"There is life after bungee!”…and white-water rafting, and charging elephants, and parasites.

Well we just got back from a 4 day vacation to Victoria Falls and Botswana, and I can honestly say I’ve never had that many near death experiences. After the last 3 days I have no energy or adrenaline or movement left in my body. We did so many crazy, fun, and terrifying things.

Early Sunday morning we got to Livingstone and went to a church there in town. It was a really nice church and the people were so welcoming and friendly. We did the normal service; singing, communion, sermon, Harding Chorus sings, and the greeting afterwards. When we were done we all packed into our bus and drove to Waterfront Lodge to eat lunch and get ready for our activities for the day! Lunch was great and before I knew it we were getting in a car and driving to the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe. We got there, signed some papers, got some instructions and I was sent to the middle of the bridge…the place where people jump 111 meters to their death. I didn’t have time to think about what I was doing, which I guess is a good thing. I got to the bridge as soon as Cynda was about to bungee jump. She was the first one and watching her was scary, but before I knew it I was all harnessed up with my toes hanging off the edge of the bridge, the camera guy telling me not to worry because “there was life after bungee,” and a Zambian man counting down. I jumped and flew and bounced around and hung there for a while until finally a man came and got me and we were pulled back up to the bridge. It was so terrifying but so fun. I couldn’t believe I had just done that. I’ve never had such an adrenaline rush in my life. Little did I know, it was just going to get worse. I watched some more people bungee jump and then again, before I knew it, Cynda and I were harnessed together side by side getting ready to step off the bridge, this time feet first instead of head first. This Gorge Swing had us connected to a wire out from the bridge so when you stepped off you swung down until you were finally caught out under the wire. We swung, hit heads, my neck cracked about 10 times, and then we just hung there over the Boiling Pot of Victoria Falls until someone pulled us up. This wasn’t quite as scary as bungee jumping but it was much more painful. Still lots of fun though! After this we got to go watch the videos of us bungee jumping and swinging which was crazy, and then we went and did the zip line that goes over the Boiling Pot from Zambia to Zimbabwe. After everything we had just done, this was a relaxing little ride that was much more enjoyable. At the end of the day, our group was pretty in shock. We had jumped off a 111 meter high bridge over Victoria Falls in Zambia twice. My neck was sore, my adrenaline was gone and we were ready for rafting the next day!

Monday came and we woke up early, drove to Waterfont, got instructed on all the rafting rules, got put into groups, and loaded up to drive to Victoria Falls. I’ve never been rafting before so I was nervous and didn’t really know what to expect. However, I did expect this day to be not a scary as Sunday. Hah. Boy, was I wrong. I was in a raft with Ashley, Whitney, Abbie, Mackenzie, and Jared. We hiked down to the Boiling Pot and there were our guides getting our rafts ready. The Boiling Pot itself is just one big rapid so I was scared from the very beginning. We got in our raft with our guides Roger and Choonga and spent some time practicing before heading into the first rapid. We barely hit the first wave of the rapid and Mackenzie flew out, was swept under, and finally came out way down the river. She was shocked, as were we, but we got her back in the raft and headed for the rapid again. This time we made it almost to the very end when we hit a huge wave/rock and our whole raft flipped. Now you’re supposed to hold on to the rope that goes around the raft but this hit us so quickly that none of us were prepared to go flying into the Zambezi. I got sucked under the rapid and was literally under water for at least 30 seconds. I lost track of time. But I just know that I ran out of air and there was no sign of getting closer to the top of the water. Everything around me would start to get lighter and then it would get dark again. Eventually I came up above water and got a breath and then I saw Whitney in front of me. She was just right out of reach but we fought the rapids until we finally grabbed hands. Thankfully she was holding onto Abbie who was holding onto the raft, so we got back in and got Mackenzie back in, but Ashley and Jared were gone. They had been swept away somewhere and another raft picked them up. We finally got everyone back in our raft and the shock of what just happened started to wear off. I was in so much pain and I had just seen my life flash before my eyes; since I had never been rafting before, and since I thought this was just a little practice rapid I was convinced that this was going to be the worst day of my life. We were going through 25 rapids that day and I just knew that they were all going to be worse than that. Thankfully they weren’t or else I would’ve been dead. We found out that first rapid was a class 4 so it got better after that. We went through rapid after rapid and we were so excited when we would make it through without flipping. On rapid #8 our raft almost flipped so most of us went flying out. Thankfully this time I was able to grab hold of the rope so I wasn’t swept under the water. We quickly got back on the raft and kept rowing through the rapid until we picked up everyone else who had flown out. Rapid # 9 was a class 6 rapid called “Suicide” that we had to walk around…it was insane. We watched a kayaker go through it and our empty rafts, and now I understand why they don’t take people through that rapid. It literally would’ve been suicide. After rapid # 10 we stopped and had a picnic lunch before starting the rest of the day. The rapids after lunch seemed to be somewhat calmer. There were some that were 12 a,b, and c, so it was pretty important that we didn’t fall out on “a” or else we’d be swept under water for way too long of a time. Then we got to a rapid called “The Mother.” “If you don’t respect your mother then this rapid is going to get you”…that’s what our guides kept telling us. I think I respect my mother pretty well but this rapid killed me. At the very beginning of it I looked up and this huge wave was coming straight for us. I knew that we weren’t going to make it over. Sure enough, our raft flipped. I grabbed the rope this time but the rapid was so rough. I was holding onto that rope with everything in me…I was able to get tiny breaths every once in a while but the raft came down and hit me on the head twice pushing me back under water. Finally the force of the rapid tore me from the rope and I was pushed under the water. This wasn’t as bad as the first rapid in the Boiling Pot because I came up not too long after. The current took me into a little cove where I found Ashley and Mackenzie. Our raft was long gone but thankfully another raft came and got us and took us to ours. My head pounded for a good 30 minutes after and it took a while to catch my breath. We kept on going though and hit some more good rapids! I also got a really good Chaco tan J  Our guides let us swim through rapid #24 which was a lot of fun and we finally finished on #25. By the end of the day my body was so sore but I was sad that it was over. That first rapid in the Boiling Pot made me think that I was about to have the worst day ever, but it was actually so fun. It was so much scarier than bungee jumping, but it was also so pretty and even relaxing at some points. In between rapids we would just get to float along the Zambezi, sometimes swim for a while, enjoy God’s creation around us, and even spot lots of crocodiles. Yes…we were rafting with the crocs. What an experience. There really were times where my life flashed before my eyes. I loved it though. It was a great bonding experience for the people in our raft…since we depended on them to save our lives J and it was a great opportunity to do something that most people don’t get to do. Monday night when I laid down to go to sleep I was in so much pain and I still couldn’t believe what we had done, but I was already missing it!

