Stories and thoughts from travels in Africa

The Hardest Goodbye

2007-11-11T14:17:00.000-08:00

What a hard day. I was unaware this morning when I woke up that I would spend my last day in Zambia attending the funeral for one of the babies we have fallen in love with at Haven II. She was almost 2 years old and her little body just couldn’t make it. Everything in man’s power was done to make her live, but sometimes man’s measures are futile. She died yesterday weighing 5 pounds.

The funeral was held in her village. Her mother had died in childbirth, but her father is still living. We arrived after 2 ½ hours on a dusty trail to women wailing and crying. What a sorrowful sound! I hurt just thinking about it. The crazy thing is, Tiana lived in the orphanage her whole life and these people didn’t even really know her. But, the loss of life is mourned, not just the loss of a relationship.

Sadness and relief intermingled. It is so unfair that things like this happen and I cannot begin to understand it. But, Tiana is in a much better place. She no longer has to live with the cruelties and injustices of this fallen world.

We leave in just a few hours to travel to Livingstone → Johannesburg → Nairobi. The next two weeks will be spent traveling in Kenya and Tanzania. Hopefully I’ll be able to get internet access at a couple of points along the way, but definitely won’t get my hopes up. This is Africa, after all…

Hard Goodbyes

2007-11-09T12:13:00.000-08:00

Over a week of goodbyes. I’m not good at parting, never have been. We’re all trying to take advantage of the time we have left, and that has left us physically exhausted, on top of the emotional exhaustion the constant goodbyes have created.

On Thursday, Sarah and I spent our last day at Basic School. It was awful! For clarification’s sake, I mean ‘awful’ in the ‘one of the hardest things I’ve ever endured’ sense. Grade 3, where we have spent most of our time and have built the deepest relationships, sang us a goodbye song. I cried during it, as did several of the children, including precious Davis. He was picked up off the streets of Lusaka about 2 months ago and now lives at Eric’s House. Initially, Davis was a disruption because he had never been in school before and was not used to all the rules. He stole my heart from the beginning and has been my boy ever since. I read to him some in the afternoons and spent a lot of time playing with him. He called me his ‘supporter’ when I told him how proud I was of his good behavior at school. Seeing the drastic behavioral changes Davis has made is so encouraging and is indicative of the incredible work the Merritt family is doing at Eric’s House.

All that to say, bidding goodbye to Davis and the other children in Ms. Sharon’s class was so hard. The class gave handmade rugs to both Sarah and me. The class has spent hours making them out of extra strips of citanges (the pieces of fabric that women here use for everything- skirt wraps, carrying babies, dancing, and much more). They are the sweetest gifts! I bet that over 80 different hands have worked together on each rug. After school, the Headmaster, Joshua, made sure that Sarah and I said goodbye to every class and every teacher. Then, our entire Grade 3 class escorted us about a mile and a half of our walk home and we bought them ice boxes, frozen juice wrapped in pieces of plastic. I am going to miss these kids!

We took our final exams today. For Chitonga, we had to perform a skit during chapel using the language. We chose to give brief snapshots of the entire Old Testament. The George Benson Christian College (GBCC) students laughed a lot, which is what we had hoped for. Our awful accents probably added to the humor, as well. Everyone said they enjoyed it and it was fun to do, so I would consider it a success.

I thought it would be a good idea to have all our tutors over for a tea party to have one more fun night with all of them. So, Leonard made a tray of his delicious snicker doodles and our tutors came over. It seems as if every gathering here in Zambia turns into a talent show and tonight was no exception. What began as a few people and groups singing evolved into a dance party- African style. We ended with a prayer and the Zambian National Anthem. It was nice to have such a light-hearted ending to our time together. It will be extremely sad to leave everybody, but there is solace in knowing that we will all be together again in Heaven. Then we will be able to sing and dance forevermore!

Everyday Life

2007-11-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

Matt, Sky, Brian, me, Sarah, and Courtney. My favorites- not afraid of looking like a fool to lighten someone else's day.

Some of the sweet kids at St. Mulumba Special School.

Baby Gary, discovering some flowers while spending a little time outside.

Katie, Ashley, Sarah, me, and Dululu with most of the older babies. These little ones have stolen our hearts!

Brandon sugars! He has sickle cell anemia, but always has so much energy! He is a sweet boy that smiles all the time and repeats anything you say.

Me, Ashley, and Sarah marching one-by-one with the huge ants. These ants are ultra aggrassive and will attack if you interrupt their lines.

The Headmaster of the Basic School, Mr. Joshua. This is the trunk of supplies our group gave them full of basic things like pens, paper, glue, rulers, etc. He was so excited and was saying how now the students could do art. Also, every teacher will be able to have one of the little, plastic pencil sharpeners. (The students sharpen with razors blades. It is scary to see Grade 3 kids pull out a razor blade in the middle of all their friends and begin scraping their pencil.)

Little Musa, my boy! This was taken at the Rock, where we had the cookout.

When me, Sarah, Courtney, and Ashley 'stole' ingredients for Girls' Night from Louisa, Meagan, and Ashley. They had already given us permission to use their stuff, but we figured we'd get it all in style. They were all in their kitchen when we went in and snuck around, pretending nobody was home. They thought it was hilarious!

