To Livingstone and Botswana with the Family

After my family visited Ndola for three days, we traveled down to Livingstone to see Victoria Falls, and then we went to Botswana to go on a safari. Highlights of the trip:

Victoria Falls: If you remember, in December when I visited the falls, we able to walk on the edge of the falls. That is when the water level was low. I cannot even begin to describe the difference now. The rainy season has ended, but all the water from Northern Zambia is now flowing through the Zambezi River and over the falls. When standing on the observation decks, all you see is a white cloud of mist. It is very hard to get a view of the falls. Plus, with all the mist coming up from the falls, it is as if you are walking in a shower. I am not exaggerating when I describe the amount of water in this manner.

Safari at Muchenje Lodge in Botswana: After seeing Victoria Falls and spending a night in Livingstone, my family traveled over the border to Botswana for a three day safari in Chobe National Park. As with my other safari in Kenya, it was a remarkable experience. Chobe is very different from the Masai Mara in Kenya though because Chobe consists mainly of the bush whereas the Masai Mara consists mainly of the savannah. This creates two very unique safari experiences. The animals have more places to hide in Chobe, but the movements of the animals also differ depending on the land formation.

Our lodge in Chobe (the Muchenje Lodge) was simply amazing. The lodge sits upon the cliffs overlooking the Chobe River and Namibia. The Chobe River flows from the Zambezi River; therefore, all the water coming over Victoria Falls spills into the flood plains of Botswana and Namibia at this time of year. That is why the river resembles a lake in our pictures. During the months of September through February, that “lake” is a small river. It is impressive to see all the water and to know that it is usually just a small river.

The animals in Botswana: The most impressive thing about Chobe is the large herds of animals. For example, it was not uncommon to see a herd of 50 elephants or 25 giraffes or 200 water buffalo. This is something that I did not experience in the Masai Mara.

We are also able to get “dangerously” close to the animals. There were definitely a few times where my mother told the guide that she did not want to be that close to the animals. I mean who wants to be 10 feet away from a lion and her baby cub. I do, but unfortunately my mother does not.

The highlight of our safari was seeing a LEOPARD though. Leopards are very rare to see because they are very shy animals. Our guide said that the last time he saw one was in September. We were not even looking for a leopard but just happened upon it while on a boat cruise on the Chobe River. The leopard is very elusive though; therefore, we had to track him for 20 minutes along the shore of the river just to get decent pictures of him. Even though we knew he was there, it was extremely difficult to find him. They blend in very well and are spooked easily. Seeing a leopard was my one wish for the safari, and it was granted. Chobe=Success!

In total, it was a great vacation with my family. It was amazing to be able to talk to them in person and for them to experience Africa with me. Lots of memories and lots of fun was had by all. The vacation is over for now though. It is time to train more teachers!

The Family In Ndola

My family has been in Ndola for the last three days. Tomorrow, we leave for Victoria Falls and then onto Botswana. My family has throughly enjoyed seeing the communities in which the Jubilee Centre works while experience life in Ndola. We have also had some time to just relax and enjoy life together which has been good since I have not seen them in nine months.

Two notable things have happened since they have been in Zambia. First, I am still evidently a terrible driver because I received two more traffic tickets this past Thursday, one for speeding and one for careless driving (two separate incidents. Who gets two different tickets on the same day?). That is 4 tickets since I have been in Zambia versus 1 ticket for 9 years driving in the States. Really? Has my driving changed that much over the past nine months? I think that they are out to get me.

Second, this morning (Sunday) we thought we were just going to church at one of the Jubilee Centre network churches. As we walked into church, the pastor asked me, “Who is preaching, you or Lawrence (Temfwe, the executive director of the Jubilee Centre)?” I responded, “Well Lawrence is not here, and I cannot get in touch with him on his phone.” The pastor then says, “Great! You are preaching in ten minutes then.” Five minutes of preparation and then I gave a 45 minute sermon. To tell you the truth, I am not surprised by these things anymore. For five minutes of preparation, I think the sermon went well. Now, my family is onto Livingstone, Zambia and Botswana. More updates will come..