Tuesday we woke up and drove to Botswana to go on safari! It’s a good thing we weren’t doing anything active that day because all of us were basically dead. We were so grateful for a day just to sit and relax. We got to Chobe Lodge where we all loaded up onto a boat to do a river safari. We were on the boat for a couple hours looking at hippos, crocodiles, elephants, water buffalo, warthogs, and lots of birds. It was beautiful. We were living the life…floating through the Chobe river while getting within a couple feet of all these huge powerful animals. After the boat ride we went and ate a good lunch at the lodge and then loaded up onto safari cars to go out into the bush! Our guide, Six, drove us around for a couple hours and we saw a lot of elephants, giraffes, zebra, kudu, hippos, crocodiles, monkeys, and more birds. All the animals were incredible. We stopped at one point to have a little snack in the bush. On our way back we were driving along and an elephant showed up right next to our car. We stopped to watch it and then it started coming at us. Six had to floor it to get us away from the elephant…thankfully the elephant didn’t chase after us. Another escape from death! After safari, we went and ate dinner and then went back to our hotel. We were exhausted and ready for bed!

This morning (Wednesday) we woke up early to go to the Livingstone Museum and then drive back to Namwianga. Here the sickness began. So many of us woke up with nausea or diarrhea or just upset stomach. I would be embarrassed to be writing about this on my blog for everyone to see, but it’s just part of life in Africa. It’s not a matter of “if” you get diarrhea…it’s a matter of “when.” Same with throwing up. It’s just going to happen so there’s no point in hiding it. Our group went to the museum which was cool but it was hard to enjoy…it was more of just a party in the bathroom. Then the healthy part of the group went to the market while the sick part stayed in the bus. I got a nice nap in and felt a little better when I woke up. The ride home was the adventure of the day. A 2 hour bus ride on African roads isn’t a good thing for a bunch of people with nausea and upset stomach.  It turned into a contest of who could throw up in a bag or out the window and who got the most cheers for it. It was quite a trip. Thankfully we have Ba Bingham to take care of us. We don’t really know if it’s parasites from the Zambezi water or something we ate, but it’s getting us pretty bad. So keep us in your prayers! Thankfully we’re back home at Namwianga instead of out on bumpy roads.