These are just a few pictures of life as I know it. Sadly, I have no photos of the huge swarms of flying ants that attacked last night or the 6 inch centipede that was crawling through our house this morning when we woke up. Gross! The pictures don't show how beautiful the sun looks as it rises or falls. They can't capture how friendly these Zambians are. Words nor picture could show how much love we have for these babies. They can't relay how much Mildred, our housekeeper, glows when I call her our African mother. They will never be able to show how suprised Zambians are when we greet them in their native tongue and their faces light up, showing a mouth that lacks teeth but a spirit that lacks nothing. The photos will not explain how common-place it has become for us to have no electricity, internet, or even water. They can never show the encouragement and motivation my running group shares with one another or how goofy all my friends are.

I sure wish pictures could tell an entire story! I love these people and will miss them badly.

Power Outage

2007-11-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

Last night, the power was off all night. It is not uncommon for the power to randomly leave us in the dark, but this is the first time it has left us without fans for an entire night. The summer heat is oppressive; the thermostat read 85 F when we crawling into bed at 10:30. Ridiculous!

The mosquito net that typically protects Sarah and me from the relentless predators stayed open last night in hopes of catching any sort of breeze. Armed with a thick layer of bug spray above the ever-present sweat, I tossed and turned, but could not find any sort of comfort. So, I opened the window, against my better judgment, for we had been warned that snakes and lizards could crawl in through an open window. I was eventually able to fall asleep. I am glad to report few mosquito bites and zero snake bites.

This morning, I was told that the first big storm of the season had come through last night. A huge clap of thunder struck a tree right behind our house, luckily missing our tall, thatched roof. Apparently, everybody but me was startled awake by the commotion. Thank goodness for earplugs! The storm last night was the beginning of the rainy season, so every few days should prove to bring heavy rains for a few hours, cool the air for about a day, then leave more oppressing heat in anticipation of the next heavy rainfall.

Only one week left here in Zambia. Awful. This morning, we cried through chapel, Americans and Zambians alike. I hate that the goodbyes are already beginning.

The Farm and The Rock

2007-11-04T06:59:00.000-08:00

Friday was packed! The morning was full of classes and tests. After lunch, our entire group toured a Subsistence Farming School. The school is about a 30-minute drive from where we live and is owned by the nicest German you will ever meet. We learned a lot of the techniques taught at this school over the summer at HUT. It was encouraging to actually see these things in practice. They have such a neat program in place!

From the farm, we went directly to The Rock. The Merritt’s large family of former orphans and street-children invited us to a cookout at their favorite picnic and stargazing spot. It was so much fun! All of our friends were there and the view from this big, spacious rock was extraordinary! Davis and Musa helped me try to count all the stars, but we only got to 80 and hadn’t covered even a sliver of the sky.

After hanging out and eating dinner, we sang for a while. I laid down on the rock, which still carried a faint reminder of how hot the sun was that day. Musa snuggled in my arm and fell asleep beside me. Miriam crawled on top of me, curled up, and fell asleep. I saw 4 shooting stars. God is good.

Thriller and Things

2007-11-02T03:29:00.000-07:00

A group of 9 (5 Harding students and Louisa, Meagan, and Ashley) created a short dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. We practiced, but were definitely not good. It was a lot of fun, however. On Halloween night, we went to several different houses (including a couple of different missionaries, some of our close Zambian friends, and the Harding group) and performed. The people living here lead tough lives- whether chosen or allotted. We wanted to just give people a reason to laugh. It worked; everybody thought it was hysterical! I’m not quite sure how it happened, but ‘Thriller- On Tour’ is booked to perform again Saturday at the George Benson Christian College choir party. Funny!

Yesterday, Sarah and I taught Grade 8 reading class at the Basic School. It went really well. Then, we went over to Grade 3, where we had left some other Harding students to do teaching projects for one of our classes. Ms. Sharon was administering promotional exams to Grade 7, so we just reviewed a little and sang fun songs. Then Davis got up to share a story with the rest of the class. He told the story in Nyanja, Peddy translated it into Tonga, and Charles relayed it in English. It was neat!

I spent the afternoon at Maureen and Audrey’s dorm. They cooked a traditional nsima and village chicken meal for Tessa and me. It was a pleasantly lazy afternoon. I am going to miss these people.

The power company had scheduled to shut down the power all over town all day yesterday. But, because it was scheduled and this is Africa, it never happened. Therefore, I wouldn't be suprised if the power is off all day sometime soon.

St. Mulumba

2007-10-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

Today I had the amazing opportunity to visit St. Mulumba Special School in Choma, the town an hour away. What an encouraging and incredible experience! It is a school for blind, deaf, and intellectually impaired- the only school of its kind in the country. Only 4 girls went, so we were given a complete tour and were able to ask any and every question we had. The student: teacher ratio was incredibly low and the 22-year-old facilities were clean and decently equipped, which is a rarity here on both counts.

Classrooms were decorated sporadically with hand-drawn pictures. In the classes for the blind, there were vocabulary lists on the wall. There were raised pictures with the word underneath in Braille, so the students can read the word and feel it, too. 2 of the upper level teachers are blind as well. In the classes for the deaf, the teachers say everything they sign so that the students can learn to lip read. Their garden produces some of what the 210 students eat. The students are encouraged to spend time working in the garden, as they will need that skill when they are eventually living on their own. There is a chicken hut that produces more than a sufficient amount of eggs for the school, so the leftover eggs are sold at market. The money generated is able to help 2 students with their term fees. Some of the students are sponsored, some are paid for by family members, and some of the students cannot afford to pay. To these kids, the administration turns a blind eye for as long as possible.

I was able to sign some with the kids (thanks to Bethany and Silly Billy). They use American Sign Language (ASL) with a few variations. We were invited to have tea and scones with the teachers in the staff room during break. The students are getting specialized educations at a rate conducive to their success. The faculty loves what they do and are genuinely concerned about the well being of their students. It was an awesome experience!

