Sports Day and Singalong

Sunday, June 15, 2008
I’ve heard it said, “Always be ready to preach, pray or die.” I was asked to do the second in the middle of the church service, but I would have more willingly done the third. I was asked to give the prayer of intercession so I stood up and did my best to pray aloud. I like at least a few minutes to gather my thoughts but there was no time for that. When your name is called you just stand up and pray. I thought about vigorously shaking my head and mouthing the word, “NO!” but I didn’t. I stumbled my way through, mentioning peace probably ten times too many but when you are praying for the world and for Africa, it is not a bad thing to mention.

More than just the prayer itself, I think being asked to spontaneously pray in the service is symbolic of the congregation feeling like we are part of the church now. Everyone is usually so formal when calling on others in the church: Deacon Zombe, Mrs. Mukabe, etc. I was just “Cheryl.” Which is rather how I like it, especially since I wasn’t Sharon or Shellol or some other derivative. After the service, the ladies were very friendly in their greetings and even asked follow-up questions. Maybe I passed some kind of test, not with flying colors by any means, but a solid C+. I felt more of a connection with these wonderful people than I have in the past few weeks or so. It was a gift and I am thankful.

Following the service, Gertrude approached me about playing the keyboard. She had actually heard that Peter played and, stifling a laugh, I answered that it was actually me who played. She wanted me to take over the keyboard from the new guy who is just as bad as the last one. He played an entire song in a different key than the singers.
I don’t know if I will be all that much better finding the key that the singers begin in and figuring out the chord progression. But since we only sing about five different hymns, how hard can it be? I’ve been wanting to just go sit in on their practice times so that I can learn the Bemba songs, but they meet Saturday afternoons at 4:00 which is when I am starting dinner preparations for our Sabbath meal which often involves company. But we’ll see what I can do. There is a group of women my age and older who are taking the lead on worship. Usually it is the young people who do this. The youth have dwindled as they go off to college or jobs or get married, but these women, boy do they have energy. They are teaching new songs in the vernacular, not just in Bemba but in other Zambian languages too. They are singing their hearts out each Sunday and dancing and having a great time. It really makes the worship time come alive!

Monday, June 16, 2008
Well, API season is now over. Peter is wrapping things up, writing reports and submitting financial statements. Even though he is now teaching a two week intensive, he no longer has that frenzied look in his eye. It may still take him a bit of time to come down from the craziness of API, to shake that feeling that there must be about ten urgent things that he should be attending to at any given moment. And now we have joined the cold season, along with the rest of Zambia. It hasn’t rained since mid-April and we won’t expect a drop until November so it is very dry. Our skin is super-dry and our feet crack easily unless we put lotion on them frequently. The last two weeks were very cold, I must say, especially since we are in Africa after all. When we awoke in the morning, the temperature read 6 C (43 F). Given that there are many airvents in the house, some planned and some not, that means that inside our house is not much warmer. Most days warm up but there were a handful of days that I wore my fleece all day. We’ve layered up all the blankets we own onto the beds and most of us are warm enough at night. Since we don’t really know what cold season is like, we expected it to just get colder and colder. But the last two days, it has warmed up a bit. We have taken off a blanket or two, made less tea in the evenings, and went around with bare arms at mid-day. I guess the extreme cold will come and go until the end of August when it starts to warm up again, heading into the dreadfully hot month of October. I heard that October is called “suicide month” in some Zambian languages. Having been through it once already, I concur. You can even go back and read my blog entries to verify this. But that is a long way off and I will enjoy wearing my fleece while I can.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The lower primary students at Lechwe (Nursery through Grade 2) held their annual Sports Day this morning. The children paraded in and we sang the Zambian National Anthem. Upper Nursery, Jason’s class, participated in four different races and the children were divided into groups of similar ability. There was the egg and spoon race in which Jason was slow but VERY focused. The next race, Jason had to put bean bags in several hula hoops and then race to the finish. He was very quick and took first place. The third race involved riding motorcycles, like what he used to do down the halls at IBTS. He came in third on that one. And the last race was a “flat race” where they ran as fast as they could. Jason came in first on that one too. I love the picture of that race because you can see the other children with their eyes on Jason because they know he is fast!



