Field Trip 2018 - Tiffany's Canyon!

Ok, I have to laugh a little bit at this field trip. I'm a planner by nature - an organizer to the extreme. But this year, we were very focused on our Durban Staff Retreat, so the kids' field trip was definitely not on our radar. When the kids began asking in late March (we usually field trip in April during school holidays), we told them we'd think about where to go. Some missionary friends told us about a place on Lake Kariba, but I really wanted to opt for the simplest trip (a lodge in Livingstone). At the last minute, our missionary friends told us they had recently stopped at a place in Kafue (near Lusaka) called Tiffany's Canyon that was really incredible. We checked out the website, and it did look like it had some fun activities, so we threw some camping stuff together, loaded up the bus, and took off. We really had no idea what it would be like, but off we went. And with all that LACK of my planning and organizing, this turned out to be the most amazing trip ever!! In fact, today I did an expense report and calculated that this trip (with all of the activities you see below, plus all food and camping) cost SIXTY DOLLARS per person. That's it. I think God definitely blessed this trip!

6am and starting off!

Axer and Sisi ready to go! Axer was SO sweet. When we stopped in Mazabuka for a snack, she gave half of her candy bar to a street kid who was begging. She sat by her window and watched him devour it, and I have NEVER seen her smile so big!

Hey, Mr. Bus Driver, you're kinda cute!

Cambree and Laurie were twinkies! Blu told them they looked homeless in those shirts though! ;)

Christina slept for LOTS of the trip!

Lulu, however, did not.

Kefbert finally conked out on the way!

It was a pretty uneventful trip there, but it did take about 7 hours with a long stop in Mazabuka for supplies, snacks, and bathrooms! When we finally got there and drove in and saw the canyon, we were blown away!

I was scared that it was a part of a lake and there would be crocodiles and hippos! But instead, this was a huge abandoned limestone quarry. The water was gorgeous, and it is 75 meters deep in the center! In September and October, there is some kind of chemical reaction with the limestone remnants, and the water turns aqua! It was a gorgeous place, and we were all so excited at this point!

Before unpacking and setting up, we decided a hamburger lunch and some swimming was in order!

A Fanta break!

"Hand" burgers, as Kefbert used to say!

All ready to swim lifeguard!

Caedmon enjoying the slide!

Cambree (totally not hamming it up for the camera...)

Cason

Christina

Emmanuel

Joseph

Muchoni

Kefbert was a LITTLE BIT excited!

Caedmon, Ben, and Misheck all ready to go!

This picture makes me laugh! The American girl swimming in leggings and a t-shirt, and the Zambian girls swimming in swimsuits and jean shorts! ;)

And THEN it was time to set up camp... In the past, we did a camping field trip where Blu was the only male and there were multiple tents to set up. It was chaos! This time, each group did most of the setup of their own tent, and it was SO easy!

The "Big Boys" got their own tent.

The three teenage girls got their own as well!

I got to sleep close to this guy!

(I didn't mind.)

The "Middle Boys" crazy tent! (I never once looked inside any of their tents - some messes are better to not see!)

The "Middle Girls + Cambree/Laurie" tent was packed!

A selfie with my baby!

Axer and Lulu helped get the campfire going!

We had a blast sitting around the fire, laughing and telling stories!

And roasting marshmallows! (Malilwe)

Phillip

On Saturday, we got up and had hot cocoa and some very disgusting Zambian bread rolls and cream puffs. I cannot even begin to describe to you how much food Kefbert can eat. As his hands are full, he's walking around asking for other people's food, for fruit, etc. I can't count how many times I said, "Kefbert!! You are not getting any more food while you are still eating!!!!"

When we walked over to the waterpark, we saw that were the only ones there until about 11am, so we enjoyed some great time in the lake doing water activities that morning!

Sisi and Laurie didn't care much for the cool water!

The kids also got to experience foosball, and it was a huge hit!

Cason and Phillip ready to paddle!

Cambree did manage to talk Laurie into a kayak trip!

There they go!

And 30 seconds later...stuck.

There may have been a race or two!

Uncle Blu & Sisi

And trying to ram Cynthia's kayak!

What a neat experience!

Phillip waving at everyone!

They also loved going in a speedboat around the canyon! The driver did a lot of fast turns and spins and it was a blast!

Can you see Lulu's face?? The speed boats were her favorite!

Thank you, Lord, for lifejackets! It really made the trip so enjoyable for us without having to worry about them constantly!

Teamwork!

Cason & Emmanuel

Cynthia stayed in the water the whole trip!

Francis had such a blast!

So did Gertrude!

If you can zoom in on Kelitah's face, it's epic!

Just a'floatin!

The big green floaty was fun!

Only a few made it up the giant floating ice cube! Uncle Blu jumped!

Caed made it up!

Cason isn't scared of ANYTHING.

The water trampoline was a hit (especially with Francis)!

Kelitah has loved the water since she was a little girl!

That one time Laurie accidentally got in and thought she was drowning...

Muchoni got braver and braver as the day went on!

That afternoon, we got to experience the awesome paintball course! I freaked out the ENTIRE time ("STOP POINTING YOUR GUN AT ME, EMMANUEL!!" "POINT YOUR GUN TO THE SKY, KEFBERT!!") The kids LOVED it though!

Ben ready to play! (And me shouting, "Put your mask down, Ben!!!")

Blu played one round, but they killed him!

Cambree used all of her bullets VERY quickly so that she would be out of the game!

Caedmon loved it!

He was terrified though, but he did great!

These girls look fierce!

Cason was REALLY good!

In the "Every man for themselves" game, Cynthia was the champion!! Everyone kept commenting on how good she was!

On Saturday late afternoon, Teacher Abby made the quick trip to visit from Lusaka! It was a surprise to everyone, and they were so happy to see her!

She brought her little boy, Lu.

Me and Abby go WAY back!

She and Lu spent the night in the middle girls tent and left early Sunday morning!

On our last morning, we had a devotion after packing up and hot cocoa and muffins!

Blu got a little emotional as he shared with the kids that this was our last field trip with them, and the one thing he would tell them is to FOLLOW JESUS. Oh, my heart.

Then, we went for one last swim, and I used the opportunity to do a little photo shoot with each kid!

Axer

Ben

Blu - he worked so hard nonstop to make this an awesome experience for these kids!

Phillip

Caedmon

Cambree

Cason

Christina (who, I have to add, kept me laughing this whole trip! She has QUITE the personality and kept us in stitches!)

Cynthia

Darbi (lifeguarding..)

Emmanuel

Francis

Gertrude

Glory

Joseph

Kefbert

Kelitah

Laurie

Lulu

Malilwe

Misheck

Muchoni

Mweene

Sisi

After a stop at Hungry Lion for chicken, chips, and ice cream on the way home, we pulled in to New Day at 6pm, right at dark! And then I found these two pictures of Kelitah and Christina who somehow got my phone on the way home! ;)

Leaving New Day is a very heart-wrenching thing for our family. We know God has good plans for us, and we know His plans, for now, are to return to the USA, and we are excited about that. However, this is still HARD. God is teaching me to not focus on the things ahead and the growing up years of these kids that I will miss, but to instead focus on the years we have been apart of - those arrival days when smiles were hard to come by, those salvations and baptisms, those discipleship classes and hearts shared, and those hugs and the relationships that were formed. That is what we are focusing on - on how God chose us to use to help change the lives of these kids, because we know He has good plans for them too. This field trip was a reminder of how God has done amazing things in each one of their lives. They will ALWAYS be in our hearts!