Inward Renewal

We had a full house over the past three days.  Kelly, Tricia and Lucas Huckaby have been staying with us for their first week in Zambia.  And we’ve had two other guests staying with us who are on their way towards Cairo.  Luke Anderson and Jordan Mary are MK’s (missionary kids) from Cameroon west Africa who decided that they wanted to see the “rest of Africa” over their summer off.  Thousands of bicyclists, overlanders, motorcyclist, hitch-hikers and tourists aspire to this feat every year, with their starting point in Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt.  Both arrived with many stories to tell about their adventures, but are sure to make plenty while they journey through Zambia.  Luke and Jordan said they had only to cross over into Zambia at the Kazangula border and they knew that they had arrived into the “real Africa”.  They’ve been stuck here, waiting for repairs to be completed on their bikes.  Things are happening on an Africa time frame – which has pushed them to their limits.  They’ve decided to shift to Eureka Campgrounds until everthing gets sorted. We’ve enjoyed having them in our home this week and are praying that God keeps them safe on the crazy roads of southern Africa.

Lot’s of things still seem different about Lusaka, even though we’ve lived here for close to 5 years.  Andrea and I got a kick watching a “work crew” do their thing as we sat at the gas station refuelling our vehicle.  The scene before us just seemed really comical…  Are we just crazy, or are there unusual things about the sight?  We found about 5 things amusing.  What about you?

While at the chalet worksite one of our workers (Richard) was quick enough to catch a mouse that had burrowed a hole next to the foundation’s footings.  With lightning speed he pounced upon the rodent and raised it into the air proudly.  Many Zambians consider field mice a food delicacy and are quite willing to dig for them in the fields, but they also clearly despise house rats and make a clear destinction between them and the field mouse..  After the mouse is killed it is then cooked by boiling water and then stirred in to mealie meal (corn meal) into it until it gets thick.  If you were to eat at Richard’s home the same evening, chances are … as a guest, you would be served this prized delicacy.

Last weekend was one we won’t forget for some time to come.  I constantly have my ears open for new and exciting family outings here in Lusaka.  So, when a teammate called and said that Michael W. Smith was going to be in town I jumped at the chance to purchase tickets for our family.  Although he’s not our favorite Christian artist, the opportunity to go to a concert is rarely afforded us.  We have such fond memories of concerts in the States from the Artist Series at Wheaton to the Mountain Opry in Chattanooga, not to mention bluegrass festivals, Riverbend, and Night Fall.  In fact one Sunday morning worship at New City Fellowship would do our souls and ears good!

The concert was to take place from 2pm to 8pm last Sunday.  Since things rarely start on time, we weren’t worried about arriving too early but did arrive around 2pm.  There were already hundreds of fans lined up outside the stadium.  We had eaten a large breakfast so for lunch I just packed a soft cooler full of drinks, crackers & peanut butter, snacks, and fruit.  We took our place in line perhaps 200 yards away from the entrance.  There was no shade from the hot sun, no barrier between us and the busy road just feet from us and no clean spot to sit.

Our place in line

Trying to hide from the sun

At 2:40 they began the sound check…at least that’s what it sounded like from our spot in line (which had not changed since 2:00).  By this time I was tired of keeping the kids in line – literally – and carrying the cooler.  I was also worried about sunburn since I hadn’t thought to bring sunscreen.  Somewhere around this time new lines began to form at other entrances…so those just arriving were ahead of us in line.  At 3:00 we decided we’d give it another 45min before we left.

People race to form new lines

At 3:30 a gentleman behind us in line received a call from someone on “the inside”.  They hadn’t finished setting the stage up.  We still hadn’t eaten, Ian needed a diaper change and we were in the same spot in line we had been in for an hour and a half.  We decided to leave around 4:00.  Our tickets were burning holes in our pockets.

We went to a Korean restaurant and had a leisurely meal.  The children played outside in the grass as we enjoyed our food.  The Korean Paparazzi fresh from S. Korea came pouring out of the kitchen with digital cameras and cell phones all wanting a picture of the little muzungu, Ian.  We finished our meal and then I called a teammate who was at the concert around 5:45.  She was in the stadium and they had just announced that MWS was on his way.  Tim and I decided to give it another try.

