Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday morning we loaded up as much as we could into the Corolla. Every nook and cranny was filled in the trunk as well as in the car itself. Dad rode with a watermelon in his lap most of the way. I took a taxi to town and boarded the EuroAfrica bus along with two suitcases that didn’t fit in the car. It took an hour and a half to load and then the five hours to Lusaka which meant for a long day. I had snacks, books, and crossword puzzles to keep me busy and thankfully, there was no Nigerian movie blasting on the screen the entire journey. The rest of the family had an uneventful drive, stopped at Fig Tree Café for the best burgers in Zambia and beat me to Lusaka.
I had arranged to have us visit my friend, Esther, at Needs Care Community School this morning. You may remember that I took my side of the family to visit two years ago and Peter and I were made to dance in front of everybody. Esther promised me that a repeat performance would not be required. Although when we walked around the classes, many of the kids recognized Peter. He must have left quite an impression! Needs Care was started by Esther several years ago in response to a need she saw in Ng’ombe compound. Many of the children could not pay school fees, or even afford the uniforms of the free basic schools. She now has 485 children attending her school, with Grade 1 through 7 being taught. There are four full-time teachers who are volunteering their time. There are another four teachers who come whenever they don’t have the option to make money with “piece work” elsewhere. They meet in a church with the different classes on benches in various parts of the open concrete sanctuary. It is obvious that the teachers who are there really care and the children are eager to learn. Of the 28 children who sat for the Grade 7 Standard Exams, 25 passed. This is a far better percentage than most other schools in Zambia.
After greeting each of the classes, we went outside to where two women were stirring a huge pot of porridge. World Vision supplies ingredients to make soya porridge for the children every day. The children are asked to bring K5,000 ($1) per month to help offset the cost of the sugar which Esther has to provide. But even that small amount is more than some families can afford. Each child brought their own bowl or container and Mom and I scooped it out for each of the Grade 1 children. One little boy immediately put a lid on his porridge and when asked why by one of the teachers, he replied that he was saving it to share with his little brother when he got home. For some, this would be the only meal for them that day. World Vision was also giving de-worming shots to each of the children that day. We were amazed that we only saw one child silently crying but the rest took the shot without a peep.
From there we drove out to Kalimba Crocodile Farm and saw all the snakes and crocs. We lunched on Croc Burgers and the boys played on the huge play structure. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to be in a lovely environment. And in the evening we had a braai at the MCC Guesthouse with Kathy (Eric was in South Africa) and the Moellers. Jonathan’s mother and her friend had just arrived from Ohio (without their luggage, unfortunately) and Peter’s parents were also with us. So we had a nice evening getting to know each other’s families.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Friday morning we loaded up the MCC Isuzu truck and began the seven hour road trip to Chipata in the Eastern Province, just kilometers from the Malawi border. To get there, we took the “Great East Road” which is a two lane highway, no shoulder, and tall grass on either side. It just cracks me up that it is called “Great.” It is actually mostly pothole free and relatively smooth. The most traffic that happens is foot traffic and so many people on bicycles traveling from one village to the next. You also have to be mindful of goats and cows who think they own the road.
With Mom and I and the boys squeezed into the back seat for seven hours, we had to get creative. Sometimes Jason would sit between my legs in the middle, sometimes he would lay across all of us, and other times we would wedge all four of our bottoms one next to the other. (No seatbelt laws for the backseat here!) But with the semi-bucket seats in the back, that last option meant sitting askew. Mom and I would have to change sides every few hours so that we could get a crick on the other side of backs. We were missing Georgi’s truck. We had hoped to pass many hours of the trip listening to Narnia on CD but alas, the CD player in this truck didn’t work. Neither did the radio so we couldn’t even listen to BBC. We were missing Georgi’s truck. But we passed the time reading aloud from Louis Sachar’s crazy book “Sideways Stories about Wayside School.” There were only a few police checkpoints on this road but every time Dad put down the front passenger window, it would become stuck. We finally figured out the trick which involved pushing down while pressing the button to go up, but we were missing Georgi’s truck. We reached Mama Rula’s Guesthouse in Chipata in the late afternoon and had to unload everything in the back of the truck since the top part of the cab doesn’t lock. We also discovered that the tailgate would no longer go down so we had to lift all our luggage over the back of it. We were missing Georgi’s truck.