(The pictures of are my family with the orphan they sponsor in Mapalo, at a friend’s house, and one of Brittany being swarmed by the children.)

The Family Is On the Way

It is time for more visitors! (Visitors are one of the best parts about living in Africa!) My family (dad, mom, brother, and sister-in-law) leaves today from DC to come to Zambia. In total, they will be in Zambia for 10 days. I am super pumped to see them! It has been over nine months since I last saw them. I am traveling down to Lusaka tomorrow to pick them up. If you care, here is the itinerary for their trip:

Friday-Monday: Visiting Ndola and the Jubilee Centre

Tuesday: Traveling down to Livingstone, Zambia and seeing Victoria Falls

Wednesday-Friday: Safari in Chobe National Park, Botswana

Saturday: Leave for the United States

Yes, it is time for another safari. I absolutely love safaris! That is probably the reason I love visitors so much. They always want to go on a safari, and I will always obliged. Alright, I will be sure to keep you posted on all the fun things my family and I do.

Zambian Newspaper

In the Zambian newspaper on Sunday, there appeared this memoir. I have come to realize that there are some things that I will never understand about Zambians. If I lived in Zambia for 20 years, I still don't think I would understand why someone would write a memoir containing the words "savagely murdered." If you want to write a memoir, why not just say died or even just murdered.

I come back to my original point. Because of my upbringing, I don't know if I can ever understand why someone would write this. I am sure that people have their reasons, but for once in my life, I am o.k. with not knowing. Even though I have become very comfortable in Zambia, there are definitely days where I stare into the sky and say "Where am I again?"

Who You With?

I think one of the biggest surprises for me since being in Zambia has been the lack of freedom within the “democracy” of Zambia. Every couple of years, The Economist produces a ranking called the Democracy Index. The Democracy Index measures the democracy of each country based upon a series of questions and then ranks the countries based upon their respective scores. While living in America, I understood the basics of this index, but since being in Zambia, this ranking has taken on new meaning for me.

The fact remains that there is a lively debate on how and if one can measure democracy. My goodness there is even a debate on what constitutes a democracy. But living in a place like Zambia, that is not classified as a full democracy, for an extended period of time has provided me with the unique opportunity to see the differences in “democracies” and to understand how a systems can be rated as full democracies, flawed democracies, and hybrid regimes.

For example, I heard a rumor last week. Remember that this is a rumor. I cannot substantiate this information, but I do think that this information is credible. Presidential elections are to be held in Zambia next year, but in order to vote, one must possess a National Registration Card (NRC). Most people have a NRC, but those applying for new cards are supposedly asked one question: “Which party are you with?” If you answer the ruling party (MMD), you are allowed to obtain a NRC. If you answer the opposition party, you are turned away and cannot obtain a NRC. Not having a NRC means that you cannot vote.

If this is the case (again I call it a credible rumor), then it is very easy to predict who will win the election. Little maneuvers like this add up over the long haul to stall the progress of democracy.

One major issue though is the fact that Zambia is constantly comparing itself to its neighbors, and therefore, overlooking their own issues. They say, “We are not as bad as Zimbabwe, Angola, or the Democratic Republic of Congo.” My goodness China rates better than all of those countries on the Democracy Index. It would be like the Georgia Bulldogs comparing their football achievements to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. My goodness Tech plays in the ACC! Who wants to lower themselves to those standards? Next, we are going to be comparing ourselves to North Korea (or the Big Ten, Big 12, or PAC 10) (Yes, I just made a college football and foreign policy comparison!)

I am not saying that the Democracy Index is law. Zambia, by the way, is rated as a hybrid regime and 97 out of 167 in the 2008 results. I just wanted to add a little credibility to the index. I guess that is assuming my opinion means anything.

