So, I’m back in Manchester and right now I’m sat in bed, tucked under my duvet wondering if I’ll ever feel my toes again...It is lovely to be home and it’s great catching up with you all bit by bit, but the change in climate is a bit of a shock to the system!! Oh well, I’m in the process of unpacking my winter clothes and found my lovely snuggley winter boots yesterday, so hopefully I’ll be warm again in no time!
Sitting here, the last few months seem like a lifetime ago already and it feels a bit strange to sit down and write about them. On the other hand though, I think I must be driving my house mates mad with my constant, “oh yeah, in Africa...” comments. So I thought that before I stop writing my blog for the time being I’d just finish it off by telling you about my last couple of weeks or so in Zambia.
Of all the jobs I’ve ever done, I have to say that this one has had the best perks! Having packed everything up in Chingola and visited the Falconer Home, I decided it was time to have a little rest. So, I got up at stupid o’clock to get the 6am bus to Livingstone (if you don’t get the first one, you can wait hours for the next bus to fill up before it sets off...) Just outside Livingstone we had to sit and wait for about half an hour because there was an elephant in the road! Never before have I been in a traffic jam because of an elephant!! Great!
Anyway, I was in Livingstone for about 5 days and had a wonderful and relaxing time. I spent two days in Chobe game park (actually in Botswana) and saw loads of amazing animals - my favourite were definitely the elephants although a little part of me did worry when they were walking right by us in an open car, literally about 1m away! They are MASSIVE!!!!! We saw loads and loads of animals, amongst which were hippos, crocs, antelope of many varieties, warthogs, mongoose, hyena, giraffe, vultures, buffalo, 2 lions and a leopard! We stayed over night in the game park in tents...a part of me did wonder about the wisdom of camping in the middle of park full of lots of big and wild animals, but we were with a guide and they regularly camp out, so I guess they know what they’re doing!
Whilst in Livingstone, I also revisited Victoria Falls. I had a lovely day with Jeremy and Lindsay, a couple who I met at the hostel I was staying at. They are currently working in Swakopmund (in Namibia) and were on route to visit Jeremy’s parents who have been working as missionaries in Congo for many years. We walked down to Boiling Pot at the bottom of the falls where the water is squeezed out from the bottom of the falls into the river. The walk involves about 650m of steep steps and a bit of a scramble across some rocks and through some water, but it was definitely worth it! It was a lovely place with many less tourists as not everyone tackles the walk! It was great to spend the day exploring and having some fellowship with some lovely folks.
Other to that, I spent a day being the laziest I’ve been in a long time. I sat by the pool and read my book...all day! Perfect!
That was soon a distant memory though...on my return to Lusaka I was staying with Mia and Sian again. Alongside Barefeet Theatre they have been creating all the props for “Edward Scissorhands - The Story of Snow”, the show Barefeet are putting on for christmas. There was loads to make, including a 10ft “ice sculpture” of an angel (not actually ice though...), crazy haircut wigs, costumes, items for the set and most of all, loads and loads and loads and loads of snow! It’s ages since I’ve had a good excuse to do papier mache, make paper snow flakes, generally cut, stick and paint stuff and just make things! I loved it...but it was of course a bit hectic as opening night got closer and closer! I ended creating some sort of drop box that was fastened up in the lighting rigs that would sprinkle the snow over the stage. So, having actually somehow managed to make it snow it Africa, I sadly had to go home the same day the show opened. This meant I never got to see the finished show, but having seen the rehearsals I now have all the songs going round and round in my head!
The journey home was long and fairly boring, but it was safe and uneventful so I can’t complain. It was also good to be able to sit still after the crazy busy week I’d just had...My super ace house mate Sarah picked me up at Heathrow and drove me home to Manchester (via her parents for a cup of tea and a hot shower!) And now here I am, still tucked up under my duvet, feeling like all these things and the warm sun are a million miles away!
I'd like to say a huge thanks to all you fab people who have sent me messages (it's always great to hear from home), prayed for me, helped me out financially, spent probably hours reading my blog to keep up with what I'm up to, stored all my stuff while I've been out of the country, fetched me from Heathrow and generally been great friends from afar! You know who you are and without you all I would have felt very far from home and a bit lonely, but with you all behind me, I have felt very loved!
Looking back over the last few months, it feels like they’ve been pretty intense and non-stop! As work goes, this type definitely takes over you’re life. The people you are working with become your friends, you care about them and love them. You share their struggles and their joys. There’s no desire to stop caring for them at 5.30 when you work day might normally finish...you go on caring! It is a joy and privilege to do so, and “work” hasn’t felt at all like work, but it is constant and becomes every part of your life so it is difficult to turn your brain off and relax. Even now, my thoughts and prayers are still in Zambia and I find myself wondering how all the guys are doing with the cabbages they are growing, how each small group is going and what everyone is up to!
I am amazed by what has happened in the time we’ve been out in Zambia. I remember spending the day with the team before we left setting out our plans for the time we had. We set out targets for each month and discussed how we thought we would reach them. I came away from that day, excited but more than a little daunted. I knew for sure that this was something way more than I could do and more than our team could achieve on their own. I knew we had to have faith in God and follow him where he was sending us and leave the rest to him. I sort of knew God could do it, but in my human way I still felt somehow that it was a mountain to climb and worried about how we would do it. Now, with the benefit of hind’s site, I can say that God has moved and shaken things and I can see his fingerprints over all that has been happening in the villages along Solwezi Road. He has brought people together, watched over each circumstance and meeting of people, he has faithfully met each need and through it all still found time to teach me and help me grow. It has been a privilege, a great experience, a huge lesson and an absolute joy to serve him! God is truly great and it is with excitement and delight that I look forward to the next steps he is already laying before me...
..watch this space!
Friday, 12 December 2008
Thursday, 27 November 2008
goodbye chingola, hello mama joanna
It’s all change for me! I’ve now left Chingola, have been to an orphanage my church in Manchester supports and am now in Lusaka for a couple of nights before heading south to Livingstone for a week and then...it’s time to come home!
The last couple of weeks in Chingola were different, but great in their own way. Everyone else had packed up and gone so I was on my own tying up a few lose ends. If I’m totally honest, I was a little worried about being on my own - what if something happened, what if I didn’t know the way somewhere, what if I was lonely and wanted to talk to someone...oh yeah, I’d just talk to myself like I normally do!!
As is usually the case, I shouldn’t have worried! Things did happen...the car got a slow puncture; one of the pastors had slipped during the conference and as his leg wasn’t getting any better I took him to the hospital - turns out he’d broken it; I drove down possibly the worst stretch of road I’ve ever driven, and loved it (once I reached the other end and knew I hadn’t got stuck in any mud!) But, in all these things, provision was made and God proved faithful. Not once did I feel alone! I was well cared for with every need being faithfully met, from a car to follow along the rough road to someone to help me change the tyre!
The days were so full that I didn’t have chance to feel lonely at all really. Following on from the conference a number of small groups are beginning in local villages. Between them, Joel, Vincent, Ponde, Ranger and Caspa are going to try to visit each group once a month to encourage and support them. We all felt that it would be good to try and visit these groups in their first or second week to help them get going and as some of the “local” villages aren’t really local at all, I ran the jo-taxi service to help the pastors travel around them all. Whilst they can get there on their bikes, it can take hours to cycle the distance, so being able to take them in the car meant they could visit many more in the time they had.
During the two weeks, I decided it really would have been handy if my Bemba was better as I spent about an hour or two most days sitting in a room full of people all talking in Bemba!!! One day, we had started a group outside and the rains started so we all dashed inside. We had to stop talking for a while as the sound of the rain on the iron sheet roof was so loud you couldn’t hear each other speak. Before you know it, I was busy day dreaming...it occurred to me that I was sat in someone’s house, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, with a group of Africans in a torrential rain storm...and I just though, hmm, how amazing that I’m here! Beats sitting at desk in an office in Manchester city centre on a grey and wet day!
Other than my daydreaming, it was great to be able to see the number of people beginning to come along to join the small groups. It is so exciting to see what God is doing here unfolding before our eyes and I feel truly privileged to have been able to be a part of it all in some small way and be a witness to it! I really hope I can return some time in the not too distant future to see what God will no doubt continue to do here...
I also had a few other jobs to fit in, mainly packing up all the stuff that we are leaving behind here, which was quite a task. Sorting through everything seemed to take for ever, but it’s all sorted now! The hardest job by far was helping the pastors open a bank account. It just seemed impossible, although, it isn’t as we managed it! It was a close call in the end as, unbeknown to us, you have to provide all the information one day then return the next day to deposit some money and officially open the account. Thankfully, we went on the Thursday before I left and discovered we were missing a letter of reference. We then spent the rest of the day trying to sort this out and quite literally ran to the bank to hand it in to find they were locking the doors to go home, but kindly they let us in, which meant we could return on the Friday and deposit the money! Talk about cutting it fine...
Of course, I also found some time to have fun and took myself on a day trip to visit the chimpanzee orphanage about 40km outside of Chingola. I’d been meaning to go ever since I arrived here and never quite got round to it...typical! It was worth the visit, despite it being a long and bumpy road! The chimps were ace!! They were well cheeky and far more intelligent than I’d expected. Amongst others, there was a grumpy chimp called Nina who threw lettuce at my head and a camera shy chimp called Max who hid behind a load of hay whenever I tried to take his photo. A little randomly, there was also a massive hippo called Billy who is free to roam around the place (a little scary as hippos are dangerous!)
Quite a few times during the two weeks, I made some plans, but as the day went on, it became clear that my plans weren’t going to happen and that God had the plan for the day in his hands! My favourite example was the last Friday before I left. I’d got up and was annoyed that the puncture I’d had “mended” clearly wasn’t mended as the tyre was flat as pancake. So, the day got off to a slower start than it was meant to as I fitted the spare tyre (with help from Lazarus!) and then took the tyre back to the garage. Then I set off to meet Joel and as I was driving along the road I was thinking it was a shame that I hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye to Vincent. We were supposed to see each other the day before, but the plans had changed and it didn’t happen. As I was thinking this, I noticed a bike left at the side of the road and 200m down the road, there was Vincent! His chain had broken and he was stranded so looking for the missing link from his chain to try and mend his bike! So, Vincent and bike joined me in the car and we went to collect Joel. Also waiting with Joel was Caspa. His wife had had to go to a funeral in town and he wanted to go and meet here there, so I was able to give him a lift as I was going that way anyway. It also meant I got to say good bye to his wife!
So, we pootled into town, sorted all the jobs we had to do (mainly the bank account!) then I took Ponde home - with his broken leg he’s not really able to ride his bike at the moment! We had a lovely time with his family and his wife Mary nearly reduced me to tears when she gave me a proper african outfit made from chitenge that she had made for me! I was so amazed!!
All in all, it was a great day!
Well, all good things come to an end...and my time in Chingola was at it’s end. I finished the packing on Saturday, our friend who had kindly lent us all the furniture came and collected it and first thing Sunday (well, by 10am!) I set off on the 400km drive to Lusaka. It took quite a while and I’m now truly fed up of the one very cheesy tape we have in the car, but I arrived safely. I was particularly pleased that I didn’t get a puncture on route as I had no spare tyre, the mystery puncture still not being properly fixed. I would normally have delayed the journey by a day to sort it out, but I had a flight booked on the Monday that I couldn’t miss...so I prayed (as I know many of my friends here did) and travelled!
The next day I set off on my adventure to the Falconer Home, for those of you not from St Margaret’s, this is an orphanage my church in Manchester has supported for many many years. The home is a long way from where I was staying and I had heard that the road there was in pretty bad condition. As I was travelling alone and there’s no AA breakdown service here I decided it would be a little foolish to set off on my own on a long long journey to somewhere I didn’t know on roads that could be in any state, so I had managed to sort out flights with a small mission that fly doctors and missionaries around Zambia. It was very exciting getting in a tiny plane - I got to sit in the front and see all the crazy dials and controls as well as wearing comedy headphone-ear-protector things and a microphone to talk! Hee hee!! Felt a little strange though turning up in the middle of nowhere to be met by a group of people all standing far too close to the runway, waving and smiling!
It was lovely to be at the orphanage and they looked after me very well, although they kept insisting that I must be tired and need a rest! As I only had a short time there, I didn’t want to spend it resting!!!
Lilas Falconer who opened the home many years ago is a truly inspirational person - you can read the story of the home here http://www.thefalconertrust.org/page2.html The work at the home continues to this day! There are currently 135 children there from babies to teenagers. Many of the staff who work there now, grew up at the home and have gone away to train as medics, agriculturalists and what not, then returned to work there. Other staff come from the surrounding village each day to help with the day care of the children. All the female staff are called Mama What-Ever-There-Name-Is, so I became Mama Joanna for the duration of my stay!
It was quite intense being at the home - there are probably about 50 children under the age of 10 who are all well looked after and cared for, but still desperate for some attention and love from anyone who will give it. The staff do an amazing job, but they simply cannot give lots of one-to-one time to each child! Just walking down the corridor I would find at least one child hanging onto each hand before I knew it, if I sat down there would be one or two children climbing onto my knee and generally I had a crowd following me around! I remembered all sorts of stupid games and clapping rhymes to provide entertainment and generally had a great time playing with all the kids, but I can see how it would become quite hard to be there for a long time - however much “tlc” you give to one kid, you can be sure there is another one who will also need some! Although I’m sure I shouldn’t have made any favourites, there was one little boy called Gary, although he always spelt it wrong when he wrote it, so was generally called Gray...he was an absolute star and kept me entertained for hours and gave me a tour of the home! The older children live a little more independently in houses surrounding the main home. Here they cook for themselves and begin to take more responsibility for their own lives, but staff continue to live in with them to take care of them (and prevent any mischief!)
