I spent plenty of time telling you about my journey up to Nchelenge so I thought I'd take some time to tell you about what actually happened after our long day of travelling!
I should probably start by 'fessing up and letting you know that I didn't really want to go on this particular trip. Part of the reason was that it is such a long drive and I was the only driver going so I knew it was all down to me. If anything went wrong with the car, it was up to my limited knowledge of engines and what not to fix it! Alongside this, the place we stay is pretty basic with no running water (and not all that clean), its always baking hot and there is a particularly ravenous and large mosquito population. Food and drinking water is hard to come by so I had to go well prepared, carrying supplies and camping stoves in the car, as well as spare diesel for the car in case of the common shortages in the area. So, I was a little hesitant about going...
We went a couple of times last year and ran a training conference there. As a result a number of Life! groups have begun meeting around the area and we feel it's important to follow these up and take time to encourage them. Alongside this, we had heard some exciting stories of things going on in the area so wanted to find out more and see what we could learn from the groups there that could benefit other areas.
So, although maybe not with the most willing heart, I had made it to Nchelenge. I had prayed against my spirit of grumpiness and unwillingness and asked God to give me enthusiasm and compassion instead. And he did! If you know me at all, you know I love people. I love being around people and chatting with them...and these characteristics overcame my grumps to help me actually make the most of my time there.
We met with five different groups of people and one of my worst nightmares came true. Whenever we go anywhere, people always want us to share a word of encouragement with them and to say something wise, basically do a mini-sermony, preachy, teachy thing...not my forte!! As I was the team leader on this occasion it fell to me to come up with something to say to each group. I was terrified. I can talk a lot of nonsense easy enough, but to say something relevant to each different group, having only a basic introduction to who they were before hand, was quite a challenge. I really had to ask God for wisdom and words...and each time he reminded me of a different bible passage and gave me a point to draw out from it. I was more than a little worried at the last group as even as I walked into the room and was greeting everyone I was still praying in my head for the words to say...but they came...and I said them!
I then spent some time asking the groups to share what they have learnt, struggled with, been challenged by, seen happening or actively gone and done as a result of meeting in a Life! group. I simply wanted to find out how its been going for them. It took some prompting to get going but when people started there was some really interesting stuff going on. Lots of people said they had been trying to share Gods love by speaking to their friends and neighbours and also in their actions, simple things like lending their bike to someone who was ill and needed to travel to the clinic. Many times over I heard that unity between different churches has been growing and the historic division and fighting between churches is being set aside. People and churches are coming together to seek the best for their community.
One lady spoke of how she had only recently become a christian after a friend had invited her along to a Life! group in her village. Although her family are poor, she has come to understand that God has blessed her and her husband with children. She has felt challenged by this, and despite having very little themselves, her family have taken in some orphans, feeding and clothing them. For me or another outsider to manage such a life changing task for these orphans would take huge amounts of money and time setting up a special home, finding someone to run it, sourcing funds to keep it going, the number of places would be limited and would all be in one location...but this one family has just got on and done something to help these kids in their own village. No fuss, no hype...just action based on a new understanding of who God is and what he has done for us. Imagine the impact if one of two families in each village began to do this. As a rough guide, there are about 50 Life! groups meeting now, with a potential 30 or so about to start. If one family from each group took in just one orphan, that would be 80 children being fed, clothed and loved as part of a family! If we can help share what this one family has done amongst others the potential for change is massive!
We heard of three groups that have begun farming a small plot of land each in order to grow some food to give away to the very poor amongst them. As groups, they have each contributed either a little money or a small amount of seeds and given their time to work in the fields. This is incredible...people work so hard here to scrape by and feed themselves and their families. That they are willing to give their time and energy to do more work to help others shows a desire founded on something more than a passing whim!
One group has applied to the government to obtain funding for a hammer mill to grind maize into flour, used to make the staple food enshima. They plan to raise money milling maize to help the widows and orphans in their community as well as offer a free or reduced price milling service to the poorer families. Another group is looking to run a tailoring course to teach young people a skill so they can earn a living for themselves.