Fall Festival

2007-10-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

Today, Sarah and I spent the morning baking cupcakes at the girls' house (Meagan, Ashley, and Louisa's). We were the only ones there besides Matilda, the housekeeper, so it was nice to relax. We listened to Christmas music- in the upper 90 degree heat.

This afternoon, our faculty had organized a Fall Festival for the group. It was so much fun! We aren't celebrating Halloween here because witchcraft and Satanism is all too real. Plus, Africans might not take too kindly to a bunch of crazy white people showing up and their door to take any candy they might have. We will also be missing Thanksgiving (which I am extremely upset about) because we will be travelling through Tanzania and Kenya during that time. So, the Fall Festival tonight was a much-needed holiday celebration.

We began by splitting into groups and doing a photo scavenger hunt. My group did the best, but recieved next-to-last place. The judging was rigged. It was fun, though. We were able to dip apples into homemade caramel and some chocolate. After that, we had taco soup, which Mrs. Connie made. Next there was a cupcake walk on the verandah, which Sarah and I organized. Everyone had so much fun! The combination of the music and an overload of sugar created a huge dance party on the verandah. Harding appropriate, of course. We danced to things like Thriller, Ghostbusters, and Witchy Woman. The sugar highs began to wear off and we all CRASHED! My tutor came over and we chatted for awhile. Now, I am exhausted and completely worn out! Hopefully I'll sleep really well.

Pictures

2007-10-27T01:22:00.001-07:00

Watching the gorgeous sunrise on Samfya beach in Northern Zambia.

The poor little kapenta I ate.

Lola and Emmanuel being precious

The Bella Zambia chefs- Sarah, Sky, and me. The Zambian flag looks nothing like the one one the poster, by the way.

The girls- Meagan, me, Ashley, Sarah, and Louisa

My African History teacher, Mr. Dominique Munga (Moonga). He's 85 years old and adorable!

Leonard's daughter, Nancy, trying to teach me to dance at Kasibi. Let's just say it was a fruitless undertaking...

The preschoolers at the Independence Day celebration.

Graduation Day

2007-10-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

My best friends, all dressed up for graduation- Brian, me, Matt, Courtney, Sky, and Sarah. Yes, that's Sarah's normal facial expression.

The decorated auditorium.

Today we attended graduation at George Benson Christian College. It was a little different than the ceremonies I’ve witnessed. The auditorium had been scrubbed clean and multi-colored toilet paper streamers were hung from one side of the room to the other. Graduates danced into the room and took their seats. When their name was called to receive their diploma, family members and friends would run to the front of the auditorium and give hugs and gifts (Audrey, a Zambian friend, said the gifts were things like shoes or clothes or a cake).

The Vice-Chancellor from the University of Zambia was the distinguished guest of honor, so he sat with his colleagues on couches in the center of the stage. In place of the uplifting speech about all the wonderful things the graduates will be able to do with their lives, he gave advice about ways the college can expand their resources and put the resources they currently have to better use. He ended his speech by saying a little about the AIDS epidemic. “Let’s be carriers of the AIDS message, not the virus.” It’s a different world.

After the graduates danced out of the auditorium, the guests all joined in the dance line until they were out the door. Us girls went to finish getting ready for our Girls’ Night and went running. We had our first hour-breaking run. Afterwards, all of our tutors came over to hang out and watch a movie. Us girls had been baking cookies and other snacks since yesterday. Everyone came over and we watched Father of the Bride on the verandah. It was a lot of fun, but everybody was tired.

Definitely a good day…

2007-10-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

Independence Day

2007-10-26T01:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, Zambia celebrated its 43rd Independence Day. The teachers at the Basic School invited Sarah and me to join them for their festivities. They also asked us to bring any of our group that would like to come. By the time we arrived, the students were already performing. Each class would ‘give a dance’ and a couple of groups of older students did poetry and skits. The female teachers would get up and dance with their classes. Mr. Joshua, the headmaster, said that since Sarah and I were teachers at that school, we would dance, too. So, we joined in with a class that was already dancing. The 500+ students thought it was hysterical to watch us shuffle along in the circle of dancing students. There were a couple of students inside the circle beating big drums and everybody was singing a repetitive song. Good times!

Lola and Emmanuel

2007-10-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I brought 2 babies from Haven II House over to spend the night. After picking Emmanuel and Lola up, we strapped them onto our backs with chitanges (strips of material that women use for everything), in typical African fashion. We walked home with them, fed them dinner, played, and then put them to bed. They are both sound asleep in the floor right beside my bed. They normally wake up around 6, which will actually be sleeping in for me. We wake up at 5:45 to workout before 6:30 classes, but tomorrow is Zambian Independence Day, so I suppose we're 'free' from the workout. Precious babies that just need some one-on-one time to be loved on. I wanted to bring all the babies home.

Dancing and Dinner

2007-10-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

The talented band with their hand-crafted instruments.

Saturday, Leonard (our amazing cook) invited us to Kasibi, his village. When we arrived, everybody was already gathered under a couple of huge shade trees. There was a group of men making music and children were dancing. Upon closer look, the instruments were almost all handmade from scraps and any other available materials. So neat!

The children danced a song for us, then we were allowed to join in the festivities. Everybody danced and had a great time! We tried to do the moves that the children were doing, but it seems our bodies just do not work the same way. There were 3 year olds with more moves than all of us combined. The villagers seemed to all have a good time watching and laughing. Such a pleasant afternoon!

