'Snapshot of the Morning' or 'Helping in Zambian Ways'

Dear all,

Let me tell you briefly about my morning. I do this, not to emphasize how many miles we're putting on the cruiser driving it around, but rather, to show just how much fun it is to work with this incredible group of students as our days get busier and busier.

Since we start class every day at 06:30, the early risers (both of them) get to the Hamby around 06:00. This means that by 6, two pots of coffee are already brewed and the hot water for tea and hot chocolate is ready. 

This particular Friday morning, Addie, Aubrey, Kaitlin P., and Seth, scarfed down a bite of breakfast and packed a lunch while the rest of the group started Tonga class. At 06:45, we left for Namwianga Basic Christian School, where I dropped them off to spend the entire day observing a day of school. Portions of the group have already been to the Basic a couple times and have taught classes, but the goal of these four this morning was to research for a day, so that they can help teach at the Basic in ways that are most helpful. Teaching in Zambian ways. 

After I dropped them off at the Basic, I drove over to the orphanage to pick up the four girls who had spent the day Thursday and Thursday night out in the village with one of the aunties. The aunties get one day off a week, and yesterday, River, Molly, Kailey, and Kaitlin W. spent almost 24 hours with one of the aunties, walking 4 miles home with her, cooking, gardening, eating, singing, and sleeping. They woke up early to eat breakfast and walk the 4 miles back to the Havens by 07:00.

Members of our group are at the orphanage daily. Part of our group "helping" there involves not only holding babies, but getting to know the babies' regular caretakers, the aunties. This is the only way we can best help, working within the system that's already in place rather than disrupting it with our presence. Learning to take care of the babies in Zambian ways. Our girls witnessing a day in the life of an auntie is one invaluable, probably immeasurable, experience that is integral to this goal of helping at the orphanage. 

We drove back to the Hamby and ate a bite of breakfast, before we loaded up another part of the group to spend the morning at Namwianga Rural Health Center (the clinic). Janice, Louisa, and Katie each model "helping in Zambian ways" as they deal with the joys and frustrations of working at a clinic that is run very differently than clinics in the US. This morning, some of our students will be in the examination rooms seeing patients with them, while others will work with Zambian clinical officers and nurses. 

I rushed back from the clinic to attend chapel at George Benson with the rest of our group and the GBCCE college students. As soon as chapel ended, I met with Ba Rogers Namuswa, the head of the Church Planting and Development at Namwianga. On Saturday and Sunday, our group will participate in a gospel meeting not too far away, preaching, teaching, singing, and cooking. Ba Namuswa and I coordinated our schedules so that we can have people in all the right places. Saturday, many of us will be together. Sunday, 5 girls are spending 24 hours in a village with an auntie, some will be at Namwianga, 3 guys with Ba Namuswa with the prison ministry, other girls leading a church service at the havens for the aunties, and still others at a nearby village church. 

That's our plan for the next couple days. 

I say all this to say, these students are phenomenal. HIZ has been blessed with yet another incredible group and it's an honor to work and learn together with them. 

The Global Missions Experience is going on this weekend at Harding University at Takodah (HUT - about 40 minutes away from Searcy). We'd like to think that we represent a small part of the very same Global Missions Experience. It's a learning process, learning how best to use the gifts God has given us, and how appropriately to channel our passion to "help". 

Whether this weekend at HUT, this semester in Zambia, or at HUF, HUE, HUA, or HUG, we are all on a lifelong journey of learning our place in this big world. God's Mission transcends us, yet we work and learn and participate in order to find our point of contact with God's global Mission in 2012. 

Grace and peace,

Jeremy Daggett

HIZ 2012 Field Director

A Different ‘Gift of Giving’

by Brette Dollins

Remember when you were a child, and all you ever wanted was for Christmas to roll back around? Snow days, decorating the tree, baking gingerbread with Mom—all were wonderful memories we’ve had of our childhood. But what, as a child, was most important? Going to see Santa, of course! Without braving those wretched holiday lines, paying a ridiculous fee and being slung by elves down a big red slide, Santa Claus would never know what to bring you!

I recently had a thought to myself. On one of those crazy trips to see St. Nick, did I ever ask the kind old man how his day was? Or do I know if he has children? How about if he had any advice for me in school, or with my friends? I realized that the friendship with Santa Claus wasn’t what I had desired. What I desired were the items he routinely would give me.

Before embarking on this journey, our twenty-seven students were allowed to bring gifts to the children, and we piled them all together upon arrival so that Meagan, a missionary with the havens, could find an appropriate time and place to hand them out. She spoke to us about how people will come visit Namwianga, giving candies, toys, and other trinkets then leave after their short mission trip. When a white mission team from America comes in time after time with gifts, the children and people become like kids at Christmas—eagerly awaiting their candies and treasures and quickly moving on afterwards, which reminded me of how we love Santa for what he brings us. This, over time, seems to have created the idea in the mind of some that the sole purpose of visitors is to give things. It has been said by a former HIZ student, “Being a giver of a very different gift is what Namwianga needs.” We were a little surprised at first that we weren’t freely giving items all the time, but we now understand and can apply much better the purpose behind the action of giving.

For instance, think about Jesus’ ministry and service. He had more than enough power to give money, food and other physical necessities to all the poor He met. While we do see stories of physical giving, in every story He reached for something deeper through intentional interaction. He spent His time with the lepers, the sinners and the poor and had compassion on them, sometimes offering healing or food, but always offering the gift of His never-ending hope. This world and the things in it will pass away, but the promise of His word, faithfulness and love are everlasting.

While here, our endeavor is to break down the barrier between the two cultures. Too often members from a developing country find themselves in a relationship of dependency for items instead of creating an international Christian bond. Materials may last a day or two, but friendships in Christ can make an impact for an entire lifespan. I know personally that consolation and advice from respected adults has made more of an impression on my life than any present. Sometimes here we’re being asked by small children for bubble gum or stickers, but our response is instead, “Let’s go play!” Now these children love solely to play with us and do so often, and we strive to apply this with all kids we meet.

