Intercessions

The day I went hiking with Hannah I found out we may be going to the clinic for a labor that they ended up transferring. Julie and I were not in agreement with the management, but it wasn't our call. I usually kept my thoughts to myself on the injustice around but I felt indignant at the lack of sense in the matter. She would have to endure a lot of unecessary discomfort (in addition to the discomforts of labor) not to mention added costs. Plus the hospital there doesn't exactly have a good reputation for people doing better having been there. We took out our frustration in prayer. I asked people at home to pray for her. From our tent we also prayed on behalf of her. Not for hours. Just one long, passionate prayer releasing our (lack of) control, acknowledging His ability, and pouring our hearts out to the One who hears and is able. My attitude: well, if we can't be there in person to help guide her through her labor with compassion and honor, then we will just intervene on behalf of her through prayer. We were grateful to hear the next morning that the Lord had led her through a safe delivery giving her peace and instructing her regarding decisions.

Another occasion, Julie was really upset by the injustice of the government's decision making regarding the health care system. She was being denied certain privileges at one of the clinics. I was also denied privileges. The difficult part was when privileges were given to a short term student nurse and non health care provider who are not qualified. Their organization gives a lot of money. Her anger wasn't due to being offended. It may have partly had to do with the fact that she has given up her entire life to LIVE and work there for FREE to provide appropriate care and share the gospel. But, it just plain isn't right. How can you put the well-being and lives of mothers and babies in the hands of inexperienced, untrained people while denying trained, skilled providers? Unfortunately this is a common pattern in Africa. This was just my upclose and personal experience with it. I could tell she was having a really difficult time that day, so on the way home I asked if she wanted to pray. So, we pulled over on the side of the dirt road and prayed to the One who works righteousness for the oppressed believing that He will in fact intervene in His timing and ways. One hand lifted in praise and surrender and the other holding our coke bottles, we lifted intercessions on behalf of these precious lives. We finished with tears in our eyes and a hug. Then, we drove back home.

Chipego

This was the name I was given in the local language, Tonga. I will back up... Julie and I were at Nsongwe clinic for prenatals and went to the back to attend Nutrition class. I had mentioned to Julie at some point during the trip that I would love to wear one of the babies on my back. So, as we were sitting around the back of the building Julie asked the ladies if there were any children I could wear. I had been thinking if there was a need. But before I know it, one of the women offered her 1.5 year old and another woman was wrapping me in her shitange. We all laughed as I asked the little girl if she wanted a ride. I was surprised when she didn't cry. I was a stranger after all. I just stood among the women and walked a little here and there and swayed back and forth. Within minutes she was asleep. They seemed impressed saying I am a good mother and started calling me "the Mother." So Julie told them I need a Tonga name and told the women they should name me. So they named me, Chipego, which means "gift" saying that I am a gift to their community and calling me a gift from God. I was humbled by such an honoring name because I really had not done anything for the community. I was just there. Not to mention I was just visiting. I think Julie sensed that and asked what other name would work. They called me another name that means "blessing" telling me I am a blessing. I had only met this woman once and the only thing she saw me do was sit with these women and wear this little girl on my back (and struggle greeting people in Tonga). I remember the seriousness in her eyes and face as she named me. She meant it. This experience describes the people so well and says more about them than about me. The honor they gave me reflects their humility and kindness which I experienced often among the people there. I prayed to be a blessing and I hope in some way I was. But, the missionaries who live there are the ones who are a gift to the community and a blessing. And maybe they were just naming me based off their experience with the missionaries which says a lot about them. I love having a Tonga name and "the Mother" is just fine too:). I also took little Rosemary to a prenatal visit. I especially loved this because that is what you do there. I probably wore her for an hour or so.

High Tea

Julie had mentioned the possibility to go to High Tea at the David Livingstone hotel just about 15 minutes away. That sounded like fun. The week before my trip I got the news that they were going to charge me less than 1/3 cost of the originally stated fees (one of God's many provisions) which gave me some spending money. So, I asked if maybe we could go with some girls. I was thinking my stomach would be better and it was not. So, I didn't do the deserts. Honestly, I was just so thankful to not be sick like I was the other day and to be able to go somewhere. I did get to experience the beauty and have fun with the girls. We got all dressed up. Actually, I didn't simply since I didn't know to pack a nice dress. Next time I will! Julie and I ordered tea. The other girls got the yummy looking assortments. We saw zebras, giraffes, and hippos in addition to the experience of being in a 5 star resteraunt. It is crazy leaving the camp, driving through the village of mud huts and poverty to this really fancy , manicured hotel on the water. I know it is an opportunity to bring in money for the community. Many tourists from around the world visit Victoria Falls, one of the seven wonders of the world, and stay here. This has been my experience in the few third world countries I have visited. Such beauty mixed with an occasional luxury for the rich to enjoy surrounded by extreme poverty... Even though there was no air conditioning, we were refreshed by the beauty and the experience of it all. How ironic that my first high tea was in Zambia, Africa!

