Crazy experience of the week--yesterday there was a bush fire across the street from our house. It was getting remarkably close, too close for comfort, to one of our friends villages so we went over to have a look see. It was really intense and quite a big fire, the wind kept blowing it up and spreading it like crazy across the dry grass. So we proceeded to become Zambia fire fighters. There was at least 10 of us out there trying to get the thing out but it was coming in on a few fronts. So some people grabbed water and the rest of us grabbed branches that were green off of the trees and started whacking out the fire. It was intense, we were out there for about an hour and a half and came back very very sooty and dirty. It was nice to be able to help out a bit for once. They could have done it without us but it was really nice to help a little bit. A nice bonding experience haha. And it was a cool version of service, which leads to my deep thought for the week...

Deep thought of the week--sometimes we tell God we are willing to serve him, but then we put all sorts of qualifications on it. I won't serve here, I will serve here, I will not do this, I can't do this and so on and so forth. So really we aren't saying we will serve God at all we are telling him what we will do, which isn't the definition of service at all. I've really been thinking about this since I've come, especially since we aren't really doing what we thought we would be doing. But, the fact of the matter is that I think all of us that are here keep saying we are here to serve. We have had some good conversations as to what that actually means. I think we all told God that we are here to serve him in whatever way, sometimes when it comes down to it, we freak out when he asks us to do something a little out of our comfort zone. Service isn't always glorious though, sometimes its serving guests when they come over, sometimes its doing the dishes because you know everyone else is tired, sometimes its just sitting and listening, sometimes its putting out bush fires threatening the homes of people you met last week. After all, whatever you do for the least you do for God. Love your neighbors and love God...thats about it.

Excellent experience of the week--hard to pick one from this week but this one has stuck in my head for a few days now. Last Friday we were in Choma, town, to get a few things. There is a missionary couple that lives right near where we were staying and they are fantastic. They informed us that in the evening there would be a gathering of all of the missionaries/chrisitian white people in Choma at someones house including dinner and dessert, so naturally we wanted in! Both Ian and I went and it was fantastic. Not only was it excellent to be able to speak English to people and not have to over anunciate or slow down or try to strain to understand them, but the fellowship was great. And...there were people there from Germnay, Ireland, New Zealand, England, the US of course, and Portugal. It was pretty ridiculous...all those countries in the middle of Zambia. It was pretty cool to look around and realize in an incredibly obvious way that there is always more to the world and to God than ever meets my eyes. No matter how much you learn or travel or any of that there is always more to be learned, more people to meet, more faces of God to see.

Exciting future prospect--this weekend we are going to Livingstone to see the falls and to go on Safari! We are all pretty excited, it will be a nice little mini vacation where we can be tourists. So I'm sure we will have good stories after this weekend...pretty much everyday we have some ridiculous experience or meet some ridiculously amazing person, its pretty fantastic. Amazing what happens when you have time to slow down a little bit...

Hello everyone…this is old news from last week…the internet crashed for a week or so, but now we are back and running again! The computer is not good at all, it just decides when it isn’t going to work, we’ve been trying to get our professors computer hooked up to no avail. Oh well. This one is working at the moment!

So here’s the post from last week that I never actually got to put up…

I am starting to feel quite at home here now. We have met so many amazing people and they are always dropping by for tea or a meal. I think we are all feeling like we belong a bit. It’s good to finally be able to walk around a see people you know and who’s names you can remember!

I’ve started teaching at the secondary school and the basic school. I was pretty nervous Monday morning for my first class but it went well! It was a little intimidating walking into a classroom with that many students for the first time but once I got going and remembered to talk slowly and annunciate clearly it was good. I was pretty proud of myself, especially because getting up and talking in front of people is definitely not my favorite thing to do. Sometimes it’s good to jump out of your box once in a while. Once I got into it, it was fine. The students are really good and I enjoy talking to them after class and getting to know them. We are both learning. I really enjoy it…much much more than I ever thought I would!