The efforts of those in the past, in reference to giving, aren’t necessarily negated, for I know I have reached out to other kids like that before. As we continue to fall in love with this beautiful country and its people, though, we now strive to show Jesus from our hearts, and desire to give and receive the invaluable gift of loving relationships.

Livingstone: weekend off from work & studies

Dear Mom, Dad & Hannah,

So I wanted to let you know how the weekend was. It was really great! I got to ride elephants and feed them, swim on the edge of Victoria Falls and pet lions. It was really amazing and a ton of fun plus I really bonded with the girls who did stuff with me. I don't have much time but I wanted to tell you and send you some pictures.  I love you so much and miss you!

Living her dream!

Visit to Livingstone

Dear Friends and Family,

After a long weekend in Livinsgstone, we are all back, safe and sound, at Namwianga. It was a fun, relaxing break to be away for a couple days, but I think that, once we got on the 15 minute bumpy dirt road that gets us to Namwianga, we were all excited to be back "home". We came back to an unscheduled power outage, which simply meant Sunday evening worship was by candlelight (about ten candles for 400 people) and we heated up dinner on the gas stove. Sometime after curfew, the power came back on (I only noticed it at 5am when my alarm went off and the fans were on :)

A quick rundown of the weekend:

We took off at 5:15am for Livingstone on Friday morning so we could get the first crew of rafters out on the river. About 12 of us rafted the Zambezi river, while others rode elephants and walked Livingstone Island to "Devil's Pool". On Saturday, the majority of the group went to the gorge to do the gorge swing, zip lining, and rappelling. 

Sunday morning we ate breakfast and went to worship with the Livingstone Central Church of Christ (heralded as one of the few, if not the only, Zambian churches to start on time). And of course, we were the ones just a few minutes late. After lunch and some shopping we took Zambia's main road from Livingstone back to Kalomo. 

This week there is plenty going on with classes, clinic, school, havens, and outreach. We'll try to make the most of the next two weeks before our next big trip to the North-Western province. 

More soon, hopefully accompanied by some pictures and video. 

Jeremy

After one month in Zambia....

9/20/2012

Dear Friends and Family,

We have been in Zambia for one month now, which is extremely hard to believe! It's been an incredible month; we've learned so much I don't know if we really know how to articulate how much we've learned. With cross-cultural encounter comes constant evaluating and reevaluating, which is what makes the International Programs (whether it be HIZ, HUF, HUG, HUE, HUA, HULA, or HIP) singular in their learning potential. What is learned in class is easily defined; exactly what is learned through a simple cross-cultural conversation, chapel program, or football (soccer) game is delineated less easily but profound in its application. Our students are becoming conversant with culture, worldview, and the humanities (from an African perspective), and all of this in light of Jesus of Nazareth. 

Christian education is incredible.

So, some specifics about our day-to-day life. This week has been a little less crazy than last week (with the National Measles Vaccination week in which our students participated) but great nonetheless. Last Friday we attended the George Benson Christian College of Education graduation. This turned out to be a fascinating, cultural experience; I think the group really enjoyed it. On Saturday we had one of our Saturday "cultural events," our Tonga and Literature teacher, Ba Siaziyu, invited a woman to come and speak about Zambian marriage and preparation for marriage. The rest of the day was free, so most of the group walked to town for lunch and to hang out for a while. We played a game of ultimate frisbee that afternoon and ended the day with a special South African meal (cooked by Sue Calder!) and a Nertz tournament (group card game). 

On Sunday, some of our group stayed here and worshipped at the Namwianga Church of Christ, while another part of the group (17 of us) went with some George Benson students to a town about 45 minutes away to worship with the village church. We helped with the whole service, I did the Bible study, Greg preached, Chris and Parker took turns leading singing (in Tonga!) and Phil spoke before the Lord's Supper. There were two collections this morning, one the regular collection, another for some work on their church building. It is the custom here to announce at the end of the service the number in attendance and the amount given in the collection. This Sunday, the amount of the first collection was announced: "79,000 Zambian Kwacha, plus one egg." The second collection: "39,000 Zambian Kwacha, plus also another egg." After our initial surprise that two eggs made it into the offering, I thought of the woman with two small copper coins, whom Jesus pointed to as an example of true giving. 

Now that the precedent is set by a Zambian, I won't be surprised when one of our students contributes an egg this Sunday :)

Each day of this week we've been without electricity. It was an unplanned outage on Monday, but we were warned about the outages on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thankfully, the electricity does come back on throughout the night (about 8:30pm on Tuesday night) and we get to have our fans going and charge phones and computers, etc. 

Our program for this week didn't change much in spite of our power-less-ness. Each morning we still had Tonga class starting at 6:30, and African Humanities at 7:00. After breakfast, Monday and Tuesday morning were dedicated to field work: many of the group went to the clinic to work with Janice, Louisa, Katie, and the Zambian medical professionals, and another portion of the group worked at the Namwianga Basic school. Though the plan had been for these students to observe the teaching process, I warned them when I dropped them off that they'd likely find themselves teaching within the first few minutes. That turned out to be the case, and of course our students were up to the task. They plan to put together lesson plans and go back one or two days a week to teach specific lessons as a part of the primary school curriculum. Classes met Monday and Tuesday afternoon. Monday evening we had our weekly "Family Meeting" for cultural processing, Tuesday evening we played football and volleyball with the George Benson students and had a lower-key evening on the Hamby porch, dimly lit with oil burning lanterns. 

Wednesday was one of our "regular class days", which just means we started class at 6:30, and after breakfast at 8, George Benson chapel at 9 (which our students organized, Seth Watkins spoke), we met for morning classes before a 12:00 lunch. A couple of our smaller classes met Wednesday after lunch, though most of the group had a chance to go to the Havens or to town. 

