Day Eight: More of Macha
Macha International
Christian School
Christian School
This morning we took a tour of MICS (Macha International Christian School) with Dr. Berkerk’s wife Tamara, his brother Otto from Holland and Otto’s wife Lois and Corie. The boarding and day school was established in 2006 by the Brethren of Christ for Zambian children, including orphans, vulnerable children and local expatriates. Charlotte and Reece Thuma attend the school.
The school serves preschool through 7th grade students and provides a solid curriculum. Last year, 100% of their 7th graders passed exams to move on to next level.
Once again, we were struck by people from across the world who are motivated to serve and make great sacrifices because of their commitment to Jesus Christ.
Push the Rock Zambia
When Dave was here in 2014, the addition to the Push the Rock Zambia recreation center — funded by NHUMC — was just beginning. Now there is an office, sports equipment storage, storage for the mobile lending library and restrooms. Corie and Eric are happy that the Thuma house is once again their home and not the PTRZ office.
Over a two year period, trees were removed, new soil was brought in, native grasses were transplanted from another village and tediously hand planted.
The dream of using sports to connect children to Christ and education continues to grow.
In the same way, Push the Rock Zambia is creating a community for the young people in Macha. From 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., hundreds of children come during the week to the recreation center to play sports — soccer, volleyball, disc golf, pool, ping pong, jump rope and basketball — as well as play board games and read books from the mobile library. You can see how the children are loved and guided by the PTR mentors and coaches. One of the important activities is Bible study time where the children sometimes sit on tree logs to hear and memorize verses. It is truly building a community for the children and a community for the future.
Sharing this blog has kept us up late at night sometimes, but we have been so encouraged by how many people have followed our travels. We are so honored to share with you all that God is doing here in Malawi and Zambia.
Tomorrow we will be driving to Livingstone with the Thumas as we start our vacation. There we will shift from our blog to Facebook.
There’s an expression that it takes a village to raise a child. That feels true for this place. We were at the Thuma’s for dinner this evening with Dr. John Spurrier and his wife Esther and Dr. James DeBoe and his wife Jaeron. You see how the people who have been here for years and sacrificed are connected with the entire community. They share stories about the Zambian children and people here, and you feel like you’re at a family reunion. They find deep satisfaction in their work, and the emphasis is always on their family. But you can also see how they derive so much from the healing work they do.
In the same way, Push the Rock Zambia is creating a community for the young people in Macha. From 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., hundreds of children come during the week to the recreation center to play sports — soccer, volleyball, disc golf, pool, ping pong, jump rope and basketball — as well as play board games and read books from the mobile library. You can see how the children are loved and guided by the PTR mentors and coaches. One of the important activities is Bible study time where the children sometimes sit on tree logs to hear and memorize verses. It is truly building a community for the children and a community for the future. 
Sharing this blog has kept us up late at night sometimes, but we have been so encouraged by how many people have followed our travels. We are so honored to share with you all that God is doing here in Malawi and Zambia.
Tomorrow we will be driving to Livingstone with the Thumas as we start our vacation. There we will shift from our blog to Facebook.
In the future there may be followup from our mission trip. If you’ve subscribed, you’ll receive our updates in your email from missionmatters17.blogspot.com.
We are so grateful for everyone in Macha -- especially the Thumas -- who made our stay so memorable.
We are so grateful for everyone in Macha -- especially the Thumas -- who made our stay so memorable.
Twalumba,
— Dave and Nancy
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