Time to Celebrate!

The April/May 2013 Mercy Touch Mission team has left to go back home. The following are some remaining updates of what we did as a team.

The last week of the trip we had a family night with all of the team members and the children. We created a panel-like discussion with representation from the housemothers, the children, and the mission team. It was a very enjoyable discussion and a question and answer period for the children and the team members.

The team also participated in the weekly feeding program ran by Mercy Touch every Friday morning. At this program malnourished and underweight babies and toddlers are fed weekly to help increase their health and body weight. These children are referred to Mercy Touch by a nearby clinic. Furthermore, the mothers of these children are taught safe and healthy methods of taking care of their young ones. The team really enjoyed participating in the feeding program. We played games with the children, handed out small bags full of goodies and other necessities, and also helped give out the food to those who attended the program. Since Mercy Touch runs a micro-loans program for some of the ladies involved; the team members participated in handing out chickens to these ladies from the community, who will then be provided with opportunities to learn how to be independent and be able to provide for themselves and their families.

The team visited certain homes and experienced some Zambian dancing and traditional food. It was a lot of fun for all of us!

As most of you know, we launched the new children's home on May 4^th, 2013. It was such a wonderful celebration and milestone for Mercy Touch and all those who were involved in this long but rewarding process. Many members from the community and Child Welfare were invited to this event. There was a time of praise, testimony from our current Mercy Touch children, a powerful word from Rev. Dr. Bernard Mukwavi, and also a time to honour and appreciate the Mercy Touch Ambassadors who were present, for all that they have sacrificed and continue to do for the Ministry. After the program we enjoyed fellowship and food - of course! Those in attendance were provided an opportunity to tour the house. Photos will be uploaded to our Mercy Touch facebook page very soon!

As a team we enjoyed having dinners with the children. On Sunday May 5^th we celebrated one of the girls' birthday. Prior to the birthday celebration we went swimming after church. This is a treat for the children as they do not always have the opportunity to go swimming.

As always, it was really difficult to say goodbye to everyone. The trip seemed short; but we really got more out of it than we were expecting. It has been such a great experience and we cannot wait to be back in Zambia again!

Thank you again for your continued support and prayers. Don't forget to keep up with our facebook page for more updates and photos. Also our Mercy Touch app for android, iPad, and iPhone!

-Mercy Touch 2013 Team

Work Hard, Play harder!

These past three days have been a lot of fun for the team and the children. We are continuously enjoying our time here. It feels as though we have been here for much longer than three days since we have all really connected with each of the children and the housemothers. It definitely feels like family!

We begin each day with morning devotions. This is a time when one of the team members leads the entire group in and devotion and starts the day off with prayer. After this, one of the team members who is a personal trainer by profession, leads the group in morning exercises including: Pilates, crunches, and more. We sure are sore from all the work-out, but it is much needed as we have been quite spoiled with delicious food every day.

Mercy Touch has hired a few teachers to come in the mornings to give the children extra lessons. This is to ensure that they maintain good grades as many of them are at a critical stage of their education. At this time, their results are a determinant of the schools that they will be eligible for in the future. The team has also been working alongside the teachers to tutor the children in areas that they may find challenging.

The Mercy Touch farm grows a field of groundnuts. Here in Zambia, it is common to boil the groundnuts - They are very tasty to eat! The field needs to be cultivated once a year; meaning that the plants need to be hoed out of the ground, and each peanut needs to be plucked off the root of the plant and collected along with the other groundnuts. The Mercy Touch family has been selling some of these groundnuts to locals in the community and also consuming some for themselves. The team members and the children have all helped in working on this tedious task in the past two hot and sunny days. We may have been a little bit over-ambitious in planning to complete this task in one day, as we still have a long way to go! Thank goodness for team work. 

There have been many additions to the Mercy Touch farm. The team has had the chance to tour the farm and see the crops, fish ponds, bull, cows, pigs, goats, chickens, and so on. There is also a mill that grinds the corn (maize) which is necessary to cook the Zambian staple food known as Nshima. A few of the older boys grind the corn and sell it to locals from around the community. This encourages the farm to maintain self-sustainability. Mercy Touch also encourages the children involved to learn the concept of a good work ethic; that is why they are encouraged to work hard on the farm. Work hard, play harder!

The team also had a chance to go out into the community a few times. The drive was interesting....More of an off-roading experience! We went into the community to hand out gifts such as: toothpastes, candy, face cloths, toys, soap, and the like. We had a chance to meet the prospective children that will soon be entering the new Mercy Touch home which is officially launching on this coming Saturday. These children were given gifts sent from various sponsors that have committed to supporting them as children of Mercy Touch. Thank you very much for your continued support. Seeing these children and hearing their stories has really given all of us more of a perspective of the good that you are really doing for them. Although you are so far in distance, please understand the difference that you are making in their lives!