As I type, Ba Moonga is teaching African history. After breakfast, we'll head out on a day trip to Macha Hospital. The Macha mission has been around for about 100 years, and the hospital has a research division well-known for its work with malaria. We plan to be back this evening before dinner, and then make preparations for a weekend trip to Livingstone. It's been a busy month; we're excited to have a couple days off from class, to relax and enjoy some of the fun activities Livingstone has to offer. We'll try to take plenty of pictures and share these. 

That's it for now. Thank you for your prayers for our group. Our prayer, not just for ourselves here in Africa but for God's people all over the world, including you all in the US of A, is that we will all ask: "Where is God in this situation? How is God at work here?" When we ask this, we hope that the plans we make, the work we do, the ways we bless will all be a part of God's global mission. We pray with Jesus "Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Grace and peace,

 Jeremy Daggett

HIZ 2012 Field Director

More on Missions and “Coming as Learners”

by Kaitlyn Leonard
9/16/2012
Traveling to Africa with a group of thirty people conjures up different opinions, different first impressions, and different audiences back home who will be craving information from the lives of their loved ones abroad. While there is nothing inherently wrong with sharing your experiences and opinions on the internet or in a conversation, as that is the essence of human communication in 2012, there is harm when the situations and settings that are discussed hurt and portray wrong concepts about a group of people, or in our instance, the continent of Africa.
Coming here, it is very important to realize that we are coming as learners. We do not have the concept of “missions” perfected, nor do we know every cultural characteristic of this country. We have come from a completely different place, where there are cultural, social, emotional, and spiritual differences, and if we claim to understand this country enough to judge and make finalized opinions, why are we even here to learn in the first place? To ensure we do come here in that manner, we have been introduced to the customs and cultures on various occasions, from people who live and breathe this culture.
It is also very important for us to come here knowing we are here in God’s name. We should put on the mindset and image of God as described in Exodus 34:6-7. By taking this measure, we are being sure to come here full of compassion and love for these people. We will not be judging them, but looking onto their current situations and lifestyles and wanting to help and care for them. But it is important to know our limits. We can’t assume we know the best way to help. It is not our place to give out candies and toys to every child we see because “they are poor.” It is not our place to look at a circumstance, such as in the hospital, and claim they are suffering, saying, “Those poor people, let’s help them.” And it is absolutely not our place to give false information to our audience back home. However, because we are here as learners, we are to ask questions and work our way through them. By asking the hard questions such as “Why are these babies born without a chance of living, while others are born into a family where all their needs are met?” and “How is it fair that we call a long hot shower a ‘blessing,’ while 800 million people do not have access to safe drinking water?” we open our hearts to the pain and heartache that God suffers every day. By allowing ourselves to ask questions, we allow ourselves to feel for these people as Christ feels for them.
While we take these measures to make sure we do not inaccurately portray Zambia, we need to take measures to ensure we do not criticize and look down upon (without realizing or intending to) our family and friends who are not in Africa. Yes, we are in Africa studying abroad, but there is important mission work to be done in the United States. God is on a mission in Russia and India and all over the world, and the fact that we are in Africa does not make our part in His mission any more important. We are all serving Christ and seeking to glorify Him in all we do. As long as we are living our life according to His commands, what matters is that we carry them out, not where we carry them out.

 

Time in Culture          

by Meryl Wetton

9/16/2012

Americans obsess over time management. As toddlers we see adults constantly going from appointment to appointment. As children we enter an educational establishment and have limited time to spend on each subject we are to learn that day. As pre-teens we enter middle school where a bell system is in place and as soon as the bell rings you gather your belongings and move to the next class. As teenagers we advance to high school where we are given agenda books to keep track of our time and we are even offered time management tips. As we graduate high school and move on to college it is mandated that we arrive to class on time and turn our assignments in before the deadlines; failure to do so will result in various consequences. The market in the US for time-keeping devices such as watches, cell phones, etc., is enormous. We as Americans have been taught to push ourselves to do as much as we possibly can in a 24-hour period before we wake up the next day to repeat the process. This lifestyle is directly related to the concept that time is money. Yes, it is true that working more hours will result in a larger paycheck, but is more money in our pocketbook going to solve every problem? A point that I have been pondering lately is that if “time is money” and “the love of money is the root of evil,” then what does that say about the lifestyle we are living?
Here in Zambia, time management is a flexible concept. For example, when we went to the village church last Sunday we pulled up to the church and because they had two weddings going on that day they told us we would be the majority of the congregation. As guests at this church we were expected to lead the service and were asked to begin the service promptly upon our arrival. As the service progressed a steady flow of people entered the church. Even after the sermon was over people were still arriving for the service. By the end of the service the amount of people in the congregation had doubled in size. Most of those who arrived late had missed the majority of the service. It seemed that they didn’t expect worship to actually begin when it was said to begin.
Even in our 30-minute Tonga class our teacher will tend to write on the board for half of the class and teach the other half. Another example was when our teacher, Ba Simafuta, was late to class because on his walk here he saw a good friend and instead of passing him by he stopped to talk to him and show him respect by greeting him properly. There are so many other examples that I could give but the one thing I have noticed about the life here in Africa is that when things happen doesn’t matter as much as what happens. Such behaviors point to underlying values. We act in certain ways because we value certain things. In this situation the behavior of taking your time and not rushing expresses the value that people and relationships are more important than punctuality.
Luke 10:38-41:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the LORD’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed- or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The Bible presents this people-centered lifestyle millennia ago. Jesus explains to Martha that she was worried about things that do not matter while Mary chose to spend her time focusing on Jesus and developing a relationship with Him. Likewise, we in America spent most of our lives worried about compartmentalizing each moment into our schedules instead making relationships with the others around us. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being in this culture so far it’s that time doesn’t have to be just about money. Time is all about the people with whom you spend it.