These are not things we have told people to do. In fact, we haven't told them to do anything! These actions we are seeing are I believe, a natural result of people coming together and learning more about God and what he has done for us. As we understand this and open our hearts to him, he opens our eyes to others rather than our natural focus on self and looking after number one.
It's not all roses of course. Some people said they were finding it hard to share what they are learning as their friends just don't want to hear about Jesus. Others meet opposition from those who think they are trying to take people from their church to start a new one in competition, which is not the case.
Many people ask us for resources to help with the ideas they are having. This is such a difficult question to answer. A massive part of me wants to give every penny I have to help these amazing people do these fantastic things. But even if I did that there wouldn't be enough money to help them all. Even if there was enough money to help them all, it would run out pretty quickly...and then what would happen? If things here were set up to be reliant on money coming from outside they would fizzle out and die as soon as the money stops coming in. (This is something people here have seen happen time and again and are constantly reminded of as they daily see buildings that were once active now lying dormant as those funding the schemes have left.) The amount of initiatives that could happen would also be limited by our fund raising abilities. Alongside this, but possibly most dangerously of all, if we gave money to everyone who asked for it, it would reinforce the belief so common here that for anything to happen, financial help must be given. Dependency is rife here and holds many people back...in truth, people are able to do many things despite the poverty they struggle with. We are seeing that this is possible in some of the things happening that I've just told you about! But, there is also no denying that resources are scarce and a real challenge for many people. So what do we say when people ask us for money?! The best way to solve this constant challenge is to think around problems, to come at them from different angles. As the projects being undertaken are community based there is the opportunity to involve others in the area and get them to share you vision. For example, rather than buy expensive fertiliser, if you could persuade goat farmers to sell you their goat manure (rather than selling it to big farmers) it would be a cheaper and more reliable solution (its often hard to buy fertiliser as suppliers run out at the critical times). This is a harder solution to establish in the short term than a quick cash injection, but I do believe it can have a much longer lasting effect as it would be a local enterprise and therefore more sustainable! If an idea is found to work in one area it can then be reproduced in other areas with potential to become much bigger than our limited funds could manage.
One of the most exciting stories I heard was in a village called Kambwali. A year ago it was generally called Crimezone, suffering from high levels of crime. A Life! group has been meeting there for a year and praying for their village as well as specifically for the known trouble causers. They have invited some of these people along to the group. A combination of seeing the unity that has been growing in the village as a result of the group meeting and witnessing the works the group are doing, alongside on going prayer and growing relationships with God, these people are beginning to change their ways. Crime levels have fallen and the reputation of the village has changed so much for the good that people now call it by its real name! This is an amazing and very real example of the transformation that Jesus brings when we turn from our own selfish ways and give our lives, and all their detail, to him. He's not some far off, distant God dishing out miserable rules, he's actually involved in our day to day existence and wants to give us freedom from the things that have held sway over us for so long. The best bit is, because he is also an awesome and powerful God and he's sent Jesus to die in our place for all the wrong things we've done he has already sorted it that we can be set free as soon as we turn from our ways to follow him. You've got to love him when the impact of that begins to dawn on you!!
So, in summary, I didn't want to make the 1500km round trip...but I'm so very glad I did! It was a time of great encouragement as I heard all these amazing stories, a time of personal growth as I had to lean on God in new ways and a fun time as well as I got to know some of the people we're working with more! It rained for the first time in 6 months while we were there (although the rains haven't arrived where we live yet) and we got to see some amazing lightening over the lake at night. We travelled home safely, although the journey was slightly less eventful than on the way. I've been home a few days now and I'm finally beginning to feel less exhausted and more human again after a few good nights sleep!
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Would you like to be involved in the exciting work taking place in Zambia? Dignity is looking for people who would be willing to run a small fundraiser or do a sponsored event to help us carry on the teaching work we are doing here. It doesn't have to be anything grand...it could be as simple as a sponsored run or a little cake sale at work or church!
If you think this is something you could get involved with, please email me or enquiries@dignityonline.org.uk for more information!