Our vacation was so good. It was fun and exciting and a good bonding experience, but it was also really eye opening. 6 weeks ago when we drove through Livingstone we thought “Wow look at the poverty in Africa. This town is so run down.” Today while we were driving through we kept thinking “This city is so nice. The stores are awesome. It looks just like America.” Namwianga still isn’t the poor part of Africa but we get to see a lot more than just the tourist parts of the continent. We’re so blessed to be getting to experience the rough parts of Zambia because that’s where we see places that really need help and really need God. It’s hard sometimes, but it’s such a blessing. But it’s also a blessing to get to have a break from school and “work” and get to enjoy ourselves. 9 years ago I hiked down to the Boiling Pot with my dad and sister and watched people bungee jump off the bridge…This week I hiked down there to raft the Zambezi and I was the one bungee jumping. It’s crazy where God is leading me and the opportunities He’s placing in my life.

EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING.

Our internet is getting better so I put some more pictures on facebook. (Not all of them worked but I’ll keep trying.) I cant believe we’ve been here almost a month! So much has happened and I’m in love with this place. I’ve experienced tons of new things and have met so many people. My relationships are growing stronger and stronger with my HIZ group and the Zambians. Every day holds something new. I’m constantly learning and growing. I’m not the same person that I was a month ago when I left America. God is working in my life. But of course, I don’t know why I’d expect anything less. Every Sunday we go to villages for church and they are all so different, but they have all been great experiences! Our neighbors on the mission have lots of little children that love playing with us so one day I took them some play-dough and we played for a long time! They taught me Tonga songs and words and we had lots of fun! The kids here are precious and they love playing with us Makuas!

I still spend most of my time at the Havens. I love being there! Cathy is getting better and better. I love that little girl to death. On the 27^th she’s turning 2 months old! She’s starting to smile and make faces and she is just precious. We sit outside on the porch everyday just enjoying the weather and the other kids running around. Nande is a little girl that lives at the Havens…I think she is the daughter of one of the aunties. She’s the happiest little girl I know. She doesn’t speak any English unlike all the other kids that live on the mission, but I love playing with her! She always brings me so much joy. She has the biggest most beautiful smile ever and she’s always laughing. She’s an angel. My little boy Matt is the light of my life! We sit on the couch for hours and sing and laugh and play games. He has lots of little buddies in that Haven that come play with us too. They are all crazy and want the attention to themselves so it’s hard because they cry and cry when you put them down. But they are so sweet. Since we’ve been here we’ve gotten probably 5 or 6 new babies at the Havens. This week twin girls came in when they were 3 hours old! They are chunky and healthy and beautiful, and I love holding them! I’ve been spending more time at Eric’s house with George, Jason, Shane, Bright, Luke, Benjamin, and other boys. They are wild boys but so so sweet. They are at the age where they need attention. They need people to play with them. We’ll go spend a couple hours on the sports court just running around with them and they love it. They know my name now and I love hearing them call me... Sometimes it’s “Kenna” instead of “Hanna” but they’ll yell my name from far away and then run up and tackle me. They are fun boys!

Last week I really started making friends with the Zambian students at George Benson College. Brenda and Deleki are some girls that I met Wednesday night at church and since then I’ve been to their dorm a couple times and they’ve been over to play cards. We also got paired up with a student to be our Tonga tutor. It’s more like organized friends J It’s great though! My tutors name is Ruth and she’s so sweet. They took us to a dance which was interesting, to say the least. Lots of fun…but very different. They’re going to teach me how to make nsima so get ready family, I’m making it for you when I get home!

We’ve spent a lot of time playing cards, watching movies, talking and laughing, and really just getting to know each other! We spend some nights on the storage bins singing. We’re pretty used to the electricity going out…we’ve learned to cook and play cards by candle light or lantern. The Mann house family truly is my family. These girls have blessed my life so much, along with the rest of the girls. We’ve taken some field trips and gone into town a few times. We’re always seeing new and different things and learning so so much. It’s crazy. We’re constantly having to “process” and “debrief” from the day just because so much happens.

On Monday I went to work at the clinic for the first time. I went with Mackenzie and Hannah, and a PA student that’s here for a 6 week rotation, Katie Hill. It was hard at times but a really good experience. We saw lots of patients…there was a baby girl who was so dehydrated and malnourished that her skin was just hanging off her body. We saw a couple older people who both had really bad lungs and breathing. They were in-patients there so we started them on TB medicine and we’re going to keep checking on them! We had to tell a woman that she had a miscarriage which was really hard, but Katie did a great job telling her. We prayed with her and I was so impressed with how Katie handled it. We saw a few other patients who needed shots and exams. I saw some things that I never thought I would see in my life. I never really thought I would be working in a clinic dressed in scrubs with a stethoscope around my neck. But God continues to bless with me with so many new opportunities. He continues to surprise me and leave me in awe and speechless. “You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, ‘Lord, blessed be your name.’”