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Incomprehensible

by Christy Beck
9/15/2012
We pray. We cry out. We attempt to understand. The loss of Adam was difficult for our group. We struggle with the confusion that the news of death leaves us. He had been such a healthy, life-filled, almost two year-old boy. He ran around and smiled. He would giggle when you would tickle him. He shouted for joy when you would spin him around. Adam was a child you would remember forever after a single encounter. God blessed him with a life filled with love by the aunties and by who ever had the opportunity to meet him. Although he was loved by so many, he was loved by God first.
HIZ students in the past have always loved their time at the orphanages. Since there are so many of us and so many children, Meagan, a worker at the Havens, asked if we would like to be paired with specific children. I automatically said yes. She matched me with two perfect boys. One of them was Adam, who I quickly fell in love with.
When I found out Adam had passed away I was shocked. What could I do but cry? He had been so playful the other day when I had seen him. I didn’t understand. My mind quickly went to the lyrics, “You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, ‘Lord, blessed be Your name.’” (originally from Job 1:21). What a true, encouraging, yet puzzling, statement. And this is the challenge we are presented with, how do you explain how a loving, good God would take a child? How could God allow so much hurt and sorrow?
Our group has held tight to each other and to scripture through this experience. For we know that this world is far from perfect. But we do have a loving God. Repetitively throughout scripture we are told of God’s love. “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”- Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV, emphasis mine). What an awesome love; a love that we can’t even fathom on this earth! This earth is filled with questions and things we will never be able to understand. This earth is also filled with Christ’s love. Both the confusion and Christ’s love are incomprehensible. As Christians we are called to love, to be like Christ. So though we don’t understand this loss we will continue to love. There are still so many children at the Havens and people in Zambia that our group has an opportunity to show Christ’s unending love and mercy. We move on with heavy hearts, but trust in the Lord and His great plan.
That night, our group met to verbally express our emotions in an attempt to understand. Afterward, a close friend, Kaitie, told me she had been praying for peace. Peace for the aunties, for Meagan, for me. She showed me Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (NIV).” God’s peace is also incomprehensible. So we are in a world of questions without answers, but we have a God with immeasurable love and peace. God is the only one who can guide us through this paradox. God is the only one who can give us peace. Peace in the confusion. Peace in the ability to continue to live a Christ-like life even after our worlds are shaken, shattered, and broken.
I’m thankful for this prayer. I’m thankful for Kaitie, her friendship, her comfort in difficult times. I’m thankful for our group. Most of all I’m thankful for a God who will forever provide peace, guidance, and love.
I will forever remember and miss Adam. He will be missed by many. We were blessed to have had been touched by Adam’s joy and life. We rejoice in knowing he is now home. God is still good.
Romans 8:15-17

You received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Suffering in the Lord: From One Culture to Another

Harding In Zambia

“Suffering in the Lord:” From One Culture to Another

by Meghan Laible

I am sitting on a soft worn blue blanket watching Ba Janice look at a sweet elderly Zambian lady’s chart. There are five of us crammed into a small exam room, with the occasional breeze cooling us. So many distractions outside and inside the room but my focus is on Ba Janice and the look in her eyes. She turns to another student and me and states, “She is HIV positive”. She asks the translator to inform the woman in Tonga. The woman’s eyes just stare off into the distance, taking in the truth that I believe she knew long before. Ba Janice referred her to going to the AIDS clinic to have more blood work done, to know how much the disease has affected her, and also to the free counseling center. My heart is broken; I want to reach out my hands to her and embrace her, to show her the love of God! But I am frozen, frozen to the worn blue blanket that has now started to itch. They prepared us for this, right? They told us in our classes that we would most likely meet many people with AIDS, but telling someone that they have AIDS, I was not ready for this on my sixth day in Zambia. I was not ready for that suffering to be in someone’s eyes so early on. I knew it was coming, but in the first week?

Later that same night I could not sleep, guilt rushed into me. What was I doing in Zambia? How would I be able to help anyone, I did not know suffering like this. Thoughts were running through my mind a million miles per hour! A selfish servant of God, I eventually fell asleep but with a cloud over my heart. Repeating lies to myself that I could not help because I have not known suffering.

The next day we had to read an article for our Mission Anthropology class. The chapter covered all different aspects of culture and communicating the gospel. One line that caught my attention was that sin and suffering is different and unique in every culture. Wow. God just put a speed bump into my thoughts. Why was I feeling shame? Because I struggled with something distinctive to my culture and me, while this precious lady struggled with something that is known to her culture. ¹ I am sitting on that blanket in the clinic still struggling with my sin, and this lady now has a new struggle. This Zambian lady could have contracted AIDS from any one of many different sources; hereditary, sexual partners, or the chance she came into contact with blood from another carrier of the disease. The main truth that was revealed to me in this situation is that each sin and struggle is characteristic to different cultures. Through our struggles there is a peace in knowing that my sins and struggles are not any less important than this lady’s before me. Although this situation is heartbreaking, there is peace in knowing that God placed us exactly where we were meant to be, that our story is specifically ours.

God still looks down upon humanity both with grace and compassion, despite what disease we have in our bodies or harm we inflict upon our body. With love that never ends, he looks at us with gentle eyes and calmly whispers into our hearts (Isaiah 14:24-27 paraphrased by the author of this post) “I have planned this and it will happen my precious daughter! I will crush the devil in your heart! Oh my precious daughter I will trample the demons and diseases! Your yoke will be taken away from you, your burden I will lift from your shoulders! I have determined this plan for you my child. My hand is stretched out over your weak heart. I am the Lord almighty; who and what can thwart me! No one, no disease, no sin, nothing! My hands are holding you my sweet precious daughter, what can turn back my love!”