We are starting to get in at the clinic also, although the strike is not yet over. The clinical officer, the equivalent of a Physicians Assistant, let us come in and observe all of the patients and the interactions yesterday which was great. We are hoping to be able to go out with some of the nurses to the villages sometimes too. Each week they go out to very remote villages and do vaccinations, bring medicines, transport anyone who needs it and anything else like that. It would be really neat to get in with that. We are going to meet a traditional healer next week which will be interesting as well.

The last few nights the stars have been out in full force. I don’t know how the stars are where you live but I guarantee no matter how amazing they are you haven’t seen anything like the stars here. They are absolutely incredible. Not only are they a completely different set of stars from in the Northern Hemisphere but you can literally see the milky way galaxy almost every night…it’s that clear. Looking up at them makes you feel so small, in a good way though. Like there has to be some order and someone in charge of the world to make something as magnificent as the night sky here. It’s a good reminder of who we are and who God is. I never get tired of looking at them. Sometimes it’s good to slow the heck down and stop and smell the roses. I think maybe God can only be where we perceive him to be.

That’s enough deep thinking for now…

Greetings from Zambia!

A fine “howdy do” to you all from the village of Sikalongo in Southern Zambia! We finally made it to our final destination after a long three days of travel. It was excellent to arrive and settle in, shower, and sleep. Travel took us from Newark to London where we had an 11 hour layover in which we were able to explore London a bit. From London we flew into Johannesburg South Africa, then to Livingstone Zambia, then a drive to Choma which is the nearest town and finally a very bouncy ride to our village of Sikalongo. Over the weekend we got all settled in, began meeting people, attended church (which was excellent), and began to get the lay of the land. Dr Thomas (the professor with whom we came) has been coming for many years and as a result we have some excellent contacts here at the schools, the rural health clinic, and the church. We have met many many people and are doing our best to remember names, learn the greeting in the local language of Chitonga, and figure out the cultural norms. The learning curve has been incredible and I don’t think it is going to stop anytime soon!

We have had to make some adjustments to our schedules and to what our aims are going to be here. The teachers in the schools in our district have been on strike for the last two weeks as well as the healthcare workers at the major hospitals and larger clinics. Apparently they have not been paid for some time now and no one quite knows when the strike will let up. As a result, we cannot get into some hospitals and clinics that we wanted too. The local clinic in Sikalongo is still functioning so we are hoping to get involved there next week. The lack of teaching in the classrooms means that all of the headmasters or principles are desperately looking for teachers for both the primary or elementary school and the secondary or high school. Starting next week Ian and I will each be teaching a group of 50 something 10^th grade student’s biology. Ian and Artie and I will also be teaching English, Math and Science at the elementary school. So next Monday will be a great learning experience (prayers are appreciated)! Nothing like jumping in with two feet and learning on the job. It is looking like the summer will be a very busy one with helping in the clinic, the schools and various day and weekend trips around Zambia. Our time is going to go very fast!

One of the things I am most enjoying about being here is something that I have encountered before in Africa. It is the ability “to be” rather than “to do” all of the time. Here the days are so much longer. There are times at home I feel the inability to slow down and enjoy the day and to enjoy relationships with others. I am learning here to slow down, to take time to do things, to create relationships, to laugh at myself, and to be. It is wonderful. I am really looking forward to the next few days especially and the weeks to come. The people here are wonderful and I can’t wait to get more involved in the community.

I think that’s about it…until next time!

Welcome to the blog

Hello friends,

So tomorrow I'm on my way to Zambia! I wanted to start up this blog in an effort to not have to write a ton of emails on a probably very sketchy internet connection. Not sure how often I will be able to update but hopefully it will be on a somewhat regular basis. I'm really excited for this trip and a little nervous too. Prayers are appreciated greatly as are emails! I don't have a mailing address right now, hopefully when I get there I will be able to figure out where anything can be sent. Thanks guys, I will miss you all!