Yesterday (Tuesday) I went and watched some young boys play football (soccer)! This was such an “African” experience. We really are in Africa. I walk through the bush everyday and talk to Zambians everyday but sometimes it still doesn’t seem like I’m actually here.  Yesterday was a little different. I walked with a couple other girls to the football game; on the way we passes a creek that was so brown but there were little boys bathing in it, women getting water probably to cook with, and other kids just playing in it. Dirty water…that’s what causes so many of the diseases and deaths here. Then we got to the game and it was just a little field with some logs as goals. No uniforms. They actually had a real soccer ball. One boy had cleats and we were so surprised. These were just some Zambian boys playing soccer with whatever they have. 7 or 8 girls came up to us as soon as we got there and by the time we left there were probably more than 40 kids there. We were sitting on the sidelines of a football game with village kids in the Zambian bush. Crazy. TIA.

Keep praying for my team! We’ve had a lot of people sick with a pretty bad stomach virus. Culture shock is also hitting a lot of us. We’ve experienced a lot of things that past week that have surprised us and made us think a little differently about the Zambian culture. It’s hard seeing the positives and negatives of a culture and knowing how to handle them. Some days we’d rather just stay in our house where we’re comfortable instead of going outside to play with kids or hang out with the college students. Next week we’re going on vacation to Victoria Falls and Botswana so keep our travel in your prayers. So much is going on. "Everything is happening." Julia says that all the time and it's so true. God is blessing us! It’s not always easy but it’s all worth it. Every minute of it. I’m still learning. God never ceases to amaze me by showing me something new. And I think I can speak for my whole group when I say that. This experience is beyond anything we ever imagined ourselves doing. We’re so blessed and so thankful!

Rock my world.

What a week. The last few days have been filled with experiences that people don’t want to experience. Life holds some hard things that no one wants, but God tends to put them in our lives for a reason. We dealt with death for the first time this week. We’ve been here for 3 weeks and things have been good. We’ve watched sick babies at the havens get better, we’ve seen babies being born in the clinic, and we’ve seen sick people in Kalomo and Macha hospitals but no one on the verge of death. We’ve built relationships with Zambian college students and we’ve been filled with joy by the smiles on people’s faces. We’ve been blessed. I think I can speak for the whole HIZ group when I say that we were getting pretty comfortable with where we were. Reality hit us this week when 2 different groups of people dealt with death. 3 girls were working in the clinic and had to watch a baby take some of its last breaths. The mother and grandmother were there and they were having a really hard time coping with this baby’s death. Another group went to Kalomo hospital and watched a man lay on his bed and probably take some of his last breaths also. His dad was sitting next to him comforting him as he was fading away.

We’ve taken nursing classes and have learned a lot about the disease here. We’ve seen “Sex thrills. AIDS kills.” billboards all around town. We’ve hear the statistics in the hospitals. This week the diseases that are causing such big problems in Africa became a real problem in our lives. It wasn’t just a disease in a text book anymore. It was killing people that we were dealing with.

Thursday night we had our 3 week processing meeting. We were a broken group. Death is a hard thing to deal with and process. It’s hard at home and it’s hard here in Africa. I wasn’t in either of the groups that experienced death but that night at our meeting everyone’s hearts were heavy. We sang and shed lots of tears and really just cried out to God; cried out in frustration and brokenness. We cried out in pain and helplessness. But we also cried out in thanksgiving. We cried out in peace. We cried out in praise, because our God is not overcome by death. WE are not overcome by death because of our God. “Our God is not a god of disorder, but of peace.” It doesn’t seem fair. That baby should’ve lived more than 5 months. The father shouldn’t have had to be caring for his son as he was taking his last breaths.  People in Africa shouldn’t be dying of diseases that are so easily preventable or cured in America. It’s impossible to understand the meaning behind God’s plans. It doesn’t make sense how He can choose some babies to be born in America and have everything they need, and then can choose some babies to be born in Africa where he knows they are going to get sick and not have the health care to be healed. It’s impossible to understand how God can be so great, yet He allows such bad things to happen. It’s hard to watch people die from AIDS and not be able to do anything about it. It’s hard to not be angry sometimes. But I guess that’s what faith is all about. Seeing the greatness of God even through the worst suffering. Trusting Him even when things seem to be falling apart. Handing your life over to Him and trusting that His plans are so much better than ours. Faith is not easy. As soon as we were getting comfortable with where we were God rocked our world. The great thing is God’s rocking our world in good ways along with the tough ways. I’m learning to be joyful no matter the circumstances. I’m learning that without God we are a broken and lost world. Without the hope that God gives us we would be overcome by death. Without joy we would drown in our sorrows. Without the love of God we would be lost. Without the body of Christ we would be hopeless.

