Don’t worry, be happy

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

After hitting an emotional low over the weekend, I have decided it is time to refocus. Yesterday I pulled a book by Henri Nouwen off my shelf entitled Compassion and began rereading it. Additionally, the theme of the speaker in chapel this morning was taken from Matthew 6 where we are exhorted to seek first God’s kingdom instead of being anxious. I have absolutely no control over our lack of water and therefore it would be wise not to spend all my time thinking about it. This is difficult given that I am so tuned into my senses and the world around me (Sensory on the Myers-Briggs). What grabs my attention is what I can see, feel, taste, touch and hear. I don’t think much about lofty things or philosophical ideas. I am focused on the world around me and when that world is falling to pieces, I’m in trouble. It is hard for me to pull back and see the big picture, but this is what Peter excels at so I’m grateful that he balances me out in this way. At the same time, it would be a bit easier to focus on other things when you didn’t have to debate whether to use your precious water to flush the toilet, wash your smelly towel, bathe, or do dishes. Tough choices because, ideally, one could do all of these and on the same day no less.

There were several things today that reminded me that I have much to be thankful for and to focus on these things instead of water. Even though Peter says there is no way that this should work, it appears that we can get wireless internet in Peter’s office which means that we can both be online at the same time instead of sharing a plug. The signal comes and goes a bit but it is better than nothing! Also, Georgi took me to a place outside of town where I could buy wicker furniture. We now have two dressers with lots of drawers where we can hide our clutter. As we were driving home, the sky was a gorgeous blue with fluffy white clouds, my favorite. The rains will come this afternoon but this morning it is beautiful.

And lastly, I’m thankful that my boys have access to good education. Carmen was talking with Gideon (age 10) and Moses (age 12), two boys that are at our house most days. She discovered that neither could read save for a few words such as “the” and “of.” Gideon can’t identify shapes and only knows two colors. These boys go to a basic school that most likely has 60 or so pupils to a class and teachers who sporadically show up. This makes sense since they only get sporadically paid. But these poor boys aren’t being taught and Jason, only four years old, knows so much more. If a family can at all afford to pay school fees, they will get their children out of these basic schools and we can see why. But school fees and uniforms are a financial burden. Education is so important and so we try to help pay school fees for those we know but we it is impossible to help everyone who asks.

Friday, February 29, 2008

The rest of the week seemed to go by quickly with answers to prayer on many fronts.

Connections: Instead of walking around the track on Thursday morning, I spent half an hour talking with Lisa (from Finland) and Margaret (from South Africa), both Lechwe mothers who arrived in Zambia when we did. Lisa offered to do a load of laundry for me in her machine and so I humbly accepted her help and sent her home with a bag of towels and linens. She brought them back to me on Friday, clean and ironed. What a gift. And then on Friday, I took the boys to a birthday party of a classmate. The kids were confined indoors instead of swimming due to a major downpour. It was crazy and chaotic but I managed to connect with a number of people that I had seen around Lechwe School but had not talked with before. I met a Brazilian woman and she introduced me to the Peruvian mothers. Then I talked with several Italians. Someone explained to me who worked with whom and which ones were related to each other. Slowly the pieces of the Lechwe community are coming together. I had a lovely conversation with a woman who owns a café called “Il Panino” which we recently discovered. And then I got to talk more with Brendan’s teacher and hold her enormously pudgy three month old baby. She even fell asleep in my arms which I consider one of the best things in life. Little by little, I feel like I am making friends and understanding the complex social relationships in this small community. Sometimes I feel like I am an alien: being the only one from America, an NGO worker, and not homeschooling like the other Americans in Kitwe who are mainly missionaries. But God is answering prayers and I felt I could just be myself and that was fine.

Brendan and Jason: The boys have had a busy week. Wednesday they took place in an annual “Splash Gala” at their school. Both boys participated in relays and races. Everyone participated and no one “won” but all efforts were applauded. Jason swam across the shallow end with no help and was so proud of himself. Brendan was part of a relay team that did very well (i.e. they won but we weren’t supposed to notice). Then Thursday afternoon, Taonga and Tabo came over for a playdate after school. Taonga and Brendan are in the same class. They played very well together and Taonga and Tabo were so polite and pleasant. Two factors that made a difference is that they are more middle class and so they weren’t going crazy with the boys’ toys or complaining that we don’t own more things. And also they are Christian which is the case with most of the black students and only a handful of ex-pats. Two statements that Taonga made brought out the cultural differences between our boys. Taonga saw all our children’s books and exclaimed, “Wow, you have so many books! I wonder that is why Brendan is so clever at school.” Then later, Taonga asked Brendan and Jason what their names meant. Knowing the meaning of names is very important in Zambian culture. Thankfully, Brendan and Jason know what their names mean and could join the conversation. I marveled to myself that I have never heard any other child ask my boys the meaning of their names. Just not something we talk about much in North America. Friday morning, Brendan’s class performed a play for the assembly. Each week a different class presents a theme for the rest of the school. The theme for Brendan’s class was making apologies and meaning it. He was a little stressed this week trying to memorize his lines but he performed beautifully at the assembly. Then Friday there was the birthday party where they ran around the house screaming and popping balloons with all the other hyper children. They had a great time.