The overall running of the home now falls to Simon and Miriam, both of whom grew up their. Simon is the “handy-man” and general doer and overseer of all practical jobs. Miriam trained as a nurse and now works 3 or 4 days a week at the health clinic adjacent to the home and spends the rest of her days, evenings and weekends being mum to all the kids! She manages all this with an amazing sense of calmness and seemingly endless energy. I also had the joy of meeting Luke, the first child that was brought to Lilas Falconer about 60 years ago. He volunteers at the home and mans the reception desk and seems to make time to talk to anyone who wants to talk to him. He has a great sense of humour and a keen interest in what’s going in in the world and is frequently found listening to his radio to keep up to date.
Generally, I think it’s safe to say that the Falconer Home is a place of refuge for many needy children and it was a privilege to see a group of very dedicated people working together, putting in hours and hours of their time and lots of energy to selflessly love and care for children in real need. I’m so chuffed that I got to visit them all!
And on that note, I’m going to love you and leave you. It’s 11.20pm and I have to be up at 5am to get into town super early to get the bus to Livingstone. I’m making a return visit to see Victoria Falls with a little more water and hopefully spend some time in a game park, before returning home. My flight home is a week on Monday and I’ll be back on home turf on Tuesday 9th December. Although I knew my time here would go quickly, I still can’t quite believe I’ll be home in less than two weeks. Whilst I’m eager to see you lovely folks and look forward to spending time catching up with you, I am also really, really sad to leave here. The last few months have been a very special and I know I’ve learnt a lot and experienced many things that I never would back home. I consider myself very blessed!!!
The last couple of weeks in Chingola were different, but great in their own way. Everyone else had packed up and gone so I was on my own tying up a few lose ends. If I’m totally honest, I was a little worried about being on my own - what if something happened, what if I didn’t know the way somewhere, what if I was lonely and wanted to talk to someone...oh yeah, I’d just talk to myself like I normally do!!
As is usually the case, I shouldn’t have worried! Things did happen...the car got a slow puncture; one of the pastors had slipped during the conference and as his leg wasn’t getting any better I took him to the hospital - turns out he’d broken it; I drove down possibly the worst stretch of road I’ve ever driven, and loved it (once I reached the other end and knew I hadn’t got stuck in any mud!) But, in all these things, provision was made and God proved faithful. Not once did I feel alone! I was well cared for with every need being faithfully met, from a car to follow along the rough road to someone to help me change the tyre!
The days were so full that I didn’t have chance to feel lonely at all really. Following on from the conference a number of small groups are beginning in local villages. Between them, Joel, Vincent, Ponde, Ranger and Caspa are going to try to visit each group once a month to encourage and support them. We all felt that it would be good to try and visit these groups in their first or second week to help them get going and as some of the “local” villages aren’t really local at all, I ran the jo-taxi service to help the pastors travel around them all. Whilst they can get there on their bikes, it can take hours to cycle the distance, so being able to take them in the car meant they could visit many more in the time they had.
During the two weeks, I decided it really would have been handy if my Bemba was better as I spent about an hour or two most days sitting in a room full of people all talking in Bemba!!! One day, we had started a group outside and the rains started so we all dashed inside. We had to stop talking for a while as the sound of the rain on the iron sheet roof was so loud you couldn’t hear each other speak. Before you know it, I was busy day dreaming...it occurred to me that I was sat in someone’s house, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, with a group of Africans in a torrential rain storm...and I just though, hmm, how amazing that I’m here! Beats sitting at desk in an office in Manchester city centre on a grey and wet day!
Other than my daydreaming, it was great to be able to see the number of people beginning to come along to join the small groups. It is so exciting to see what God is doing here unfolding before our eyes and I feel truly privileged to have been able to be a part of it all in some small way and be a witness to it! I really hope I can return some time in the not too distant future to see what God will no doubt continue to do here...
I also had a few other jobs to fit in, mainly packing up all the stuff that we are leaving behind here, which was quite a task. Sorting through everything seemed to take for ever, but it’s all sorted now! The hardest job by far was helping the pastors open a bank account. It just seemed impossible, although, it isn’t as we managed it! It was a close call in the end as, unbeknown to us, you have to provide all the information one day then return the next day to deposit some money and officially open the account. Thankfully, we went on the Thursday before I left and discovered we were missing a letter of reference. We then spent the rest of the day trying to sort this out and quite literally ran to the bank to hand it in to find they were locking the doors to go home, but kindly they let us in, which meant we could return on the Friday and deposit the money! Talk about cutting it fine...
Of course, I also found some time to have fun and took myself on a day trip to visit the chimpanzee orphanage about 40km outside of Chingola. I’d been meaning to go ever since I arrived here and never quite got round to it...typical! It was worth the visit, despite it being a long and bumpy road! The chimps were ace!! They were well cheeky and far more intelligent than I’d expected. Amongst others, there was a grumpy chimp called Nina who threw lettuce at my head and a camera shy chimp called Max who hid behind a load of hay whenever I tried to take his photo. A little randomly, there was also a massive hippo called Billy who is free to roam around the place (a little scary as hippos are dangerous!)
Quite a few times during the two weeks, I made some plans, but as the day went on, it became clear that my plans weren’t going to happen and that God had the plan for the day in his hands! My favourite example was the last Friday before I left. I’d got up and was annoyed that the puncture I’d had “mended” clearly wasn’t mended as the tyre was flat as pancake. So, the day got off to a slower start than it was meant to as I fitted the spare tyre (with help from Lazarus!) and then took the tyre back to the garage. Then I set off to meet Joel and as I was driving along the road I was thinking it was a shame that I hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye to Vincent. We were supposed to see each other the day before, but the plans had changed and it didn’t happen. As I was thinking this, I noticed a bike left at the side of the road and 200m down the road, there was Vincent! His chain had broken and he was stranded so looking for the missing link from his chain to try and mend his bike! So, Vincent and bike joined me in the car and we went to collect Joel. Also waiting with Joel was Caspa. His wife had had to go to a funeral in town and he wanted to go and meet here there, so I was able to give him a lift as I was going that way anyway. It also meant I got to say good bye to his wife!
So, we pootled into town, sorted all the jobs we had to do (mainly the bank account!) then I took Ponde home - with his broken leg he’s not really able to ride his bike at the moment! We had a lovely time with his family and his wife Mary nearly reduced me to tears when she gave me a proper african outfit made from chitenge that she had made for me! I was so amazed!!
All in all, it was a great day!
Well, all good things come to an end...and my time in Chingola was at it’s end. I finished the packing on Saturday, our friend who had kindly lent us all the furniture came and collected it and first thing Sunday (well, by 10am!) I set off on the 400km drive to Lusaka. It took quite a while and I’m now truly fed up of the one very cheesy tape we have in the car, but I arrived safely. I was particularly pleased that I didn’t get a puncture on route as I had no spare tyre, the mystery puncture still not being properly fixed. I would normally have delayed the journey by a day to sort it out, but I had a flight booked on the Monday that I couldn’t miss...so I prayed (as I know many of my friends here did) and travelled!
The next day I set off on my adventure to the Falconer Home, for those of you not from St Margaret’s, this is an orphanage my church in Manchester has supported for many many years. The home is a long way from where I was staying and I had heard that the road there was in pretty bad condition. As I was travelling alone and there’s no AA breakdown service here I decided it would be a little foolish to set off on my own on a long long journey to somewhere I didn’t know on roads that could be in any state, so I had managed to sort out flights with a small mission that fly doctors and missionaries around Zambia. It was very exciting getting in a tiny plane - I got to sit in the front and see all the crazy dials and controls as well as wearing comedy headphone-ear-protector things and a microphone to talk! Hee hee!! Felt a little strange though turning up in the middle of nowhere to be met by a group of people all standing far too close to the runway, waving and smiling!
It was lovely to be at the orphanage and they looked after me very well, although they kept insisting that I must be tired and need a rest! As I only had a short time there, I didn’t want to spend it resting!!!
Lilas Falconer who opened the home many years ago is a truly inspirational person - you can read the story of the home here http://www.thefalconertrust.org/page2.html The work at the home continues to this day! There are currently 135 children there from babies to teenagers. Many of the staff who work there now, grew up at the home and have gone away to train as medics, agriculturalists and what not, then returned to work there. Other staff come from the surrounding village each day to help with the day care of the children. All the female staff are called Mama What-Ever-There-Name-Is, so I became Mama Joanna for the duration of my stay!
It was quite intense being at the home - there are probably about 50 children under the age of 10 who are all well looked after and cared for, but still desperate for some attention and love from anyone who will give it. The staff do an amazing job, but they simply cannot give lots of one-to-one time to each child! Just walking down the corridor I would find at least one child hanging onto each hand before I knew it, if I sat down there would be one or two children climbing onto my knee and generally I had a crowd following me around! I remembered all sorts of stupid games and clapping rhymes to provide entertainment and generally had a great time playing with all the kids, but I can see how it would become quite hard to be there for a long time - however much “tlc” you give to one kid, you can be sure there is another one who will also need some! Although I’m sure I shouldn’t have made any favourites, there was one little boy called Gary, although he always spelt it wrong when he wrote it, so was generally called Gray...he was an absolute star and kept me entertained for hours and gave me a tour of the home! The older children live a little more independently in houses surrounding the main home. Here they cook for themselves and begin to take more responsibility for their own lives, but staff continue to live in with them to take care of them (and prevent any mischief!)
The overall running of the home now falls to Simon and Miriam, both of whom grew up their. Simon is the “handy-man” and general doer and overseer of all practical jobs. Miriam trained as a nurse and now works 3 or 4 days a week at the health clinic adjacent to the home and spends the rest of her days, evenings and weekends being mum to all the kids! She manages all this with an amazing sense of calmness and seemingly endless energy. I also had the joy of meeting Luke, the first child that was brought to Lilas Falconer about 60 years ago. He volunteers at the home and mans the reception desk and seems to make time to talk to anyone who wants to talk to him. He has a great sense of humour and a keen interest in what’s going in in the world and is frequently found listening to his radio to keep up to date.
Generally, I think it’s safe to say that the Falconer Home is a place of refuge for many needy children and it was a privilege to see a group of very dedicated people working together, putting in hours and hours of their time and lots of energy to selflessly love and care for children in real need. I’m so chuffed that I got to visit them all!
And on that note, I’m going to love you and leave you. It’s 11.20pm and I have to be up at 5am to get into town super early to get the bus to Livingstone. I’m making a return visit to see Victoria Falls with a little more water and hopefully spend some time in a game park, before returning home. My flight home is a week on Monday and I’ll be back on home turf on Tuesday 9th December. Although I knew my time here would go quickly, I still can’t quite believe I’ll be home in less than two weeks. Whilst I’m eager to see you lovely folks and look forward to spending time catching up with you, I am also really, really sad to leave here. The last few months have been a very special and I know I’ve learnt a lot and experienced many things that I never would back home. I consider myself very blessed!!!
Saturday, 8 November 2008
every day's an adventure
Well hello again! Time continues to whizz by and another 3 weeks have gone since I last wrote. I’ve been super busy and loads has happened so I’ll attempt to sum it up here without writing pages and pages! Knowing me though, that might be a struggle.
Since I last wrote I’ve been to Lusaka for a long weekend, had a week at home planning the conference and then we had the conference last week. I’ll start with Lusaka as that was the first thing that happened...
John, Jude and the boys were heading down to visit a friend of theirs for a long weekend so I decided to hitch a lift. Lusaka is the capital city and I’ve not had chance to spend any time there until this weekend. As it happens some friends from England are currently working in Lusaka, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit Mia and Sian as well as spend some time in Lusaka.
So we packed up the car and set off...but, nothing here is ever without an adventure and, true to form, there was an adventure on route! The car had overheated previously but had seemed to be running ok for weeks, until we were half way to Lusaka in the midday heat and slowed down at a level crossing when the temperature gauge shot up. From that point on, we drove for 50 minutes to an hour before having to sit for an hour or so and wait for the engine to cool and refill the water. This was until the last part of the journey when we had to stop after 20 minutes and sit in the dark at the side of the road, thankfully by a petrol station so we could get lots of water to put in the radiator! We arrived in Lusaka about 5 hours later than planned and I didn’t make it to Mia and Sian’s until the next day. When I did eventually make it, I ended up getting a lift in Jon’s friend’s very nice subaru impreza! Jon’s friend is a rally driver and his car is fitted with all sorts of gadgets and goes very fast (that’s the technical way of describing it!) It was all I could do not to laugh when he accelerated and the car zoomed off leaving me stuck to the back of the seat!
I had a lovely weekend with Mia and Sian. They are doing lots of creative work with street children (http://www.myspace.com/creativekidsinternational) in the capital and are working alongside a theatre company. Barefeet Theatre (http://www.barefeettheatre.org) were working at a family day at Munda Wanga, a huge park just outside the city, and Mia and Sian were complimenting the street theatre with face painting! So, turns out a day of face painting for Love Burnage stood me in good stead and before I knew it I was surrounded by loads of little kids all wanting their face painted! Brilliant!!
The rest of the weekend was lovely and relaxing. We took it easy, had lots of good food and even went to the final night of Zambian Fashion Week, which involved some amazing outfits on the catwalk made with some great african fabrics. It was also the first time I got to use Zambian public transport as we use the car up here. The bus system is crazy but lots of fun. People talk to each other in buses here and it makes for an interesting trip. I bumped my head getting off one bus and a random guy stopped his conversation to rub my head better...bless him! We also got a taxi of death home one night, which had to be bump started after we had stopped for petrol and then the passenger door just feel open when we went round a corner - thankfully we were all in the back seat and made it home safely.