Stealing Hymnals

I have a confession. I stole a hymnal from my church this past week and fell asleep in church. The falling asleep part was because my church starts at 7:30 a.m., I was tired, and the sermon was boring. I know those are just excuses, but I stole the hymnal because I heard this hymn for the first time and really liked the theology behind the hymn. I did not have a pen to write down the words of the hymn; therefore, I had two options. I could either steal the hymnal or tear the page out of the hymnal. What would you choose? I decided to steal the hymnal! (it is pictured below) Here is the hymn that I loved:

Hark, my soul! it is the Lord;

Tis thy Saviour, hear his word;

Jesus speaks, and speaks to thee,

‘Say, poor sinner, lov’st thou me?

‘I deliverd thee when bound,

And, when wounded, healed they wound;

Sought thee wandering, set thee right,

Turned they darkness into light.

‘Can a woman’s tender care

Cease towards the child she bare?

Yes, she may forgetful be,

Yet will I remember thee.

‘Mine is an unchanging love,

Higher than the heights above,

Deeper than the depths beneath,

Free and faithful, strong as death.

‘Thou shalt see my glory soon,

When the work of grace is done;

Partner of my throng shalt be:

Say, poor sinner, lov’st thou me?’

Lord, it is my chief complaint

That my love is weak and faint;

Yet I love thee, and adore;

O for grace to love thee more!

This hymn is sweet because first it makes you think you are in a Charles Dickens novel. Second, it is sweet because I love the theology behind the last stanza and specifically the last line: “O for grace to love thee more!” It is only by God’s grace that we are able to love him. That is good because I stink at loving God. My love is many times weak and faint. Maybe you don’t want to hear a “missionary” tell you that, but that is just life. There is hope for me though, and it is not through my actions. It is through understanding the grace of God and his actions toward us and responding to that love. I really think that we are the most “spiritually healthy” when we admit many times that we don’t truly love God and we are honest about our beliefs and feelings. So many times though I have been in churches that don’t encourage us to be honest about the fact that often times we don’t love God. Maybe ya’ll are better than me though. Maybe you can just will yourself to love God. I honestly can’t say that I can do that. I can only love God when I have properly understood the grace and love that has been given to me (see Romans 6:14). Actions should flow out of that knowledge, but without that knowledge actions are useless in my opinion.

(Stepping away from the pulpit) Maybe there is no hope for me though because I stole the hymnal. Ha ha! Don’t worry I will return the hymnal next week.

Empowerment

Training in Kitwe is officially done after four very tiresome days of work. I forgot how tiring it is to teach for a whole day. When training in Ndola, the longest I had taught for was an hour and a half, but when training in Kitwe, I had to teach six hours a day. Teaching for six hours is very tiring. No wonder I took naps in the afternoon when I taught kindergarten. Some days I would fall asleep while the kids were in class. Just kidding!

Anyway, as mentioned earlier, I took Emmanuel and Samson, two of my teachers from Mapalo, to train teachers with me. Emmanuel and Samson absolutely loved the opportunity to train other teachers. It was a great learning experience for them, but it was also a great learning experience for me.

I learned that to empower people I have to give up control! I always want to be in control to make sure that things are correct; therefore, giving up control is hard for me. But releasing control is necessary when training people. Whenever Emmanuel and Samson were teaching, I was constantly having to control myself from adding too many comments. Yes, if material needs to be communicated clearly, I need to step in and make sure the teachers are trained properly, but that was not my problem. My problem was that I wanted to micromanage the presentations and wanted everything exactly like I would state it. Who wants a boss like that?

At least I realized this tendency in myself early. Emmanuel stated that his goal was to present a session without me adding a comment. Ouch! Of course, he did not mean it as a knock against me, but instead meant that he wanted to cover the material adequately enough so that I would not comment. Anyway, one of my goals is to empower these teachers and Emmanuel and Samson to make a difference. I can’t do that though if I micromanage and don't allow them to lead. I will still hold myself and our project to a high standard but that can be done while allowing others to lead. The process may not be as pretty along the way, but the end result will be a lot better.