Special thanks to Mark Berryman for planning out our trip to the Serengeti. Mark works in the Bible department at Harding and led our group through HUT (Harding at Tahkota). He has become a good friend to us so we were all happy that he was able to join us in Tanzania. Thanks to Mark, we were able to explore the central and western regions of the Serengeti and stay in the nicest lodge I have ever seen.
This entire trip I have simply been going with the flow of things. I take it one day at a time and try not to ask questions. I did not know what to expect from the Serengeti, especially since we had such a wonderful Safari in Botswana. Our time in the Serengeti turned out to be another life-changing experience where I was able to experience God's creation bringing glory to him. I have read many books during my stay in Africa, looking for answers; however, words are not enough to explain God. Although C.S. Lewis is an incredible theist known for his logical explanations of Christainity, his books could never clear as many doubts as the Serengeti. God's creation first hand answers more questions than any book and gave me a break from trying to reason my way through Christianity.
We spent two nights in the middle of the Serengeti. The lodge was incredibly nice. When Quintyn and I entered our room we agreed it was the nicest place we had ever stayed. There was a front deck overlooking the Serengeti and we could see Zebra, Cape Buffalo, Antelope, and more. The guys spent a lot of our time by the pool in our robes. The whole experience made us feel guilty from living in the bush for three months. I am sure I will experience this again in the states. The lodge has Masai warriors as the security. The Masai who escorted us, Moses, claimed to have killed a cheetah, lion, and buffalo all with a spear. We were very skeptical at first, but after learning more of the Masai people I no longer doubt Moses, who stands at 6'4. To this day, the Masai fear nothing and they often drink cows blood mixed with milk.
The safari was more than I could have ever asked for. During our drives we saw everything possible. Many people have been to the Serengeti many times without seeing lions, leopards, or cheetahs, yet we saw all three. I cam within five feet of a female lions and was able to see 4 cheetahs.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Goat and Rice
The four of us, along with Kevin, made a 120-kilometer journey to visit a couple of village churches. I cannot explain how far out in the bush we ended up. Just imagine driving out into the middle of nowhere as far as possible and then driving another hour. On the way to the village, we stopped by a small church, led the service, then left. A few more kilometers down the trail we came across a woman with a terrible second degree burn on her hand. In Zambia, a woman would gladly allow us to scrub her hand to clean it; however, the threshold of pain here in Tanzania must be much less. The woman did not want us to even touch her hand, she just wanted some medicine to put in it. If she would not let us clean her hand, Tanner's first-aid ointment would be no better than soapy water; so we left her there with some ibuprofen. I will never forget the unbelievable tolerance the Zambians had for pain. Sometimes I would clean a wound that had to be excruciatingly painful, but they would simply take the pain without squinting. On our way back, we found out the woman visited the nearest clinic so Kevin gave her some shillings to help cover the costs.
When we eventually arrived at the small congregation known as Mwanaluku, I gave my second lesson of the day. I spoke about persevering and not letting people, alcohol, or witchcraft stand in the way. I tried to use illustrations that would make since to them, like hills and bikes. My name was recorded in the church's small notebook. Kevin jokingly informed me that praise songs will be sung using my words and several children may be named Kelsey in the future.
The Sukuma people are extremely hospitable and treated us like honored guests. Our presence gave them and excuse for a 48-hour celebration. Two goats were slaughtered for us and we were given more than enough to eat. Each time we sat to eat there would be a huge pile of rice and goat before us. Our second meal of goat was quite a shock. As we sat in the pitch black room, I knew I smelt something funny in the rice. I decided it would be best to not know and just kept eating (if one does not eat all of their food, it is not wasted because the children will eat it. However, Africans will sometimes be offended if you do not finish). My appetite completely vanished as I bit into something with hair in it. I made the mistake of smelling my fingers, which were stained with the scent of dirty intestines. At this point, we were all suspicious since we could only identify a few pieces in the dark. Q pulled out his flashlight, which was a big mistake. Trey and I found a few things in the bowl that we still are not able to identify. All I know is that one piece was just skin with hair that resembled a black wig. I just told myself it was part of the tail and did work. I never thought I would be relieved to get to the goat testicles. Aside from the organs, the meat was wonderful. Mom, please no rice for a while!