Mama Rula’s was a lovely guesthouse. The loveliest part was Cartoon Network in the room the boys shared with Grandma and Grandpa. Before dinner, after dinner, and first thing in the morning, the boys got to watch cartoons on TV, a special treat for them. I think they got in nearly five hours of quality tube time. Talk about being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa. We had a delicious dinner at the guesthouse, starting with a creamy butternut soup, salad, and entrees of our choice. After a long day of driving, it was nice to sit down to a wonderful meal like that.
After breakfast the next morning, though the boys were hesitant to leave the wonders of DSTV behind, we loaded up the truck and embarked on the last three hours of our journey. This road from Chipata to the South Luangwa gate is about 120km but it is not paved so it is slow going. Construction crew are working on expanding the road and paving it which will eventually make it a fast drive but we are doubtful it will be completed before, say, 2015. An hour or so into this bumpy road, Peter and Dad noticed that the hood of the truck had come unhinged on both sides. It was riding up in front of the windshield and there was a bit of concern that it would fly up or slide forward. We stopped the truck and checked out the front clasp and speculated that it was strong enough to keep the whole hood from detaching. We drove on but the hood was still creeping up. Dad dug into his luggage and brought out a roll of duct tape and so we duct taped the hood down, which seemed to hold until we got to our lodgings. We were definitely missing Georgi’s truck!
But we made it to Flat Dogs Camp, a lovely guesthouse right on the Luangwa River, less than a kilometer from the entrance to the South Luangwa National Park. There were baboons right outside our chalet and we were warned not to leave the doors open because they were known to enter and help themselves to our food. There were hippos sunbathing on the sandy banks of the river. And crocodiles apparently as well, so the boys were asked not to leave the grassy part of the riverbank. The name of the camp, Flat Dogs, comes from the nickname for these crocodiles. Our chalet was very comfortable with two large bedrooms downstairs and up the spiral staircase to the loft, there were two single beds where the boys slept. There was an upstairs balcony, where we ate lunch as well as picnic tables outside the front of the chalet. The weather was pleasantly warm, unlike Lusaka, so we spent much of the afternoon outside, enjoying the view.
We went on our first game drive that afternoon at 16:00, after being provided with a delicious piece of chocolate cake. Malama was our guide and Kennedy was along to shine the flash light on animals after it got dark. Crossing the Luangwa river on the bridge, we could see hippos and crocodiles in the water. There were always lots of impala, bushbuck, kudu and other antelope. Soon we came across an elephant family, and one had a hole in his trunk from some sort of accident. We saw giraffe, always a favorite of mine, more specifically the Thornicroft giraffe which can only be found in this park. After sunset at 18:00, we continued another two hours. Kennedy swung a powerful flashlight back and forth, reminding me of the beam of a lighthouse. Since it was dark, our eyes went with the flashlight. After awhile, it was tiring but I couldn’t stop following the light unless I closed my eyes for a bit of a break. We spotted a porcupine, a genet and a civet but then nothing for almost two hours. As it was time to leave the park, we saw two lions as well as a leopard up in a tree but it was difficult to get a good view of the leopard. But seeing these great cats at the end was exciting. We woke up Jason who had slept a good part of the final hour so he could catch a glimpse of the lions. We had ordered dinner at the restaurant ahead of time so that it was ready when we arrived. Jason lifted his sleepy head off the table when his pizza arrived and managed to stay awake enough to eat.
Jason, who always wakes up at three minutes to six in the morning, actually slept in until almost 8:00! Unbelievable! I had an awesome shower, awesome in its own right and not just because ours at home is a trickle. We relaxed at the chalet and explored the camp a bit that day. The boys went swimming in the frigid pool. Late in the afternoon, Peter donned his hat as safari guide and took the others into the game park on a self-guided safari. I chose to stay back seeing as how the truck was quite cramped. Peter turned out to be a lucky, if not as knowledgable, guide and they came across a pride of lions eating a cape buffalo. They also parked very close to several giraffe and were able to observe them a long time.
