First Visit to the Village

I wrote last week that I’d be going into one of the nearby villages with the teachers to visit some of the students from the school here.  Every other week the teachers go out in small group to visit the students in their homes and meet their families and pray for them.  Although all the students are orphans, many of them live with extended family.  Often they are treated like slaves in their own homes, because in this culture orphans tend to be at the bottom of the social ladder.  Other children live with family members who actually care about them and love them.  I don’t have a grasp yet of how many kids in our school come from which type of home environment, but I have a feeling I will soon.

Me with two of the teachers Catherine and Grace

So last weekend we trekked about a mile or so into the village where we would visit four students from the kindergarten class.  I’d seen enough pictures of the villages to be prepared for what we saw, but it still took my breath away.  They live in small huts with no power or running water.  Those nearest the lake haul water in buckets, and people who live farther up the hill have a pump they can use.  Children were running everywhere with no adult supervision.  Chickens were also running everywhere, and a few pigs were sleeping in the shade.  Small cooking fires burned here and there as women with babies tied to their backs cooked meager lunches for their families.  Though clothes were hung up drying on clotheslines, I got the impression that nothing ever really gets clean there.  It certainly was a world far removed from the world I come from with refrigerators, air conditioning, and iPods.  I was told that Susanna and I were the first white teachers from the school to visit this village.  That didn’t surprise me considering all the stares we got from every single person there!

The village at a glance

Our whole time in the village we had a small band of children following us everywhere.  We stopped at the first home and sat outside with the children and grandmother of the student, whose name was Gwen.  The grandmother didn’t speak any English, but the Zambian teachers with us translated.  We were able to ask what things we could pray about for them, then we prayed together. 

A whole host of kids followed us to each home!

I know not all of these families know about the grace that God offers and the hope that we have in him, but I think these visits give them a glimpse into that grace.  It’s such an incredible ministry that these teachers are doing as they offer not only their time but also their hearts to these hurting families.  For someone to make the effort to visit them in their home makes a big impact, and I think it’s making a way for the gospel as well.  I’m so thankful I got to be part of it, and I’m exciting to travel to other villages to meet more of the students’ families!

Gwen and Me :)