playing with the boys and they had an awesome time! They said he is the best coach ever! 

Now, the group is getting ready to head to a special presentation of a traditional African dance put on by some of the locals. We are very excited and hope to get to show off our own moves..that will surely get a laugh. 

We are looking forward to what God has in store for us tomorrow.. 

(Robby posing with triplets on the Mothers Milk Program since he is also a triplet! Ps.. Miss you Joey, Nico and Matthew!) 

(Shoutout to Lyssa's grandma Cathy for the beautiful blankets she made! The mothers and babies absolutely loved them!)

(Sister Pat and her little buddy who has come so far on the program)

(An orphan child who is currently on the program and thriving)

(Sister was so impressed with Mitchell and Robby's excitement to learn more about the program!)

(Sho and Alexis passing out biscuits to the families) 

(Lunch consisted of minnows again which Alexis was brave enough to try!)

Shoutouts:

Steve and Kristin want to tell Cathy and Alex Kueffner they love and miss them both!!

Day 4

Today started out with an early mass given by Fr. Bob at 7am. During his homily, father explained how he first ended up in Lukulu and how we have to listen to the urges God places on our hearts to do something. We all have a call from God and great things come when you follow the plans he has for your life. It was exciting to think that less than a year ago we all decided to answer the call and commit to this mission trip. Now here we are, surrounded by beautiful people inside and out, working and loving and growing in faith.

After mass and a breakfast complete with bread, oatmeal, and hard boiled eggs, we got right to work on the girls dormitory. We made great progress and completed the long hallway and 3 bedrooms before finally calling it a day. We had many people in the village eager to help us with this project including Crispin, the local who also volunteered his time to complete the basketball court with us last year. He made it a point to ask where John Billette is this year and asked for us to say hi for him! 

Around 2pm, some of the girls had the opportunity to head to the village of Simakumba for the Mothers Milk Program. When they arrived, Sister Pat began meeting with the babies who have been on the program to record their progress. The kids each received toys, biscuits, a beautiful blanket made by Lyssa's grandma, and a new outfit graciously made by the women Gagetown, MI. It was very rewarding to see the children come so far who had once been so malnourished they were on the verge of death. They are now happy and healthy little kids! After handing out all of the gifts for the children on the program, we thankfully had enough biscuits leftover to give to the rest of the children in the village. 

The mothers were so thankful for this lifesaving program funded by Love for Lukulu and you all, the donors, that they generously presented us with gifts of their own. This meant so much because even though they have so little, they were so happy to give us what they had as a way of saying thank you. 

We are now about to head over to a bonfire with some of the locals to unwind and enjoy delicious popcorn and Mosi (African beer) in order to get the full cultural experience! 

Tomorrow we are looking forward to joining Sister Pat here in Lukulu to meet many of the babies currently on the program and can't wait to tell you all about it in tomorrow's blog! 

Goodnight and God bless! 

(A handmade truck made by one of the children, amazing skill!)

Shoutouts:

Hey Nana, grandma and grandpa, mom, dad, Tom and all the rest of my AWESOME family... Thanks for being so supportive!! Love and miss you 

-Hannah 

Hey mom and dad! Take good care of Mia (my puppy) for me while I'm away!! Miss and love all of you! 

-Meg

Sunday's Adventures

Hello there! Today one group traveled at 7am to an outreach village to continue our mission and share our faith. We started out the trip with a intense game of duck duck goose.  Alexis Notter and Sarah did a wonderful job reading a children's bible story to the group. Ann then related the bible story that was read to our faith and experience as missionaries. As we were taking seats in the church, it quickly began to fill up.  Therefore, we had to continue mass outside. This is where Tom and Mitchell excelled at dancing, just like the locals. Kendal and Shomari were presented a tied up goat along with many other gifts from the generous people of the village. We then were able to present all of our gifts to the locals such as clothes, school supplies, and some fun games that the village of Kamilende was very excited about. After church was finished we were able to play some soccer games and paint the children's nails. This heartfelt experience was one that will never be forgotten. 

The other group was hoping to leave for Muyondoti village at 7:00 but our land cruiser fuel pump didn't cooperate so with the help of our mission mechanics we were on our way by 7:45. Our team crossed the Zambezi River on a ferry and eventually arrived at Muyondoti village around 9:15. From there, we hung out with kids until the school was cleaned out and church was set up. In this village, 4 or 5 other church outposts joined up for mass and a day with their michigan missionaries. A moving mass, literally and figuratively, was the start of our day. Father Lazarus had us sit up next to the alter where he would whisper to Steve in English what was taking place and Steve would pass it down to the rest of the team. After mass we had lunch at the assistant principals house. Chicken, rice, nshima, yum yum! Sassa and Harriot graciously traveled with us to cook the lunch we had. As well as introduced us to the Zambian way of dessert. Alexis, Megan, and Robby found their adventurous side and indulged in rice, spoiled milk, and sugar for a Zambian delicacy. To their surprise it was decently scrumptious. Although their stomachs didn't exactly agree! Always exciting to soak up the culture of the locals. After lunch we split the team up with Megan, Hannah, and Lyssa hanging out with the youngest kids and playing soccer, doing the limbo, and painting beautiful fingernails. Father Lazarus  wanted to make sure that the mission team addressed the young adults as well so Alexis K, Kristin, Robert, and Steve met with 60 or 70 between the ages of 16-35. They introduced themselves, talked about why we they were there and shared a personal story along with a reading from the bible. Each of them tried to emphasize the value of faith, education and hard work. Robert was very passionate in his moments at the podium about this and seemed to really make an impression. They all took turns speaking and eventually answered questions from the elders. Afterwards father Lazarus thanked us for relaying a critical message of staying in school, finishing your eduction, working hard, and thanking The Lord for this life he has given to us. Father Bob stayed back in Lukulu today and had two different masses where his homily had the whole church laughing..they love when Fr. Bob gives mass here in Lukulu! 

