Becky has been wiggling one of her front bottom teeth for quite a while now. She was scared and reluctant to have it pulled out, but was very excited when it did come out! She went screaming with joy to show her brothers and Daddy. 
After visiting the chicken and reptile farm, we were planning on enjoying a picnic lunch at a dam located on a nearby game ranch. A certain two homeschool moms had spoken with the ranch owners previously and received permission to do this. However, they did not get directions to the dam. We drove around the property for a long time on paths and trails and some roads before deciding to go back and go to the owner's house and ask for directions. The owner's son was home and told us there were four dams and he'd also take us through some of the game ranch. He hopped on his motorcycle and we tried to keep up. When I saw him jump over a bump in the road, it was John's signal that he needed to slow down for that part of the road. We all had bought eggs at the chicken farm and there were nine open trays of eggs (that's 270 eggs) "secured" in the back of our van. After driving over most of the same trails we'd already been on, but going through a couple more closed gates, we arrived at the camp where hunters stay while hunting game. It really wasn't a camp yet, but would be in a month or so. We were so hungry by then that we just ate there.
The owner's son had shown us a "shortcut road" that would be a shorter way out, so we took that to start heading home. It may have been shorter, but it took longer because it was muddy and full of holes. It hadn't rained for 3 weeks and the mudholes were still huge and deep. Thankfully, our non-4-wheel-drive van made it through. We did lose our power steering though. Amazingly, when we got home, John found the belt on top of the engine compartment and was able to put it back on.
Needless to say, all 270 eggs didn't survive the trip on that road. The people sitting in the back were watching the eggs behind them go up in the air and then back down again with a thud and a splat! I think we figured we lost about 60 eggs to our adventure. What a mess!
A group of missionaries went to a chicken farm about 30 minutes outside of Kitwe for a tour. There is a reptile farm on the same property. It was an interesting combination. They catch rats in the chicken barns to feed to the snakes. The snake collection included both venomous and non-venomous ones. Of course, we were only allowed to handle the safe ones. Caleb held a brown snake. It was good to see the venomous snakes, though. The black mamba is greatly feared here and for good reason. This place had an adult and a baby one. Now that we have seen the real thing, we are pretty sure that the snakes we have encountered so far at home were not black mambas, but probably just brown snakes or house snakes, both non-venomous. 
The older boys held a huge python! It was losing its skin, so they had snake on their hands after it went back into its cage. John wasn't too thrilled about getting the head end.
Joshua held a baby crocodile. There were a couple medium sized crocs in the swimming pool. The man tried to feed one of them some chicken while we were there, but it wasn't hungry. 
There was also a baby bushbuck in an enclosure. The man said they found it in the woods after it had been attacked by dogs. Caleb was able to get fairly close to it and Joshua actually touched its head, but it was pretty skiddish with lots of kids around.
The children were amazed at the size of the chicken barns. There were a handful of long barns with rows and rows of chicken cages. The kids went down row after row looking for and collecting eggs. All the kids found eggs and helped the workers by placing them in trays at one end of the barn. It was interesting when someone found an egg without a shell. It just had the thin membrane holding it together. 
Becky is definitely a girl. Even in a smelly chicken barn Becky wouldn't pass up a photo shoot opportunity. Yes, it was smelly - we smelled it all the way home on everyone's shoes.
I thought it was amusing contrasting these two forms of transportation. These cattle are HUGE and can pull quite the load. The Beamans truck is pretty big too, but maybe not as powerful.
The restaurant is small with a tiny kitchen, but there is electricity. On one side of the kitchen is a dining area with three tables, a drink cooler and a hand washing station (necessary after eating with your hand). On the other side of the kitchen is a take-away table (fast food to go) where bread and jam are sold for breakfast and meat pies are sold other times. The take-away area opens up into the fish section of the market where dried fish is sold. This is a very busy area and the restaurant has people coming and going most of the day. We are pleased with the testimony our church friend has and are glad to help her business.
Before we moved, I (Sophie) asked Ba Yvonne (Halfer's house worker) to make outfits for Becky and me. I bought the material at the market and told her what style we wanted. Zambians don't typically use patterns to sew. They are able to cut out the pieces just by seeing another outfit, a picture or drafting their own design. It takes real skill to get it right. When I sew, I am pinned to a pattern and an instruction sheet. I may have the ability to sew, but I definitely don't have the skill the Zambians do. This picture was taken after a morning at church, so Becky's suit looks a bit rumpled. We both enjoy our Zambian clothes. These are "dressy" outfits. Worn for church and special occasions.
For everyday clothes, ladies wear a shirt and a chitange skirt, which is simply a length of material wrapped around and tucked in at the waist. Often they will have a "normal" skirt on and have a chitange on over it to keep it clean. The chitange is also used to tie babies (or other loads) onto the back.
Well, what do you know?! The Smiths are alive and back on their blog!
The yard is the major plus factor! Most of the year, it is very comfortable to play outside, so it is wonderful to have a yard suitable for our children. There are mature fruit trees and flowering trees to climb, plenty of grass to run and ride bikes, established flower beds and garden plots. Some of the fruit growing in our yard include: bananas, mango, quava, grapes, strawberries, papaya, lemons, oranges, pineapple, avocado and some that are still unidentified. This picture is part of the backyard. Our property backs up to high tension power lines, so it is undeveloped land. The yellow flowers towering over our back wall grow wild all over the place here. They are pretty unless they are in the lawn.
