MY 15 ORPHANS - GRANDMA SHANN'S CHILDREN

The tall young man in the back is my awesome interpreter, Emmanuel Zambara. I don't know what I would have done without him.  He was so wonderful with the children and you could tell that they loved him and many knew him.  He was great initiating the football games and other games with them. A favorite was "Do like I do"!!He wants to be an engineer when he gets older but I said he had to be a teacher too because he was so great.  We were a great team with the bible lessons because he always translated with lots of expression when I did and was also excited to share the gospel with these children. Les and I were called Gramma and Grandpa by everyone including Emmanuel and he wrote us the most precious letter at the end which we will treasure.  He is the son of the director of the school nearby. Bottom row in front from left to right is Gabriel, Princess, Zipola, Isaiah, and next row up left to right is Lenard, John, Kapane, Christine, Liya and in the back row to the right of Emmanuel is Masiyaleti, Debra is next to me, and in front of Debra is her sister, Mwangala and then Lenty  (I have my hand on her shoulder). Telesa is missing in these pictures, as well as Phely.


This is John Chimika.  He lives with 8 siblings. He has both parents but he lives in a very difficult situation. Neither parent works - and they have little food. He is often beaten. They do not have beds and they are never warm enough at night. John has stomach aches and pain and has dealt with Malaria. His mother has been having chest pains. John prayer request was wanting to accept God which he did at the end of camp.

John likes school and he is a good boy- I am asking for prayer for him and his family that the Lord will help to provide for them.







This is Lenard Tembo. Lenard is one I am asking for everyone to pray hard for him as he has been targeted along with his family . He has been kidnapped twice but returned. It seems that since both parents work and he is left to care for his younger siblings that those dealing in witchcraft rituals are catching him while he is walking to and from. They make him climb mountains and trees and then return him. This may seem very strange and farfetched to many who do not understand this culture but it is very real and very dangerous. I have been told that often when this starts that at some point the child is never returned and finally sacrificed. He missed two of the five days this week and Mother was gone overnight because of a funeral. He has many siblings and Lenard being 8 must care for all of them when they are gone.  it is not a good situation. They do have enough food to eat and family attends church but the father sees a witchcraft doctor.

This is Phely Sakala.  This child has had night terrors and witchcraft done . The family sees a witchcraft doctor. The eldest sister has problem with back and legs. Phely never smiles or participates. Big concern for Phely. Often just not there even though physically Phely is there. Please pray for Phely.

This is Telesa Chitambala. This child needs lots of prayer. She has 8 siblings and Mom and Dad both work putting the eldest sister in charge. Dad is sick with pneumonia and stomach aches. Telesa is often wiped with a wipe. The family farms but there is never enough food. Young sister, Helen, has had a very bad cough for along time.  Telesa has night terrors also and her grandmother is the witchdoctor. She gives her medicine from the trees.  I have had Mama Margaret pray over her.  Please pray for Telesa.  She is very distant, doesn't participate and I have had a hard time getting to know her. I wish I had more time with her.













This is little Christine Mudenda. Christine is a happy go lucky child. Small for her age.























This is Princess Zulu. Princess, when she smiles, lights up the world, but this is how she normally is and she has some anger in her.  However, she can be delightful and wants to volunteer. I feel so sorry for her because she really is in a very bad situation. Her father drinks to excess and does not live with her and her mother now.  Princess has night terrors, headaches all the time . She has asked to see Mama Margaret several times because she has had witchcraft done on her. The family does not have enough food and gets no food before school or camp when she comes.  Please pray that she gets help!!!

This is Zipola N'gandwe. There are 14 in her family and she gets in trouble alot. They are harsh with her and probably take the huge responsibility of such a large family out on her. She is a very serious child and very quiet.  Pray for her.

















This is Deborah Nalungwe. She is a smart girl and actually helped me by interpreting for me when Emmanuel was busy helping set up games for the children to play. She volunteered answers to questions continuously and always was helping me pick up. It seemed automatic to her and yet she seemed so sad alot and it was because she always feels sick. Her glands were swollen, and head pain and problem with ear pain I recall. She said she has not told her parents even though she has been ill for a very long time. Turns out that her parents are not her parents, but rather she is being raised by a sister and the husband is the son of Mama Teresa. Deborah is a double orphan along with her sister , Mwangala.  She was seen by Mama Margaret who prayed over her and Deborah fell to the ground unconscious and then arose and said she felt somewhat better.  However,  I am not sure if she is really doing better and I am puzzled by her whole situation. Please pray for Deborah as Mama Margaret said that her falling to the ground unconscious is a result of evil spirits in her - part of this witchcraft in Africa which is so prevelent and extremely affects these little children preyed upon. It is horrific and so unsettling to me. We all believe that Mama Margaret is this Godly woman, an angel sent by God, to heal those sick from this horrible craft. She has been such a blessing to both Les and myself during this journey through Africa.