That night was a rough one in terms of sleeping. Peter and I felt like we didn’t get a wink all night. There was a “sausage tree” right outside our room and as it was windy, the huge sausage pods kept dropping on the roof overhead. These pods are over a foot long and very dense so every few minutes, it sounded like a 2-litre bottle of soda was being dropped on the metal roof. There was also a huge animal outside a window munching on leaves and tearing off branches. We think it was an elephant but we couldn’t see it. Whatever it was, it was a very noisy eater. We were up at 5:15 for a morning game drive at 6:00. Malama was again our guide and we enjoyed his company for the next four hours, even though we didn’t see too many new varieties of animals. We found the pride of lions and the carcass completely cleaned over. The lions waddled slowly away with their bellies noticeably full, looking like they had just eaten Thanksgiving dinner. We saw a herd of cape buffalo coming up from the river, and a bushbuck baby with his mother that had likely been born the night before. The view around the river was lovely and we saw many interesting birds.
One of the amazing things about Flat Dogs is that many of the same animals in the park also wander around the camp. Later in the afternoon, when Mom, Dad, Brendan and I were off to a textile warehouse nearby, I had to stop for a family of four elephants wanting to cross the road. The four of us went to Tribal Textiles where we saw how beautiful batiks (painted cloth) are made. Using a substance made from flour and water, they draw animals and designs on the cloth. Then they paint different colors into the designs. This is then fired to set the colors. Later, they wet the cloth and scrape off the stiff paste and the white of the cloth underneath pops out. It is then heated again and ironed and made into tablecloths, bedspreads, pillowcases, wall hangings, etc. The end result are beautiful pieces of cloth, and unfortunately, very expensive too. Seeing the process was one of the highlights of the trip for me. I found it fascinating. Mom and Dad bought us a table runner with several of the animals we saw on safari together. It is a beautiful gift and will forever remind us of the wonderful time we had together at South Luangwa.
Before dinner, we watched the sunset from the top deck. It was a gorgeous sunset, and we were amazed how quickly the sun disappeared across the Luangwa River. We sat down to dinner at the picnic table in front of the chalet, using lamps to help us see what we were eating. Our dinner was interrupted by loud noises in the trees nearby. It was a bit disconcerting, not knowing what it was and having it so close. We had a fire going in the pit and hoped that would keep any animals from coming too close. Soon, we could see the silhouette of a herd of elephants moving between us and the nearby river, stopping to eat along the way. It was cool and freaky at the same time. Some of us moved to the top deck to still witness the event from somewhere that felt a bit more safe. The elephants and the sunset were a great finish to a wonderful vacation.
The next morning we got an early start since we were driving the full ten hours back to Lusaka in one day. The mechanics at Flat Dogs had fixed our tailgate and welded the hood back on so we were no longer relying on duct tape to hold it fast. We learned of a flight from there back to Lusaka, and though it wasn’t cheap, we elected to send Dad by air, creating a bit more space in the truck for the long journey. I’m sure we could have survived it but this way, tantrums from any one of the four of us in the back seat was prevented! (Well, OK, it was not likely that Mom would throw a tantrum because she was too busy taking pictures of everything we passed by.) It was still a very long journey. The boys impressed us with their lack of complaining. In a moment of inspiration, I doled out snacks to Jason every hour on the hour. That served the purpose of keeping him happy and protecting my sanity from a seven year old who declares he is hungry (i.e. bored) every twenty minutes. We arrived back in Lusaka and met up with Dad, who looked quite refreshed after his much shorter trip. He didn’t really want to be the one to fly but Peter needed to drive, I needed to take a turn at driving too, Mom couldn’t bear to miss the time with the grandkids seeing as they were leaving the next day, and we didn’t feel we could send one of the boys alone (despite their pleadings). So Dad took one for the team!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Peter and I met with Eric and Kathy yesterday morning, leaving Grandma and Grandpa playing Twister with the boys. I think they were willing to do anything given that they were leaving in just a few short hours. We needed to discuss with our Reps what our last year would look like, given the struggles MEF is facing. Because of Peter’s expertise in peacebuilding and the resources I have developed in counseling and trauma, Eric and Kathy are interested in utilizing what we have to contribute instead of wasting away at MEF. It was decided that we will formally end our work at MEF in December, after the four current students graduate. We will continue living at our house in MEF so that the boys can continue at Lechwe but Peter and I will make ourselves available to the BIC churches in Zambia for trainings and workshops in the first part of 2011. This will mean more travel on our part since most of the congregations are eight hours away but we felt this to be a better option than uprooting the family for a few months and having to homeschool. So now we have a plan and that feels better than being in limbo. How it all works out is yet to be seen but it is a start.