We arrived at the stadium a little after 6pm and sure enough, there was MWS and band performing on stage.  The crowd was excited and seemed to have forgotten their long wait in line to get into this concert.  Midway through the concert someone decided to let the crowd advance toward the stage.  Unfortunately, our friends and their children were at what used to be the front.  As the mob advanced, a couple of their children were caught underfoot.  That family left as their children were very upset!  Just after 7pm MWS started wrapping things up.  Not wanting to get stuck in traffic, we opted to leave before he performed his concluding songs.

As we drove home, we couldn’t help feeling severely disappointed and exhausted.  To top things off, as we were driving along, a line of 4 unmarked vehicles with their hazards flashing drove by pointing guns at us.  The last vehicle (a flatbed truck) ran us off the road without the slightest provocation.  When we did get home, Ireen was crying and Ian was repeating…”guns scare me, Papa”.  We gathered in the living room and thanked God for protecting us.

Let it never be said that we didn’t try to participate and do fun things with our family.  I just hope this doesn’t make us too cynical.

Lots of progress was made throughout the week on the building project.  In between work, we fit in various orientation sessions about life and ministry with Action Zambia.  One such session was devoted to the reality of animism and witchraft in Zambia.  Even though many locals might be open to elements of Christianity, many still look to ancestral spirits and even witchcraft for help in solving life’s problems.  Kalolo Mulenga briefed them about this reality before they helped a local church conduct outreach in some of the rural parts around Ciyanjano.  Below are a few pictures from that time of outreach.  The Mt. Morris team split up with local church members leading the way and visited village settlements where they: shared about the person and work of Jesus Christ, handed out hygeine kits, and extended a personal invitation to each family to come to church to hear a special Gospel presentation message.  Twelve to fifteen homes were visited before sundown and the team is prayerfully expecting many to come church on Sunday to hear Pastor Bruce preach.  Jailos and Boniface (members of the church) were ecstatic at the response the team received.

We took the Mt. Morris team on a hike in the Kasupe area (near Ciyanjano ministry center).  The plan was to hike to a nearby village in Kabwe rural, but we didn’t get very far because locals stopped us from approaching an area with a streambed.  The area was experiencing a cholera outbreak and the local clinic had been turned into a cholera treatment centre.  It was an up-close reminder that cholera is ever-present here and definitely a killer.  You can read up on the current situation HERE.  We took a quick detour through the local farming community instead…

When the city council came through and tore out the entrance to our community’s entrance, it created a crisis of sorts.  There’s a government clinic within the premises and large numbers of people come in and out of the gate all day long. Vehicles come in and out for the agricultural programs as well as the residents who live on site.  The first thing the community needed to do was to construct a bridge.  That solution was pretty easy to come by in theory, but in planning and site construction it turned out to be quite complicated.

Rather than have one engineer overseeing construction of the bridge, there were five to six!  I watched events unfold as everyone became an overseer and only one person was working.  Not that all Zambians function like this, but it’s not uncommon to see road construction crews of 12 plus men all standing around watching one man work.  The same principle was at work here.  Because of the plethora of opinions on how the bridge should best be built, we ended up with no cohesive strategy for the bridge.  Major things were overlooked regarding the integrity of the structure for vehicles, but that didn’t really matter as much because this way everyone contributed.

I’ve included the picture to the left to demonstrate why our driveway was torn up in the first place.  The driveway that we did have passed over two large drainpipes.  Of course, there was nothing wrong with the drainpipes other than that they were clogged with dirt.  Rather than working to unclog the drains, the city council decided to take corrective action by tearing the whole thing out.  Again this illustrated a different approach to problem solving.  Here, little emphasis is placed on preventative maintenance.  When a little problem became a big problem, then the solution was to entirely replace.  Considering the inconvenience to all and the total net expenditure, this has ended up being a very costly venture indeed.

