Well, although we have been quiet, we have not been bored. We did, indeed, make it back to Zambia on May 13th. All of our luggage stayed in Dubai for another scorching 24 hours, but we were glad to be reunited with all of our stuff just the day after we arrived. Thank you for your prayers for safe travel! The boys did exceptionally well, and God really did a great work through children’s melatonin. Hallelujah!
It has been fun to be back and see life through Charlie’s eyes. His awareness and ability to communicate has helped us see everything with fresh perspective. Why are we in Zambia? How come we have to go on 3 airplanes to get to Zambia? Why are the children of my aunties and uncles in America called “cousins,” but in Zambia they are just my friends? Etc…
Yesterday, Charlie and I (Kristin) went to the grocery store, and we played a favorite car game – I Spy. But this time, I added a new twist – we could only spy things that are special about Zambia, not things that we would see in Minnesota or Wisconsin. Here were a few fun things that made it in the game yesterday:
- Dirt…everywhere
- Garbage
- Piles of sand, gravel, and dirt to make cement
- Pyramids of watermelons waiting to be sold
- Wall fences lining the roads and surrounding houses
- Red flowers on top of huge, tall trees
- Palm trees
- Big checkered speed “humps”
- A huge dump truck carrying gravel
- A man standing in the street at the traffic light selling talk time (minutes for cell phones)
- Chickens in the back of a pickup truck waiting to be sold (and eaten!)
- Big bags of Zambian charcoal on the side of the road
- Ladies carrying buckets of water on their heads
- A tall crane
Everyday life in Zambia looks very different from what we know in America. But driving anywhere here is an exciting experience, and, as Charlie likes to say when we drive, “Just sit back and enjoy the show!”
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- Truck carrying charcoal
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- Truck on a truck on a truck carrying stacks of tires
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- Women carrying water
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- Dirt
Derek and Kristin Dearth 