Day 10-An Accomplishment!

Okay, this is honest. And open. Even for me. And I'm feeling a little venerable and exposed. But still really wanting to share. Please don't judge...

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I feel like I should have something earth-shattering to tell you on my tenth day of blogging/journaling about the adjustment that I felt in coming back to Zambia this year. But I really don't. I do know that today, my self-proclaimed day of being "fully adjusted", I had a harder day than many of the past ten. It wasn't because of bugs or water shortages, but rather due to simple "job stress" that tends to occur when you take on more than you're sure you can complete effectively. Does it sound silly and far-fetched to you that someone who is living in a foreign country and ministering the Gospel as a career has job stress? I think that, three years ago, it would have sounded far-fetched to me. After all, we begin our days with worship music and start and end every meeting with prayer. We trust God for money and don't have to worry about a raise or much job competition. This should be a cake walk, filled with people speaking encouraging words to each other and making decisions effortlessly. There should be a feeling of satisfaction at the end of the day. "Today, I have HELPED people." Right? Riiigggghhhtttt.

My mom had a phrase she always used when I was young. (Have I shared this before? Sorry for repetition.) Anyway, being an ER nurse, my mom tends to deal with emergencies quite well. And every time I would come home from school, work, voice lessons, play practice...etc. with a DRAMA that I just couldn't see the way out of, my mom would look at me and be all like, "Jessi, you're not saving lives at Brooke High School." Or, "Jessi, you're not saving lives at Krogers." Get it? Meaning...chill out. Forgetting to load a bag of groceries into someone's car did not prevent them from taking in oxygen and surviving. It just wasn't that big a deal.

Sometimes this is hard for me to keep in perspective. Because I feel like it's one thing to give money to an organization doing good things for the under-privelaged people of the world, and to feel a sense of satisfaction. And it's one thing to come here on a short trip and proclaim that "the beauty of the African people changed me way more than I ever could have changed them." And to really feel like you did make an impact. But I feel like there's such a responsibility when you're the one here making the promises to follow through to completion the things that we say we're gonna do, when we're gonna do them. And when we don't, we don't just disappoint ourselves, we let down people who have been let down by people and circumstances for their entire lives. It's just difficult to comfort myself with my mom's standard phrase, "You're not saving lives..." Because, what if I am? Not to mention the saving of souls, what if I could have saved the lives of the 10 kids in Mukuni who died from malaria this rainy season? What if it was as simple as going around with malaria tablets and showing people how to use them? What if...a million times over. Every project is not mine to complete. And nothing is mine to complete anyway. Especially if I'm gonna do them using the "footpumps of Egypt." Meaning that we'll get nothing done laboring in the flesh...

So, believe it or not, it is a stressful job. A rewarding job? Yes. Many times not like work at all? Yes. And no, I do not for one second feel like I'm making some sort of unfair or unneccesary sacrifice. And I never forget the fact that there are people working jobs they DON'T enjoy and sending money to Jake and I to be here. We live in appreciation of that. In the Kingdom, no job is more important than the other. It's not like the missionaries get up to heaven and are told, "Hey, you get first bid for the master suite since you slept with bugs for 20 years." Other people experience way more stress in their jobs and don't get to experience any thanks at all. But there's a lot of responsibility that comes along with privilage. And just when I think I'm adjusted...it hits me.

I woke up yesterday and looked at myself in the mirror. It took me 4 months in the States, as well as lots of lotion and hot showers, to reverse the effects that Africa had on my face last year. It took 10 days to undo it. I look like I'm 24 going on 44 again.

I feel like in some ways I spent 10 days complaining about Africa. You know those old women who complain about their husbands with a gleam in their eye? That's how my heart feels about Zambia. I love these people so much it brings me to tears. I LOVE the culture, the music, the dancing, the food, the language. I am so blessed to be a steward of this cause. How did this ever happen to me...this opportunity? Why is it that I get the privelage of being the one worrying about how to feed the widow instead of how to make my house payment? I will never be able to express how much I feel that we are truly living the dream...

And after living this dream, I'll never be the same again.

Bush Beginnings

We are finally back out into the beautiful Zambian bush! I took off Monday morning at 9 a.m. on the dirt bike and drove out to Nyawa which is roughly a 3 hour drive covering 150 kilometers (in a vehicle this drive takes nearly 6 hours because of the extremely difficult terrain.)

