Final Full Day

It was a bitter-sweet day as we wrapped up our final classes and tutoring here in Lusaka.  Friday fun-day developed a whole new meaning with it being our last day.  We planned a day full of fun where we could just enjoy spending the last few moments with the people who have grown to be our family for the past 3.5 months.

At our morning tutoring session, Owen read everyone the Lion King from a coloring book Mel brought along.  He read it all the way from beginning to end!  When he first started I kept thinking, “There is no way these kids are going to sit listen to him read this entire coloring book.”  But they all did and they loved it!  They sat and giggled at the pictures and listened so intently.  It was such a sweet moment.  Once Owen finished the book we ripped out some pages for them to color and we also had some crossword puzzles they could do.  Definitely fun-Friday at its finest.

Between tutoring and our last session with the ladies, we spent quite a few hours making sure our house is squeaky clean for the next guests in just a few short days. 

We planned a special day to celebrate all of the hard work the ladies put in these last few months and little did we know, the women planned a little something special for us.  When we did a session on food, we realized most of the women had never had pizza or cookies!  We ordered some Debonair’s Pizza and made some amazing chocolate chip cookies (if I do say so myself).  We women really enjoyed both - it was quite funny to watch them eat their pizza in interesting ways.  Ripping little chunks off at a time while the pizza is held in their hand face down was a normal sight.  I guess we never taught them so whatever works!!   The women also all wrote down the cookie recipe and our email addresses after we wrote them up on the board. 

After we all enjoyed pizza and cookies, Christabel came and wrapped Mel and I in our green chitenges which we received as a gift from Charity the preschool teacher on campus.  We really felt like one of the ladies - that was the first time we felt like the chitanges were actually going to stay up!  As we remembered Clara and Christabel say from the previous day, “First we will dance, then we will cry!”  And that is exactly what happened…

From there, the ladies started to sing and do-si-do.  First they showed us, then they made us join.  It was so fun to see everyone dancing, clapping, singing and having a good time!   Some songs were in English and others were not but we caught on to the dance movies and clapping pretty quickly. 

            One of our favorites:

Jesus loves me, and he loves you too

            Come and see how much he cares for you

            You will never find a friend so true

            Jesus loves me, and he loves you too

The speeches and sad good-byes concluded with tears and hugs.  Those ladies are so phenomenal and something about hearing them say, “I love you!” as they came up to us made see-you-laters so heart-warming.  We will miss them all so dearly but we pray to see them again someday… This side of heaven or when we meet at Jesus feet.

Next, we ventured to say our goodbyes to Mrs. Nyrenda, Anna and Charity.  We shared some pictures and cards with them and expressed our gratitude.  They were so extremely welcoming from the minute we arrived and it made our stay so amazing and unforgettable.  Mrs. Nyrenda said she was going to enjoy having our picture up with all of the other pictures she had received from girls who have come. 

Onward to the children!  We had planned some play time with the children before saying our last goodbyes.  As usually, we enjoyed playing volleyball, frisbee and jump ropes.  Mel stayed strong with playing volleyball for a good hour while I went and sat by a couple of kids who were sitting out.  We moved by the small creek that runs through campus to watch the dads play soccer on the other side.  The kids enjoyed playing with my hair for so long!  Mel and I took several pictures with the kids and then announced that we NEEDED hugs before we left.  Some of the middle school boys immediately fell to the ground - we just had to laugh.  We gave each kiddo a giant hug and told them we would miss them so incredibly much.  We had such a great turnout for that last session and it was such a blessing to spend some quality time with them before we left.

There were a couple of kids out working in the gardens, sick, or at school so we made our way to around to give out some last few hugs.  It was sad saying goodbye to such amazingly sweet kids but Mel and I know they will grow up to be such great contributors and leaders in whatever capacity God places them.

We closed our day with a perfect celebration with all of the missionaries and pastors from campus.  We enjoyed a delicious meal at Rhapsody’s, exchanged gifts and many thanks.  After supper we went to the top of the Protea Hotel where we could see the city of Lusaka at night time.  It was so beautiful and a wonderful time to pause and reflect on all of our experiences we have had here. 

As I write this, Mel and I are just putting the finishing touches on packing and getting ready to head out for our flight in a couple of hours.  We can’t believe how quickly time has come and gone.  It was plenty of time to become extremely attached to everyone here and goodbyes came way to quickly…  Our cup overflows with blessings from this trip and as we told everyone yesterday, we will never forget this experience.  We will be spending two nights in London on our way back but we can’t wait to see everyone when we get come.  We will both take a turn posting when we return from London!  God’s blessings to you this Memorial Day weekend.

Hugs from Africa,

Kelsi and Melanie