This isn’t the only death we’re going to experience while we’re here in Zambia. That’s really difficult to think about. It’s going to happen and it’s probably not going to get any easier to understand. God blessed us with a family to help us though. I’m surrounded by 30 people who are experiencing what I’m experiencing, struggling with how to cope, and loving God despite it all. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that I have a family who will mourn with me when I’m sad, who will comfort me when I can’t find answers, and who will encourage me when there are no answers. We live in a broken world but we can find hope in the brothers and sister that we have in Christ, in the smiles on the faces of strangers around us, and in the awesome works of God that we’re surrounded by.  

Jesus, rock my world. In good ways. In bad ways. In ways that break me just to make me stronger.

THIS. IS. AFRICA.

Try and picture this in your head. You're crammed into a small bus with 30 other white people driving down a bumpy road surrounded by African bush. You pass lots of little villages and Zambians who run after the bus and wave and smile at you. Finally, you turn off the road and get to a small, open building that's surrounded by Zambians. As you get off of the bus the children run up to you and hug you, the adults come and greet you and shake your hand, and together you all go into the building. Inside, there are cement benches. Girls sit on one side, boys on the other. There's no air conditioning, no lights, no doors or windows. But this is a nice building...it's not like the one you were in last week that was a mud hut with a straw roof and logs to sit on. You only have a song book if you brought your own, and hopefully you did because the songs are in Tonga. The service doesnt start for a while because well, this is Africa. While you're waiting for it to start people are walking in. Children go up to the front while mothers cram onto the benches and start breastfeeding their babies. They dont bother hiding it because…this is Africa. The service starts and they tell you (or your brother/husband/father) that you're preaching. Your other brother says the prayer. Your son does communion. Your whole family or group is called a choir and has to go up and sing for the congregation. You're the guest and it's just expected that you are in charge of the service because, once again, this is Africa. Sometimes you'll end up with a kid on your lap that pee's on you or loses your bracelets or rips a page out of your Bible, but hey, this is Africa. It happens and you cant help but laugh. After church is over, as you leave the building everyone lines up so they can greet every other person in the church. You shake a hand, curtsey a little, exchange the greeting "Mwapona buti!" "Kabotu.", and repeat 50 more times. You usually get laughed at a few times but you're proud of the little Tonga that you know so you just smile back. After greeting everyone, you go and try to communicate with people but you usually dont get very far. Some kid see's your camera and before you know it, 15 kids are wanting their picture taken, taking pictures, and then laughing at what they see. They've probably never seen themselves before because this is Africa. As you get on the bus and start to drive away all the kids line up and wave goodbye because well, this is Africa and who knows when they'll see a makua again.

This is the experience I've had the last few Sundays. I can definitely say that it's a whole new experience for me. But of course, this whole trip is new. Their culture is so different from ours and we just have to remind ourselves that TIA. This Is Africa. Things are going to be different. They are going to be weird. They are going to be new. But we're learning to open our eyes and find the blessings in their culture. We're very different from the Zambian people. We're very different from the Chinese and the Russians and the Mexicans. We all have our own cultures. But we all serve the same God. No matter where you go around the world, there are going to be people worshipping God. I found a Tonga bible in the church building and it looked so different, but it was the same words. We praise the same God, we read the same Bible, we all take communion and remember the sacrifice God made for us. Isn't that amazing? While you're worshipping God in America right now there are people worshipping Him in a million other places. For some reason God has brought me to the other side of the world to be united with more of His people. I'm getting to love Him and praise Him with people who want to do the same thing. We were strangers, but because of the God we're worshipping together we're now family. I feel so unworthy and inadequate, but so blessed and grateful. I was sitting in an African hut surrounded by old women singing at the top of their lungs. I try and sing along and now I can pick out words so I get the general meaning, but even if I dont understand it I sing anyways. It builds a bond between me and the old Zambian women. We can sit together and sing praises to the same God. I was sitting there trying to listen to the sermon but was a little distracted by the kids. They are so well-behaved. Some of the 8 year old girls have their little sister or brother in a chitangi on their back. They sit there with torn dresses and no shoes, but that doesnt even matter because of the smiles on their faces. When I look at the little Zambian kids and smile they laugh and smile back. We dont need words to communicate because we have joy that we can express through a smile. So many expressions have different meanings around the world, but a smile means the same thing everywhere. JOY. God gave us a way to communicate and the meaning of it is JOY. Incredible. I can go anywhere in the world and be connected to people because of the joy we have in our Jesus!

Well, this is Africa. It's different; sometimes it's weird or uncomfortable or even unacceptable. But in so many ways it's so similar. We were created by the same God and we’re living our lives to praise Him and bring Him glory. This is Africa. Mr. Muller told us the other day that “Africa is infectious. You get here and you either fall in love or never come back.” So true. I love it. As the Gregersons describe it, I'm getting an African shaped hole in my heart that will forever be there.