I wasn't sure what to expect for this first trip after spending a significant amount of time in Nyawa last year, specifically with a pastor named Sweyn. I arrived around lunch time to find Sweyn and his family sitting down for a meal. As is customary to wonderful Zambian hospitality, they cheerfully asked me to join them and we sat down to a nice meal of nshima and rape. After eating we began to discuss how things were going over the past four months that we had been gone and I was left absolutely amazed at what Sweyn has accomplished.

I selected Sweyn to be a CLL "Community Life Leader" last year under the LIFE Project which is one of our initiatives that targets widows, orphans and the neglected. Our goal through the LIFE Project is to see every widow, orphan and elderly individual taken care of through their communities by empowering them with education, training and above all, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sweyn is a crucial component in that he has been chosen to oversee all of the work taking place in a 5 village spread. Not only does his work involve seeing that no one is neglected, but he also carries the important task of seeing that the word of God is proclaimed through these villages and that those who have a desire to be disciples of Jesus Christ get the opportunity to do so.

Sweyn presented me with a comprehensive list of every member (man, woman and child) of the five villages including which ones were widows, single orphans and double orphans (which helps us to determine which initiatives need to take place in each community). He also was pleased to tell me that he has been discipling 10 individuals (2 from each village) and that those individuals were leading 2 Bible Studies a week in their villages. Within an hour of arriving at his home, word had spread and there were 20 adults waiting outside to hear if I was going to share the word of God with them. As we were getting ready to start the service, a man passed through that Sweyn flagged down and after a short conversation we found that the man was headed to a "professional witch doctor" in Zimba. This man had been sick for three years and said that he had been to clinics, hospitals, and witch doctors with no change. We asked him to stay with us and began to share God's word with him about God's authority over sickness and also about God's plans for this man to have a future full of hope. The man,Charles, literally broke down in tears because he was so tired of this physical ailment and he pleaded with us to pray over him. Sweyn and I spent some time praying and afterwards he looked up with a smile and said that all the pain had gone except some pain in his shoulder. We prayed again and Charles testified that all the pain had gone. He immediately grabbed his wife and said that he wanted his family to commit their lives wholly to God. We prayed with them and then headed straight to the church to meet with the eager villagers.

The meeting turned out great as they all showed a lot of excitement that I would be coming every Monday, spending the night and departing on Tuesday afternoons. We decided that each Monday we will hold two meetings where we will be teaching the word of God and then on Tuesdays we will go out in teams to the different villages and visit homes, pray for the sick and preach the word of God.

Now I understand that this may sound like a bunch of numbers and hodge podge, but it is thrilling to see the effects of empowering faithful men and women in our sector to carry the light of the gospel. Our vision is to see this very thing happen over a spread of roughly 800 villages (Masokatwane and Nyawa). I believe with all of my heart that this is the ONLY way to impact a nation. It's more than putting just food in a person's stomach, which we will be doing...it's ushering them into an unbreakable hope. No drought, famine or disaster can take this fact from them...they are loved by God and have been chosen before time began to glorify God and enjoy Him forever! This is our portion in life.

This Scripture hit me the other day and has totally transformed the confidence I have day to day:

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2Cor. 2:14)

I love this Scripture because it is a promise. I don't have to doubt whether or not I will spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ...this passage tells me that in Christ I am ALWAYS led in triumphal procession and I am ALWAYS spreading the knowledge of Christ to the earth.

We MUST live with faith. We must live with a confidence that is rooted in the word of God. Let me ask you. Do you expect to always be lead in triumphal procession in your day to day activities? You cannot lose with Jesus. Do you realize that you are spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ in your work place, at the grocery store, around your family, at your school? Let us thank God this day for giving us promises that cannot be thwarted by any thing on, above or below this earth. The only thing that can keep us from these promises is unbelief. Let us stir up our faith today and build the kingdom of God on this earth.

Please be praying for Sweyn and the ministry taking place in Nyawa. I am going to begin a series on "Bush Survival" and take you guys through some of the "survival skills and tools" that I've learned to use over the last couple of years here in Zambia. (i promise lots of pics on the next blog...)

We love you all. Keep praying for us. Please let us know how we can be praying for you.

jake

Today...in pictures! Day 8

I am LOVING the internet speed!

Jake is in Nyawa for the next couple of days (tear). But, we had a great day today. Worked in the office this morning, went to town with Sunda for base shopping in the afternoon, and helped lead a youth meeting in the evening.




Sunda and one of the three kittens that are currently living in the office. She's afraid to hold him from underneath because he, "cratches me, Mommy."




Sunda and Auntie having a coke in town. This place may look like Mickey D's. But believe me, there's no comparison. Coke, however, is better in Zambia. I'm convinced.