Sky and I both love to cook and have been planning a big Sunday night meal for a few weeks. We both wanted to create a big sit-down meal (we always eat buffet-style) where our entire group could completely relax and fellowship together. Mr. Don Oldenberg took Sky and me grocery shopping last week on 2 separate occasions. It is difficult to find all the ingredients you might have in mind, so the menu didn’t form completely until after visiting the 6 or 7 grocery shops and markets.

To make a long story short, I spent Sunday making preparations for the opening of Bella Zambia, our restaurant. Lots of people helped decorate and prep. Farron, our hostess, sat everybody as they came onto the candlelit veranda. Music played softly in the background while our 3 waitresses served bruschetta, lots of fresh fruit (watermelon, pineapple, oranges, and apples), cucumber and tomato salad, fresh green beans with garlic and olive oil, garlic bread, and penne pasta with an incredible African pesto/ alfredo sauce (not all at once, though). It was African because we used a local cheese in it, too. Matt, our bartender, served sparkling grape juice. Sarah made a rich chocolate, caramel, and whipped cream dessert that was the perfect ending to the evening. I think everybody enjoyed it and had a really good time together. Clay Bartee and Dr. Hopper were both in town this weekend, so they were also able to share our dinner, too. Louisa Duke, Meagan Hawley, and Ashley Ganus moved into the house they built next door, so they were able to join us, as well.

Northern Zambia

2007-10-19T02:27:00.000-07:00

These are some of the things I did on our 9 days of camping our way through the northern province of Zambia:

-Attended 5 different (long!) church services within a week- I have roll-over church attendance credit for the rest of the year!
-Swam underneath a freezing waterfall
-Saw many malnourished bellies accompanied by huge smiles
-Spent 3-6 hours on a big, yellow, un-air-conditioned bus
-Ate different ‘critters,’ including caterpillars and dried minnows
-Hiked 1½ hours to see a 3 foot waterfall
- Learned a card game called ‘Literature’
- Listened to the testimony of a converted Satanist (incredible!)
-Heard numerous Zambian choirs
-Choked down a burnt maize drink at 2 different churches
-Organized a talent show for our group
-Ate ice cream TWICE!
-Bacame comfortable with ‘geography stops’- girls to the trees on the left, boys to the trees on the right
-Witnessed the most beautiful sunrise on Samfya beach
-Watched traditional dancers perform
-Was awakened in the middle of the night to run with all my belongings out of the flooding tent into shelter (hysterical!)
-Read Long Walk to Freedom- Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah- I highly recommend this book to everyone. Read it!
-Visited the memorial where David Livingstone’s entrails are buried

This list does not do justice to all the things I experienced and learned on this camping trip. I have far too little time to go into further detail now, but I look forward to sharing my experienced further when I get home! Also, the HIZ group is in charge of the chapel presentation on Friday, November 30. We will be sharing experiences and have a slideshow. If you can, make plans to come! So, don’t save all your chapel skips until the very end…

Grade 3- Zambian Schools

2007-10-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

I promise to update on our 9 day camping trip to Northern Zambia, but so much happened that I don't have time to type it all out right now. Soon, though!

Today, Sarah and I taught in Ms. Sharon's Grade 3 classroom. There are four groups of children, grouped by their level of measurable intelligence. Sarah taught the advanced group time telling, while I had the remainder of the class for number trees. The children sat on the floor in front of the chalkboard where we did a couple of examples together. The students struggled with basic subtraction. Besides that, the students are accustomed to playing and poking each other with pencils while on the carpet. In the Zambian schools, there are far too many students, and far too few teachers, to actively engage every student. The truth of the matter is, children who goof around or are unmotivated in school are shuffled through with their classmates until they become old enough to fail a national test and begin working.

I am having a hard time coming to terms with the way things are here. I just don't understand. I definitely need prayers processing it all. Maybe I will come teach here.

Pictures

2007-10-04T03:50:00.000-07:00

The church building in Livingstone.

At the Basic School- Grade 9. Education in Zambia is only free through Grade 7, so these kids are serious about school.

My tutor, Maureen, cutting rape

Some of the group at Victoria Falls

Me, Sarah, and Ashley at High Tea at the Royal Livingstone Hotel

Livingston Weekend

2007-10-01T06:00:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, our group took a much-needed vacation to Livingston and Chobe Game Park.

We made the 2 hour ride to Livingston early Friday morning, so the entire day was free. Most of the group went white water rafting down the Zambezi, while others zip-lined or rappelled in the Gorge. I wanted to skydive, but it wasn’t being offered while we were there. So, I just took pictures at the Gorge. In the afternoon, those of us who weren’t rafting had High Tea at Royal Livingston Hotel. The hotel was beautiful and the scenery was extraordinary! The food was good, too. Ashley and I were both able to have cappuccinos, a rarity. On the grounds, monkeys scamper and play close-by and a cloud of mist can be seen across the lake from Victoria Falls. Apparently, a trip to Royal Livingston Hotel was a prize package on Wheel-of-Fortune and I can definitely see why!

Upon leaving the hotel, we went directly to Victoria Falls. While we were walking the length of the Falls, the sun began setting. The enormity and beauty of the waterfall, coupled with the huge, red sun and pink clouds created a sense of inadequacy, reminding me of how small I truly am. When gazing at a spectacle so huge that several long gazes cannot fully take it in, I am humbled that God created and called me… ME! What a wonderful thought!

