Inward Renewal

This Christmas we celebrated with my Aunt and Uncle in Lilongwe, Malawi.  My parents (Stan and Donna Armes) and our family took the 10hr drive there last Monday.  It was a beautiful and uneventful drive there.  We’ve never driven due east from Lusaka and we really enjoyed the mountains and crossing the Luangwa river.  While there we were able to relax, take plenty of naps, eat plenty of food, play games and simply enjoy the company of family.

I’ll share an anecdotal African Christmas story with you that my Uncle David shared with us.  You know the song, “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”.  You and I (and most likely any other American) will know that a “White Christmas” is referring to snow on the ground, covering the trees etc.  However, to someone who has never seen or heard of snow…the connotation can be quite different.  One such man after hearing this song concluded that a “White Christmas” was when many “white people” get together to celebrate Christmas.

It was a joy to spend time with my Aunt and Uncle who both grew up in Africa and have spent 23 years in missions in Africa (Rwanda, Mozambique, Malawi).  We just gobbled up our time with them and their many stories of God’s provision.

I have a woman named Loveness who comes twice a week to work in my home.  She’s a wonderful Christian woman who recently became a grandmother.  Her home is quite full with 4 children, one daughter-in-law and her granddaughter.  In addition to working in a total of three homes she has a side business of making chapattis.  For those of you who don’t know what a “chapatti” is…it is an Indian fried flat bread – somewhat like a tortilla but much tastier.  Having an aptitude for cooking and baking, she enjoys flipping through my cookbooks on her lunch break.  Last week, she read the recipe for sugar cookies and asked if I could show her how to make them.  The next working day she brought sugar, butter, and flour.  You can see the results below.  The cookies turned out fantastic and I hope they brought smiles to the faces of her large family!

Here are a few snaps of Ian at small group.  He has adopted the practice of entering the main living room area where we conduct our Tuesday evening fellowship and shaking everyone’s hand.  If that weren’t enough he also waves at everyone saying “Hiiii” and “Halo”.  So far its very cute and endearing to everyone in the group.  Eventually, he’ll have to learn that friendliness has it’s limits.

We had the privilege of seeing something that many people don’t get to view up close – elephants bathing, swimming, playing and mating in the water.  The Singletons, Hiltys and Armes decided to go in together to rent a boat and hire a river guide to take us out on the Zambezi River to see animals from the water.  It really was a spectacular experience.  We saw crock, monitor lizards, hippos and elephants.  And we were very close.  The elephants at first seemed skiddish that we were inching closer – but soon relaxed.  Our boat was so excited to view the entire event (lasting more than 30 minutes).  Here are a few pics:

While on holiday we took a short boat ride down the Kafue river to where in joins the mighty Zambezi River.  On our way we had to slow down for a pontoon that was ferrying a semi to the other side.  Cost is 40,000 ZMK for one vehicle.

The last time we took a ferry was crossing over from Botswana into Zambia.  It felt safe enough at the time.  But as we passed this particular pontoon with a fully loaded semi aboard, the ferry looked like it was leaning.  Capsizing at this spot wouldn’t be cool.  Our navigator was telling us stories about the many crocks and hippos that patrol these waters.

Christmas is the perfect time to encourage others in their hardships as well as honor relationships.  This year we felt like Ireen and Ian needed to see another angle to Christmas that they may not yet understand.  The Advent is more than toys and special events – its about Jesus coming to earth and making his dwelling among us.  How do we communicate that to our children?

God quickly put a family on our hearts – in particular a pastor and his family who have undergone considerable recent hardships.  We prepared a Christmas care package consisting of food and gifts for the entire family who live in nearby Linda compound.  Ireen made friends with their daughter some time ago and we’ve enjoyed a cordial relationship ever since.   Ireen and Ian came with us and were a little shy at first, but quickly warmed up and played with the children in the house.

With their electricty being out at their rental for more than a month and the pit latrine caving in during the rains (thankfully no one was using it at the time) they had to make the decision to move yet again days before Christmas.   They’ve brought in two more children into their home over the holidays (who are double orphans) with five of their own.  The wife’s father is suffering from leoprosy which is very agonizing for his entire family.

Yet in the midst of all this, this pastor is perhaps one of the most resilient men I know.  He loves the Word of God, has a very sharp mind, and is full of the joy of the Lord.  I know they appreciated our visit immensely, but as happens so regularly here we were the ones leaving the home feeling blessed.  I don’t know if Ian and Ireen gained a deeper understanding of the proactivity of God to reach out to us… but it’s a start.

