BOTSWANA SAFARI!

SAFARI TIME! Chobe National Park in Botswana

One weekend, I was able to travel to Botswana and go on a river cruise and game drive safari! This was seriously a dream come true of mine!!!!

I come to recognize how such young at heart I am because for me, this was living THE LION KING – hahahaha. “The Circle of Life” and “Hakuta Matata” kept playing in my head… whenever I would see a warthog, I’d go: “PUMBA!” and whenever I would see this one bird with a long, orange beak, I’d go: “ZAZU!” and when I saw the beautiful male lion with its mane, “MUFASA!” One of my favorite moments was when evening was coming, the sun was setting and we saw the three lions out. One went off ahead and as we looked, we noticed that two zebras were drinking at the waterhole. The other two lions were getting low and slowly, approaching its prey, the zebras. I started FREEEEEEEAKING out (of course in the inside, hahaha!) The zebras started noticing something was going on, so they started to walk away, BUT there was still a giraffe. He, too, was drinking from the waterhole. He would slowly get up, look around, and then go back to drinking. As he would go back down, the lions would start getting a little more closer each time. Eventually the giraffe caught on to what was going on and just ran for it - WAY BETTER THAN TV! I had some serious adrenaline, haha!!!!

That night, we drove to our campsite. The guides told us that we needed to remove any foods in our tents like fruit because elephants will come and be able to sniff it. He also told us that if we needed to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, we needed to take someone with us because it is not safe to go out with lions out in the evening. Cheryna and Louisa were like, “Oh no, I am so not going to use the bathroom!” I exclaimed, “No, if you need to go, just wake me up!” Haha…I was getting so excited for it all! During the night, I could hear Louisa and Cheryna whispering to each other. I was thinking in my head, “What in the world are they talking about so late? Aren’t they tired?” and I rolled over. I was so tired and I knew we would be awaken by 6 am. It turned out, they were still awake because they could hear branches snapping and animals roaring, making noises… HOW in the world did I sleep through THAT??? When six rolled around and they woke us up, I decided to keep sleeping – even if it was just for 5-10 more minutes. Then outside the tent, I heard Louisa say, “There’s elephants!” ELEPHANTS?????!!! I quickly got out of my bed, put on my shoes, and jumped out of the tent. It was the BEST THING I COULD EVER WAKE UP TO!!!! There were around 6 elephants on our campsite just eating from the trees!

This place is a piece of heaven. It is evidence of God because imagine this: the magnificent elephants roaming, the hundreds of zebras running across these beautiful, green grasslands by the blue rivers and lakes…colorful birds flying through the sky and then the sun setting like a sapphire… the whole sky goes purple, pink, and dark blue. Once the sun completely sets, you can see all the stars and the milky way across the night sky. With all of this and then me watching it all, how can I say that this all “just happens to be”? It’s not just here. There is a God.

 Another beautiful spot? Victoria Falls - one of the World Heritage Sites. My first weekend here, I was able to go down to Victoria Falls to see the lunar rainbow - it is a rainbow in the night. I got a picture off of Google because my camera couldn't capture it. When I saw it, I gasped. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen with my natural eyes. As we walked by these gigantic waterfalls and pass the lunar rainbow, I remember turning to Rebecca and saying, "This is how I know there is a God.". We are so blessed to live in a beautiful world filled with beautiful people.

On Friday, I went to Victoria Falls during the day time with my kids and it was just as beautiful. Memorable moment of that hike at the falls? Some of the kids ran way ahead then the rest and at one point, they came running back, screaming, "SNAAAAKE!!!!". I ran to go find it, but it must have gone away by the time I got there. Then, a dozen baboons showed up and came unto our path. Francis kept walking past them and even started agitating them. I plead with me, "Francis, PLEASE stop! Don't die!" and then a couple of the baboons started walking past me. I got freeeeaked out as one of them turned to me and hissed. I just stood still and it eventually kept going. PHEW - I just had this image in my head that I would be the next one in the news about a monkey going berzerk and mauling a person's face off. I'm excited for this weekend! I'm going back to the falls, but this time, I will be ON TOP OF IT, SWIMMING IN IT! Hopefully I wont fall off ;)

Kwathu Orphanage

Seriously... these kids have stolen my heart. Can I take them home? I am getting really attached to these little ones at the Kwathu orphanage. I love the fact that there is only 12 of them because I have been able to start getting close to each one of them and know them individually by name.