Anytime we were standing, the village people would immediately bring us their wooden chairs to sit on. At one point they were nervous that Tanner was sitting on a rock and made him sit in the chair. The chairs were quite uncomfortable, but they made sure we were never standing. They also insisted that we each bathe.
I will never forget the Sukuma people and their way of life. Hopefully this will not be my last visit to Tanzania, and I will one day sing and dance with the Sukuma people again. I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Mwanza
After three plane rides we have arrived safely in Mwanza, Tanzania. I will be updating this blog using my iPhone, so the entries will be considerably shorter. I continually notice how wonderful airplane food is, no matter how bad it tastes. Although I would never eat a birdseed granola bar type thing on the ground, it tastes magnificent at 30,000 feet. Something about having packaged food brought to you on a fold out tray on a plane enhances the tastes of a bologna sandwich.
After only three months overseas, the barrier of language has already become very frustrating. I spent my entire time in Zambia struggling to understand Tonga, only to get on a plane full of people speaking French. I took two years of French in Highschool and do not remember a thing. Once we arrived, I was informed that my luggage did not make it, along with three others.
Tanner, Trey, Quintyn and I are staying with Kevin and Charity Linderman and their three young boys. The Linderman's are very hospitable and have allowed us to eat all of their food. In return we will try to entertain their children enough to exhaust them and put them to sleep early.
Today we visited a museum and watched traditional dances pertaining to the Sukuma people. I will not bore you with the specifics of the museum. After the dances we met at Jason Miller's house. Jason and his family make up another fourth of the missionary team. Before dinner they explained the different roles each family plays on the mission team. Tanzania is a beautiful place. Mwanza is much more developed than most of Zambia.
After only three months overseas, the barrier of language has already become very frustrating. I spent my entire time in Zambia struggling to understand Tonga, only to get on a plane full of people speaking French. I took two years of French in Highschool and do not remember a thing. Once we arrived, I was informed that my luggage did not make it, along with three others.
Tanner, Trey, Quintyn and I are staying with Kevin and Charity Linderman and their three young boys. The Linderman's are very hospitable and have allowed us to eat all of their food. In return we will try to entertain their children enough to exhaust them and put them to sleep early.
Today we visited a museum and watched traditional dances pertaining to the Sukuma people. I will not bore you with the specifics of the museum. After the dances we met at Jason Miller's house. Jason and his family make up another fourth of the missionary team. Before dinner they explained the different roles each family plays on the mission team. Tanzania is a beautiful place. Mwanza is much more developed than most of Zambia.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Things I Have Learned...
What NOT to do in Zambia
I have learned many things about the African culture that I would have never been able to pick up on from reading. It is hard to find time for oneself since we are always so busy and the children wish to be entertained at all times. These are some things to avoid if you ever go to Africa.
• Use the new iPhone 4 to take pictures instead of an ugly less appealing camera.
• Leave food and other intriguing items lying out to see in the room.
• Swing one child around in circles until becoming dizzy. 10 will be in line before you come to.
• Entertain an orphan five minutes before leaving. When it is time to go, they will cry and the feeling is awful.
• Eat a termite without killing it first. The big pinchers work.
Cultural Differences
1) Men hold hands
a. My friends always catch me off guard when they walk up from behind and interlock fingers with me. This is perfectly normal for friends to do in Zambia, but in America these guys might receive a punch in the face after being called a “homo.”
b. I do not mean a firm man hand hold either. It is a gentle finger hold that is very awkward for those of that are not use to it.
c. It is important to take this as a sign of friendship and not be rude to someone who holds your hand.
2) Nursing children at funeral
a. Doesn’t matter when or where; here it is culturally appropriate to breast feed your child no matter what the occasion. It is no surprise when a baby starts to cry in the clinic and the mother immediately begins to breast feed in front of those around.
