Hello again! I hope all is well with you. This is what we’ve been up to:

10/3/09 The Funeral Celebrations and Rain Dance

On October 3rd we got a real treat. It was a real cultural experience. It really was. A chief’s brother had died a few months ago and the community was having another celebration to honor him. We got to participate! They danced around, hitting drums, making music on homemade flutes! It was a crowd of people that danced around the drums. The people with the drums would move frequently because of the dust that was stirred up. All of the visitors got pushed to the middle to dance around the drums. We must have been entertaining. Almost all the men were drunk. One old man grabbed my hand and started talking to me. I didn’t understand and asked him to repeat himself several times. My suspicions were confirmed when he said “Marriage”. I got away though. Two little girls grabbed my hands and we followed the crowd around. The women tied fabric around our waists and laughed at our dancing. One woman did that and then asked me for money for the fabric. I just smiled at her as if I didn’t understand her. She took it back later. My friend Brady and I were taught a dance that consisted of holding hands and walking in a line. Somehow we always messed it up and the woman made us do it over and over again. It was sweet of her but it was kindof funny. How did we mess that up? After a little while of doing this we all sat down near some of the huts. Everyone sat with their legs flat on the ground. We didn’t know it at the time, but one of the women (she was carrying a whip made of animal hair) was calling for rain. She is a powerful woman in the community. We talked about this with our Tonga teacher afterwards. The dancing, I think, was to appease the Gods. It did rain a little bit when we were there, during the middle of dry season. It hasn’t rained in weeks. Demons are real and they are given some power. The older men of the group were dressed up very strangely. I believe I saw one wearing a leotard, short shorts, knee socks, and something around his head. A lot of them were wearing women’s bathing suits with shorts. They were holding spears and intended to look fearsome. The Tongas are peaceful people and they don’t fight. This is to demonstrate that if they did fight, they would be scary. They actually were scary- they were leaping and stomping and whirling their spears around. We had to be careful not to get too close. I’m not sure if they intended to be funny, but they sure were. We got to meet the chief. He was sitting with other elders under a thatched roof with no walls. There were tarps on the ground and we came to him and got on our knees out of respect. Our Tonga teacher said some things to him. He seemed to receive us well. We didn’t stay there long.

10/8 Mumena

We arrived at Mumena the night of Thurs, October 8. We had dinner with the Mumena team. I sat next to Rick Love, a missionary who has lived there with his family since May 2008. He told us a lot of great things about his life here. He said that he enjoyed being on a team with members of different ages and experience. There is someone for him to look up to, learn from, and be the final word for important decisions. Groups often split up because there is no clear leader and they argue. Their group is made of Phil and Paula Boyd, their daughter Saundra and husband Brian Davis, and Rick and Karen Love. They have kids, too! Saundra and Brian have Noah (age 9) and Bryson (age 5). Rick and Karen have three: Matthew (age 4), Lydia (age 3), and Emily (6 mos.) Rick told us about a common struggle for African Christians: witchcraft. One man had been a preacher for 30 years but still practiced witchcraft. A huge problem is lack of healthcare, which pushes them to see witch doctors. If someone goes to see the doctor they are probably dying. The team encourages people to seek help before they are desperate. Many times they don’t realize it’s ok to use medicine from the bush. Rick has conversations with people: “Who put the medicine in the bush?”. He explains that because God made good things and gave them to us we can use them. Africans think that there’s impersonal spiritual power that they manipulate to heal people, curse people, get rain, etc. They think that if they do something (ritual etc.) they will get what they want as a payment. African Christians often approach God with the same mindset. They believe that if they are devout Christians, that God will answer their prayers. That’s how things work with demons! Why won’t it work with God? They don’t see themselves at the mercy of demons, they think that by serving the spiritual forces they have power. They think they are the manipulators. Demons may allow them to be so deceived, but God does not. They don’t understand when they pray for rain and it doesn’t come. God must not be powerful. We had a good evening. We slept in unfinished dorm rooms: concrete floors, tin roofs, sleeping bags, and mosquito nets. It felt like we were in Africa.

10/9

Today I met Rick’s wife, Karen, who has been such a blessing to me. She told me that being in Zambia has been great for their family. They spend a lot of time together. She also feels really safe here. We walked to class together. Before class we all sang a few songs and she cried. It was the sweetest thing. In our classes Brian Davis taught about the Kingdom of God, the worldview of the Koonde tribe, principles of church planting, demons, witchcraft, and working with your team members. He is a very wise person. I’ve learned a lot from him. I can’t even begin to explain. They are really good people.