At the end of the Nursery races, they had the parents participate in a few races. I raced in the egg and spoon event and came in third place. Then it was the fathers turn and they were really out of control. They had to place stuffed animals in these very small wheelbarrows that the middle nursery children could hardly lift. These men were so aggressive and the wheelbarrows were not meant to go very fast, that several of the men tumbled over the wheelbarrows. There were men flying everywhere and teddy bears getting mauled by rolling men. Pretty crazy! Carmen came to watch the events of the morning. Unfortunately, there was no event for best friends who give up their morning to cheer on boys who adore her.

Then it was Brendan’s turn to race with his classmates. He also did the egg and spoon race, an obstacle course, a flat race, a bucket and water race as well as a shuttle relay. He enjoyed the day and all the different races. He wished he could have been in the race where the children had to sit on a balloon and pop it but there were so many children that they could only be in select races. At the end, there was a tug-of-war between the boys and the girls of their class. Personally, I never liked tug-of-war but Brendan loved it and relished the boys’ victory. He was outraged that the girls won the second round with the help of their teachers. Ah, to be seven again and all about fairness.

As Jason told us countless times leading up to Sports Day, “there are no losers, everyone is a winner!” And he was right. Lechwe had a very nice system in place where each child got a ribbon at the end of each race. There were different colors for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places and then the rest of the participants received an orange ribbon. Everyone could feel good about all the ribbons they received. It was really well done. I even got a purple ribbon for my third place finish, which I let Jason add to his collection.

Thursday, June 19, 2008
“Then sings my soul, my savior God to thee . . .” Hearing Brendan walk around the house singing the chorus to “How Great Thou Art” is an unexpected blessing of only singing a few select hymns in church. I’m glad he knows this hymn and can sing it at the top if his lungs!

Sunday, June 22, 2008
We made a quick trip to Lusaka this weekend to say goodbye to more of our MCC Zambia team. The reason it was quick was that it was in the middle of Peter’s two week intensive that he is teaching so we couldn’t take advantage of the long drive by staying a bit longer. The Wielers as well as three SALTers are finishing their assignment and heading back to North America. We went to a nice restaurant outside of Lusaka for a braai (BBQ) lunch. I ate more red meat that lunch than I have in a few months put together! We will miss the Wieler family. They added a lot to the team and we enjoyed hanging out with them, eating their yummy food, playing games, and processing our experiences together. Thankfully, they are moving back to Winnipeg so we will get to see them again! We are getting used to the young people coming and going each year. We said goodbye to Mark, Tyler, and Amy but will say hello to two new SALTers in August.

The Wielers loaded us up with items they used during their service term but are now available to be passed along: a salad spinner, more blankets, color-coordinated bathroom towels, a blender, school supplies, etc. I would rather have these friends in Lusaka to visit but all their goods are the next best thing! We also bought a color printer/copier/scanner off of them so now we can print from home! This is very exciting for me as I want to do a Sunday School unit on prayer with the boys and the printer will come in handy!

Another big bonus on this trip to Lusaka: I found black beans! Charlene passed on the name of a missionary who is doing a food co-op for hard-to-find items and one of the things she found was black beans. At only $2.50 a kilogram, I bought up four kilograms. Between that, the items from the Wielers and the things I buy in Lusaka because they are either only available in Lusaka or are significantly cheaper than in Kitwe, our car was loaded down!

Monday, June 23, 2008
When I listen to the BBC World Service, I keep hearing dire news about the US economy. It makes me think that maybe we ain’t doing so bad working for MCC! I am learning skills here that may come in handy later as well: baking bread, cooking my own beans, growing a garden, making my own tortillas and salsa, eating less red meat, eating lots of beans and lentils, using all parts of the chicken not just boneless skinless chicken breasts (well, not quite all but more than I used to), recycling whatever we can for our own use, making do with outdated technology, entertaining ourselves with books and games instead of with a TV or other forms of entertainment, buying clothes at the salaula (used clothing stalls), linedrying our clothes, being careful about where we drive and combining errands to make our petrol last longer, and other such things. I know I am a bit slow on the uptake and many of you have been doing these things for ages already, and I am finally joining in. Better late than never.

