Happy happy birthday Sydney! Today was a great day because we got to celebrate Sydney and her 21st birthday! What a cool place to celebrate a birthday in – Zambia!
This morning Seth, Linda, and Grace had an opportunity to play golf at a course right here in Choma! Abby, the CEO of Poetice, picked us up at the crack of dawn a little before 6 am. What a cool experience to be able to play halfway across the world! We all shared one set of clubs and we had two nice men who caddied for us. We were able to play 4 holes before we had to head back to leave for Macha.
Today we traveled to Macha Sport and Learning Center. On the way there we got to see animals we haven’t seen in Zambia before such as, monkeys, pigs, cows, wild boars, and goats!! We received a warm welcome from the Macha staff when we arrived, and after some introductions we split into two groups. One group went to play disc golf while the other played a variety of sports with the Macha team. We played with a coach and a few students from the Macha Center. It was cool to learn how to hold a disc golf disc from the Zambian players, who were very encouraging as we improved our skills because of their teaching. The other group formed a basketball and volleyball team combined between Poetice staff and the Hope crew to compete against the Macha team. It was a fun, competitive environment. We enjoyed playing the games ourselves after leading the camp for the kids for the past three days. The softball girls also taught the Macha team to play softball, which they picked up quickly and were enthusiastic about. We went over the rules and practiced hitting, throwing, and catching. Finally, we finished with lunch and time connecting with the team before heading back to the Poetice base.
When we got back, we had a short break then dinner with Fanta floats in celebration of Sydney’s birthday. After dinner we had a group conversation discussing what we’ve learned from this camp, how we have seen God working, and what changes we can implement when we return to the United States. Over the course of the past week, we have spent time sharing our stories with one another and finished the night with the last few stories. It has been great to hear how God has worked in everyone’s lives throughout the trip.
We are looking forward to a worship service and more community interaction tomorrow!