3) Time
a. Time is very frustrating here; especially if you have something to get done. Many times people show up two hours late for something and do not feel the need to apologize. Because for Zambians the event is important, not the time. If someone is running late for a meeting, they will still stop and talk to a friend for up to 30 minutes and this is normal. The graduation ceremony was supposed to start at 1; however, no one even showed up until after 2. When I say no one I include those who ran the ceremony.
4) Electricity is not a necessity. No one here relies on it.
a. The electricity goes off all of the time, but this is not a complaint. After a couple weeks it no longer fazes me. So you can imagine how little it affects those who have spent their entire lives here.
5) Water is limited
a. We currently are limited to 100 gallons until the water line is fixed.
b. There is a saying: “If it is yellow, let it mellow.” I like to add: “if it is green, flee the scene.”
6) Food
a. Zambians have snima EVERY meal and they LOVE it. Some say they are even addicted to it. Augustine says you are not Zambian if you do not like snima. I have acquired the taste and enjoy it as well. It is simply corn meal stuff and water. I do not exaggerate when I say they eat it every meal everyday.
7) Hunting
a. We went hunting with the guys from Eric’s house and this was a completely different experience than in America. We simply took off with knives and a pack of 6 fast dogs.
8) Hitching Rides
a. If you have room in your vehicle and someone is walking along the road, one is obligated to pick that person up. Many times we have piled up to 8 people into a little car or even more in the back of a truck. Everyone here is very hospitable and caring when it comes to giving rides. I look forward to using my car when I arrive back in the states. I miss my little Dodge Neon that my parents were willing to give me; I now see that it is nicer than all the cars in Zambia. If an elderly woman is walking along the road, one must stop to pick her up.
I have learned many things about the African culture that I would have never been able to pick up on from reading. It is hard to find time for oneself since we are always so busy and the children wish to be entertained at all times. These are some things to avoid if you ever go to Africa.
• Use the new iPhone 4 to take pictures instead of an ugly less appealing camera.
• Leave food and other intriguing items lying out to see in the room.
• Swing one child around in circles until becoming dizzy. 10 will be in line before you come to.
• Entertain an orphan five minutes before leaving. When it is time to go, they will cry and the feeling is awful.
• Eat a termite without killing it first. The big pinchers work.
Cultural Differences
1) Men hold hands
a. My friends always catch me off guard when they walk up from behind and interlock fingers with me. This is perfectly normal for friends to do in Zambia, but in America these guys might receive a punch in the face after being called a “homo.”
b. I do not mean a firm man hand hold either. It is a gentle finger hold that is very awkward for those of that are not use to it.
c. It is important to take this as a sign of friendship and not be rude to someone who holds your hand.
2) Nursing children at funeral
a. Doesn’t matter when or where; here it is culturally appropriate to breast feed your child no matter what the occasion. It is no surprise when a baby starts to cry in the clinic and the mother immediately begins to breast feed in front of those around.
3) Time
a. Time is very frustrating here; especially if you have something to get done. Many times people show up two hours late for something and do not feel the need to apologize. Because for Zambians the event is important, not the time. If someone is running late for a meeting, they will still stop and talk to a friend for up to 30 minutes and this is normal. The graduation ceremony was supposed to start at 1; however, no one even showed up until after 2. When I say no one I include those who ran the ceremony.
4) Electricity is not a necessity. No one here relies on it.
a. The electricity goes off all of the time, but this is not a complaint. After a couple weeks it no longer fazes me. So you can imagine how little it affects those who have spent their entire lives here.
5) Water is limited
a. We currently are limited to 100 gallons until the water line is fixed.
b. There is a saying: “If it is yellow, let it mellow.” I like to add: “if it is green, flee the scene.”
6) Food
a. Zambians have snima EVERY meal and they LOVE it. Some say they are even addicted to it. Augustine says you are not Zambian if you do not like snima. I have acquired the taste and enjoy it as well. It is simply corn meal stuff and water. I do not exaggerate when I say they eat it every meal everyday.
