My New Job...

The Lord is incredible. My heart truly connects to these schools and these children. This past Tuesday we officially opened the Tree of Life school. Cynthia, one of the Americans here who is helping the Zambians cook our meals, came with me all day to help the teachers get their classrooms in pristine condition. She's also a teacher so we worked on these classrooms as if they were ours. It was amazing--the posters, the color, the desks, dry erase boards, name tags, etc.

We were extremely dirty and cold by the end of the day though. :) The students were told to have their uniforms on by 1400 (2pm) so we could be ready for the video crew to come film.

We went down to check on them and Cynthia ended up staying down on the house side of the Tree of Life, while I went to stay with the teachers. We took some pictures and waited for the kids to get ready. Greer drove up, we met Enoch the Department Head of Education here in Zambia and I told him how hard these teachers had been working for these classrooms. Personally, I was completely humbled the entire day... you should have seen the teachers faces when we put desks in their rooms... new, nice, and shiny desks. I had SO many more things at my school in Dallas, and yet they were screaming and rejoicing for 8 desks. Ridiculously humbling. I remember sitting in America wishing I had more colored paper, or more resources, or more bulletin boards for my walls, or nicer books for my classroom library and never even really thanking the LORD for having 300 books, 30 desks, 5 white boards, a projector, carpet and a huge teacher desk. It just makes me realize how much I SHOULD have been thanking the LORD.

Anyways, the kids start getting ready and this is the best part... they all came out of their homes single file, singing, "Come and see, come and see what the lord has done, come and see what the lord has done." The kids sang all the way to the school side of the Tree of Life (3 minute walk) and lined up on the front slab. When they all lined up and the head teacher welcomed them to the new school, the tears began... and never stopped. The LORD has emotionally connected me to these children and these schools. It's such a wonderful blessing to watch people, who have never had anything close to this, receive a huge gift from the LORD. I was humbled before these children and my LORD... only HE could make something so huge happen for these children. And although it seems too good to be true, it's so so so easy for him... he longs to see his children loved and taken care of. I'm just extremely blessed to be a part of it. Sooo the school is NOW OPEN!!! :) And the beautiful children, including my little Joseph, is attending an amazing classroom with an awesome teacher who loves him.

Since then, these past two days have been a change of perspective for me. Greer, Pastor Rafael and I drove around to the six Lifeway Christian Academies (Family Legacy schools for the sponsored children). We saw the lay out, measured the rooms, and determined how many and what size tables we would get for each room. It was such a neat experience to be in the field again. We drove through the poverty and arrived at the gated schools. All except for one school are houses that we made into schools; so the facilities are small, but the difference between LCA's and community schools is still tremendous. I learned that we have taken a huge leap of faith and that the LORD is the only one that can bring the funding we need, because it's going to be very expensive as a whole--however, these kids will be dramatically changed if they receive the education they need. Yesterday evening I met a girl outside one of the LCA's. She spoke very good english and when I pointed this out to her, she said, "Auntie Megan, I am in 7th grade, I have to be able to speak English!" Just so you know, in 7th grade the children have to take a test that is very very difficult for kids that receive a broken education. However, if the children receive proper education, and they pass, they have a very high chance to finish school altogether and live a life full of joy. When I heard her say 7th grade, I said, "Dear one, have you taken your test??" and she lit up and said, "YES Auntie Megan, I did and I passed!!" My heart moved. I am sooo joyful that she wanted to pass and wants to finish school SOOO bad, and now she's on her way! :)

I can't wait for thousands of children to have the same reaction when they get the education they deserve... and by GOD's grace, and HIS love, they will. I'm blessed to watch it happen. I thank my Savior for even considering me to be a part of his movement.. I am humbled by His work.