Basketball, soccer, more basketball, Macha life, and of course a sunset update :)

It is crazy to think that I have been here in Macha for a month already! I have 6 weeks left here, and it is going to fly by! We have one team coming on Wednesday for a week and a half, and then another team coming the 20^th that will be here right until the end of July. And after that, I will only have a week left here! It’s going fast, but I’m enjoying every moment of it! Here’s another update of what has been going on here:

Kitchen Party

·      The kitchen party that I mentioned in my last post happened last Saturday and was so fun. There was lots of food, lots of kitchen items, and lots of dancing. The area (in the picture below) was set up to look like a kitchen, where they took the bride around and taught her how to use all the gifts she was getting for her new kitchen. It was totally different than any bridal shower in the US – one of the things I found the most interesting was that the bride barely showed her face, as her head was lowered for the entire party. It’s the tradition here that brides, during their kitchen parties, have to act sad, because they are leaving their families.

World Cup.

·      The World Cup nightly showings are still going strong here at the Thuma household, although we only showed the first set of games each night this past week, since the 2^nd set of games didn’t start until 10pm here. It was really strange to have it quiet around the house after 8pm, instead of hearing yelling and cheering until 11pm! We had a midnight showing for some friends from the United States in our living room for the 2^nd USA game… another great game for the books! We had a great time watching the game and learning about Deuce’s (Clint Dempsey) new rap album coming out. We prematurely starting celebrating the win, before watching that last goal go in the net in disbelief. But, it only made Thursday night’s games more exciting to watch. They were nice and early for us this time, which meant we got to watch the USA go through to the next round outside on the projector with a bunch of Zambians who were hoping that Ghana would make it through instead of the USA….. Sorryyy. :)

Roomie!!

·      I got a new roommate last week… Madison, who just graduated from high school, is here for 3 weeks and is working out at MICS in the activity room. I’ve loved having her around to hang out with and talk to! She is rocking the patriotic socks during the USA v. Germany game... I, on the other hand, am rocking the just got back from basketball and threw a skirt on look. :)

Basketballlllllllll.

·      Basketball continues to be a part of everything I am doing here in Macha! My Macha girls continue to train hard and have fun… although we occasionally sing and dance, and have mini photo shoots. They have actually officially recorded their first music video on my camera… Macaulay, it’s one of your favorite songs… cannot wait to share it with you all when I get back! 

my macha girls :)

·      I also taught basketball this week in P.E. class out at MICS! We did everything from relay races and shooting competitions to 5v5 and knock-out (or bump-out, as they like to call it here). Some of the girls liked it so much that they asked me to take them to the court to play more afterschool... a few boys joined in and I’m happy to say my team of girls crushed the boys. The three girls in the picture below are regulars here at PTRZ afterschool – Muleya, Naomi, and Mutinta!

·      I have also continued training and playing with the guys here in Macha. Towards the end of this week, we found out that the guys from Choma wanted to come for a friendly match, so we played them today! It was quite the experience being the only girl on the court, but I had a blast! We ended up playing 2 games... we lost the first by about 20, but won the second game by 8!

Tonga

·      Corie and Sarah, a girl that works out at MICS, have started taking Tonga lessons from Eric’s mom this week, so I sat in on the first lesson. Let’s just say I will be nowhere near fluent in Tonga by the time I come home. Madison and I continue to get lessons from Ba Mesheck when he is working in the garden. We were called out for a lesson just this morning!

A little shout out to my team… I hope individual camp went well and you guys got some sleep this past week! It was SO good to see some of you lovely ladies (and Brod) on skype!! Miss you guys like crazyyy :)

I continue to be updated on life at home by my momma, getting updates every time I get a new save the date or wedding invitation, information on new jobs that have come up to apply for, and of course news on what she is picking from the garden. :) Here, the slab was finished on the rec center just yesterday, and we had our first mouse on the veranda (which we all figured out right away thanks to Corie’s running and screaming), the little ones are still precious, and the sunsets are still absolutely beautiful! I've experienced so many parts of this culture and I have learned so much from these people. I’m blessed to be in this beautiful country with these people… and I can’t wait until the groups get here to serve throughout July! 