7) Hunting
a. We went hunting with the guys from Eric’s house and this was a completely different experience than in America. We simply took off with knives and a pack of 6 fast dogs.
8) Hitching Rides
a. If you have room in your vehicle and someone is walking along the road, one is obligated to pick that person up. Many times we have piled up to 8 people into a little car or even more in the back of a truck. Everyone here is very hospitable and caring when it comes to giving rides. I look forward to using my car when I arrive back in the states. I miss my little Dodge Neon that my parents were willing to give me; I now see that it is nicer than all the cars in Zambia. If an elderly woman is walking along the road, one must stop to pick her up.
Marles' Gift
Some of you may be wondering what has happened to Marles (NOT Mars). Although we have been quite busy we still keep in touch with our old friend. Marles finally brought us the cow that he had promised. The cow looked quite healthy and we are very grateful for this gift. Today we decided to slaughter the animal and give most of the meat to the workers here on the mission. I won’t go into detail, but it was a great time!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Independence Day
So yesterday (Sunday) was Zambia’s Independence Day. Since it fell on a Sunday the word around town was that celebrations would take place on Monday, since all of the students are out of school. Several of us headed to town today (Monday) with a couple of our Zambian friends, Augustine and Edmo. Both Augustine and Edmo are students at George Benson Christian College here at Namwianga.
When we finally arrived in town, we headed towards Kalomo highschool for the Independents Day celebrations. We were looking forward to drums and dancing all day. When we arrived, several older men informed us that the city kids celebrated Independents Day on Sunday. I was absolutely shocked that people would celebrate Independents Day ON Independence Day; instead of the day after. I was determined when I woke up this morning to have a culturally enlightening experience, so we decided to keep walking. Augustine and Edmo led us to a very old-school bridge that was quite sketch. Although I was afraid of breaking through the old wood on the walkway and falling, it was very beautiful. The bridge reminded me of a great setting for senior pictures. Apparently the other guys felt the same way, so we began taking pictures of one another with our shirts unbuttoned and the wind blowing in our hair.
While climbing on the bridge we saw some Zambian children playing in the water. We obviously had to strip down to our boxers and join them, disregarding the fact that the water is filthy with parasites and that we could very possible get hook worm, bilharzia, roundworm, whipworm, or death. We had an absolute blast playing with the children and throwing them into the air. We formed a basket toss (cheerleading type things with two people) and threw the children into the air one at a time. Some went up to 10 feet in the air, doing flips and flops. Quintyn teaches gymnastics and I used to be a gymnast myself, so we entertained the children with flips and spins. I was looking forward to celebrating Independence Day with my Zambian friends; however, I ended up having much more fun diving headfirst into African Culture.
When we finally arrived in town, we headed towards Kalomo highschool for the Independents Day celebrations. We were looking forward to drums and dancing all day. When we arrived, several older men informed us that the city kids celebrated Independents Day on Sunday. I was absolutely shocked that people would celebrate Independents Day ON Independence Day; instead of the day after. I was determined when I woke up this morning to have a culturally enlightening experience, so we decided to keep walking. Augustine and Edmo led us to a very old-school bridge that was quite sketch. Although I was afraid of breaking through the old wood on the walkway and falling, it was very beautiful. The bridge reminded me of a great setting for senior pictures. Apparently the other guys felt the same way, so we began taking pictures of one another with our shirts unbuttoned and the wind blowing in our hair.
