Christmas in Lusaka

Hello!

Here I sit in our living room to finally write our latest blog. It has been over a month since our last entry and we have managed to stay quite busy.

Our newest addition to the family, a 3 month old kitten named “Iwe” (in Nyanja it means “you”) is sitting on my lap as I type. I managed to convince Dave that we needed a kitten to warm up our home, especially at Christmas time (don’t tell Logan and Isabella!!). We had seen some strays running around at our gym and inquired. The waiter of the near-by restaurant took our number and said he would call if they were able to catch any of them. That same night (Dec 23) we went to pick up a tiny gray and white furball. She was eating a French fry as she sat trapped under a crate in the restaurant kitchen. All the workers laughed as I wrapped her in a towel and held her like a little baby – neither cats nor dogs are cared for much here. It’s been so great to have her company at the house. She was skittish at first, but has easily transitioned into a spoiled house kitty. She’s really playful and prefers wet food to dry food!

We celebrated Christmas in Zambia although really, our hearts were at home with you. We kept busy in Lusaka for the holiday. Munda Wanga (My Plot) is a wildlife preserve and botanical garden in Chilanga, just 20 minutes outside of downtown Lusaka. We went with friends and spent Christmas Eve day with 70 kids from 3 orphanages (age 1 yr to 10 yrs) – what a day!! Despite the rain, we had children hanging on to every appendage as we tredged through the gardens, past warthogs, antelope, bushback, lions, and a cheetah. We had lunch and played for hours with the kids. As the day went on, the curious but apprehensive faces turned into smiles and laughter. We learned from the “house-moms” that nearly all the children had not been out of the orphanage for years. Isaac, Elijah, Emmanuel, Joyce, Emilia, Mada, Angela, Simon, Cecilia… such amazing resilient spirits – honestly, I think it was more rewarding for us than for them. As we were leaving, Dave said he had his eye on FOUR! I’m sure he was joking, but it is heart-wrenching to interact with these little people, see them respond, and then leave them – all the while knowing we could intervene to make their life so much easier… we’ll keep you posted!

We started our day with our own traditional Christmas run, this year the raindrops cooled us off as we finished. We rushed over to Lubuto library to spend a few hours with the boys that stay at the Fountain of Hope orphanage next door. We opened the library and art room and took pictures as their chaperone passed out shirts that had been donated from European Union. All the boys proceeded to put the shirts on over their clothes, then posed for a snap of the group. We rushed home and prepared lasagna and carrot cake (our recent specialties) to bring to a friend’s place for Christmas dinner. It was a feast with 2 other couples, wine and laughter into the night.

We're missing you all. We'll write soon with details of our Tanzania adventure...

Until then, take good care,
Kim&Dave