I don't think I've mentioned it in a previous post, but John and Esther Spurrier (John is a doctor here at the hospital) are from Pennsylvania. I had taken an Intro to Christian Mission class my sophomore year at Messiah, and had Esther as a mentor group leader for the class... I knew she had been a missionary in Africa, but I hadn't realized it was Macha until I got here. Esther and John leave tomorrow morning to fly home, but it was an absolute blessing to be reconnected with her here in Zambia! Safe travels to you two! :) Thanks for the prayers from back home!

sunset from a trip to the airstrip with Madison

finished slab of concrete for the rec center

Char and Chonda on the walk back from Chonda's village

Week 3 :)

Here’s an update from the past week or so:

·      World Cup

This is the biggest deal here in Zambia. And I LOVE it. I’m used to being around soccer and people that love soccer because of Messiah’s success and the fact that some of my best friends play on the team, but being here takes it to a whole new level! Soccer is not something we hear much about or care about in the United States, but I have gained a new level of appreciation for how much it can bring people together. It comes on much later here than in the U.S. - the first game starts at 6pm our time! We have been projecting the first two games on a screen outside every night and it has been so fun! There have been around 150 people that come out and watch the games together outside the house. I haven’t been outside for every game every night, but it is really easy to tell when someone scores because of all the cheering and shouts of “Welllleee!” (Not really sure what it means – but they yell it every time someone scores!). The first U.S. game started at midnight here, but we didn’t want to miss it so we stayed up and watched – and I am so glad we did! So exciting! Their next game, on Sunday, also starts at midnight… Eric, Corie and I have decided Sunday is a nap day so we can stay up again!

·      Macha Girl’s Basketball

I have been going out to Macha Girl’s Secondary School 3 days a week still and coaching the girls with Muntanga. The girls lost their tournament last weekend, but are still training hard and we’re having some fun while we do it! I have had less girls there this week at practice, which has been really cool because I have gotten to do more skill and individual work with them. For my Messiah coaches and teammates – I did camp ball handling and two ball drills with them at the last practice and they absolutely loved it – but they definitely need some more practice! :)

·      MICS P.E. Classes

I started teaching P.E. classes out at the MICS school on Tuesday and Thursday this week. There are 8 levels of kids that attend MICS – so we did anything from tag to relay races to duck duck goose to netball and football! I’m definitely not made to be a gym teacher, but it is a great time to spend with the kids and have a little fun with them – and I plan on teaching them basketball next week! A lot of the girls that I play with here at the PTRZ campus also go to MICS, so I get to see them and bike home with them afterschool too. On Thursday, instead of having classes in the afternoon, the MICS kids went out to Lupata to have a sports day. They played many games of football, netball and volleyball. The results didn’t turn out so well for MICS, but the kids had fun just the same. The young ones and teachers cheered while the older ones participated. It was a long afternoon in the sun, but it was awesome to see the kids so happy. They didn’t lose energy for a minute as they cheered on the boy’s football team with songs and dances for a full 90 minutes!

·      PTRZ Campus

Eric and Elem took the U13 and U17 boys to play games in Mbabala last Saturday – both teams lost, but the boys looked sharp in their new uniforms. I also wore Reece on my back in a chitenge, which I was super pumped about. In other PTR news, the boys continue to come every day after school to play football and my girls come and play, staying longer than normal! I have loved getting to know them better and build relationships with them!

·      In other news…

-I got to skype with my family last Sunday on Father’s Day and watch my dad open his present, which was a special blessing for me (and hopefully for him!!).

-Eric and I spent a morning building bunk beds for my room, as another girl is coming to stay with us for a few weeks. They haven’t collapsed yet, so I’d say it was a successful project!

-We have found a country radio station on their TV that we are all super pumped about… I am currently listening to it while I write this… a little taste of home!

-Mike, a Messiah student that is here working in the lab, celebrated his birthday yesterday, which meant I got to make my first cake from scratch, which was pretty good if I must say myself. (Mom – aren’t you so proud?)

-We also spent some of the morning today cleaning up outside because we are hosting a kitchen party tomorrow! A kitchen party in Zambia terms is a bridal shower. I’ve heard that these parties can a little different than those back in the United States – so it’ll be interesting to experience one here tomorrow!

I’ve continued to learn so much in my time here in Macha. At the suggestion of my grandpa, I have been keeping a log of people I have met, places I have been, things I have done, and things I have learned. If you didn’t know this either, I have learned that there are actually a ton of foods that you can make that don’t come from a box – I wish I had learned this before cooking for myself for the past two years at college. I have also learned that it being late and not having a schedule is actually okay. In fact, it’s more of an expectation to be late here. If a football game is supposed to start at 3, you shouldn’t bother showing up until about 3:30 or 4.

