Saturday, July 11
Evelyn drove me to the Dulles airport at 3PM Friday, and I started the long process of going through ticketing and security, and boarded the plane for Johannesburg, SA at about 5PM. It was easy to find the Valley Family Church group from Michigan – about 30 people wearing black t-shirts with James 1:27 written on the back in gold lettering (read it!).
The first leg of the journey from Washington DC to Dakar, Senegal, was an overnight flight across the Atlantic. I enjoyed my conversation with the man sitting next to me who was heading from Spokane, Washington to Zambia and South Africa on safari. I also was amazed by the beauty of the moonlight on the tops of the clouds in the night.
We are staying at the Abundant Life Guest House in Lusaka, and I am staying in a room with four other women. The accommodations are very basic, comfortable and clean. The food is fantastic! We are incredibly tired but not sleepy after 24 hours of riding on a plane. It was really nice to lie down in a real bed after sitting up straight in an airplane for so long. The weather is cool at night, maybe 60s F. There is a constant breeze, and the air is very dry. As we were flying into Lusaka, I could see the flickering orange lights of many small fires in the arid, brushy terrain. These were the household fire pits of the Zambian tribal peoples, built in the open air between their sleeping huts, cooking shelters and other small homestead structures.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
We woke up early and attended church at the Northmead Assembly of God church in Lusaka. The service began at 7AM, although we arrived a bit late at 7:30. The church building was packed so full there were people standing outside the doors just looking in and listening because there were no more seats! I was just amazed to see so many people packed into a 7:00 AM worship service. The music was wonderful. The choir led worship with praise songs, movement and raised hands. The sermon was delivered by bishop Joshua Banda, the senior pastor. It was a lengthy sermon, but I didn't have any trouble paying attention. The sermon and the service were very uplifting and edifying.
After lunch at the guesthouse, we were bused out to Chi nyu nyu village in the Chongwe district for a visit to the camp site and the My Father's House orphan homes in that location. This is where we will be doing Camp Hope all week long. The orphan homes are long rectangular buildings made of the same red brick that most homes in this area are constructed of. We enjoyed meeting the residents, who came outside to greet us with smiles and hugs. The four orphan homes each house 8 orphans and a widow who lives with them. They are solar-powered and quite spacious by Zambian standards. A fifth home is under construction. These are the children that Jessie and the other seven interns got to know well a few weeks ago at the first Camp Hope.
After that we drove a bit further into the bush until we got to a settlement on the outskirts of the Chongwe area. There we went on a “culture walk”, led by two Zambian guides, to meet some of the families of Camp Hope children. The homes we saw were very traditional: circular mud huts with cone-shaped thatched roofs, cooking huts, soft red dirt paths and fire pits. The red dirt is like fine sand, very soft and dusty. One woman we met, Mary, had built a beautiful sleeping hut, cooking hut and was working on a third structure. Her sleeping hut had a stripe of dark rusty brown paint freshly applied to the base of the mud-brick structure, like adobe, over a yellow hue. She had placed beautiful potted plants in front of the hut. The whole homestead was neat as a pin. The little huts the people build by hand seem to be constructed of cylinder-shaped bricks of dried mud, which are then cemented together with more mud, then smoothed down either with water or just repeated sweeping until the entire wall has a smooth mud plaster look. The walls are very thick and have a flat surface on the top, on which the thatched roof, made of tied long grasses, is secured.
Monday, July 13
Today we were up early and off to Chinyunyu by 7:30 for the first day of Camp Hope. I had been very ill the night before with a migraine, probably the result of a long plane trip, and I didn't feel like going to camp, but I knew this was the reason I came to Zambia and it was very definitely God's will for me to be there. I asked two of my new Spirit-filled Michigan friends to pray with me for healing, popped a bunch of Tylenol and ibuprofen, and got up on the bus in faith and went. I suffered no more migraines, praise God, although I fell several times through the week due to my poor balance (from my artificial hip) and arthritis. I am so thankful to be able to serve God despite physical limitations. I'm so glad Paul was vocal about his “thorn in the flesh” and didn't try to deny or hide his physical struggles as well as his spiritual ones. Satan really does attack us on both fronts, and we need to call those things by name and get rid of them.
I buddied up with Sharon Daniels of Purcellville Baptist Church in Virginia as my teaching partner for the week. We asked for the youngest children, ages 7-8. Our interpreter is Godfridah Mwale, a 50-year old widow. She is an amazing woman of faith, lots of fun and very good with the kids.
Our Monday group was 7 girls and one small boy, Mike, pronounced Mikkah. It took all morning to get the 300+ children organized into groups. While we were organizing teams, the children all stood quietly in orderly lines on the field. The children are extremely well-behaved, and very polite. When we shake their hands, they respond with a little curtsy. When we greet them they respond by saying “bwino” (I'm fine) and looking straight into our eyes.
July 14, Tuesday
Today more kids arrived at camp and our group doubled from 8 to 16! The kids are singing louder, playing more and interacting with us a bit more, although we can't communicate with them without the help of our interpreter. Singing times are good times to communicate through eye contact, smiles and body language. The teens and young adults in our group are uniquely gifted for reaching these kids with their playfulness and joy.
It is very clear that we are ministering to some of the neediest children anywhere. Many have worn the same filthy outfit two days in a row. Many are tired and subdued and look at us with big sad eyes. It is difficult to see children living in such primitive conditions. They do have a loving and vibrant community on their side, and a close-knit system of leaders, teachers and relatives to guide them. While I would love to improve the living conditions and ensure that each child gets a good education, I can't imagine removing them from their culture and support systems.
July 15, 2009
Wednesday
Today was the third Camp Hope day. The weather was hot, dry and breezy (dusty!). The kids are really enjoying themselves. We had two girls in our group that weren't feeling well today. One has a bad cold and the other has a fever and sore eyes – not sure what is going on with either of them. Most of the children arrive every day wearing the same filthy clothes they wore the day before. It's a bit frustrating trying to communicate to children through an interpreter, but we just have to trust Godfridah to communicate the message of the gospel as we steer her through the Camp Hope curriculum. Her translations are very colorful and animated. Sharon and I can tell what she is saying sometimes just by watching her.
Thursday, July 16
Today was another great day at Camp Hope. The kids have been growing more relaxed with us and more receptive to the gospel as the week goes on. They were chattering a lot more too, just like all kids their age are wont to do the world over. Kaluba, age 7, has arrived for camp in the same filthy outfit all week long and seems tired and listless at times, then at other times is stubborn, inattentive and extremely fidgety. But at the corporate prayer time she hung onto me quite a bit, then she gave me a huge hug at the end of the day. All of our group professed faith in Christ. I asked them (through Godfridah) what they remembered from our lessons so far this week, and their answers indicated that they had understood and remembered the Bible stories, themes and discussions throughout the week. They love to sing, and it is so great to hear their voices lifted in praise. They have few instruments, but have all sorts of harmonies, rounds and responsive songs that make the most of their clear, strong voices. Dancing and the use of drums are frequent too.
Friday, July 17
Today was our “celebration day” at camp. Most of the groups finished up their lessons and then we had a huge lunch followed by games, singing, and goodbyes. Several of the interns helped me make balloon animals for the kids. We got around to most of the younger ones, about half of the camp. I don't think they had ever seen balloon animals before. They loved them, and most of the balloons were popped before the end of the day! Our bus driver was given one and hung it on the rear view mirror of the bus, where it stayed for the remainder of our stay.
Saturday, July 18