While climbing on the bridge we saw some Zambian children playing in the water. We obviously had to strip down to our boxers and join them, disregarding the fact that the water is filthy with parasites and that we could very possible get hook worm, bilharzia, roundworm, whipworm, or death. We had an absolute blast playing with the children and throwing them into the air. We formed a basket toss (cheerleading type things with two people) and threw the children into the air one at a time. Some went up to 10 feet in the air, doing flips and flops. Quintyn teaches gymnastics and I used to be a gymnast myself, so we entertained the children with flips and spins. I was looking forward to celebrating Independence Day with my Zambian friends; however, I ended up having much more fun diving headfirst into African Culture.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Northern Province
As many of you already know, most of my valuables were stolen before our trip to the northern parts of Zambia. The whole ordeal did not seem to bother me at all while we were on our trip. Now that I have arrived back at the mission, it is extremely frustrating to not have some of the material possessions I am used to. I am fine without a computer; however, all of my pictures and documents are on there. It is not the computer itself, but the things that were stored. Although I recovered most things on my external hard drive, I lost several documents and pictures. Having to rewrite papers for my classes and update this blog without a computer will be a very frustrating task. I pray that God will give me patience with the people around me and the thief that was low enough to steal from a visitor. People in the group are supportive and willing to let me borrow their things; however, I hate mooching off of others and I hate asking for help. The internet rarely works and if it does, my account is expired. So we will see how this works out.
There is much to be said about our trip north, but unfortunately I have a lot to catch up on and time is not on my side. Most of the trip consisted of traveling and awful roads in an old yellow school bus. Regardless of all of the rough travel, everyone had an excellent time on the trip. I spent most of my time on the bumpy ride reading. I read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis, Peace with God by Billy Graham, and The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.
After traveling two days we eventually reach Mumena, which is in the northwestern area of Zambia. Mumena is truly a wonderful place with wonderful people. Bryan Davis and his family head off a team of missionaries that are very inspirational to each of us in the HIZ group. Bryan gave three lectures to us while we stayed at Mumena; each was two or three hours long. I am very impressed with the theology and methods that this team of missionaries has developed in only five years at Mumena. Before coming to Zambia, Bryan worked with inner city gangsters in Tennessee and in Cape Town, South Africa. Bryan’s ability to teach the gospel to anyone is quite impressive to me. Bryan’s team does a very good job of letting the indigenous people do the work, and allowing everything to be self-sustainable.
On Sunday, we visited the largest refugee camp in the world. At one point this camp had the largest population, but now it is simply geographic. There are 90,000 refugees, mostly from the Congo and Rwanda (genocide). I was asked to speak for 30 minutes on creation, but kept it closer to 20 minutes. I was quite nervous when I got up to speak in from of all 90,000 of the refugees; this was quite an adrenaline rush. Just kidding. I spoke in front of a local congregation that included maybe 100 people. Regardless, the service went well and the congregation loved having us. I spoke to the refugees about hope. I said that God created all of us for a reason and that God does not forget anyone. I said that God created us not only to glorify him, but because he wants us as his children. I said that God created us and that we were destined to be a part of his royal family. For lunch we had nsima, snima, and more nsima. Out of respect we decided to eat all of the snima that we were served. Each of the guys in our group ended up eating around 14 handfuls of nsima. I could barely walk.
Many things happened that I have no time to mention; I look forward to sharing more with all of you later. On our way back to Kalomo, we stopped in Lusaka to visit Zambikes. Zambikes was started by a man named Dustin, who is very skilled in International Business. Although Dustin does not have his MBA, he has successfully started three businesses in Zambia that benefit the local community. Dustin runs Zambikes, a pig farm, and a Mexican restaurant; all three provide many jobs for the local Zambians.
Zambikes is a business in order to make profit, but the main reasoning is to make a difference in the lives of Zambians. Zambikes allow locals to own great quality “bush” bikes that allow them to get from A to B. Zambikes also provides over 1000 Zambulances throughout the country. Zambulances are boxes big enough to fit a mattress and can be pulled on the back of a bicycle.
