Update on Jembo projects

Hi—Steve Dodson here reporting from the Southern Province of Zambia! Our earlier post outlined the initial travel and conference days. On Friday, I was pleased to travel, with Janet and Rev. Sitali Kakungu (the National Superintendent of the Pilgrim Wesleyan Church—PWC), to tour the Jembo Mission Station. The Jembo compound includes a primary school, a boarding high school, a regional health clinic and a Bible College. Over the past several years, CUMC has partnered with the PWC to assist with construction costs for a new classroom building at the primary school. The new classroom building looks fantastic, smelling of fresh paint, and will be ready to receive students as the new term begins in September.

 

 

 

However, the primary school faces a challenge:  they do not have sufficient sanitation (outdoor toilets) for the number of students they are anticipating. While the students are currently on holiday, if sufficient progress is not made on the completion of these structures, the school opening may be delayed. But, the leaders of the school have mobilized the surrounding villages (7 of them) so that each village is actively constructing at least one of the toilet structures—this approach builds both local pride in the school and local responsibility for getting the work completed. All the building materials (except aluminum for the roof and concrete) come from the surrounding terrain—so cost is minimized. It appears that they are making adequate progress.

 

CUMC was also instrumental in helping with housing for the school faculty. We funded three single housing units (flats) which are complete and occupied. In addition, we helped renovate older, existing faculty houses. Before, these houses were in very poor condition. Now, they are very nice, comfortable and quite livable. As the local pastor said to me, “This work has transformed our mission!” That was sweet music to my ears. Here, in rural Africa, we are blessed to help God “Transform Lives and Serve Others.”

 

 

 

I must say that the medical “clinic” was heart-rending. There is a severe shortage of medical workers in the remote regions. This clinic receives a physician visit once per month (and it serves over 10,000 villagers!—and we complain about our healthcare!!). The nurse who gave us a tour was very exhausted after working almost 3 days without much sleep—delivering two babies, caring for the mothers, administrating all the other “walk in” needs, testing for suspected diseases (there was one man in the male ward who had tested positive for TB), attending those who required inpatient monitoring (three children admitted with fever and coughing), and keeping up with the requisite paperwork. Pray for God to raise up nurses and clinicians who are called to this important ministry.

 

Our final stop on the tour was the PWC Bible College where many of the nation’s Christian leaders and future pastors are trained. I was impressed by the library and the far-reaching curriculum. It is amazing that all of this instruction is accomplished with only 2 full-time faculty. A third instructor will arrive in the fall as a career missionary comes to Jembo. However, most of us would be heart-broken by the living accommodations of the students! The current structures are more than 50 years old and do not have any indoor water/plumbing. Students come here to live for the three year program and spend 9 months of the year in these conditions. I could imagine that this would be disheartening for some—moving long distances from home and accepting outdated living conditions. As a matter of fact, some of the surrounding rural villages had better-built houses than some of these student “houses.” This could potentially be a very beneficial project for us to consider for future partnerships.

 

 

 

I remain so encouraged and impressed with the depth of faith and belief in our Zambian brothers and sisters. They have touched both my heart and soul! Many of these pastors and leaders traveled long distances and made deep sacrifices to attend our training conferences. I am humbled by that commitment and dedication. Yet, again, this trip has reminded me of the discrepancies of wealth in our world and the great needs that exist for Christians in other parts of the world. Our support goes so far and is positively impacting lives in Zambia and the entire region of the south Africa.

 

We should all be proud and grateful for the opportunity our church has to transform the spiritual landscape of this part of the world. It is amazing to see what God has accomplished through these dedicated servants! Thank you for your ongoing prayer and financial support. You are making a difference for the Kingdom into eternity.

 

We complete the MKI and ILI conferences in Choma today and move on to Zimba where we will see the incredible work completed there with the direct supervision of our own Janet Sisco. I will be preaching Sunday at Rev. Chikabela’s church in Zimba.

 

Grace and peace,

Steve

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