10/10

Today we went to a Refugee camp, where we got to spend the morning and afternoon with the church there. There were a lot of kids. They sang a song or two and then we sang a few songs. After that someone would give a brief lesson (translated into French and English) and then we would jump up and down to stay alert. The cycle repeated itself three or four times. In the middle we stopped and ate lunch! They had all worked the Saturday before to have the money to pay for a goat. Wow. That was my favorite meal I’ve had here so far- that’s love. They didn’t even know us. We are brothers and sisters, that’s enough. In their culture children always eat last. It was really hard to eat in front of children that needed it a lot worse than we did. They gave us generous helpings. Once we found out that the children would be getting our leftovers we mostly stopped eating. We saw a mentally retarded child sitting outside the cooking room and they treated him with love. They used to think that his mental retardation was a demon. They were angry and ashamed of him. Brian Davis explained that he just has a physical problem, and now his mother smiles again. I’m glad that he was able to relate that to them. The common belief in Africa is that white people can’t be affected by evil spirits. At night we all dressed up to have Halloween with the kids. It was so much fun! We put charcoal on our faces and dressed up any way we could. Jordanne (my roommate) and I were barbarian princesses. We just took down our hair (we could have been cavewomen), put on chitenges, and put charcoal on our faces. It was so much fun. Everyone was so creative. The most culturally appropriate costumes were of a Tonga woman (my friend Katie) and her gigantic baby, who was on her back (Brady). The kids loved it. They were dressed as Darth Vader, Little Bo peep, a fairy, a Power Ranger, and Luke Skywalker. Daniel, who was dressed as a native (charcoal all over himself), found a baby bat! I didn’t think bats could be cute. The little guy was so precious.

10/11, Sunday 

We (Trent, Erin, Haleigh, Liz, Katie, and I) climbed into the back of Rick’s truck and drove to a newly planted church. When we got there we sat down on rough wooden benches under a thatched roof. The church is trying to build a building before the rainy season but is limited by a lack of skilled workers. The foundation is laid and they have bricks. We were greeted with a song welcoming us to the church of love, joy, and peace. Then Haleigh, Erin, and Trent acted out the story of David and Goliath for the kids. Rick was asked to speak and he spoke on the story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. (Matthew 14:22) He contextualized his message so they could see Jesus’ teachings in their own way. He told them when bad things happen keep looking at Jesus. Peter had faith to get out of the boat but he sank because he lost his focus. The disciples looked out of the boat and thought Jesus was a ghost. That’s exactly what Satan wants us to think, isn’t it? Jesus doesn’t expect or want us to pray for our children and wait, watching them die. He expects us to try to help them. Sometimes God says no. He is still good and he is still there. They were so good to us. Their worship was simple. I kept thinking about the things Rick had told us earlier about witchcraft. I wondered if this was a ritual to appease the spiritual forces or if this was pure worship.

10/16

 Today is our first day at the Havens after being gone for 9 days! When I first got there I just sat on the floor and played with the kids that were on the immaculate floor. There was one girl hiding under her crib. Sammy found her and we coaxed her out. Kurt was so responsive today, especially when I first picked him up. He smiled and laughed and grabbed my fingers. Later on he settled down. He was glad to be held. I felt like I could just put him on my back like the locals do and he would be content. I think t he kids missed us. It was fun to play with them, I’ve forgotten how precious they are. A lot of us came to the havens.

10/18

 I volunteered to help out with children’s church again this Sunday. We went to the church that meets in the Benson. I carried around the same little boy that would scream and cry unless he was held. He didn’t bother me this time. I didn’t let him. I just got a chair and held him as everyone else sang and danced around. The teacher this Sunday had a lot of control over the kids. She really held their attention and knew all their names. They did several songs and she told them the story of Samson. Some of the songs and activities: • “Have you been taking the time to be reading his word? It’s not for your mom and it’s not for your dad…”

• One about getting a partner and dancing in circles with them and then getting a new partner.

• A game with a bible- “What is this?” “A BIBLE!” “A BIBLE?” “A BIBLE!” • “Pamela” “Yes” “You select?” “Jonathan” “Jonathan” “Yes?”…. In some ways I really like how they treat their children. They don’t allow them to be brats. If someone is fussy they pick them up but they don’t fuss over them. There was one teacher and she had the attention of about 30 kids. I don’t see that in the US. They know respect.

