Hello from Zambia!!
Things have been fantastic thus far.
I arrived here late Wednesday night. And the rest of my team arrived Thursday & Friday. (There are 4 of us)
It has been an absolute blast. My heart is so happy to be back on African soil. It's so amazing how this all feels so familiar and comforting to me. The sights, sounds and smells. I was wondering how similar Zambia would be to Uganda. And thus far it seems like the difference between the US and Canada. On the surface, many things look the same, and yet as you sink deeper, the cultural differences come out.
Zambia is economically and politically very stable and growing. There are a lot of well to do people here, and the middle class definitely appears. Many people have smart phones (which are really expensive) and the prices of some goods are quite comprable to US prices. There are many nice cars around and fancy shops (the mall is HUGE and is fancier than many malls I've been to in the US). Crime rates are lower here than in Uganda, and you can just feel the difference as you are out and about as a foreigner.
Many things though are very similar. We still have regular power cuts here (3 nights weekly), we still eat Posho (though here it is called Sheema) :( church is still loud and crazy and full of dancing and singing and sound systems entirely too large for such small buildings. But, oh how I love it. Today we visited the youth group of a church in a village called Roma. We were supposed to just come and meet the people, but of course the pastor wanted us to preach. We were unprepared, but God gave us all a short word, and it turned out well. We then had a fellowship time with the youth. They were so much fun. I met with some girls, most of whom were about 15-16, and we talked. They played with my hair (because it was so different than theirs) and it of course turned into a giant frizz ball. haha. They taught me some phrases in the local language (there are several common ones here, and at the moment I can't remember the name of the one that is most common) and then they decided it was time I learned some African dances. OH MY GOODNESS. It was hilarious. We laughed and laughed and I did my best to dance. These girls were amazing dancers. And I had fun trying. haha. Corey and Rachel played with the kids who showed up, and Brandon spent time talking with the guys. We all had a blast. We're going back tomorrow and I am so excited to see these precious girls again. We all hugged and laughed and didn't want to be parted.
Next week (as far as the plan now stands.. hahaha) we'll be working in a nearby village called Gripps, doing lots of teaching. Monday & Tuesday are national holidays here, so those days we'll have lots of teaching opportunities in the village. We are hoping to set up a discipleship program in the village. One of the organizations we are working with here (Grassroots International) does tons of community development programs in the village. They run a school for ages K-8, have adult basic education courses, run a program of animal husbandry, sponsor students in secondary school, have installed boreholes (wells for clean water), have a tailoring program, and are about to start a carpentry program. Life in Gripps is definitely improving. And yet... something is still missing. The community & NGO leaders recognize that changing external circumstances does make a difference, but until a person changes the way they think, they will always be trapped in a poverty mentality. So, this is no small task we are undertaking. Please pray for us!
Also, we've been joined by a girl named Lydia. She is from PA and was part of a team that was just here for two weeks. She'll be joining us in ministry and she's a lot of fun to have around.
Prayer Requests:
-Teaching!! We need to hear from God what to teach, and how to teach it.
- Health & physical protection (right now we're all fine, but these things always tend to crop up)
-Cultural adaptation. We want to be able to navigate the culture well, and build awesome relationships. With teaching this can be a very tricky area, so please pray for wisdom.
-Finances. We're a little short on what we need still.
*Hopefully we'll get some pictures up soon.
Thanks!!