Sometimes I wonder if I can make these things a lifestyle choice as opposed to something that I do because I live in one of the poorest nations in the world and there are limited options. When we return to the US, assuming that will happen someday, will I be tempted to just enjoy all the conveniences of the wealthy American lifestyle? Or will I continue to try to live simply, ever challenging myself to think about the impact my choices make on the rest of the world’s population and the environment? Living in America, I know I consumed more than my fair share of power, water, and fuel. I am realizing this means that I took this from people in developing countries. I admire the people I know that are deliberate in their choices to bike more, consume less meat, wear clothes that may not be the latest fashion, that use what they save by living simply to give generously to others. Sometimes I doubt I have the strength to stand up to the pressure to consume more, to make choices that benefit me but may hurt others, to make money at any cost, etc. In many ways it is easier to live here in Africa. I am always mindful of how wealthy I am, how much I have compared to those I am around. But yet, when I go to Lechwe School and see all the other moms in their SUVs and the trendy clothes they bought in South Africa or when they were passing through Dubai, I look at my thrift store clothes and cringe. I wish I didn’t care. I would love to be one of those people who didn’t care. The next best thing I can do is surround myself with people who care about the same things. And I can keep reading my Bible and hearing that God loves the poor and how the rich will be called into account for our choices. My kids may not be convinced that Jesus ate lentils and loved them (a line Jason in particular finds hard to believe), but I am!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
This week is Assessments Week at Lechwe. Jason met with the principal, Ms. Lager, for his assessment. He exuded confidence going into the exam and came out triumphant. He reported that he didn’t miss one answer! He definitely has a handle on his letters, numbers, colors, writing his first name, drawing an apple, and who knows what else. Brendan was very excited yesterday when he got a perfect score on his listening comprehension exam. His teacher said that some of the students who did well on the Grade 2 exam will get to try their hand at the Grade 3 exam to see how much they know. They may even get to try the Grade 4 exam if they do well again. There was a buzz in the room when she announced this and Brendan is very excited about this prospect. He admits that this is a bit weird. We are still trying to get him to score perfectly on his home listening comprehension exam. He scores poorly when it comes to hearing me tell him to be kind to his brother or to do chores around the house. Moms are especially easy to tune out. Maybe I could hire his teacher to come to our house and tell Brendan the exact same things that I say to him and see if his home listening comprehension scores improve . . .

Thursday, June 26, 2008
“You put your right hand in, you put your right hand out, you put your right hand in and you shake it all about, you do the hoky poky, and you turn yourself around, that’s what it’s all about!” The three nursery classes at Lechwe performed a number of different songs all about the body at their annual Nursery Singalong. The children were so excited and fully participated. They knew all the words and the actions and sang with gusto! At the end of the performance, the children in Upper Nursery grabbed their parents from the audience and we got to join the circle for a final round of “Hoky Poky.” Jason talked about that the rest of the day, how fun it was for me to do the “Hoky Poky” with him at school. Glad I could oblige.


There is no issue made about prayer in school here. Everyone was ordered, "Hands folded! Eyes closed! Let us pray!" and then a boy recited a prayer. I am still amazed at this.

Friday, June 27, 2008
I was talking with Peggy, my househelp, about the rising price of food. I hear about it on the news all the time but can see it here in Kitwe. Zambians rely on mealie-meal (ground maize) for all their meals. For breakfast, they eat a kind or porridge made of “breakfast mealie-meal.” The price for this kind last month was 35,000 kwacha. This month it is 48,000 kwacha. For regular mealie-meal which they eat in the evening, the price has gone up from 30,000 to 40,000. Peggy works a few hours a week for me and her grandmother works full-time. Two bags of each kind of mealie-meal are needed each month to feed the thirteen people in the household. So two people with a small income, five children, and four free-loading adults. As Peggy says, it is a huge problem. I feel the crunch of the rising food prices. MCC gives us a monthly budget for food and I do my best to stay within those parameters, but I have to be creative. When we go to Lusaka, I stock up on items that are noticeably cheaper than in Kitwe. We eat less meat and more beans and lentils. But we still eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and three meals a day. We eat healthy and plenty but I have to be careful because the same amount of money does not go as far. Still, when I listen to Peggy, I know that the rising food prices are an inconvenience for me but not a matter of going hungry as it is for so many Zambians and others around the world.