This Is Africa.

Hope.

We have had the busiest couple of days! I have learned so much and have so much to think about and process.

Yesterday (Thursday) we took a field trip to Twin Fountains Farm which is an agricultural farm/school run by Klaus Muller, a German man who’s lived in Africa for most of his life. He built this school to help Zambians learn how to make a living for their own. They pay for 2 years of college, they are given livestock and pieces of land, and they have to work it. They train the wild animals to become tame, they plant their land, and they come up with ways to make these things easier or more efficient. It’s a great program because it shows the Zambians that learning how to make a living will get them so much further than just accepting money or food from people. Food should be so abundant in Africa…the majority of their land is perfect for farming and growing…the soil is healthy and the weather is always able to produce something. However, in America, only 6-7% of the land is able to produce crops. Yet we have more food than we know what to do with. It’s crazy that Africans are starving and dying because of malnutrition. There are such easy solutions to the problems here, but these people don’t know how to do it or they don’t have the resources or they aren’t able to because of the government. What Mr. Muller is doing is teaching the people how. He’s teaching them to work hard and make something of themselves, that way they don’t have to rely on other people. They are becoming completely dependent on what they do, and because of what they’re learning, the things they do can give them great opportunities in the future.

Yesterday afternoon, I went into Kalomo which is the closest town to us. It’s 7km away and we go there often to eat or shop or buy groceries. Yesterday I went with 5 other students to visit the hospital. Ba Bingham and Ba O’Neal took us and we got to go with Ba Rogers to talk to patients and encourage them and pray with them. This hospital is the closest hospital around for many people, so I was expecting it to be a pretty good one. Obviously no hospital here is anything like we would see in America, but this one was just shocking. There were 5 small rooms: a labor ward, a children’s ward, a women’s ward, a men’s ward, and the isolation ward. These rooms were probably the size of my bedroom back home, but they had as many as 10 beds inside of them, the doors and windows were wide open because that was the only ventilation they got, and it was dirty dirty. In the children’s ward we saw a girl who was so malnourished that her hair was a white/red color and her arms were almost nothing. One little boy had an awful bruised and swollen face from being beaten by a “mad man.” There was a burned child that we never saw because he was kept under a sheet. These were just some of the patients. We were able to communicate with a few of the parents and some had been there up to 2 months. In the women’s ward I met a baama (elderly lady) who had somehow been hit by a cow. They thought she had a broken rib and her leg had just been torn apart. There was a huge gash that apparently was stitched up, but you couldn’t even tell. Ba Bingham said that the doctors obviously didn’t even know how to put stitches in. It was horrible. In the isolation ward were TB patients, but we just walked right in. I’m sure they were contagious, but no one was there stopping us or making us put on masks and gowns. We held hands and prayed with two girls who have TB. “Isolation” meant nothing to the hospital. These people come to a hospital because they are dying and need help, but they cant even get the help they need. Baama didn’t know if she had a broken rib because they don’t have x-ray machines.  One man had awful chest pains but he didn’t know what was wrong because the hospital doesn’t have any way to look at his lungs. These people are helpless. Sure they can go to another doctor, but its hours and hours walking distance away. After going through all the wards we went to another building called the Mother’s ward. This is where the families of patients stayed or the pregnant women stayed until they went into labor. There were tons of people and as we walked in the room they laid burlap plastic down for us to sit on. They were giving us the nicest things they had. We sat in a tiny room with probably 40 Zambians, at least 35 were women, and we sang with them and encouraged them. It was really striking that they were all women…women are the hard workers in Zambia. They work in the fields, they walk miles to get water, they cook, they take care of their family members. No dads were here with their wives or children. They were all mothers. It was an awesome experience. They loved that we could sing in Tonga so we sang them a bunch of Tonga songs, Jared gave them a lesson, and Ba Bingham encouraged them before we left. They were so happy to meet us afterwards. Every single person made sure that they shook each of our hands and talked to us. Our Tonga goes to about the extent of “Mwabuka buti.” “Kabotu. Mwabuka buti?” kabotu. Twaloomba.” Twaloomba.” It’s not a lot but we are proud of what we know and the Zambians love hearing us say it! A lot of times they laugh at us but it’s really neat to have a little bit of connection with them. If you say “Hi.” They might say hey back, but as soon as you say something in Tonga their faces just light up and they make an effort to make conversation. It shows them that we aren’t just American tourists. We’re here because we care about them and are truly interested in their culture. All the people were so happy and friendly, but it was just a shocking experience seeing the health care that these people have.

