Update 2- March 29

Thursday
Mark - More health checks and Abbi and I were invited to speak to a local school club (run by Fena Chibesa) on a TBD (to be determined) topic. We were ushered into the principal's office (oh boy, flashbacks of me getting in trouble in grade school went through my mind), where I had to explain that I was talking to some kids about something useful (even though I didn't know what just yet). She seemed to like us (I was grateful for Abbi's presence), so we passed the first test. We were then escorted across the school grounds where I was expecting to meet the kids, but our next stop was the school staff meeting in the school lounge, minus the smoke billowing out. We passed the second test - screening from all the teachers so they luckily called us into the classroom. The "club meeting" ended up being half the school, so I figured I better come up with a topic fast. Fena Chebesa suggested we talk on staying in school, so I acting like I knew what I was talking about. It seemed to be a hit and Kangwa translated for me. 1 hour later we finished up, and took pictures, but not before one of the students asked Abbi out (after raising his hand), so I picked up a machete (true story) from a boy in the front row and ran after the student. The kids rolled in the floor laughing, and they enjoyed asking Abbi questions about school in America. We were then sent back to the principal's office for a final debrief, and she asked us "what's next?" -- probably in the context of whether we were going to be a continual presence in her school - and I responded with "we're going to eat lunch next" (true story). I guess she figured out we weren't wanting anything in particular from the school. We did discuss HIV/AIDS prevention and that we could partner with this club in some way similar to how we used to partner with their STS club. We had a great time. 
Friday
Mark - More health checks and we headed through the bush to Kangwa and Fena's house for Lunch. As always, we had a huge entourage of village kids escorting us. Lunch wasn't ready, so they decided to bring it to us at the orphanage a little later. The walk was so nice, and the countryside was beautiful. We bought Mr. Maxwell (our head teacher at the Debbie Joy School) a new bike, and he was as appreciative as anybody I've ever seen receiving a gift. He fell to his knees in tears, and shook with excitement. He has to ride 2 hours on his bike every day to teach, and his old bike was missing most of the vital parts - including peddles. What a champion he is for our children!  We taught a Health and Hygiene Workshop to the caregivers group in the afternoon, and the women were so fun to work with.  
Saturday
Mark - We hit our 100th kid on the heath checks, so we have a nice process going here in the village. Tannen and Hildah manage the flow of kids, and Abbi and others help process the kids (name, age, grade, mosquito net status, weight, height, etc.), and I do a fantastic job taking pictures of the kids (someone has to do the dirty work). Katie (our nurse and quick-study doctor) and Martinz have done all the heavy lifting of checking the kids, and they are the reason these health checks have been so successful. We are following-up on all the kids that are in need of more care, and the Bwalya's have been so responsive in caring for the kids. Chawama (excellent!!!). We met with all the leadership and discussed the current state of the ministry, how we're doing compared to our vision, areas of strength, and areas of improvement. We ended the day a couple hours earlier than normal, and we ate at a real restaurant (Copper Cabana) - very appropriate name for us being in the Copperbelt of Zambia. We went downtown to get ice cream, and we finished it off with a cup of coffee at Dr. Thinus' house. It was a great day.