Several good things :) plus a bad :(

Where I left off . . .
Post wheelchair camp we had a week off much to our delight.  Sandra was super keen to head up to Chimfunshi, a Chimpanze enclosure theoretically 4 hours from Kabwe.  9 hours later, after almost ending up in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), we arrived!  Have I mentioned before how difficult it is to navigate yourself around here.  The streets have no sign posts, not even the 'major' highways.  So of course we missed a turn, hence the almost visit to DRC.  Luckily despite not booking accommodation there they had space for us - yay!

Sunset on the way, Chingola

The first day we went and saw the enclosures.  It kinda felt like a bit of a zoo with only one type of animal.  Although more humane as their cages are massive. It contains chimpanzees who have been rescued from poachers, circuses, smuggling, rejected chimpanzee pets, etc

Chimp having a drink

Shame about the fence

Hands of potential doom . . .

Who's a greedy chimp??

Lol! Signs :)

Ant hill to the left, how many ants live here???

Nom nom nom

I've decided some chimps are just greedy!

More of an idea of the number in the enclosure

We also went to see the most gorgeous baby chimp whose mother died during child birth, 3 months old.

The second day we had a pretty chilled out morning then went to the orphanage to see the wee baby again, plus some other chimps and animals.

Just a bit of African tree scenery on the way, nice compared to Kabwe, my standards are slipping

Now now boys . . .

The termite 'graveyard'

Lol! Sign from the bathroom

One of those other animals

The third day provided the highlight of the trip.  We went on a bush walk with 5 chimps.  It was awesome to have them climbing all over you.  The guides gave you chips to put in your pockets to facilitate this!  Jono had a special encounter with one.  He climbed up Jono's back which managed to rip his top in two (cheap Zambian top, obviously poor quality).  They then proceeded to play with the winnings, much to our entertainment!  I also now also have a greater understanding of ants in your pants.  Experience tells me that is not nice, those cheeky little suckers are PAINFUL!
We headed back to Kabwe which only took 7 hours as we didn't have the almost DRC detour, and took a different less pot holey route.

The 'dog' like sheep attacking me

PDA

Prime apes 2 - Jono 0

The spoils

Which Jono BRIEFLY had back

Grooming time

Sporting the new look

The following day, I was feeling unwell all day, which climaxed in the evening.

Luckily I was feeling well enough to attend Gift and Emely's wedding the following day.  We were so blessed to be invited to attend a 'Zambian' wedding.  One must debate how Zambian it is, obviously it's different from any wedding I've been to, but there were definitely western influences.
On the front of the invite to the wedding it said "Who can find a virtuous woman? Her price is far above rubies. . ."  I don't know many people that would quote proverbs 31 on a wedding invite.
It was kinda hilarious the wedding ceremony was meant to start at 9am and finish at 10.  All the Westerners turn up just before 9 as we are accustomed to.  Some of the OM Zambian missionaries turn up around 9.30 including the groom.  The bride comes at about 10.15.  Some of the family were STILL arriving after 11, halfway through the ceremony, an hour after the service was meant to finish!!  While the bride and groom were leaving there was this song being sung "mambo sawasawa" which means "things are getting better, things are getting better, when the Lord is on the throne things are getting better, things are getting better."  Once again I found it amusing to have this song at a wedding!

The groom

The bride

Wilson leading leading the singing

Learning our lesson from the ceremony we turned up slightly late to the reception, not late enough though!! Good chance to chat with people there though.  Another thing I found amusing was the bridal party had this dance worked out to get from the entry point to the table.  And then so did the girl who was carrying the knife to cut the cake.  There was normal western things, food, speeches.  I was surprised there wasn't communal dancing there.  The whole thing wrapped up about dusk (6pm), this would be unusual for a western wedding, although if you're starting at 9am maybe not!

The bride smiling, which was novel in Zambian tradition!

Bridal party dancing their way in

Too cute, the flower girls had their own table

Funny how white people feature on a Zambian cake!

Seems Sandra did one better and got them both smiling, lucky I stole her photos!

School started again on the Monday.  I was pleased to see the kiddies again, I'd missed them over the break (they had holidays for a month).  I don't remember much about that week! Neither does Jono! So nothing important must have happened I guess.  At least that means less reading for you!!

Prayer thanks

• For safety while we've been travelling
• We had the opportunity to go out to Mulungushi Dam again on Sunday after I said I was feeling homesick to someone, that was lovely.

Prayer requests

• For continued safety while we travel
• For my physio registration, Peter went to check on it last week, it's there, complete, still pending.  Sigh. I wonder if I'll get it before I leave?
• To connect with both locals and missionaries well
• For God to be number 1, our marriage number 2
• I've been feeling a bit home sick/drained, so that that'll get better and I'll have energy for tasks.

Bethesda prayer items

• Continued prayer for Sandra (not sure how she's getting on, we haven't heard)
• For the land application, that's still pending, seems that people want bribes or something
• For growth both financially and in team number
• For Bernard's electronics application
• For the individuals involved in that vehicle accident

OM prayer requests

• Massive thanks for the HUGE donation towards buildings
• For the leadership of OM Zambia
• For the students to learn and grow and be well equipped.