Christmas

Dear All

As we are in the lull between Christmas and New Year I thought I would take the opportunity to write again.

In the last month we have had a busy time preparing for Christmas but it has all gone smoothly. The boys all chose 3 people in their families to gift special presents too and we gave each family a food parcel (including a chicken, rice, biscuits and some crisps) and blanket. Christine, Sarah and I went to buy the food and piled 25 bags of sugar, 25 bags of salt, 25 chickens, 25 milks, 25 tea leaves, 25 peanut butter etc etc into the trolleys. We filled one and abandoned it near the till while we filled another two! It was shopping on a very large scale but for about £10 a family we were able to make a difference to their Christmas day. For the people who were getting specific presents we bought clothes, which was also a mammoth shopping trip but Sarah decided, quite wisely, to opt out of that one!

Sorting out some of the families presents!

Most of our boys got MP3 players again this year which is good as it means they plug their headsets in and we don't have to listen to their noise - which is not music! (I am aware I sound like my mother there!) 3 of the guys had asked for bikes to make getting to and from school faster and also to give them a little more independence. The boys were all given their gifts in a laundry bag in an attempt to help them keep their rooms a bit nicer. They have all got instructions that they are not allowed to have more dirty clothes than will fit in the bag...

The tree on Christmas morning

The 6 boys who sat grade 7 exams all got their results this week. They all managed to pass which is a great achievement. All of the boys had skipped Grade 6 and 2 of them had skipped grade 5 as well. Some of the scores were lower than in previous years but considering how much they have skipped they should all still be very proud of their achievements! The Grade 12 results should be out next then the Grade 9s in February so they still have a while to wait.

The boys seemed to enjoy Church camp although not a huge amount has been said about. The theme was the wrath of God, please continue to pray that the messages they heard will effect them deeply.

This week we have been having a games tournament in the evenings. The boys chose what they wanted to play so we have had a mix of Uno, Cards, Risk and Monopoly. At the moment most games are into their second round and the competition in fierce! Not only are their prizes at the end but their honour is at stake.

Friday night we are planning to have a bonfire and fireworks then on New Years day lots more food. After that the diet starts. Some of the boys are busy telling me I am growing have eaten too much and although that is usually meant as a compliment in Zambia I think they are really trying to tell me something!

I hope you are all well.

Abi