10/24/09 A lesson on traditional cooking

Ba Siazu (our Tonga language teacher) brought his wife, daughter, and son to teach us how to make a traditional meal. We fixed three chickens, tomatoes, onions, and sweet beer. The chickens were bound together and a fire was going with a pot of water over it. We took them to the back and they killed two of them by sawing through their necks with a knife. My friend Derek killed the other one. It was bloody at first, and they had to hold them still until they actually died. They soaked the chickens in the hot water and we helped by pulling the feathers out. They came out easily in the hot water. It seemed as ordinary as shucking corn. Chickens are a good design. God did a good job with them. After we finished the feathers we washed them. Next, the son and daughter cut up a chicken. They started by sawing in a certain spot and then breaking the bone. They knew the anatomy of a chicken very well. They would cut right where the shoulder was and they had so many pieces of meat from that one chicken! It actually wasn’t gross until they started taking the organs out. When they started doing that I went to see what Mrs. Siazu was doing. She had cornmeal in a large bowl. She had a smaller bowl which had a screen over it and was mostly empty. She would stir water throughout the cornmeal and then she would pour the water out of it, through the screen. She seemed to be taking something out, little black dots. She would pour some of the water from the smaller bowl back into the larger bowl and repeat the process 2 or 3 dozen times. Some of us helped. Finally, she was satisfied. She poured the nsima mix into the hot water over the fire and let it get hotter, stirring occasionally and adding salt. About half an hour later we stirred roots into hot water and combined the nsima mix with the water from the roots to make sweet beer. We all had some! It was pretty good. It was sweet and it had a lot of corn in it. The top half of the glass was sweet and watery and the last half was almost all sweetened cornmeal. It was non-alcoholic, of course. When all three chickens were cut up they were put into a pot of hot water and left for 20 minutes. We cut up tomatoes and onions to eat with it. I washed pots with Mrs. Siazu. Nsima is very sticky and she used the sandy dirt to help get it off. She used dish soap too. She was so thorough with her cleaning! When it was all finished we ate it! And it was good. The chicken was really tender. The gizzard is the most prized piece of the chicken and it is an honor to be given it. No one ate the feet for some reason.

Sorry this is kindof rough.

We’re going on another trip! I’ll have to tell you about it later. We get back on sunday. We will be in the US in a month. How strange! Bittersweet.

Love you guys. (and really looking forward to seeing you!)

Hello there! Sorry it’s been awhile- we lost internet. I love you.

9/17
We got our babies today! Each of us chose one or more children to work with as much as possible. My child is Kurt. He is possibly an AIDs baby. He was born December 2nd of last year, so the test isn’t accurate for him yet. His parents are both blind and have AIDS. He has an older brother that lives at Haven 2. I’m helping him with sitting up. He is a cute little one. He has big eyes and seems optimistic. All the kids love to just be held. It’s very fulfilling.
9/18
Today I went to the clinic. I went in the afternoon and there were not many people there. One girl came in complaining of a pain in her side. Ms. Bingham thought it was pneumonia, but the X-rays (yes, x-rays! We got to watch) showed that her lungs were fine. She prescribed some painkillers (I think they were over the counter but I’m not sure) and told her to go to the hospital if it got worse.

The Mann House

I forgot to tell you about where I live! I live in the Mann house, which is owned by the Mann Family. They visit once a year for a few weeks. There’s a spacious common area and four small bedrooms, each with a bathroom and a closet. We have mosquito nets over the beds. My roommate is Jordanne Case, and she’s wonderful. There is also a kitchen. The house has cement walls and a thatched roof. The doors and windows have bars on them. The tops of the walls have razor wire, just in case someone or something gets through the thatched roof. It is a fortress! There is a night watchman. I feel very safe here.
9/20
Rural Churches
Today we drove 2 hours to visit our brothers and sisters in a rural church. There was probably fifty members of the congregation. I sat down next to a girl about my age and she was immediately my friend. We’re penpals now! She gave me her address and her dad’s cell phone number. It’s really amazing that people that live in huts have cell phones and come to church wearing very nice clothes. She, like most people, knew English. Their pronunciation is different in a lot of words, though. For example, “Church” = ”Cheerch”.
We were told a story about two women and the Holy Spirit. At the mission here they had an outreach and baptized people all day. At the very end of this very cold day two women came to them and were baptized. They had been studying with them and decided that they wanted to give their lives to Christ. They baptized them and sent them home dripping wet on a cold day. They were from a very small village very far away, so they were probably the only Christians in the area. The missionaries looked at each other and wondered what would come of them. About five years later they found out that there was a small but thriving congregation in this small village. The women had converted their husbands and one of them became the leader of their small church. They also converted four other women who also converted their families. I think that the original two women and four of their friends started the church. Wow. We visited them on 9/27 and they were most welcome to us. We stayed after service and ate shema (cornmeal), goat, chicken, and (non-alcoholic) sweet beer made from corn.
9/24/09
I didn’t do much today at all. I was feeling lazy and a bit sick. I went out on a walk with my friend Sammi and we ran into a new friend named Kasam. We talked for hours! We saw a snake, a baby puff adder. He asked a passing car to run over it and they did. He told us about culture and about how some of the people in the last group were outgoing and would always be in the dormitories, having fun. I don’t do that. I keep waiting, half hoping it won’t happen, for someone to invite me over. I need to be more outgoing. At the same time I shouldn’t be hard on myself because I have a lot to do here. We travel all the time, I’m taking 18 hours of classes, and we visit the Haven, the Clinic, and Eric’s House (a house for orphans that probably won’t be adopted).
9/26
The Chief
Today Honorable Chief Sipatunyana T. Masaka came and spoke to us about culture, politics, and his life. We sang a Tonga song to him when he first arrived. He showed up wearing a black suit jacket and khaki pants and seemed to be a powerful man. He spoke with his hands in his pockets. In church if you speak with your hands in your pockets they say you are prideful. He started by talking about how he spoke to the group last year and he had hoped to prepare more things to say but he ran out of time.
He started off by giving us several definitions of culture. He then moved to the government here. There is a small group of elderly men that choose the next Chief. He became a chief at age sixty and is now sixty six. Chiefs never retire; they are a chief as long as they live. His death will be like the “end of the world.” He said that he will be willing to die when his time comes. He will have a funeral for seven days. He talked about three types of marriages: the traditional way of the boy’s parents looking to nice (good humored, well mannered) families and choosing a wife for their son. The second type is a young man chooses his bride and goes to the family with a gift. The mom always tells him no. Sometimes they ask him to build a barn etc. and see if he can properly take care of their daughter. Once the bride’s parents are convinced he would be a good husband they can be married. There is always a bride price that the family of the groom or the groom himself must pay. It is not barbaric; it is not like buying people.
He talked a lot about how westernization is replacing (destroying) their traditions. This is so true and it’s sad. He started talking about small things that were different: the use of coffins, men and women using the same toilet, ceremonies changing, marriages changing, and people becoming more time-conscious. Then he said that to westerners time was equal to money and that he was starting to waste our money. He was serious and I felt really bad about it. Most of us were slumping in our chairs and it was evident that we were ready for him to stop talking. He spoke for a few more minutes and then sat down in the back of the room with the other adults. We were allowed to ask him questions. In answering them he told us about his life. He had two wives, not at the same time. The first one went away I think. He had six girls, one boy, and one lost. I asked him what his responsibilities were as chief and he said that he is the traditional ruler. He sees that culture is observed and that people behave. He also works with the government for modern development. It was a treat that he came to speak to us. He is a very highly respected and busy person.

