God - Family- Work

Yesterday we led the church service (chapel) at The Esther School.  We talked about David And Goliath and how David was big even though he appeared small because he was a part of something bigger.  This week we have felt as though we are truly seeing the results of how something small is making such big changes.
The grade one class had a scavenger hunt today and they all came to school early and in their best clothes because they were so excited.  Oddly enough they didn't really go anywhere for the scavenger hunt it was on and around the school property, yet these kids were so excited.  After the hunt they were treated to ice cream.  For many of the kids it was their first or second time in their life eating ice cream or even something cold.  The children don't have fridges at home so the concept of cold food is so foreign to them.
The Zambian culture is very social.  Everyone greets eachother (even in a business situation) with a friendly greeting and honestly desires to know how the other individual is doing before discussing the topic they gathered to discuss.    These greetings happen every time someone new comes into a room.  At first Joe and I looked at it as a large waste of time.  Did we really need to go through the greeting process over and over ever time someone new walked into a room? Now we see the value in the greeting.  Zambians truly put family and friends first.  It comes before business transactions, the handling of disputes, woman working to prepare meals and all other day to day chores.  There is great value and respect in the greeting and remembering that everything you do each day is for and about the ones you love.
Another concept that is new to us is how pay cheques and finances are handled.  When a Zambian gets paid for a job he brings home his paycheque.  The money is used for the whole family ( brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc.) Everyone benefits from the paycheque.  It truly demonstrates the idea of helping others and putting others needs before your own.  Here's another example: if a Zambian gets paid and his brother has a debt owing his brothers pay cheque will pay for his debt.  Or, if a Zambian can't make it to work one day, it's ok because his uncle or nephew will cover for him till he can return.  In some ways this seems wrong.  How does one ever get ahead?  At The Esther School the staff are teaching the Zambian staff to better manage their money.  They don't discourage helping family but encourage a small percent of each pay cheque to go into a savings account at the school.  This is allowing the staff at the school the opportunity to save and possibly lessen the cycle of poverty happening in almost every family.  Even though this idea is vitally important here I think we've also learned from them that is really is better to give than to receive.