Often, they sang beautiful melodies that transferred from English to Nyanja and back again and often they harmonized in beautiful rounds . . . no wonder so many of these children claim "singing" as their hobby of choice! The famous "Uncle G" drove the van with a smile plastered to his exuberant face, quick to encourage the children in their songs . . . we've even been told that Uncle G is a little bit of a musician himself! "Uncle G, Geti! Uncle G, Geti! Show your friends that you know how to dance!" they chanted and Uncle G began to boogie behind the steering wheel like a Zambian Rock Star. "Go Uncle! Go Uncle! Go Uncle!" They chorused loudly. When it was time for Chantel to "Geti", I showed them that I can groove as well as any Mozungu (white person) with a complete lack of coordination. Besides all of the in-the-car-grooving that transpired during this trip, they sang beautiful little songs about Jesus--songs that must have come to them on the knee of a house mother, a visit to the local church, a special visitor with a heart full of love. "There's no one, there's no one like Je-sus . . . there's no one there's no one like Jeee-sus . . . " the children sang with vibrant gusto, their little hearts ringing out across the plains of Zambia. This beautiful moment once again nestled its way into my heart. Written by Chantel Sloan, volunteer, summer 2009

Emily Osman and her mom Debbie pictured above drove from Scottsdale, Arizona to our home office in Tucson to deliver the proceeds from Emily's Change 4 Children campaign.

At just 13 years old, Emily took it upon herself to gather friends together, learn about the AIDS pandemic in Africa and then went about seeing what they could do to reach across the world to help those less fortunate.

After several weeks of passing out brochures and talking to people about the orphan crisis in Africa, Emily presented us with two checks totaling $750.00 to be used for the children in our crisis nurseries in Lusaka, Zambia.

Emily, you are one of God's shining stars!~

Emily and her mom are considering making a trip next summer to Lusaka with one of our mission teams so they can meet and love on the children.

The second graders at Giese Elementary School had a wonderful Change 4 Children program.
Click here to see the picture and read the newspaper account.

Sandra just arrived back from Zambia with this wonderful picture of the "Nbgobelo". More to come soon!

Here is another picture of the Ngobelo. Praise God!

Dear Ministry Family,

We got some good news last week when we learned a group of co-workers of Amway's VP Global Marketing are honoring her with a gift to be used for
House of Martha. We will use these funds to put the final touches on the
small house UNION Church, Seattle, WA. built last month -- our first Ngobelo!

Ngobelo is Nyanja for "teens nurturing house", where girls or boys are taught how to live in the community, with the help of a matured person either a woman or man, who teaches them to live responsibly and have good morals.

Nelly Jose, the housemother at House of Martha wrote the lessons and ethics of the traditional Ngobelo as follows:
1. How dress and to take care of themselves.
2. How to greet elderly people
3. Always be the last to get food when eating with elders.
4. How to cook special dishes.
5. How to do house chores/garden work.
6. When to talk when among elders.
7. Respecting elders.
8. To refrain from contact with the opposite sex in intimate ways.
9. In Christian Ngobelos, children are taught how to pray, read the
Bible as well as conducting devotions.
10. How to clean and keep their houses in order at all times.
11. Story telling old and new, as is done in the villages where there
are no televisions.

One of the three rooms of the house will have sewing machines to be used for
vocational training, and a quiet space for study. The long term goal is
for the girls to learn how to live together, and when they are older we can then move them into a community home that will be overseen by a partnering local church congregation. In this way our girls can be reintegrated into the Christian community as young adults. The project will function as a "half-way" house for older girls, and at the same time provide some vocational training under the watchful of Nellie the house mother and the other care-givers.

When I shared the news of the gift Nellie was beside herself with joy and is already planning ways to get ready to put on the finishing touches. Things like paint colors, curtains, sewing machines, a rug, and a mirror, and a closet..Nellie went on and on. Just like Nellie! Now she has the task of selecting the girls to share the home and keep the older boys happy at the same time. Yeah, right?

House of Martha is a thriving, special oasis for children who need love,
counseling and nurture. This small house is another step towards living a
life of possibilities and fulfilled dreams for girls who are coming of age.
What a blessing it is to be able to share this with you! I know, the boys are next!

Blessings and love from the CACZ team,
Sandra