goodbye my love!

^This is the Maisa family who I've become very close with while being in Zambia

It's been a really hard few days as I've said 'shalaipo' (goodbye) rather than 'tusa kumonan'ana' (see you later) to my Zambian friends and 'family', like the Maisa's above who I've spent so much time with, but at the same time I've had a lot of fun eating nshima, cultivating and planting maize in the fields, and enjoying my last opportunities here. It's only because God's blessed me so much with these friendships that it's so hard for me to leave, so I thank him.

I love Zambia so much and it's hard to tear away from my african home.

Please just pray with me as I return home... so many emotions right now!

hey!
So, since my last post life has changed immensely... and I'm sorry I've been unable to let you know what's happening.
First I got sick, with what at first was suspected to be malaria then all of a sudden i got better. In the middle of this school finished and i very sadly said goodbye to the kids whom I have got to know and love so much :( I've also begun to say goodbyes, as the nursing students (with whom I've sung and hung out with) left. It really is coming to the end of my trip, as this morning I find myself enjoying the magnificient atmosphere around Victoria Falls and comtemplating how different life feels here, as a tourist, compared to the real Zambia that I find around Kasempa. I am glad to return there for a couple weeks of reality check before I fly home. I'm only away from 'home' for a week, but I'm missing my Zambian friends so much!

thanks for reading
talk to you soon!

More on Zambian life...

So, finally, here is a picture of the family I live with... Missy, Kathleen, Anja, and Charlie the Chameleon.

And here is a picture of me doing what I love doing... cooking nshima with my Zambian friends. Main rule of cooking here is you put tomato and onion in everything - so what I'm cooking is quite typical for any relish. I've been eating lots of dried fish, massive plate-sized mushrooms, cassava, beans, roots and all kinds of leaves.

I’ve just had a really great weekend with my friend Musole (who recently graduated from Mukinge girls school) and her family who stay in Kasempa. It was awesome living with them for a couple of days, travelling around this area of the country, meeting new people, and practicing my language. I felt so welcomed, and it was just so nice!

A couple of new things in the past week have been singing a German song with the praise team in sunday chapel (thanks to my swiss friends!), and beginning to help a church friend with learning music... like many Zambians he's so gifted with playing piano by ear but he wants to learn to read & play that way too.

^ I finally managed to capture one of these sights! The victim displaying it's dissatisfaction with the mode of travelby continually bucking its head and arching its back. Funny the things you see. I am just amazed at what they put on the back of bikes, and how much they load them. It's amazing, no wonder the Zambian people are strong!

This world is a fascinating place, and again and again I'm fascinated at our awesome Creator God.

I have 4 days left with the precious children at school- it's now reality that things are coming to a close... and I just pray that in some way I have touched these kids' lives and in some way been an encouragement to those around me at the school.

Psalm 86:11 - Teach me your way, Lord

that I may rely on your faithfulness

Give me an undivided heart

that I may fear your name

This is my prayer at the moment.

Also, God loves us with an unfailing love. Be blessed :)

Yes I am alive!

Hello friends!!
Thanks for checking out this place even though there's been an awful lack of updates lately!  :( One afternoon while I was helping in the AIDS office at the hospital I tried to write a post but had internet troubles and it was deleted :/ Now I'm trying again at 5am!

I think where I had began was recounting the cobra story. It was just after my last bog post. I arrived home from my internet session at the hospital at 12.30am and walked into my dark kitchen... then I noticed some movement and saw this terrible 1m-long snakelike form making its way out from under the oven. So scary! I tiptoed to my room to grab some shoes for protection then got out a bunch of brooms and sticks which I put in strategic locations so I could win the fight against the snake at any angle. I struck at it at least 5 times but I didn't count on it being so fast, it was crazy! It soon became aggressive, rising up and jutting its head toward me. I wanted to be the hero of the house saving my friends from the night predator but then Dr Missy woke and her solution was to trap the non-conforming snake in a tupperware, which actually worked! The next day another missionary's outdoor worker disposed of it for us.
Since then the tally of sighted snakes has gone up to about 6 I think! Yesterday I succeeded in killing my first one.

