It's been a year!!

I flew out on June 23rd last year to begin an adventure in Zambia via family in Zimbabwe. It was a very surreal day leaving behind good friends and going to live in Zambia a place I had only seen from a distance over Victoria falls. So I've been out of England for over a year now and you are probably wondering what I've learnt from being here so I thought I would share some of my wisdom with you all!

The day I left saying goodbye to some great friends! 

Some things I've realised since being here:

The love of simple things (you see it a lot in the kids):
- recycling plastic bottles and lids to make toy cars
- using the plastic bags from loaves of bread and a stick to make crowns
- another use of the bread bag is making kites with a few added sticks
- Laughing at little things, like what Miss Chapman looks like with no glasses. It's hilarious!
- making up games like guess what is in Miss Chapman's bag.
- having a whole class sing a song to praise me for reading a story so nicely to them  (with actions) The song goes 'well done, well done such a good Madame/teacher'

About cycling:
- Off road cycling is fun
- if you start falling put your foot down ( haven't quite mastered that one yet I'm just so determined that I can stay on the bike but when it ends up sideways it doesn't really work.)
- sand and mud are equally difficult to cycle through
- puddles can be deceivingly deep!

How to navigate by random landmarks
- the really sandy bit of road
- the bumpy bit of road
- the potholes
- the huge puddle
- the 2 trees that are close together
- the billboards

That unfortunately random landmarks can change (which might mean you end up lost)
- sand turns into mud
- trucks smooth out bumps in some places and make new ones in others.
- potholes get bigger and more of them appear
- puddles dry up
- trees get chopped down or burnt
- pictures on billboards can change

God speaks though any thing if you are open to Him for example:
On my route to Kamfinsa it has been changing so much with the seasons
- it is crazy how different a place can look
- sand becomes mud, nothing becomes tall grass, puddles become dust bowls,
- As I was praying on the way God began to speak I realised that even though our circumstances can look very different as seasons in our life change. God remains the same He is still with us still directing us.

I realised that university did actually teach me something that I have been able to use in training teachers here and in making decisions about things in the process of setting up the school.

I recognised just how important friends and family really are! Skype is a genius invention!

A good church can be hard to find. I have tried many whilst being here and only just decided on which one to go to. I still miss the Kings Arms family!