We spent day one of our three day holiday at Lake Safari Lodge in Siavonga.  The view of Lake Kariba was a wonderful change of scenery though the temp there was much hotter than Lusaka (40 C).  Ian and Ireen enjoyed the two swimming pools so much.  Ireen spent hours in the water and by the time she was finished she was so exhausted.  Dinner was disappointing the first night, but the breakfast next morning more than made up for that.  Somehow, Lake Kariba reminds me a little of the Caribbean.

I had hoped to get a night tour of one of the fishing rigs that stays out on the lake all night fishing for kapenta (small fish similar to sardines). Kapenta rigs are pontoon boats often with rickety engines mounted on to the back.  They are also distinctive for their hoist and round net that lower into the water.  At night the fisherman shine lights into the water to attract schools of kapenta and then after two hours that make a lift.  Zambians love kapenta as a side dish for their nshima.  Besides the fact that it is high in protein, Zambians have learned to prepare it so that it is quite tasty.  I rather like kapenta with my nshima.

With the Advent season swirling about me, sometimes it’s hard to picture the circumstance and setting of my Savior’s birth.  For instance in Luke 2:4-7 we read:

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

To be honest, it’s not often that I feel the weight of having no place to lie my head down or being the lowly one.  But there are so many people around me this Christmas season that can relate.  Just the other day, while stuck in traffic I saw this street kid sleeping precariously on the railing of the Church Rd flyover (bridge).

I was convicted… Who knows whether there will be “room in the inn” for him tonight?  Which is worse: sleeping in the streets or sleeping in a cattle stall?  When I first arrived here, these things distrubed me but over time the experience of the poor, homeless and orphaned begins to fade.  It’s good to contemplate these things again…for them, they often have no place to go, no place to lie their head down in peace and security.

We decided to take Mom and Dad Armes to Siavonga for a Christmas holiday surprise.  Siavonga is a small town approximately 3 hours drive from Lusaka, making it a very attractive destination for a family with small kids.  Siavonga sits on Lake Kariba, a large lake created by damming the Zambezi River. Taking a look at a map of Zambia, Kariba is in the southeast portion of the country.  The lake is 280km in length and around 5,200 square kilometers.  Zimbabwe and Zambia share the shores of Kariba and also the dam itself – which provides a much needed electricity supply to both countries.

The dam was a joint venture for them both and was the largest dam of its time (1959).  The pictures to the left were snaps taken on top of the crest of the dam. Inside the dam are six 100,000 kW generators that generate power from the lake water falling 400 feet through a water chute. While at the dam, we learned that during the construction of the dam, 86 workers died – including 18 who are now entombed in the concrete.  Apparently, they never stopped pouring the million cubic meters of cement during construction to help these poor souls. After the construction was finished, the lake itself took almost 5 years to fill up to its current level.

I would highly recommend a visit to the dam, because there’s a lot of interesting information about the choice and selection of the site for the dam, as well as the process of clearing the lake 5,200 square kilometers of lake-bed of trees, villages, people groups, animals etc.  The dam and lake have created much needed industry for Zambia and it really is a beautiful place.  There is also some sadness too because the Tonga people in the area had to be relocated. Some of the towns that you pass on the way to Siavonga (like Lisutu) are displaced communities.

This year was our first year to have a year-end conference for the edification of our missionary staff.  Stan and Donna Armes (Andrea’s parents) graciously volunteered to put on a day-conference for the team.  Ciyanjano turned out to be a good location for us to hold the event, as it was close to Lusaka and cheap.  The topic covered was one that every missionary is familiar with: missionary stress.

It’s very interesting how many missionaries don’t even know that they live with unusually high levels of stress as overseas, cross-cultural workers.  Statistically speaking, most missionaries live with three times the stress that is normal.  So, it’s not surprising that over the long haul, missionaries make numerous changes to their assignment or end up leaving the mission field.  Of course there are many other reasons that contribute to attrition rate on the mission field, but its no secret that mitigating stress-filled lives and promoting healthy living is much needed.

Given that fact, Stan and Donna prepared for us a day seminar to help our team get thinking about the issue as well as point us in a God-centered direction as we look for assistance.  Steve Allen helped organize activities for the mission children.  We were particularly indebted to the Baptist Mission International Bible Study youth who volunteered to work with the kids.