A Week in the Life of - Thursday

I obviously did not have Wheaties for breakfast. The day was long and I was so exhausted that I'm actually posting this blog on Friday night.

The morning started out pretty "normal". I went to the accounts office to get an update on things happening at the hospital. Mr. Khonodwe, the hospital administrator, was to be out of his office so I continued to work on his computer. I was very happy when I was able to confirm the worm had been removed and the only problem now was the desktop reset. this was the same message received on the before the accounts office quit working so I was very concerned.
Once this computer was virus/worm free I decided to check on the computer left at Sons of Thunder. Jeff had not been able to look at the computer so I waited a few minutes iwth

lunch - meatloaf
dinner - tacos
computer worms
Sons of Thunder
Sitali

A Week in the Life of - Wednesday

I awoke early today and took advantage of the extra time to listen to some worship music, read my devotion and spend some quality time in prayer. So many times I am fighting for time in the mornings and it was great to be leisurely about it.

Breakfast was strawberry pop tarts that Joan Wallace received from her father and so selflessly shared with me. Thanks Joan!

Today was the last day of the Maternal Child Health Week and the outreach was in Makoli and Makunso. Once again I was the designated driver and accompanied the team. This was a very different experience from yesterday.

We dropped two staff members in Makunso and then traveled to Makoli. Makoli is right on the main road and our “clinic” was under tree. The program was pretty much the same as yesterday but the mothers were more literate and talked to me more. Most of the children were frightened of me though (because of my skin color) and that made it difficult for me to be of much help.

Joyce, the nurse who was in charge, started the outreach with a message from Luke 9:2 where Jesus sends the disciples “ out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick”. It was an opportunity to show that what we were doing was not just providing health care but sharing the good news of the gospel as well. I saw several women who nodded their heads and were really contemplating what she heard.

The shipping company handling the delivery of the “container” contacted me while we were in Makoli and the network connection was very bad. I didn’t want to take a chance on missing any delivery information so I drove to the nearest Celtel tower (about 15 minutes away). I found out the container has left South Africa. Santa Claus is coming to Zimba!

Once we finished at Makoli we headed to Makunso to pick up our friends and head back to Zimba. Unfortunately, when we arrived we found that they were quite busy and no where ready to leave. The building they were working in was a two classroom schoolhouse with an office in the middle. They were treating the mothers and children in the office while the teachers continued to conduct classes.

We all pitched in to try to help clear the crowd but found that it was just too many people in one small room. Since I was a distraction to the children being treated and the children in the classrooms, I chose to wait outside. There I found other children who began to follow me and chanted “makua”, the tonga word for white man. I just laughed and teased them by acting like I was going to chase them.

I remembered that I had some beads that were left by Bob, Laura and Hannah Whitsitt earlier in the year and thought it would be a great way to distribute them. Was I ever wrong!!! The children were afraid to take them from me but the women mobbed me. I had to ask them to back up and to stop grabbing. I explained that I wanted to give them to the children but then they all began to grab for their children. It was difficult to keep my cool… I wanted to tell them how rude they were being and to let the kids enjoy… but then I realized the beads were very attractive to the women and that they would probably enjoy them more than the kids. I made it a game to match the bead colors with the chetenge colors the women were wearing.

As soon as that was done I walked to the vehicle and sat in the front seat to drink some water. All of a sudden the children from the classrooms appeared and surrounded me. They just stared at me. It was mealtime and each one washed their hands and took a bowl of sump (similar to hamony). They sat on the ground outside the truck facing me and began to eat and stare at me. Now I know what it is like to be an animal in the zoo.

Not really knowing what to do I asked them to sing to me. Either they didn’t understand or they didn’t know any songs. I’ve been in Zambia long enough to know that it was because they didn’t understand. Since they didn’t sing to me I decided to let them join me in a song. They were great at imitating me. First, I sang Jesus Loves Me because I just knew they would know that one. Wrong! We sang it several times and they never seemed to catch on. They we sang Row Row Row Your Boat. At least that one they repeated after me.

Mealtime was just about over when a teacher walked by and I asked her to get them to sing me a song. She had them sing Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes! It was fun and I touched my toes right along with them. Once we finished the song, the children were ushered back into the classrooms. The medical team was still working….