Laughter is Good Medicine

The season I spent at Overland was a busy time. In addition to the missionaries, there was a Farming God's Way conference, Advanced Missions Training Team, and an Engineering Team that visited. There was also Nick's brother, Jamike; a missionary kid from Spain in his early 20s; and me. That weekend a group of us decided to play a game in the main house. Some of the students were studying. Others joined in. I don't know what got into us, but we were giddy. WE were all having a good time and there was much laughter. The guys were especially cracking us up and it was good to laugh. We stopped the game to help serve the Engineering group when they came in from hard work. Then we did our best to stifle our laughter as they were in devotions. Apparantly we left a positive impression on them though. They were not sure what to expect and I think were kind of nervous to visit the camp of missionaries. They expected the missionaries to be outdated, socially awkard, unfriendly, and not fun. Instead, they experienced a lively bunch of young people having a great time who were eager to serve them and get to know them. I enjoyed getting to know the others too and have some fun with them. They are a great bunch. All of the above is true.

Down for the Count

Monday morning of the next week, I woke up with an upset stomach. Julie and Hannah had a meeting at the main house. I made the most of having the tent to myself and cleaned up a bit, did some stretching and light exercise, and ate some trail mix (probably not the best thing for an upset stomach but it did okay). I was relieved to stomach down the veggie and chickpea salad with oil we made for lunch. We sat in on preaching class. The Advanced Missions Training students were required to take preaching and had to preach in front of everyone. They were doing popcorn preaching and many were scared. I felt bad to be yet another person sitting in on the class. But, we wanted to and honestly there wasn't anything else to do anyway. They did great and I remember thinking this is a great way to "be prepared in season and out of season." Afterward I got some laundry done which again was good not only for fresh clothes but something to do. Supper did not settle well with my stomach. I can't remember what we ate. I don't remember the next day. I assume we had nshima with whatever we ate with the boys at Nsongew clinic during lunch break (that might have been fried chicken day).I think we had awesome fajitas that night for supper that were delicious. I ate too much and my stomach was not a happy camper. But the next day when I woke up I really didn't feel good and little did I know I wouldn't be holding anything real down for another several days. I couldn't eat breakfast and was so relieved that we didn't have a busy day at clinic. I was going to be sick and wanted to lie down. Julie didn't feel great herself. I skipped going to the main house for supper that night. There was no point. I knew I couldn't tolerate anything. Julie and I watched Duck Dynasty on her computer in the tent instead of eating. I enjoyed that. Then, it came on. Intense nausea. I had eaten a cracker. I knew better. Let's just say I was REALLY sick that night for a few hours. Julie and Hannah helped me so much and poor Julie didn't feel well herself. After a few trips down the walkway and once kneeling into the brush to get sick that I am sure had snakes and scorpions, I made the decision to move into the bathroom for the night. I knew I would probably have ants and spiders crawling on me. But, I was physically weak and couldn't make it back and forth. They brought my sleeping bag and water bottle. I laid on the floor in misery. I also knew the dogs might mess with me cause I didn't want to close the door cause it was too hot. Hannah asked if she could pray for me. PLEASE! I will never forget that prayer. I don't think I have ever heard anyone pray with such authority and I knew it was compeltely out of love for me. IN JESUS NAME SICKNESS GET OFF OF HER!! I'm like, "Yeah!" Julie's brother in law came to check on me and told me the tent next to the bathroom was available for the night if I started feeling better- shorter walk. After another hour or so I did start feeling good enough to get up. So, I walked to the tent and slept. I felt better for a few hours and then felt really nauseas around 5 a.m. To my relief it didn't last long. During the night there was a mosquito biting me. It was the only day I didn't take my malaria medication and my net was in the other tent. Nothing to do. He is my protector anyway. When morning came I felt like tremendously better and had so much peace. I walked out of the tent. One of the Zambian young men saw me and asked, "I thought you live with Julie?" I smiled and said, "I was sick." Spent the next couple of days resting in the tent. I was so thankful for Julie's cold pack that you just let melt on you while you wait for the heat to pass during the afternoon hours. One of the AMT students, Trey, made us jello and I ate some saltines. That jello was so good! It was still a few days before I could keep down a meal. I couldn't even handle a banana which was discouraging. I had Julie and Hannah pray for me one more time Sunday night and after their prayer I chowed down that Sunday night spaghetti, salad, bread, and even a brownie. I decided I was done with being sick. So, I just believed I would be well, ate what I wanted, and we had a good night.