9/29
St. Mulumba
Today we went to St. Mulumba’s school for the blind, deaf, and mentally retarded. It was my favorite thing we’ve done this whole trip. They all came out to meet us at the fence around the school, waving and making other welcoming gestures. It was pretty intimidating for some reason. Still, it was wonderful. Deaf people are so expressive. Those kids are so beautiful. There was one mentally retarded girl that was overjoyed to see us. She probably hugged all 25 of us at least once.
The headmaster took us into the staff room and told us about the school. The school was started by a Catholic Nun from Ireland who, visiting villages came across many disabled people that had no access to education. The children would literally stay at home all day every day. She raised money to start a school in 1991. Originally it was just for the mentally retarded, but it grew to include the deaf and the blind. The Catholic Church has stepped back and the government runs it. The facilities were built by the Catholic Church and the government pays the teachers and others that work there. The parents of the children pay only for their children’s food. It seems like it was the equivalent of 400-500 USD. The government has given the school land to expand on. Someday they hope to raise money and go up to grade seven or nine.
Their students move at their own pace through the grades, so they finish at different ages. It’s a huge adjustment for them to go from sitting in their house all day to living with dozens of other children and sitting in a chair at school. The new kids stay in one class until they decide that they would like to learn. From there they go from grade to grade at their own pace. They are divided in groups according to their disability. The teachers are government workers and they seemed to be very capable people that are doing a good job. The kids also live at the school. They have big rooms with tidy little bunk beds. There are 32 kids that live in each room. It’s kindof overwhelming. They have no privacy. The classrooms are simple: concrete floors, chalkboards. The deaf children had insulation on the walls because the vibrations in a room really bother them. They had a lot of handmade drawings and posters on the walls in the rooms for the deaf and mentally retarded children. The blind children had some pieces of paper with shapes pressed into them (the kids probably made them) on the wall.
The headmaster had so much pride in his students and his school. I could count on my hands the number of people I’ve met who seemed to enjoy their jobs as much as he does. He was especially proud of his students excelling in sports. “They do better than ordinary children! They are serious about their sports.” Two of his students flew to America in 1991 to participate in Special Olympics and each brought back a silver medal. He took us into his office and showed the medals to us as well as several others.
We got to meet the kids! They are so energetic, especially the deaf children. They were like normal kids when they were all together- lovingly picking on each other etc. They really loved to have pictures taken of them. I sat on a sidewalk and four deaf girls came and sat beside me, signing to me and pointing and everything else!
*****
Zambians don’t think of disabilities in the same way we do. Everything is tied to something spiritual. They probably think that a witch caused them to have a disability or that their ancestors were offended. It reminds me of the question Jesus was asked “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents?” They believe they are disabled for a reason. Interestingly, we have heard from the missionaries that those with disabilities are largely accepted by the community. When we attended the funeral there was a man that spoke to us but not in English. We assumed he was speaking Tonga but we found out that he wasn’t speaking any language at all. We were told that he is crazy but harmless. The community didn’t put him in a special home or distance themselves from him. They just let him be who he is.
People live with their extended families here. Instead of calling their aunts, uncles, and cousins by the titles we do they call them mother, father, sister, or brother. To not do so would put space between them. That’s just how they do.
*****
I can imagine from re-reading this that it seems like I think this is a great culture. I think it is great but it’s not perfect and it’s not better than ours. Neither is best, they are just different. They can’t be compared. I’ll try to share more of the harder things about this culture.
The church here struggles with witchcraft and polygamy. One of our teachers warned us (as many of us will likely be missionaries in Africa) that we would be very frustrated at African Christians. They will appear to be very faithful Christians, but they go back to their roots in times of trouble. For example, if someone in their family gets sick they will likely pray for them and also call in a witch doctor. Sometimes they don’t see a problem with it- they’re just covering their bases. “If praying doesn’t work then maybe the witch will.” Witch doctors put cuts on people, give charms, and do unspeakable, disgusting things- definitely demonic. Super evil.
African Christians probably wouldn’t want to talk to us about those struggles, either. Makuas (white foreigners) don’t take witches seriously. They’re the cute old ladies that ride around on brooms. We’ve made something that is disgustingly evil into something that is comical. Personally, Hocus Pocus was one of my favorite movies growing up. I also dressed up as a witch on Halloween for 4 or 5 years. I had a lot of fun. Is that wrong? It’s certainly unwise. Ignorant. It opens up a way to be deceived. It makes it hard for us to relate to our African brothers and sisters.
We went to this museum and I read some articles about witchcraft. They fell into two categories: articles against individuals publicly calling people witches and articles about the activities of actual witches. One of them was about the confession of two women who were eating a corpse to gain magical powers. One of them also confessed to taking a hand- she was saving it for later. Satan does not hide here. He is so disgusting. I’ve been learning a good bit about Satan since I’ve came here. He is so real and he is the complete opposite of God in every way.
I’m learning about the Holy Spirit too. One of my favorite thoughts is the fact that we are all connected to God and each other. We are never, ever alone. We’re more together right now (yes, now!) than we could ever be with other people, even if we are physically sitting right next to them. We are the body! He is establishing a nation. We are scattered throughout time and all places but our hearts beat as one. His Spirit transcends all boundaries! When we drive away from rural little churches I can rejoice in the fact that I will see them again. Probably never again with my eyes, but that’s ok.

