Zambia : City Life

This week was cultural overload! I was placed with a national partner and another girl here learning as well. We travel everyday taing 2 mini buses (at one point crammed with 19 ppl) to a compund. A compound is like a community of people wo live in shanty houses some with no electricity. Each day we are given assignment to research and observe the cultural in this setting. My national partner grew up and lives at this compound. We talk mostly with women. They are tending to children and house work. The hardest day was sitting with a mother and her son in their home. The 8 year old boy at sicle cell anemia. He is unable to go to school and the mom can barely pay her hospital bills. So ok yes my heart breaks for the diease... but my heart breaks more due to the "lack of faith" this mother thinks she has due to her sons illness. Yes, you read right, she feels like her sin has casued this and if she had more faith, her son will be healed. We shared with her the story of Paul and how he asked 3 times for the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh but God chose not to. He didnt lack faith, just the God saw greater glory in his pain. She didnt ever quite grasp this concept. Im learning there is a catergory for everything in an Africans mind. There's gotta be a reason. But I mean, Job's friends thought this and even the disciples thought this with the blind man.... so this is nothing new.

Greetings from Zambia!!

Traning at 4040 has just begun but I feel like I have been here forever already! Luksa is much slower paced than Tanzania. We practiced riding the mini bus yesterday. Cramming as many people into one ride is always fun. We went to a compund and sat with a family. I learn more and more about culture everday. Its almost to the point of beating my head on the wall when I hear some things. We saw children aimless playing in the streets with trashmade kites and balls. Lots of stares and looks even some yelling came our way as we walked around. Im sure not many "munzugus" come thru there. My partner had to use the bathroom as we were walking. So my zambian friend just stopped at a strangers house and asked if she could go. As she went inside I sat on a straw mat with the lady who owned the home asking here questions about her life. She began to tell me how she was bankrupt, had 6 children living at home, 2 married and has no stable income. She has good neighbors she can ask for food. Culture lessons screamed at me.. first we stopped at a strangers house for the bathroom, second she told me about her misfortune and was not embrassed ( nor do I think she was wanting a hand out) third, she was so pleased we would come and sit with her. Time is everything here but not time in a sense of clocks or by minutes but the time you spend with someone. Oh I still have so much to learn!!

Ready, Set, Go!

8 Days and counting!

Whew, I am a roller coaster of emotions. I wanted to kind of give a summary of what the next month may look like. My expectations of communication at first are low, so I will be setting you up for me being MIA until the month of May.

I fly out next week and arrive late the following day. My apartment isnt complete yet, so I will be flexible as to where they put me. 2 days later I will pile a months worth of living in the bush into my pack and travel by car to Kenya. Some team mates and I will be going to a meeting there for our cluster. This will be a 2 night 3 day trip (ahhh!) Then after we arrive in Kenya I will meeting and greeting a lot, all while still adjusting. A few days later I will fly to Zambia for more training, with a group of individvuals I met in VA. This is 40 days: few weeks in the urban, few weeks in the bush, then a few days with a Zambezi family. I will back in Tanzania around the end of May. I will be hitting the ground running.

Pr@y for :
- goodbyes and hellos, and I will mesh well the the team there.
- time change adjustment, and probably stomach adjustments too
- time in Zambia to be streching, challenging, fun, helpful
- good rest (even on the plane rides)
- divine appointments

Love you all!