Alright! I apologize I haven’t update on here
sooner; today is the first day I have actually used my computer. Here is a little
update on what has been going on the last few days and what is to come…
--Background on people...I am here for service
trip for Winning at Home. We have a partnership with the Jubilee Centre here-
an NGO that works with 107 churches. Pastor Lawrence and Martha Temfwe founded
the Jubilee Centre. One of their sons, David, and his wife Abby, are my hosts
during my time here (They met in Chicago while they were each attending
University). David does media for the Jubilee Centre and Abby works as a
teacher at Simba International School.---
1. Travel. Flights, baggage, everything went
SO well- thank you so much for all of the prayers. Time seemed to go by
quickly, I was able to use wifi in Johannesburg and make it to my overnight hotel all by myself, and I landed in Ndola right in
time for the day to begin on Thursday.
2. Arrival. I arrived Thursday and didn’t
have anything “scheduled” until today (Monday). Martha picked me up from the
airport and dropped me off at Abby and David’s flat to unpack and get settled
until Abby came home from school. Their home is beautiful and very similar to a
home in the US, a little different than places I have stayed in the past. On
Thursday evening, I attended an “aerobics” class at a local gym with Abby- it
was great! It was a combination of aerobic step and abs, and then I spent some
time on the treadmill while Abby and some of the other attendees did more
strength training. It was kind of funny- I have never voluntarily attended a workout
class in the States, and doing one in Zambia was not something I ever expected,
but it was fun. That night Abby and I got to spend some time getting to know
each other and processing what my previous Zambia experiences had been like
(and processing how this so far was incredibly different!)
3. Friday. Martha was encouraging me to rest
on Friday, which I initially thought I would not need, and then ended up being
incredibly grateful for it. Around 3pm I went to town with some of the staff
from Jubilee Centre in order to arrange for some way to be able to use my
phone. I was able to get a SIM card from a local provider and buy “talktime”
that I can use for data on my phone while I am here- I just need to update/purchase
the data time as I go. This was a HUGE answer to prayer as it was so odd not
saying goodnight to my husband in any fashion whatsoever- no call, no face, no
text…It was an odd few days of feeling very invisible/disconnected. Friday
after Abby returned from work we went over to her friend Gabi’s house with
Abby’s neighbor, Asia. As we sat outside and caught up, I sat back and realized
again, this was not the “Zambia” experience I am familiar with. Here I was, not
in a skirt, talking to women who have professional jobs, homes, are
middle/upper class, and from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds. My
brain was reeling…So here were all of these subcultures all within the frame of
upper/middle class Zambia, and each person with their own perspective and
beliefs. Most of my experience here has been in the villages, with mostly “true”
Bemba Zambians (a tribe) from a lower class socioeconomic background.
4. Saturday. I slept in again- hooray! And
then we went to a pool. I was highly confused. How can I wear a swimsuit here
when I am used to long skirts!? And we didn’t have a male with us, and we drove there ourselves, and we didn’t exactly know how to get there…It was myself, Abby,
Asia, and another one of their friends, April. April is from Atlanta, but lived
in Chicago and Zambia the last 5 years or so. We packed a full picnic and
chicken to “braii” or barbeque. Again, it was another great opportunity to meet
some awesome girls and process their takes on life in Zambia and everything
else in between. We ended up being the only ones at the pool as well, so it made for a pretty relaxing day. After we got home, we took showers and ordered some curry from
Starscape, a local amazing restaurant. We fixed some rice and “chi pates” (kind
of like flour tortillas) to go with our curries. Delish! I got in some reading
and research and went to bed early.
5. Sunday. Abby, David, and I went to a
service at Renewal Church. Pastor Lawrence and Martha have started this church
and host it at the Jubilee Centre at 8am on Sunday. We began with worship, a
message from the children, and Pastor Lawrence led a message on happiness vs
joy. We read from Philippians 1: 1-11 about Paul’s joy while he was in prison.
Pastor Lawrence presented joy as a “quiet confident assurance of God’s love for
you” and how it is impossible for us to even fathom what God has in store for
us. Lawrence also discussed how when we are in Christ we are a new creation and
adopt a new culture. This hit home for me- my goal is to understand more of
traditional Zambian culture and the relationship between it and Christian
culture.
After church, I rested and spent some more
time in prayer and research. I reviewed the current manual that has been
written for the Jubilee Centre to train/assist pastors in counseling children
here in the villages. David brought home a homemade braii stand for Abby the
day before, so we used it for dinner to grill some chicken, sausage, bacon, and
steaks. We also had a salad and a pasta salad. Asia came for dinner as well as
a few of David’s friends; Louiando and Louito.
6. Today. Here I am on Monday- back at the
Jubilee Centre pondering what on earth God is doing. My mind is blown, it has
been so awesome to see another side of Zambia, but it is also confusing. I
think most of what I have learned in this last weekend will be a “bookmark” of
sorts as it doesn’t directly pertain to what is in the counseling manual that I
am hoping to revise/add cultural implications to. This manual is for use for
pastors within the Jubilee Centre who are often working with orphans and
vulnerable children.
Today I also received a tentative schedule of
what is planned for during my time here:
Tuesday 6th: Visit and observed at
Eagles Wings Orphanage (observe structure,
practices,
hear the background of the organization, etc)
Wednesday 7th: Eagles wings again- making suggestions and training
some of the
workers
there in understanding the psychological/social needs of children
Thursday 8th: Adoption Society
Orphanage (observe structure,
practices,
hear the background of the organization, etc)
Friday 9th: Adoption Society-
provide some training, feedback as see fit
Saturday 10th: Visit a current
foster home (Pastor Phiri)
Sunday 11th: Church, rest
Monday 12th: Visit Josphine, a
trained counselor at her clinic in Chifubu. Learn about
cultural
implications, make suggestions as see fit
Tuesday 13th: Meet with Rhoida
Nyimbilli and Rhoida Magaba at their counseling clinic.
Learn
about cultural implication, make suggestions as see fit
Wednesday 14th: Visit the Church
of God community school and feeding program
Thursday 15th: Visit the Mapalo
Bread of Life programs
Friday 16th: Visit Ubusomboshi-
church community school
Monday 19th: Meet with Pastor
Lawrence to discuss what I have observed so far-
recommendations
for further growth, best practices, partnerships
Tuesday 20th: Leave for Lusaka by
road with Martha, visit trained counselors there
Wednesday 21st: Emilie DeYoung and
Catherine Mueller-Bell arrive in Lusaka, pick up
from
airport
Thursday 22nd: Go over the
counseling manual with trained counselors in Lusaka,
discuss
how to best care for teens with pastors and their wives
Friday 23rd: Meet with Pastor
Nixon and Vilees to see how programs are going, fly to
Ndola
Saturday 24th: Do an all-day staff
training for the Jubilee Centre employees
Sunday 25th: Visit Mapalo Church
of God
Monday 26th: Review child
counseling manual with trained counselors in Ndola
Tuesday 27th: Meet with Pastors
and their wives about best care for teens
Wednesday 28th: Visit with trained
counselors at clinic in Ndola, visit the Child Adoption
Center
Thursday 29th: Begin travel
process to US
- This
is all pretty content focused for now. I will need some more time for emotional
processing; there are just so many pieces. I feel that my heart is truly at
peace though and I am so thankful for that. I can most definitely feel your
prayers working within me and around me- even just seeing this schedule come
together today was such a blessing! I am so thankful to be here. I am sure
there will be more posting to come,
Blessings,
Mavis
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