On Saturday, the entire group bused an hour to the southern border of Zambia, loaded into small motorboats, and headed across the Zambezi River to Botswana. We spent the morning on the Chobe River with a tour guide named Poster. We saw a couple of crocodiles and lots of hippos, kudos, and impalas. We then had lunch at the Lodge, where we ate some of the types of animals we had just seen. After lunch, my group occupied 3 open-air vehicles for land safari. It was so neat to see so many elephants! We also found a pack of lions napping under a thick bush. My guide got us about 20 feet away! There were 8 lions lazing around. A couple of them looked at us and a couple rolled over, but that was the extent of our lion encounter. We also saw a giraffe running, which was funny.

Sunday, we attended church in Livingston. Including us, there were 300 people worshipping there. Sky Vanderburg preached and Brian Lancaster presided over the Lord’s Supper. Our group was asked to sing, so we did 2 songs in English and 1 in Citonga. Everybody started cheering and singing along to the Tongan song, completely surprised and appreciative. After shaking the hand of all 300 people present (plus lots of children) in a long receiving line, we left and had a picnic alongside the Zambezi. Afterwards, those who had not already seen the Falls did so while the rest of us shopped and browsed the local craftsmanship. We returned home in time for a quick dinner before attending church at Namwianga and singing for them at the end of service.

Now, we are all trying to get through these next 4 days, which prove to be extremely busy. We leave for Northern Zambia on Friday, so we catch our breath then.

**Harding University made the front page of the Zambian newspaper yesterday. The honorary doctorate received by the president was big news.

Grade 6- Cooking

2007-09-27T07:15:00.001-07:00

This morning at Basic School, Sarah and I both observed Grade 6. Ms. Loveless’ class was making nsima and relish for a cooking demonstration directly outside of their classroom. There were 4 or 5 girls (probably 12 and 13 years old) who cooked without any assistance from the teacher. No hands were washed. Over a small portable coal carrier, a pot of water boiled and some finely milled maize was added.

While that boiled for about 30 minutes, two girls washed and cut the vegetables for the relish in a big tub. They sharpened their extra-long knives on the brick walkway and set to work slicing heads of cabbage with downward strokes into their hands. Then they gathered the rapes leaves (which are large, loose leaves that resemble a mix between iceberg lettuce and spinach) and shredded them with the knives in the same manner. Then, tomatoes were diced and put directly into a medium-sized pot. The nsima was set aside to expand and the tomatoes were put over the coals. The strips of green vegetables were added into the pot. As it cooks down, more and more is added. Somehow, the ordinary sized pot of nsima has become a huge tub of the thick, white food.

Back in the classroom, I taught the 45 students how to add improper fractions. Once our mathematics lesson was complete, Ms. Loveless began dividing the food onto 4 plates for the students, one small bowl for Sarah and me, and a bowl for herself. We felt bad for eating some of the meager amount of food they had, but it is considered rude to decline food when offered. The teacher then poured clean water over a bowl in order for Sarah and me to wash our hands. The students all watched intently as we grabbed a small amount of nsima with our right hands (the left hand is ‘unclean’ and is not used for eating), rolled it into a ball, and dipped it into the relish. They thought it was so funny to see macuas (white people) eating nsima! It was like we were on display… They loved it!

When the teacher set the plate-fulls of food in front of the groups of kids, it was seriously completely consumed within 10 seconds. I have never seen anything like it!

Cultural Experiences

2007-09-26T22:40:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of long overdue pictures:

The medicine man/ herbalist on our walk through the bush.

Sarah, Courtney, and me on our way to church at Kasibi.

My tutor, Maureen, has gone out of her way to allow me to experience her culture. I have eaten with her and tonight will even prepare vegetables over a fire. She has let me try different drinks (made from fruits that we don’t have in the States) and is setting aside some milk to spoil so that I have the honor of trying this luxury drink.

Although we exchange questions about the other’s way of life, I would like to be able to allow Maureen to experience some aspects of my culture, as I am able to do with hers. If we can get supplies, Tessa and I would like to bake cookies with our tutors. I am at a loss for other activities that would give Maureen the chance to have some ‘American’ experiences. If anybody has ideas, they would be greatly appreciated!

Pertinent information for everyday life- Apparently, I have been spelling n'sima incorrectly. There is just one 'i.' So, now you know.

N'siima

2007-09-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, I went to visit Maureen at her dorm room. We went over to the dining hall and I saw where the cooks prepare n’siima for dinner. I was invited to stay for supper, so after we got our food, we went back to the dorms and sat outside to eat. We had n’siima with relish (with was a tomato and onion sauce), a small piece of beef (that was butchered yesterday), and a little cabbage.

I was asking about n’siima, and the girls said that if they go a day without eating it, they miss it and don’t feel full. They love it. For lunch and dinner, n’siima is prepared. It tastes good with the relish, but there is no way I could eat it twice daily.

Sleepover and Macha

2007-09-23T04:24:00.001-07:00

Friday night, Sarah and I spent the night with Ashley Ganus, Meghan Hawley, and 8 2-year old babies at Haven II House. Ashley and Meghan have been staying there for 2 weeks and will remain until their house is finished being built. Then, Zambian house parents will move into Haven II and so will the rest of the 2-year olds (some are also being kept at Eric’s House right now). Ashley cooked dinner- chicken, cheese dip, and tortillas. It was delicious! Then we tried to get the kids to dance. It’s hilarious how dancing is in their blood.

The kids slept through the night, so we were able to sleep in until 6:30. At 7, Louisa Duke picked us up and took us back home to leave for Macha. We didn’t think we were leaving until 10, so Sarah and I scrambled to get ready in about 3 minutes. Apparently, we were leaving at 7. That’s the good thing about only having very few clothing items… it’s easy to decide what to wear. We loaded into a bus with some other students for the 3 hour ride to Macha. The road was only paved for 1/3 of that ride, so it was pretty bumpy.