I ended up staying an extra day in Lusaka as the car wasn’t quite mended and then ended up getting a bus back up to Chingola anyway as the car still wasn’t mended. Lusaka bus station is quite a place. Before I got out the taxi I’d already had to shout at some guys not to carry my bags for me as I wasn’t going to pay them, then watched two guys have a fight (literally punching each other) over who’s coach company I was going to travel with (neither of theirs having seen the way they do business!) and ended up having to stand still and not move as some guy had decided he was going to show me where the coach company a friend had recommended to me set off from - again expecting me to pay him. Eventually he gave up and I wandered off to find the coach and was safely on route by 6.15am. I’m pleased to report that the rest of the day was fairly uneventful and I made it home safe and sound!
The next week was a little hectic to say the least. Jon and Jude were stuck in Lusaka waiting for the car to get fixed so Ruth, Andy and I were holding the fort up here. We were busy buying the fertiliser and cabbage seed for the five pastors, which you would think wouldn’t be too difficult, but turns out there’s a shortage of fertiliser at the moment as the main producer in Zambia shut down and it all has to be imported. After trekking round many shops we found one that was expecting a delivery later that day and managed to return the next morning and get all we needed...although it’s hard to negotiate the price when the guy knows you can’t get hold of the fertiliser anywhere else!
That day was also the presidential election day following the death of the president a month ago. People are very vociferous about politics here...it wasn’t unusual to hear a very loud political debate on a bus, or see a procession of cars plastered in political posters all beeping their horns with people hanging out of the windows shouting!
The next day was great. I had to sort out the food for the conference which involved a trip to Kitwe market, the largest market in the region we are in. It took about 15 minutes to walk across it, which was partly due to size and partly due to it being a Krypton Factor style assault course! Everywhere I went I was followed by shouts of “Hey you, Mzungu, buy this!” Mzungu’s (white people) are seen as being rich so people reckon we’re a good bet to spend money. We’re also a novelty which meant that people kept grabbing my hand and trying to talk to me. If I hadn’t been with Vincent I might still be in there now trying to escape!
It was while I was walking through the market that it dawned on me that I now no longer just enjoy being in Africa, but I actually love it! I know that sounds a little cheesy, but it’s true! I love the way everything is a little random, everyone is so friendly and each day is totally unpredictable.
Anyway, I managed to find all the food I needed and was also totally amazed by a guy who picked up the giantest bag of cabbages I’ve ever seen (about 40 cabages) and carried them to my car on his shoulders! He did look a little like he might fall over, but he did it! By the time I got home I was shattered from the effort of fighting my way around the market and haggling with people to get everything at a good price.
Oh, that was the day of comedy transport as well. Jon’s car never did get mended and he’d borrowed a truck with two seats and a double mattress in the back to make it a little more comfortable for extra passengers! In the morning I’d shared the back with a live chicken which I was a little scared of and on the way home I was squished in between cabbages, dried fish, beans and 75kg of mealie meal!
On the Sunday we packed up the cars and set off to Sekela where we were holding the conference. Sekela is a strange place, it’s a rural village but it’s right next to the main road! We set up camp next to the church (and the road....great, big loud trucks rumbling past through all the night!) under the watchful eyes of about 30 local kids, who didn’t stop watching us all week!
I think last week was the best week so far - it was amazing on so many counts. The conference itself seemed to go fairly smoothly, given that it was in the middle of nowhere and some amazing storms! We took a bit of a back seat in the leadership as the five pastors we have been working with stepped up to the mark and lead most of the sessions. This was great to see as it proves just how much they are onboard with what we are working towards and believe it’s part of God’s plan for their area. Another guy we have met came to help out and it was clear that they all hit it off and formed some strong friendship bonds in the time we were all together.
The people attending the conference all seemed to enjoy it...I say seemed as most of the conversation was in Bemba, the local dialect, so I had to read body language and pick up snippets of conversations! The week finished with the five pastors helping people put in place some plans for how to go forward from now and there are now 10 more small study groups due to begin in the near future. When I think about how many peoples lives this could now touch I find it really exciting!
The small groups will provide places for people to ask questions and gain some much needed teaching, starting with the basics of the christian faith and building on them over the next year. There are already lots of churches in the rural villages, but many are without any resources or teaching, many don’t even have pastors, many pastors don’t even have Bibles and people are held back by a lack of understanding with no way to learn more. There are of course some exceptions with some people of amazing faith who have learnt what they know of God through very real experiences and a living relationship with him and meeting these people is such a privilege!
For me the highlight of the week was spending time with the ladies in the “kitchen”! Despite the fact that their English was poor and my Bemba non-existent, we had a great time and I haven’t laughed so much in weeks. Everything I said or did seemed to amuse them, particularly the speed I walked at...way faster than the average african saunter. My skin going pink in the sun (despite factor 50) was hysterical and my attempts as speaking Bemba endless fun. My effort at cooking enshima resulted in fits of laughter as I had to give up being too weak to stir the huge pot of white, tasteless goop that is the staple food of Zambia! Best of all though was my inability to avoid the smoke from the fire and the resulting tears streaming down my face as my eyes just couldn’t cope!
Cooking involved an open fire with wood and charcoal and three big stones to support the pot. There was a bore-hole close to the church so we could easily get water - I tried carrying a bucket on my head but was nowhere near as graceful as the African ladies!
The ladies started teaching me some Bemba and ended up getting a few kids to help as their English was a little better. My Bemba is limited to kitchen phrases like “I am cooking chicken everyday” or “The smoke is going in my eyes!” but it’s better than it was. In return for their Bemba lessons I taught the kids a loads of silly tricks and games my Grandad taught me years ago. They thought it was hysterical and duly followed me round for the rest of the week. I was really touched when, as we were leaving, one of the ladies gave me a couple of rings and bracelets she was wearing as a gift and they managed to tell me in a mixture of broken English and mime that they would be sad when I was gone as they wouldn’t laugh anywhere near as much!
The week was also full of randomness! I was in the middle of a little Bible study outside when 6 piglets wandered by. When washing in the bathroom (a straw enclosure with a big metal bowl of hot water) I constantly wondered if a chicken might stroll in. Going to the toilet was best before dark so you could at least see the spiders! Every night I wandered if my tent would stay dry as torrential rain and huge winds battered around the tent. If it hadn’t been so hot I had to sleep on top of my sleeping bag I would have thought I was in Wales. I’m pleased to report though that my tent was a superstar and stayed dry. I had possibly the freshest chicken I’ve ever eaten given that it was running around in the morning, dead and plucked by lunch time and cooked to perfection by tea time! Each morning I was woken at about 4am by everyone getting up for an early morning African style prayer meeting....very loud and very long! At first it drove me nuts, I just wanted to sleep, but by the end of the week I was quite enjoying listening to it through my tent walls. It was quite amazing hearing the sound of 40 men singing and praising God with that much gusto that early in the morning!
The storms were astounding. One night we were stood outside watching 4 or 5 storms raging in all directions. The lightening was forking right down to the horizon in all directions and the thunder was so loud. Eventually one of the storms reached us and I had to dive for cover in the tent!
So as you can probably tell, I had a great week last week. The only down side was that the last day of the conference was the last time our team would all be together with the five pastors as Jon, Jude, Ethan, Josh and Jacob were starting their journey back to Burnage the next day. Even though I wasn’t actually saying goodbye to all the pastors I was still reduced to a crying wreck as it’s been such a special time so far. We had a time of prayer together and reflected a little on what we have done so far and what there still is to do. Overall, it was a positive time of encouragement...yet I still cried big girl that I am!
Jon, Jude and the boys set off yesterday morning and since then Andy, Ruth and I have been busy moving into their flat as the lease on our one ran out today. All done now! Ruth and Andy tried to visit Kapeshi yesterday to say goodbye as they leave on Monday, but had to abort the trip as the road is already impassable following a week of storms.
So, my time here is nearly over. The thought of leaving makes me really sad, but the thought of seeing all you guys back home makes me really happy! I think that I’ll be spending two more weeks in Chingola following up the conference and meeting with the guys to look at the next steps and help visit some of the people who came to the conference and encourage them as they start small groups. This may be made slightly more complicated by the current road conditions!
I was planning on driving to the Falconer Home, it would be about a seven hour drive I think, but given the current storms and worsening road conditions I have decided it would be foolish to set off by road. I would be travelling alone and have heard that parts of the road nearing Kabompo are quite pot holed. This would be hard work in the dry season but once the pot holes are full of water it’s a whole lot harder as you have no idea quite what is under the puddles. I’ve decided it would be better to switch my plans around and try and get a flight from Lusaka to the home towards the end of the month as I will be heading down to Lusaka anyway. I have contacted a small company who run internal flights to see if they have anything going in that direction anyway (which would make it cheaper!) and if they can fit me on a plane. I am really looking forward to visiting and hope that the plans can be put in place to facilitate it!
That leaves me with about a week left, when I’m planning a little holiday time with a return to Victoria Falls to see them now there’s been some rain (they were at their emptiest when I went in September) and hopefully popping over to Botswana visit Chobe Game Reserve and see lots of animals! Then it’ll be time to head home to sunny (or cold and snowy!) Burnage!
And that just about sums up my news! Once again, I’ve waffled on for ages and ages so I hope you had a comfortable chair if you’ve made it this far! One last thing...you are probably aware that I have been raising money to fund my time out here working with Dignity. I am well on the way to meeting the costs of the trip but am still falling a little short. If you feel it is right to do so, any contributions towards the costs would be gratefully received and can be made through my just giving page (http://www.justgiving.com/jobomohoho). Many thanks!
Well, I must go, it’s getting late and Andy is waiting at home to come and pick me up from the internet place...my love to you all. I’m looking forward to catching up with you all in about a months time!!!!!!!!! jo x
(ps. I tried to add to some piccies to this entry, but the internet connection wasn't having any of it so I'm afraid you'll have to look at them on facebook!)
Since I last wrote I’ve been to Lusaka for a long weekend, had a week at home planning the conference and then we had the conference last week. I’ll start with Lusaka as that was the first thing that happened...
John, Jude and the boys were heading down to visit a friend of theirs for a long weekend so I decided to hitch a lift. Lusaka is the capital city and I’ve not had chance to spend any time there until this weekend. As it happens some friends from England are currently working in Lusaka, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit Mia and Sian as well as spend some time in Lusaka.
So we packed up the car and set off...but, nothing here is ever without an adventure and, true to form, there was an adventure on route! The car had overheated previously but had seemed to be running ok for weeks, until we were half way to Lusaka in the midday heat and slowed down at a level crossing when the temperature gauge shot up. From that point on, we drove for 50 minutes to an hour before having to sit for an hour or so and wait for the engine to cool and refill the water. This was until the last part of the journey when we had to stop after 20 minutes and sit in the dark at the side of the road, thankfully by a petrol station so we could get lots of water to put in the radiator! We arrived in Lusaka about 5 hours later than planned and I didn’t make it to Mia and Sian’s until the next day. When I did eventually make it, I ended up getting a lift in Jon’s friend’s very nice subaru impreza! Jon’s friend is a rally driver and his car is fitted with all sorts of gadgets and goes very fast (that’s the technical way of describing it!) It was all I could do not to laugh when he accelerated and the car zoomed off leaving me stuck to the back of the seat!
I had a lovely weekend with Mia and Sian. They are doing lots of creative work with street children (http://www.myspace.com/creativekidsinternational) in the capital and are working alongside a theatre company. Barefeet Theatre (http://www.barefeettheatre.org) were working at a family day at Munda Wanga, a huge park just outside the city, and Mia and Sian were complimenting the street theatre with face painting! So, turns out a day of face painting for Love Burnage stood me in good stead and before I knew it I was surrounded by loads of little kids all wanting their face painted! Brilliant!!
The rest of the weekend was lovely and relaxing. We took it easy, had lots of good food and even went to the final night of Zambian Fashion Week, which involved some amazing outfits on the catwalk made with some great african fabrics. It was also the first time I got to use Zambian public transport as we use the car up here. The bus system is crazy but lots of fun. People talk to each other in buses here and it makes for an interesting trip. I bumped my head getting off one bus and a random guy stopped his conversation to rub my head better...bless him! We also got a taxi of death home one night, which had to be bump started after we had stopped for petrol and then the passenger door just feel open when we went round a corner - thankfully we were all in the back seat and made it home safely.
I ended up staying an extra day in Lusaka as the car wasn’t quite mended and then ended up getting a bus back up to Chingola anyway as the car still wasn’t mended. Lusaka bus station is quite a place. Before I got out the taxi I’d already had to shout at some guys not to carry my bags for me as I wasn’t going to pay them, then watched two guys have a fight (literally punching each other) over who’s coach company I was going to travel with (neither of theirs having seen the way they do business!) and ended up having to stand still and not move as some guy had decided he was going to show me where the coach company a friend had recommended to me set off from - again expecting me to pay him. Eventually he gave up and I wandered off to find the coach and was safely on route by 6.15am. I’m pleased to report that the rest of the day was fairly uneventful and I made it home safe and sound!
The next week was a little hectic to say the least. Jon and Jude were stuck in Lusaka waiting for the car to get fixed so Ruth, Andy and I were holding the fort up here. We were busy buying the fertiliser and cabbage seed for the five pastors, which you would think wouldn’t be too difficult, but turns out there’s a shortage of fertiliser at the moment as the main producer in Zambia shut down and it all has to be imported. After trekking round many shops we found one that was expecting a delivery later that day and managed to return the next morning and get all we needed...although it’s hard to negotiate the price when the guy knows you can’t get hold of the fertiliser anywhere else!
That day was also the presidential election day following the death of the president a month ago. People are very vociferous about politics here...it wasn’t unusual to hear a very loud political debate on a bus, or see a procession of cars plastered in political posters all beeping their horns with people hanging out of the windows shouting!
