hello mkushi!

I feel like I often start by telling you where I am when I’m writing my blog...and today is no exception! At the moment I am sat in our new living room, by the open fire (it’s cold at night at the moment), looking up at the beautiful thatched roof (something I have always wanted to have) and generally being blown away by how much has happened in the last 48 hours or so. In fact, the last few couple of weeks have been pretty non-stop and amazing...so let me tell you about it...

I arrived in Lusaka twelve days ago and since then have slept in five different places and driven about 1000 kilometres back and forth around Zambia. We started off with a few days in Lusaka, the capital city generally getting ourselves organised. (By we, I mean Jon & Jude and their three boys, Ethan, Josh and Jacob and of course, myself!) It was great to be back in a big city with shops where you can buy things like shampoo, internet cafes where the internet goes quickly (well, quicker than it did in Kimilili) and even has a wireless connection, a cinema where I went to watch the new Harry Potter film (yey!) and take away pizza shops!! There are so many things I take for granted living in a big city like Manchester...and it was good to have them on hand again. I have to confess though, I found the whole busy city thing a little crazy as well. There was so much traffic on the roads and it just didn’t feel as safe or friendly as Kimilili!

We also spent some time meeting friends from different parts of Lusaka who are interested in the work we have been doing but not necessarily in the Chingola area where we were last year. We spent time looking at the next three months and setting out a rough plan of how to get through all the things we think we need to. I say rough plan, as we don’t really know yet quite how the next few months will pan out so have to leave plenty of room for manoeuvre in any plans we make.

As with last year, carrying out this exercise left me with a feeling of, eek! How on earth are we actually going to achieve even half of the things we want to in the time we have?? This year we are going to be involved in work in three areas; Chingola (where we were last year), Nchelenge (where a good friend who worked with us last year lives and has begun to lay foundations for the work we are doing together) and Mkushi (an area new to us and where we are going to be based for the duration of our stay). So, it feels like we’re going to be stretching ourselves a little further this year...but, whenever I take a look at it through my eyes and I get a slight feeling of “but...how?!” I have to remember just how God pulled it all together last year. I know I was feeling like this a year ago and I know that God had already been at work in Chingola and brought us alongside the right people at just the right time for his plans. So, I know we can trust him to do the same in Mkushi and Nchelenge...and rather than worrying about it, I’m determined to enjoy the privilege of being a part of his plans!

So, after we had caught up with some old friends and got ourselves organised we set off for the 5 hour drive to Chingola. It was long and uneventful so not worth me boring you with now apart from to say it was safe and we made it! We were camping for a couple of nights on a friends farm and sadly arrived just as it was going dark. So by torch light we put up the tents and got settled.

The next day we had arranged to spend time with Joel, Vincent, Ponde, Capsa and Ranger, the five guys we were working with last year. It was great to see them all again! Sitting under the shade of a big tree we spent the day catching up with them, hearing the ups and downs of the time since we last say them and overall it was really encouraging. Not everything has gone smoothly, but they are carrying on. 16 of the 17 groups in villages are still meeting, and although the cabbages didn’t make as much money as they could have done (many reasons to do with climate and market and what not!) they broke even and none of the guys have been stuck financially because of them...in fact they have had their time this year while the cabbages have supported the worker they employed, so although it has not provided a long term support, it has got them through a year and allowed them to focus more on the Life! project than they otherwise would have been able to, which I think is something to be hugely thankful to God for.

Last Friday we left Chingola and drove about 3 hours to Mkushi where we will be based this year. We were meeting a friend along the way who knew the way to a Bible college where we had been offered some short term accommodation, with the possibility of staying for the 3 months if we wanted to...it was an unknown quantity really...out in the bush, but we knew there was no water or electricity (we had been promised a generator could be arranged). The college is 45 kilometers or so from Mkushi town, but it turns out that the guy who knew the way...well, he didn’t so much know the way. We set of from Mkushi at about 6pm and arrived at 11.20pm having driven 175 kilometers around bush roads!!! It was the most ridiculous journey, made even more difficult by the fact that the kids understandably were getting fed up and we had to stop every now and then to feed Jacob (the baby) or just let him out of his car seat as he was going nuts! Anyway, eventually we made it, having retraced our steps a fair few times, picked up various people along the way (who apparently also knew where we were going!) until we met Pastor Michael who we were meant to be meeting the next day and who actually did know the way! I reached a point where I had to laugh or I may have started crying!!! I lost count of the number of times I saw a gate, or a sign and thought “This has got to be it now?!”...by the time we did actually get there I think I had given up hope of ever arriving!