The rainy season has finally arrived and I've been caught miserably in a couple of big downpours! I didn't hear much of the last church service even though the bilingual preachers were shouting at the top of their voices, because of the loud rain. There is thunder and lightning all the time! I'm really enjoying the storms, though we have a lot more bugs and frogs and snakes around now. The fireflies are cool though. We had a really clear starry night on sunday so me and my housies took the opportunity to go chill at the airstrip and just soak in God's awesomeness. I still haven't found the Southern Cross though!

I have felt incredibly blessed lately with the friendships God has brought into my life here, both mzungu and Zambian. It's great to learn new things and see things from the local perspective.

Apart from that I've been eating HIPPO, caterpillars, and lots of nshima!

Last weekend I went to a Zambian friend's place and we made Viseka together - a local beverage made from mealie meal [maize] and plant roots. You have to be careful to refrigerate it though because it turns alcoholic after a few warm days!

 

^We've had some monkeys about the place, and I finally go to see them last week! They're so cool, I could watch them all day. There were probably about 20 leaping through the trees and babies falling through the branches.

I have spent a few afternoons recently visiting a Paediatric ward at the hospital. It's lots of fun playing with the kids (mainly suffering from burns) and trying to communicate with their mums! This boy is Ilunga, who has stayed in the ward for about 4 months - had terrible body burns and they thought he wouldn't make it but he was just discharged last week, praise God! He was just starting to use his arms and legs again so he loved football and it was exciting seeing his improvement each time!

^ A group of the gr2 Academy kids who are sometimes a bit overwhelming, but totally gorgeous! I help with their class a couple of afternoons in the week by taking the better readers outside to an open building where we practice reading together and helping each other learn 'big' words. I am finding school a bit stretching lately as I've covered for some teachers who've been away, but God is giving me strength.

^Chilling with some kids at the tennis court. Mande, on the right, is a gr2 girl from school. I have spent a lot of afternoons playing with these girls and a bunch of others at the court across from my house. Last time I was in Solwezi I bought a soccer ball and it has made me even more popular with the kids! Every day we get several knocks at the door - my housemates here it and s second later 'Ruth!'... yep, my little friends have come to play, or ask for water, or just greet me :)

 ^These are two boys Caliph and John (L-R) with their father, Mr Kasalwe. Caliph and his slightly older brother have been doing a bit of outdoor work at my house to give them something worthwhile to do and help them earn some money for the family. Last week I walked out to their village, Kivuku, to visit the family. It was great to see their place and get a tour of their garden (pictured), they grow the typical cabbages & maize.

Something to praise God for is the progress on the new school building at the Academy - last week the roof was put on. It's so exciting :D

I was really encouraged by a sermon I heard lately from Nehemiah 1 - teaching us about a leader's heart and using him as an example for prayer. I want to encourage you to check it out!

thanks for following my journey!

Remember that the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) :D

School happenings

^ This is Ireen, She'a a very smart, beautiful gr3 who often sits next to me in class

We were having an outdoor science lesson

 We have a whole school assembly every day and last week I was rostered to lead. We're following Jesus' ministry so throughout the week I taught them from John 3 on being born again. We also sing songs and pledge to the bible and flag of the Christian faith.

Since my last post I have
-played lots of netball/football with local kids
- had authentic nshima lunch cooked on a fire with some Zambian friends
-spent a lot of time in the sun... and got burnt
- played with the kids staying in the hospital
-watched Avatar for the first time, finally!
- experienced s'mores for the first time
( I laugh that these things happen in Africa - but we have a very multicultural missionary team here)
- visited a different church - Mukinge Local Church - for their Kikaonde service
-expanded my Kikaonde vocabulary to the point that I've had a couple of short conversations completely in the local language!
- been on a lot of morning runs
-made friends with some more nurses and locals in Kasempa
-memorized a Kikaonde song
- started going to a bible study with some of the 1st yr nurses