We finally arrived back in Zimba around 530pm and I rushed to a hospital meeting I was late for. It went on for 1 ½ and I was finally able to go home. Since I had no lunch I immediately pulled out the pot roast prepared last night and began to warm it. That was good planning on my part!

Jennifer, Kestone and Nathaniel came to play. They love the Lego blocks and were excited when I consented to let them stay for a while. I ate my dinner and checked my email while they played in the floor.

I’m home by myself now and it’s time to end another day. Thanks for all the comments about the daily blogs. You really read them!

A Week in the Life of - Tuesday

So... I decided today that my eating habits are really bad. I must have a healthier breakfast to sustain me during the day. I boiled some eggs and toasted some bread. The eggs went into the refrigerator (I didn’t have time to let them cool) and I ate the toast as I walked to the hospital.

Today was going to be one of those days where nothing would be normal. The hospital only has one driver due to the resignation of the other. This week is Maternal Child Health Week and there is an outreach planned to the villages for everyday. We also need to bring sand and bricks in for the 5inOne building projects so…..

I got my Zambian drivers license two weeks ago! God showed his favor because it is suppose to take at least three visits to Livingstone and I did it in one day. He knew the hospital would need my services!

The outreach today was on two farms, Luezi and Highland. It was a 28 km drive on a dirt road round trip. The first stop was at the Luezi Farm where there were at least 50 mothers waiting with their children (most had at least two children and were pregnant). The program is designed to check for malnourishment, deworming, and provide immunizations for the children less than 5 years of age. The women who are pregnant were examined and those who wanted to practice family planning were given either oral contraceptives or Depo-Provera.

I was surprised the young women (17 – 19) who already had two children. Most are married at the age of 14 or 15. The comment made by my Zambian co-workers was that there was nothing else to do in the village. She stated that it was sometimes a competition among the women to see who could have the most children. It was heartbreaking because one of the things that we know stops poverty is education. Very few of these women or their children are educated or will be educated. This is when I ask myself…do I have an extra day that I could go into the village and teach English to the mothers and start teaching the children. I then have to tell myself…I can’t do everything. Be patient. Pray. Do what you can. Stay focused.

After this group of mothers and children, the community provided lunch for us. It was the traditional meal of nshema and rape. Nshema is a corn mush similar to grits but finer in texture and thick enough to use as an eating utensil. Rape is a green vegetable cooked with onions and tomato. I typically don’t care for the rape but today it was especially tasty and I ate two helpings. This pleased the cook very much. It is always exciting for a Zambian woman to see a Mzungu (white person) eat nshema.

The next stop was the Highland Farm where there were only 12 mothers with children. Most of the children were 2-3 years of age and just received vitamins and the deworming pills.

It was an early day in that we arrived back to the hospital at 430pm. I was glad though, it was a hot day (at least 95) and I was outside all day. I thought that if the water pressure was enough at my house I might even be able to take a cold shower (my hot water tank – geyser- is not working).

I returned the hospital vehicle, drove my vehicle to Trekkers (a local sports bar) and bought a case of cold drinks…Coke light and Orange Fanta. After arriving home, I decided to check email, start dinner and listen to some music. News update…one of the emails was concerning “the container”. It looks like it may be here before Christmas.

I ended up cooking two meals. I made a meatloaf with potatoes for dinner tonight and started a pot roast for tomorrow night. I drank the last of my crystal light…I hope that container comes soon…

Oh, I started the download for the pilot episode of The Closer…. There are 490 MB left…just nineteen more hours and I’ll have one episode!

A Week in the Life of - Monday

After sleeping so much the day before, I awoke at 630am bright eyed and bushy tailed….

Lisa (Sons of Thunder) had already started breakfast since the power was still on (there was a thunderstorm in the middle of the night and the power stayed on…miracles do happen). She made home-made cinnamon rolls. What a treat! Please understand that Lisa lives in a guest house and her ministry is hosting work teams so cooking comes easy for her. The cinnamon rolls would compete with Cinnabon!

After breakfast, I packed my things and said my goodbyes. The phone had already started ringing from my friends and co-workers in Zimba wanting to know when I was returning.

