Feeding!!!!!!

Well this week is going by so quickly!!!!! I started my feeding rotation and it is so much fun. We sing to the babies, stretch and do exercises with their arms and legs and then do some massage and stretches to their facial muscles to help stimulate their sucking muscles. Most of the babies enjoy being touched and stimulated and some babies are not too happy to have to use their muscles. I decided on the eight babies that needed the Dr. Brown’s bottles the most. I took the initial weights and then I will take their final weights and compare them to eight babies who did not receive the bottles with their initial and final weights. So hopefully my hypothesis will be correct that the babies with the Dr. Brown’s bottles will gain more weight than those with out the bottles. The scales that I weighed the babies today were in kilograms and so I will have to convert to pounds, so interesting how America is not on the metric system yet! The smallest baby I weighed had to be about 6 pounds and she is about 2 months old, and the biggest baby I weighed was 9 months old and only about 10 pounds! So very tiny! They started using the bottles and some babies are eating more and better (not spitting up!!!!) Yay!!! I will keep everyone updated on what my results yield!!!!

I have been doing a lot of reading lately!!! And not just reading books but reading my bible! I have been working on some of my Cassandra Martin workbooks and I found this quote from her and I thought it pertained to this trip I am on! She says, “I can not begin to tell you the number of ways I have heard God’s whisper calling me to bow my heart once again before him. I have heard him calling through the words of a song, the voice of a friend, the questions from children. I have learned to listen to His lessons through my tears, while washing dishes and doing laundry, during times of illness and stress, quietness and peace. When my heart wanders too far from its focus on Him, He allows situations to develop in my life that force me to go to my knees and seek his face.” This quote hit me that being here in Africa is tough! It’s a lot of fun! But its rough! God is so amazing and I forget that he has such great love for us and we need to have that kind of love for each other! I pray everyone have an experience like this one! I am truly blessed and God is so good!!!!

Wedding bells!!!!!! and booty shaking!!!!

Well today and yesterday were amazing!!!! Yesterday we went to Choma and bought some items!!!! I bought material to make skirts and some gifts!!! I also bought African candy to try! Lets just say its soooo good! The chocolate here melts in your mouth and is the Cadbury chocolate! YUM!!! I bought Dorito chips in some cool flavors; grilled steak and chili. I haven’t tried those yet but I had to buy them because they were different flavors not sold in America!!!

Yesterday we also were invited to a Zambian wedding! I got some awesome ideas from them! The whole wedding party dances down the aisle to African rap music!!!! It was so much fun to watch and see. Lets just say the Zambian’s know how to shake their booties!!! I have a video I will have to show everyone! I want my wedding to be like that just a really fun time! That’s how the wedding here was a big and happy celebration. The bride and groom matched and were adorable! It was definitely a culture experience.

Today we went to church in the morning and I attended children’s church. It is so adorable! The children sing songs and then we have story time and then they ask questions about the story and sing some more. Worship this morning was very uplifting and I am reminded here that God does so much for us and I should be so thankful. At church they sang through the lord’s supper and I liked how they worshipped while taking communion. I need to be more thankful for the things I have at home and for the people and the love that is in my life! I am so thankful for my family, friends, and especially my fiancé. I miss and love all of you so much!!!!

This next week I start my feeding rotation, and I bet I will have a story or two. Tomorrow I get to decide who gets my Dr. Brown’s bottles I brought for my capstone research project. I have eight bottles for eight babies and I am comparing weights of the babies who get the Dr. Brown’s bottles to the children who have do not have these bottles. If any of you do not know Dr. Brown’s bottles are made in AMERICA!!!! I know shocking and are the #1 doctor recommended bottle for babies who have colic, gas and acid reflux. Many of the babies here in Zambia have reflux and are not getting the proper nutrition. These bottles are designed to help that by a device in the bottle that makes eating an even flow, and thus causes less gas, and reflux. In theory the babies who end up getting these bottles should gain more weight in the weeks we are here because they should not be spitting up as much as the babies who do not have the bottles. The bottles design also claims that the babies should get more proper nutrition!!!! Love to all!!!!

Teaching me!!!!!

Yesterday was Thursday African meal day. We had Sheema which is a corn meal made from corn and a root and cooked down. There is a reddish sauce that goes on top of the Sheema and it gives it its flavor. I liked it but I don’t think I could eat it everyday! Its definitely not like the food that I eat at home! Everything else we have ate has been excellent thus far! I worked with some of the toddlers this week in the morning and it’s interesting here in Zambia they do not really potty train like they do in America. Here they let the kids just pee in their clothes and then change them instead of making the children go on the potty. There is no structure or routine for these children, so it doesn’t surprise me that these children who are over 3 years old are not even close to being potty trained. Teaching and repeating is how most children learn and its sad that these children do not always get that attention and stimulation. So we will be trying to incorporate a routine within our language stimulation therapy. Yesterday afternoon I worked with a child named Kritz and he is nonverbal!!! I got him to say 3 words which were ball, rocks, and back!!!! I was so excited and happy with this progress. So hopefully today we will make some more progress!!! These children are teaching me so very many things! All children do teach us things in different ways but I am learning patience with most of these children. Patience to listen and wait, patience to talk and patience with progress. I am letting them teach me because I need these lessons. Today we had biscuits and gravy for breakfast and chicken and rice for lunch. The haven is about a mile and a half walk there! Great exercise! I am having a wonderful time spending time with all these children. Tomorrow we are going to Choma and will be shopping! I can’t wait to see what souvenirs I can bring back for everyone! Love to everyone!