Yesterday I was privileged to go on the school trip with gr3-5. We travelled a couple of hrs on the back of a truck to get to Kaimbwe salt plains, where the kids got to see their science topics of filtering and dissolving in action. Along the way we climbed Kaimbwe Hill for a great view and visited both a cold spring and a hot spring. It was awesome watching the fascination on the kids' faces! Once again I was reminded of our incredible Creator-- this world is so beautiful and amazing! On the way home the kids laughed at me as I tried to plait one of the girl's hair. It's so hard, with the course texture!

I shouldn't be up at midnight, but tomorrow is a full day as I have Kikaonde then a visit to a village family, and I also happen to be leading the missionary prayer meeting tomorrow night... and so far no inspiration has come to my head!

It's crazy that it's November. I'm more than half way to coming home!

scenery...

This is pretty much the landscape around here... once you get off the hospital compound where I live. In my week off school I spent quite a lot of time walking to get places and also just to explore the Mukinge Hill area.

And, (below), this is the hospital complex...taken from the road which enters Mukinge. Thought it might help you to picture the place I live at. On the right is the hospital admin building (wards are behind it), straight ahead is the Outpatients Department, and the red building over to the left is Kajo Kona (Food Corner) where you can get take-away Nshima... which is really good!

I'll do a decent writing-post next time - I've been so busy and there's so much to tell. Life here is great!! - but I just thought that while the internet is going well, I'd put some pictures up.

Kikaonde Lesson

This was one of our wednesday afternoon Kikaonde lessons with Giveness,

fun times :)

We missed it last week, so I'm pretty keen for tomorrow.

Zambian Friends :)

^ outdoor shelter where the family eats

Last week I visited Modreen and Catherine's family one day for lunch.
I met these girls one day soon after I arrived when they stopped by our house asking for water, and now we are great friends! We go for walks together,visit, explore, take photos, and do swimming lessons.
At their place we hung around outside and ate pawpaw, which there is a lot of here! They showed me their very large garden and presented us with cabbages! Modreen's father is developing a support program for the aged in the community - which is really awesome, there is such a great need for it! The aged are so poor and they are suffering the most from the AIDS pandemic because when their children die from the disease, they have to become parents again, providing and caring for the grandchildren.
A village death that day caused Modreen's mother to be away so we didn't have any nshima today. When there is a death the whole village is expected to support and surround the family for about 3 days until the burial ceremony is finished. People may not even invite guests to their home because it gives the appearance of celebration, which is not sensitive towards the family who is mourning.

The following afternoon I went along to the funeral - of a boy who is brother to one of the grade 1 girls at school. It was the second day - and much quieter than the loud shrieking and wailing of the previous day. The women and men are segregated. I sat on the floor with lots of other women, in silence, reflecting, praying. Some people prayed aloud and outside I could hear the steady hum of the men singing. When leaving I greeted the mother - but what do you say? What do you say to a grief stricken mother who had just suddenly lost her husband, and now her older son too? There is way too much death among children here. It's heart-breaking!

This is the group of Academy staff... minus me, and Brian who is a

Zambian helper about the same age as me 

L-R: Mrs Bulaya, Miss Ndumba, Giveness, Mrs Kaumba, Miss Robinson

Anja, Miss Parke (headteacher), Kelvis, and Elese

They are all very lovely people to work with :) 

:: MHA Sports Day ::

So the week before this was a 6-day school week. (rip-off on the weekend!) Saturday morning we got to school early to set up benches and finishing lines and get everything in order. The day opened with all the children singing a prayer and then the program involved sprinting races, 3-legged races, Sack Races, Long Distance Races, Wheelbarrow races, relays in both football dribbling and in running, and a couple of events for the parents. I was a bit disappointed (and suggested an amendment to the program) that the program did not include an event for the teachers – I mean one I could acceptably take part in(!)

