Wednesday, October 29, 2008

festival recap

here i am again with another update!

last friday we held our indpendence day festival at the mango tree. we had well over 300 people attend (mostly kids and teenagers). it was a beautiful day, but very windy so our balloons and streamers didn't last very long. a few popped balloons can't dampen a zambian's mood on independence day so it didn't bother anyone.

the festival started 2 hours late, which isn't too bad for zam-time. again, no one seemed bothered by this. we had the local theater group perform some drumming and dancing routines which starr is now a member of. she was dressed in full costume dancing and singing with the rest of them. it was fun to watch!

we had all kinds of games and competitions and that was the main highlight. we watched kids try to eat fritters (it's like a donut) that were dangling from a string. it proved to be very tricky! we also watched kids bob for apples, eat bananas with no hands and more! my favorite was watching the older boys chug a coke and eat a bowl of rice as fast as they could. it was very messy and kind of gross, but extremely entertaining. my good friend eustace won that competition and we were all very proud of his eating skills. haha!

the other main event was the miss mango tree pageant. we had 7 contestants in their mid-teens who proudly strutted their stuff and gave speeches about how they would help the mango tree. a winner was chosen by a group of judges (including myself) and now part of her duty is to start a club for orphans at the mango tree. we even made a sash that says "miss mango tree 2008." the winner, a girl named moriah, was extremely happy to have won. you could tell it was a very special moment for her!

all in all, the day was a success! we were all very tired by the end of the day! it was great to see so many people at the mango tree again, especially children!

tomorrow is the big day here in zambia. it's the presidential election here. it's kind of funny that zambia and the u.s. are both dealing with this election within a few days of each other. helps me relate to the zambians here, actually. please pray for peace for this country! i've heard a few people talking about some concern over the elections and the possible results. in 2006 there was apparently some corruption with the ballots and some fighting broke out in lusaka. hopefully things will go smoothly this year and we won't have any problems. again, please be praying for this country for the next few days! pray against corruption and for honesty and truth to be present through this election.

i love you all so much! thank you for your prayers and support. God is doing good things here, in His timing.

grace and peace to all of you!

*i tried to upload some pictures here but it wasn't working. sorry!*

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi, Sue!

Glad to hear you're feeling better and enjoying the Zambian culture. We've been praying for you.

It's wonderful that you have had such a great reception by the people. What is the spiritual climate like? Are you able to share the gospel?

Blessings!
Mrs. Mulberry

Bethany said...

SO happy you are feeling better and things are going so well.

LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU TONS!!

You are in my prayers.
Hugs and KISSES!!
~Bethany

Beth said...

yay! so glad you are carrying on the independence day tradition - including Miss Mango Tree! Reading your post brought back a lot of good memories :)

beth

kfourqurean said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea about having miss mango 2008 start a club for orphans. you have to tell me more about how that goes.


i can totally picture starr in the chilonga theatre group!! that's amazing!!

sounds like you're having a great time!! keep it up!!

love,katie