It was an amazing day and we are very excited to get back to work on the girls dormitory tomorrow as well as spending time helping with the Mothers Milk Program! 

We can't thank you enough for your continuous prayers and support. 

(Our greeting by numerous children upon our return on the ferry)

(Locals teaching Robby to play their handmade instruments)

Shomari also wants to give a shout out to her mom and grandma for being there for her throughout her journey to get here! 

Day 2

Hi everyone!

Today we made great progress in the girls dormitory! The dorm is used for vulnerable girls attending school to have a safe place to sleep and study. They travel great distances to get to school and most places that are for rent have the option of using their body as payment. So the parish created this safe house to prevent any of this corruption from occurring. We cleaned, scrubbed, dusted, and painted the celling and walls. We had amazing helpers from the village pitching in and giving a helping hand anywhere they could. We also had some wonderful entertainment from the kids of the village as well. Ann, Kendal, Lyssa, Shomari, Alexis Notter, and Sarah had some of the kids draw pictures of whatever their heart desired. They loved being able to draw and make us "Macuwa" smile. Throughout the day we tied in Father Bob's homily of "God did it" and expressed that our faith and determination come from our Lord! Thank you for continuing to follow! Tomorrow some of us will venture across the river to spread the word of God! 

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! 

A great case of the Mondays

Happy Monday! We started out our day with prayer around the campfire as a mission team. In our reflection we talked about learning to have more faith in God and not to doubt him. We once again used this reflection during our daily projects. 

Many of us started our day off either working on the basketball court or handing out dresses to the local girls. We each found fulfillment in each thing we did.

Our basketball court is moving along nicely as Bob, Dave and John have taken a great lead on the project and have also spent much time teaching the local people how to pour concrete as well. The community once again came together to help our mission team accomplish a days work. 

Over the course of our trip so far many of us have had the opportunity to create special bonds with some of the people here. Today we were able to hand these kids new clothing and shoes. It brought tears to many of our eyes to see just how one new dress or one new pair of shoes lit up their faces. It truly is amazing to see just how one little thing can make a difference to them. One little girl in particular, Katunga, received a new pair of tennis shoes after wearing no shoes all day. We watched as she smiled ear to ear showing off her new shoes and running home. Later that day she came back with a note from her father, Dominic, saying just how thankful he was that we had done that for his daughter. Again the appreciation in this town is overwhelming. If that doesn't perfectly define mission work I'm not sure what does.

Furthermore Sr. Pat yet again makes an incredible opportunity possible...

Before we get into that we would just like to take a moment to give "appreciation" to how wonderful Sr truly is. She is the most humble and modest nun you will ever meet. When we arrived at the airport she introduced herself as Sr. Pat and nothing else. She failed to mention that she is saving thousands of innocent lives and cherishing the sanctity of life everyday. She has brought light to so many people's darkness and has shown a brighter future for many. Lukulu would look tremendously different if it were not for this angel on Earth. We are so eager to support an amazing cause founded by an even more amazing woman. This short paragraph does not even begin to explain how grateful we truly are but it's a start. Thank you Sr for being you. 

Anyhow, today Sheri and Alexis were blessed enough to be able to go to the village homes of the mothers and children who have been discharged from the program and also some who currently are on the program. Sr wanted us to experience the distance some women walk to get the milk for their babies of which is 8 hours there and 8 back. Just to give you a visual that is walking through flooded plains, sand, in smoldering heat, while having a baby tied to their back. These women are incredible. 

We took flip flops, beanie babies, bracelets, and dresses for the children and adults. To say this was an experience of a lifetime would be an understatement. We were again given gifts and songs of appreciation and were overwhelmed by the act of kindness. This opportunity makes everything come together and helps you realize the work we do back home is undoubtedly impacting a precious life across the world.   

Our team continue to work on the library setting up the computers and finishing painting. Others finished up our playground project by putting up a tire swing for all the preschool kids to play on. 

Today seemed very special to all of us. We all were able to impact many kids lives and watch just how much Christ lives in them.

As a tradition Dave, Megan, and Alexis had the opportunity to have dinner with Nyambe's family. Nyambe is the local that we funded to further his education in America. They had a great time enjoying a fantastic meal with great company. 

After dinner, Bob, Sherri, Suzanne, Liz, Hannah and Lisa all took blankets and earrings to the local girls in the dorms. Again the appreciation was wonderful and we were so glad to be able to give them such great gifts.

Tomorrow is our last day of projects. We have a lot to accomplish but we look forward to once again being as Christ and seeing Christ in this town. 

God is good all the time!