Lots of fun and excitement was had by the Red, Yellow and Blue teams and we had a good turn up of parents so the day was a success. Some teachers were very competitive in choosing team members and so the house line-ups well, kind of reflected this!  We also got to raise some more money for the school building project, which is awesome :)

My job for the day was to record scores and write certificates – mostly went well but the spelling of some children’s names didn’t – oops! Others thought my job was boring but I loved it because it meant I got the opportunity to encourage and congratulate every single beautiful kid :D

I’m sure you’ve all seen lots of pictures of kids running so I thought I’d skip that one (main unique thing here is just the barefoot style) and show you a picture that depicts a bit of Africa, and also made everyone laugh!

One of the more light-hearted events of the MHA sports day is the traditional Mothers Bottle Race. As you see, the idea is you balance a bottle of sand on your head and have to cross the finish line first. The winner (Mrs Bulaya, a teacher) was actually running, it was quite talented!

I'm always impressed by the Zambian women I see carrying really heavy and large objects on their head. I met a friend on her way back from the boma once and asked to try carrying her load - didn't really work on my head too well, so good thing she was prepared to save the accident! I made her laugh, but I think I need to practice!

little bit sick

I've been kinda sick for the past week with a bad head cold, which sucks. So if you want to pray for me that would be awesome! It's annoying not being able to fully participate in everything and get on with the stuff I want to do and the people I want to see!
God's given me this opportunity to hang out with some kids in one of the Paediatric wards at the hospital so I'm pretty keen to start that but I feel like things just keep putting me off or getting in the way - like being sick!
On the subject of being sick, I also got a pretty bad burn, yeah just from an electric kettle :/ Freshly made Nshima is pretty hot though so that has also caused me a bit of pain; [in other words coming to Africa hasn't cured my clumsiness :( ]

The other thing I want to say on this topic is that (having become aware because I live with Dr Missy) the hospital is really busy at the moment since our 2 visiting doctors, Matt and Hilary left. Down to 3 doctors and I think about 200 (?) beds... is apparently quite crazy. There's a lot of cases that need to go to theatre but the actual go-ahead of operations depends on the availability of an anaesthetist, and at the moment we only have one, which really limits things. It's a really big need and my friend Dr Missy said "if you're telling your friends at home to pray for Mukinge, tell them to pray for another anaesthetist to come". People come to Mukinge mission hospital from all over the place, because it's known for it's great care - physical and spiritual - and it's heartbreaking that people may not survive because they have to wait too long for the operation (when in reality, [since we're in Africa], they've probably also waited almost too long to get themselves to hospital).

Leprosy Village #3

This man, whose name I don't recall, can no longer walk because his leg limbs are worn away to above the ankle. Neither does he have hands. The two men standing are the village chairperson and Dr Friend. At this point they are negotiating a time to pick the man up and take him to hospital because there is something wrong with his eyes which are completely red. Dr Friend suggests coming back shortly with a car, intending to admit him to hospital that evening. The man is saying a different day would be better. Why? Because the only pair of pants he had were the ones he was wearing, and he wanted to wash them before he went. To us it seems a trivial issue, but to the African, appearance is very important. It may not matter that he was desperately in need of medical attention; first he must look acceptable.

Charlie the Chameleon

So, Charlie the Chameleon is our new household pet – if you ask me he is definitely an upgrade on the short-lived spiders that Anja began naming! (Though they still do try to take up residence here.) He arrived the other night on the end of a precarious stick sitting mid-air outside the window of our dinner table... turned out to be held by William, one of my Zambian friends. It was funny he brought Charlie over actually because Zambians have some superstitious association with chameleons and are frightened by them - so much so that now we have to warn any guests of his presence in the house.

So now we get home from school and the question is- who will eat first: us or Charlie? His staple diet is grasshoppers - sometimes easy to catch, sometimes not.

So far we have seen Charlie almost a fluorescent green, leaf green, dark green, brown, spotty (when he's scared) and yeah, that's it so far. Apparently the change of colour is more to do with mood than camouflage - shattered my beliefs but it's kinda cool! Anja absolutely adores him, but I am still getting used to this creepy crawly reptilian sensation on my hands - the first time I dropped him, oops!

