Moving to Africa

Well, I wrote up this great informational blog last night, and wouldn't you know... not only did it not post, but it didn't even save. Sooo heres a recap:

Yesterday I landed safe and sound with the Hugheys around 7. The airport wait was cramped, hot, humid, and looong, but we made it. First you have to go through immigration, which took about 40 minutes, then we got all of our bags, another 15 minutes, then we waited for customs to check everything we were carrying into Zambia, another 25 minutes. The Zambians shooed me along, but the Hugheys got stuck at baggage check. Unfortunately, with the 6 of them, they had too many bags to carry in. After about thirty more minutes, Erin (the mom) walked out of the airport with some unfortunate news. Every one of their trunks had to stay at the airport where they were opened, searched, and each item counted...for every single one. (we're talking about twenty to twenty five boxes... crazy. But, our amazing Zambian senior staff stayed at the airport to collect it all. They did not get to us at the villa until 5:00pm... wow.

Once they arrived, the typical Zambian style assembly line was quickly put into place, and all the trunks were in our villa in no time!! After some unpacking and pizza, we decided to call it a night. Of course my "night" consisted of four hours of sleep, waking up, and another 2 hours of sleep. I woke up this morning around 5:15 and couldn't go back to bed. Sooo I decided to spend some time in the word outside this morning. And what a blessing it was.

The weather was perfect, peaceful, and ideal. As I was listening to Phil Wickham's "You're Beautiful" song I was overwhelmed with a sense of loneliness. I mean, I know there are six other people with me, two adults and four children, but they are a family. I know I am included in that family, but it's still so different. I'm completely alone.. but right when I looked up the wind took the leaves and I can't explain it, but at that time the Lord said, "Megan, I am here...and that's all that matters". I was so humbled and at peace... I encountered God this morning, even though as a sinner I don't deserve it.

It was good that I got so much time in the word this morning, because today was a pretty hard day. We worked on the house pretty much the entire time and we had no electricity for the 6 hottest hours of the day. It was tough. We were all exhausted, sweaty, thirsty, and weak. But the devil can not tear us down.. even without electricity, we have a roof over our heads, a bed to sleep in, and running water to cool us down. Still, such blessings.

For dinner tonight, we went to the indoor mall that was recently finished in Lusaka called Manda Hill. It was huge... HUGE compared to anything else here. We ordered some grilled chicken and french fries. When we were full, we pushed our plates aside without thinking. I left to go to the grocery store quickly, but while I was gone, the reality of the orphaned and vulnerable children's situations sunk in. Erin informed me that a little boy asked to have our leftovers... we barely had anything left over but when she said yes, he scooped as much as he could, as fast as he could, in his hand and said, "Thank You."  This little boy ran up to the table and ate what we wouldn't. Then he told his friend and the friend came to get what was left...such humility swept over all of us. Parker, the nine year old boy, began to cry because it was such a surreal moment.

While this was happening, I walked passed a phone store and I noticed they had an iPhone4 for sell. You will not believe how much the iPhone is sold for here... $1,700.. yes I said one thousand seven hundred US dollars. In sane. My first thought was, "Well no wonder I haven't seen any Zambians with an iPhone".  While we were eating ice cream with the boys, Erin and I talked about the different dynamics at Manda Hill. People that come to spend money and people that come to look at what they can't afford. Two men stopped in front of us, I looked up and of course, one had the iPhone 4 and one had the iPhone 3G (it costs $1,550). So much for thinking that there is no way anyone would spend that kind of money to have this phone. It truly sunk in then. A little boy scrapped the leftovers of someone else's meal, while two men were playing on a phone that cost them almost $2000.

I calculated it. The cost of the iPhone could pay for one of our orphaned children's families food for over a year and a half...

I'm humbled. this is why God loves these children so much... because no one else does. No one else turns an eye to look at them. They shoo them away as if they are nothing, a burden and a body in the way of their daily lives.

I'm here Lord, and you have sent me. Please pray that I would feel for these children like the Lord feels, and that I would simply be a vessel for His work.