With the free time that we have with the children we have been playing games with them. Some of the boys have learned American football and Poor Man's Golf. The children have also played charades and other fun card games such as Dutch Blitz. We have also enjoyed other games with the children; and even just times of relaxing, conversation, more fellowship, and family time. The other day we had a campfire with the children. They roasted marshmallows for the first time and enjoyed their first experience doing so. We also had a time of prayer - and of course dancing!

The children that are currently living in the Mercy Touch homes have received the gifts donated anonymously and from their sponsors. They are very grateful for your donations. After being given the gifts they each went around a circle expressing their deep gratitude for what many of you have done for them. We apologize for being unable to upload pictures thus far, but we will continue to try to do so. When they are uploaded we will send a notification through the Mercy Touch Facebook page, as well as the Mercy Touch App for iPhone, iPad, and Android.

The other day was one of the house mother's birthday. Mama Regina has served with Mercy Touch as a house mother for longer than any one else. She has committed herself to the cause and has been a blessing to many of the staff and the children's lives. Some of the staff, house mothers, team members, and board members, went to a restaurant in town to fellowship with one another and also celebrate the life of this honorable woman. 

One of the team members, Nataizya has started a girl's group for many of the young girls in the surrounding community. These girls have been marginalized, experienced abuse, and live in challenging situations. As Nataizya works with these young girls, they will have an opportunity to express their struggles and be encouraged and provided with opportunities to strive for success as they are subordinated group of individuals. The girls have expressed their desire to play futbol (soccer). Nataizya is working on organizing these ladies into their own mini football league. A couple of the other team members: Sandra Butters and Shelly Kozachenko have shared their own stories with these young girls as a way of connecting with them and encouraging them as well. 

So far, everything has been going great - Better than we could have imagined or planned! Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. We will continue to keep you posted on our time here in Zambia. 

Today is the official launch of the new Mercy Touch home. Stay tuned for the next blog!

God Bless!

-Mercy Touch 2013 Team

Arrived Safely!

We made it! Thank you all for your prayers and support. Although there were some bumps on the road (literally and metaphorically) we managed to travel safely and are now currently in Ndola where we are staying at the new children's home. Our 2013 team includes 11 members in total: 5 from Edmonton, 4 from British Columbia, and 2 from the USA. For some members it is their first time in Zambia. We are all really enjoying our experience thus far!

After our arrival in the capital city known as Lusaka, we went out and did a lot of shopping to bring back with us to Ndola. The trouble came when we realized that with our 30 bags of luggage (strategically packed into the back of our bus) and our very large amount of shopping; there was little to no room left in the bus for us to even sit. Not to mention that there were 18 large irrigation pipes also packed inside of the bus! Regardless of the fact that we had to climb in and out of windows, and also over these large items to get to our seats; we made it work! Local Zambians seemed amused by our successfull effort to fit everything (including ourselves) into the bus. 

After a long and hot 6 hour drive to Ndola, we were finally nearing our destination  We anticipated our arrival to the Mercy Touch farm greatly as we were all jet lagged and very exhausted. Although it was only around 7:30 PM that we arrived - it was very dark outside. The African sun sets quite early. Not only was it dark...We found that the power was out at the home! We then had to unload our bus (packed beyond its capacity) in the dark. However, we were very happy to see the excited children and house mothers who congregated around the bus to welcome us here. After we finally unloaded the bus we maneuvered around the house with flashlights and candles until the power finally came back.

The house is truly beautiful inside and out. It is also very spacious for the children who will soon be residing in it. You will have to remain tuned for upcoming photos. Words just can't do it justice!

We have had a great time visiting and connecting with the children and the house mothers. The children have really grown! On Sunday we all attended Integrity Christian Fellowship church in the city. The entire team, all the children, and the house mothers attended service. Pastor Bernard Mukwavi gave a great word as he was the guest speaker at church. The praise and worship was wonderful, as well as our time with the church members. We had a great time visiting with people after the service. 

After service we all headed to Nando's for lunch. We basically took up half the restaurant! Of course we ended our meal with a nice cup of ice cream to enjoy on the hot sunny day. 

After lunch some of the team attended a dinner function put on by the same church. They had a really great time eating and fellowshipping with the local Zambians. The remaining members went back to the farm and watched a soccer game; as some of the Mercy Touch children, workers, and other community members play in a league. They then spent time eating and playing with the children. 

In the evening the children and the 4 housemothers got to try on their new soccer jerseys donated from Canada. Thank you all for your donations. They have really been blessed by your support. Please do remember to keep us in your prayers and remain tuned for more updates and photos as we will be blogging regularly. 

Thank you again and God Bless!

-Mercy Touch 2013 Mission Team