EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING.

Our internet is getting better so I put some more pictures on facebook. (Not all of them worked but I’ll keep trying.) I cant believe we’ve been here almost a month! So much has happened and I’m in love with this place. I’ve experienced tons of new things and have met so many people. My relationships are growing stronger and stronger with my HIZ group and the Zambians. Every day holds something new. I’m constantly learning and growing. I’m not the same person that I was a month ago when I left America. God is working in my life. But of course, I don’t know why I’d expect anything less. Every Sunday we go to villages for church and they are all so different, but they have all been great experiences! Our neighbors on the mission have lots of little children that love playing with us so one day I took them some play-dough and we played for a long time! They taught me Tonga songs and words and we had lots of fun! The kids here are precious and they love playing with us Makuas!

I still spend most of my time at the Havens. I love being there! Cathy is getting better and better. I love that little girl to death. On the 27^th she’s turning 2 months old! She’s starting to smile and make faces and she is just precious. We sit outside on the porch everyday just enjoying the weather and the other kids running around. Nande is a little girl that lives at the Havens…I think she is the daughter of one of the aunties. She’s the happiest little girl I know. She doesn’t speak any English unlike all the other kids that live on the mission, but I love playing with her! She always brings me so much joy. She has the biggest most beautiful smile ever and she’s always laughing. She’s an angel. My little boy Matt is the light of my life! We sit on the couch for hours and sing and laugh and play games. He has lots of little buddies in that Haven that come play with us too. They are all crazy and want the attention to themselves so it’s hard because they cry and cry when you put them down. But they are so sweet. Since we’ve been here we’ve gotten probably 5 or 6 new babies at the Havens. This week twin girls came in when they were 3 hours old! They are chunky and healthy and beautiful, and I love holding them! I’ve been spending more time at Eric’s house with George, Jason, Shane, Bright, Luke, Benjamin, and other boys. They are wild boys but so so sweet. They are at the age where they need attention. They need people to play with them. We’ll go spend a couple hours on the sports court just running around with them and they love it. They know my name now and I love hearing them call me... Sometimes it’s “Kenna” instead of “Hanna” but they’ll yell my name from far away and then run up and tackle me. They are fun boys!

Last week I really started making friends with the Zambian students at George Benson College. Brenda and Deleki are some girls that I met Wednesday night at church and since then I’ve been to their dorm a couple times and they’ve been over to play cards. We also got paired up with a student to be our Tonga tutor. It’s more like organized friends J It’s great though! My tutors name is Ruth and she’s so sweet. They took us to a dance which was interesting, to say the least. Lots of fun…but very different. They’re going to teach me how to make nsima so get ready family, I’m making it for you when I get home!

We’ve spent a lot of time playing cards, watching movies, talking and laughing, and really just getting to know each other! We spend some nights on the storage bins singing. We’re pretty used to the electricity going out…we’ve learned to cook and play cards by candle light or lantern. The Mann house family truly is my family. These girls have blessed my life so much, along with the rest of the girls. We’ve taken some field trips and gone into town a few times. We’re always seeing new and different things and learning so so much. It’s crazy. We’re constantly having to “process” and “debrief” from the day just because so much happens.

On Monday I went to work at the clinic for the first time. I went with Mackenzie and Hannah, and a PA student that’s here for a 6 week rotation, Katie Hill. It was hard at times but a really good experience. We saw lots of patients…there was a baby girl who was so dehydrated and malnourished that her skin was just hanging off her body. We saw a couple older people who both had really bad lungs and breathing. They were in-patients there so we started them on TB medicine and we’re going to keep checking on them! We had to tell a woman that she had a miscarriage which was really hard, but Katie did a great job telling her. We prayed with her and I was so impressed with how Katie handled it. We saw a few other patients who needed shots and exams. I saw some things that I never thought I would see in my life. I never really thought I would be working in a clinic dressed in scrubs with a stethoscope around my neck. But God continues to bless with me with so many new opportunities. He continues to surprise me and leave me in awe and speechless. “You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, ‘Lord, blessed be your name.’”

Yesterday (Tuesday) I went and watched some young boys play football (soccer)! This was such an “African” experience. We really are in Africa. I walk through the bush everyday and talk to Zambians everyday but sometimes it still doesn’t seem like I’m actually here.  Yesterday was a little different. I walked with a couple other girls to the football game; on the way we passes a creek that was so brown but there were little boys bathing in it, women getting water probably to cook with, and other kids just playing in it. Dirty water…that’s what causes so many of the diseases and deaths here. Then we got to the game and it was just a little field with some logs as goals. No uniforms. They actually had a real soccer ball. One boy had cleats and we were so surprised. These were just some Zambian boys playing soccer with whatever they have. 7 or 8 girls came up to us as soon as we got there and by the time we left there were probably more than 40 kids there. We were sitting on the sidelines of a football game with village kids in the Zambian bush. Crazy. TIA.

Keep praying for my team! We’ve had a lot of people sick with a pretty bad stomach virus. Culture shock is also hitting a lot of us. We’ve experienced a lot of things that past week that have surprised us and made us think a little differently about the Zambian culture. It’s hard seeing the positives and negatives of a culture and knowing how to handle them. Some days we’d rather just stay in our house where we’re comfortable instead of going outside to play with kids or hang out with the college students. Next week we’re going on vacation to Victoria Falls and Botswana so keep our travel in your prayers. So much is going on. "Everything is happening." Julia says that all the time and it's so true. God is blessing us! It’s not always easy but it’s all worth it. Every minute of it. I’m still learning. God never ceases to amaze me by showing me something new. And I think I can speak for my whole group when I say that. This experience is beyond anything we ever imagined ourselves doing. We’re so blessed and so thankful!