7/24-26/23

 On Sunday the team traveled 3 hours each way to another small village in the Mete district.  Hippos were Seen on the way.  The church there was in disrepair and a pole structure had been erected inside the old walls. 

We spent Monday morning visiting some of the poor families where gave out dresses, shorts, toys, etc.

 

One of those visited was this woman with 4 children.  The 3 children behind her are orphans that she is also raising.

In the afternoon we traveled to Simakumba which is a remote Mother’s Milk distribution site.  We passed out milk, dresses, shorts, hats, and toys.

Those smiling faces keep us coming back.

Tuesday we started saying our goodbyes.  Here we are with the ladies who cooked, cleaned and did our laundry.

In the evening we had dinner with various leadership members at the nuns house.  We had a very nice time which included teaching them the chicken dance.

Wednesday was departure day.

Along the way we came upon an accident.  We couldn’t help but they were very grateful for the water and energy bars that we gave them.

We also made a coffee and potty stop at a lodge in the game reserve where we saw some elephants across the river.

Thursday we begin the long trip home…

7-21 & 22/2023

 Yesterday we were scheduled to continue work on the house.  However, when we got there we were informed that they wanted to let everything cure.  Below is a picture of the progress so far.

This next picture shows the house being replaced for the elderly woman shown standing in front of the right corner of the old house.

Fortunately we remembered to take one of the soccer balls that he been donated for the boys.  When all else fails, play soccer…

Some of the guys went fishing in the afternoon with Father Reagan.  They “claim” they had 4 bites but no fish.  However, the Mozi’s were good.

This morning we took the local ferry across the Zambezi river to Metete district.

We then drove about 2 hours to the village of Sitwala.  This was the first time a priest visited since last September.  During the rainy season which is about 4 months they are totally cut off as they become surrounded by water.  As usual we were greeted by the villagers singing to us upon arrival.  We celebrated Mass with them.  Notice the xylophone in the picture.

In addition to the normal monetary collection, their masses include offerings various items for the priests.  Father Christian is shown receiving a live chicken which is quite common.

Following Mass we received a meal that had been prepared for us, and then we had some time to interact with the parishioners and children.

7/19 & 20/23

 Wednesday love for Lukulu. We began with morning prayer at 7 am. Breakfast immediately afterwards. After breakfast all of us went to work on a home for an elderly woman selected by the parish for a new house because the old one was falling down. 

We had fun working with the locals, Dennis and Sebastian, and a few others.

Later in the afternoon we went Chotella, a small outpost village, where we were greeted by children singing.

The “church” consisted of a stick structure with a plastic tarp covering only a portion.  This is typical for many of the churches in small villages.

After celebrating Mass we had dinner with the parish leaders and then returned home where the youth were waiting for us at the bonfire.  As this was the third night in a row for a bonfire we were all so tired that we went to bed early.

Today after morning prayer and breakfast, we split into 2 groups.  One group went back to the construction site and the other group went to St. Colomba Secondary School.  The first class that we visited was the ccmputer skills class.  Most of the computers were older with floppy disk drives and there were 3 students for each computer.

Meanwhile at the construction site, progress continued on the walls with the addition of the door frames.

Today we had extra help moving bricks from a dozen or so local children.  They were rewarded with a piece of gum.

After the computer skills class we visited the industrial arts class.  One of the things that stood out was the scarcity of tools, especially larger floor tools.  In addition, there was no safety equipment(glasses, aprons, gloves, etc.)

The open air kitchen was something else.

Mid afternoon we attended a special mass for the children.  It was moving and finished with our favorite song “Happy We Are…”. While we were busy this afternoon, a couple of the guys started the 2nd pig which looked a lot better than the first one.

7/18 Lukulu

 Our normal routine is to have mass or morning prayer and then breakfast every day.  Today after breakfast we helped with the Mother’s milk program which is one of the highlights of our mission.  

Tom made a new friend.

After the powdered milk and heps had been distributed, along with hats, gifts, etc., some of the mothers showed their gratitude with various gifts which included casaba,  peanuts, and live chickens.

Afterward we stopped at a fishing village

On our way to the old village

In the afternoon we visited the nursing school which was started in 2021 by Sister Pat and Sister Elizabeth.

Joshua was popular with the young nursing students and may not be coming home…

7/17 Lukulu

 Most of the time whenever we go anywhere on the church grounds, which we estimate are about 100 acres or more, we are surrounded by kids, especially if we start handing out candies.

We visited the district hospital this morning.

It is supposed to have 4 doctors but has only 1.  We were told that this is the only hospital to service about 120,000 people.  This facility also provides dental and optometry services.

We visited the boarding school in the afternoon and saw some familiar faces from Sunday mass.  Before dinner Tom gave Father Reagan a fishing lesson.  Unfortunately, no fish.

After dinner the youth held a bonfire and a witch doctor showed up(actually one of the youth).  It was great fun.

7/16 Lukulu

 Today we attended Sunday Mass which lasted 2 1/2 hours.  There was plenty of singing and dancing.  Those of you that have witnessed it firsthand know what a spiritual experience masses are here.  Father Christian participated in the mass including handing out communion.

After mass we decided to introduce the concept of donuts and coffee.  We purchased rolls from the bakery at the Trade Center and bottles of juice from the village.  We passed these out along with crosses as the 700 parishioners exited the church.  They very much appreciated the after church treat.

In the afternoon we interacted with the church youth group.  They taught us 2 games which we played with them.  I think they were looking for us to mess up but we managed to hold our own.  We also taught them a few games of our own.

Another new concept that we introduced this year was to have a pig roast.  We designed and built a somewhat functional pig roaster using sheet metal and a steel bed frame for the pig to lay on.

Unfortunately, the concept of low and slow is foreign here and the pig got pretty burned because the heat was too high.  We have another pig to roast and we hope to have better results.  We did manage to salvage some of the meat which is being passed out at a bonfire tonight for the youths.  

7/15 Lukulu

 This morning we visited a family where the father passed away a few months ago.  Also, the one daughter has severe arthritis and can barely walk.  The family has been struggling financially.  One of our past missionaries, Steve and LuAnne Renee, wanted to help a family and this is the one that benefited. We presented them with this monetary gift which will allow them to buy crutches for the daughter, catch up on their bills, and give them a nice start going forward.  Here we are pictured with that family.  

We then visited the leprosarium where there are two people that Love For Lukulu provides for 100% of their needs.  Agnes, who is 69, has leprosy and is a joy to be with.  She loves to dance with us when we visit as you can see in the picture below.

There is also an elderly man living here who has epilepsy.  We next visited an elderly woman whose house was previously built by Love For Lukulu.  Here she is pictured with her new blanket and warm hat.  She was thrilled.

In the afternoon we were entertained with a program of singing and dancing by the youths.  After the program we taught the children how to play musical chairs.  They had a ball.  

We are going to roast a pig tomorrow for a bonfire tomorrow night.  Since they have never done this before, they had to make a pit structure which included a steel bed frame to set the pig on over the charcoal.