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1. I am in no way saying that someone in Africa cannot have my same struggles or visa versa. This is just a general observation that I have made in our short time here so far.e, ↩

A Thousand Words for Lack of a Picture

A Thousand Words for Lack of a Picture

by Zack Roehl

Of course we’ve all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. It’s true. Each picture has its own story. But what exactly is that story and how often do we stop to consider just what the story of our picture will be before we take it? It’s not often that we have to. In the digital age we live in we don’t have to. We don’t pay for film, and it’s simple enough to go back and edit or hit “delete” on all the pictures we’ve taken but don’t really care for. It seems like a good enough philosophy when applied to photography, but it can be dangerous when it is applied to other areas of our lives.

A first impression and a picture have a lot in common. Both capture a single moment in time. Then they sit there frozen and unchanging waiting for us to reflect on them at a later time. They are, however, fundamentally different. Impressions, unlike pictures, have no delete option. Impressions are the basis of relationships, and relationships are always our aim as Christ-followers. And if relationships are founded upon and developed out of our impressions, then—following the same logic—we should always be conscious that our impressions are accurate, and in accord with the Gospel we proclaim.

Before I got to Zambia I had never really had to consider the point where impression and photography intersect. Before our group went to the Havens for the first time we sat down and had a discussion about picture-taking at the orphanage. We talked about the different lenses through which we view life, and discussed how that affected our reality and our relationships with the people there. We were told we wouldn’t be taking any pictures, at least for a while. This guideline has helped our relationships with the aunties and children at the Havens in more ways than I can describe. Of the many reasons said for not taking photos that were offered up in our talk, a few really stuck with me and affected how my understanding has developed in the few short weeks that we’ve been here.

The first reason, in essence, is that when we are so focused on our camera lens we are failing to truly, wholly experience the place to which we’ve come. God has given humanity an ability to perceive so many things simultaneously, and I believe this is to help us understand His majesty and His glory in creation. We limit our ability to express this when our vision is concentrated on a tiny rectangular frame. I’m not saying that there aren’t times to take pictures by any means. Let’s view it in light of Ecclesiastes 3. There’s a time that’s for pictures and a time that’s not for pictures, and at the Havens our time for pictures will come when we are more thoroughly acquainted with the aunties and the children.

I personally believe there is something dehumanizing about taking pictures of a person’s misfortune simply because it is there in front of me. After our discussion of picture-taking at the Havens I wonder if taking pictures of people here simply because they’re different from us can be viewed as akin to taking pictures of animals in a zoo. The reason we take pictures in zoos is because the animals are different, exotic, exciting. That’s not why I’m going to take pictures of people here. I’m going to take pictures where I’ve built relationships so that I can tell you the thousand words my picture is worth to me, not so that someone can try to attach a thousand words to it that may not reflect the reality of this eternally significant human life.

And that’s reason number two. Pictures we take are incapable of capturing the “big picture.” In fact, they can often be used to misrepresent it. A “bad picture” is often a good picture with misleading information. This point is represented with a simple illustration that will hopefully bring clarity to reason number two:

The story of God is the “big picture” we’re looking at. Even parts of that big and perfect picture, though, can be misconstrued, misused, and misinterpreted when the context is ignored. Psalm 10:1 says, “Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” The second sentence of Ecclesiastes 1:13 says, “It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.” In Matthew 10:34 Jesus tells his Disciples, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” James 2:24 tells us, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

The point of this illustration is that parts may be entirely misrepresentative of the whole of a story. When isolated, these verses give us a big picture of a God that refuses to help us in our troubles. A sadistic God. A violent God. A God that requires us to save ourselves. We know that these ideas are false. This God exists within the “pictures” presented, but nowhere else. We understand these verses in their contexts because we have been presented the entire picture through God’s Word to us, and we are helped by His Spirit. It’s because we know Him.

As we learn, experience, and become more familiar with Zambia and Africa as a whole I know we will end up taking more pictures than we’ll ever be able to look at, but for now I think it’s safe to say we are taking it slow in hopes of learning more about this culture so that we can snap an accurate picture for everyone back in America to see.

In summary we have decided to be careful that the pictures we’re taking are good ones. The ones we can tell our thousand words about.

Update from Zambia

Dear family and friends,

I got up early this morning so that, before the power (and therefore, wireless) went out, I could send something out in the form of an update. I hope that by now you've found a couple different student blogs that update frequently, to hopefully fill in some of the gaps between my updates. Also, we'll be posting more and more to the HIZambia blog in the next few days. The point of the blog is to share a little snippet of this experience, this story, and point to its significance in the overall story, the "big picture." We're learning so much that we hope to share some of that learning with you, and want to use a blog as a forum for that shared learning process.

On Saturday morning we attended the funeral for Adam at the Havens. We spent some time Saturday evening talking together as a group, to let individuals express some of the emotions they were feeling and questions they were asking as we work our way through this experience. There are so many layers of complexity at play. First of all, many of us Americans haven't had to deal with the death of a child. There are so many "buffer" layers in the US because of general good health, nourishment, and medical care that, long before a child gets past the point of no return, the right medicine or treatment can be found. It's surprising to us when a child who was so lively can get to that edge so quickly here. That's one layer of complexity. 

Another is that we're immersed in another culture, which makes even the simplest tasks (for instance, driving into town to pick up some fresh fruit for the group) harder. Going to this Zambian funeral was hard to handle because it was unfamiliar. The Zambians grieve out loud, they wail, and they sing. It seems like they've perfected the art of grieving because they were able to grieve and then go back to work right away. We're not nearly that well-prepared or resilient, so we blocked off time that evening to talk about it all. 

Someone once said "Impression without expression leads to depression". We're being impressed all day every day, so we're being intentional as a group to verbally express the experience. 