That’s the thing with investing yourself in people. You start to love them. We’re going to be very sad when we leave.
*****
I write like being here’s great and fun and it is, but not all the time. It’s always a blessing but I don’t always want to be here. A lot of days I’d really like to just be absorbed into a book or a movie. I was really convicted about that today. (10/01) I haven’t been giving myself completely to this experience and these people. I’ve been kindof holding back- emotionally, spiritually. I give my time but not always myself. I don’t want to live like that. Only God can change this and I need to give up bad attitudes daily.

9/30
Today I stayed home (I’m germy from my cold) and did homework. I don’t want to get any babies sick. I put my jeans on under my skirt! I feel very myself. They’re like my security blanket.
I’m being ridiculous.

We’re going on a trip this week! We’ll be gone from october 7 to october 15. We’re going to Mapepe Bible College, to visit missionaries at Mumena, to Maheba Refugee Camp, visiting new churches, and Chimfunshi Wildlife ophanage trust (chimpanzees are rescued and cared for there). We’ll be in Northwestern Zambia. I’m really excited.

Hey there! I hope you are doing good!

Yuck. You are just too far away. Whoever you are. I love you. And I probably miss you.

Sorry this is the first time I’ve posted. I just don’t know what to say. So I wrote 5 pages. Words just don’t cut it at all.

My teammates are a blessing. Oh yes!

God is so good. He is here.

I am so thankful for the medicines my church family gave me for the clinic! (Hi, Highland View!) There was so many they couldn’t fit (spread out) on my kitchen table, much less my suitcase! It is incredible. I took some in my suitcase and some is being sent over in a container. I’m not sure when it will arrive, but it will likely take a long time. It’s ok. They are still very happy to have this medicine.

Dr. Benson, the former president of Harding, helped start Namwianga’s clinic. It is supported by Churches of Christ. People walk to it, sometimes from quite a distance.

