Where's Our Borehole?

Today's post is about both work and play. Yes, we do actually get to enjoy the many wonderful things in Zambia. One in particular - the wildlife! But first let me tell you about Chazwe Village...

Some of our dear friends contacted Jacob a while back and were interested in helping raise funds to give a village(s) clean, safe drinking water. They have lived in Zambia for a few years now working with CRS (Catholic Relief Services) and CIDRZ (Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia). While we were in Eastern Province we took them to Chazwe Village so they could meet the people, ask questions, and make a short video. They traveled back to the states during July-August and presented the video to their church in hopes that the members would want to partner with Water 282 to provide a borehole in this village. And, they've already raised a couple thousand dollars! We are super excited :). But, there's more to this story...

One of the more difficult things for us is communicating to the villagers that after our initial visit, we have to travel back to the states to raise funds for the well, which takes TIME. There's usually about a 9 month period from our first village visit until the borehole is actually drilled. And, there's no way to know how much money will be raised each year. So it's pretty much a guessing game when it comes to deciding how many new villages to survey each year. During our Q&A time one of the elders said "But you (Jacob) came a few months ago and still we have no borehole. How do we know that you are not just coming here to take our pictures and video us?". My heart sunk. I'm sure these villagers have been promised so many things and then find themselves no better off than the year before. This part of the job is tough! Luckily, we have a wonderful partnership with the PWC, and the DS in Eastern Province knows exactly how to handle these questions. Also, Jacob has been doing this for some time now so he answered the question as best he could and hopefully eased their concerns. Still, I just wanted to sit there in tears. These people are so desperate for some help, and they are clinging on to hope wherever they can find it. Can you imagine how difficult of a job the church has in a developing country? The physical needs of their people are so great while the church here isn't equipped to provide for them both spiritually & physically. This is where Water 282 (and YOU) comes alongside the church  - to help provide the physical needs so the church can provide the spiritual. And we can rejoice because God is providing! Below are a few pictures from our visit to Chazwe Village.

Our "team" in Chazwe Village.

Don't they just make you want to smile?! I absolutely love our time in the villages. It really nourishes my soul :).

Now on to our "play" day. The Saturday before we visited Chazwe Village we spent the day in South Luangwa National Park. It's only about an hour drive from where we had been working all week so we had to take advantage of being so close to the park :). Here are some shots of the spectacular wildlife we saw there:

Just an ol' leopard hanging out in a tree. 

We did a self drive and followed these lions for a few hours. 

Probably my favorite animal. They are so beautiful!

All of you should come visit us sometime, and we'll take you on an African safari as well!

Love,
Libby

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