Being that I don’t go anywhere without Tristan (still breast-feeding), I took along the Ergo and Tim as my guide to the R.T.S.A. labyrinth.  I got in line for room 1.  Waited for 30min while scooting along the wooden benches that lined the walls.  If you allow any space between you and the person sitting to your right…someone will scoot on in and you fall back one place in line.  Once in the examiners’ room he was so delighted to see Tim carrying Tristan in the Ergo that he didn’t quiz me!  Yay! Tristan’s charm got me out of the test.  The examiner instead wanted to talk about children…he has 12.

After room 1, I was sent to line 24, waited in que.  Then was sent to room 16.  Waited for another 30 odd minutes.  To look at this line, you wouldn’t think it would take 30 min to get through BUT that doesn’t account for all the “Bwanas” that like to cut to the front of the line.  Tim finally physically blocked the line so that no one could pass…this caused a verbal altercation.  My favorite line of Tim’s was, “Everyone’s case is special – except mine.  You owe me one!” as he finally let the security guard pass.

From room 16 (this RTSA agent had 2 children and isn’t planning on having any more), we were sent back to line 24.  At line 24 they said that the update which was supposed to happen in room 16 “didn’t take”.  So…back to room 16.  Then back to line 24.  Then I was sent to room 3 to get my picture taken.  From room 3 I was sent to room 17.  Again in line for room 17 we waited more than half an hour.  A very large man stepped in line in front of us.  I told him we were in que which he acknowledged but maintained his spot.  Later, He and Tim got into a verbal back and forth about who was there first etc.  Again…it did no good!  After room 17 we were sent to line 26.  After waited for about 15 min in line we were finally able to pay.  “Come back in 4 weeks to pick up your renewed license.”

Pheww!!  OK…now here’s the 10 rules…from memory!

1. Know the highway code by heart and put it into practice.

2. Concentrate all the time on your driving and you will avoid accidents.

3. Think before you act.

4. Exercise patience and hang back when necessary.

5. Drive with care and overtake quickly.

6. Drive fast only in the right places.

7. Develop your car sense and avoid wear and tear.

8. Use your horn considerately and give proper signals.

9. Be sure your car is road worthy and know its limitations.

10. Perfect your road craft and acknowledge courtesies shown to you by other road users.

Before leaving for South Africa, my team-mates gave me a “baby shower”; my states-side friends gave me an “online shower”, the church in South Africa threw a “stork party” and now my baby has been properly welcomed by my Zambian friends.  In Zambia it is customary to bring gifts for the baby only after he or she is born.  Afterall, there’s a high infant mortality rate, most women don’t know the sex of their baby, they don’t reveal the due date for fear of their baby being bewitched and most of all, Zambians don’t generally presume upon what the future will hold.  So…in true Zambian fashion, the women from our home fellowship group showed up unannounced about a week after we returned.

There were many formalities…I had to sit and let everyone serve me and they got a kick out of calling me “Mrs. Hilty” because now I have three children.  We all chatted and Tristan was passed around – everyone commenting on his size, that he looks like his brother, etc. etc.   Then the oldest woman, Mrs. Njapau exhorted me to give thanks for this joyful experience and that God had answered so many prayers for a safe and healthy delivery and baby.  She opened it up for the other women to give advice.  They discussed everything from hygiene to my relationship with Tim and the kids to not allowing anyone to practice traditional medicine on my baby.

I felt VERY loved and accepted by these women.  It’s amazing how everytime we leave for a bit and then return, we’re received more and more warmly by the Zambians we have built relationships with.  Instances like this make life here seem more “normal”.

Later I went into the kitchen to chat with Grace about the incident.  I wanted to know how she interpreted the appearance of such a bird.  Grace is a believer and doesn’t believe that such omens are more powerful than God’s protection.  Never-the-less, she had prayed over the bird while it was on our porch.  I suggested we pray again together and remind ourselves that nothing happens outside the will of God in our lives.

The next day when Grace “pitched up” for work, she had bad news…she got a call that night that her Auntie had died.  Honestly, I didn’t even think about the bird until later that day.  I asked her if she thought the bird had anything to do with the death of her Auntie.  She did.  I encouraged her to stay strong through this test of her faith believing that God is who he says he is in the bible.

The cultural pressure believers come under is incredible.  The tendency is to believe God only as long as that “works”.  When it doesn’t people will fall back on what they know…in this situation, a traditional annimistic belief system.  But, isn’t it the same no matter where we are?  Americans have their trappings as well.  Money is reliable, retirement is what we invest in, physical security trumps all, and how we are viewed in the eyes of others is what drives us.  If we’re putting our ulimate hope in these things, we’re not really trusting in God, are we?

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.

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.