I am so exhausted when I wake up in the morning and when I start thinking about the hour walk I have to take to get to the orphanage, I sometimes dread the idea of getting up to be honest with you. But once I reach the gate of the orphanage after that hot, lonely walk..I immediately smile when I hear those children laughing and shouting. I walk inside and they exclaim, “AUNTIE NUSLY!”, but then they try to give me the gum that was in their mouth as a gift, hahaha. 

The children washing their clothes

What I do at the orphanage may not seem like a big deal to people. Mainly, I play with them! These kids have house mothers, but they are always busy planning, cleaning and cooking.. there is a lot to do for 12 children and it seems to never end. Due to this, the children do not get much individual attention. I interact with the children and help them keep on track with their chores or help them with their chores, teach some who have gotten behind in school (like with their reading), play games with them… it is that nourishing and love parents would be giving them if they had some. Through this experience, I have come to understand how important having loving family around for the development of a child. No, these children situations are not ideal – but it is definitely better than them being on their own or remaining in an abusive/neglectful circumstances.  They come from either abusive families and are considered vulnerable and that is why they are at this children’s home or both parents have passed away.

Rozaria & Purity and my "cake" 

haha

I LOVE these kids… what do we all do for fun? When I first got here, I thought, “Man.. there really isn’t much for them to do.” They live in what I would consider just a dirt field. They do not have very many toys or supplies. However, they have been teaching me how much fun DIRT can be, haha! Well to give you an idea, yesterday we played tic-tac-toe and hangman in the mud and then Rozaria, Purity, and I played with the mud and they made me a “cake” and I “paid” them in the form of leaves haha. With the boys, they have a traditional African game that they play with a hole in the ground with nuts and rocks and.. yeah I always come in last place but I am getting better and better at this game! Let's just say, I'm SO bad that Peter gives me 4 chances per round and I end up getting 0-2 nuts per round while he gets around 10-15, hahaha...BUT I am determined to beat Peter before I leave Africa! (Peter NEVER loses…but he WILL, haha just kidding) and then I remember on my first day, Marantha and I found a lizard and we ran around all over the dirt compound to catch it – “we”, ok no sorry I really should give ALL the credit to little Marantha!!! I gave up after 5 minutes, she finally caught it! That lizard was so dang FAST, haha!

On my first day in Zambia, I was sitting on the steps outside where I stay and I looked down because something kept brushing up against my ankle. I looked down and it happened to be 50 kwacha (around 8-10 USD). I looked around and there was no one in site. I put the bill in my pocket and thought of who in need I could give it to. As I was laying in bed that same night, the kids kept coming into my head and I think I'm going to go to the local market and try and get a few things for them with that money I found... maybe like a couple of jump ropes, balls, maybe even supplies that we can practice English and math with. (If any of you can think of great group activities, please let me know!)  

I am humbled. For these kids, this is their reality.. I do not know what is going on in their hearts - the loss they have experienced regarding their families but they are strong. It really puts things into perspective, doesn't it? I go on my knees every night and here, it is easier to count my blessings. I need to take this home with me: to be continually aware of my blessings, the tender mercies, and miracles that God puts in my life. I still cannot believe I am in Zambia... my dad pointed something out to me from my patriarchal blessing: the blessing of enjoying the beauties of this earth. He said, "Nusly, you have experienced the beauties of this earth." I never thought of it that way before and it is so true. I have been blessed and so far, in my short time-span of 23 years, I truly have seen and met the people who make this world turn. They are the "true beauties" of this earth and have caused my soul to stretch in magnitudes of love and charity. My spirit keeps getting edified in my journey and I know that is just the beginning of it all. I cannot even imagine what else will come and who else will come into my life. I do know that I feel the still, small voice of the Spirit telling me that much is expected of me. I do not know all that will come to pass in my life, but I will say this: without my Heavenly Father, I will fail. With Him, I will succeed in everything and I am determined to do the will of God. As this is true for you, it is true for me that GREAT things are to come...as long as I follow Christ, I have nothing to fear.

