A Big List and a Week that will Fly By!

This week is going to be a week of checking off lists! Making sure I don’t forget anything, and getting everything I need to do done! Where did 27 days go? It seemed as if I’d have tons of extra time this trip, and the only thing that was different was the evenings. Usually the team spends the evening planning the next days, training lessons and workshops. This trip our evenings were free for journaling, reading or just sitting in the dark, talking. As we are right now. Power stayed on through dinner and my bath, I was just brushing out my hair when it went dark at 6:51pm.



Today, started as a bright sunny day, although soon the clouds rolled in, and then they were gone. We still have had no real rain since the storm one evening last week. Every day, Catherine arrives and says it is going to rain tonight, and it looks and feels like it, but it doesn’t happen. When we traveled to Kabwe on Saturday, Joyce was sharing that it is very dry there, that all the rains have been coming near them and around them, but none in the Kabwe area. She said that is very unusual for this time of the year. She said they are normally planting (it is planting season here, now) in the rain, and the soil is very easy to turn over because it is damp, but not the case this year.


Siwale was in this morning around 7:30 and wondered what the program for today was. He really needed to go to the bank and get his ATM card, so that he could withdraw his payroll from his account. He wondered if it would work for him to go right away, he said there will be a line. I assured him that would be fine, and he was off before 8 AM.


This morning I spent the morning with money! Counting, and figuring. If you know me well, I don’t like handling money, ask Bob! He has always been on top of all our finances and I just know, what he says I have to know, and do what I have to do. I write the checks, he tells me how much and who to! So…..if I thought that the Lord was finished stretching me and growing me, I was wrong. I know I have been stretched and grown in ways that I wouldn’t have even begun to imagine before GEMS. And I thought He had to be done with me. Not so much! OK, Barb, now I want you to take care of money, lots of money, thousands of American dollars, and millions of kwacha. The Zambia dollar is the kwacha, and the largest bill is 50,000 which depending on the exchange for that date is worth about $10.00, so we buy lots of things here in Zambia for 1,000,000,000 kwacha. Now it is my responsibility to handle the money, keep track of every kwacha, and record every expenditure. Crazy, but it seems like I spend a great deal of time each day keeping track of money. The first week and a half I was here, I spent every spare minute trying to figure out how to get the money from my account into my hands. Now, that I have it, I just have to keep counting it, and keep track of where it is spent! I hardly dare wonder what is next Lord?


After counting my money, I figured out how much fabric to buy today for Ndola, and some extra for here. I am sure I will have to return at least once more to purchase enough to keep the ladies going through April when the team returns.


Steph did some laundry, and took advantage of the very warm, no just say it, hot sunshine, to dry her clothes. Late this morning her friend Cathy a CIT from Living Rock stopped by to say hello and chat for a bit. She and Steph have become good friends.  She is a beautiful girl; we talked about the connection of Living Rock and Oasis of Love churches. It seems that Eunice was a former member of Living Rock before she shifted to Avondale, and started worshipping at Oasis of Love. One the former CIT’s from Living Rock, is now a CIT at Oasis of Love, because Eunice is her aunt, she is living with her and Eunice is paying her school fees.  Cathy needed to get more ribbon for Emelda, and we were out.


Soon it was lunch time, and Siwale still wasn’t back. I had a peanut butter sandwich and tried to sit in the sun to eat it, but it was too hot! You know how your skin prickles when, you‘ve been on the beach all day and had too much sun, that is how it felt before my sandwich was half gone, so I slid into the shade and enjoyed the rest of my sandwich looking at the sun. Siwale got back about 1:30 and he had been standing in a line at the bank since 8 AM, he was worried I was waiting on him; I assured him he hadn’t kept me waiting and that we could go whenever he was ready. I got him a cold glass of water, and gathered my stuff together. Our first stop was going to be at another bank, where I could use my card and get a larger amount of money, than getting 2,000,000 from the ATM machines. We walked into the Barclay’s Bank at Long Acres, and there are people everywhere. I see a machine handing out numbers and I go to it, first you select the subject or reason you came to the bank. Deposits, withdrawal, check cashing, there are at least 15 or more things to choose from, and by what you select you are given a number. I assumed I wanted withdrawal, seeing I was drawing money from my card. So after waiting over an hour, and counting over 50 people waiting along with me, my number was up. I went to the teller and he told me I needed to go to international draws. But he said go right to the teller, and tell him you selected the wrong reason from the number machine. With in just a few minutes, I had received my money and was out the door with Siwale.

Our next stop was the ATM right outside the bank, Siwale had never used an ATM machine  and asked if I'd coach him through withdrawing funds with his brand new ATM card. There was no one in line for the ATM, which should have been our first clue, but I just thought, everyone is in the bank, and not out here. He put his card in and entered his pin number, and then went to withdrawal and nothing happened. We canceled the transaction and tried again, still nothing. Every button you pushed beeped, until you pushed the withdrawal button and nothing happened. So we retrieved his card, and went down the road to the next Barclay ATM, and it worked perfectly, he got his money, and we were off. As we were walking back to the car, I asked him, how he felt about doing it by himself next time. His reply, not so confident, maybe if you could stand by me one more time, and I could do it, then I would feel better. He remembers Jan losing her card and what a hassle that was, and so is a little afraid that he might not get his card back if he thinks about what to do next for too long.


Then we were off to Kamwala, and the fabric store! I am getting used to being an honored guest when we worship, but now when I walk into Mr. Patel’s store, I am also given honored status, a stool to sit on with a small piece of fabric over the top, and it is put right in front of the fan. I am also handed a bottle of cold water, I keep wondering if they think I’m Jan! And that I might faint like she did! They send the low man on the totem pole back into the way back, where they store the fabric pieces from floor to ceiling, like two stories high. The only way in is through a hole in the wall of display fabrics, that is only maybe waist high, or less. Jan and I have both had the opportunity to crawl back in there and pick out what pieces of fabric we liked. Now they pretty much know which ones I’ll take and what I won’t. He started out by bringing 20 pieces, I said I need 30. I had to send 3 back, and then he came out with 13 more. Siwale double checks to see if we are given the right amount, along with 10 rolls of black fabric. I pay Mr. Patel, and he always knocks a little off to give me a really good deal, but in the long run, we have given him hundreds of dollars of business every time we come. So no matter what kind of deal he gives, he is still very happy with what we are purchasing from him. Siwale and his men carry the large bundle of cloth and rolls to the car. Then Siwale and I walk down the street to check on batting, they have just received a shipment, and have multiple 40 meter rolls. We tell them we will be back later this week. Mr. Patel, doesn’t have any more small black ribbon, but Siwale say he saw it one of the other shops, we checked and bought 24 more rolls of ribbon.


Then I needed a quick stop at the grocery store for the last time before we head home. We needed a few things, and Catherine and I are baking again tomorrow, so I needed to get more eggs and sugar for that.


Siwale and I arrived to find Steph still working on editing her video. Siwale checked his emails and I then he knocked off for the day. I made supper and the power stayed on the whole time. We ate and then I took my bath and the power went out just as I was brushing out my hair. Perfect timing.


Hopefully the power will come on and I can check my emails and would love to call Lis on Skype tonight, but only if the power returns before I run out of steam. I really like these 5 AM mornings, but boy by 9:30 I’m ready to sleep!