The college was pretty basic, but we were all able to have a room with a bed and mattresses appeared from somewhere. It was quite odd turning up in what felt like the middle of nowhere, finding a group of people waiting for us (who then disappeared once we’d said hello), getting the camping stove out, cooking some tea, unpacking our sleepnig bags and finally collapsing in a bed and not really knowing where on earth I actually was! It was funny to wake up in morning and actually see our surroundings. Pastor Michael (who did know the way) returned in the morning to meet us and find out more about what we are hoping to do and to tell us a bit more about him. Following that, we discussed accommodation as, although the Bible college is potentially a great resource to have and central to the area we are hoping to work in....we really felt we couldn’t make it our base. There was quite literally nothing but empty rooms. It would have meant spending a lot of time and money getting it to a point where we could decamp and make it liveable and workable as a base. The pastor was very gracious and understanding and said he had a few other ideas in mind anyway in case we had not wanted to stay long term at the college. He told us to stay put while he went and investigated one. He came back about an hour later and told us he’d found somewhere that even had a fridge! It sounded hopeful, so we packed up again and set off, back along the roads we had driven round and round the night before - this time taking a much shorter route! We ended up in the most amazingly beautiful place at a cottage way, way better than I would have ever imagined. There is a farm about 12 km from the tarmac road and the owners have a huge & beautiful house, but they also have a smaller, but also beautiful cottage on site that they rent out, currently available! The cottage has water pumped up from the adjacent river and also has electricity, thanks to the hydro-electric generator at the dam in the river. The verandah and living room look out over the river and dam and it is the most beautiful view. The farmers have two boys, roughly the same age as Jon & Jude’s eldest two, who promptly invited the Witt boys into their toy room and tree house! There’s plenty of space for the boys to run around and play football, although being scared of the two dogs is preventing them from adventuring outside too much. We honestly couldn’t have found something more amazing and having gone from thinking we may have to live in the most basic accommodation, God has promptly silenced all our worries and doubts by providing us with a real haven and place that can be a retreat for us in between our excursions to the bush...something that I personally find really helpful!

Alongside all this, when we met with Pastor Michael and a friend who he brought along, it has become very clear to me that the mountain we know we have to climb has already been climbed by God! There is already a group of people who have been coming together and praying to find a way of reaching and working with those in the bush and not knowing how to do it. I can’t sum it up here or put into words the way it feels. From Friday night, when we were driving round and round wondering if we were just making the biggest mistake ever setting off into this random place, we are now seeing God really amazingly piecing everything together. The more people we meet, the more I am blown away by all the links between the few contacts we had and the way it is all being put together - by a mastermind far greater and more capable that us!!! Even after seeing God do the same last year it is still humbling to realise that he is graciously using us again and has been working far longer than us to make his plans come about. It’s also so very exciting...it feels a bit like we’re standing at the edge of a cliff about to jump off, or sitting on the edge of a plane about to skydive...actually, maybe we’re in free fall at the moment having already jumped and God is pulling the parachute cord for us! Either way - it’s exciting and I can’t wait to see God continue to roll out his plans.

I think that is pretty much it really. We have spent the last few days settling into our new home, unpacking all our stuff and sorting things out. We have a few meetings coming up this week that will hopefully hope us distill the way forward, or at least the next step.

While we’re here it looks like I’ll be the link with the guys in Chingola...I’m sort of co-ordinating a conference in late September looking at practical ways villagers can reach out to their neighbours. There’s 3 guys coming out from home for 2 weeks to be involved and it’s my job to work out the logistics of meeting them, getting everyone in the right place at the right time and making sure everyone is fed. A lot of the content of the conference is already planned, but all the on the ground plans need putting in place. So, I’ll be back and forth between here and Chingola every few weeks so have much driving to do, about 300km each way...please pray for safety on these long drives!

In myself, I’m doing well. I’m adjusting to life in Zambia and living with the Witts, but it is all very different to life in Kenya and living in the guest house. I really miss all the friends I made there and the community feel, I miss bumping into folk I know as I walk along the road, I miss knowing a bit of the language and I miss all the fun and laughter around the guest house! However, like I said, I am grateful that I had the chance to be there for four months and the fact I’m missing it now only highlights how much I enjoyed being there!

Since leaving Kimilili, it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster couple of weeks and it’s hard to believe that it’s all happened in two weeks. Despite missing Kimilili, I’ve been loving being back here but all this moving around has meant that I am now officially exhausted. Early nights for me!