After eating at Dustin’s Mexican restaurant we stayed at a camp site in Eureka. On the drive in we noticed many Zebra off to the side (an animal that we had yet to see, even on the safaris). So obviously, the guys began to walk the trails as soon as we settled at camp. As we were entering the bush, a guide stopped us and told us to go back to the campsite. He informed us that buffalo and other animals are nearby and that to be out at night is very dangerous. We told him OK, and continued our journey once he disappeared. Normally we would have walked a short ways and came back, but now that we were taking a risk, things became very exciting. Throughout our walk we ran across several animals and hundreds of antelope. After walking about 30 minutes into the bush, we finally located two Zebra among a group of antelope. The antelope were spooked and ran; however, the Zebra trotted slowly while staring at us. Quintyn, Heath, and I were eventually able to get about 20 yards away from the Zebra.
There is much to be said about our trip north, but unfortunately I have a lot to catch up on and time is not on my side. Most of the trip consisted of traveling and awful roads in an old yellow school bus. Regardless of all of the rough travel, everyone had an excellent time on the trip. I spent most of my time on the bumpy ride reading. I read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis, Peace with God by Billy Graham, and The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.
After traveling two days we eventually reach Mumena, which is in the northwestern area of Zambia. Mumena is truly a wonderful place with wonderful people. Bryan Davis and his family head off a team of missionaries that are very inspirational to each of us in the HIZ group. Bryan gave three lectures to us while we stayed at Mumena; each was two or three hours long. I am very impressed with the theology and methods that this team of missionaries has developed in only five years at Mumena. Before coming to Zambia, Bryan worked with inner city gangsters in Tennessee and in Cape Town, South Africa. Bryan’s ability to teach the gospel to anyone is quite impressive to me. Bryan’s team does a very good job of letting the indigenous people do the work, and allowing everything to be self-sustainable.
On Sunday, we visited the largest refugee camp in the world. At one point this camp had the largest population, but now it is simply geographic. There are 90,000 refugees, mostly from the Congo and Rwanda (genocide). I was asked to speak for 30 minutes on creation, but kept it closer to 20 minutes. I was quite nervous when I got up to speak in from of all 90,000 of the refugees; this was quite an adrenaline rush. Just kidding. I spoke in front of a local congregation that included maybe 100 people. Regardless, the service went well and the congregation loved having us. I spoke to the refugees about hope. I said that God created all of us for a reason and that God does not forget anyone. I said that God created us not only to glorify him, but because he wants us as his children. I said that God created us and that we were destined to be a part of his royal family. For lunch we had nsima, snima, and more nsima. Out of respect we decided to eat all of the snima that we were served. Each of the guys in our group ended up eating around 14 handfuls of nsima. I could barely walk.
Many things happened that I have no time to mention; I look forward to sharing more with all of you later. On our way back to Kalomo, we stopped in Lusaka to visit Zambikes. Zambikes was started by a man named Dustin, who is very skilled in International Business. Although Dustin does not have his MBA, he has successfully started three businesses in Zambia that benefit the local community. Dustin runs Zambikes, a pig farm, and a Mexican restaurant; all three provide many jobs for the local Zambians.
Zambikes is a business in order to make profit, but the main reasoning is to make a difference in the lives of Zambians. Zambikes allow locals to own great quality “bush” bikes that allow them to get from A to B. Zambikes also provides over 1000 Zambulances throughout the country. Zambulances are boxes big enough to fit a mattress and can be pulled on the back of a bicycle.
After eating at Dustin’s Mexican restaurant we stayed at a camp site in Eureka. On the drive in we noticed many Zebra off to the side (an animal that we had yet to see, even on the safaris). So obviously, the guys began to walk the trails as soon as we settled at camp. As we were entering the bush, a guide stopped us and told us to go back to the campsite. He informed us that buffalo and other animals are nearby and that to be out at night is very dangerous. We told him OK, and continued our journey once he disappeared. Normally we would have walked a short ways and came back, but now that we were taking a risk, things became very exciting. Throughout our walk we ran across several animals and hundreds of antelope. After walking about 30 minutes into the bush, we finally located two Zebra among a group of antelope. The antelope were spooked and ran; however, the Zebra trotted slowly while staring at us. Quintyn, Heath, and I were eventually able to get about 20 yards away from the Zebra.
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