There’s been a lot of flooding in our area over the last few weeks because there is nowhere for water to drain to.  So water has submerged dirt roads and flooded residential areas.  The community in our area has gotten fed up – so the Lusaka City Council has finally sent “help” .  The plan?  To create drainage ditches on either side of the road using a ditch digger.   The hope was that this would allow drainage for flooded plots.

The city coucil never warned residents of their action, they just started digging trenches that are now a couple miles long.  Residences with entrances off the main road are now cut off.  The council has yet to put drainage pipes or temp vehicle bridges for every entrance.  The trench is 3-4 ft deep and wide enough that children can’t jump across.

Our driveway was torn up at 17:00, just before people started to arrive home from work.   Luckily, I came home early today and passed through the front entrance.  An hour later, the council came through without notice and created an impassable flowing river.  So, we’re trapped in until a bridge is made.

Our neighbors, the Singletons weren’t so fortunate.  They returned home too late and were trapped outside.  We’ll see how long it takes for the council to put things back together again.  Meanwhile, we’re getting used to the idea that our vehicle won’t be of much use to us.

I’ve been commenting how the land in Lusaka has just about reached its saturation point.  Portions of the road are under water in our neighborhood which means that the roads are taking a beating.  The tarmac that is laid down is very thin and underneath it is dirt.  When the ground beneath gets soft then potholes begin to emerge.  A few road logistics companies are based down our road which means that the heavy traffic is ruining the road.  Everyday tractors and trailers are parked along the roadside waiting to be unloaded.  The tractors pull off the roadway into mud holes that fill up with water as they wait.  It’s amazing what some of the overland truckers try to pull off with their big rigs.  Some make u-turns in the middle of the road if they dare.  I snapped this pic with my phone the other day as I was travelling into town.  This truck driver got stuck in the mud as he was trying to turn around… which caused a snarl in traffic for hours as anyone and everyone tried to hook chains to his rig to pull him out.  Have I shared that the rains cause a slight inconvenience around here?

Last week a pastor in our mission’s pastors training classes passed through what most American’s would consider a tragedy.  His wife gave birth to a baby boy via an emergency C-section operation.  During the operation doctors and nurses told him to go home and wait for the outcome.  They told him that the procedure was 50/50 survival for wife and child.

The next morning he returned to the hospital and found wonderful news waiting.  His wife and child were okay… His boy was born with birth defects but the prognosis for future procedures seemed good.  A week passed and all seemed well…  He and his wife were exhausted from taking care of a newborn and recovering from the invasive surgery.  Friday night they went to sleep and in the morning they found the baby struggling to breath.

They rushed to the government hospital but their son died on the way.  The doctors pronounced the child BID (Brought In Dead).  What started out as just another morning turned into a visit to the police, mortuary and hasty funeral service.  In Zambia, children who are days / weeks old are not given the typical funeral.  The pastor and his wife had not yet given the boy a name so the government documents indicated “son of…”  Within hours, the death had been processed by the authorities and burial plot was given to the family in crisis.  By 13 hrs. that afternoon, everything was finalized.  The pastor and his wife returned to their home, stunned and exhausted.

I visited them the following day and sat with them in their home, me being mostly quiet.  Lots of family members were packed into every room of the small house.  Mothers, sisters, nieces, uncles sat on the floor and we all sat in silence.  Communication was evident, soul to soul, spirit to spirit.  Being surrounded by community like that would have been uncomfortable to me if I were the one loosing a child.  I would probably want to be left alone.  Not so in Zambia, the community shows profound solidarity and draws close to the grieving.

Looking around the room I saw the faces… and wondered how the happenings of the day before could possibly be true.  The pastor was warm and appreciative of me passing through his place.  He shared with me his deep conviction of the “supremacy of Christ” even in the midst of loss.  He shared how he felt the tangible comfort of his Savior.  As he talked I glanced over at his front door… A paper had been posted there at eye-level – no doubt put there deliberately.  I’ll never forget what it read:

“Happiness depends on happennings, joy depends on Jesus.”

Already, the pastor had begun his fight for joy… in the midst of everything he had decided to soldier on.