Oh, I’ve forgotten to tell you one of my favourite things about the place we’re living. The farm owners have a couple of dogs and also a lamb that was orphaned so they have hand raised her. Babarella, as the lamb is called, is now convinced she is also a dog and it’s not unusual to turn round and find a sheep in the living room! Love it!!
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Thank God for:
- a great last few days in Kimilili and safe travel to Zambia.
- provision of somewhere so lovely to live.
- the work he has clearly already begun in different areas of Zambia, way before we even thought of coming along, and for letting me be a part of it!
Please pray for:
- me to be sensitive to his Spirit as we begin to work with new people in new areas and for me not to rely on myself, but on Him!
- safety as I drive many miles.
- me to adjust to the different routine now I’m in Zambia.

goodbye kimilili

I’ve been meaning to sit down and write this for the last few days, but I’ve found it hard to write about my last couple of weeks in Kimilili. There are a couple of reasons...the first being that I’m really, really sad not to be there anymore. Of course there were some hard days, but overall my time in with IcFEM was great fun and I know I have learnt loads and been challenged to do new things and trust God more. It’s been such a special four months that leaving has brought on a case of post-Kimilili blues. (Don’t worry though, getting back to Zambia and into the swing of things here again will cure those blues!) The other reason that makes it hard to write about the last bit of my time in Kimilili is because that really sad thing is happening already. You know when you get back from your holiday and within a few days the holiday seems like ages ago...well, it’s a bit like that. While Kimilili is still fresh in my memory, now I’m not there it also seems like a long time ago. So, my poor little head is all confused at the moment as I change from life in Kenya to life in Zambia!

Despite having a mixed up head, I really want to write about the last couple of weeks I spent in Kimilili now before it seems further away. Although I’m now in Lusaka, sitting in a busy internet cafe with a wireless connection (something my computer hasn’t seen since I left home!) and looking forward to the next stage of my trip, I’ll save telling you about all that until next time I write.

My last days with IcFEM were hectic, of course, but loads of fun. Most of my evenings were spent visiting friends. I was privileged to be invited to many houses for tea which helped me piece together a few more married couples and families! Despite having been there so long I was still not aware of who was married to who and which kids belonged to which parents. I thought I’d worked it all out, but every now and then there was another surprise! It was lovely to take some time with people who I normally just saw around headquarters and meet their children and see their homes.

The CTS office...before.....

Most of my days for the last week have been taken up with redecorating and furnishing the CTS office. This is the central office that the twelve line ministries operate from, although some are based in other small offices. I had been talking with Tatwa, the deputy director in charge of CTS, about how CTS currently operates and how he sees it moving forward. Due to the nature of the work, many of the CTS staff are actually out and about visiting local units for much of the week and only one or two members of staff can actually be found in the office. The office was previously partly painted (it looked as odd as it sounds) with exposed ceiling boards and concrete floor slab. It was a dark and dreary space with desks squashed around the edges. As many people are often out the desks were mainly empty with just one of two people sitting at opposite sides of the room. There was also difficulties when the weekly meeting for about 25 people took place in the office as not everyone could fit in so ended up sitting outside. After much talking with Tatwa we decided to introduce one big central desk made up of smaller pieces that could be used as a large meeting table or small individual desks. We also agreed that some storage space would be needed to replace their desk draws. Alongside this, we organised for two computers to be put in the office that can be used as hotdesks. As money is always tight for IcFEM and as all the folks working in CTS have really looked after me while I’ve been here and made time to include me in all they’ve been doing, I decided I’d redecorate the office and provide the new furniture as a thank you pressie before I left. So, armed with a load of paint left over from various jobs Jo Finlay did while she was here, and some help from a few painters, we gave the office a new lease of life. Over the weekend I painted a mural on the wall which was loosely speaking a diagrammatic version of IcFEM and included lots of colourful dots spread across the wall. We finished painting on my penultimate day and on my very last day we moved in the furniture I’d had made and all in all, I think it looked a lot better than it did a week ago...if I do say so myself! All those who use the office seemed excited about the new layout and willing to give it a go...I just hope it works out well for them!

The CTS office...after...(well, during...)

On the day the painters were painting the floor I took the opportunity to have a day off and went for a walk up the hill behind Kimilili. Not being the type who often goes for walks, my legs were not best pleased with the idea, but Dennis, Vicky, Bethany, Caleb and I had a great day. We took a few “shortcuts”, which to be fair were probably shorter than going back to the road, but included quite a bit of cross country adventuring! We climbed a rock at the top of the hill to see the most beautiful views back across the area - the fields and fields of maize looked spectacular. We finished off by going to see a waterfall further round the hill and then walked back to the junction where we hoped on boda boda’s home! My legs were aching for days after all the up hill walking! Well worth it though.