In Macha, which is a compound in the middle of the bush, we toured a Malaria Research Institute and hospital. The Malaria Research is collaborative with Johns Hopkins and was really neat to see. Apparently, they’ve published a couple of controversial findings and are waiting for other people to copy their studies. The hospital was laid out really well, but they are in desperate need of more doctors. Derek and Rachel would fall in love with the place.

Last night, a witchcraft expert came to speak with us. He also spoke this morning at church, will have another lecture this afternoon, and speak at evening service. Spiritual warfare is real.

Grade 9

2007-09-21T07:01:00.000-07:00

Leonard’s wife, Sheila, teaches upper-level English at the Basic School. Yesterday, she asked if I wanted to observe how a test is given. In the grade 9 classroom (which is the highest grade at Basic), she wrote the questions on the board for a ‘complete the sentence’ test on comparatives. After the students had re-written the sentences and turned their papers in, she had the Headboy of the school become the teacher. He stood up and went over the test orally with input from the rest of the students.

After the test, Mrs. Shiela left me with the class and I told them about myself and family. I had several proposals from 15 year old boys, but I let them know I was taken. They asked about our school systems and voting age (which is also 18 in Zambia). The Zambians are just as intrigued by my strange culture as I am by theirs. We ended up just asking questions for about 20 minutes.

***Please pray for Courtney Elder and her family. Yesterday, she recieved news that her father had died suddenly. I can't even imagine... She will be leaving tomorrow morning to fly from Livingston -> Jo-berg -> Atlanta -> Nashville. Laura Oldenberg is flying with her, so she will not be alone during that time. She's still in a state of shock. Please keep her in your prayers! Sarah and Courtney are my best girl friends here and our hearts ache for her. She will be returning in 2 weeks in time to go on the 9 day Northern Zambia excursion. We will all miss and worry about her while she is away, but continue to pray for her even when she meets back up with us. We all love her so!

Chitonga Tutor

2007-09-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night, we had a tea with some of the GBCC students to find out who our language tutors would be. The macua (white) girls drew a girl’s name and the macua boys drew a boy’s name. Then we all sat and chatted with our new friends for about two hours. My tutor’s name is Maureen Mafwafwa. She is 31 and has been married for over 9 years. Her husband and 8 year old son live in Choma (1 hour away), but are moving to Livingston (+2 hours away). I can’t begin to imagine how desperately she misses them both. She is so sweet and just as interested in my ‘weird’ culture as I am about hers. Maureen kept saying what a blessing it was to be chosen out of all the GBCC students to get new friends. I think both sets of students (GBCC and Harding) have wanted to be close friends since they got back from holiday last week, but we’ve all been intimidated. It’s so funny how we all come from completely different backgrounds, but at the heart are just the same. I love it!

Wednesday morning- It is the first time I have seen clouds in Africa. It is rumored that the rains may come early, but it still won’t be for several weeks.

Kasibi Church

2007-09-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

I'm a day behind... the story of my life! Maybe I'll be able to catch up soon.

Sunday- Most of our group went to church with Leonard at the village of Kasibi. It was about a 35 or 40 minute truck ride, so no telling how long it takes Leonard to get there by bike. Mr. Vann gave a spur-of-the-moment sermon because the members just ask visitors to give a sermon. They wanted our group to sing lots of songs, and we ended up singing 6 for them. After the children and two elderly men had sang for us, church was dismissed. The small churches I’ve been to so far form a receiving line as people exit the building so that everybody shakes everybody else’s hand. After the Americans all Germ-Xed, the members had chilled Cokes waiting for us. It’s incredible that we can be in a hut surrounded by chickens, poverty, and miles of nothing and be served a cold bottled Coca-Cola. Those were the best-tasting Cokes, not only because they refreshed from the heat, but also because it was evident that the members had sacrificed to make us feel welcome in their village.

We didn’t get back to the mission to eat lunch until 2:20, and the rest of the afternoon was spent playing games, being chased by a bat, and doing group Pilates (hilarious!). Brian Lancaster and I skipped evening church service (at Namwianga) because we were supposed to wash dinner dishes. Justin, the night security guard, came in and insisted on doing them for us. We were going to dry for him, so he said he would call for us when he was ready. But, he ended up doing everything and not letting us help. Zambian hospitality. People here are willing to do anything for each other. So sweet…

Cooking Experience

2007-09-16T00:02:00.000-07:00

I wrote this last night, but am just now able to post it:

Saturday- I was actually able to get internet access and post for the first time in a week! After getting back from Kalomo, one of our teachers (Ba Siazyu) and his wife came over. They brought one of their daughters and two of their workers and we had a cooking demonstration. It was really neat! They made a typical local drink (I already forgot the name) and chicken. For the drink, a huge pot of milled maize was cleaned and then brought to a boil. In another pot of hot water, ‘bush weed’ was left to bring out its sweetness. If you taste bush weed before letting it steep, it is extremely bitter, so it’s not quite like sugar cane. Once the maize had boiled, the water from the bush weed was added and the mixture was set aside to cool. Meanwhile, 3 chickens were being slaughtered. After the chickens were plucked, Michal Henderson and I disassembled one. I held the chicken still and cracked some bones and she cut the pieces off. The drink wasn’t too bad. The liquid part tasted like slightly sweetened rice water and the milled maize (which was about 2/3 of the ‘drink’) was bland. It works to quench thirst and fill tummies. Zambians make this all the time. The entire cooking process took about 4 hours. I can’t imagine living in a village and spending that much time over a fire every day. No wonder Africans have so many children; I would want as much help as possible making dinner.