On Sunday we went to a village only about 40 minutes away, Simakakata. One of the teachers at the Basic school, Ba Simafuta, brought 10 students from the Basic for this "outreach trip" with us. When we arrived that morning, the church asked us to lead singing, preach, and speak before the Lord's supper, so we led in each of those areas. Phil spoke about Solomon and finding meaning in life in God's presence, Chris led singing (in Tonga!) and I spoke before the Lord's supper. At the conclusion of the worship service, several choruses got up to sing, including a couple from the congregation, the students from the Basic, and the mamakua (that is, us white people!). They are still so surprised to see us singing in Tonga that we are able to make up for mispronunciations and singing the songs differently than they're used to hearing.

After a late lunch and an afternoon off, we went to evening service here at Namwianga church. Now that George Benson Christian College of Education is in full swing, the service was pretty packed. We had been asked to teach some songs in English and there were song sheets printed out with some newer songs and a couple four part songs (the Magnificat and He is Wonderful). As we were walking in we were asked to come to the front and actually stand in front of everyone in choral formation to "perform" the songs as we taught them. The group was incredible. Not just anyone can walk in at the end of a tiring weekend and stand in a hot room for an hour, and, without fainting, sing. This group really has a talent for singing and I believe God is using that to bless and to make His name known. 

This week has been especially busy and clinic-focused. The whole country is doing a "measles awareness week," which means they've been doing measles vaccinations at the clinic here at Namwianga. It also means they've been going out into the bush to different villages to give vaccinations and some of our students have gotten to help with that. They've gone with Ba Janice and others from the clinic here, taken the day off from classes, and spent the entire day out in the villages. I'll let one of our medical people tell you more about it, and I'm sure the students who have gone will tell you all about what they've done. 

Besides that it's been a normal, crazy week! Tonga every morning at 6:30, and our humanities class at 7. Roy Merritt teaches on Monday mornings about mission methods and the story of mission here in Zambia. Dr Kapaale teaches us African cultural anthropology, Ba Siaziyu does African lit with us Wednesday morning, and this morning we'll have Ba Moonga with African history. Ba Janice is giving her first Health Care and Missions exam this week, and somehow in the midst of all this busyness the students are finding time to get readings done, study, and work. It's incredible how integrated this experience is and how it all ties together on so many levels.

Since the term for the college is well under way, we got to play sports with the GBCCE students on Tuesday. Some of us played football (that is, soccer) and others volleyball. Some of our students will join their choirs and we hope to build relationships with the students as we go throughout the semester. We are their guests, guests of Namwianga, here to learn, and hoping to serve in any way we can. 

Tonight the students are getting paired with a student from the college to be their "Tonga tutor". Tomorrow is the big GBCCE graduation, so we've blocked off the entire morning to be here for that, and we'll do our regular morning classes in the afternoon.

Thanks so much for being our audience and for praying for us. Our constant prayer is that we will see God's hand at work in this, to see what He's done worldwide throughout history, and that we can recognize it and join THAT. And that's not just our prayer because we're here in Zambia. We pray that for you too, because our God is a global God, which means being His people has significance here in Zambia, in the US of A, and wherever we go. It's a lifestyle thing, asking the questions, looking for God, trying to make sense of comfort on one side of the spectrum and pain and suffering on the other. We believe God governs the big picture. Jesus prayed that God's Kingdom would come and will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Let's be a part of more and more of that kingdom breaking in on earth, God's will ACTUALLY being done by His people here below. 

We're hoping it's not just 3 months of learning setting us up for a return to "sameness". God gives us opportunity to learn something about Him through cross-cultural encounter and we want to translate that to wherever we go in the future. 

All that to say, thanks for praying for us :)

Grace and peace,

Jeremy Daggett

HIZ 2012 Field Director

Exciting day for Hope

Dear Mom,

I wanted to email you to tell you about what I did today. I was in a group with three other students and Ba Bingham who went out with a few Zambians to give measles vaccinations in two villages. It was so amazing. Of course I was terrified to give an injection and at first I felt really sick but then I got the hang of it and I probably gave about eighty myself. After a while the arms kinda became one big blur so I didn’t actually count. But the official count of all the people we served was 572. It was really chaotic because Zambians don’t really stay in lines and there were so many kids to vaccinate but it was a really great experience and I am so proud of myself.

Oh and about phone calls. You could probably call me like Friday at nine my time. Would that be a good time for you? I don’t really know because our schedule is really flexible and always changing but I think that might work.

Anyway I just really wanted to tell you. I love you so much. Pass the word on to Dad and Hannah.

Love,

Hope

Sweet emails between sisters:

Thursday 9/6/2012

Dear Mom,

HOPE JUST SENT ME AN EMAIL!!!! AHHH!! AWESOME!!! I knew you'd want to see it right away so after I hurriedly send off a reply email to her I'm forwarding the message on to you... She sounds like she's really doing good and not just faking (at least that's what I got from reading in between the lines and my female intuition). I'm just so happy to get an email from her!!! I guess that's it... Ok I love you! bye! :) 

Love,

Hannah

(your daughter)

The message I sent back to her after I got that email-
HOOOOOPPPIIEEE!!!!!
 YAY! YOU SENT ME AN EMAIL!!! I just got the biggest thrill out of that!!! Thank you so much!!! I'm so glad to hear that you're doing well and that just makes me so happy... I just sent you another letter; I had to get my bike (and Felix in the bike) and race all over the neighborhood in order to track the mail lady down since the mail had already passed us. But I can't believe you still haven't gotten any of my letters (this is gonna drive me crazy until you get one) though! I've sent 3 now (counting today's) and I've been sending them about a week apart so the 1st one I sent must have gone out about 2 weeks ago... wow I knew it would take a long time but never that long; 2 weeks is FOREVER in Hannah time... I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and thanks again for emailing me; seriously my adrenaline is pumping now and everything! I LOVE  YOU!!! and you better remember it.... bye!!!
 Love,
Hannah Stanger (your sister back in Ohio)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Hope Stanger <hstanger@harding.edu>
Date: Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 12:32 PM
Subject: Re: FROM YOUR SISTER!!!
To: Hannah Stanger <hannahstanger2@gmail.com>

Yeah it is weird but I am really busy doing stuff so I don't think I have as much time to think about it as you do. I miss you but I am doing well. Today I got to go to the Kalomo hospital for the first time and sing in Tonga to patients there. They were so thankful even though I felt like we weren’t doing much. I also have my first test tomorrow so I am nervous and trying to study.