Today was a completely different experience. We went to Macha Hospital, which is about 3 hours away. It’s a hospital run by a white man who has lived in Zambia for most of his life. His parents built the hospital many many years ago and it has just grown into a great medical center. The wards are still rooms with multiple beds in them but they are clean. That was the first thing that struck me…we walked into the first building and it smelled like bleach. It smelled like a hospital should. It still wasn’t anything like an American hospital but it was a thousand steps up from the Kalomo hospital. They had real doctors and nurses, they had medicine and equipment that they needed, and they had labs so they could research and keep learning about the diseases in Zambia. That was the greatest thing about Macha Hospital. They have research labs where they are studying Malaria. They have a room full of malaria infected mosquitoes that they use for testing. They have microscopes and bacteria samples and equipment you might see in an American lab. One project they are working on is testing for malaria in saliva. This is a new project that was started here but is making a lot of progress and probably will eventually be used in other places. The research they are doing here is cutting edge. They have information that scientists from all over the world come and see. It’s amazing. We were in the middle of the African Bush at a hospital that is saving lives. Malaria was killing over 200 of their patients PER YEAR in the 1980’s, but because of the progress they’ve made in injections and medicines, they have only had 1 death in 2011. They are completing wiping out this disease from Macha, Zambia. It’s sad because the rest of Africa is still suffering, but this is just a glimpse of hope.

The last 2 days have been great experiences because it has shown me the good that is actually going on here. It’s easy to get discouraged because of places like Kalomo Hospital. It’s easy to feel like no matter how much you do, it’s not going to make a difference. We cant save the whole continent of Africa. In many ways that’s true, but if we can make a difference to one person or one village, then that’s enough. God is doing great things here. Sometimes we doubt that He's here with them...but they are HIS people. Of course He's not going to leave them. We're crazy for ever doubting Him. I dont always understand why He lets it get this bad. He has the power to heal every person right now. But He has a plan and we have to trust that He's working, even through all these struggles.

Learning, growing, and loving it!

Life in Zambia is great! I’m loving every minute of it and learning new things every day. Nothing can compare to the experience I’m having here with my HIZ family and the people of Zambia.

Here’s what’s been going on in the last week of my life:

I was sick for a few days with some allergies, and as a result I have no voice. If it happens like it has in the past, it wont be back for about a week. I’ll just have my lovely man voice that I tend to get every time I get sick.

Cathy is getting better and better! They decided her rashes were either staph or a side effect from medicine she was taking so they treated her for both. The rashes are drying up and will hopefully be gone soon. She got moved from the isolated room where new borns stay into a room with older kids. She’s growing up! J

I made a friend named Odysseus that won’t stop coming back to see me. Fortunately, I’ve been gone every time he comes around.  But my teachers have taught me well and I’m prepared to tell him that “I have other plans” when I am finally here to see what he wants to talk about.

We had a Week 1 devo/processing night. One week! Man, this semester is going to fly by.

I’m getting really good at Nerts! We’ve had some long nights and huge crazy games. It gets pretty intense and lots of fun!

We spent a day in Kalomo; we went to the markets and I bought my first chitangis, we ate at a “take-away” restaurant in town that was really good, and we saw and met pretty interesting people. It was a fun experience!

I made homemade banana bread with Ashley and Abbie! That was a few days ago and we’re still eating that bread. It was quite a baking experience…almost a disaster. The bread didn’t necessarily look good but it sure does taste good!

We went to Mabula Church of Christ for church on Sunday morning. This was a little church out in some village in the middle of nowhere. It was so great! No one spoke English there so it was hard to communicate but it was so interesting getting to see how they worship. We sat on logs in a little hut worshiping God with Zambian people that we didn’t know. It’s amazing how God can bring his people together even from opposite sides of the world.

We are starting to meet the students that are here for primary school and college! Eventually we’ll be spending a lot of time with them doing sports or choir or just hanging out in their dorms!

Real classes started this week…6:30 every morning. Intensive Tonga. A great way to exercise your brain first thing in the morning. Surprisingly, I’m learning a lot and loving it!    

