Mother Theresa's, IJM, World Vision Zambia

Blog post Friday: 6/29/07

Today was our first full day in Lusaka, Zambia, and it was an amazing experience. Even though our team was tired and jet lagged we were able to learn a ton from our World Vision leader Patricia and our meetings with the World Vision Zambia office, International Justice Mission office, and the Mother Theresa Home. We also had a great time eating the traditional Zambian lunch: pizza. Attie, Heather and I also learned that a CD in Zambia is only 2 dollars! It has been a real treat to learn so much about the Zambian culture and people.

Our first meeting was at the World Vision Zambia National office. We met Mapanza H. Nkwilimba, the director of Quality Ministry. He and Patricia gave us an overview of World Vision’s history and progress in Zambia. Such as the RAPIDS program (Reaching HIV AIDS infected people with integrated development support), which Laura Bush was dealing with yesterday in Lusaka. It was great to meet more World Vision staff and to hear about all the amazing and generous things that World Vision is doing.

The next task of the morning was to exchange US dollars for Kwatcha, disappointing those of us who brought 20s instead of 50s because of the worse exchange rate. The bills are beautiful, but we completely wiped out the exchange place of all their money and had to go later in the afternoon to the bank to finish our business.

One of the highlights of our trip so far was the hours we spent in the Mother Theresa Hospice for terminally ill HIV/AIDS patients. A seemingly daunting and emotional experience, some of the team had a bit of trepidation and our pre-meeting was filled with many questions about how to behave and what to say. Yet, I can honestly say it was one of the most joy filled occasions I have ever witnessed. Yes, it was heartbreakingly painful to hear the coughs of young Rosemary who had been there 5 months, and see the incredibly thin arms of a woman who couldn’t speak English. But the Lord’s presence was so evident and reassuring. We prayed with the people and saw how truly fortunate they are to have a beautiful and comfortable home at Mother Theresa’s with access to the medication they need. And oh the dancing and the singing!! The women and men that were healthy enough to be up out of bed (and there were so many more than the last time some of our team had visited!) serenaded us with energetic harmonies that had us all clapping along. The women even enticed Kinton to give a taste of his crazy dance moves! Their voices were simply heavenly; Sister Ignacius had to drag us away from listening to their celebration. It was also exciting to visit the school on the land of the home, where teachers provide students who can’t afford government schools the very basics of an education. Every classroom welcomed us “vist-as” (visitors) with songs of happiness and God’s blessings on us. We laughed a lot as one mischevious boy purposefully clapped off rhythm to mess us up.
The children all brought huge smiles to our faces. The time we spent in the nursery made all of our hearts tender as the fathers and mothers. It was a very humbling experience.

We finished off the day with a great dinner with Luntangu and Foster and their delightful children. Well we are all very tired and stay tuned to hear more about our coming days.

Heather and Erica for the team.