Upon arrival at our new hosts in Livingstone, we were introduced to our new environment... an Orphanage that hosts 10 orphans. This is where we spent the next 5 days of our time in Livingstone.
Our days went by quickly and were mostly filled with spending time with the orphans at the Orphanage five houses down the street. Our host took us to see the property where they are busy building an Orphanage that will be able to host 24 kids. It was amazing to share his vision in creating a safe haven for the orphans who will grow up in a home environment with a mother and hopefully a father to get a good education and jobs so that they too will be able to support the next generation of orphans. It was evident to us that they were building in faith, some times one brick at a time, while trusting in Gods provision for them and this was such an inspiration
Team Africa then had the opportunity to see one of the the most amazing creations of God... the breathtaking Victoria Falls. With every litre of water that went over the rim, we stood in awe of this beauty in front of our eyes - The beauty that glorifies God every second of the day. With these Living Waters gushing down the landscape we were reminded of Gods word in John that promises that if we believe in Jesus that Living Waters will flow from within us. We all were soaked from the spray, some more than others – as Corneli and Tienie went for a swim.
The following day, we went to the poorest pre-school in Livingstone. The pre-school is on the outskirts of Livingstone. There are only two teachers and 120 pre-schoolers, each demanding attention. Some of the children cannot afford the R24 per month school fees. The school also doesnt have basic resources like pens, paper, books, etc. But yet in the midst of this obvious difficulty these teachers managed to overcome to some extend and teach the children geography, history, bible verses and much more. All that the kids were taught, they were able to recite out of their heads. I asked myself the question, what is it that makes this teachers continue? It was quite clear that they don't get a salary that they deserve, but yet they continues diligently. What makes her get up in the morning and continue with her dedicated work? I came to the conclusion that the main teachers passion for Jesus which radianted from her. I wondered if our passion for Jesus was just as immense and if we had the same passion that if we were faced with the same difficulty if we would also persevere like this. We all were touched by the sight of this school and we handed each child one colouring pencil and it was evident that some of them never had a pencil in their hand before.
Monday morning came quickly and we left before the crack of dawn to catch our bus to Lusaka, only to change buses to get on another one for the north of Zambia. The first bus ride took us 7 hours and was equivalent to a Translux bus in South Africa. However, the second bus was more challenging with seats that was clearly been over used and lost shape drasticly. During one of our stops, Tienie counted the wheel nuts and on the one side of the bus there were 14 out of 30 missing!! Its by Gods grace that we made it safe to our next destination. The more north we went, the narrower the road got and the bigger the potholes became. But after 24 hours traveling overall, we arrived at our destination with little sleep.