From Dallas to Dubai to Lusaka...My New Home!

My two month adventure to Zambia began TODAY! (Or yesterday I guess. Time zones and 15 hour flights are weird.) It started off with heading to the airport where of course we had to rearrange some things and get rid of a space bag full of stuff from our suitcases. Intern Mama Cheryl had some new treats to go home with and the poor men that helped us were sick of us by the end of it. Our friend Bobby, the guy who checked our bags, gave us some extra pounds on each of our suit cases. Talk about the grace of God right there! I also met a sweet man named Matthew, who works for the airline, and he found out we are going to do mission work and asked us to pray for him too!

Once we made it past checking our bags and security, all we had left was the flight itself. First of all the plane was huge. When we walked onto the plane there were these rows of seats that looked SUPER comfy and I’m talking to Brooke about how nice they are and how it’s going to be so great and she says “Oh girl I hope you don’t think these are our seats because this is first class.” I said lolz of course it is. My life. So that was a funny moment on the plane. Secondly, there were so many interesting and different people and so many adorable nuggets! Brooke and I made friends with the guy next to us who does global missions and is from South Africa so that was really cool! He gave us some tips about Dubai and Africa and told us all about his organization. Then two movies, some reading, some questionable airplane food, and a few attempts at sleep later we were in Dubai!!

We arrived in Dubai around 12:30pm their time which is around 3:30am in Texas. Talk about a time change. It is one of the most interesting places I have ever been though. After getting a little settled the three of us decided to adventure to the Dubai mall which is a major tourist spot. Y'all the Dubai Mall. I can't even describe how many different shops, floors, and just how pretty everything was. They had a giant aquarium inside that you could just walk by. How cool is that?! And a ton of adorable stores for tiny tots. If you're looking for some cute kid clothes, the Dubai Mall is the place to be. The number of different cultures and people walking around was crazy. We also saw the Burj Khalifa, which is the world’s tallest building and it is tall. They're not joking about that. We also went to these really cute shops called Souk Al Bahar which just had little knick knacks and cute little restaurants as well as a really cool chair which we decided to take a picture in and I think we started a mass line of taking a picture in the chair. Leave it to the Americans.

We then decided to go to the beach so we had to find a taxi to get there but weren’t 100% sure we would be able to get a taxi back to the hotel but sometimes you gotta risk it to get to the beach! After hanging out on the beach for a while and taking in all the scenery and all of the desert hotness we hailed a taxi and got back to the hotel safe and sound.

Fast forward some hours to the next morning where we head to the airport and board our plane to Lusaka! Who even knows what schedule our bodies are on anymore after all of this. I think I am finally starting to adjust but 7 quick hours later we were in Zambia! (After a 15 hour flight, 7 hours was nothing.) We got off the plane and stood in line for a little bit to get our visas and then headed to get our NINE bags. The three white girls in the Lusaka airport lugging around nine massive suitcases. Sounds about right. When we finally got a cart for our suitcases I was determined to hold onto it because our intern coordinator, Cheryl, had told us that men would try to come and take our cart to take it to the car and put our suitcases in and then want to be paid so I was already in that mindset of don't let go of the cart. Brooke and Lauren are in front of me and they both see the men, Moses and Humphray, who are picking us up from the airport but of course I didn't. So Humphray comes up to me and asks if I need help and I say, "no I've got it thank you." and keep walking because I was so focused on keeping the cart. Then Brooke says "Michaele you know that is Humphray right?" I was so embarrassed. Haha I said I am so sorry I had no idea that was you and explained the whole cart thing to him. Luckily he's a jokester and made fun of me a little and we laughed about it. Day 1 and we already have jokes. Haha Humphray and Moses both are so sweet and so genuine and it was so much fun getting to know them a little bit today.

After they picked us up from the airport we headed to the office which is our new home for the next 60 days!! It was a lot bigger than I was expecting. It pretty much looks like a large house. What would be the living room area is where all of the desks are and then there's the kitchen and then down the hall is our room with three beds! And there are three bathrooms! Talk about spoiled! Haha but really it is so great! After we got settled in a little bit, Humphray and Moses took us to grab some dinner and some bottled water (gotta stay hydrated.) We picked up Mary Ann, another EOH worker, on the way and all went to this place called the Mint Lounge. It was so good! So good to have actual food and not airplane food and the weird stuff from the Dubai hotel. (They eat some interesting things there.) Never have I ever been so happy to see chicken in my life! Then we got to go to Spar which is the market; we exchanged some U.S. currency for some Kwacha which is the Zambian currency. 

It has been a crazy, fast, exhausting, and exciting last couple days!! I have loved every second of it and can't wait to see what the next day holds! I know God is going to do some amazing things and continue to provide as He already has! So thankful for a bed, being off a plane for a while, the first real meal in days, and to have spent my first day in Lusaka with some new great friends! 

Please continue to pray for me, Brooke, and Lauren as we begin serving here in Zambia; that we will serve willingly with a servants heart and focus on building relationships with the people here. Also for health and that we won't get sick or anything. We are so excited and know God has amazing things in store for this summer!!