Well I got to go soon. I haven’t gotten any letters yet but they say it takes a long time to get here.

Love you,

Hope

On Tue, Sep 4, 2012 at 4:00 PM, Hannah Stanger <hannahstanger2@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Hope,

This is Hannah; I've got a new email address. I wonder, have you gotten any of my letters yet? I've sent two... I know you have a hard time getting on the internet; but I would like to know more about how you're doing. I pray for you just about every day. I really miss you but I hope it's going well there and that you're getting adjusted alright. It's weird you being so far away and not hearing from you very often; I'm used to hearing from you every day... Anyway, remember I love you. Bye  

Love,

Hannah Stanger (your sister)

Heavy Hearts

Kaitlin Plachy summarizes the group morale after receiving some hard news yesterday. It seems crazy to think that for some of the people here, yesterday might be considered a “normal” day. That doesn’t negate the sadness by any means. It just shows how far removed we usually are from the reality of life and death, raw humanity. We read 150 different prayers, poems, and songs in the book of Psalms, all addressed to a God who is present in praise and lament, joy and sorrow. To Him we also pray.

heavy hearts

Today has probably been the hardest day we’ve experienced yet here in Africa. One of the toddlers in Haven 3 died this morning. He was a healthy miracle little boy who’s almost died so many times. He was so full of life and was the little one that everyone knew. We don’t understand, but we hurt.

Yesterday, one of the aunties told me, “Adam is sick. He has malaria.” I asked Meagan about it and she said that he tested negative, but they were treating him anyway. He had a seizure yesterday morning from his high fever. Last night, he seized again and our incredible medical team rushed up there to offer help. They found that he had a terrible ear infection and were relieved that the source of the fever was something so treatable. This morning, however, he started seizing again. They took him to the hospital in Zimba and he died shortly after. Ba Janice thinks it was cerebral malaria. We’re all shocked. I kissed Adam’s head yesterday when I heard he was sick. I had no clue how serious it was.

We learned about malaria today in Health Care Missions and the way it attacks the red blood cells. I’m learning that you really gain a new appreciation for the things you’re learning when little ones you love are suffering with the very life-threatening things you’re reading about in a book.

So our hearts are heavy. We’re not quite sure what to do. But we’re clinging to each other and Scripture. We praise Him always and know that He’s forever good. Aumbi has had four good days in a row (the incredible one year old that weighs six lbs and can’t hold up her head). Sometimes it’s scary to think how attached we’re allowing ourselves to get. But we trust God and we love with abandon because He IS love.

“Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.” Psalm 41: 1

He’s the God of the weak. He’s the God of the sick. He’s God here in Zambia and throughout the whole earth

Weddings and Wildfires ...by Lauren Ammerman

Weddings and Wildfires

by Lauren Ammerman

There is arguably no other event as culturally significant as a wedding, and American weddings are no exception. While the ritualistic motivations for exchanging rings, throwing the bouquet, or playful cake wars often take a backseat to the festivities themselves, these traditions nonetheless reveal aspects of American culture that are otherwise hidden below the surface.

So when we were invited to a wedding in a rural Zambian village, I had three questions: 1) What would be our gift? 2) Why would a bride and groom want strangers at their wedding? and 3) What deeper layers of Zambian culture would be exposed for our viewing pleasure?

The first question was answered almost immediately when Ba Jeremy informed us, “We’re planning on bringing a goat.” The second question was also a snap. Weddings, along with pretty much everything else, are communal in a rural Zambian village. The focus is not on the marriage of an individual bride and groom, but on the union of two families that make up part of a greater harmonious community. The more the merrier.

The third question, however, is pretty tricky. One of our group goals is to immerse ourselves in the culture, seeking to understand. We will never fully appreciate what we saw, but we can try to process it, ask questions, and use guesswork to fill in the gaps. This is what I’ve got so far …

We were greeted warmly by the celebrating villagers. Some drummers struck up a beat, and the Zambians began to dance in a spiral around them. We were encouraged to join in, but our dancing was nothing like the coordinated movement of the villagers, whose swaying struck me as the physical expression of joy. Afterwards, Ba Siaziyu told us that weddings are the time to expose sinners in front of the village. While the atmosphere was festive, the actual content of the song revealed a woman of the village to be an adulteress. The village asserted, “You have embarrassed us!” in the midst of their celebrating.

I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the wildfire that before had seemed far away race toward the dancing circle. All of us makua (white people) ran to the opposite side of the village, and a small hut caught on fire shortly after the groom dashed out of it. The fire abruptly stopped just short of the village, at the line where the tall grass gave way to sandy soil. Thanks to our driver Ba Zimba’s quick thinking, the bus was no longer in the vicinity. The black landscape continued smoking.

I was amazed by the villagers’ cool reaction. Festivities resumed soon afterwards. Ba Lou remarked later that Zambians tend to take life as it comes, and they knew there was no way they could control the fire’s course. Plus, I’m guessing that wildfires are common in the dry season.

There were a few self-proclaimed drunkards roaming around and one especially who frequently interrupted the revelry. He even offered drugs to some of our group with impunity (of course they declined). The villagers must have deemed him at least somewhat innocuous, just laughing at rather than scolding him. It was fascinating to see what might be called the underbelly of Zambian society freely associating with the mainstream.