On with my adventure!!!!!

Today and yesterday were yet again amazing!!! I just love being with these babies!!! They are so adorable! I am definitely getting my exercise by walking back and forth everyday to the Haven, and carrying all these babies!!!! Africa loves to play soccer so sometimes in the evenings like last evening we played soccer! Lets just say I am not very good at it! Last night I made friends with the George Benson college librarian. He had many questions about America! He asked us if we had cell phones there and if it got colder than here! Both answers were YES!!! I have overcome my fear of frogs and spiders on this trip because they are just everywhere! Last night I played Phase 10 with all of my school friends and had a great time! That means we may have a new card game for Christmas, Russell and Kathy to play! I did not win but it was a lot of fun. I have been sleeping pretty well underneath my mosquito net and in my little bunk bed.  Today we actually started therapy at the Haven with the babies and toddlers. We are doing weekly rotations. This week I am doing language stimulation with the toddlers in the morning and special needs individuals in the afternoon. Pretty much I am just talking to the children which as all of you know is not hard for me at all!!!!!!!!! Haha! Our main focus is imitation and watching the child’s focus. I will be with these same children for the rest of the week and then next week on a different rotation. The food has been pretty good! We had macaroni and cheese last night for dinner, and for lunch today we had chicken spaghetti. Thursday nights are our African meal nights, so we shall see what that’s like! I am so blesses to be here! Africa is a beautiful place and the weather is gorgeous!!! I took a picture of the sunset last night because it looked like a painting! I have also never seen so many stars in my life!!! There are thousands here! Tonight we are having Wednesday night church/devo and then we played some fun games! It is pretty hilarious to learn new games. Our devo tonight was about being a child of God and that sometimes the babies here end up not making it! The teachers prepared us for what could happen if we end up losing a baby. I shed a tear and pray that this won’t happen on our trip. We are so fortunate in America to have our many resources. Here the medical care is not great and many of the children we are here helping were orphaned at birth. It makes me love these children that much more and am so happy we are helping them. Tonight I pray for these children that they will grow up to be happy and healthy, live a wonderful life and to love and know God!!!!!

Our first day adventure!!!

Well today we went to the Haven!!!!!! It was so much fun! I got to feed 3 babies!!! Most of the babies are so small and not meeting their developmental milestones, so we will be working with these babies on those skills and working on feeding with some babies! These babies are so sweet and precious!!! I love holding them and playing with them! The children are so fun and just laugh all the time! One child today named Dennis loved my camera and would smile every time I took a picture!!! I am sooo blessed to be on this trip and have this opportunity with these children!!!! I am loving the people that I am with as well and have made some friendships that will last a long time!!! Lets just say that I am definitely tired after working here my first day!!! Miss and love to all!!!

BABIES!!!!

Well, today was awesome!!! We went on a tour of the haven and I loved it! I got to hold the babies!!!! And i fell in love again in Zambia with a baby named Russell!!!!!!! Don't worry Russell I'm not cheating!!!!!  Lets just say that this mornings shower was the highlight of my day! I took one with Willy the frog this morning and the water was ice cold! I could only stand in the shower for like a minute! We have lovely spider friends that live in my room and I call them Bob and Billy!!!! They eat the mosquitoes so I don't get sick! I honestly am having a great time and I miss everyone at home! I am in many ways very grateful for the things I have at home after seeing what little is here. The people here eat what they grow and have. I take for granted so often that I can go to the store and buy food and eat what I want. Lets just say that when I get home I'm really going to try and be less wasteful!!!! Love to all!!!!

WE'RE HERE!!!!!!!!!

HELLO ALL!!!!! We just made it to Lusaka, Zambia! Lets just say airplane food is an experience everyone should try once in their life! The airplane rides were such an adventure and I have many pictures to prove it, and thanks to Ben Stafford my 12 hour travel buddy!!! Zambia is a pretty place so far, with palm trees and gorgeous flowers!!! Everyone here is so nice and I'm loving it so far! Ready to be in Namwianga tomorrow! Love you all!!! Miss u lots!!! xoxoxoxoxo Talk soon!

Well, we leave tomorrow for Africa!!!!! We start our adventure! I am excited and nervous but mostly excited! I will miss everyone but I will keep in touch!!! I will talk to y'all from Africa!!! Bye for now! Love Jill