Tears & Laughter
It is late in the day on Friday and I thought of a few more things to share from my trip to Zimba as well as today's events. As is so often true in life, some of what I have to share is deeply troubling, while some is strangely humorous.
First, when we arrived in Zimba on Wednesday, the complex was very somber. We learned that a 13 year old had experienced difficulties giving birth to her child, so the medical team performed a C Section. While the baby was saved, this 13 year old mom, only a little girl herself, died during the procedure. This is just a stark reminder to me of how precious and fragile life is. In fact, that's part of what I've learned about the African Christian culture. They view life itself as a gift from God and thank him for every moment, even in spite of suffering and challenges. They live for the time they have and are thankful to God for every day of life.
Second, while Alfred picked up some supplies for next week's conference, I stayed in the van. I quickly, but unintentionally, attracted attention...for some reason I stand out a bit here. :-) One of them was a man named Simon...Once he realized I wasn't prepared to give him anything, we had a fascinating 10 minute conversation. His father came to Lusaka trying to find a job. Simon was born there and has grown up in the city. He now has two children of his own and he tries to make a living finding a parking spot for people on the busy streets and then washing their car while they are parked (that's how he found us). In fact, rather than asking for a handout from me, he wanted to know if there was any work he could do. He explained that he looks for work everyday, but "there are no jobs here in Zambia. I don't have a way to earn money for my family." Of course, his situation is complicated, but many face his same challenges. I will not soon forget the blank look of hopelessness in Simon's eyes. God did not intend for people to live like this!
Now on the lighter side...
As we were driving back from Zimba, we realized we would need to refuel with diesel. Unfortunately, in community after community, the stations were out of diesel. When we found that to be true in the last community before a long, rural stretch, Alfred said, "OK, it's time to find an alternate source." It appears that long after the gas stations on the roads run out of fuel, small entrepreneurs in the communities have plastic and glass containers of fuel for sale to the locals...or to travelers who know how to find them and can afford the cost. So, we bought about 20 liters of diesel on the "secondary" market, and made it back to Lusaka without having to push!
Today we found a store to replace Janet's stolen computer. After checking a couple of places, we actually found the exact same model, comparably priced. The only catch was that they wouldn't take a credit card. So, while they began loading up her machine, we visited and called several bank locations before finding a place that would allow me to use a credit card to obtain the local currency needed to buy the computer. Then, they had a limit on how much they would convert that way, so we also exchanged some US cash, and then pooled the locally currency we had. In total, we needed a little over 6 million kwacha (roughly $1,500). However, this is a holiday weekend in Zambia and the banking computers where down this morning. So, the banks were packed and when we did finally got the currency, it was in 20,000 kwacha bills--a large stack of them. As we all three sat in the van counting out the kwacha before going back into the store, we had to laugh at this scene. Walking through the city with a brown envelope full of cash, into the store to count out 6 millions kwacha...well, that was a memorable experience!
Well, you get the idea...nothing moves quickly here. It's a great place to practice your patience. The hour and a half in the travel agent's office lobby, talking on the phone to a person seated 15 yards away in another office was another example, but that's another story altogether.
That's it for today. We are beginning to pack for our trip to Zimbabwe. Thanks for your prayers. Matthew
First, when we arrived in Zimba on Wednesday, the complex was very somber. We learned that a 13 year old had experienced difficulties giving birth to her child, so the medical team performed a C Section. While the baby was saved, this 13 year old mom, only a little girl herself, died during the procedure. This is just a stark reminder to me of how precious and fragile life is. In fact, that's part of what I've learned about the African Christian culture. They view life itself as a gift from God and thank him for every moment, even in spite of suffering and challenges. They live for the time they have and are thankful to God for every day of life.
Second, while Alfred picked up some supplies for next week's conference, I stayed in the van. I quickly, but unintentionally, attracted attention...for some reason I stand out a bit here. :-) One of them was a man named Simon...Once he realized I wasn't prepared to give him anything, we had a fascinating 10 minute conversation. His father came to Lusaka trying to find a job. Simon was born there and has grown up in the city. He now has two children of his own and he tries to make a living finding a parking spot for people on the busy streets and then washing their car while they are parked (that's how he found us). In fact, rather than asking for a handout from me, he wanted to know if there was any work he could do. He explained that he looks for work everyday, but "there are no jobs here in Zambia. I don't have a way to earn money for my family." Of course, his situation is complicated, but many face his same challenges. I will not soon forget the blank look of hopelessness in Simon's eyes. God did not intend for people to live like this!
Now on the lighter side...
As we were driving back from Zimba, we realized we would need to refuel with diesel. Unfortunately, in community after community, the stations were out of diesel. When we found that to be true in the last community before a long, rural stretch, Alfred said, "OK, it's time to find an alternate source." It appears that long after the gas stations on the roads run out of fuel, small entrepreneurs in the communities have plastic and glass containers of fuel for sale to the locals...or to travelers who know how to find them and can afford the cost. So, we bought about 20 liters of diesel on the "secondary" market, and made it back to Lusaka without having to push!
Today we found a store to replace Janet's stolen computer. After checking a couple of places, we actually found the exact same model, comparably priced. The only catch was that they wouldn't take a credit card. So, while they began loading up her machine, we visited and called several bank locations before finding a place that would allow me to use a credit card to obtain the local currency needed to buy the computer. Then, they had a limit on how much they would convert that way, so we also exchanged some US cash, and then pooled the locally currency we had. In total, we needed a little over 6 million kwacha (roughly $1,500). However, this is a holiday weekend in Zambia and the banking computers where down this morning. So, the banks were packed and when we did finally got the currency, it was in 20,000 kwacha bills--a large stack of them. As we all three sat in the van counting out the kwacha before going back into the store, we had to laugh at this scene. Walking through the city with a brown envelope full of cash, into the store to count out 6 millions kwacha...well, that was a memorable experience!
Well, you get the idea...nothing moves quickly here. It's a great place to practice your patience. The hour and a half in the travel agent's office lobby, talking on the phone to a person seated 15 yards away in another office was another example, but that's another story altogether.
That's it for today. We are beginning to pack for our trip to Zimbabwe. Thanks for your prayers. Matthew
posted by CUMC Team | 9:51 AM
<< Home