I want to first apologize for not blogging over the past few days. We have had a lot of excitement here at the village with lightening, thunder, lots of rain, no power, and no water since Thursday evening. Although we had these minor distractions we did not let it interfere with teaching and loving on all the children. These past 2 weeks have been nothing more than amazing!! God has began a mighty work with these children and I have been blessed to be part of it. Each and every child has done an amazing job with all of the curriculum we used and have made huge strides in there learning. Our children have a huge desire to learn and an amazing heart which makes teaching them such a joy. I pray that God will continue to touch the heart of our teachers who can return to the village and continue this amazing program that we have begun. I pray also for our children, That they continue to learn and become empowered to be strong leaders of Zambia.
I am now resting comfortably in my hotel in London, returning home tomorrow morning. My heart is heavy once again as I have left part of my heart there with the children. I can not begin to describe the love that I have for each and every one of them. They have brought so much joy into my life and have shown me more love than I ever thought possible. I know that my job in Zambia is not complete and I look forward to returning when the good Lord calls. Until then, I will continue to pray for them and dream of there loving hearts and wonderful smiles. I thank each and every one of you who have supported me during this amazing journey and I look forward in sharing my next journey with you.
Alicia
God is continuing to an amazing work here at the village with our children. Within just the first week, it is amazing to see all that has been accomplished in this short amount of time. We still have a handful of children that are struggling and are in need of your prayers. Please pray that God will pour a special anointing on each of them over the next few days before Robin and I return home. We are also in need of prayer for our school that will now be opening on the property this coming Monday. The school will include 13 children who were not able to be enrolled in the schools here in Zambia because the schools are too crowded. We will be interviewing teachers this Wednesday - Saturday in search of 1 teacher who has a degree and a heart for our children. Since Robin and I will be leaving this Saturday, Judy and Kareen will be continuing to teach the children as well as the teacher that will be working with them once they leave. Please keep the team and the children in your prayers during this time of change and excitement. We know that our God is an amazing God and through him all things are possible. We are both anxious and excited to see God works over the next few weeks.
I can not believe that I have brought in the new year in Zambia with our amazing children. They have filled my heart with everlasting love and for that I am truly thankful. We have had an amazing time over the last couple of days. God continues to be present throughout the day when we are teaching and has helped us to be aware of what each child needs. With the first week of teaching coming to an end, we look forward to what next week will bring, and the growth that our children will achieve. We have a lot of work ahead of us next week so please pray for strength and direction for the team and pray for our children to learn more than they ever thought possible. Our God is Good and through him all things are possible.
God Bless
Day 1 After Assessments: The majority of the children worked in their assigned groups today. Having the children in these groups allowed us to work with the children at the appropriate levels and observe their individual needs. Many of the children are in need of just the basics, letter recognition and sounds, while others are readers but very low readers. Children that are between 10-16 years are reading at a second grade level. What is alarming is that many of these children are said to be in the 9th grade here in Zambia. The children who are struggling the most have a look of disappointment and shame in their eyes. We are doing our best to share with them that we are very proud of them and all that they have accomplished so far. We are hoping that with the love and compassion that we have brought along with all the curriculum, these feelings of shame will quickly diminish.
I was able to perform more assessments with the older children today. These assessments included phonemic awareness, nonsense words, and reading comprehension. It was refreshing to find that the children did exceptionally well in all of the assessments. I am more than excited to see where these children will go from here. Please continue to pray for all of them!!
Day 2: We have been filled with joy today in the improvement that has been made in the children in just one day. The children are more than excited to begin every morning and get into their groups to learn. I praise God for what he is doing in these children and how he is using each of us to do his mighty work. I know that God has great plans for each of the children here, and I look forward in seeing it happen first hand. GOD IS GOOD!!
Our day today was spent doing reading assessments with all the children. The assessments have reveled a lot to us which is exciting but also disappointing. Most of the children do not even know the sounds the letters make. This includes children as old as 14!! The amazing part of this is that all the material that we brought is EXACTLY what we need. It could not have been planned any better; GOD IS GOOD!! The children are also very excited and ready to learn. Please pray that they will each be an open vessel ready to soak up every bit of knowledge that we introduce to them.
Out of all the children that are here at the village, 6 of them are at least at a 6th grade level. I will be working with them tomorrow doing further assessments. The rest of the team will be working with the remaining children in groups that they have been assigned to by there assessment scores. Tomorrow will be the first day of teaching so please keep everyone in your prayers. I know that God is going to do a mighty work tomorrow and I can't wait to see everything reveled.
God Bless!!
After almost 30 hours of traveling the team has made it to Zambia. All of our bags made it; PRAISE GOD!! We arrived in Lusaka and was greeted by not only Bishop Peter but also by rain!! It is absolutely beautiful and green this time of year. Today we were able to settle in, hang out a bit with the children and prepare for our day tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be transforming the houses into our classrooms that we will be using over the next 2 weeks. We will also be doing a variety of reading assessments to see where each child is individually. We are more than excited to see what God has planned for us and the children. The children can not wait to get started and we can not wait to see how God moves!
It's Christmas Morning and I think I have everything packed and ready to go. I feel excited and blessed to be going back to Zambia after just 4 months. During the next 2 weeks our team will be "laying the foundation" for the FUTURE of our amazing children. Because of the lack of good education, our children have not been taught the skills needed to become strong readers. Without the ability to read, our children have no hope for a good future. I know that God has great things planned for our children and I can't wait to see it first hand. Please continue to pray for safe travels and protection from any sickness. I will do my best to write daily and upload pictures. Thank you again for you thoughts and prayers!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
