Our Visit to the Nutrition Center

We visited a local nutrition center, which has a similar function to a soup kitchen in the U.S. Mothers bring their children here for a hot lunch, some traveling several miles by foot and for many, this will be their families' only meal that day.

We helped serve the lunch, which consisted of beans and n'shima. N'shima is a staple food in Zambia and is typically made with ground maize. It has a starchy texture, thicker than mashed potatoes, and is rolled up and used as a utensil to pick up and eat the rest of the meal. Older siblings sat with the younger ones on their laps and fed them from their own plates. Their mothers sat off to the side, many nursing infants or talking amongst themselves.

 

The kids loved getting their pictures taken so we have many more photos that I will post soon, but I couldn't resist sharing this sweet little face.

A Smile for Your Day

This one of Mary's 3 daughters, Nomsa, who we met while we were at the Franciscan mission in Kitwe. She is 8 and a student at the St. Francis School.

Mary works with Brother Tony at the mission and during our stay there, she took a great amount of time and care making sure we were comfortable and had everything we needed.

She also took our group shopping at the market, to see the compound where many of the St. Francis school students and their families live and answered our endless questions, always with kindness and patience.

Brother Tony sent this photo of Nomsa with a note: "Let her give you a smile for your day." She did. I hope she does the same for you.

Cherished

While visiting the students at St. Francis school we handed out M&Ms and took countless photos of them (the kids loved seeing themselves on the camera screen!), which understandably caused some disorder. The children were quite well-behaved during our visit, but in all of the excitement some were trying to get our attention by jumping up and down, clapping, chanting "sweets! sweets!" I think while all of us were caught up in the children's joyful and frenetic energy, at times we felt slightly overwhelmed too.

Amid all of the commotion, this girl appeared in front of me, her thoughtful brown eyes filled with compassion and anticipation. Her demeanor was shy and polite as she softly said "hello," then put her arms around my waist and gave me a hug. I closed my eyes and rested my cheek on the top of her head as we embraced. We smiled at each other as we moved apart. She stayed nearby our group for a little while as we walked the school grounds, and then she was gone.

Our group that traveled together often talked about how each of us were trying to remain present in every moment, to soak it all in and remember every detail of this trip, no matter how fleeting or seemingly inconsequential. In that moment that girl's small gesture made all the difference and because of it, I am grateful to her and for her.

And I know I will never forget her.

Our dear friend and host in Zambia!

Brother Tony Droll has been living as a missionary in Zambia for 44 years. The Franciscan mission and retreat center where he lives and works is in Kitwe. We were fortunate enough to spend quite a bit of time at the mission and we were welcomed with open arms by all of the people there. It is a peaceful and lovely place.

Brother Tony planned our trip and hosted all of us while we were in Zambia. I will never forget how incredibly generous he was, and continues to be, not only with his faith, time and knowledge, but also by sharing with us his life in Zambia. He introduced us to some of the children and families he works with, showed us the school he tirelessly dedicates his time to and as we traveled all over, taught us about African culture and about the amazing wildlife we saw on safari.

I cannot begin to express my gratitude to Brother Tony for all he's done and continues to teach us, about humility, compassion, dedication, selflessness. When I look back fondly on the time we spent in Africa, he is at the center of and the reason for all of the special and memorable experiences we had there.

Bro. Tony with students from the St. Francis School

Above is a photo from the Franciscans web site of Brother Tony with a group of the students. The link to the Franciscans web site is below.

http://www.franciscans.org/FriarTonyDrollinZambia.cfm

Helloooo Kudu

We went on safari two times while in Botswana -- at dawn and at dusk. We were so happy we did both because we saw completely different animals on each outing. We saw lionesses, elephants, alligators, giraffes, impala, hippos, water buffaloes. More photos to come!

This guy was one of the most unique animals that we saw: the kudu. I had never heard of or seen a kudu before, but I've since learned that it is a type of woodland antelope. They are majestic, graceful animals, with white stripes along their sides and backs, and red markings inside their ears. And check out those crazy curly horns. They were a sight to behold.

Congratulations Father Andrew!

Kat and I had the privilege of meeting many warm and wonderful people while we were in Zambia, including our dear friend Andrew. When we met him in May, he was a deacon at
the Kitwe mission, working with the students at St. Francis School and preparing for his ordination.

We were fortunate to spend a lot of time with Andrew while we were in Kitwe. He was not only a tireless tour guide and extremely contientious driver (who literally drove us all over Zambia), he was also generous, patient and fun, always quick with a smile or joke or some rap music and made us all feel completely welcome and at ease no matter where we were.

On August 7, he was ordained as a priest in a ceremony that we wanted so much to attend. We were thinking of him that day and continue wish him all the best - Congratulations to Andrew! We know there are many great things yet to come for him and can't wait to hear of his continued success in his ministry and with St. Francis School.

St. Francis Secondary School

St Francis Secondary School

The St. Francis Secondary School is located in Itimpi, near Kitwe, in northern Zambia. The school was started in 2000 as the St. Francis Community School, with 400 pupils from the surrounding area. Over the past 10 years, the school has continued to grow, and now educates 1,600 orphaned, underprivileged and vulnerable children from pre-school to Grade 12.

For more information about the school, check out the St. Francis Secondary School web site at http://saintfrancisschoolzambia.org/ 

"Sweets" for the Sweets

When we visited St. Francis Secondary School, we brought several bags of M&Ms with us. We toured the campus, visited many classrooms, met the children and handed out the M&Ms. Some of the classes welcomed us with songs or handshakes, and we were always greeted with laughter and warmth from the moment we entered the room.

Some of the children hesitated at first to approach us, and the head master told me it was because they thought we were handing out medicine! When he explained to them that we had brought them chocolate "sweets," their faces lit up and we got to see the most beautiful, unforgettable smiles. Like these.