That's me in the Texas hat (what?!) I've lost my 30th pair of sunglasses, and this was the only hat I could find to keep me from going blind in this sun.

This was a youth meeting called "Youth On Fire," led by our friend Jack. The kids were so much fun. They're always so surprised when I greet them and sing songs that they know in Tonga, Bemba, etc. Little do they know...I don't know much else!

I drove today for the first time since being back. Oh, these roads. I have to show you a picture of the road that we drive on everyday. Getting behind the wheel of a vehicle is always a challenge for me. But, I made it today!

See you tomorrow!

Spiritual Ponderings-Day 7

Since being in Africa, there are a lot of things in Scripture that just make a whole lot more sense:

The Plagues in Exodus 8, 9.

Flies and Gnats feel like a daily plague. It just depends on what time of year it is. In the dry season, the flies are out in full force and with a vengeance. We joke that you can tell an African fly versus a non-African fly because African flies just DON’T GIVE UP. In rainy season, the gnats come in droves. Leave any body of water in the open for any amount of time, and it becomes a breeding ground. This includes cups of water, the leftovers in the kitchen sink, and the puddles you make with your feet when you get out of the shower.

Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. [John 13:12]

I would LOVE IT if someone would come and wash my feet at the end of the day. It’s a process that takes work. What a humble and beautiful Lord we serve.

The cool of the morning. [Gen. 3:8]

Okay, so this is a stretch because this verse speaks of God walking with Adam and Eve in the cool of the DAY. But, there really is a cool of the morning, at around 4 or 5am, right before the sun rises. Sometimes, it’s the only time in a restless night when you can feel the cool breeze coming through the windows. (By the way, what are you doing with your windows open? This is Malaria Country! Yeah well. It’s either get sick with malaria or die of suffocation. I haven’t had malaria yet (thank you Jesus), but I’ve come close to the suffocation part. So, I open the windows. Settle down. We sleep under mosquito nets. 

Esther: The year of beautification before she went before the king. [Esther 2:12]

This always seemed so ridiculous to me. How can you spend a YEAR in the spa? But Esther was a hard-working Jewish woman: Washing the clothes, scrubbing the house, de-feathering the chickens. I’ve seen these unbelievable Zambian women scrub a pot with dirt (it works!) until their hands are bleeding. They could definitely use a year at the spa (and I wish I could give it to them!)

In the Song of Solomon, when the woman says to her beloved, “I’ve already taken off my robe and washed my feet. Do you want me to come back out [and answer the door]? [Song of Sol. 5:3]

I feel your pain! Once you’re in bed, appropriately dressed in the coolest attire you can manage, with clean feet, and the mosquito net hung nicely down, you don’t want to get up for ANYTHING.

The innumerable stars. [Jer. 33:22]

I’m talking STARS. Like you’re never seen them before in your life. Like you’re going to get swallowed up in the Milky Way. Unbelievable.

Speaking of stars, why am I staring at my computer screen when the Milky Way is calling my name? Goodnight, and Happy Sunday!

10 Easy Steps-Day 6

How to go about killing a spitting cobra: (most information acquired courtesy of the “snake hunter”, Jake Schwertfeger)


#1) Train your 3-year-old to tell you when she sees snakes by saying, “Daddy, there’s a snake there. Go kill it.”

#2) Tell Paul, who is about to walk into the snake’s path, to go the other way.

#3) Run the 3-year-old to safety with mom, who continues making the bed, but stops to say, “If you’re gonna kill a cobra, at least wear something over your eyes.”

#4) put on plastic Nerf goggles from Sunda’s new toy guns to avoid painful and unnecessary trauma when the spitting cobra aims for your eyes.

#5) Find the biggest rock in the near vicinity.

#6) Back the now angry snake into one of the outdoor bathroom stalls and prepare for the kill.

#7) Use your Little League skills to beam the snake (preferably near the head).

#8) Once the snake is appropriately injured gets close enough to hack off its head with a machete.

#9) Come and show your wife and daughter the headless, still moving, snake.

#10) Get pictures (for the blog, of course).

Addendum:

#11) Don’t let the dogs eat the snake. It just doesn’t seem like a good idea.


I have one more thing to add to the “I Can’t Promise” post:
Sunda, I can’t promise that we won’t see a snake or two. But, I CAN promise that I will absolutely BELIEVE you when you say that you see one.

Thanks Sunda-girl, it would have been no fun nursing your dad through a cobra bite. And I’m glad we remembered to give him those Nerf sunglasses of yours. Putting a grown man in a headlock and flushing his eyes out with milk while he shrieks in pain would not have been my idea of a Valentine’s Day date.