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| I bet you can find me easily here... This was in the streets of Lubombo- the kids flock around pretty quickly! I mention Lubombo in my Christmas post!! |
much we narrow down our understanding of love and how small my heart
must be compared to the infinite compassion of God! Everything here is
a challenge, but I still feel that this is exactly where I’m supposed
to be right now. I want to thank each and every one of you for helping
me to reach this point- either by helping with the flight, or just as
importantly, your prayers and encouragement.
I’ll start by giving you a short description of this place and
hopefully the internet will allow me to send some pictures soon ;) On
the gated property is a convent with 3 sisters and 5 aspirants, three
houses for the 29 girls and 3 Mamis, and a volunteer house. A mansion
for me because it holds 12 and I’m the only one here right now (and
only American in Mazabuka that I know of)! There’s a hall as well as
basketball and volleyball courts (cement). Our road is rocks and dirt
(yet another new friend) which always makes for an adventure in the
van or pickup.
The girls are still on holiday so the schedule isn’t fixed, but the
days have looked something like this: morning Mass as the parish with
everyone from the convent- I love riding in the back of the pickup and
there are so many people awake by 6am that there’s always something to
see. Seems like a lot of life takes place along the road. Some
mornings are cold or dusty so we ride with a blanket over our heads.
Can’t imagine how that looks! After breakfast, I usually help the
girls with studies; most of them aren’t in the ‘right’ grade because
of their backgrounds. Lunch I eat at the convent and after that have a
few minutes before 10-15 of the girls come over to make bracelets,
draw pictures or play cards. From 2:30-5 we have Oratory, a Salesian
tradition of lessons, games, or performances and prayer led by the
aspirants and young men (ages 15-30) from Mazabuka. Kids from the
neighborhood come for that which gives me more than enough names to
work on! After dinner the girls often practice for an upcoming holiday
or visitor. They all sing so well! Somehow no one is too shy to sing
on stage and there are one or two really beautiful voices. They sing
on bus rides or when the power goes out, and I’m doing my best to
follow along even though half of the songs are in Tonga- their native
language. Each girl is incredibly strong and sincere. Even hearing
their stories, its hard to believe that most are orphans or come from
abusive backgrounds. It truly is a city of Joy. I wish that my arms
were longer or that I had more hands so I could hold more than two at
once!
Sugarcane is what Mazabuka is known for. The factory seems to employ
half the city! The girls don’t have any sugar left, so we all went
with Sr. Elisa to ask for more. We even found some sugar cane on the
way out (illegal to pick) and I understand why the kids get excited!
It really tastes great and way better than ‘Zambian bubble gum,’ a
slightly sweet seed that you chew to a pulp. Bleh. Nsima is the most
common item on the menu- maize flour cooked to the consistency of
grits or porridge. I’ve learned how to eat it with my hands (“like a
real Zambian”). Im also learning a few Tonga expressions; Twalumba is
‘thank you,’ mwabuka buti is ‘good morning,’ and maguwa is ‘white
woman.’ I get letters of appreciation from the girls all the time, and
I really understand Don Bosco’s (the Salesian Founder) words that “it
is enough that you are young for me to love you.”
There is so much to be done here, from helping the girls, being here
for them, and making their home more beautiful and more like family.
Some of it is due to resources we don’t have, but a lot of it can (and
will!) be improved. I hope that God is blessing each and every one of
you back home!
With prayers,
Annie