The drive back to Zimba was good and I knew I was returning with a new attitude and the determination not to be defeated by negative circumstances, communication issues and cultural issues I had no control over. I was looking forward to my return. I missed my cats and my neighbors…particularly Jennifer.

After dropping my things at home and checking in on the children, I went to the hospital to access the day’s events. The project I am currently working on is a block of 5 apartments meant for single nurses. We refer to it as the 5inOne block. Staff housing is one of the biggest challenges at the hospital and also the solution to staff shortages. Load of river sand and bricks are still needed and I needed to verify that transportation was available for this task. We need to bring in all the loads of sand before the rains start continuously.

When I arrived at the accounts office I found that the carpenters we had asked for a quote to build shelves had decided to start the project without our approval. We had purchased the materials but they had not given us a quote for the labor. Needless to say, not much work was going to be accomplished in the accounts office.

Another project from last week that was unfinished was removing a worm from the computers in the administrative offices. The accounts computer had already been taken into Livingstone for repairs and I was hoping to remove the worm from the other computers before it was too late. While I downloaded anti-virus and anti-spyware software and scanned the computers, I also called a hardware store in Choma (100km away) to verify prices for materials we needed on the 5nOne block.

At 340pm we left Zimba to travel to Choma to pick up the needed materials. We arrived in Choma at 440, purchased the supplies, loaded them and then picked up a motor bike that had been repaired by a local mechanic. We kinda looked like the Beverly Hillbillies. Oh, we also picked up the Medical in Charge’s wife, Mrs. Siabowa, who was waiting for a bus back to Zimba.

On the way home we stopped at a lay by to purchase musukus. Musukus are a fruit similar to a plum but with 4 seeds. They are very sweet and taste similar to a plum as well. They are very popular with the Zambians and so I bought about $1.50 worth to share with my friends in Zimba. Trust me…there was enough for all my friends plus some of theirs.

We arrived back in Zimba at around 830pm. I checked my email, listened to some music and fell asleep early.

Oh, I had cheddar cheese and crackers for lunch, a piece of fried chicken for dinner at 6pm and then cheese and crackers before going to bed.

A Week in the Life of - Sunday

Several of you have written me asking for details of my days… such as what I eat, how I spend my day, what do I do for fun, etc. This week I am going to try to blog a quick daily review so that you can get a glimpse of my life in Zambia.

On Sunday I was visiting a friend, Lisa, who is a missionary at Sons of Thunder, an orphanage about 40 minutes from Zimba. Lisa and her husband, Jeff, arrived in July so they are just a few months behind me in adjusting to the culture. I had visited them because I needed some time away from Zimba to relax and refresh myself spiritually. Sons of Thunder is on a 10,000 acre farm so there are lots of places to get lost and be quiet.

A pot roast was planned for lunch but the power went off at 530am and did not come back on until 7pm. For breakfast I had two brownies baked the day before and diet Pepsi (it’s not Diet Dr. Pepper but it was a good substitute). Lunch was a few chips and a milkshake/frappucino? (melted ice-cream with cappuccino mix and some chocolate syrup). Cake was offered for dinner but considering my diet for the day, I decided I needed some protein and ate cold leftover chicken from the Saturday night dinner.

Earlier in the morning, I chose to stay in for church and listen to worship music on my computer and a sermon I had downloaded from Fellowship Memphis. Lisa decided to join me and it was a great time of fellowship.

Most of the rest of my day was spent on the back veranda overlooking an incredible view of a valley. A breeze swept over me and before I knew it I was asleep. I was so exhausted that when I started to wake up I felt paralyzed and couldn’t open my eyes or move my head. It was the weirdest sensation… I finally gave into it and continued to sleep another hour??

After my Sunday afternoon nap I joined the rest of the house (Jeff and Lisa, Jacob and Jesse, Jamie, Sal and Renee and Laura - all missionaries at the orphanage) for a time of worship. Jacob played the guitar and we sang contemporary Christian songs. It was an awesome experience. No Tonga was spoken, no interpreter was needed and I felt God’s presence and the spiritual refreshment I longed for.

After the worship time, Jeff and Lisa usually watch an episode of the current TV show they are “hooked on”. At this time it is The Closer and I must admit I was hooked after my first episode. I took the DVD to bed with me and watched it until I fell asleep. If anyone wants to send me a gift…

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