Trip to Zambia - Part 5 (Return to Lusaka)

Kayla and I had some time to do a little last minute shopping in the morning before the Kaoma’s came to pick us up for our return to Lusaka. There was football (soccer) fever all over town as employees and patrons alike were dressing up in their Zambian colors and buying snacks, shirts, scarfs and other items for the FINAL against Ivory Coast on Sunday. It was fun to be a part of the preparations – it made me want to make some 7 Layer Dip and Puppy Chow! :D

Our ride home was a little more squeezed because we had two extra passengers – the Kaoma’s neice, Sharon and her one year old daughter (Malumbo – I don’t think I spelled this correctly). Kayla and I slept much more during this road trip than on the way to Livingstone because neither of us slept well at the Backpackers, it was incredibly hot and the mosquitoes seemed out to get us. Thankfully, it did not get too hot during the day and the ride home was a comfortable one.

Lusaka was just as excited for the AFCON Final as Livingstone – there were street vendors at every traffic light and Nsama bought a fabric for each of her daughters and a jersey for their son. I was thinking about getting a scarf that had the Zambian colors on it, but they saw my white skin and raised the price to higher than I was willing to pay. It was fun to watch the children’s excitement as they received their gifts and shared about their time with the parents away. J

The children weren’t the only ones to receive gifts – Nsama had some dresses that we think are from Ghana (I can’t remember for sure, but Kayla thinks Nsama said they were from there) and she let us each choose one to keep. We’re planning on wearing them during our final church service in Blantyre at the end of this month. My dress came with a headwrap, though I will probably be too hot here to wear it. Kayla and I are both excited to have an African dress and we’ve already talked about wearing them during our presentations of our trips once we get back home.

Around 8pm in the evening, I had the opportunity to Skype with my Live 2:6 Discipleship group that I have been a part of for the past two years. My parents and my sisters, Tonya & Katie, are also in the group with me and it was an awesome thing to be able to see and chat with everyone, even for just a few moments. It got me excited to be heading home soon.

Even though we slept on the way home, it was an early night to bed for Kayla and I. We wanted to be well rested for church and the AFCON Final game the next day. J