newsletter

Dear family and friends,
 We just finished breakfast--egg, toast, avocado from our own trees and coffee.  I bought material for two traditional Zambian wrap-skirts last Wednesday and a local man attached long strings on the top so I can keep it on, and hemmed the cut sides for me.  Also Wed we talked to the nurse who runs the home visiting program in our local community here in Itimpi .  They have twice weekly clinics to pass out the AIDS drugs and supplemental high protein food to the patients that are ambulatory. The bedridden patients are visited in their homes weekly by a group of volunteers.  She invited us to come observe the clinic session next week and take a tour of the local  housing area (compound) that has a population of about 15,000 people.  We're expecting to go if we can arrange transportation from the mission compound to this clinic.

 Bryce has started with the computer club at school but we won't be teaching until the new semester starts the first of April.  I'm spending most of my time working on improving the look of the retreat center rooms (making new curtains and sewing flat sheets into fitted sheets) and teaching the cooking staff how to prevent spread of disease in the kitchen.  We got a second cutting-board so we can use one for meat and the other for vegatables.  Also got bleach and demonstrated how to make the solution to wash and rinse the boards after use as well as soak the clothes used to wash dishes, tables and clean up spills.  Br. Tony has been quite ill with a bad stomach bug that comes from eating food or drinking water that isn't clean.  He almost never eats outside of the mission and so he thinks he got the bug here.  He asked me to see if I could help improve the sanitation and food handling in our kitchen.  While I was working at Lifeline Family Center with the teenage girls and their babies, Ms Kathy, the director sent me to the health department in Ft. Myers FL to get a food handlers course and permit.  As you see, the information I got is serving me well in Africa.  So far neither Bryce nor I have gotten sick, thanks be to God.

Yesterday we spent all day at a funeral for a 55 yo Zambian Baptastine Sister.  The Mass had 2 bishops, 30 priests and at least 100 black sisters from four different congregations present.  I wore one of my new wrap skirts.  I was glad I did because only one woman in the whole church (including the sisters) had a regular dress on without the skirt tied over the top.  Apparently any special event calls for traditional African women's dress.  After the Mass at Sacred Heart Church in town (Kitwe) we went in procession 50 miles on some pretty terrible roads (it took two hours) to St. Joseph Mission Station where the sisters have their cemetary--also a parish church, hospital and a large residential school for the deaf.  Both Bryce and I speak some sign language from our days at Downtown Senior Citizen Center in Detroit when we had a deaf senior group as part of our membership.  We were able to talk to some of the students after the burial.
The sisters served lunch (around 3 pm--we had had no food or drink since we left for the Mass at 8:30 am) of enshima (gritts cooked to the consistancy of mashed potatoes), beans, coleslaw, chicken, cooked greens with onions in it, and Fanta.  It was delicious and we were hungry.  Didn't get home until 6:15 in the evening.

This Sunday we plan to go to a parish church for Mass with Fr. Andrew. This parish has an active secular franciscan group that I plan to join.  We are told Mass should take just shy of two hours--similar to the time for the funeral Mass.  I believe the early Mass is in English and the later one in Bemba.  Looking forward to more contact with adult Zambians that don't work at the mission station.

Loving our time here so far.  We are having trouble extending our initial visas so say a prayer for us.  We think that the FBI clearance we got when we were working at the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Crownpoint NM might be able to be used here.  Here's hoping.   Thanks for all the emotional support (e-mail and facebook notes) we've received, and for the prayers for our health and work.  Again, gratitude to all who have also given financial support through the Franciscan Mission Service system.

Peace and God' love to you all,

Sandra & Bryce