The next day was great. I had to sort out the food for the conference which involved a trip to Kitwe market, the largest market in the region we are in. It took about 15 minutes to walk across it, which was partly due to size and partly due to it being a Krypton Factor style assault course! Everywhere I went I was followed by shouts of “Hey you, Mzungu, buy this!” Mzungu’s (white people) are seen as being rich so people reckon we’re a good bet to spend money. We’re also a novelty which meant that people kept grabbing my hand and trying to talk to me. If I hadn’t been with Vincent I might still be in there now trying to escape!
It was while I was walking through the market that it dawned on me that I now no longer just enjoy being in Africa, but I actually love it! I know that sounds a little cheesy, but it’s true! I love the way everything is a little random, everyone is so friendly and each day is totally unpredictable.
Anyway, I managed to find all the food I needed and was also totally amazed by a guy who picked up the giantest bag of cabbages I’ve ever seen (about 40 cabages) and carried them to my car on his shoulders! He did look a little like he might fall over, but he did it! By the time I got home I was shattered from the effort of fighting my way around the market and haggling with people to get everything at a good price.
Oh, that was the day of comedy transport as well. Jon’s car never did get mended and he’d borrowed a truck with two seats and a double mattress in the back to make it a little more comfortable for extra passengers! In the morning I’d shared the back with a live chicken which I was a little scared of and on the way home I was squished in between cabbages, dried fish, beans and 75kg of mealie meal!
On the Sunday we packed up the cars and set off to Sekela where we were holding the conference. Sekela is a strange place, it’s a rural village but it’s right next to the main road! We set up camp next to the church (and the road....great, big loud trucks rumbling past through all the night!) under the watchful eyes of about 30 local kids, who didn’t stop watching us all week!
I think last week was the best week so far - it was amazing on so many counts. The conference itself seemed to go fairly smoothly, given that it was in the middle of nowhere and some amazing storms! We took a bit of a back seat in the leadership as the five pastors we have been working with stepped up to the mark and lead most of the sessions. This was great to see as it proves just how much they are onboard with what we are working towards and believe it’s part of God’s plan for their area. Another guy we have met came to help out and it was clear that they all hit it off and formed some strong friendship bonds in the time we were all together.
The people attending the conference all seemed to enjoy it...I say seemed as most of the conversation was in Bemba, the local dialect, so I had to read body language and pick up snippets of conversations! The week finished with the five pastors helping people put in place some plans for how to go forward from now and there are now 10 more small study groups due to begin in the near future. When I think about how many peoples lives this could now touch I find it really exciting!
The small groups will provide places for people to ask questions and gain some much needed teaching, starting with the basics of the christian faith and building on them over the next year. There are already lots of churches in the rural villages, but many are without any resources or teaching, many don’t even have pastors, many pastors don’t even have Bibles and people are held back by a lack of understanding with no way to learn more. There are of course some exceptions with some people of amazing faith who have learnt what they know of God through very real experiences and a living relationship with him and meeting these people is such a privilege!
For me the highlight of the week was spending time with the ladies in the “kitchen”! Despite the fact that their English was poor and my Bemba non-existent, we had a great time and I haven’t laughed so much in weeks. Everything I said or did seemed to amuse them, particularly the speed I walked at...way faster than the average african saunter. My skin going pink in the sun (despite factor 50) was hysterical and my attempts as speaking Bemba endless fun. My effort at cooking enshima resulted in fits of laughter as I had to give up being too weak to stir the huge pot of white, tasteless goop that is the staple food of Zambia! Best of all though was my inability to avoid the smoke from the fire and the resulting tears streaming down my face as my eyes just couldn’t cope!
Cooking involved an open fire with wood and charcoal and three big stones to support the pot. There was a bore-hole close to the church so we could easily get water - I tried carrying a bucket on my head but was nowhere near as graceful as the African ladies!
The ladies started teaching me some Bemba and ended up getting a few kids to help as their English was a little better. My Bemba is limited to kitchen phrases like “I am cooking chicken everyday” or “The smoke is going in my eyes!” but it’s better than it was. In return for their Bemba lessons I taught the kids a loads of silly tricks and games my Grandad taught me years ago. They thought it was hysterical and duly followed me round for the rest of the week. I was really touched when, as we were leaving, one of the ladies gave me a couple of rings and bracelets she was wearing as a gift and they managed to tell me in a mixture of broken English and mime that they would be sad when I was gone as they wouldn’t laugh anywhere near as much!
The week was also full of randomness! I was in the middle of a little Bible study outside when 6 piglets wandered by. When washing in the bathroom (a straw enclosure with a big metal bowl of hot water) I constantly wondered if a chicken might stroll in. Going to the toilet was best before dark so you could at least see the spiders! Every night I wandered if my tent would stay dry as torrential rain and huge winds battered around the tent. If it hadn’t been so hot I had to sleep on top of my sleeping bag I would have thought I was in Wales. I’m pleased to report though that my tent was a superstar and stayed dry. I had possibly the freshest chicken I’ve ever eaten given that it was running around in the morning, dead and plucked by lunch time and cooked to perfection by tea time! Each morning I was woken at about 4am by everyone getting up for an early morning African style prayer meeting....very loud and very long! At first it drove me nuts, I just wanted to sleep, but by the end of the week I was quite enjoying listening to it through my tent walls. It was quite amazing hearing the sound of 40 men singing and praising God with that much gusto that early in the morning!
The storms were astounding. One night we were stood outside watching 4 or 5 storms raging in all directions. The lightening was forking right down to the horizon in all directions and the thunder was so loud. Eventually one of the storms reached us and I had to dive for cover in the tent!
So as you can probably tell, I had a great week last week. The only down side was that the last day of the conference was the last time our team would all be together with the five pastors as Jon, Jude, Ethan, Josh and Jacob were starting their journey back to Burnage the next day. Even though I wasn’t actually saying goodbye to all the pastors I was still reduced to a crying wreck as it’s been such a special time so far. We had a time of prayer together and reflected a little on what we have done so far and what there still is to do. Overall, it was a positive time of encouragement...yet I still cried big girl that I am!
Jon, Jude and the boys set off yesterday morning and since then Andy, Ruth and I have been busy moving into their flat as the lease on our one ran out today. All done now! Ruth and Andy tried to visit Kapeshi yesterday to say goodbye as they leave on Monday, but had to abort the trip as the road is already impassable following a week of storms.
So, my time here is nearly over. The thought of leaving makes me really sad, but the thought of seeing all you guys back home makes me really happy! I think that I’ll be spending two more weeks in Chingola following up the conference and meeting with the guys to look at the next steps and help visit some of the people who came to the conference and encourage them as they start small groups. This may be made slightly more complicated by the current road conditions!
I was planning on driving to the Falconer Home, it would be about a seven hour drive I think, but given the current storms and worsening road conditions I have decided it would be foolish to set off by road. I would be travelling alone and have heard that parts of the road nearing Kabompo are quite pot holed. This would be hard work in the dry season but once the pot holes are full of water it’s a whole lot harder as you have no idea quite what is under the puddles. I’ve decided it would be better to switch my plans around and try and get a flight from Lusaka to the home towards the end of the month as I will be heading down to Lusaka anyway. I have contacted a small company who run internal flights to see if they have anything going in that direction anyway (which would make it cheaper!) and if they can fit me on a plane. I am really looking forward to visiting and hope that the plans can be put in place to facilitate it!
That leaves me with about a week left, when I’m planning a little holiday time with a return to Victoria Falls to see them now there’s been some rain (they were at their emptiest when I went in September) and hopefully popping over to Botswana visit Chobe Game Reserve and see lots of animals! Then it’ll be time to head home to sunny (or cold and snowy!) Burnage!
And that just about sums up my news! Once again, I’ve waffled on for ages and ages so I hope you had a comfortable chair if you’ve made it this far! One last thing...you are probably aware that I have been raising money to fund my time out here working with Dignity. I am well on the way to meeting the costs of the trip but am still falling a little short. If you feel it is right to do so, any contributions towards the costs would be gratefully received and can be made through my just giving page (http://www.justgiving.com/jobomohoho). Many thanks!
Well, I must go, it’s getting late and Andy is waiting at home to come and pick me up from the internet place...my love to you all. I’m looking forward to catching up with you all in about a months time!!!!!!!!! jo x
(ps. I tried to add to some piccies to this entry, but the internet connection wasn't having any of it so I'm afraid you'll have to look at them on facebook!)
Friday, 17 October 2008
as time goes by
So, time is flying by! The rest of the gang here will be heading home or on with their travels in just over three weeks time and it’ll be all change! I can’t believe how quickly time is going by. But it is, and that’s normally a good sign in my reckoning - means that I’m having fun!
The last couple of weeks seem to have disappeared. I have that strange thing going on where I’m not sure exactly what I’ve done each day, but I know we’ve not really stopped. We’ve had our heads down trying to get the discipleship groups up and running and have been spending time with the five pastors, just listening to their thoughts and concerns and encouraging them.
We’ve been working through the possible ways to free up the pastors time to enable them to spend more time working with the church. I think a solution is within reach but it has taken a lot of cross-cultural understanding and careful thought and discussion to get there! In a nutshell, it involves growing a cash crop that will pay for an employee to work in their fields, growing both the cash crop and their normal crops. There is some capital required to get this up and running and we have been working hard to establish this in a healthy way - neither a straight handout or a loan seems helpful; a handout holding no sense of responsibility or accountability, a loan bringing extra stress to those having to pay it back and borrowing money having bad connotations here. In the end, we are looking to provide the capital and ask those benefiting to pay the first years profits into a central fund that will in turn establish a long term project that can raise money to support their ministry. This means that the five pastors are accountable to each other and know we are not giving out a loan for our own gain in the long term! It still needs some fine tuning, but at the moment everyone seems happy with the principles...time will tell how well it all comes together!!
Other than that, we’ve met again with some people who came to the September conference and just got to know them a bit more. We are trying to encourage people to look outside the town and consider helping their “neighbours” in the rural areas around Chingola. Some of the people we have met with already have a real heart for this and we want to take the opportunity to build links between them and the people we have met out in the villages.
In a couple of weeks time we’re running a four day conference out in Sekela, a rural village, but close to the tarmac (that is, the main road from Chingola to Solwezi). We’re inviting those we’ve met in the rural areas along with those from the towns and are going to spend some time looking at how some small scale things can be started in villages.
I’ve been given the task of organising the conference which may turn me into some sort of crazy hyper-organising lunatic, or I may just try to do it more African style and be relaxed about the whole thing... I was thinking about the food and realised that back home I could probably do it pretty easily, but here, I have no idea what-so-ever! I know I need lots of mealie meal to make enshima, but that’s about it. Thankfully though, Joel, one of the pastors, is helping me understand the different cultures and what I need to sort out! He pointed out today that we would have to bring live chickens as there will be no way of keeping them refrigerated. That’s totally correct of course...but ewww! I as going to offer to help cook the food (thought I’d learn a lot!!) but I’m not sure I could stomach killing and plucking a chicken. If a chicken is prepared for you it’s important to get to the pot early on...if you’re one of the last to get your food, you may end up with the feet or the neck - gross!! I have gone without chicken a couple of times rather than eat those parts!
Amidst all the work we’ve also found time to have a bit of fun and relax. The Witts & I went to Nsobe Game Park last weekend. It’s only a small game park, but there was lots of cheeky monkeys, antelopes and some giraffes. We paddled around the lake in a kayak type thing and melted in the roasting sun then I sat and read a book for hours. Perfect!
For those of you who have been reading my blog, you’ll know about the school at Kapeshi. We’ve set up a just giving page to help raise the money need to start them off with a bag of seed and fertiliser... you can find it here www.justgiving.com/kapeshi The initial costs will only be about £200 but it has the potential to multiply and support the school in the long term. Ruth’s spent some time putting together a long term plan to help the staff at the school see how some work now and forward planning could improve the schools financial situation. We are going back to the school early next week to catch up with them and see how they’re getting along with clearing the land needed.
Oh, something that I’ve not mentioned is the rain! The rainy season is beginning... Last Thursday we had a spectacular thunder storm and it rained from about 4 in the afternoon till the middle of the night. Now I know that raining for hours back home is common place, but it hasn’t rained here for months and it was proper storm rain, not just the annoying drizzle we get for hours at home. It made me want to run outside and get drenched, but I resisted the urge apart from a mad dash to shut the windows (which you can only close from outside because of the mosquito screens on the inside!) It’s not raining every day, but the weather feels much stuffier now and this morning felt almost english with an overcast sky, although the sun is breaking through now!
For those of you from St Margarets, I’ve been in touch with Simon from the Falconer Home and will be heading there mid-November...I’m just trying to work out the travel arrangements, which can take some doing here.
And Mum...because I have to take my doxycyline with food, I’m finally eating breakfast every day!
One last puzzling thing to leave you with…we always see bush fires that have been started by people clearing their fields. It amazes me that these don’t spread from field to field as the land is so dry and parched, but they don’t. I’m told this is because people leave a gap between fields and plant a certain type of tree in places, but why why why don’t sparks get blown onto other fields and set them alight too?
The last couple of weeks seem to have disappeared. I have that strange thing going on where I’m not sure exactly what I’ve done each day, but I know we’ve not really stopped. We’ve had our heads down trying to get the discipleship groups up and running and have been spending time with the five pastors, just listening to their thoughts and concerns and encouraging them.
