Dubai and I got back from Imalo late Wednesday night wonderfully changed after the experience, but not after learning some very valuable lessons from Momma Africa:
1.Everything takes right around four times the amount of time you think it will.
On Sunday we headed out from Mutoya at noon, prepared to travel for about 3 hours so we could arrive at Imalo in enough time to set up camp and start dinner by sunset. Since our group was so large (46), we borrowed one of the massive trucks from one of the South African teams that are also here this week and split out team in two: half of us piled into Graeme’s truck, the other half in South Africa’s with their driver, Ken. Sounded like a brilliant idea at the time…until, that is, the South African truck got stuck in a bogged field halfway to the village. We did try to dig out the wheels with our hands and (eventually) a borrowed spade, but (could’ve guessed this) we failed epically. Ken’s truck is big…scooping out mud by the handful can only take you so far! Thankfully, Sir Graeme eventually came back from dropping the other half of the team off and valiantly attempted to drag us out of the mud with his truck…and got stuck himself. So we were sitting ducks in muck for the rest of the afternoon and night until we were rescued at about 11:30pm, thanks to a rowdy group of locals who borrowed a high jack from a nearby school’s construction site (we didn’t ask questions!). Finally, we stumbled into Imalo after midnight with just enough energy to down bread and butter and snuggle into our sleeping bags for some shut-eye.
Since I was the only American on the team, the whole US freedom part of the 4th of July came and went entirely unnoticed (no worries – the American middle-term interns threw a belated celebration later with burgers, hot dogs, fries, watermelon, and even firecrackers and ice cream!). Instead, the team went out to 4 or 5 sub-villages in the morning and played a huge soccer game with the local kids in the afternoon. The next morning, we all waded through a river up to our chests to talk with 3 unreached villages (the x4 theory makes another appearance: our guide, Phillip, thought we’d take 30 minutes to get there but we made it in 2 hours). They’d never even heard of the gospel before, simply because villagers and visitors had been “scared” to cross the river that separates them from the center of Imalo. We knew it would be cold and dangerous for them to cross the river to get to our campsite for that night’s service, so we invited them to worship with us the next morning.
We planned to pack up and leave Imalo by noon on Wednesday, but (Africa wins again!) we didn’t get back to Mutoya until after 8 that night. The other half of the team, poor things, got back even later. But even with all the frustrations of being delayed, useless in waiting, misinformed, stuck, and cramped in the back of various truck beds, the entire team and all the translators all arrived back in Mongu safely and in one piece. I say God deserves a round of applause for that!
2.13-year olds will be 13-year olds, whether you’re in America or Africa or the UAE.
Our team was young – reeeeal young. We had thirty or so kids from ages 13-18, three married couples in their early- to mid-twenties, one or two thirty-somethings, and 6 Lozi translators from Hope Church. We spent the week teaching the boys that girls eat first in the bush, always, and convincing the girls that going 3 days without a shower really wasn’t the end of the world. Neither was getting dirt under your nails. Or having an ant crawl on you. Or eating porridge 2 days in a row. Even with all that, though, the team's optimism, excitement, and laughter has been such a beautiful reflection of the joy that God has for us in dark places that I wouldn't have asked for anything else!
3.God's awesome.
4.People are really interesting.
With Ruani, the translators, and I, our team represented countries from most of the globe: South Africa, Zambia, America, Dubai, England, Ireland, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Singapore...you name it! One girl even grew up on an American ship with missionaries who sailed around the world giving out Bibles to different countries.
Apparently, these kids are a pretty accurate reflection of Dubai’s population as a whole. Dubai is a melting pot of ex-pats, with only 17% or so of the population authentically “locals.” Many of the kids moved there recently because of their parents’ jobs (Dubai compensates their teachers, lawyers, and doctors amazingly well), but they all knew one another so well that you’d swear they grew up together since kindergarten.
Hanging out with the adult leaders, however, was probably my favorite part of being with the team in Imalo. In just one conversation, I got to talk with one guy, Ricardo, about everything from his experience leading a praise band in the Nashville music scene (small world!) to how desperately impacted he was one morning when he saw a tiny boy struggling to carry two full buckets of water from the village’s well back to his hut by himself. We got to brainstorm together ways that he and his wife could use their obviously God-given talents of managing venues and performing worship music in a way that would directly support the Zambia Project’s efforts to address the incredible crisis of impoverishment in Zambia.
I got to talk with Roma about the fruit of self-control and how people from all over the world, even in the Middle East, expect and even demand (subconsciously, at times) to get and consume as much as they want, whenever they want, at any time that they want. She could tell that the kids (the youth group she leads back home) simply weren’t used to this idea – they wanted exactly what they wanted immediately and without constraints, whether it be food or sleep or restroom accommodations or warmth. She wasn’t used to that idea, either – and neither am I! Roma had asked God to teach her self-control on this trip, and she could definitely feel his work in her and in her kids: each person only got one piece of chicken, we all had to get up early, everyone used the same hole in the ground, and no one could hog the campfire’s warmth because we only had one fire for 46 (and one for 146 at night when we had our services).
It’s funny how we’re all struck by the same gospel in different ways, sometimes, but often in ways that are exactly the same. The fact that we come from such varied backgrounds only makes us as a universal church that much more creative in the way we approach solutions to the problems that we see collectively. Ricardo and his wife can still praise God through worship while contributing the funds they receive from record labels to mission fields like Zambia, and everyone – no matter your age, race, or language – can read Galatians 5 (fruits of the spirit) and confront what is misaligned with God’s will in themselves.
5.Flu-like symptoms precede 99% of every African malady.
Although Imalo was cool and the team was wonderful, I didn't get to be with them as much as I wanted this week. Unfortunately, I came down with something the very first night we were out in the bush. Good timing, huh? Luckily, Dr. Phil (i.e. Phillip, one of the team leaders) gave me some medicine to tide me over until we came back to Mutoya, where I'm now on a general (and pretty legit) 5-day antibiotic. I'm doin just fine, but I'm takin it easy for a little while just to give my body some time to snap back to 100%.
The fabulous news about being prescribed bed rest? I get to sit with my Bible and dig into the depths of verses like:
“But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7
“And [God] has put all things under [Jesus'] feet and has made [Jesus] the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." Ephesians 1:22-23
"For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." Ephesians 2:10
…and, of course, there’s also the perk of having a wonderful boyfriend that caters to my slightest inclination or desire (chocolate included) & being first in line to lick Tyler’s and cake batter and icing bowls!
For the rest of the month, a few of the other medium-term interns and I will be working hard at the school getting the kids ready for their end-of-term exams that're coming up at the beginning of August. Starting probably early next week, Bryan will be taking a couple of guys from Hope Church to visit a remote village for 3 weeks, sharing the gospel with them for the first time and hopefully bringing a few key leaders back to Mongu in time for this winter's pastoral training at Mutoya. Prayers for safety, discernment, patience, and God's voice in both of our lives, please! :)
Can't wait to talk with yall all soon (and more pictures to come!) - miss you and hope that yall's summers are beautiful!
In His peace,
Stephanie :)
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