9/3/2009

Arrival

We flew from Memphis to Boston to Amsterdam to Lusaka. We spent the night in Lusaka and then drove 6 hours to Namwianga. We were greeted by about 30 children singing “Wabota”. They were so precious! They held a big banner welcoming us. We now know these children. They are orphans that live at Haven #2. They were (and are) very eager to be picked up with and played with. We met several of the Aunties, who take care of the kids. We also met the Merritts and the Gregorsons, who have been here for years. We live very comfortably. Tile/concrete floors, running water, electricity (most of the time), and hot water (sometimes). We thought we would be ‘roughing it’! There are always big spiders in the house, but they leave us alone. The most common ones are ‘wall spiders’ and they just stay on the wall and eat bugs. They are 2 to 3 inches in diameter. I haven’t seen a single snake yet (as of 9/17).

We are taking lots of classes. I am taking a class on John, Medical Missions, Humanities, Missionary Anthropology, Tonga (the local language), African History and Literature, and an internship. They are fantastic. We learn then we see and do.

9/6

 A Funeral

On September 6, 2009 we attended the burial of a 14-year old boy who had died in a car accident. He had a mother, a father, and sisters. Many people came to the burial. I think it was a community event to show support to the family of the boy. We arrived in an ordinary looking field and joined either the group of women or the group of men. We greeted everyone and then sat down and kept silent. We came together and sang a few Tonga hymns. After twenty or thirty minutes a car with sirens came through the field and it contained a casket. The men took the casket out of the car and placed it into the hole. They mixed the leftover dirt with water and filled the hole back up. It was a group effort: whenever someone got tired the shovel was passed. It was a very personal goodbye. After the hole had been filled up different groups of people were called up in Tonga to place flowers in the soil above the grave. Many, many people placed flowers on his grave. One woman fell on the ground out of sorrow. Other women wailed a little. It sounded like they were devastated. It was hard to hear but I think it’s healthy that they express their grief. It felt very real to the rest of us. A few people came up and talked about him. The head of education, the only man who spoke in English, said some things that surprised me. He said that he was a great student and that his place would never be filled. He was a great son and his sisters could never fill the gap in their parents’ lives. He urged his sisters and fellow classmates to close the gap. He urged them to remain focused on doing well in their exams and not to let this tragedy distract them. He comforted those who were mourning by telling them they would soon forget this sorrow. In America normally people comfort others by saying that the person will never be forgotten. I think by saying that he meant that the pain would pass, not that they would actually forget the boy. The fact that the Minister of Education spoke at his funeral shows that education is important to them.

Life isn’t easy here at all. People are devastated when they are sad but they are also joyful when they are happy. They are expressive.

I thought I was coming here to help. To teach. I thought I was needed. Really I am here to learn. About God, about people, about life, and about myself. I am here to serve. To give.

9/7

The Haven

We got to volunteer at the Haven today! I went to Haven #1, which has the little babies. There are four rooms with 8 to 12 babies in each room. They are all so sweet and alone. The woman who oversees their development gave us a talk. Her name is Megan and she is amazing. She loves the babies so much. She can list off all of their names and quirks by memory. She told us that most of the children aren’t really orphans; they are just taken care of until they are healthy. If there is no one to nurse babies they often die because formula is so expensive. She told us to try to not feel bad about the kids not living with parents because being in the Havens is the best thing that can happen to them in their situation. They are well taken care of considering that the standards in Zambia are lower. They are prayed over daily. They are bathed three times a day and their sheets are changed three times a day. They spend a lot of time in their beds, unfortunately. Most of them are really small for their age and very behind on their development. The aunties are vigorous in taking care of them. I don’t know how they do it. I really don’t.

9/8

Culture

 The culture here is very different. Male and Female interaction is very limited. Children are seen and not heard. They eat after the adults. Respect of older people is expected. Greetings are vitally important. Women are considered less than men and are valued by how many children they have. Education is very important. They don’t care about time. If you are less than an hour late to most things you aren’t really considered late. They are relationship-oriented. English is the official language because there are so many different tribal languages (72 just in Zambia). People drive on the opposite side of the road. (not the wrong side, the opposite side!) Flies land on people and they don’t swat them away. I tend to think people are very different, but once you get past the surface it seems like we aren’t so different. People are people everywhere you go. God is everywhere.

 9/11

 The Haven

 The aunties have been very kind to me. Today I gave some of the kids baths and dressed them. They are really fast and thorough at bathing them and I am really slow at it. They laugh at me and I laugh at myself- it works! I couldn’t imagine seeing those kids every day. They are wonderful but quite overwhelming. Sometimes I walk into a room and nearly a dozen dark, perfect eyes meet mine and I just want to run away. It’s worse when they’re crying. The Aunties might be considered harsh if you were using American standards, but this is Africa. They have a lot of kids to take care of. Sometimes they pick up a baby by one of their arms, bathe them roughly, etc. It’s not careless. They show love in different ways here. I don’t understand and I’m trying not to pass any judgments. They do what they do in the way they do it because they have to. We were told to have the general attitude “Not good, not bad, just different” about everything.