We’ve been working through the possible ways to free up the pastors time to enable them to spend more time working with the church. I think a solution is within reach but it has taken a lot of cross-cultural understanding and careful thought and discussion to get there! In a nutshell, it involves growing a cash crop that will pay for an employee to work in their fields, growing both the cash crop and their normal crops. There is some capital required to get this up and running and we have been working hard to establish this in a healthy way - neither a straight handout or a loan seems helpful; a handout holding no sense of responsibility or accountability, a loan bringing extra stress to those having to pay it back and borrowing money having bad connotations here. In the end, we are looking to provide the capital and ask those benefiting to pay the first years profits into a central fund that will in turn establish a long term project that can raise money to support their ministry. This means that the five pastors are accountable to each other and know we are not giving out a loan for our own gain in the long term! It still needs some fine tuning, but at the moment everyone seems happy with the principles...time will tell how well it all comes together!!
Other than that, we’ve met again with some people who came to the September conference and just got to know them a bit more. We are trying to encourage people to look outside the town and consider helping their “neighbours” in the rural areas around Chingola. Some of the people we have met with already have a real heart for this and we want to take the opportunity to build links between them and the people we have met out in the villages.
In a couple of weeks time we’re running a four day conference out in Sekela, a rural village, but close to the tarmac (that is, the main road from Chingola to Solwezi). We’re inviting those we’ve met in the rural areas along with those from the towns and are going to spend some time looking at how some small scale things can be started in villages.
I’ve been given the task of organising the conference which may turn me into some sort of crazy hyper-organising lunatic, or I may just try to do it more African style and be relaxed about the whole thing... I was thinking about the food and realised that back home I could probably do it pretty easily, but here, I have no idea what-so-ever! I know I need lots of mealie meal to make enshima, but that’s about it. Thankfully though, Joel, one of the pastors, is helping me understand the different cultures and what I need to sort out! He pointed out today that we would have to bring live chickens as there will be no way of keeping them refrigerated. That’s totally correct of course...but ewww! I as going to offer to help cook the food (thought I’d learn a lot!!) but I’m not sure I could stomach killing and plucking a chicken. If a chicken is prepared for you it’s important to get to the pot early on...if you’re one of the last to get your food, you may end up with the feet or the neck - gross!! I have gone without chicken a couple of times rather than eat those parts!
Amidst all the work we’ve also found time to have a bit of fun and relax. The Witts & I went to Nsobe Game Park last weekend. It’s only a small game park, but there was lots of cheeky monkeys, antelopes and some giraffes. We paddled around the lake in a kayak type thing and melted in the roasting sun then I sat and read a book for hours. Perfect!
For those of you who have been reading my blog, you’ll know about the school at Kapeshi. We’ve set up a just giving page to help raise the money need to start them off with a bag of seed and fertiliser... you can find it here www.justgiving.com/kapeshi The initial costs will only be about £200 but it has the potential to multiply and support the school in the long term. Ruth’s spent some time putting together a long term plan to help the staff at the school see how some work now and forward planning could improve the schools financial situation. We are going back to the school early next week to catch up with them and see how they’re getting along with clearing the land needed.
Oh, something that I’ve not mentioned is the rain! The rainy season is beginning... Last Thursday we had a spectacular thunder storm and it rained from about 4 in the afternoon till the middle of the night. Now I know that raining for hours back home is common place, but it hasn’t rained here for months and it was proper storm rain, not just the annoying drizzle we get for hours at home. It made me want to run outside and get drenched, but I resisted the urge apart from a mad dash to shut the windows (which you can only close from outside because of the mosquito screens on the inside!) It’s not raining every day, but the weather feels much stuffier now and this morning felt almost english with an overcast sky, although the sun is breaking through now!
For those of you from St Margarets, I’ve been in touch with Simon from the Falconer Home and will be heading there mid-November...I’m just trying to work out the travel arrangements, which can take some doing here.
And Mum...because I have to take my doxycyline with food, I’m finally eating breakfast every day!
One last puzzling thing to leave you with…we always see bush fires that have been started by people clearing their fields. It amazes me that these don’t spread from field to field as the land is so dry and parched, but they don’t. I’m told this is because people leave a gap between fields and plant a certain type of tree in places, but why why why don’t sparks get blown onto other fields and set them alight too?
Friday, 10 October 2008
rabbits, chickens and purple trees
Now, it occurred to me that I’ve told you a lot about what we’ve been up to and the wanderings of my mind, but I’m not sure I’ve told you much about the every day things that make life so different to home! So I thought I’d fill you in a little bit...
I’ll start with the purple trees as they were one of the first things I noticed. I don’t know if you’ve read the book Mr Silly (of Mr Men fame of course!) but if you have you may recall that in Silly Town where he lived the trees had pink or purple leaves or something like that. Well, I got off the plane in Lusaka (after not much sleep for the last 48 hours!) feeling quiet disoriented (is that the right word Penny?) As we drove out of the airport and down the main road from town there was purple trees lining the street on either side...all of a sudden I found myself wondering whether I was about to see Mr Silly painting the leaves back to green as he did in the book!! On closer inspection, it’s actually the flowers that are purple and there just aren’t that many leaves so the whole tree appears purple.
While I’m talking about foliage, I’ll mention the grass. It’s just different to home. From afar it looks green and welcoming like our grass in the summer (when it’s not muddy and wet!) However, on closer inspection and sitting upon, turns out it’s hard and a little spiky. It doesn’t consist of individual blades but rather little mini-branch type clumps that lie flat along the ground.
One must beware sitting on the grass (well wherever you are!) here as well...you never know what size or colour of beastie may appear without warning! They are so varied and intricate...most of them have the same effect on me and make me do a girly scream, wave my arms around madly and dive out of their flight path! This causes much amusement to those around and me once I’m sure said beastie has gone again!
The oddest of all creatures has to be the flat spider. When someone first told me about the flat spider I thought they were talking rubbish - how could a spider look flat...but then I saw one! Their legs lie flat against the walls and their bodies just seem, well, flat! It looks like someone has already done the work of squashing it for you. Turns out though that as a general rule, the flat spiders are safe. It’s the not flat ones that you need to squash quick-fast!!
Another thing we see a lot of is the little geckos that are everywhere! They run past your feet when your sitting eating your breakfast...and they run fast!
As soon as you venture out of town into the more rural village areas you also see chickens all over the place! People keep them in their gardens, but not in coops like we would, just bobbing around outside the house wherever they fancy. Often, there’s a goat or two thrown in for good measure!
If you’re driving in the dark in the bush you are likely to get a rabbit stuck in your headlights! Having lived in the city all my life I’d never fully understood a rabbit being stuck in the headlights...but now I do! They just run and run and run in the direction the light is shining and they can see where they’re going. If you’ve got any locals in the car, they’re all for running it over so they can eat it for tea, but us soft english folks try to let them get away because they’re cute. Generally people find it hysterical that anyone would keep rabbits as pets...not just for food!
There’s a bird here that always whistles the same little 5 note tune - I can hear it now! At first I thought it was quite cool, but now I’m sick of the sound of it as it’s what normally wakes me at about 6.30am! Most annoyingly though, it gets stuck in your head and you find yourself whistling it when the birds not around.
Today is a special day...every morning since I’ve got here I’ve looked out the window to check the weather (as is necessary back home!) and there’s been glorious blue skies. The last couple of days it’s been blue in the mornings but I’ve noticed that the afternoons have been a little cloudy. I wandered outside before to fetch something and noticed that it was raining!! Not heavy, just a few drops, but rain non the less! The rainy season should start at some point during the next month and as far as I know that means it will throw it down every afternoon for a bit.
Onto a totally different topic...mosquito nets! No problem to sleep under, just annoying that every day you tuck in carefully under the mattress to make the net stay in shape, then you squeeze under one edge (which it is impossible to do in any graceful manner) and before you know it, the net has come lose in one corner and then the net is sagging a bit. Which, although it’s no real problem, annoys me and my need to have things straight and proper! The other thing about mosquito nets is that they mean you can’t really sit on your bed during the day - well, you can, but you have to untuck the net which magically pulls your sheets out too and generally it’s more trouble than it’s worth!
I’m still struggling a bit to understand people’s accents. Most people speak english with an african twist. The letters L and R seem to be interchangeable which meant I nearly had heart failure worrying about the liver snake someone was telling me about until I realised it was a river snake and I wouldn’t actually have a snake making its home in one of my internal organs. It’s also common for people to add “ee” on the end of words such as “like-ee” but to miss them off other words that should finish with an ee sound....for instance, ten thirty becomes ten thirt! Everyone works on the 24 hour clock and doesn’t say “o’clock” so time is referred to simply as eight or fourteen and so on.
The money is the strangest though, I just can’t quite get used to it! One pound is about 7000 kwacha, so everything is thousands and thousands of kwacha! It’s quite frightening at first when you spend say 50,000 kwacha on something! I’m beginning to get there very very slowly, but it makes doing the accounts quite bizarre – there’s just zeros everywhere! At the end of the month the queues for the cashpoint are phenomenal as everyone is rushing to get their money out!
So there you go - there’s a few of the things that add up to make life here so different to at home. They are the bits that make everything both difficult and exciting! There are many many more that I can’t think of at the moment (and I’m trying not to write a ridiculously long blog this time as well!) but I’m sure I’ll tell you about them soon.
And finally...in case you’re wondering what I’ve been up to this last week, it’s been a quieter one. We’ve spent the week at home planning the next month and making sure meetings are set up and the like for the next few weeks. It’s been a chance to sit down and take a moment to work out what needs to happen before the rest of the team leaves in a months time. Last night we had a prayer meeting which went well although I’m still not quite used to the loud african everyone praying at once thing! I’m getting there bit by bit but my englishness does get in the way somewhat!
I’ll start with the purple trees as they were one of the first things I noticed. I don’t know if you’ve read the book Mr Silly (of Mr Men fame of course!) but if you have you may recall that in Silly Town where he lived the trees had pink or purple leaves or something like that. Well, I got off the plane in Lusaka (after not much sleep for the last 48 hours!) feeling quiet disoriented (is that the right word Penny?) As we drove out of the airport and down the main road from town there was purple trees lining the street on either side...all of a sudden I found myself wondering whether I was about to see Mr Silly painting the leaves back to green as he did in the book!! On closer inspection, it’s actually the flowers that are purple and there just aren’t that many leaves so the whole tree appears purple.
While I’m talking about foliage, I’ll mention the grass. It’s just different to home. From afar it looks green and welcoming like our grass in the summer (when it’s not muddy and wet!) However, on closer inspection and sitting upon, turns out it’s hard and a little spiky. It doesn’t consist of individual blades but rather little mini-branch type clumps that lie flat along the ground.
One must beware sitting on the grass (well wherever you are!) here as well...you never know what size or colour of beastie may appear without warning! They are so varied and intricate...most of them have the same effect on me and make me do a girly scream, wave my arms around madly and dive out of their flight path! This causes much amusement to those around and me once I’m sure said beastie has gone again!
The oddest of all creatures has to be the flat spider. When someone first told me about the flat spider I thought they were talking rubbish - how could a spider look flat...but then I saw one! Their legs lie flat against the walls and their bodies just seem, well, flat! It looks like someone has already done the work of squashing it for you. Turns out though that as a general rule, the flat spiders are safe. It’s the not flat ones that you need to squash quick-fast!!
Another thing we see a lot of is the little geckos that are everywhere! They run past your feet when your sitting eating your breakfast...and they run fast!
As soon as you venture out of town into the more rural village areas you also see chickens all over the place! People keep them in their gardens, but not in coops like we would, just bobbing around outside the house wherever they fancy. Often, there’s a goat or two thrown in for good measure!
If you’re driving in the dark in the bush you are likely to get a rabbit stuck in your headlights! Having lived in the city all my life I’d never fully understood a rabbit being stuck in the headlights...but now I do! They just run and run and run in the direction the light is shining and they can see where they’re going. If you’ve got any locals in the car, they’re all for running it over so they can eat it for tea, but us soft english folks try to let them get away because they’re cute. Generally people find it hysterical that anyone would keep rabbits as pets...not just for food!
There’s a bird here that always whistles the same little 5 note tune - I can hear it now! At first I thought it was quite cool, but now I’m sick of the sound of it as it’s what normally wakes me at about 6.30am! Most annoyingly though, it gets stuck in your head and you find yourself whistling it when the birds not around.
Today is a special day...every morning since I’ve got here I’ve looked out the window to check the weather (as is necessary back home!) and there’s been glorious blue skies. The last couple of days it’s been blue in the mornings but I’ve noticed that the afternoons have been a little cloudy. I wandered outside before to fetch something and noticed that it was raining!! Not heavy, just a few drops, but rain non the less! The rainy season should start at some point during the next month and as far as I know that means it will throw it down every afternoon for a bit.
Onto a totally different topic...mosquito nets! No problem to sleep under, just annoying that every day you tuck in carefully under the mattress to make the net stay in shape, then you squeeze under one edge (which it is impossible to do in any graceful manner) and before you know it, the net has come lose in one corner and then the net is sagging a bit. Which, although it’s no real problem, annoys me and my need to have things straight and proper! The other thing about mosquito nets is that they mean you can’t really sit on your bed during the day - well, you can, but you have to untuck the net which magically pulls your sheets out too and generally it’s more trouble than it’s worth!
I’m still struggling a bit to understand people’s accents. Most people speak english with an african twist. The letters L and R seem to be interchangeable which meant I nearly had heart failure worrying about the liver snake someone was telling me about until I realised it was a river snake and I wouldn’t actually have a snake making its home in one of my internal organs. It’s also common for people to add “ee” on the end of words such as “like-ee” but to miss them off other words that should finish with an ee sound....for instance, ten thirty becomes ten thirt! Everyone works on the 24 hour clock and doesn’t say “o’clock” so time is referred to simply as eight or fourteen and so on.
