I can't believe as I write this, my bottom right hand corner of the computer tells me that it's October. October?! I figure the disbelief is also the result of my logical thinking of 'how can it be October, it's not autumn' because every afternoon I find myself seeking out the tiniest corners of the building here on base to stay in the shade, away from the 100 degree heat. In Zambia, October is the PEAK of the hot season, so this is only the beginning!
My apologies for the gap of time it has taken me to send out this first update from this side of the Atlantic. I actually wrote an e-mail my first night on Base and I am pretty sure that every, single sentence ended in an exclamation point. So, I told myself to wait and let the excitement settle down a bit and AMT to actually start before attempting to write anything.
Well, AMT is in full swing now with the classes starting at 6:30am & ending around 4pm. This week's classes consisted of Diesel Mechanics in the morning and Theology in the afternoon. I can now confidently say that I know how to change my own oil and if you were to point at something in an engine – I could tell you what it is, what it does, and how it works. We have our big practical final on Monday, so I'll be studying up on that this weekend. A huge surprise to me is how much I am enjoying the Theology classes. (This is because, truth be told, I am not a very good student. Just ask any of my roommates, I am an amazing procrastinator). I am taking full advantage of this opportunity and the round table discussions to ask any and every question I have floating in my head. The previous week, we had Fundraising classes in the morning & Cross Cultural Communications in the afternoon. But! When we first arrived, after a few days of basic orientation about Zambia, locating things on Base, what to expect with AMT, and history & vision of Overland Missions – we were thrown into 8 days of super intense classes for us to receive our Wilderness First Responder certification. And I ate it up! Our instructors, Rachel & Rowan, were amazing teachers who made sure we understood the text and then would set up practical scenarios for us to put our knowledge to the test. That had to be my favorite part of it all. I got to draw upon my two years of theater classes in high school and over react to having a stick impaled in my shoulder, pretend to be bit by a black mamba while also being schizophrenic, and be a very angry wife at her husband who crashed the car. The final scenario involved the whole AMT team (up until then, we had divided the team down into 3 smaller teams for simplicity) and we did AWESOME! We arrived on the scene and took all the proper precautions, assessed the patients, built splints, litters, and distributed treatment before evacuating. Like I said, I truly enjoyed those classes and have decided to pursue the training further with SOLO to receive my Wilderness EMT upon returning to the States in January.
Now, I know that I have written a lot about the classes so I am sure a few of you are asking 'well.. when are you going to go out and do ministry?' Well, between the orientation and WFR courses, our AMT leaders – Dan & Laura – took us on our first expedition out into the rural bush to Nyawa Village. The six hour ride out there involved driving one of the worst roads in all of Southern Zambia (Lusaka Rd.) and the team got a taste of what the future holds for life as an Overlander while we bounced around the back of the truck. Once we arrived in the Village, we set up camp and met the local pastor, Pastor Sween and a few of the members of his congregation. The following four days consisted of door to door evangelism, helping out in a few locals gardens, visiting other nearby villages and hosting meetings, learning proper 'bush cooking,' and just taking it all in as to what life& doing ministry in rural Zambia is like. It is actually really helpful to have gone and done the expedition first and then come back to classes, because now we can understand why and how all these things we are learning are applicable out in the Bush.
I am definitely being stretched and challenged, and although I have moments of pure frustration, they quickly fade as I think back to what exactly I am doing here. I am here to pursue God and He is defiantly making himself known to me through these trials and tribulations and for every little bump in the road, He has given me ten times as many blessings.. each and every sunset, the view that is my backyard - a giant gorge with the Zambezi winding between the cliffs of Zambia/Zimbabwe, being reminded of how blessed we are to have full functioning showers/toilets, the sound of the local kids in Nsongwe village singing as we drive past on one of the trucks, the long shadows that drape across the ground between 5:00-5:30pm, the hot breeze that meets you as you walk out of your tent in the middle of the day (better than no breeze at all!) and the constant smell of burning firewood – a smell that will forever & always be associated with life in Africa.
I will be sure to be a bit more on top of next month with updating, but in the meantime – you can keep checking here for more informal/sporadic updates. And sometime tomorrow, I am going to post an essay wrote in the fundraising class that elaborates a bit more about our expedition to Nyawa Village for those of you who are interested.
Yet, before I send this out, I have a few prayer request to ask..
-Please pray for the AMT team as we continue to work together and build eachother up. Please pray for patience, understanding and genuine, loving relationships with one another. Especially, since we are all about to be tested to our wits end with the heat!
-The people of Nyawa village who we were able to share with and encourage on our last expedition. Pray that the seeds we planted landed on fertile soil and God reveals himself in amazing ways.
–For those who we will encounter in our next outreach taking place later in the month. Pray for their ears & hearts to be open to receiving the Word.
-for Overland Missions as the LIFE project & other ministries expand onto new, exciting, foreign horizons.
-for the nations and people of Zambia, Zimbabwe and the States as we all approach election situations.
-and, last but not least, I told me team I would add this to my prayer request – please pray that it rains on November 6th! The rains are supposed to come early November, and the 6th is my birthday & the ultimate birthday present would be a rain shower! It's kinda surreal because I have yet to see one single cloud since arriving here, so the thought of rain makes me giddy!
Thank you, yet again, for continuing to support me on this journey!
With Joy,
Liz
PS. I am working on a flickr website where I can upload pictures, but the problem is that the internet connection here is on the slow side & I have to resize every picture I want to upload – but I understand how much pictures add to the stories , so I will make it happen! But until then, here are a few..
1. The AMT team on top of Victoria falls. That's right – ON TOP of! : )
[left to right; Ray, Josh, Matt, Me, our leaders Dan & Laura, Wezzie with Sharlene & Stephanie in the front] the bridge in the back is the one you bungee jump off of – woo!
2. My new backyard! The gorge with the Zambezi in the middle and Zimbabwe to the left/Zambia to the right. LOVE IT!
3. The team preparing for a service in Nyawa Village.
4. Our final SOLO Wilderness First Responder Scenario!
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