Church

We’ve had the opportunity to go to a few churches here. Normally they sing a few songs in Tonga and then invite us to sing a few songs. Their belief is that visitors bring blessings! They like our guys to do a part of the worship- at times that means giving a sermon with very little notice! There is always a translator. They’re pretty laid-back. Their worship is simple. Afterwards we shake hands with literally everyone. They form a chain and everyone moves down the line greeting everyone. I love it. Here we shake hands with people that are older than us by using a hand to support our arm and giving a curtsy or bow.

The Market

We’ve also had the opportunity to go to the market! Dried fish, chitenges, (material women use as skirts etc.) and other clothes were most common. At one stand we found a stack of world bible workbooks. They fill out questions about the bible, mail it in, and someone in the US grades it and mails it back. People bargain as a way of life and I’ve learned to not feel bad about it. What would you think about someone if they paid $10 for a coke? What would overpaying say about us? We want to become like them, so we must bargain. Some of us received marriage proposals, to which we always reply “I have other plans.” Our professors really prepared us for this trip.

9/12

Dancing

We went dancing tonight! And we didn’t know we were until we got there. We were invited to a welcoming something in an auditorium. Soon students invited us onstage and we just went and danced with them. We wrestled with wondering if it was appropriate in their culture. At Harding dancing is considered immoral, but here it’s just part of the culture. They laughed at us because we didn’t know how to dance like they dance. One girl said “Here we dance with our hips!” I didn’t dance with my hips at first and several people tried to teach me how. They would pass me off from friend to friend, each insisting, ‘Teach her to dance!’ I finally gave in. If we hadn’t danced it would have placed an unnecessary barrior between us. For example, in their culture knees and thighs (especially for women) should be covered up at all times. They consider exposing knees and thighs to be inappropriate and we do not. They consider dancing to be appropriate and we do not. Things are just different here and we should try to be flexible. Dancing is not a salvation issue. After we danced in the auditorium we joined a group of people who were dancing traditionally in anticipation of the wedding that would go on the next day. There was someone playing a drum and there was a circle of people, mostly girls and older women, who were dancing around it. They went around and around. They were happy to have us join them because we were very entertaining, apparently. There were two older women that would literally fall in the dirt laughing at us. I liked the traditional dancing the best because we did it in the dark. All the dances were pretty similar. The girls and older women were really enjoying themselves! Sometimes they got excited and ran into you or urged you to go faster by pushing you. It was a very joyful, all generations thing. We left in time to get back home at 10:00. They danced through the night! We weren’t entirely sure that our dancing was appropriate, but the wedding answered our questions. Once we saw little kids dancing down the aisle we knew that our dancing had been completely acceptable.

9/13

A Wedding

 The wedding started two hours after the invitation said it started. We all went to the Johnson Auditorium. The benches were lined up on the sides of the wall. There were a good number of people there. We sat and talked with one woman who told us a little about what was going to happen. She explained to us that the bride and groom would be very solemn to demonstrate that they were taking marriage seriously. As we were sitting there they were putting up balloons. There were two men at the front. The DJ was playing really fun, loud music. Finally the wedding started. Six children, three girls and three boys, made their way to the front by dancing to the music. There were two women dressed in bright pink, the matrons of Honor. They directed the dancing. After the children six women and six men made their way to the front. The women were wearing red dresses and the men were dressed nicely also. They danced up and down a bit before coming to their places onstage. Finally the bride’s father walked his daughter down the aisle. They both looked very serious. She had on a very white, western-looking dress. She had a huge train and a very sparkly something around her waist. Her veil completely covered her face. The ceremony was very western, with emphasis on the importance of being faithful to your spouse. This seemed like it was more for the community than for the couple. A lot of people came, especially to the party afterwards. A child or two wandered onstage and it didn’t seem to bother anyone. The bride and groom did their vows without cracking a smile. I wondered if their marriage was arranged, but after the words “You may now kiss your bride.” we all knew they liked each other. The crowd went wild. The women made this loud, indescribable, happy noise and others clapped. The parents of the grooms looked overjoyed. I bet it was a struggle for the new couple to be serious. They went to a table and each used a candle to light a single candle. Then the bride held the groom’s arm and the groom put his hand on his chest. They paused for pictures before they went down the aisle.

