Last weekend in Lusaka...

So this is our last weekend in Lusaka, and I must admit that we are pretty excited about that! We're planning on spending some time by the pool to work on our tans (so that we at least look like we have been in Africa for a few months!) and then out for dinner tonight.

We have been slower at work these past few days so we have been spending a lot more time with the kids. It's really going to be hard to say goodbye to them, but we're still trying to make the most of our time together. We are trying to teach them about Christmas still and we're working on a few more songs (and of course, a few more dances!). We took them to the closest mall last weekend to show them some really big Christmas trees and lights and a nativity scene. The were all more interested in window shopping it seemed! They did enjoy being out after dark too (they usually only leave our home to go to church with us on Sunday's, so this was a big deal for them!).

On Tuesday our friends Mike, Mandy and Karis will be coming back from Northern Zambia so we are excited to see them again. Then on Thursday we'll be leaving for Livingstone, which is about a 7 or 8 hours bus ride south west of Lusaka. Friday we'll go visit Victoria Falls, do some sight-seeing, etc and then Saturday we are doing a safari in Botswana! We are all really excited about that! Sunday we'll tour around Livingstone, maybe go to a few markets, etc and then we'll head back to Lusaka on Monday (the 15th).

When we get back, we will be gearing up to go home. We are having a Christmas party with the staff and kids on Wednesday night (the 17th) and then we head home on the 20th!

We have really enjoyed our time here in Zambia and are grateful for this experience. We have learned a lot and won't ever forget our time here. Unfortunately, we won't be returning to Zambia after Christmas like we first planned to do. Instead, it looks like we are going to be moving to....Ghana!!! Yup, it's true. Now we are off to West Africa.

The International Adoption Agency that we are working with has just started a program in Ghana and would like us to go and help out there. The home is already set up (and run by someone who is actually from Fort Erie, of all places!). She has been helping with adoptions to the USA for 2 years now, and we are just starting to work on adoptions to Canada. We are all very hopeful that this program is going to be a smooth one, as the government is willing to assist with international adoptions, which is quite different than here in Zambia.

We will be in Ghana until early April, at which point we will come home and stay home (for a while anyway!).

Also, I wanted to give a little update about Lovemore. He is doing well and adjusting to this home and the other kids really nicely. He's constantly changing. He is crawling more, playing more and even standing more (still with assistance only). The only problem is, he is refusing to eat the food he is supposed to be eating (the peanut butter-like substance). He is hungry and still has an appetite, but refuses to eat that or anything that reminds him of that. The health clinic that he goes to everywhere (to get weighed and assessed) was not impressed with this and said that if he continued to refuse to eat that stuff then he would have to go back to the hospital. We are trying to be creative with ways to get him to eat it, but it seems pretty much impossible right now. We tried adding it to his porridge, putting it on bread, etc, but he still refuses. Right now we are just trying to think of other, highly nutritious foods that will help him gain weight and get strong, and hopefully after a little break from the packages, he'll start eating them again.