But on a more serious note… I have learned so much about life and what life is really about and what life really means. The people here work hard and by our standards in the U.S., they don’t have much. They don’t have “stuff” like we do. But they have so much joy and this is the life they know. Living here the past 3 weeks, I have realized that life is not so different. I feel like sometimes people look at Africa and think that life here is so unlike anything else. And it is different. But really, when it comes down to it, its not so different. Kids still fight, adults still want more money for their work, kids in school want to play sports, people love to sit and watch sports on TV, they like to hang out and play games… Yes, their life looks different from ours – some walk with containers to pump their water, some survive through the nights with no electricity, some have to prepare and cook every meal they will eat, but this is the life they know and they take what they are given and use it. They are strong people.

I have learned a lot about myself and what I really need to focus on in my life and in my relationship with God. God loves each and every single one of us and He won’t stop – His grace really is an ocean deep. One of my favorite parts of the day is when I go on a run in the evening and just take in God’s incredible creation and the breath taking sunsets. It’s a time that I get to spend totally alone with Him, and I never fail to be amazed at His creation. I was listening to a song last night while I was running – Can’t Get Over You by Anthem Lights – and that’s how I felt about God… I couldn’t get over Him and how incredible He really is. 

Miss you all and home… but I also know I will be missing Zambia once I am home. Until next time… :)

The U13 boys at their game in Mbabala

Wearing Reece on my back!

MICS girls' netball game

MICS boys celebrating after their volleyball win

I have found the girls love to rub the dirt off of my feet when they are dirty... which happens quite often!

Two weeks!

After two weeks, I am what I would call officially settled into life in Macha. I have started doing more this week out in the community and have gotten to know more and more people!

I will be going out to Macha Girls Secondary School on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday every week and will be helping to coach the basketball team there! I go out there with Muntanga, who is volunteering his time while he is home from school to go out and train the girls. One thing I’ve realized in the 4 times I have been out there so far is that it is totally different coaching here in Zambia than in the United States. Basketball here, or at least at Macha Girls, is structured differently than what I am used to having played Messiah basketball for the past four years. Their skill level is obviously lower than girls back home, as some of these girls only started playing a year ago… and some, just yesterday! It’s also hard to coach when you are working with sometimes over 20 girls on a small outdoor court with only a ball or two. Muntanga and I have to be very creative to involve all the girls in our hour with them and keep them motivated!! In other news, the girls won 2 out of their 3 games last Saturday, which qualified them for a tournament this Saturday in Livingstone, so I am excited to hear how they do this weekend!!

Tuesday and Thursday afternoons will be spent more around the Push the Rock Zambia campus. There are always boys that come afterschool to play football, and there are a few girls that come but usually end up leaving after a couple minutes because they don’t play with the boys. My goal while I am here is to keep the girls here longer and even start some kind of structured program for them that PTRZ can continue after I leave in August. Tuesday was the first day I was around outside in the afternoon, and I started that time by playing handball/football/keep away with a group of about 13 pregnant women that are staying near the hospital waiting to have their babies! It was so fun!! There was so much laughter and joy for the hour or so we played! After these women left I spent some time with some of the MICS (a school) girls that were here, playing some volleyball games and then sitting while they braided parts of my hair into tiny little braids! I’m excited to get to know the boys and girls more that come here afterschool and hang out with them for the weeks I am here!

In the mornings, I will be helping Eric with more of the business side of PTRZ, as well as working on some projects such as videos and mission team evaluations. Tuesday and Thursday mornings I will be going out to MICS and helping teach their P.E. classes. I will be teaching them some new games, but I will really be trying to teach the teacher new games and activities that he can use to teach the kids after I am gone! So all my P.E. majors out there (Chelsea Danel!!) if you have any fun games or activities… I’d love some ideas! :)

I was really blessed to have the Messiah group here for the first week or so to hang out with… Reg, one of my good friends on the soccer team at Messiah, hung out with us here at PTRZ for the week and I also had a running buddy for the week. On one of her last nights here, we ran out to the small airstrip a mile or two away from the hospital and watched the sunset… I love PA and think it is beautiful… but the sunsets here are absolutely incredible. I took pictures, but they don’t do it justice!