This is Mwangala Nalungwe, Deborah's sister. She is very outgoing and a leader and is also very helpful. She seems much happier than Deborah but she can be a bit sassy and demanding of other children. She has a wonderful singing  voice which is truly a gift from the Lord. She says she is not allowed to sing in church which I do not understand and said she had accepted Christ into her life but then did not really know what it meant. She rededicated her life to Christ at camp.

This is Lenty Jamaima. She is also a double orphan even though her mother is alive. She is a sweet quiet child who lives with her grandparents. She says she never gets in trouble. She likes school and they seem to have enough food. She says her Mother has had another baby and it is a girl. Lenty asks only for prayers for her new baby sister and asks nothing for herself. She has asked to pray in our group which was amazing as no one else had ever asked to say a prayer in our group.

This is Liya Katangwa. She is a frail little child who is listless and tired most of the time and does not pay attention in class.
She is off in another world most of the time. She really does not mingle much with the other children and seems like she could be rather anemic. She says her family does not have enough food. Here she looks happy but in a classroom setting she is not. Please pray that Liya can possibly receive some help for the family.

This is Gabriel Katonga. He listens hard and tries to learn and is  a good boy.  He says he has a tough time in school. Gabriel has a disabled brother. He sleeps with his mother which is kind of unusual at his age.

This is Kapane Kapane.  He stays with his Mom and he is a single  orphan . He is a sweet boy and I am worried about him as he has headaches and stomach pain and bad dreams at night. This usually means withcraft has been done on him.  He has trouble in school academically and has been having trouble with his leg.  Please pray for Kapane that he feels better and can get help in his school work.











This is Isaiah Phin. Isaiah is a double orphan living with his grandparents. He asks for prayers for them because they do not have enough strength.  He has a brother Erik who is not from the same Mother and Father and Erik is sick with Malaria. Isaiah's Mother died and his father is somewhere else.  Three sleep together in one bed. Isaiah is a sweet boy who never asks for a thing and is always the last one to receive whatever I am passing out.  This does not seem like a good situation for Isaiah. Please pray for him that the family gets some help and also Isaiah needs help with his schooling as it is difficult for him.

This is Masiyaleti Mufwinda. She comes  from what seems to be a normal family unless I am missing something here.  She lives with both her parents - father works. Mother is at home. They have plenty of food, she likes school although she says she needs help with it.  The family farms and buys food and she feels safe at home.  She has not been sick and she attends church. In speaking with staff it may be that she has connections with teachers who got her in to the program and I have some concerns about this and let Mama Margaret know of that concern so in the future we are taking the children with the most needs as there are so many of them.  Masiyaleti was a bit shy in class and did not understand as much English as Deborah and Mwangala , her friends, and so had a harder time volunteering. She was a lovely sweet girl and very well behaved.

I wish I had had the time to spend more time with each of them individually . That week went so fast and we had alot of material to cover in that amount of time along with two crafts every day and several periods of game playing which was fun. Every one of my children accepted Christ as their personal saviour and asked for forgiveness of their sins. They understood that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God so that we need Jesus . They prayed to Jesus quietly admitting whatever sin, big or small, and then I prayed over them for Jesus to forgive them and ask that Jesus would come into their life and help them along the way because they wanted to have that personal relationship with Him all the days of their lives. We told each child that we were there to help them and pray for them about any needs

that they may have and that anything shared would just be between us and Mama Margaret who can initiate help for them ; and we also shared that Emmanuel and I were there to be Jesus's hands and feet to help in the process to better their lives. We shared this at the beginning before we privately met with each one of them one on one to give them this chance to privately share their needs and to accept Christ as their personal Saviour. It was a very humbling experience for us to share in such a responsibility and it has changed my life to see these little ones come to Jesus so willingly and so happy when they realize that all they have to do is to allow that door to be open so that Jesus can enter in and fill them with his Holy Spirit. I shared with them that now that Jesus forgives them of their sins that they in turn must be willing to forgive one another just as Christ has forgiven them. I used some life examples with siblings.