Reasons to DANCE

“It’s everybody’s responsibility to give the world a reason to dance.” 
– Kid President 

There are many children within the town who do not have the opportunity to an education due to lack of room. Today was a special day! It was the opening of a brand new school in Livingstone!!! HUGE CELEBRATION! As guests (parents, partnerships, workers, volunteers, etc.) were being seated, music was playing and there were children at the front. I wanted to go dancing with them, so I went up…I was literally treated like a human jungle gym. I had around 8 children crawling all over me, hahaha. The African ladies kept saying to me, "MOZUNGO (white person) CAN DANCE!" YESSSSSSS!!!

The ceremony started off with a prayer and speeches were being given. Each speech was talking about the blessing of the school and the key to success was education. They mentioned how over years, they have had troubles with lack of capacity for children in the classrooms, elephants passing (what??? I’M JEALOUS! haha), hardly any food to feed the children, and water pumping problems.. The teachers were filled with immense gratitude and out of nowhere, tribal yelling could be heard and drums being banged loudly. Making their way to the front of the crowd, there was a group of traditional tribal singers and dancers. THEY WERE MY FAVORITE!!! They would take people from the crowd (or people from the crowd would come up themselves…..Africans? Not shy at all! MY KIND OF PEOPLE!) and they would start dancing together…and oh no, not just “dance”, I mean they get DOWNNNNNNN. Their dancing involves getting really close to one another, moving every muscle in their body – body rolling e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g….I can’t even explain, hahahaha. As they were ending their dance and rushing through the crowd to make their exit, one man picked me up and carried me away!!! I was a little scared because I wasn’t sure how far away he was taking me, hahaaha. He eventually put me down and asked me, “Do you love me baby?” and I was like, “Oh, uh…I love ALL you guys! You were all so awesome!” and he asked, “Can I have your number?” and I replied, “Oh.. I don’t have a cell phone, I’m sorry,” and he said, “Oh why not? How are we to continue communicating with one another?” – hahahaha!

One of the new students, a little girl named Grace, gave an amazing memorized poem to the public. It was all about how she is a future leader and how she could make a difference due to education. She had so much passion at such a tender age of nine. You could FEEL how much education meant to her. You could tell the whole crowd was moved by her message… let’s think about ourselves (as I write this, I am mainly directing this message to myself – but go ahead and think about this too): What does education mean to you? How are you meant to be a leader? How much effort and hard work do you put into your education – even if you are done with school? How accessible is it to you? Do we take the access we have to education and the education we have obtained for granted? How will you make a difference? 

You know who made this whole school possible? A 12-year old boy from Holland, Xavier. He is another volunteer here and he learned about the situation in Zambia and he decided to put together a fundraising event at his school and community to help raise the funds necessary for a school to be built. Xavier was there today and I was very inspired by this humble kid. I was thinking out loud and said, “Man, I want a son like that someday,” and another one of the volunteers standing next to me said, “You will because you are here right now. That’s where it all starts and they will definitely pick it up because of who you are.” I wondered if there was any truth to what she said. When I think of my life… I know people might think I’m weird, but I don’t imagine a huge house with a large yard in the suburbs with a nice car, luxuries, just staying "put" in my "own little bubble"... I really don’t. In fact, the idea makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable, HAH! I can’t exactly paint out what I imagine my life all to be except I just want to go about doing good – I want myself and my family to be involved with this world. I want to make a difference in this world.. starting with myself (as Michael Jackson states, "I'm starting with the man in the mirror" - amen, brother!) and then within my own family, and spreading goodness to all we interact with. I want to help restore HOPE within people! It may sound cheesy, but it's really what I want!

Just as Kid President tells us is our responsibility, I just really want to give the world a reason to DANCE!!!!!! Just as the teachers, children, and community did today in celebration for education! Another step in making this world a better place!