The money is the strangest though, I just can’t quite get used to it! One pound is about 7000 kwacha, so everything is thousands and thousands of kwacha! It’s quite frightening at first when you spend say 50,000 kwacha on something! I’m beginning to get there very very slowly, but it makes doing the accounts quite bizarre – there’s just zeros everywhere! At the end of the month the queues for the cashpoint are phenomenal as everyone is rushing to get their money out!
So there you go - there’s a few of the things that add up to make life here so different to at home. They are the bits that make everything both difficult and exciting! There are many many more that I can’t think of at the moment (and I’m trying not to write a ridiculously long blog this time as well!) but I’m sure I’ll tell you about them soon.
And finally...in case you’re wondering what I’ve been up to this last week, it’s been a quieter one. We’ve spent the week at home planning the next month and making sure meetings are set up and the like for the next few weeks. It’s been a chance to sit down and take a moment to work out what needs to happen before the rest of the team leaves in a months time. Last night we had a prayer meeting which went well although I’m still not quite used to the loud african everyone praying at once thing! I’m getting there bit by bit but my englishness does get in the way somewhat!
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
a steep learning curve
So, already another week has gone by, and I’m not quite sure where it went! I know it took me a few days to get round to posting my last blog, but it feels like yesterday I wrote it!
The last week has been busy and jam packed but great. I do feel a bit like I’ve not had time to sit down and catch up with myself though which is why I’ve taken the opportunity to escape this afternoon. I’m sat in the shade overlooking the pool at the local Protea Hotel. The temperatures are reaching 40 degrees in the middle of the day at the moment so it’s far too hot to be out in the sun most of the time. Everyone walks so slowly here because it’s too hot to go fast (apparently) but I go with the walk-fast-and-get-in-the-shade-quicker option so that I don’t burn and die. For those of you who haven’t ever seen me in the sun, half an hour in our English sunshine can leave me looking rather pink, so I’m sticking to the shade and factor 50 combo! Seems to be working so far...not burnt and peeling yet!
Well, lots has happened this week again and it’s started of some interesting thoughts in my head that I’m trying to get straight. I thought I might take the opportunity of trying to explain them to you to try and figure them out properly for myself as well...so if it seems like I’m rambling, then, I probably am! I’ll sort of tell you about what’s happened as that will lead me on to where my thoughts have wandered through the week.
Since I last wrote we spent Sunday and Monday having our weekend (as we lost Saturday to the conference). I went to the anglican church near our house. It was really really similar to what I’m used to at St Margaret’s in many ways, but then it had a few bits that were slightly different and threw me totally! The ringing of bells for communion well made me jump!
I think Tuesday was spent at home - I have the joyous task of doing the team accounts so spent some time getting that up to date - Woo-hoo! It’s fine really, just a little tedious. I have to log all the money spent and file all the receipts so every penny (well, Kwacha) is accounted for. It’s a spreadsheet of joy I can tell you!!! (Sadly a little part of me enjoys the maths!)
On Wednesday we returned to Kapeshi to paint the second classroom and see how the people had got along with ideas for a community project to support the school. We had lots of fun painting again and then sat down for the meeting - I had to leave at this point as I was off somewhere else, but Andy & Ruth filled me in on what had happened at the meeting. Lots of people had had ideas, which was great! Sadly though lots of them relied on a large sum of money being injected to get them going...this is sort of what I touched on in my last blog. We want to encourage the people of Kapeshi to do something realistic for themselves - we only want to be the catalyst rather than becoming something they rely on. This isn’t because we mean and tight...it’s because for something to be sustainable, the community needs to be able to manage it themselves. Also, if we were to give one community a load of money, we couldn’t keep doing it for another community and another. However, if we can encourage people to work together and take ownership of a situation they can do the same for their neighbours and their villages. Sometimes though we all get stuck in a rut and can’t see a way out and we just need a helping hand and a gentle shove to get us going!
In the end, I think it was agreed that the community could start and sustain a small garden (when they say small garden, don’t think your average semi-detached burnage garden - think little farm garden!) to grow food to sell with the proceeds going to the school. The village is going to appoint a committee to run the scheme and once the ground is cleared and prepared, I think it was agreed that we would provide a bag of seed and fertiliser to help get them started and then all being well they should be on their way...time will tell! I don’t want to sound sceptical, but they have a long way to go. They have to begin the work which is often the hardest part. Hopefully they will grab this opportunity with both hands and see what they are able to achieve for themselves and their children!
While the meeting was going on, I had to go over to Mibila where the clinic that Dignity helped build is. I had the opportunity to meet George (the doctor) and his wife Mercy who’s house plans I am supposed to be looking at. Sadly, the making of the bricks required for their house has not yet begun for various reasons. This means that there is not time to build their new house before the rainy season begins and it is likely that this project will now have to wait to next year. I’m disappointed about this as it was something I was really looking forward to getting involved with and something I felt I might actually be able to bring some knowledge too - everything else we’re doing feels new to me and I feel like I’m just learning and being a pair of hands but not necessarily bringing much wisdom to anything. On the flip side though, as it has been becoming clear that the building may not happen this year it has also been becoming clear where there are things that will need my time so I think that once again, God’s pulling together plans in his own special way!
Back to the clinic though, it was great to actually be there. I’ve heard so much about it and seen so many pictures of it, it was a real privilege to be there in person! It’s now serving 2300 people and it sounds like George and his helpers have their work cut out! I’m going to take a look at the plans for the new building still and see whether I think there is any ways they could be improved on There is also an issue with the fridge that needs ventilating properly that I have to solve...
Thursday was spent out in the bush in Joel’s village, Ipafu, meeting with the five pastors. We are looking to use a discipleship course a bit like Alpha, but specifically written for people living in rural Africa so we spent the day having a look at this and seeing what they thought. It seemed to get the seal of approval from them so were going to give it a go in Joel village tomorrow. He’s spreading the word and we’re all gathering at 3pm tomorrow (that’s 2pm in England) to support him as he leads the session. We’re then staying the night (my first experience of night time in the bush...very exciting...and I get to pitch my tent...one of my favourite things to do!) so we can spend some time discussing stuff on Friday morning before heading home.
It’s particularly important that the pastors are happy with the proposals and the content of the course as it is them that will be running it over the next few months. As with the Alpha course, the idea is that you don’t have to be a fully qualified super knowledgeable vicar-y pastor type person, but just someone who knows God to be able to run the course with a small group. This means that others can take on the course to run in their own village over time...a bit like the domino effect but when you split one row of dominoes into two and they each branch out and keep toppling the next dominoes over.
We are also discussing ways that the pastors can free up some of their time. They are not like English vicars who get a vicarage and salary...they still have to work in their “gardens” (farms) and support their families so it’s important that we don’t ask too much of them causing difficulties in other areas of their lives. We are therefore trying to work through ideas with them of very practical and realistic ways they can free up some time.
I can’t really remember what happened on Friday, but I think I was at home as I know Andy was out with the car all day...Oh yeah, I was at home beginning to look through some of the discipleship material and get to grips with it all myself...it was good to have a day at home and not out in the sun!
Saturday was a really interesting day. A friend of Jon’s called Mark was here last week just for the week. He’s a photographer and has been photographing some families and projects out here for the last few years. On Saturday I was his chauffeur for the day, taking him around some wells that Dignity have been involved with getting constructed in some villages, along with a guy called Bill who is the local councillor. These aren’t yet finished, but are all dug and have reached water. There is just to top bits to build now and the winding mechanisms (no small job!) I got to adventure to some villages I haven’t been to previously which was great and meet some people who’s lives have been affected. Bill was given a very warm reception when he met us at one village with some villagers running over to give him a huge hug....but wouldn’t you hug a man who had made it so you didn’t have to walk 5km every day to fetch water!!
On Sunday we all went to a baptist church in a local “suburb” of chingola. The whole service was mainly in Bemba apart from Jon’s sermon (which was translated for the congregation) so I didn’t catch that much of what was going on, but it was an experience!
Monday was a pretty amazing day...and I think it was the day that has sparked off all the thoughts in my brain when it’s taken with what I’ve seen and experienced so far in my time here. We visited a christian training institute which was an amazing place! They provide training in teaching, agriculture, primary care and other very practical areas then send their students out to live in villages, passing on the knowledge to those around them. They see the building of relationships as essential before it is possible to win the trust of the people. Everything they were saying and doing was fantastic and really inspirational and throughout everything they are doing they interweave a belief in God and the need to disciple people rather than just go and evangelise then leave.
The buildings they are currently using as a base are on loan from the government and could be repossessed at any time. They are therefore in the process of building a new base for the college and, well, if you saw it you wouldn’t think it was in the middle of an African bush village! It looks more Scandinavian and it really is a beautiful place (check out my pics on facebook if you can...) What’s incredible about the whole thing is that it is being built by local villagers. The college has trained a number of locals in thatching, brick laying, carpentry and other practical skills and are now employing them to construct the new base. Throughout all this process they are building relationships with the people and having the opportunity to talk through everyday life with them and disciple them, teaching them a very practical christian faith that they can understand and relate to their everyday lives.
I came away from the centre amazed by the practical achievements and the dedication of the staff. However, the thing that struck me most was the feel and atmosphere of the place. It’s hard to explain, but the people working their carried themselves in a manner quite different to the people in most rural villages. There was a sense that the people had been empowered to help themselves to achieve something, to push themselves and really go for it. All the materials used for the buildings were sourced locally and this has lead to many others being involved in really simple ways, providing the materials and earning some money in the process.
In most villages people ask for money, for nothing! Personally I have been asked to fund a well in a village and also sort out a bridge (and not a small one!) and that was just on Saturday. As I mentioned before, people see white people as rich and themselves as poor. Generally there seems to be no hesitation from people to ask for handouts, to expect help for nothing. The difference I felt at the centre we visited was that people were helping themselves and were able to feel a sense of achievement because they were helping themselves.
This all led me on to thinking about what we are aiming for and what we can achieve. The plans we have for our time here are very similar to those at the centre in terms of discipleship and spending time with people rather than going somewhere, preaching and leaving. We are also looking to interweave the spiritual and the practical, which in Africa are generally much more closely linked anyway than in a western culture. However, there is no physical way we could reach the level of training and financial investment they have currently achieved...that’s come from 12 years of hard work!
So, my thoughts have been going something like this...in the time we have, what can we actually give the people that is of worth? How can we possibly help and make a difference to their lives? And how on earth can do we stand any chance of reaching any of the masses of people that are in desperate need of help? Well, when I think about all that, I realise that there is no way we could do practically make their lives better. As I think everyone knows it would take millions and millions of pounds to practically help all the people in Africa. However, somebody said something interesting to me...poverty isn’t what you have, it’s what you do with what you have. A villager may tell you they are poor, they have no food or money, they can’t afford to live....but the truth is, they have land, they have families, they have skills...actually they are blessed! If they can understand this and take a different view on life, I am beginning to think that this could be the key to them transforming their life. Now, I realise that some of this may not sound very sympathetic and that it may sound like I’m just saying - huh, they should do it themselves and stop moaning, but that’s not what I think at all!
To change the way we see our lives and think is one of the hardest things we can possibly do. If we can help people with this, then I think the rest, although it will no doubt be hard work, will follow. Now, I can’t go out and change peoples hearts and perspectives, but I do believe I know a God who can! The best I can do for the people I meet in real need, is to help them to come to know a God who really cares for them and wants to be involved in their everyday life. Most people here are acutely aware of the spiritual world, many are nominally christians who go to church. However, there is very little teaching and support. Religion stays in church and people return to their every day lives and begin to get buried by the every day pressures again - much the same as back home sadly. If we can begin to put in place the beginnings of a network that can expand of its own accord, that will help people to understand that God is bigger than Sunday mornings, and help them to grow real living relationships with a God who transforms...then I am beginning to understand, he can transform their view of their own life and in turn effect real practical change as well.
Add to this the basic understanding of Christianity that we are called to serve those around us, not ourselves and you have the basis of a transformation that can grow and grow....
Now, I haven’t got time to read all that through before I have to go, and I have no idea if any of it makes much sense, but it is what has been churning over and over in my brain. It’s something that I know people have said to me before, but I think I am finally beginning to get it for myself. By telling you the honest ins and outs of my thoughts, I hope it helps you begin to grasp it as well...I can tell you, my brain and fingers are now worn out! This was meant to be a shorter entry than last time, but once again...turns out I had a lot to say!!!! I guess that’s nothing new!
The last week has been busy and jam packed but great. I do feel a bit like I’ve not had time to sit down and catch up with myself though which is why I’ve taken the opportunity to escape this afternoon. I’m sat in the shade overlooking the pool at the local Protea Hotel. The temperatures are reaching 40 degrees in the middle of the day at the moment so it’s far too hot to be out in the sun most of the time. Everyone walks so slowly here because it’s too hot to go fast (apparently) but I go with the walk-fast-and-get-in-the-shade-quicker option so that I don’t burn and die. For those of you who haven’t ever seen me in the sun, half an hour in our English sunshine can leave me looking rather pink, so I’m sticking to the shade and factor 50 combo! Seems to be working so far...not burnt and peeling yet!
Well, lots has happened this week again and it’s started of some interesting thoughts in my head that I’m trying to get straight. I thought I might take the opportunity of trying to explain them to you to try and figure them out properly for myself as well...so if it seems like I’m rambling, then, I probably am! I’ll sort of tell you about what’s happened as that will lead me on to where my thoughts have wandered through the week.
Since I last wrote we spent Sunday and Monday having our weekend (as we lost Saturday to the conference). I went to the anglican church near our house. It was really really similar to what I’m used to at St Margaret’s in many ways, but then it had a few bits that were slightly different and threw me totally! The ringing of bells for communion well made me jump!
