love conquers all

well no news on the situation with clement yet. i came to town today because i was told his hearing was this morning. of course when i got here i found out that it wasn't. ahhh life in zambia! i'm really not surprised anymore nor am i frustrated. i'm adjusting well to this. haha!

since i came to town i have to kill a few hours so of course i hopped online. i figured there's always a few things i can share with you anyway.

one of the employees at the mango tree, named agness, has 2 little girls. gracie, her oldest, is 2 1/2 and she's scared of white people. i'm told beth had trouble last year befriending her as well. being the lover of children that i am i was not happy with this situation. so i've made it my goal to win her over while i'm here. yesterday i started to have some success! she let me play with her a little and when i started to tickle her she laughed! oh what a beautiful sound! then she couldn't get enough of it. it was a special moment for me. i bought her a sweet, which always helps to win the kiddos over. haha! i felt like i conquered the world. it was a good feeling!

yesterday i spent the afternoon in the village making decorations for the independence day festival on friday. friday marks 44 years since zambia's independence from britain! we made paper chain streamers out of construction paper and i figured out how to make these swirly-twirly streamers by cutting the paper a certain way. all of this though didn't have me as excited as knowing who was helping me. you see there's this young girl (roughly 13) who comes around the mango tree sometimes. she is very dirty and is always begging in the village. she has epilepsy and the school won't let her come. her mom deserted her and her father neglects her. have i written about her before? i can't remember!

anyways, yesterday she was nearby where we were making the decorations and after some gentle coaxing she came and sat with us. i showed her how to cut the paper into strips. she did a good job and i could tell by the smile on her face that she was having a good time. it was nice to be able to include her in something and help her feel loved and accepted. i know she doesn't get that at home. i'm told she's tried to overdose on her epilepsy medicine before because she wanted to end her life. she walks around all the time saying that no one loves her. it breaks my heart because God loves her! so i'm doing the little bit that i can to help her feel it.

as for my sickness i can't say that it's over. my doctor called me yesterday and thinks maybe i have some sort of worm which is really creepy and gross but i guess it happens. i was able to walk into a pharmacy and get some medicine he recommended so hopefully that kills whatever it is that's ailing me! thanks for your prayers!

the next few days are going to be busy with independence day celebrations so i won't be back to town until next week. i hope you all have a great week!

love and blessings from zambia...