Day 11 - Wednesday 23rd August 2017

We started off this morning with a group devotional time in which we as a team spent time talking about our sacrifices in life are, particularly our sacrificial giving to God, and our trust in the Lord. It was a great way to get to know each other better and go deeper into some of the more difficult situations we have been in and a chance to share these moments with others. 
We then headed out into the community for our third day in Maposa. Once again the children met us with beaming smiles and some even ran with the bus as we were coming down the lane to the Care Point. We played games with the children for a short time and then gathered with the Care Workers in the church for worship and Relationship Group. A Relationship Group happens within every community in which there is a Care Point. It gives the Care Workers time for them to share their stories, their struggles and a time for them to share fellowship together. It is important to remember that these Care Workers are the Heroes of the community; though they are also broken due to their stories, they are true disciples of Christ in serving their community of children and nourishing and supporting them through their difficult times. These people are the beautiful feet of Zambia. We all sat down and went around the circle sharing our own Testimonies or the reason why we decided to go to Zambia. It was an incredibly moving and emotional time as everyone was so honest and open about the highs and lows of their life so far. We sat for 4 hours sharing our stories but it was so so valuable!
There was enough time for us to go on a Holy Home Visit. As there were not many people to translate we went in only 2 groups. We walked to a house only 15 minutes away and were greeted by Matthew* and Gloria* and we all sat together in a small bit of shade. They shared their story with us and are currently looking after 3 of their grandchildren, of which 2 are currently on the programme the Care Point. The children's parents separated and left the children without anyone to care for them, so their Grandparents took on the responsibility. Even though they have had poor harvest due to troubles getting fertiliser for the land they seemed so high in spirits. Becky advised them on how they can improve their fertileness of the land by using manure or their own waste - they laughed at the idea and I'm not sure they were convinced! We helped go and collect some water from the well for them and carried it back to their home. Matthew* and Gloria* said that they had been married for 48 years and had never had an argument - a true inspiration to us all, that even in the most difficult situations, love will always conquer. We prayed for them, for their grandchildren and their health and then headed back to the Care Point. 
Lunch was served fairly soon after we got back and today it was nshima, kale and fish broth. An interesting combination, but the children and the Care Workers all seemed to have clean plates at the end. 
After lunch we said our 'See you tomorrows' and headed back on the bus. I think we were all so tired on the journey home that it was very quiet. 
Once we got back, we had a team debrief and reflected on the day we had just had. Then it was time for our surprise for our host Dawson, the poor man has had to put up with all for 2 weeks so we thought we would have a Canadian/British themed evening, I'm not sure what he quite made of it; his exact quote was 'I have no words to say!'. It was a great way to spend the penultimate night as a team at Kachele with so much laughter that my stomach hurt! We played an intense game of Uno, hide and seek in the pitch black and a game of spoons! Time went so quickly and as a couple of us sat up chatting we soon realised it was 3am and should head to bed!


*All names have been changed to protect the privacy of these people in line with the Hands at Work guidelines. 

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