9/16

The Herbalist

Today we went out with our language teacher, Mr. Siazu and his friend, the herbalist. He treats people with natural remedies. It was fascinating! He started off by bringing a piece of plant that helps with snakebite. It is called Tati and it is kindof rubbery. You cut it into small pieces and boil the pieces in water. The person drinks the water and is often spared from death. He walked us around Namwianga, pointing out different (often insignificant-looking) plants. The first plant we came to was a bush called Musombo. It is used to also help with snakebites. It is an indicator of a large supply of water, so when people are digging wells they often choose to dig under the plant. The wecond plant we came to is called Mutenga. It is a bush with small, dark green leaves. It “helps men that become sexually weak.” You boil the roots in water and drink the water. The reason for boiling, he says, is “to take out the very best in the plant”. We also saw a tree called Mwandwa muula, which helps impotent women get pregnant. Mr. Siazu said that normally if a couple can’t have children the woman is blamed first. We also saw Mukunku, which helps relieve toothaches. You boil the leaves of this tree and “once it toughes the tooth it kills the germs that cause the pain”. Next he pointed out an unfriendly looking bush that is used for STDs. Like most of the plants, you boil the roots and drink the water. The herbalist treats STDs most often. People tend to be shy about admitting they have STDs, especially to the nurses in the clinic. It’s more natural for them to go to someone they know, the herbalist, and get natural help from someone they trust. He said that even though he is an important member in the community he is not seen as a spiritual figure. We also saw Musekese, which relieves paralysis. He said that many people that have had strokes take it and it helps them. He talked about how he understood that it was a medical condition and not something caused by a witch. He showed us a large tree near the hamby house that helps with vomiting and diarrhea. It is called Mukuyu, which means fig tree. You boil the bark and drink the water. The last thing he showed us was a jar of burnt bark, which helps with pain. He makes small marks and smears the powder into it, making a series of tattoos. They are painful, but it really helps in taking away the pain.

            I think this is wonderful. I wish that there were more herbalists that worked in hospitals. Hospitals don’t have enough medicine but that is okay if there is another way to cure diseases.  This is a good option economically as well.

 

I don’t think I want to do Nursing. I really love the idea of nursing, but I have other interests. I honestly don’t think I could do it. I don’t want to enough. I would rather do prevention. Nurses are amazing people and their job is a great opporitunity to minister to people. At the same time you can work all day caring for AIDS patients and at the end of the day they still have AIDS. Not that Nursing isn’t valuable, but there are other things I can do. I’m interested in Nutrition, Development, Health Education, Agriculture… I’m so excited! I might get a BA in Dietetics and go on to get something in agriculture or something. I’m also a Vocational ministry major (doing ministry while working a job- like tent making). Whatever I do it has to be something that I can get a job with. I want to be Vocational.

A lot of us have joined the choir and are learning how to sing tonga songs!

Thanks for reading this loooong thing! I might put pictures up sometime. They use a lot of bandwidth, though.

Hello!

This is where I will keep you updated on what’s happening in Zambia! I hope to be able to update at least once a week, but the internet goes in and out a lot there. If I don’t post something for a long time please don’t assume anything’s wrong! It’s probably just the internet. Thanks so much for all your prayers and support as we’re preparing to leave. We’re so excited!

I know it says “lauramitchellsblog” but this is God’s story! He is writing it and I’m blessed to be in it. I am so thankful that I get to do this. I hope you see this blog as evidence that God is everywhere!

My church family is very generous! Thank you to all of you who gave me medicine or money. I recieved about 250 items and over $300 to buy supplies with! I have so much stuff that I can’t take it all myself- it won’t fit in my suitcases. My friends are going to put some in their suitcases!

About the trip:

There’s 25 of us going to Zambia, which is located in the southern part of Africa. We’re all students and teachers from Harding. A lot of us are Nursing or Pre-med majors.

We will be staying at a compound called Namwianga. We will get up with the sun, have school, and then get to work in a clinic, school, or orphanage. We will each have a baby assigned to us. We will play with them and love on them during the day. The ‘Aunties’ take care of them, we’re not going to be with them day and night. The babies have their basic needs met, we’re mostly there to help them develop. I’ve heard that the babies are slow to learn to walk etc. because there’s no one to help them learn. I know there’s been some confusion on this, but I’m not taking any babies home!

In the clinic we will get to take vital signs (blood pressure, weight, temperature, etc.) We will also be giving shots.

 If you want to see more about Namwianga you can see their website at: http://www.zambiamission.org/

 

Namwianga Mission

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Namwianga Mission was established in 1920 in Kalomo, Zambia under the Churches of Christ with the purpose of teaching the Bible and promoting Christianity.

On the mission site there are six elementary schools, four junior high schools, and three high schools. Namwianga also contains the George Benson Christian College, which trains secondary teachers in the areas of Math-Religious Education or English-Religious Education, and many graduates go on to plant churches around Zambia.

The Namiwianga Mission is also involved in orphan care. The orphanages include Eric’s House, for older children and teenagers; Kelly’s House, for toddlers; Eleanor’s House, for newborns and babies; and the newly-constructed Marjorie’s House, which will house HIV/AIDS children.

 

If you want to see a satellite photo (I think it’s pretty old) of Namwianga, click here: http://www.maplandia.com/zambia/southern/kalomo/namwianga/ and make the map go up until you see a larger cluster of buildings. It has one distinctive building that is a square with a courtyard in the middle.

 

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