'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.

 .

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!”

---

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, ↩