Goodbye Greenhill!
Today was another long, hard, exciting, & eventful day as we finished up our time at Greenhill School.
We finished 4 new classrooms for the school, complete with colorful paint, new chalkboards, and plenty of brand new school supplies to fill them!
Presenting the school supplies to the Greenhill teachers and students was an incredibly moving moment. The teachers were overwhelmed by the generosity of all donors! They couldn’t believe all the new supplies. New flashcards, magnetic boards, and an endless supply of writing utensils blew them out of the water! The Zambians were fascinated by the new concept of a “dry erase” board, magnetic board, and tic tac toe. We had fun explaining these new concepts to the Greenhill staff, and they assured us they would be invaluable in their classroom teaching. ☺
After putting the finishing touches on everything, we had a dedication ceremony with the Greenhill teachers and students and our Arise Africa team. We dedicated the 4 rooms and tried to offer some words of encouragement, but we were completely outdone by Mrs. Tembo when she thanked our team and expressed the ways the classrooms would impact the students of Greenhill and their futures for many years to come.
We grabbed a few “snaps” (Zambian for pics) of the finished product and our team before saying our goodbyes, passing out hugs, and listening to our kids sing us a goodbye song as we pulled out in the mini-bus.
Even though we were exhausted when we got back to the Lodge, we managed to be lured in by the neighborhood kids hanging out outside the gates of the hotel. Within minutes, the guys had baseballs and gloves out and were introducing the local Zambian children to American’s favorite pastime. The guys played catch, Clayton helped with mechanics, and all were thoroughly impressed with the kids’ natural skills, seeing to how none of them had ever seen a baseball before today!
It was another fabulous day in Zambia! We continue to be so thankful for the ways the Lord is providing for us and how much fun we’re having! Today especially, we are reminded of all our supporters and donors back home who made this possible. The finished product at Greenhill School was certainly a blessing to both them and us.