Those are just some highlights…I wish there was a way that I could share everything with yall, but I just cant. Too much is going on and it’s all just too good. My words wouldn’t do it justice. God is working here in my heart and in the people around me. He has blessed me by giving me a semester with these Harding friends. They have encouraged me so much and have shown me the type of faith I want and how I should be living it out. I’m learning to be content whatever the circumstances. I’m learning how blessed I am. I’m learning more and more about the love of God and his power and majesty and grace. I’m just learning so much and loving it! Every minute! I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

LOVE

I haven’t written on my blog in a while because I’m being humbled…I’m learning that it’s not about what I do or what I say. It’s not about me. It’s about HIM. He’s doing everything here. Without him I wouldn’t be here in the first place. But thankfully, because of Him, I am here. I’m experiencing something that will forever change my life. I’m meeting people that make me want to be a better person…

I met the most amazing girls tonight. Classes start tomorrow for George Benson College and the primary and secondary schools, so all the students have moved into the dorms here on the mission site. A lot of the students were at church tonight so we stayed and talked to them afterwards. Ashley, Michelle, Stephanie, Mackenzie, and I spent probably an hour talking to 2 girls named Louise and Twaambo. These girls are in 9^th grade but they are so mature and wise. They told us a lot about Zambia and Africa in general and just different things about their culture. They have a presidential election in October and they told us a lot about the candidates and how violent politics can be. They told us about how poverty is a huge issue in Zambia and how the people in villages are taken advantage of; during this election, people go to villages to bribe them into getting their vote because they know that the people in the villages are poor and don’t know much about their rights. They talked to us about education and how they were raised not only learning English and Tonga, but also other languages. Louise said she’s on the debate team so they talk a lot about Obama; he is a common example here in the classrooms because he was the first black president in America. Teachers use him as an example of hope when students get discouraged. They talked about how they want to visit America because they love the different seasons and they want to play in snow. Louise talked a lot about America and how Zambians view it. She said that they don’t know exactly what it is, but there is something about the Americans that they really admire and try to have. They see the way we act and live and try to do the same. They try and talk like us and dress like us. I thought that was pretty cool at first but then they started telling us what they see as “American.” They have inspirations like the Kardashians, Nicki Minaj, and Jonas Brothers. They see people wearing short shorts and wish they could do that here. They think of school uniforms as mini plaid skirts with thigh-high socks (the skimpy outfits on movies). They think all the dogs in America are carried in purses and wear clothes and have dog houses that look like castles. All those things kind of have a negative vibe to some Americans. Those are the “snobby” people or the “skimpy” people or the famous people. But the Zambians don’t see that as negative. It hit me that they only see what the media in America portrays and the media makes those things look completely positive. I wanted to tell them that America isn’t like that at all, but it really is. We’ve become a culture that is obsessed with fame and money and attention. And the sad thing is, people in Zambia think it’s cool and want that for themselves. I wanted to do everything possible to make Twaambo and Louise realize how much they have done right.

Obviously, no culture is perfect. Every culture has negatives and positives. But Zambians live a simple life and are still so happy. Americans have everything yet we find so much to complain about.  These girls are so wise. I felt inferior talking to them…they grow up knowing many languages, they knew everything about politics and the history of Zambia, and then they also knew everything about the American culture.  It’s incredible. These are young girls who want what we have, but I look up to them so much and wish I was more like them. These people are rich and we are so poor. They have what really matters. Louise was talking about how they see us walking around and they wonder where we came from and what our stories are, so they love it when they get to sit down and talk to us. They truly care about us and our lives. They were genuinely interested in getting to know us. What if everyone was like that? How many times will we walk up to a stranger and spend an hour getting to know them? Especially as a freshman in highschool? These girls get it. They understand what it means to appreciate the things they have. They’re so smart because they know that not everyone is blessed with an education…they care about learning instead of complaining about having to go to school. They care about getting to know people because they want to learn about other cultures and parts of the world. We find a thousand things wrong with Obama. They look up to him because he’s a man of their color and has gone so far in his life…they live with so much joy and hope. Goodness. These girls are overflowing with the love and joy of God.  They had a simple conversation with us yet showed so much love. I’m meeting more and more people just like them every day. It’s incredible. I’m learning through Zambians and through my HIZ family what our attitude should be like and what our faith should be like and how we should truly live. It’s life changing.

Well, we start our real schedule tomorrow! Classes start at 6:30 in the morning! We go to chapel with the Zambian students. We get to start getting involved in their choirs and sports teams. I’m so excited!

A lot of us HIZ students are sick…it seems to be going around pretty bad. Keep us in your prayers!

“Every day we are called to small things with great love.”

Being Humbled.

Everyone in our group was assigned a child from the Havens that will be “ours” for the whole semester. They do this just to make sure every kid gets love and attention every day. My little baby is named Kathy. She was born on July 27 so she’s just barely a month old. She’s a beautiful little girl and I spent hours yesterday holding her. She has a rash all over her face, back, and stomach. They examined her yesterday and they think she has scalding skin syndrome which is basically staph infection. Pray for my little baby that the staff will go away and won’t make her sicker. Also, pray that the rash actually is staph and not a side effect from TB or a terminal disease.

I'll load a picture of her on facebook. PRAY PRAY PRAY.