Playing with the village children was an experiment in nonverbal communication. I employed high fives, the game of tag, and big smiles to my advantage. Every time I attempted to say something in Tonga, they laughed heartily and then made me repeat the phrase over and over until they were somewhat satisfied with my pronunciation.

Accompanied by an entourage of dancers, the unsmiling bride left her hut in a white wedding dress and veil. She must display sorrow for the family she leaves behind, and it would be shameful to dance in front of one’s in-laws. A mock bride and groom walked next to the actual couple in order to confuse the spirits.

An energetic officiator led the bride and groom to seats of honor. He used a whistle to transition between parts of the ceremony, which included presentation of gifts, dancing, and a Christian prayer, the latter obviously a relatively new component of village weddings in Zambia. According to Ba Siaziyu, it is after this prayer that the couple is considered husband and wife. At one point, they fed each other and their in-laws pieces of cake, representing their reciprocal responsibility to take care of each other as well as the marriage of the two families. The officiator led Luke and Chris to seats of honor in the inner circle. After Ba Jeremy, Parker and Phil presented our gift of two nkuku (we ended up giving chickens, since the market didn’t have any goats), we left for Namwianga. Weddings are a whole-day affair, so the group leaders decided it was time to go.

The entire experience was surreal. We had actually danced with Zambian villagers and observed a whole slew of traditions and rituals we will never fully understand. We witnessed miniature snippets of real people’s lives: the woman who kept poking her baby with a small stick to stop its crying, the Zambian girl who begged me to take her picture again and again, the older grandmother who taught Parker how to dance and guffawed at the results, and the drunken man who told me that Zambian children are afraid of makua like makua are afraid of lions.

The combination of the smoke in my eyes, the burning sun, the forceful wind, and the flying dirt kept my eyelids screwed shut for the majority of the ceremony. While nursing my eyes behind sunglasses on the ride home, I thought about how physically taxing village life must be, where there is virtually no way to escape the elements. I contemplated seriously for the first time how my life would have been different if I had been born in a village like this one. There would be no culturally assumed forum for economic advancement, negligible personal identity, and monotony in my days and years. Yet at the same time, would I empathize more? Would I forge stronger relationships with family and friends? Would I want strangers at my wedding? Would I laugh more? Would I dance better?

You all look the same....by Hope Stanger

You All Look The Same

by Hope Stanger

Being in a country other than your native home can be expressed in one word: different. There is different wildlife, different food, different languages but the most exciting and terrifying thing is the different people. People with completely different upbringings and customs surround you. It is interesting to experience their world and try to understand things from their perspective. On the other hand, it is a little daunting to think about how they view us.

While I was talking to Justin, one of the Zambian night watchmen at Namwianga, he apologized for not remembering my name. He explained that our group appearance is alike, “You all look the same.” Since then I have heard several other Zambians say equivalent statements. At first it offended me a little. We Americans enjoy our individuality and I like to think that people remember me for who I am apart from anyone else in our group. Yet, it made me start to think about how we appear to outsiders.

One identifier that we can’t escape is our race. As an all-white group we stand out rather quickly here in Zambia. And it is true that races tend to be able to distinguish differing features among their own race more quickly than others. Often we recognize the difference in race quickly and fail to perceive minor changes in features. So it is understandable that many Zambians find it difficult to distinguish between us at first. I definitely have a hard time remembering all the names of the children at the clinic until I am able to get to know them individually.

What about beyond our race though? What else do Zambians see when they look at us?

I may not be able to perceive all that a Zambian notices when they look at our Harding group but I do know what I hope they see. I hope they can see the image and character of God. I hope that as we strive to emulate Jesus, they will be able to see him in us and not just our pale skin. We are called to love one another and live as disciples of Jesus so that God may be glorified.

So maybe it can actually be a good thing if we all look alike. If the Zambians can see Jesus in all of us then we will look similar as we follow Him. Plus, as we learn to view the image of God stamped on all of us, we begin to realize that not only do all of us white people look alike, but all the people in the world look alike in our ability to mirror the character of God through His grace. Suddenly all the differences don’t really matter as we begin to catch glimpses of the qualities we have shared since creation.

We really do look the same.

From the HIZ Director

September 6, 2012

Dear friends and family,

As always, thank you for your interest in our group's activities and well-being. Thank you for thinking about us and praying for us. You'll notice that the first couple student posts are up on HIZambia.tumblr.com. They've each been assigned two blog posts to complete throughout the semester, and the blog will be our forum for telling the story of Harding in Zambia and how we see ourselves, cross-cultural learning, and the humanities, fitting into a bigger picture. I hope you'll enjoy those posts and interact with the material.

I'd like to share a specific prayer request on behalf of our group and those who work day in and day out at the Haven (orphanages). 

This morning one of the babies from the Haven died at a nearby hospital in Zimba. We think it may have been cerebral malaria but are not sure. The baby boy had been having seizures and lost consciousness. He had been at the Haven for quite some time so the aunties and those who work there are very sad. 

Our group has to grapple pretty early with the paradox of life and death and the question of human, especially baby, suffering. I know that for many this isn't their first time to deal with death, but for this specific group at this time in Zambia it's our first time to deal with it as a group. My prayer is that God is honored by our group, both in praise and lament, as we recognize His presence here in the midst of pain and suffering. 

I ask that you would pray for the individuals that make up our group, and the group as a whole, as we wrestle with these questions. I'm sure you'll see some of it on blogs and in emails. Pray for the aunties at the Haven and for Meagan Hawley and others at Namwianga who make it their mission to take care of these babies. I don't believe in the power of prayer, but rather, the power of God to whom we pray. The God we pray to is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, according to His power which is at work within us. To him be the honor in the church, in praise and lament, joy and sorrow, peace and suffering (Eph 3:20). 

More soon. Grace and peace,

Jeremy Daggett

HIZ 2012 Field Director