I took my first trip to Choma, the closest bigger town, yesterday with Eric, Corie, Elem and the girls. We got some supplies, some groceries, and a little bit of ice cream, which was a treat!! I am going to be really busy for the next 8 weeks… and the World Cup starts today, which, as you can imagine, is huge here!! We are planning on showing some of the games outside on a projector, which will be really fun!

Life here in Macha has been really good! The place and the people are beautiful and I am learning so much every day. These people, though we may see them as poor, are so rich. They are joyful and the friendliest people I have ever met. They live relational lives and they work hard to live. There is so much to learn from them! It is sometimes hard to be so far away from home and there are sometimes that I miss home and people a lot. I realize that I only have 8 more weeks in this place and I want to make the most of my time here! I would appreciate prayers for just personal growth and prayers as I live here, transitioning from college and figuring out what God has for the next part of my life.

Miss and love you all! Enjoy some pictures from my first two weeks!

the girls braiding my hair at the PTRZ campus

the sunset from the airstrip

home! the piles of dirt to the right are building materials for the PTRZ rec center!

Elem's football game at Macha Central

Macha Living

I have officially been in Macha for 5 days!! Eric and Elem, an employee of PTRZ, picked me up from the airport in Livingstone safely and we arrived back in Macha right after dinnertime! I’m so blessed to spend the summer here in Macha! I miss home and my friends and family like crazy, but I know I am going to have an incredible experience here with Push the Rock!

On Sunday, I attended the Brethren in Christ Church, which has a longer service than we are used to in the States! There was lots of awesome singing and a message about true religion and living out our faith in our daily lives. After church I got to just rest for the afternoon with Corie and the girls, Char and Reece, while Eric went to his football (soccer) game.

I wish I had time to tell you about each and every day here in Macha, but I’ll just tell you about some of the things I’ve done over the past few days. Most of my time here so far has been used to get used to the new culture, adjust to life here in Zambia, learn bits and pieces of the language, and find my way around (Dad, I’ve been doing pretty well so far – I know which way east is because that is the direction all of the TV dishes face on the houses!).  So in the past few days this is what I’ve done:

·      Go to bible study with Corie and Eric

·      Begin to learn more about what Push the Rock is doing here with Eric, Elem, and Reg (one of my friends from Messiah who is here on a cross-cultural)

·      Hear an HIV patient’s story

·      Meet Vera, whose husband went to Messiah and figured out she lived in Millersburg (for all of you that don’t know where Millersburg is, it’s right down the road from my hometown!!)

·      Buy buns and fritters

·      See the construction of the rec center that is being built on the PTRZ campus

·      Learn too many Tonga words to remember from the gardener

·      Hear from Dr. Luumuno, a traditional healer in a village

·      Watch some of a football game here in Macha

·      Help Eric and Corie set up the TV for the coming World Cup games :)

·      Here a talk on malaria from Eric’s dad (some really interesting stuff – their work here in Macha has reduced malaria to almost 0!)

·      And play basketball!!!

These are just a few of the things that I have done the past few days, with so much more to come. I am learning that life here in Macha is so different from life back home. Here people take their time. They stop to greet each other as they walk everywhere. They drop in to your home unannounced and unplanned. And every single one is so very friendly! As Eric was telling Reg and I the other day, it is hard to separate life, work, and home here. You can be working, but if someone comes by or something else comes up, that is what becomes more important. It’s such a relational culture, but it’s also an adjustment coming from the States. I like to be on time for things, have a plan, and get stuff done, but here you have to learn to be flexible and go with whatever the day throws at you. It can be a tough adjustment at first, but I think this will be something I will miss coming back to the States in August.

I’m already learning so much – about life, about God, about this new place, and also about babies! I’m loving have two new little sisters for the summer! :) I hope everyone at home is doing well and enjoying the warm summer weather. I’m struggling through an 70-80 degree winter here in Macha… people here really think it is cold at night when it drops into the 60s!! Thanks for all of you that have contacted me – makes me miss home a little less! And thank you for all your support and prayers!

Love,

Emily

Mom, Dad, Jeff, Katie, Cauls and Andyroo – Miss you guys!! Keep Scooter in line for me back home. :) You guys would all also be really proud – there are these spiders here that sit on the wall and ceiling that eat mosquitos… and I’m not even scared of them! They hang out with me in my room!! Momma – taking pics for ya too!! Love you guys :)