We took Mom and Dad to the airport around noon for their flight back home. It was hard to say goodbye knowing that we won’t see them again for a year. But we created some great memories together and we enjoyed having them be part of our world here for the past three weeks. This morning we got an early start on our five hour drive back to Kitwe. The boys had been invited to a birthday party in the afternoon and they thought attending it was more important than a leisurely morning and the best hamburgers in Zambia for lunch at Fig Tree Cafe. Peter and I weren’t so sure but we went along with their desires. After another four hours of chitchatting with a few mothers at the birthday party while the kids ran around and ate sugar, I was exhausted. Peter had unpacked and done three loads of laundry, running out of line space where he could hang them to dry. Our bathroom is still in need of repair but hopefully that will happen soon. It is still good to be home.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Dang it. It has become increasingly evident that I am, once again, spiritually ungrounded. Atrophied, diminished, weakened, reduced, are all words that could describe me spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally. I feel like I used to be a plump juicy grape (and still am in the physical sense) but have now shriveled into a raisin in other more important areas. I am in serious need of a change of heart, a second wind, a renewal of mind and spirit. So I have embarked on what I call the AAP (Attitude Adjustment Plan). I’m not sure yet what it will entail but something to needs to change in order for me to make it through our last year here. Not just to survive, and here is hope talking, but to thrive.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
We attended Bread of Life church this morning for the first time as a family. I had been there once before three years ago, when it was still meeting in a tent, and it was a bit too Pentecostal for my tastes. But we have heard good things about the church so we decided to try again. It seemed that the church new about my AAP, or perhaps we could attribute it to the Holy Spirit who is a key part of the AAP, because the prayer time was especially important to me. I don’t remember what all was being prayed but a lot of it had to do with a desire for a change of heart, transformation, God’s presence with us in hard times, and receiving a way forward. Those are all components of my AAP! In the sermon, the theme was how the wilderness is there to build character in us and how we have to go through the wilderness before some new movement will take place. I was especially convicted when the pastor read Numbers 11:4-6 which says, “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt – at no cost, also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!’” I may not be craving fish, but like the Israelites, it is easy for me to look back and miss what we used to have that is not available in Zambia. Not just foods, but those are there, but family, church, friends, easier and lovelier environment, etc.
As newcomers, we were treated to a soft drink after the service, which the boys appreciated. However, they are smart enough to realize that you are only a newcomer once and that next time we come, no softies will be forthcoming.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
I have a feeling that Henri Nouwen is going to be a major tool in implementing the AAP. I have begun listening to “Here and Now” by Nouwen on my ipod as I walk around the track. (I am allowed during the term break and since I have to take the boys there for football several times a week, it works out well.) I had to listen to the first chapter twice because there was so much in there that applied directly to my spiritual unraveling. Here is the diagnosis: I have been chained to the unalterable past and the unpredictable future making it difficult to be present in the moment, where God happens to be. I can be haunted by the past, the guilt and regrets and oughts and pain. I am worried about the future, the what ifs of MEF, our family, our next steps. What is needed is to listen to the voice of God, the voice of love. Obedience means to listen attentively. The Latin word for death is something which sounds like our word “absurd.” So when I am deaf to the voice of love, my life becomes absurd. I can attest to the truth of that. Prayer is listening to God within, recognizing God is present, not only in me but in others as well. So as I walked around the track, I tried to start listening again, to be in the present, to hear God’s love. Back to the basics.