Today a bright green snake appeared at our doorstep and after majorly scaring my housemates, suffered a brutal death by stick beating. I missed it because I was at the pool with a few Zambian friends, Catherine, Modreen, William and Honour, having lots of fun and trying to teach them to swim :D 

We've also had some amazing butterflies around lately. This place is so beautiful in every way! Next week I have holidays (YES!!) so i hope I get a chance to head out beyond Mukinge and see some antelope... that would be sweet!

Leprosy Village #2

Leprosy Village #2

These are the buildings of the leprosy village.

Leprosy Village

 

This Tuesday afternoon I visited the Leprosy Village with Dr David Friend. We walked past the hospital, Kyakabuka church, across the soccer field, and 20 min on little dirt tracks. 

The village consists of about 20 little brick/concrete huts and grass shelters. With the village chairperson to interpret, we wound in and out of them, greeting each one in Kikaonde and distributing sugar and some medications. The village is exclusively for Leprosy sufferers and their families. In some the disease was manifest on the face,  flattening the nose, and in others they had shortened, worn down limbs.

It was so sad to see, but also inspiring because the people have learned to live with what they have, and still be productive. While most leprosy sufferers are completely dependent on their families - even to collect firewood for cooking the nshima - some have learned to make shoes out of old tires and other handcrafts. It's amazing!

Everywhere I go little African children follow me in fascination. I would have thought that with the large population of missionaries at Mukinge, I would not be such a strange wonder – but apparently it doesn't work that way! So after about 10 huts I am distracted and end up looking at the children and smiling and trying to play a game with them - something with beans and holes in the ground. I used my limited Kikaonde to find out their names and ask if they wanted to play, but the general lack of verbal response indicated I have some work to do on my pronunciation!

Solwezi

^This is the way most people ride to Solwezi. 

There were 26 people crowded in the back of the little truck.

On Monday I took the day off school to make a trip to Solwezi with Anja, Fynn and Elese to get our visas fixed up for the remainder of our time here.

We left at 7am and did not get home til 9 that night! As we drove along the (mostly) bitumen road, I stared out the window. This is the real Africa. On one side I see a small village, a dozen women gathered around a bore, collecting water. On the other are hitch hikers signalling for a ride. We are full, but not to the Zambian – no one is sitting on someone else’s lap or is half sticking out the window.  Every kind of construction or dwelling that we pass is made from grass, sticks, or mud. Everything. Smoke is in the air from the constant burning of fields and half the ground is black. We can always see Zambians walking along the edge of the roads. I wonder if some of them are walking the whole way to Solwezi. It’s the only way they have to get around, and especially out here where the people are poorer. More than a few times we come scarily close to hitting a goat wandering on the road. The animals here are not very used to cars. 

 Jeff, area director of SIM, was our driver and helped us get things sorted throughout the day.  We had to go to Immigration a couple of times to get our visas extended, but it all worked out well and they gave me a few extra than the 90 days which will save me a lot of trouble when I fly out. In between we found a post office, did some grocery shopping at the big Shoprite and a few other errands. Solwezi  is a one-road town with shops either side for a few kms. As I walked along to the accompaniment of wolf whistles and offers of friendly young men Anja and I had a strange experience; a woman who we thought was just passing us, joined our threesome and suddenly grabbed first Anja’s, then my hair. No words, just messing up and playing with my hair. Some people are very fascinated with the difference in texture and length I guess…

Driving in Africa is well , interesting! You have to think quickly and be good at manoeuvring your vehicle. We had a very near accident on the way home when a large truck drove towards us on our side of the road. I think none of us breathed for 10 seconds, it was so scary! We’re so thankful God saved us from injury and that we arrived home.

I look forward to sometime taking a bus to Solwezi as I’ve heard it’s quite the cultural experience; maybe not quite so much room as the car!