Jason' first event: The Noodle Race

Brendan with his friends

Brendan at the assembly

Understanding how things work here: We are still in the process of trying to get Zambian drivers licenses. Last time we were there, we were given the phone number of a worker so that we could call ahead of time to see if the digital camera was working. So Peter called on Thursday morning and was told that, indeed, it was working. When we arrived fifteen minutes later, alas, it was not working. We have to take the picture before we can join the throng of people out front that surges toward the door every time the guard opens it so that we can make payment. Then we will get to join another line and try to convince an official that we don’t need to actually take a test behind the wheel of a car. So much to look forward to. To fortify us for the long process ahead, Carmen, Peter and I went to Il Panino, the cute little Italian café that I later learned was owned by Mariella. We enjoyed milkshakes and vowed to return at another time for breakfast because the menu had many exciting options. On our way home, we found a place that would make keys for us and we had three spares made for our house. We are SO not going to get locked out again! Friday morning was spent at the post office customs office. I received a letter this week saying that a package was being held there and that I needed to show documents that I was importing goods. I found the office and greeted the two officials in Bemba. One looked very stern and the other smiled discreetly. It turns out that there was not just one package for me but EIGHT! I was asked why I was getting so many packages and I told him that we are a long way from our family and church and that my two boys miss everyone very much. I could say in Bemba that I have two boys and what they are named. They proceeded to open each package and look through the contents. They had trouble getting through the packing tape on the package from Peter’s mother. I explained that she loved packing tape and used it liberally. One of the officials told me how to say “mother-in-law” in Bemba. I joked with him that if she were here, I would have to stay on my knees and lightly clap my hands, as is the custom. He laughed when I said that this would never happen in America. Meanwhile, the more stern official opened up Annika’s package and found that some of the M&Ms had come out of the bag. I offered him a few and the chocolate must have helped lighten him up a bit. I guess some would say that was close to a bribe but I just saw it as a way to make friends. An hour later, I was on my way home with eight parcels, two new friends in the customs office, and a deeper understanding of how things work here.

Water update: It has now been eleven days since we had water. MEF says they are working on the problem but we haven’t seen much progress. Meanwhile, we are very close to completing our water tower project that was started back in mid-December which will enable us to not only have water throughout the day, but hot water as well! Basically, we have a ground tank that gets water from MEF and then pumps it up to a tank on a tall tower. This water goes into our new pressurized geyser and into the house. With this system, we are supposed to have enough pressure to take a hot shower. This week they hooked it all up but there still wasn’t any water in the house. Today the contractor discovered that all our water was being diverted to our neighbor’s house instead of ours. Nice for them but not part of the plan. By evening, we had water coming through the pipes and into our house. It felt so good to be able to wash my hands with soap under running water. I never realized how precious water was until it was scarce. I want to maintain that notion even when it seems plentiful. Water is precious all around the world and will become even more so with global warming. Water conservation is an area that I know little about yet I understand that we take water for granted. Especially in North America, we tend to waste so much water, not realizing the impact it has on the rest of the world. I want to be mindful of how I use water, knowing that water is vital and yet not accessible to many.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

This morning I took a shower! My very first shower in our home. We still have a few kinks to work out as the pressure was not as it should be and the cold water couldn't mix with the hot but it was a shower nonetheless and I am thankful. Today, I did two loads of laundry and washed the dishes with hot water from my tap instead of using my electric kettle to heat water. Man, I am living a life of luxury!

Peter spent the morning volunteering as a judge for the Lechwe Science Fair. The boys and I spent the morning at a craft fair where muzungus were coming out of the woodwork. I was pleased that I knew several people there and could visit a bit. Then we headed to a basketball tournament headed by our friend, Scott, who organizes sports events for kids in various shanty compounds in Kitwe and neighboring towns. MEF had a team that participated, coached by Scott. Apparently there was some worry that they wouldn’t get to go to the tournament across town because many couldn’t come up with the 4000 kwacha ($1) necessary for transport. But that issue was resolved and the guys were so excited to play ball. I took Carmen and the boys to the venue, which was a basketball court in the shadow of one of the mines. Every once in awhile, the mine would belch out smoke and everyone would choke and gag. Not all the guys had basketball shoes so those on the court wore shoes while those waiting on the sidelines stood in their socks. One short guy wore shoes that were several sizes too large and when he stopped short, you could see several inches of space behind his heel. But they were Air Jordans so how can he not wear them? Brendan and Jason enjoyed watching the game. I don’t think they noticed the environment or lack of resources. They just saw a bunch of guys playing ball.





Sunday, March 3, 2008

We managed to make it to church today, keys in hand. It was good to be back with these good people. I struggled through teaching Sunday School to a five year old, two four year olds, and three two year olds. One little boy kept escaping to the older kids Sunday School being held under a different tree a few meters away to be with his older sister. I kept chasing after him and bringing him back. An hour feels like an eternity when you are to keep them occupied with just a Bible story, songs, and nothing else. I don’t want to impose my North American style of doing Sunday School and yet expecting these very young children to sit quietly under a tree and listen to Bible stories for that long feels impossible. I hope to talk to the pastor’s wife who oversees Sunday School and see if I can understand a bit more of what is expected. In the meantime, I am trying to see this ministry as a gift to the parents who get to enjoy the sermon, and a blessing to Jason who loves that I am his Sunday School teacher.

Carmen, Scott, and Adrian joined us for dinner in the evening. Carmen made a special request for sourdough bread so I made soup to go with it. Thankfully, the power stayed on throughout the baking time and I turned out two beautiful loaves of sourdough bread. The boys were ecstatic that each of our friends took a turn reading a chapter of “Captain Underpants” to them before bedtime. It really takes a village to raise our boys, seeing as how I refuse to read these books to the boys. I just can’t take the fifth grade boy humor. Carmen beat us all in a game of Settlers of Catan while we savored Peanut Butter Temptations (a peanut butter cookie with a Reeses peanut butter cup in the middle). A little slice of heaven.