On my last Sunday I went along to the service at Dreamlands school. I’ve been a few times and it’s one of my favourite services to go to. When I walked in the teacher sitting in asked me if I was the preacher...well, as far as I knew I wasn’t, but turns out, apparently I was! Isaac had come with me, so we agreed to manage five or ten minutes each to make up a mini-sermon as neither of us had time to prepare anything more! It was actually really lovely to have the opportunity to share some words of encouragement with all the kids before I left. Lots of them have become friends as we’ve played many games together and had lots of fun, so they weren’t too scary an audience for someone who isn’t a fan of standing in front of groups of people and trying to say something wise!!

Amidst all the goings on, I’ve been busy packing and sorting out odd jobs that I’d not quite got round to doing. I think I managed to get everything done before I left, but all the little bits and bobs led to a non-stop last week and half, meaning I was shattered by the time I got on the coach to Nairobi. I had wondered why all the other girls took so long to do their packing when they left...surely we’ve only got to shove all our stuff into our bags and that’s that? Well, now I know what takes so long...actually, I don’t know what takes so long but I do know it takes long!

On my last day Rosie organised a leaving do for me which was really lovely. It was so great to see all my Kimilili friends gathered together and to take some time out to thank them for all they have done for me. They also shared some words of thanks and encouragement and sent me off with many cards and gifts. It was pretty hard saying good bye to everyone as I have made some great friends in my time among them. I’d had to prepare myself to hold it all together and managed to get through most of the day without crying, although I gave up at the very end of the day when I was saying bye to Solomon and Ruth and their family. I was far too tired by then and a whole day of saying bye to people got the better of me!

I was up at 5.30am the next day to set off to Kitale in time to get the coach to Nairobi. The coach was much cheaper than flying and also an opportunity to see some more of Kenya than I had so far (even if I was just driving through!) So, I’d decided I’d tackle the eight hour journey! I’m glad I did... It was a long time on the coach, but it was really interesting to see more of the country. I realised that Kimilili, being up in the mountains, is much cooler and also much more fertile than most of the country. From looking at maps it was easy to work that out, but seeing the miles of parched fields with maize crops dried up and failing made me realise just how hard life can be for some people. Many are struggling to find food this year due to a poor harvest following the post-election violence in 2007. The violence may have ended, but there are repercussions still stretching out. People lost lots during the clashes and therefore many were unable to plant their fields and much ground has lain barren. This means that the harvest in 2008 was small meaning what food is now available is highly priced and unaffordable for many. This year it seems like the harvest will also be small due to lack of rains. This means it will be the second year of hunger for many making it even harder to survive. Although I knew all this before, seeing the fields and fields of failing maize really made it sink it. It was a real eye opener.

On a much lighter note, I also saw a zebra by the side of the road and a truck full of goats...so full the owners had ingeniously made hammocks from sacks so they could carry more goats, sort of like bunk bed style! I was absolutely shattered by the time I made it to Nairobi so had a quite evening in the hotel and went to bed early before getting up at 5am to catch the plane to Zambia.

One last Kimilili moment I want to share with you is the little kid who gave me some avocado...okay, I know that sounds like a strange thing, but here’s how it went. I was sat in the car at the end of our road/mud track waiting for Eliud when this little boy who I saw every day outside the little shops came toddling over slowly and handed me a half eaten piece of avocado, covered in muck and looking like one of the most unappetising things ever...When Eliud came back to the car he told me that the boy’s mum had told him to give the avocado to the chickens but he’d said no he wanted to give it the mzungu. Now, this may seem like a strange event to bother writing about, but after four months of kids stopping me to ask for ten shillings or for me to buy them things, this one little boy who didn’t want to ask me for anything but actually wanted to give me something really meant a lot to this mzungu!

And on that note, as I am enjoying my very last ginger snap biscuit bought in Riziki supermarket in Kimilili, I have reached the end of my time with IcFEM. As I started by saying, I’m really sad not to be there anymore. It has been such a great four months and I’m incredibly grateful to all those people who gave me such a warm welcome to the guest house, the head quarters, many homes and village communities and made my entire stay so diverse and special. I’m also hugely thankful to God for taking me there and teaching me through the people I met and the things I’ve been involved in. I have thanked him again and again for letting me go there at the same time as Jo, Jo and Gemma who really helped me settle into Kenyan life and shared much fellowship with me. All in all, a big fat Yey!!! Although I am sad to leave, I am so so happy that I have been able to spend time with such great people all working together to seek God’s will and bring about change in their own communities. I feel truly privileged to have shared in the last four months of life with IcFEM!