Traditional Birth Attendants

The second Saturday of my trip Julie and I made a trip into the bush to provide a training for the traditional birth attendents. I did not have privlidges from this Ministry of Health so I just took picutres and gave the devotion (previous post). This day was one of my favorites. I always enjoyed being on the road and getting out. It was a long drive into the bush. The meeting was at a school house. Hot day as they all were at this point. After the devotion and singing, Julie provided instruction and skills training in handwashing, newborn assessment, breech delivery, and kangaroo care. I love these strong, brave, selfless women. You can just see the strength in their body language and love in their eyes. I am so humbled to have been in the same room with them and know I will be humbled to see them when we meet again "on the other side." During the class, a large pot of mahaile was served. (I have no idea how to spell that). But, it is a watered down powered milk drink with cornmeal. So, in other words, you are drinking a chunky milk drink in 120 degrees. I don't think so. I knew it would be offensive to refuse the drink as it is a treat and was made for us, but I also knew I wouldn't be able to get it down. I prayed for help. All the while, I am thinking "what do I do?" I have few food/drink aversions, but texture is a big one for me. They watched me as I took a few sips (small sips). I was proud of myself for taking as many sips as I did but also knew there was no way I would finish the drink. And one of them had looked at me and said with a somewhat stern voice and no smile, "finish it." It's like she knew! I decided to give myself a few minutes off from drinking and hope for intervention. I developed a plan: if I could sneak to the side I could throw it out the window. My desk was shaky so I took the opportunity to move my drink to the table which was close to the window. One of the women saw this. I played it cool and took another sip. Once I was close to the window I built confidence to make my move. While the women were watching the next demo, I quickly poured my cup out the window. Ruster, our translater, was the only one who saw me. Our eyes met and we smiled. After a few minutes I walked my cup over to the pot where everyone else put their empty cups. One of the women looked surprised mine was empty. I was SO glad nobody asked if I drank it all. I wouldn't have lied, but had no problem pouring it out! I was relieved when after class Julie said she hadn't seen a thing!

Perfect In Weakness

One of my personal challenges of the trip was feeling inadequate as a "missionary." I already accepted going into the trip that this would be a stretch comfort wise. But, that isn't what I am talking about. I am talking about spiritually. I remember looking at my Mom when she was sitting with me at the airport that I wasn't sure if I had prepared myself spiritually for the trip. She said, "well, why don't we just pray then?" We did. I am not sure what I even meant. I just guess I felt like I had something to prove to these missionaries who I wondered might think I am a halfhearted Christian for not living in another country and serving people who really haven't heard the gospel. Yeah, that was it. Looking back, I should have resolved that before going or maybe even talked to Julie about it. So, when Julie asked me to give the devotion at the traiditonal birth attendent training I was both glad and nervous. She asked me Friday night while we were about to watch a movie with her sister and their family. I was to share the next morning. When we got back to the tent I prayed and read scriptures but nothing was really coming to me. I felt a bit frustrated because it was seeming like God wasn't speaking to me nearly as much in Africa as He does in America! The next morning I woke up early (which is what you do there cause the sun wakes you up). I walked down to the overlook of the gorge. The dogs that I didn't like ran up to me barking at me and snipping at me. My heart racing, I told them to stop and be quiet. Waved to Jamike who who was sitting in front of one of the tents. I asked the Lord to please help me know what to share. There were two things that were in my mind: His provisions to me in coming on the trip for my many needs and the scriptures that were on my heart for the people there in Psalm 103 (1-6). I kept praying these over the people and acknowledging His truth on behalf of this nation. On the long drive into the bush, I confessed to Julie that I was having a difficult time hearing from the Lord on what to share and told her what was on my heart to share. She told me that it wouldn't be good to talk about money. I think one of the reasons I was having a hard time hearing is that I didn't like what I was hearing. I think I thought she might not like what I had to say and since I already felt "not good enough" that was a sore spot. Julie has never given me reason to think these things. They were just coming from a place of inadequacy. I chose to trust Him. What else was there to do anyway? I tried to comfort myself that His power is made perfect in weakness. I did share the two things that were on my heart with the traditional birth attendents that morning. I talked to the women about how traveling to the other side of the world was a big deal to me and that I had been afraid. I also told them I had many needs to be able to do this. I told them that God provided for all of my needs both practically and emotionally. They clapped for God. Then, I read the scriptures and told them that they don't have to be afraid for themselves, their families, or their future generations. These words from God (forgiveness, healing, justice) are true today and will be true for the ones we love when we are gone. I wanted to point out their future generations because often people over there turn to witch doctors and healers. I wanted to specifically address that temtpation. Julie tail ended my talk with something from the gospel which I was grateful for. I love resting in the knowlege that He is the One who reveals Himself and makes His way into hearts.