Everybody is watching Blood Diamond right now. I saw it at the beginning of the summer and started having bad nightmares afterwards. I don’t know why, but I figured that I could watch it tonight and would be fine. Dumb idea. I sat through an hour and then had to leave. So, I came back to my house and picked up a little. I feel better now and am ready for bed.

Last Week- Summary

2007-09-15T00:56:00.001-07:00

We finally got internet again! Here is a brief overview of what I’ve been doing while I’ve been disconnected from the rest of the world. Our internt has been out for a week and will be out for at least another one. Some of us caught rides into town to get access. Hopefully I can remember all the highlights:

Saturday- Our group went on an early morning walk with a medicine man/ herbalist. He wasn’t old, missing most of his teeth, or wearing feathers and war-paint like I had assumed he would be. Instead, a middle-aged man greeted us dressed in a button-up shirt that had little horses and said ‘Canadian Rodeo Champion.’ He was only missing one of his front teeth. ☺ We followed him through the bush and stopped at several places while he explained which plants he used for what. Right now, it is so dry that all the plants look alike to me. They all look dead to me, but I guess they still work. Most of the plants had healing purposes like soothing a sore throat or stopping body aches or reducing symptoms of various STDs. The roots of one bush was for healing cobra bites and one was to bring luck to an unmarried person. I kept thinking about my brother, because this outing would have fascinated him.

Sunday- I attended church at the Namwianga church, right here on the mission. That is where all the students that go to boarding school here attend. Service is entirely in English, there is no hand-clapping, dancing, or anything else you would expect to find during an African service. It was an American service, basically. Sunday night, a few of us sat in on a chorus practice of about 8 Zambian Secondary students. They call themselves ‘Sweet Aroma’ and are incredible!

Monday- Most of us have either been sick (a stomach virus infiltrated our group and wiped several people our for a few days) or fighting off sickness, so after classes on Monday I stuck around the house to fend off an impeding cold and catch up on readings for class. In the afternoon, I played volleyball with a few girls. I am the least athletic or competitive person, so it was pretty funny. The other girls and several Zambian watchers just laughed at me. Afterwards, we chatted with Lompe (one of the singers in Sweet Aroma) and hung out with her. Two of the boys from George Benson Christian College (GBCC) came over after dark and taught us a few songs. Apparently, we are singing in chapel on Friday morning, 3 songs in Tonga and 1 English song that Sam (one of the boys) wrote.

Tuesday- In the mornings, we have class from 6:30- 8, then breakfast at 8. On MWF, we follow with chapel and various other classes. On TTh, there is chapel and then the morning is free for work and projects. So, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sarah Hackney and I leave as soon as we are done with breakfast and make the 3 mile walk to the basic school. Tuesday, I observed a Grade 3 class. The teacher I was with has been teaching for many years and went out of her way to explain everything to me. She had 33 students varying in age from 8-12. I will go into more detail about the school system at a later time. It is SO different than school systems in the States!

Wednesday- Class. Lompe came over and played Apples to Apples with a couple of us. She won. The boys from GBCC came over and we had singing practice for what felt like alllll night. Tonga songs are extremely repetitive, so singing the same thing over and over and over got old. We had fun with it, though. Some girls in our group started a girl’s Bible study. It was so lovely to just get with the other girls and talk with each other and to God… Precisely what we all needed!

Thursday- I was in Grade 6 at the Basic school. The teacher in this room hardly talked to me or the class of 42 students. This is her first year teaching and seems extremely intimidated and overwhelmed. I assume I am older than her. I graded every workbook 4 times (for different subjects). One group of about 10 students had to translate a passage from Chitonga into English. I was marking them for spelling and punctuation. Well, most of the passages completely lacked punctuation. I had no clue what the passage was supposed to say and none of the students’ work made any sense to me. I probably spent 45 minutes marking those blasted passages… As soon as I had finished with those workbooks, the teacher asked me to introduce and explain adjectives to the students. English is one of my favorite things in the world (Yes, I’m a nerd), so that was fun. Then I made an exercise for them to do and graded it. Afterwards, the teacher set the students on a Social Studies exercise. She wrote the answers on a piece of notebook paper, handed it to me, and walked out of the classroom. I didn’t see her again until after the bell had rung at 1:00 dismissing the students. Apparently, the teachers had a staff meeting. Sarah was thrown into the same situation with the Grade 7 class, but at least the teacher told her that she wouldn’t be back. So, I finished the Social Studies lesson, graded them, and finally decided that my teacher was not coming back. I read a book for 20 minutes to the students. They definitely did not seem used to being read to and absolutely loved it. All 42 of them were quiet until the bell. What an experience.

We have been on water conservation measures since Wednesday. No showers. We are allotted 2 gallons of water for a bucket bath. Also, last night the electricity was out for several hours, but we had fun and played games. I fear it will get old quickly, however...

Friday Night Fellowship

2007-09-08T07:12:00.000-07:00

Last night, a group from the Namwianga Mission loaded us in several vehicles and set across the sandy roads to a nearby village to sing and fellowship with a church. This body of believers gets together every Friday around 8 PM (which is fairly late… It gets dark around 7). After 20 minutes of being jerked about by the road’s unpredictable twists and potholes, we were greeted by our brothers and sisters gathered inside a small brick classroom, lit by a few candles and a solitary lantern.

