Phil's ZMS Newsletter - Christmas 2007

Every Blessing to you all for 2008 from what should have been a sunny Christmas in Zambia! However most of the time it was cloudy with heavy rain showers every day.

I was back from Petauke on Friday 21^st December well in time for Christmas at the MacDonald’s. Saturday and Sunday were nice quiet days, the lull before the storm as Christine went into overdrive to ensure as many people as possible enjoyed Christmas.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was the time for the boys to invite some of their brothers and sisters who live out in the compounds in terrible conditions. We picked up about 12 children from one compound and also SuperGran and the 13 plus children she looks after so all in all around 70 for dinner supplied by the Holiday Inn in Lusaka.

Left, is one of SuperGran’s Great grand children getting very serious about his dinner.

Then they all had presents to open which Christine and two Scottish girls had wrapped up. Unfortunately we then had to take them back to the poor conditions where we had collected them but at least their stomachs were full and they had some new clothes.

Christmas Day

Let’s have Christmas Day just with the family!! said Christine. Sounds normal except the ‘family’ here still means over 50! There were bags of presents made up for everyone which were opened at 8 hrs although some (including me! forced by a wee girl of 10!) were up at 6.30 sitting looking at the presents for an hour and a half. Time was then spent enjoying their presents, most of the small boys had little radios with earplugs, however these didn’t seem to keep the noise to themselves. We just kept reminding ourselves that the batteries would run out very soon!

Later in the day we all, yes 50 plus, enjoyed an incredible dinner prepared by Christine. At the end of the day she was exhausted and so was I just eating it! But as the fun died down out came another lot of new clothes and goodies to be packed up into 200 parcels for the next day.

Boxing Day

Boxing Day we were off at 8 hrs to another street children centre to help with a party for 200 children picked up from the streets. Again there were piles of food which rapidly disappeared. Then chocolate cake which I tried to give out in an orderly fashion. I failed miserably; I’m still convinced that the 20 children at my table had more than 50 hands! It was fun but at the end of the day we had to drop them off again in the streets watching the young boys and girls sniffing the glue which they had poured on their clothes so that it couldn’t be confiscated. Temporary reprieve?

Prayer Point

Pray that after all the fun these children will remember what Christmas was really all about and that they will give their lives to Jesus in 2008 otherwise they only get that temporary reprieve from suffering

Love Phil