Week two in Lusaka

Week 2

Saturday I was not feeling well (I think I had a slight fever, had a headache and was feeling dizzy most of the day) so I did not do much, Sunday (the 22) I went to a small church with the Williamsons where James was preaching, this was a very different experience for me! There was a lot of dancing and yelling and very loud and energetic singing and all of the singing was in a different language. The church was very hot, so it was hard to concentrate and I still was not feeling well so I missed most of the sermon standing outside to see if the breeze would make me feel better.

Monday I still was not feeling well so I spent the day at home.  Tuesday I went to the McDonald farm and spent most of the day organizing their library. Wednesday, I was supposed to go to Kabanana, but when I got there, the school was closed for the day, so instead I went to town with Megan and was able to enjoy fellowship with her and was also able to make dinner for the family.  Thursday was another relaxing day, that I was able to spend reading.  Friday I went to Kabanana and also helped Sarah and Megan with a large bake order that they had for the next day, it was good to spend time with them and cook with them!  Saturday I went with Ian and Megan to the Saturday market which is in Lusaka once a month, there are a lot of different homemade crafts and things to see and buy. Overall it was a relaxing week, but a good week. I leave on Monday for Ndola where I will spend the next few weeks.

My encounter with an African rat….

I always make sure I close my door when I’m leaving for a long time to make sure no animals get in my room, but when I got back from the Saturday market, I found my door opened, I was hoping that nothing got in and I didn’t think too much about it. Around seven I was back in my room by myself and heard a strange noise coming from under my bed,  at first I ignored it and just thought it was trash or something moving around because of the fan, but I kept hearing it so I ran into the house to have Ian and Emma check under my bed incase there was something there, after a few minutes they came back and told me there was nothing there so I didn’t have to worry.  I stayed in the house for a while to spend time with the older kids and watch a movie with them and had a really great evening, I went to sleep pretty quickly after I got back to my room, but around 1:30 in the morning I woke up because I heard a strange noise coming from my bookshelves.  I sat up in bed and was shaking trying to imagine what was in my room and realizing that whatever it was I would have to face a lone.   I saw something move across the floor really quickly and only saw the tail so I assumed it was just a lizard since I see those all the time. I decided that since it was just a lizard I could just go back to sleep and not worry about it ( I figured I could just hide under my blanket and that I would be safe) but when I lay back down I felt something hit against my bed and jumped up standing on my bed screaming, I pointed a flashlight towards the foot of the bed and there was a huge rat sitting there staring at me! I don’t think I have ever screamed so loud or been shaking so much, my first instinct was to have my dad come and take care of it like he would if it happened in America, so I picked up my phone and called home and left a message saying there was a rat in my room and I didn’t know what to do, but that didn’t do to much good! I knew I would have to find some way to get rid of the rat on my own, I finally built up the courage to run across my room and try to open the door, but I was shaking and crying so much that it took a little while to unlock it, after I opened the door I ran back to my bed and stood in the middle of it underneath my mosquito net (I thought this was the best way to stay safe from the rat). The rat finally ran out of my room around 2:00, but after that it took me a while to fall back asleep because every noise I heard I thought it might be another rat in my room!!! It was certainly an interesting experience and one that I hope I don’t have to repeat again!!!