Once we were all inside, the singing began. This singing was not the four-part harmony we’re accustomed, where notes become more important than the words sung and the heart that sings them. When the Zambians sing, they each use their entire voice and mean what they sing. While sitting in the crowded, dimly-lit room listening to the Zambians sing, my heart beat more quickly than normal and I felt full-to-burst of the Holy Spirit. There is no doubt in my mind that God is alive and working through those people.

Zambian Cuisine

2007-09-08T02:29:00.000-07:00

Leonard is the greatest cook! He makes breakfast, lunch, and dinner for us everyday except Sunday. He is large man that also answers to Rambo. He has a wife and 9 living children to provide for. Everyday, Leonard rides his bike several kilos on the sand and dirt paths/roads to get to and from work. Monthly, he makes the equivalent of 250 USD. That is big money here. Some of the workers who wash, hang, and iron the laundry make bout 20 USD a month… and that is good money here for what they do. I have difficulty accepting that if they were paid much more than normal South Zambian wages it would throw off the market.

The staple African dish is called n’shima (pronounced 'sheema'). It is made from ground white corn and is basically the consistency of mortar. It is filling and bland. Leonard made n’shima yesterday for our lunch along with some sort of chicken and sauce. The sauce is what flavored the n’shima as well. It was pretty good, but it would take me quite awhile to acclimate my body to eat n’shima for every meal.

Zambians do not eat yellow corn. It is considered to be fit only ‘for the livestock.’ Even in times of severe famine, people will sometimes starve before eating yellow corn. It would be like us eating dog food.

Linch is the main meal and almost everything we eat is fresh. We have some-what Americanized meals. Otherwise we would be eating n'shima with some variation of sauce for most meals. Instead, we've had meatloaf (the best I have EVER eaten), fried chicken, and beef jambalaya for lunch. Yesterday we had tacos and everything from the tortillas to the salsa had been made from scratch that morning. There has been a dark green salad with tomatoes and carrots at most lunch or dinners along with home-made rolls. The bread here isn't made with as much sugar as ours. It tastes more European (makes sense...). The juice comes from South Africa and is DELICIOUS! Cranberry-Kiwi has been my favorite so far.

Pictures

2007-09-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Me with baby Trevor

This is baby Emmanuel. I want to bring him home with me.

The house I live in!

It's a large thatched roof building. It is so much nicer than anything I had imagined.

The Clinic

2007-09-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

My group went to the clinic today, where I confirmed that medical care was NOT for me. At first, I sat in the room where Louisa Duke was seeing patients. An extremely dehydrated 7 month old came in. He saw wheezing and sucking his ribs in when he breathed. His soft spot was sunken in slightly and his head lolled to where he looked only at the ceiling. They tried to start an IV, with minimal supplies, but couldn't find a vein in either arm or strike a vein on his head. While they were trying to get the needle in, I started feeling queasy and had to step outside in the breeze. That stuff is just not for me.

In the lab, Willard does alot of tests for malaria, AIDS, TB, and, believe it or not, diabetes. It was really neat to be able to see it all work. However, power outages hinder his work terribly. Zambia is powered by hydroelectricity. Guess what... It's a drought year! Power outages are a constant threat.

Eric's House

2007-09-04T11:49:00.001-07:00

For the next couple of days, us students have been split into groups to do afternoon rotations between the clinic, Eric's House, and Haven I House. My group went to Eric's House today and played with the kids. It was so much fun, but absolutely heart-wrenching. The babies (ages 2 and up) are adorable, but, be it culture or just a background of hard circumstances, hardly smile. They have the biggest eyes that watch without giving away the thoughts behind them. And personality is definitely not lacking! :) Above are a couple of my favorite pictures. At the top, Trevor and Joel sit and play... They are the biggest chunks! Joel has the sweetest pout! At the bottom is my friend Kerri dancing with Glory.

Babies!

2007-09-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

We toured several places on the mission today, including the Haven I House. The babies 2 and younger stay here. Precious babies! But I can't explain any more right now or I might start crying.

Finally in Africa!

2007-09-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

Whew, it has been some kind of crazy trying to create this blog... in another language. Svenska. So, for those of you who know how technologically un-savy I am, you should appreciate this blog. I figure this will be the best way to keep everyone up to date with me while I'm here.

It is about time to go to bed, but I wanted to get this set up before. The flights were uneventful, which is probably a good sign. Little Rock->Minneapolis->Amsterdam->Johannesburg (South Africa, overnight)->Livingston (Zambia)->the Namwianga Misison (via big yellow unairconditioned school bus). We got here with all but 7 suitcases and one trunk of supplies. Incredible!

Funny story- In the Livingston airport, when our group was going through customs, the power went out. We all got through (slowly, like things here tend to be) and waited for our luggage. Since the solitary carousel wasn't getting power, the workers were blindly throwing bags through the little hole in the wall where the carousel would normally pick up the bags. Be it my lack of sleep, perhaps, but it struck me as extremely funny. Welcome to Africa.

I'm so excited to be here! The houses we're staying in are sooo much nicer than anything we dared to imagine. I am sharing a room with 3 other girls (Sarah, Tessa, and Katie). In totality throughout the house, there are 8 girls and Mr. Rackley, his wife, and 2 daughters. I have already had an encounter with a monster-sized spider that I am not allowed to kill. It eats the mosquitoes that would otherwise eat us, so we just have to let them be creepy. eee...

So far I have had good internet access, but nobody is sure whether it's just a tease or if it will always be this strong. I will try to update and describe things more clearly. Thanks for all the prayers sent for my group and me! Please continue to remember us! I love you all!