Merry Christmas!

Christmas Letter 2008
20 Dec 2008


Dear Family & Friends,

The lights are up. The tree is decorated. Advent calendars tell us that the day is fast approaching. But I can't say there is a chill in the air. Only that I am dreaming of a white Christmas...dreaming an impossible dream. Christmas in a semi-tropical climate certainly highlights how culturally informed our holiday sensibilities are. Not bad, but illuminating.

This marks our second Christmas in Zambia since arriving in August 2007. The past few months have seen us moving into our second year here and have afforded many opportunities to reflect. For instance, the boys starting school at Lechwe Education Trust in Septembers 2007 and 2008 were very different experiences. In the former we were scattered, baffled and struggling to cope. In 2008, the routine of that school was welcome and normal. For another example, in 2007 we saw the arrival of rainy season in November and learned what this meant through original observation. Now, in 2008, we have anticipated the rains and experience them with greater expectations and preconceptions.

In my work as lecturer at Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation—in the Dag Hammarskjöld Centre for Peace, Good Governance & Human Rights—I completed my first full academic year. The 5 Pan-African diploma programmes run from February through October. It was gratifying to see the peace participants (from Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia) complete their coursework, fieldwork and research projects. More than that was seeing the change that happens as people engage new ideas and take on new perspectives. Noyal is from Sri Lanka (non-Africans are admitted to the Pan-African programme as well). His mother sent him to Zambia to escape forced conscription by the Tamil Tigers and he lived with an aunt and uncle who farm near Kitwe. To stay in Zambia on a student visa, he needed to be enrolled in a course of study. So, after spending 4-6 months learning English, he enrolled in the Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation course—one that he thought would be fairly easy. After 2-3 weeks, he wanted to quit as he didn't think he could keep up in English (hearing, speaking, reading and writing). However, his fellow participants (all Africans) in the programme told him that they wouldn't let him quit. They would help him in every way so that he could stay in the course and succeed along with them. They were true to their word and he persevered. Noyal went on to have a transformative year in many respects—spiritually, emotionally, intellectually. After graduation, he returned to Sri Lanka. He recognized that he would have to look for 'normal' employment at first, but having been bitten by the 'peace bug', his new goal involves working with an NGO to promote conflict transformation in that war-torn society. I helped him get his resumé in order and complete an application or two for possible positions before he left. The Sinhalese government appears to be closer to military victory than ever before. However, Noyal knows that military victory does not breed true peace—only resentment and terrorism—and he is from the group threatened with being conquered. Hope and pray with me that Noyal will be able to use his training at Mindolo to work in the Spirit, building true and lasting peace in Sri Lanka.

Cheryl had said that in our move to Zambia, she would spend most of the first year concentrated on managing the transition and helping the kids adjust. She has done this task quite well and has been thinking more about how to shift into some other activities in addition to the domestic management that still demands plenty of time. This is not to say that she has not had anything to do beyond the home in the past year. She has volunteered at the boys' school on a regular basis to assist with reading and comprehension skills. She has also found time to facilitate in several trainings more closely related to her field. One area of training has been African Indigenous Christian Counselling, a DVD and book resource connected with Fuller Seminary. It seeks to meld the worldviews of western psychology and African traditions to address current realities on this continent. Cheryl has also been a co-facilitator for a short course connected to the Mindolo Peace Centre on Trauma Awareness and Healing. This training seeks to provide participants with framework, language and skills for handling community traumas connected to HIV/AIDS, sexual abuse, gender-based violence, natural disasters, etc. She has also somehow become the main Sunday School teacher at our current fellowship, St. Andrews Presbyterian. That is to say, she envisioned 'helping out' and 'assisting', but now she carries most of the responsibility. From this role, she was tasked with preaching recently on Children's Sunday. My turn to preach is coming on Christmas Day.

We had the privilege of having Cheryl's family come visit us in July. They were able to see where we live and together we toured some of Zambia's richness. A highlight was the safari that we took just before they left. In a 48 hour period we saw an incredible number of species native to this bio-region including a leopard, lions, zebras, baboons, elephants, giraffe, buffalo, kudu, wild dogs, impala, crocodiles, hippos and so much more.

Just prior to the arrival of Cheryl's family, I submitted my dissertation for marking. The properly obtuse title? “The Enthrallment of Violence in Mennonite Church Discipline: An Analysis of Convictions in Terms of Peace and Ecclesial Practice.” (Cheryl is still trying to wade through its 325 pages and if she ever needs help falling asleep, she knows where to turn.) It had been my hope to defend the dissertation orally in November, but that did not work out for one of the examiners. A new date has been set for mid-January, so I will travel to Prague (grateful for donated air miles) for that event.

The year has been somewhat eventful for Brendan and Jason amidst the rhythms of school and play. Some of those events have involved trips to the doctor for stitches, for broken toe x-rays, for malaria tests, concussion assessment and so forth. It is a rough and tumble world. We are thankful for access to medical care and medical coverage. Jason lost 5 teeth in about a month. Brendan had a tooth pulled to make room for others. Both boys have done well in school, receiving awards at the end of last year and solid marks on their report cards each term. They have several playmates in the neighbourhood and can ride their bikes freely all around the 300+ acre, walled MEF campus. To mark Brendan's 8th birthday, he and I took a special overnight trip to a local lodge. We hiked around, had some man to man talks, gave Brendan a new Bible, and watched the original Star Wars (Brendan's first time). Jason is very much looking forward to his 8th birthday so he can take a special trip with me—he wonders if he has to wait until he is 8 to see Star Wars.

Building relationships with Zambians around us has not been particularly easy. They are very friendly people, but we are finding it hard to get past an acquaintance level of conversation and understanding. We hope that as we move further into this 2nd year of service that some of those relationships will begin to flourish. We do appreciate very much the Mennonite Central Committee Zambia team, with whom we meet quarterly. We are spread all over the country, but we manage to stay in touch and it is always a highlight to see these colleagues now and again.

During this holiday season, we are more acutely aware of the distance between us and you, our family and friends. We appreciate all the support that you give us in various ways: communicating with us, praying for us, mailing goodies to us, etc. We appreciate the sense of being connected to you and you to us as we all together in our various places serve the Prince of Peace.

Love, Joy, and Peace,

The Smiths