Michael Sata won

He was the candidate for the opposition party, the Patriotic Front.
When he ran in the elections last time his loss was fairly close.

The former President Rupiah Banda put alot of effort into his campaign this time and as mentioned earlier was buying bikes and handing our chitenges and paving roads etc.

The slogan for Sata was “Don’t Kubeba”, or Donchi Kubeba. Don’t tell.
When Banda’s party hands out all their things, just receive them and don’t tell them you are voting for Sata. It was a great campaign, and they even had a song that they made and played all the time in vehicles driving by, places of business, bars, etc.

Donchi Kubeba, eyi eyi shshhhhh, shshhhh. It was a catchy song with a cool beat and I liked it! Though now that they have won and it is playing everywhere all the time it has lost some of its appeal.

As it seemed that Sata could win, there was concern and question over whether or not Banda would interfere and rig the elections somehow.

Rioting started taking places after the vote later in the week when the results were not coming out quickly and websites were shut down. TV and Radio stations were blacked out and everyone was just waiting.

The fear and concerns were that if Banda won, all the PF supporters would protest and riot and that is when things could have gotten worse and more dangerous.

It was a strange week. Thursday the results were supposed to come out and so businesses were closing down early, people were all racing to the grocery stores before they closed. I mentioned that it felt like when we lived in FL and a hurricane was coming, and everyone was racing around to get home and stay inside.

It was said that they would release the winner after everyone was home and it was late.
So the evening went on and nothing, until about 12:30am then a wild cheer erupted outside and we knew Sata had won. From that point on until the next evening there was noise and excitement and cheering outside, car horns beeping, people shouting, standing out of the window in cars and trucks raising their fists... I have never experienced anything like it before.

To say people were excited is putting it mildly. The inauguration took place Friday afternoon and things were calm once again.

We are very thankful the Lord protected us and the people of Zambia from political unrest and upheaval. I don’t know much about Sata as a man. I have heard some not so good things and then others say good things, so we will have to wait and see.

I have never claimed to be interested in or very knowledgeable of politics so I can’t give any assesment or thoughts on how the country will go. But I did want to let you know a little bit of how the week went.

I miss applesauce

Yes, Riots are taking place in different places of Zambia today, over the elections.
Businesses are closing early for the day as they are anticipating the results.

And kids are starving here in our city.
Other kids are getting high on drugs and sniffing glue and setting fire to things to cause a scene.

People are living on less than $2 a day.
Girls are working in prostitution to get money to pay for food or to provide for their children.

Kids are dying of AIDS.
Men and Women are dying of AIDS or infecting other people with HIV at this very moment.

Babies are crying in the orphanage that I visit just wanting someone to pick them up and hold them and never put them down. Cause when you put them down, they cry and don’t stop. You walk out of the room to the parking lot where your car is and you can still hear their cries.

I drive by beggars on the street and children leading their blind parents around coming up to the vehicles to beg for money.

So much just doesn’t seem right. And yet all this is “normal”.
And I just walked into my kitchen to open up my cookbook and decide what kind of cookies I want to make today.

I saw a recipe for applesauce spice cupcakes. Mmm...that sure sounds good. But unless I want to spend about $7 for one cup of applesauce ( which I have only seen sold a few times) or make my own applesauce from apples that are too expensive, I have to pass on the applesauce cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
I guess I will go for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, (great recipe -Steph McD ) and use the chocolate chips that have been shipped to us from America.

Life is going on around me and I think about a bowl of cold applesauce, maybe even with cinnamon sprinkled on top.

sigh* THIS feels weird

Chipata

A couple weeks ago I went around to visit some of the guardians and check on how their businesses were doing.

Tisa's mom is selling popcorn and has her own stand. She said that it was going great and that neighbors have even asked what type of "charms" and things she was using for it to go so well.
The Lord is blessing it!

Tisa and her mom





Philips sister







Maureen and Fanny took me to the Chipata Market so we could check on a few of the guardian's businesses.

Chipata Market
I pulled my camera out and this lady wanted me to take her picture














Tisa's mom also has a stand in the market where she sells tomatoes



Just to give you an idea. This is the office at one of the schools that the kids go to.
We are paying the fees for the next term.

Election Time

September 20th is the election for the new president of Zambia. This is definitely something to be praying about. Zambia is known as a “peaceful nation”, but still we should be praying for the elections to remain peaceful ones.

There have been some riots and a few deaths over the course of these last few months in various parts of the country.

I really am clueless as to who is the best party, candidate etc. But people feel strongly obviously on all sides. SO there is always the potential for violence and danger. In think I have heard that a couple of the party leaders have encouraged violence and doing what it takes for them to win.

There is talk that previous elections had been rigged, so who knows what will come of this one. It has been strange to us Americans to see the campaigning going on. You hear messages being blared from loudspeakers on the back of pick up trucks with men hanging out the sides cheering and shouting things. The day they stated the nominations at the state house, people were sitting on tops of mini buses, driving around with their flags raised.

The current president along with his party the MMD has their slogan, “The time has come”. Well all of a sudden he has been having roads graveled and paved, and has even gone into the compounds giving away free bicycles and chitenges. I was told they are paying people 10 pin ( about 2 dollars ) a day to stand where they have raised their party flags and make sure no one takes them down. He has been the president for a few years now but I guess the time for improving roads and things has only now come. Not 2 years ago. Who cared about it then?

We received a flyer promoting a local area candidate. I read it out loud joking with the kids on Saturday as we had been without “running” water for about 5 days. This man claims he will fix the water issues our area of town is having. We all cheered and said, then we are for sure voting for him! In his Bio, it said he was young, vibrant and matured. The kids asked how someone can be young and matured at the same time...

But on a serious note,
Our American embassy has done a great job keeping us informed and I am very thankful for that. Most recently 2 weeks ago, they sent out an emergency message to my cell phone and email, saying to avoid a certain area in town because a riot had broken out.

While this sounds a bit scary, they have done a good job to cover all the bases with taking precautions. Among that being this part of a note they sent out.

The U.S. Department of State strongly urges U.S. citizens to avoid all demonstrations, as even peaceful ones can quickly become unruly, and a foreigner could unwittingly become a victim of harassment or more serious danger. U.S. citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times. For U.S. citizens already in Zambia, the U.S. Embassy recommends that you take this opportunity to ensure that passports for all family members are up to date and children have also been documented as U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens should also store sufficient food, water, fuel, and medicine in the event that it becomes necessary to shelter in place. Should the need arise, the Embassy will communicate emergency messages for U.S. citizens via email and SMS for those who have provided contact information.


Thankfully, just last week we were able to get Grace’s visa for coming to America in her Zambian passport. It is dated for right now so if there was an emergency we all are up to date on those things. ( including James’s passport).

So please pray for all the things relating to this election.
Peace, Stability for the country, Safety. And I will throw in here, pray for our parents not to be too worried!