What to do about transport? There are now ten of us. That's three taxis. We call Muyunda to ask if he has a couple of friends who drive taxis and are as safe and reliable as he is, to which he responds, "Wouldn't it be better for me to get a minibus?" Duh. "Yes, thank you, Muyunda." And, of course, he being who he is arrives promptly at the appointed hour in a sparkling clean bus.
The greeting in Kantolomba for the new folks was all we could have hoped for. As soon as the bus appeared in the gate, the gals dropped their picks and shovels and began to sing and dance. Introductions all around and the picture snapping began.
Singing a welcome song.
Photos all around!
The new babies were brought in to meet everyone, which produced another flurry of snapping.
Deborah. We told you she was cute! Brenda and little Patrick on the right.
Baby Jen (we think it may be time to call her Little Jen) with her mom, Beauty.
Baby Cheri and Josephine.
Evan and Baby Dave discuss the long and the short of it.
Next came a tour of the property and a lot more pictures. This is what we've been hoping for, lots of fresh eyes and cameras to capture what's being seen.
The little schoolhouse.
Learning about making nchima.
A trip to the new spiff bathrooms where you can flush a toilet and wash your hands!
Adorable faces everywhere we look!
The women go back to work, sifting sand to use for mixing concrete.
As we stopped by the men sorting bricks for the hammermill building, there was another opportunity for a discussion about speaking English. Peter, who expressed concern about never being able to win a contest, such as the one for writing thank you letters, bravely stepped forward to test his skills while meeting a whole bunch of new people. He did great! Earlier, Theresa had told us that when he heard about Living Compassion's request for people to practice speaking English at work, he said he wanted to do that. But he also said, "You cannot laugh at me!" Not only did we not laugh, we were astounded at his proficiency, and clapped our appreciation. We then made our efforts to thank the men and take our leave in Bemba. That earned us a round of applause!
Ruben on the left, Peter on the right.
A few more cute faces before leaving Kantolomba.
Baby Dave says goodbye.
Back at Castle Lodge for lunch on the lawn and a quick check-in about the rest of the day. We need to get one broken sewing machine repaired and purchase two motors for the other non-electric machines, along with a variety of small items such as an extension cord, light bulb, power strip, and more chitenge. By that time it was too late to return to Kantolomba so we called the team out there to make a plan for the next day, Saturday. Usually everyone is off on Saturday and Sunday, but when the folks from the U.S. arrive, there are always plenty of things to do even on a Saturday. Do they mind missing their day off? They always assure us that they do not. They love the activity, being busy, spending time together. In fact, they've often expressed a wish to work everyday because they miss one another so much when they're not together for two whole days. Imagine.
At the sewing machine shop.
That evening, Friday came by to install the two motors on the sewing machines. Nothing to it! In about half an hour they were humming like tops. For us it was planning sewing projects, going through pictures, and laying out tasks for the next few days. It's great to have so many talented, capable, eager folks here to help.
Friday fixing the sewing machines.
Our gourmet dinner. Eunice has made giant efforts to expand her vegetarian repertoire, much to our guests' delight!