Sikalongo and a Happy "Mimi Moment"

Today we drove the hour drive to Sikalonga, so Ken could put a picture to what we have been talking about. Mother and I packed a lunch and we were off by mid morning. It was a bit quiet, for a number of reasons. The Secondary School and SBI (Sikalongo Bible Institute) just re-opened this week after their month holiday, and many of the students have not arrived yet. Also, Dr. Dwight Thomas and his wife Carol are not there anymore. It just wasn't the same for Matthew! All his "American" friends that befriended him so kindly earlier this summer had all returned to the states :( However, it was fun seeing many of the folks there who remembered Matthew greet him so warmly when they saw him. The people are so kind. Numerous people asked my parents to please return to Sikalongo one more time before they leave; my Dad didn't give any guarantees! Ken really enjoyed an extended visit with Rev. Dennis Mweetwa, the principal at SBI. The rest of us did some other visiting, while the two of them had some time to get to know each other and talk theology, church, doctrine and pastoring. In case you forgot, this was the man who gave such an excellent message at one of the weddings we attended. I knew Ken would enjoy him. Ken gave a number of books to him, and he appreciated them so much. We thought he would be a good person to give books to, since he will be able to get them in the hands of the students, who will eventually be pastors. Dad gave us a good tour of Sikalongo and we headed home around 3 PM.

I had a happy "Mimi moment" this evening as we walked across the Basic School field towards the home of our weekly Bible Study. As we were about halfway across the field, little Choolwe, one of my little Zambian friends, came running across the field, smiling the whole way, and ran right into my arms as we hugged and greeted each other. This is the first time she ran so far to greet me! She is such a sweetie! It was just how my little grandchildren back home greet me and my heart melted! We then held hands the whole way to her house, where the meeting was held. Choolwe is the youngest of nine children, and her Mother is Maudie, one of the women I have enjoyed getting to know. Yes, it was indeed a "Mimi moment" and tonight was the first time I realized that it might be a little hard leaving these little children! I am sooooo looking forward to re-uniting with our grandchildren, and these little ones here tug at my grandmother's heart as they have warmed up to me, especially over the past month. Ever since my Mother spent those 3 years over here in the late 80's, she has called this her second home...her second family. Guess what?? I now know what she means!

Tonight at the Bible Study we prayed for little Ryan, my sister's 1 year old grandson, who is having a lot of difficulty with food allergies and has not been able to eat much of anything now. His parents, John and Jen, are awaiting an appointment with a specialist, so please join us in praying for little Ryan.

Given has come to the rescue once again....this time with my mother's hearing aid. She dropped it on the cement floor the other day and it broke, so we all thought she would be with one less hearing aid for the remainder of their time here. Well, Given, who is so compassionate and kindhearted, asked to see it. He said he would like to try to fix it with super glue. Of course, my mother was a bit apprehensive about that! She invisioned it sticking to her ear and never getting it out! But Given, in his calm, reassuring way, actually was able to talk my mother into giving it a try (the rest of us here doubted we would have been that successful!) In a short while, he brought it back and it looked like new! It's been working fine ever since. Mother is very happy and we are very proud of her for letting Given give it a try :) These Zambians...they have ways of fixing things that we don't even think of!

We have received some dear letters from home....thank you so much! My Mother shares hers with me, too. Aunt June, you are so faithful in writing and we love your letters. Thanks for sending me the newspaper article about our son Ryan; that was so thoughtful! Anne, your letter was absolutely precious! I'm so glad you have been enjoying the blog!

I will try to post one more time before our weekend trip. Ken, Matt and I are going up to Ndola this weekend, about 625 KM from Choma, to visit Wilbroad Chanda and his famiy. Wil is pastor at Ndola Baptist Church and has been attending our church conferences in the states for a number of years. More on that later....bye for now!