I think Tuesday was spent at home - I have the joyous task of doing the team accounts so spent some time getting that up to date - Woo-hoo! It’s fine really, just a little tedious. I have to log all the money spent and file all the receipts so every penny (well, Kwacha) is accounted for. It’s a spreadsheet of joy I can tell you!!! (Sadly a little part of me enjoys the maths!)
On Wednesday we returned to Kapeshi to paint the second classroom and see how the people had got along with ideas for a community project to support the school. We had lots of fun painting again and then sat down for the meeting - I had to leave at this point as I was off somewhere else, but Andy & Ruth filled me in on what had happened at the meeting. Lots of people had had ideas, which was great! Sadly though lots of them relied on a large sum of money being injected to get them going...this is sort of what I touched on in my last blog. We want to encourage the people of Kapeshi to do something realistic for themselves - we only want to be the catalyst rather than becoming something they rely on. This isn’t because we mean and tight...it’s because for something to be sustainable, the community needs to be able to manage it themselves. Also, if we were to give one community a load of money, we couldn’t keep doing it for another community and another. However, if we can encourage people to work together and take ownership of a situation they can do the same for their neighbours and their villages. Sometimes though we all get stuck in a rut and can’t see a way out and we just need a helping hand and a gentle shove to get us going!
In the end, I think it was agreed that the community could start and sustain a small garden (when they say small garden, don’t think your average semi-detached burnage garden - think little farm garden!) to grow food to sell with the proceeds going to the school. The village is going to appoint a committee to run the scheme and once the ground is cleared and prepared, I think it was agreed that we would provide a bag of seed and fertiliser to help get them started and then all being well they should be on their way...time will tell! I don’t want to sound sceptical, but they have a long way to go. They have to begin the work which is often the hardest part. Hopefully they will grab this opportunity with both hands and see what they are able to achieve for themselves and their children!
While the meeting was going on, I had to go over to Mibila where the clinic that Dignity helped build is. I had the opportunity to meet George (the doctor) and his wife Mercy who’s house plans I am supposed to be looking at. Sadly, the making of the bricks required for their house has not yet begun for various reasons. This means that there is not time to build their new house before the rainy season begins and it is likely that this project will now have to wait to next year. I’m disappointed about this as it was something I was really looking forward to getting involved with and something I felt I might actually be able to bring some knowledge too - everything else we’re doing feels new to me and I feel like I’m just learning and being a pair of hands but not necessarily bringing much wisdom to anything. On the flip side though, as it has been becoming clear that the building may not happen this year it has also been becoming clear where there are things that will need my time so I think that once again, God’s pulling together plans in his own special way!
Back to the clinic though, it was great to actually be there. I’ve heard so much about it and seen so many pictures of it, it was a real privilege to be there in person! It’s now serving 2300 people and it sounds like George and his helpers have their work cut out! I’m going to take a look at the plans for the new building still and see whether I think there is any ways they could be improved on There is also an issue with the fridge that needs ventilating properly that I have to solve...
Thursday was spent out in the bush in Joel’s village, Ipafu, meeting with the five pastors. We are looking to use a discipleship course a bit like Alpha, but specifically written for people living in rural Africa so we spent the day having a look at this and seeing what they thought. It seemed to get the seal of approval from them so were going to give it a go in Joel village tomorrow. He’s spreading the word and we’re all gathering at 3pm tomorrow (that’s 2pm in England) to support him as he leads the session. We’re then staying the night (my first experience of night time in the bush...very exciting...and I get to pitch my tent...one of my favourite things to do!) so we can spend some time discussing stuff on Friday morning before heading home.
It’s particularly important that the pastors are happy with the proposals and the content of the course as it is them that will be running it over the next few months. As with the Alpha course, the idea is that you don’t have to be a fully qualified super knowledgeable vicar-y pastor type person, but just someone who knows God to be able to run the course with a small group. This means that others can take on the course to run in their own village over time...a bit like the domino effect but when you split one row of dominoes into two and they each branch out and keep toppling the next dominoes over.
We are also discussing ways that the pastors can free up some of their time. They are not like English vicars who get a vicarage and salary...they still have to work in their “gardens” (farms) and support their families so it’s important that we don’t ask too much of them causing difficulties in other areas of their lives. We are therefore trying to work through ideas with them of very practical and realistic ways they can free up some time.
I can’t really remember what happened on Friday, but I think I was at home as I know Andy was out with the car all day...Oh yeah, I was at home beginning to look through some of the discipleship material and get to grips with it all myself...it was good to have a day at home and not out in the sun!
Saturday was a really interesting day. A friend of Jon’s called Mark was here last week just for the week. He’s a photographer and has been photographing some families and projects out here for the last few years. On Saturday I was his chauffeur for the day, taking him around some wells that Dignity have been involved with getting constructed in some villages, along with a guy called Bill who is the local councillor. These aren’t yet finished, but are all dug and have reached water. There is just to top bits to build now and the winding mechanisms (no small job!) I got to adventure to some villages I haven’t been to previously which was great and meet some people who’s lives have been affected. Bill was given a very warm reception when he met us at one village with some villagers running over to give him a huge hug....but wouldn’t you hug a man who had made it so you didn’t have to walk 5km every day to fetch water!!
On Sunday we all went to a baptist church in a local “suburb” of chingola. The whole service was mainly in Bemba apart from Jon’s sermon (which was translated for the congregation) so I didn’t catch that much of what was going on, but it was an experience!
Monday was a pretty amazing day...and I think it was the day that has sparked off all the thoughts in my brain when it’s taken with what I’ve seen and experienced so far in my time here. We visited a christian training institute which was an amazing place! They provide training in teaching, agriculture, primary care and other very practical areas then send their students out to live in villages, passing on the knowledge to those around them. They see the building of relationships as essential before it is possible to win the trust of the people. Everything they were saying and doing was fantastic and really inspirational and throughout everything they are doing they interweave a belief in God and the need to disciple people rather than just go and evangelise then leave.
The buildings they are currently using as a base are on loan from the government and could be repossessed at any time. They are therefore in the process of building a new base for the college and, well, if you saw it you wouldn’t think it was in the middle of an African bush village! It looks more Scandinavian and it really is a beautiful place (check out my pics on facebook if you can...) What’s incredible about the whole thing is that it is being built by local villagers. The college has trained a number of locals in thatching, brick laying, carpentry and other practical skills and are now employing them to construct the new base. Throughout all this process they are building relationships with the people and having the opportunity to talk through everyday life with them and disciple them, teaching them a very practical christian faith that they can understand and relate to their everyday lives.
I came away from the centre amazed by the practical achievements and the dedication of the staff. However, the thing that struck me most was the feel and atmosphere of the place. It’s hard to explain, but the people working their carried themselves in a manner quite different to the people in most rural villages. There was a sense that the people had been empowered to help themselves to achieve something, to push themselves and really go for it. All the materials used for the buildings were sourced locally and this has lead to many others being involved in really simple ways, providing the materials and earning some money in the process.
In most villages people ask for money, for nothing! Personally I have been asked to fund a well in a village and also sort out a bridge (and not a small one!) and that was just on Saturday. As I mentioned before, people see white people as rich and themselves as poor. Generally there seems to be no hesitation from people to ask for handouts, to expect help for nothing. The difference I felt at the centre we visited was that people were helping themselves and were able to feel a sense of achievement because they were helping themselves.
This all led me on to thinking about what we are aiming for and what we can achieve. The plans we have for our time here are very similar to those at the centre in terms of discipleship and spending time with people rather than going somewhere, preaching and leaving. We are also looking to interweave the spiritual and the practical, which in Africa are generally much more closely linked anyway than in a western culture. However, there is no physical way we could reach the level of training and financial investment they have currently achieved...that’s come from 12 years of hard work!
So, my thoughts have been going something like this...in the time we have, what can we actually give the people that is of worth? How can we possibly help and make a difference to their lives? And how on earth can do we stand any chance of reaching any of the masses of people that are in desperate need of help? Well, when I think about all that, I realise that there is no way we could do practically make their lives better. As I think everyone knows it would take millions and millions of pounds to practically help all the people in Africa. However, somebody said something interesting to me...poverty isn’t what you have, it’s what you do with what you have. A villager may tell you they are poor, they have no food or money, they can’t afford to live....but the truth is, they have land, they have families, they have skills...actually they are blessed! If they can understand this and take a different view on life, I am beginning to think that this could be the key to them transforming their life. Now, I realise that some of this may not sound very sympathetic and that it may sound like I’m just saying - huh, they should do it themselves and stop moaning, but that’s not what I think at all!
To change the way we see our lives and think is one of the hardest things we can possibly do. If we can help people with this, then I think the rest, although it will no doubt be hard work, will follow. Now, I can’t go out and change peoples hearts and perspectives, but I do believe I know a God who can! The best I can do for the people I meet in real need, is to help them to come to know a God who really cares for them and wants to be involved in their everyday life. Most people here are acutely aware of the spiritual world, many are nominally christians who go to church. However, there is very little teaching and support. Religion stays in church and people return to their every day lives and begin to get buried by the every day pressures again - much the same as back home sadly. If we can begin to put in place the beginnings of a network that can expand of its own accord, that will help people to understand that God is bigger than Sunday mornings, and help them to grow real living relationships with a God who transforms...then I am beginning to understand, he can transform their view of their own life and in turn effect real practical change as well.
Add to this the basic understanding of Christianity that we are called to serve those around us, not ourselves and you have the basis of a transformation that can grow and grow....
Now, I haven’t got time to read all that through before I have to go, and I have no idea if any of it makes much sense, but it is what has been churning over and over in my brain. It’s something that I know people have said to me before, but I think I am finally beginning to get it for myself. By telling you the honest ins and outs of my thoughts, I hope it helps you begin to grasp it as well...I can tell you, my brain and fingers are now worn out! This was meant to be a shorter entry than last time, but once again...turns out I had a lot to say!!!! I guess that’s nothing new!
Friday, 26 September 2008
doesn't time fly when you're enjoying yourself?!
Well, I’ve been meaning to sit down and write my blog for the last few days and just not done it! Then I realised today that I’ve been here about two weeks now and have been in Chingola just over a week and a lot has happened...so I thought I really should shake a leg and get something written...and finally, here I am!
I had a great time in Livingstone - it was so good to stop and relax a bit after the mad rush back home getting ready to go. Add to that the long flight here with not much sleep...that led to a sleepy jo! So a few days taking it easy with an easy introduction to African life was the perfect remedy. We were proper tourists in Livingstone, going to see the falls, visiting the posh hotel to eat lots of cake (although there was no cake races held...) and the highlight had to be going for a helicopter ride over Victoria Falls. It was spectacular to say the least!
The lovely holiday feeling ended rather abruptly on the Sunday morning when we set off at about 7.30am to tackle the 14 hour drive up to Chingola. Thankfully all 3 of us in the car could drive so we took it in turns...but it still felt like a very very long way! The first 2 hours were pretty slow going as the main road out of Livingstone is very very potholed. Along the way there were lots of people standing at the side of the road. When they saw the car coming they threw a bucket full of dirt into the pot holes and then gestured for us to give them money for their efforts. It began to hit home the real difference in poverty levels compared with home. I can’t quite imagine the poorest folks of Burnage standing at the side of Shawbrook Road filling the pot holes in an attempt to earn some money!
We finally made it to Chingola at about 10.00pm by which time I was feeling particularly crumpled up from sitting in the car all day. I didn’t really get to see much of the flat or the surroundings until the next morning.
Chingola is a small town - a bit bigger than Didsbury, but nowhere near as big as Stockport. We have two flats here, one for Andy, Ruth and I, the other for Jon & Jude and their 3 boys, Ethan, Josh & Jacob. The flat is okay - it’s pretty basic, but it does the job! There’s a few quirks; like the way the hot and cold tap do the opposite to what they say they do in the kitchen, the floor tiles that jump out of place every time you walk over them and most annoyingly, the electricity supply that is turned off every now and then (with no warning) in the interest of power sharing. Basically, there’s not enough power generated to serve the area, so they turn it off for different areas at different times. As you never quite know when it will be, you have to be prepared to have a cold bath in the morning or cook your tea on a camping stove at short notice! It’s good to have a supply of candles at the ready and the battery on your laptop at full charge so when all else fails you can always watch a dvd in the dark. The one question that I keep finding myself asking the most here is “Does having a bath in about a quarter of a bath of slightly brown water constitute getting clean?!”
Believe it or not though, we are actually in the nice part of town in some well respected flats! We’re about 10 minutes walk from the centre of town and twenty minutes from the hotel where we can go and use the (very very slow) wireless internet connection! The very best part of living here has to be Rosemary - she is an absolute star! She’s comes and cleans our flats and does our washing, hangs it out to dry then returns it in a neat and tidy pile - it’s like being back at home when you were little and your mum did your washing for you!!! (We do pay her to do all this of course unlike our poor mums!) It does feel a bit wrong though seeing somebody bent over an outside tap and a washing up bowl handwashing your clothes...it’s something I’ve not quite come to terms with yet - I feel a whole lot less guilty about using a washing machine, but you just don’t get them in Chingola!
Anyway - what’s happened since I got here? Well...hmm...Monday and Tuesday were filled up with getting used to being here really, We ran a few errands around town, put up the banner for the conference and planned the big day, which was Saturday, and wrote up a list of all the jobs left to do.
We had a day off conference planning on Wednesday as we were off on what was my first trip into the bush. The team have previously visited a school in a rural village called Kapeshi. The road to Kapeshi is a dirt track that is full of pot holes and crazy bumps and it takes about 45 minutes or an hour to drive there once you leave the main road. It really does feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. As we drove along kids came running towards the road from little houses (which look more like huts that houses) to see who is going past in a car. Most stared and waved at the “Mzungu” (white people) as it’s quite rare to see white people heading out into the bush. The rural villages are quite spread out with little clusters of houses every now and then spread along the road and back from the road.
