Since I last wrote it has been a time of contrasts; from quiet times to busy times and from village life to city life. In some ways it's been tough and in other ways fantastic...
The pace of my time here this year has been different. As Jon and Jude now live here the urgency to fit absolutely everything for the year into two or three months isn't there. This is a definite bonus as it means relationships with people in different areas can be nurtured and conferences or visits timed much better than in previous years and a general increase in the amount of hands on work they are able to do. As a result, the work we are doing has definitely spread much wider and more and more people and villages are getting involved. There are now roughly 75 life groups meeting in villages across northern zambia, meeting to study the bible and to discover together what it means to live out our faith day to day. As my last blog showed, for many people this is bringing them to a point where they take positive actions to begin to bring change to their communities. Its very exciting to be a witness to what God is doing here in Zambia and how he loves his children.
The flip side of this on a personal level is that my time here hasn't been as busy and jam-packed with conferences and trips to villages as the last two times I've been here. Instead, I've had a chance to do other things, like getting the magazine from an idea to (hopefully...) almost reality! I'm also writing some materials about working with children in your village and various other bits and bobs about what we're doing here.
When I sit down and look at the long term, I can see the real value in what I've been doing - I love the idea of the magazine and it has such amazing potential to reach loads of people. However, you know me...I like to see things happening (I'm impatient!) and I love to be around people! There have been days I've been sat working away at my computer and what I've wanted to be doing is sitting in a village talking to people, or in a friends living room with a cup of tea! I've really missed being surrounded my little project team from Sheppard Robson as I work, all the banter (and the cake!) I've had to ask myself why I'm here - to have fun and do the exciting bits of work, or to do the "good works, which God has prepared in advance for me to do"? I know the answer to this question in theory, but sometimes the reality can be tough!
Before I left, I was praying with some friends. One gave me a picture of beautiful open skies and landscapes...of "space" in contrast to being so busy and pressured during my last time at home. This has been so helpful as I've had so much more "space" in a number of ways; less things crowding into every day, less friends around to help me get through stuff, more time to myself to deal with anything in my life that needs dealing with...a greater need to turn to God and rely on Him in more areas of my life. While I can be self-sufficient in an aspect of my life, I am! Its only when the things I rely on to support me are taken away that I finally lean on God rather than myself. If you've ever had to let go of control of something, or part of your life, you will know that this can be a hard and painful process...but ultimately rewarding and freeing! I guess I feel a bit like a broken car engine that is being stripped down before being rebuilt in working condition...its lots of hard work but in the end, the result is worth it!
So, I've been busy writing and designing the magazine (which, incidentally I do actually enjoy doing as well!) in between others things. What other things...?
Over the last couple of weeks Jude and I have been out to some villages close by to discuss and introduce a new resource Jon and Jude have been writing. We want a couple of groups to try it out and give us some feedback before we use it on a wider basis.
We also ran a conference last week. Twenty five people from two local areas gathered and we talked about all being part of one family, one body rather than lots of separate entities, the much more common scenario for churches here. It was encouraging to see peoples reaction to what we were saying and many left eager to try and start a Life! group in their village...who knows what will happen in their villages over the coming weeks, months and even years! It is always so encouraging to meet people here who want to volunteer their time and energy to see God bring change in their villages...it's through them that this will ultimately happen, not through people like me, Jon and Jude who are outsiders. These people know and understand their villages, their neighbours, the struggles and challenges they face and the culture so much better than we ever will. Without them chosing to get involved, we would be able to do very little. I thank God that he has put in place many people to be his hands and feet in many different villages!
The day after the conference finished we all set off for Lusaka, the capital city...about as far from simple village life as you can get! Andy had been out here for a couple of weeks and we were taking him back to the airport. As it was bonfire night we decided to all make the journey so we could go see the big firework display in town while we were there. It was very surreal - it honestly felt like we were in Platt Fields apart from the fact it was warm and not muddy! It was lovely to do something "normal"!! We also fitted in a trip to Adventure City - an big park with outdoor pools and water slides - great fun and a true example of the comparative lack of health and safety rules here compared to England! I'm sure people wouldn't have been allowed to set off down the slides standing up at home! Ha ha!!
And now it's my last Zambian week. (By the way, I know I shouldn't start a sentence with "and"...it just worked though!) I can't believe how fast time has gone by, although it does seem like ages ago I arrived. This week, we were supposed to be heading to Namibia to run a conference but the guy we know there had to postpone the plans. You just have to learn to be more flexible here - it's the way life goes! Instead of going to Namibia, I'm trying to tie up a few loose ends and finish off a few things. I have a couple of meetings with people in Lusaka before I fly out from there on Monday.
Next stop...Kenya! I'm meeting up with some friends for a weeks holiday in Mombasa (on the coast) before heading back to IcFEM for a few weeks...then I'm coming home - I know, how has it flown by so fast?! It will be so lovely to see some of my great friends, both on holiday and also back at IcFEM. As ever, I'm sad to leave here...but excited about the next step!
