It Can't Be....

I will admit that I benefitted nicely from the American team being here. My father brought over two suitcases full of “supplies” for me. There was Bath and Body Works Jasmine Vanilla hand soap which is the best soap made by man. I like to call it ambrosia for your hands. There was also a five pound bag of Chik-fila breading; therefore, I can make my own Chik-fila sandwiches in Africa. There was a season of both House and the Office, more books, gatorade mix, my tennis racquets, homemade brownies, Starbucks coffee, and many more things. It seriously was Christmas come early. My mother also included my birthday and Christmas gifts. I will hopefully have enough self control not to open those until the respective dates.

It was difficult seeing my father fly away yesterday, but the Lord is good. When my dad first came to Zambia in 1996, I seriously don’t think that he ever imagined he would be flying away from Zambia one day while leaving his son behind. Sometimes there are small blessings of which we have to be aware. After dropping off the team at the airport, Lawrence and I had to stop at the “American” shopping center before leaving Lusaka for Ndola. We always love to get things there that we can’t get in Ndola, or that we can get a lot cheaper in Lusaka. I was in one store in the shopping center when out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a can of Dr. Pepper. I said that it could not be because I have wanted a Dr. Pepper so bad for the past two months. I walked over to the store and sure enough there were cans of Dr. Pepper in the freezer. I grabbed four of them before anybody could steal them from me. There was nobody else in the store, but I was sure someone was going to steal them from me. I took them straight to the cash register not caring about the price. I asked the lady at the register if you could get these anywhere else in Zambia. She told me no, and that 12 cases come in every shipment. Of those 12 cases, the store immediately calls one individual in Lusaka who comes to purchase 2 of the cases. I need to know that person. She pointed to his phone number on the wall. I thought briefly about memorizing it, but I thought the phone call may have been a little too weird. One can of Dr. Pepper ended up costing $2, but I did not care. I purchased my four, thought about purchasing 12 more, and got out of the store as quickly as I could. I am sure that I freaked the cashier out, but it did not matter to me. I have not drank one yet because I am waiting for those special moments when I really hate Africa to drink them.