Bush Camp -- Part 1

Even though Lusaka had restaurants and a mall, we were very excited to board the bus and head to Bush Camp!! It took us about 7 hours on the bus to get to our next home in the eastern part of Zambia.

In the end, Bush Camp ended up being our favorite part of 40/40. One of the reasons was that the land where we were camping was beautiful. And, in the evenings we would go out and literally be speechless over the night sky....filled with stars! (Dad....you would have loved it!)

Unloading the bus

That wore Lilly out 

Here is our family's tent.
The girls slept in the smaller tent on the right
and Lee and I in the tent on the left.

This is inside the girl's tent.
These tents were supper nice!
They were from a safari company that was going out of business.
We all slept incredibly well the whole time.

Our restroom facilities!
Take a look inside...

You got it.....squatties for a week and a half!
The worst was during the day the bees liked to go in there to find "water".
So you had to be brave or wait until you are just about to wet your pants
and you have no other option, but to go with the bees.
Then in the evening.....the bats that lived in the hole.....flew out :)
Watch out!!!

These are the cooking tents.
The staff cooked us amazing meals while at camp!

Bath time went like this....
Pump water from this well.

Pour your water into your kettle and put it on the fire.

Once your water is warm you can take it to one of the showers.
There are 2 under the water tanks in the background.

Or....you can use one of these.

Here is what the inside of the showers under the water tank look like.

The girls had a wonderful time at Bush Camp.
One day they found this chameleon.

They played and played all over the place!

Many nights we had a bonfire

Some of the kids pretending on the trailer 

Lilly and her friend Bailey

Meghan practicing carrying things on her head.

Lee and Emma made this homemade kite

All the kids joining in the fun.

Look out!

Playing in the tent

A bee hive we found...and that explains the bees in the bathroom!

Soaking feet at the end of the day

Part of our learning at bush camp is about African culture in a rural setting. In this area of Africa, like many, tribal chiefs rule the land. Meeting the chief and getting his blessing to work in an area is something all missionaries should do. So the men went one day to pay a visit to the chief. That same day we invited the chief's wife out to meet us for tea. That morning we worked to decorate a bit and prepare a few snacks.

Here I am putting our scones in the oven.

The chief's wife is in the front in blue 

During our time of singing a snake came slithering out of a hole in the ceiling.
One of the guys that didn't go see the chief came in and captured the snake.

Tracy