2024 ELI Mission Trip - Day 2

It was another early departure to Susu, our home away from home, nestled in thick, African bush about 40km ( 24 miles) from the lodge we were staying at in Kabwe.This distance may seem short, but when you consider the roads are dirt and littered with holes, lumps, and bumps the relativity short distance makes a surprisingly arduous journey. The team was ready to spend the day at the Susu Library and Farm to complete preparations for the upcoming workshops and conferences. However, on the way, we stopped at Mr. Benson's farm to see all that has been accomplished in this last year.

Our spirits were high, for we all have heard and read about the many fabulous things Mr. Benson has been accomplishing in his village. As the van pulled in, the team saw a nicely decorated folding table and chairs, which are treasured gifts from Elizabeth Library International (ELI) donors that have made learning easier for adults and children. There the team was greeted by women in the literacy program joyously singing music and proudly displaying a treadle sewing machine, gifted to the literacy class for two of its talented seamstresses.

After the women finished their beautifully sung greeting, representatives of the literacy program, local pastors and leaders personally introduced themselves to the team. After the introductions, Mr. Bob, Chasya and Katie were itching to interact with the children in the village, so Mr. Benson helped Mr. Bob round up all the children for story time.

Once everyone was gathered under the big tree, Mr. Bob began reading “Cookies”, one of the Frog and Toad books. In his lap was a giant bag of cookies and he continued to cram them into his mouth as he read the story. Everyone was laughing hilariously including the translator, Mr. Kenneth, who could hardly contain himself, and the men in the background observing. The children were so polite, but they were watching that bag of cookies disappear quickly. At the end of the story, Bob asked the young girls to act as birds and eat what everyone thought were all the cookies. The boys, however, were not too sure about all of this - until Bob pulled out more cookies and passed them out to everyone, even the men. This is probably the first time ever that either the adults or children had ever participated in such a story time. Cookies is a marvelous book about willpower, and we do wonder how this concept was translated, but for sure the cookie story time will never be forgotten.

After the story was over, the women’s literacy group began their beautiful presentation explaining everything they had learned. As they went into the details of their businesses, Chasya and Katie scurried off with the kids to play soccer, with a real soccer ball, which was a first in Mr. Benson’s village. While Katie, Chasya and the children played their games, the women’s literacy group ended their presentation by performing a play explaining how their new literacy skills are helping them to become more successful business women, as they can now read and write receipts and prices. Mrs. Erica was so touched by their presentation and impressed by their tailoring skills that she purchased little girl dresses for her granddaughters.

The team then received a tour of Mr. Benson’s farm, which he is most proud of and then it was time to head off to Susu. Off the team went, but little did they know the small, bumpy, dirt road they came via would not be the road they left on. Less than one-hundred feet from the farm the bus hit a patch of sand and down, down, down the tires sank. The team thought the bus would be stuck forever, but through the grace of God and the efforts of men from the community, the bus was rescued after an hour of hard work! However, this meant the bus would not be able to continue down this path, which created a whole new problem, or so we thought. The same amazing men ran ahead of the bus and literally trail-blazed a new way! All we had on us as repayment was snacks and prayers/praise that we could lay upon them.

Once we were back on the main road we officially set off for Susu Village and the library. The team was able to spend time with people in the village, and Katie was given the opportunity to take a good look at the library to help prepare her for the following day of teacher training. Once Katie was done having her fun in the library, the team went on a drive around the Susu farm land, which, even in the drought, is full of the most tasty bananas and largest cabbages you have ever seen. In addition, we were able to survey the most recent land purchase and land that may be acquired in the future.

The teams in both America and Africa are so in love and dedicated to this project. With prayer, blessings, and dedication to the vision so much is possible! In the short time we have been back in the states, ELI Zambia is excited to announce that Mr. Benson is the newly appointed Children's Storytime Supervisor for the Susu Mobile Library program. Mr. Benson is the very happy owner of a new heavy duty bicycle and has already started his school visits with storytime in Brunelli and Grandmother Elizabeth's farm.

Stay tuned for more to come, because remember this was just day 2 in Zambia.

Story told by Katie P.