The school we were heading to was opened in 2000 and was and still is the only school in the area. It was built by a Zambian mission charity and has always had to be funded privately with no government assistance. This has caused difficulties over the years when families have been unable to pay the fees (which are meagre) and the school shut for a year when finances could not be found. Finances are really difficult - there are no banks out in the bush and people tend to get their income at certain times of year when their harvests are sold, so the school reshuffled the way fees are payable making it one lump sum at a carefully chosen time of year and at a reduced rate and now has been able to reopen. It’s clear though that it’s still a delicate balancing act to keep it running and finances are a real issue.
The school has two classrooms about 5x7m with a small office in between. This space serves 142 children, with different ages being taught in the morning and the afternoon. They teach the younger ones in the afternoon so they have longer to walk to school - some of the kids walk for up to an hour or so to get there every day. One year the school provided a meal for the children before they started class, which really helped them concentrate as they often arrive without having eaten anything that day, but the cost of this proved unsustainable and the lady who used to come and cook the food sadly passed away and nobody else has come forward to help out.
We were armed with lots of paint and spent the day painting a huge blackboard at one end of the classroom, giving the really grimy walls a new lease of life and painting the alphabet along one wall. Previously the class had been using one tiny blackboard, about 1x0.75m which meant that the smaller children didn’t have time to copy everything down before the big children were ready for the next bit! The big blackboard will really help with this!
The best thing that is happening at this school though is something a little more subtle. There are about 5 or 6 different churches in the area, all served by this school. Vincent and Joel (two of the pastors we have been working with) have been visiting the school with us and when the painting was done they held a meeting with all the people present. They have encouraged the people to think how they as a group can do something to ensure the school is provided for in the long term, rather than waiting and hoping for some hand outs that may or may not come.
It’s great to see the community and the different churches beginning to look to work together - this may sound like something simple and straightforward, but it really isn’t common. There is a sense where people feel they have to work so hard to look after number one that they don’t look to serve others as well. This is obviously a sweeping statement and I’m sure there are loads of amazing people helping out their neighbours and friends that we know nothing about! However, getting the people to come together and looking to work together is a great step.
There is one thought at the back of my mind though that worries me...although it’s sad to admit it, white people draw attention, particularly in the bush. We are seen as rich. If we are involved in a project, people will come, partly out of curiosity and partly because they hope for money. My concern is that when we step out of the equation it will be much harder for Vincent and Joel to keep the people interested. We have purposely taken a back seat and let them run the show anyway, but our very presence will have an impact whether we want it to or not. It would be great if you could pray for the community at Kapeshi - they do seem to want to help themselves and the first tentative steps to working together have been made, but there is still a long way to go. They are hoping to put in place a community project that they can work on together to raise some money to keep the school running. They need to elect a committee to oversee this project and then begin the very practical task of working out how people all contribute their time etc.
Anyway, on with the week...Thursday and Friday were taken up with last minute planning and organisation for the conference that happened on Saturday. Sorting out simple things takes ages here - like photocopying! It took me an hour and a quarter to get 4 documents photocopied (ok - I needed a lot of copies, but still!) Add to that the fact that I don’t know my way round here and the best places to do things and the days were full in no time!
However, we got everything (well most things!) done and the conference went ahead. The day was open to all and ended with about 100 people there although it started with about 10 - African timing makes me look prompt! The day was entitled “Loving the Lost” and was aimed at encouraging people to reach out to those living in the rural areas.
Jon spoke about the need to go and reach out to others and trust God for the provisions as they arise. There is a real sense here that the lack of resources stop people before they even start. It’s true that distances and transport are very real issues, but if we stop before we even start or try to think of a way to overcome these issues without a huge influx of capital to buy a car then nothing will ever happen.
Ruth then shared about her time working on an Eden Team, actually living in the middle of the people she was reaching out to rather than just going, preaching and leaving. It was really interesting to hear about and I think it shocked a lot of the people present. England is seen as a rich place where all is good - Ruth painted a very accurate picture of an inner city council estate and the poverty and struggles found there. Everyone found it hysterically funny that in England, as a general rule, rich people live in the country and poor people live in the urban sprawl around the cities! Their urban model is pretty much the reverse of that!
Overall I think the day was good. There was a clear challenge to people to go and follow God, even if that bears a cost. I guess we will never know what fruits, if any, will follow. For ourselves, we hoped to meet others who may wish to work alongside us and the pastors already involved in the “Life!” project. On that point, I think we have a number of leads to follow up. It is hard to work out whether people want to work with us because they assume money will follow or whether they genuinely want to because they believe God has called them to do so. This is something we definitely cannot do in our own strength - we can use what we know of people, but I believe this is a point where prayer is so so key!
That brings me nicely onto something else that I haven’t really explained yet...I know I’ve mentioned the five pastors we are working with already, but I haven’t really told you anything about them! They’re called Joel, Vincent, Ponde, Casper and Ranger...that is a great collection of names! They’re a great bunch of guys who live and work in and around Chingola, with 4 out of the 5 living in rural communities. As the Dignity team met them before I came out the join them I don’t know the full story of how we came to be working with them. However, I want to share one part of it that I do know with you. Before we all left England we prayed that God would bring us alongside people who felt, like us, that they were called to work with the rural communities. One of the pastors in particular has said that before he met us he felt that God had called him to reach out to those within his own community as well as other surrounding communities. He had begun to look into how he could do this, ways in which to support the work needed both financially and in terms of freeing up time. He had been praying that people would come alongside him who would help him begin to realise the work he believes he should be doing! If that isn’t God bringing people together, then I don’t know what is!!
Well, that’s about it news wise. There’s lots of things that are different to home, some of which I’m beginning to get used to, others which still amaze me! Like the amount of stuff people manage to fit on one bike, or how far people walk and walk and walk....
There’s a few things that are doing my head in, like having to boil water all the time and then wait for it to cool before you can drink it. I’m fed up of my feet feeling dusty and horrid already - I wash them about 50 times a day, well, okay, about 3 times a day! The crazy electricity is the most annoying of all!!
And there are a few things that I just can’t quite get used to, like being stared at wherever you go...and long drop toilets! Eww!!! Some aren’t too bad, but some are just gross!!!
So far though, it’s all good! I feel like I’m settling into life pretty well and have avoided any disasters so far. There’s times people have told me stuff that’s going on at home and it’s made me sad that I can’t be there, but I feel like I’m in the right place and I’m very much at peace about where I am and what I’m doing, which, I think means that I’m where God wants me to be! I better shut up - I’ve written loads and I’m sure loads more will have happened before I get chance to upload this to my blog, but I’ll save that for another entry as you’re probably falling asleep by now! Well done if you’ve made it to the end!
jo x x
Friday, 12 September 2008
I'm not sure I believe it, but I'm in Africa!
Well, here I am...in Zambia! It doesn't feel like it yet. I have a feeling that in a few weeks I'll wake up one morning and it'll dawn on me that I'm living in Africa, doing something totally different to anything I've ever done before and I might all of a sudden feel a bit lost and homesick, but at the moment, I'm loving it!
Mind you I've had a easy start. The whole team who have been out here a while now, have taken a holiday and we're down in Livingstone for a few days. We've been to see Victoria Falls which are stunning, even now while they're at their driest. We walked across the top bit and paddled through the river at the top and saw some amazing views. Once the rainy season starts the area we walked across disappears under water!
We're having an easy day today - I'm still shattered from packing up my house and travelling so it's good to sit still for a bit. On Sunday we're going to tackle the 12 or 13 hour drive to Chingola where we'll be living for the majority of our time here. Not looking forward to rattling around in the car for that long! But once there, we can get to work properly. The team have organised a conference for the local pastors which is taking place next Saturday so I think a lot of next week will be taken up sorting out the plans for that...
Anyway, I'm off to spot a croc, or a hippo or something big like that I should probably be a little scared of but find quite amazing! Until next time... x x
Mind you I've had a easy start. The whole team who have been out here a while now, have taken a holiday and we're down in Livingstone for a few days. We've been to see Victoria Falls which are stunning, even now while they're at their driest. We walked across the top bit and paddled through the river at the top and saw some amazing views. Once the rainy season starts the area we walked across disappears under water!
We're having an easy day today - I'm still shattered from packing up my house and travelling so it's good to sit still for a bit. On Sunday we're going to tackle the 12 or 13 hour drive to Chingola where we'll be living for the majority of our time here. Not looking forward to rattling around in the car for that long! But once there, we can get to work properly. The team have organised a conference for the local pastors which is taking place next Saturday so I think a lot of next week will be taken up sorting out the plans for that...
Anyway, I'm off to spot a croc, or a hippo or something big like that I should probably be a little scared of but find quite amazing! Until next time... x x
Monday, 1 September 2008
where, when and what?
So, I'm guessing you already know that a week today I'm off to Zambia - a slight change from Burnage! I'm going with a Christian charity called Dignity and will be working as part of a team of 6 adults and 3 kids!
We will be staying in the copper belt region of Zambia and dividing our time between a big town called Chingola and the surrounding bush areas. In Zambia 60% of the population live in the bush but most of the churches and Christians are in the cities so the rural regions are largely unreached and pretty poor.
Dignity's heart is to help the churches in the rural areas and from their work to date, they know that there are many devoted Christians in Africa, who selflessly dedicate their time and energy to helping others in need. However, these same people are hampered in their endeavours through extreme poverty and a lack of support themselves.
The ‘Life!’ initiative aims to assist these people as we recognise that the best people to reach Zambian villagers are Zambians themselves! We will support them spiritually by developing their leadership abilities and Christian Faith. We will also support them practically by transferring the skills necessary to improve their crop yields, start micro-businesses or learn basic health care techniques. Most importantly, we will train these individuals to become teachers themselves, in turn, passing on to others what we have taught them. This will nuture self-sufficiency and the belief that their communities can transform their own lives.
Dignity have previoulsy been involved with the construction of Mibila Village Clinic which opened in November 2006 and currently has over 1600 patients, with approximately 50 new registrations every week. Hand-in-hand with "Life!" DIgnity are assiting with the construction of a house for the clinic staff that will allow government funding to be applied for, ensuring the longevity of the clinic.
Alongside helping with "Life!", my main area of responsibility will be the project managing of this construction project, bringing in my skills and experience as an architect. I'm sure architecture African style will be totally different to anything I've done before, but some of the difficulties encountered will no doubt require the same skills as those required back home.
So there you go! That's where I'm going, who I'm going with and what I'm doing! I'm very excited but also a little scared...but I believe God calls us to do things that challenge us cause us to grow whilst also asking us to love those around us. So I'm ready to "Go For It"!
We will be staying in the copper belt region of Zambia and dividing our time between a big town called Chingola and the surrounding bush areas. In Zambia 60% of the population live in the bush but most of the churches and Christians are in the cities so the rural regions are largely unreached and pretty poor.
Dignity's heart is to help the churches in the rural areas and from their work to date, they know that there are many devoted Christians in Africa, who selflessly dedicate their time and energy to helping others in need. However, these same people are hampered in their endeavours through extreme poverty and a lack of support themselves.
The ‘Life!’ initiative aims to assist these people as we recognise that the best people to reach Zambian villagers are Zambians themselves! We will support them spiritually by developing their leadership abilities and Christian Faith. We will also support them practically by transferring the skills necessary to improve their crop yields, start micro-businesses or learn basic health care techniques. Most importantly, we will train these individuals to become teachers themselves, in turn, passing on to others what we have taught them. This will nuture self-sufficiency and the belief that their communities can transform their own lives.
Dignity have previoulsy been involved with the construction of Mibila Village Clinic which opened in November 2006 and currently has over 1600 patients, with approximately 50 new registrations every week. Hand-in-hand with "Life!" DIgnity are assiting with the construction of a house for the clinic staff that will allow government funding to be applied for, ensuring the longevity of the clinic.
Alongside helping with "Life!", my main area of responsibility will be the project managing of this construction project, bringing in my skills and experience as an architect. I'm sure architecture African style will be totally different to anything I've done before, but some of the difficulties encountered will no doubt require the same skills as those required back home.
So there you go! That's where I'm going, who I'm going with and what I'm doing! I'm very excited but also a little scared...but I believe God calls us to do things that challenge us cause us to grow whilst also asking us to love those around us. So I'm ready to "Go For It"!
Saturday, 9 August 2008
hello!
Hmm. So here I am, sitting on my sofa, watching the olympics and feeling quite silly writing to myself. I don't like the idea of writing a blog...it's what grown-up-computer-geeks do...but then it seems like a good way of keeping a record of what I'm up to... A friend who recently emigrated has started one and it's been great to hear his random thoughts on life as it happens, so here goes...it's a jo blog. Maybe nobody will ever read it, but at least it may amuse me at some point if I ever read it again!!
Setting up a blog has been on my list of things to do for a while now and the reason for the list (and the blog) as you may well know is that I'm off to Zambia in a month and a day. So far, I seem to have got very little organised. Oh, I have a ticket, a visa and lots of vaccinations, so I guess I'm getting there, but all the little bits and bobs that I need to do seem to be, well, still waiting for my attention. So, setting up a blog is one little tick on the long list! At some point soon I will write more about why I'm going to Zambia, who I'm going with and what I hope to do while I'm away, but for now, I'll just say I'm going!
If you do ever read this, please please do get in touch and tell me about what you are up to as well. I don't just want to bore you with tales about me, I want to know what's going on with you. So email me! Tell me what's happening at home or what adventures you are up to. Don't be a stranger...!
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