Directly from the track, I drove to town and had an opportunity to try to implement this new aspect of the AAP, i.e. seeing God in others. I have become irritated so easily lately, especially at incompetence, like at the Lusaka movie theater when the picture was blurry and I left to find someone who could focus the lens and was told that they would do it. Thirty minutes I went back out with a headache and again asked if it was possible to try to focus it. They insisted they had but it still wasn’t clear. I received assurances that they would fix it. When I exited the movie at the end and found the technician, he tried to tell me that the reason it was blurry was that it was a “dark” movie, unlike the kids movie in the next theater over that was a “light” movie. So lame.
Anyway, I had to go to customs at the post office to see if a package from my mom was being held there. I hadn’t received the letter stating it was being held by customs but rarely have in the past, so I followed my hunch that it was being retained without notification. Sure enough, it was there. I waited while the customs lady and the post office lady looked through the seven boxes of the couple who was there ahead of me. Their packages were filled with clothing and I watched as the two officials held up the garments to their bodies and took three pieces each for themselves. The couple was all smiles, most likely because this “gift” meant they wouldn’t have to pay duty on the new clothes. I bit my tongue and made a pitiful attempt at seeing God in them, which I didn’t fully succeed at, but at least the thought had occurred to me which is progress. When I finally got my package, I didn’t chew them out for their incompetence and moral failure. I just said thank you and left. Every plan has to have “monitoring and evaluation” so I might as well give myself just a little bit of credit on this one. Baby steps, right?
On my home, I received a call from my friend Julien who asked to come by in the afternoon and get my notes on trauma. Julien was in one of my trauma classes two years ago and we have stayed good friends. It turns out that she is doing a workshop on trauma for her organization that works with people with disabilities. The workshop was starting the following day and she didn’t have anything. I then heard the story of how she came to lose her trauma notes, along with so much more. Julien has polio and has lost the use of her legs. She was married to a taxi driver and has a beautiful four year old boy named Taonga. When she found out last year that she was pregnant again, her husband suddenly became the kindest, gentlest man alive. Julien had difficulty that such a drastic change could be permanent but it was pleasant nonetheless. She subsequently “miscarried” which I put in quotes because the doctors said that there was no baby actually to miscarry despite several tests and ultrasounds. It was bizarre. We lost contact for awhile but then I ran into her at the Ag Show when Brendan won his prize. She told me then that her husband had become physically abusive to her and that she had moved out. Today I learned that when she left with Taonga, the only thing she had with her was her purse. He kept everything else and she was left with nothing. Her maid, bless her heart, left her two kids with her mother and moved in with Julien and Taonga because Julien is in a wheelchair and can’t manage completely on her own. That first night, the only thing they had in the house was a chitenge cloth so they all laid on the floor and covered themselves with the cloth. Through the generosity of friends, God has provided, she says. In starting life over with absolutely nothing except freedom from domestic violence, she says that she has nothing to stand on but God. And God has been good, she declares. I think connecting with Julien may also be part of the AAP. Ah, she puts me to shame.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
I was back to walking around the track this morning and back to listening to Nouwen. The truth that hit me today was that nothing comes automatically in the spiritual life. We have to choose joy every day. This is not to be confused with happiness that comes when our wishes are fulfilled, but joy from the knowledge that God is always present and God’s love is always there for us. Circumstances may be pretty crappy, which they often will be in this world, but the key is to look for the good, look for God, and not be overwhelmed by the sorrow but trust in Jesus’ declaration that he has overcome the world.
I had a delightful conversation with the new principal at Lechwe school, together with his wife. They are South Africans but have spent several years in Moscow and Buenos Aires as well as Swaziland and Lesotho. Mr. Bruce recognizes that Lechwe is in desperate need of a school counselor and wanted to know if I was interested in the job. I politely declined his offer but affirmed the need for someone to address the mental health and career guidance issues of the school. Then we had a great time talking about Russia, Lithuania, and post-Communist society. We moved on to African culture and why it is tricky to teach children to say no to unwanted touch to help prevent sexual abuse. After nearly an hour of chatting on various meandering topics, a parent came for their appointment so I took my leave. It was a pleasant way to pass the morning until the boys finished their football practice.
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