A Little of Everything

                Since my last post I have been diligently working on painting the letters of the medical boat and blue boat, painting the OM Lake Tanganyika sign for the base, sewing uniforms for the kids at the Orphan School, going to Chipwa Village, and I have even learned wood working so I could make signs for the different rooms and buildings on the base. Painting the Medical Boat has been a very interesting, long experience. For me to be able to paint the boat we had to get a smaller Zambian fishing boat for me to stand in. Yes stand in. You can imagine this sight and how amusing this was to many. The Medical Boat is rather large and is docked at a fishery which is owned by a Greek family (who have been very generous and kind to us). It stands rather tall compared to the other boats. For it to be docked it has to be tied to to another boat. Because of the angles there is no way to reach where I need to paint from the dock - thus the idea of standing on a little boat came to be. Most of the time when I was painting I would have to hold the Medical boat in one hand, paint with the other while the little boat went back and forth and up and down with the waves. The fishermen bringing the night's catch into the fishery in the morning often decided to come see what I was doing and to sit and watch. When I first began to paint over there not a lot of them knew what to think about this white girl painting, but as time went on they got used to seeing me and to me being around. It has been interesting to be there in the morning and watch the large Zambian fishing boats come back with 10 men on them and little boats stacked on top of them and the fish stored in crates. I have to admit that I have learned a lot about fishing while being there. The men take the large fishing boat packed with men and little boats out at night. The little boats look just like the big boat but a lot smaller. The way they catch fish at night is by using the little boats to lay out the nets and use lanterns to draw the fish in. Then they pull the nets in with fish. When there is a full moon the fisherman do not fish because they hardly catch anything. The moonlight is too bright for the lanterns to draw the fish in.

                Over the last weeks God has shown and taught me so much about myself, my relationship with God, and about the world around me. One of the most touching moments that I have experienced since I have arrived was my visit to Chipwa Village. Chipwa is located right on the Tanzania and Zambia border. And I mean right on the border. On one side of the village is Zambia and the other is Tanzania. There is a river that flows through the middle of the village, dividing the two sides. When we arrived at the village we unloaded the boat and went to meet the Headman. Every village has a Headman who is in charge of the village. We greeted him and the Chipwa missionaries explained to him what we would be doing during our visit. One of the things that surprised me about the look of the village was how clean it was. Every home was well swept, the trash was in trash holes and even some people had potted plants or flowers around their house or hut. The village life literally consisted of the men fishing and women cleaning or cooking. There is a school for them to attend and a few churches. One of the biggest issues in Zambia is education. The majority of the time the highest level of learning for a Zambian is 7th or 8th grade. For them to have completed the 12th grade is a huge accomplishment. The overall Zambia literacy rate is at 67% and in a lot of other areas it's a lot lower then that. Over the years the literacy rate has continued to drop and is still dropping. It is not uncommon for someone to finish school at age 22 or 24 years old due to the fact that everyone has to pay to go to school. During my visit to the village I got the opportunity to walk around and talk to some of the people who live there. A group of woman who I thought to be much older than me told me (with a translator) that they were all 21 or younger. One of them was only 17 years old with 4 kids which amazed me. I asked one of the Chipwa missionaries about family life and family structure. He said it was common for a man to have two or three wives or even more and that girls are married at 13 years old. The way marriage works in the village is if a man stays with a woman overnight then they are married. There is no offical ceremony or papers. He also told me that one of the things the girls look forward to most as children is when they do get married. The children in the village were so precious. They wanted to be near you and to play. When our team was split up into different outreaches, I was assigned to do children ministry. Just playing games and wanting to spend time with them meant the world to them. Even playing "duck, duck, goose" drew a huge crowd. It made me think a lot about the american culture and how children today always want to be entertained or to have the coolest toy. These kids in the village had none of that, nothing but still could find joy and happiness. Most of them make their toys or make up games with other kids. Truly, Americans are selfish and greedy about what they already have been blessed with. God tells us that some are blessed with more so they can give more but hardly do I see anyone willing to truly give to another without wanting something in return. If we do give, then most often we want to be glorified for what we have done and receive praise but the truth is we should give with wanting nothing in return. Jesus gave graciously to those who could not repay him back and gave the glory to God. We are taught at church to "be like Christ" but I hardly ever see anyone truly live it out. Even I have fallen far from this and have learned that just being an okay Christian is not enough. One of the things that touched me a lot when I was in the village was the villagers' lifestyle. The women spend all day getting water, cooking, cleaning, preparing food, etc. The men spend their time fishing, tending to the nets, building boats, etc. So often in America we try to rush through eating, cooking, cleaning, laundry so we can get to "living life". But in the village that is their life. Does their life have any less value then ours? They too are living life. These thoughts any many others filled my mind for days after my visit. It is hard for me to explain it in word the thoughts and ideas that stayed with me.

                In the village you have to be very careful about taking pictures. There is a lot of witchcraft in the villages (a lot). Many people believe that if you take someone's picture you are taking their soul. Also many of the young children had never seen a white person before. When I was walking in the village a lady brought her child up to me. The little boy must have been only a one and half years old. When he saw me he just started to scream and wanted to run away. The mother thought this was so funny. I felt really bad. At that moment I really hated being white. Another thing that I found interesting, that some of the older people believe, is that white people had their soul taken away and that's why we are not black. When ever I sit with children they always like to rub my skin or if I am in the market and a child passes they will reach out and touch my skin.

                We were very pleased to have the Medical Boat "Life Boat" Launch on May 11th. It took several days to prepare food, decorations and to set up for the ceremony. About 100 people attended including a few people of great Honor. A news crew came as well and recorded the ceremony. Christopher (Field Leader for OM Tanganyika) announced that they had broadcast the ceremony on Zambia National News which was really exciting. We are hoping to get a copy soon so we can watch it. Div asked me if I would do a dramatic reading of a letter that was written in 2000 about the first vision and idea of the Medical Boat. Overall it went well. I have to be honest I was very nervous with the people of high honor to one side and a news camera in my face on the other. For those of you who may not know about the Medical Boat- The Medical Boat's mission is to reach remote villages along Lake Tanganyika, touching the lives of the people of Zambia, Tanzania, Burundi, and Congo. Lake Tanganyika is  the world's longest lake. The plan is for the boat to start off with the villages on the part of the lake shore which is in Zambia. Over time everyone's hopes and prays that the ministry will grow where they can have multiple medical boats around the lake. All the countries (except) Zambia have suffered serious war and genocide, leaving the people deeply wounded, not just physically but emotionally as well. A man I recently met is being exported back to Tanzania. He fled his country when war broke out decades ago and made Zambia his home. Now, even though he had lived here for half his life, he must leave and return. Because Mpulungu is a port town I have met many people from all over the world; refugees from the Congo, backpackers from Europe, Tanzanian business people and so forth.

                Throughout the day I can hear the Muslims at the local Mosque saying their prayers and chants. The sound echoes through the town. Very often I see Muslim women dressed from head to toe when I walk through town or the market. It's actually more common for me to see Muslims in full dress than to see a Mzungu (white person). The Muslim community is growing very rapidly in Mpulungu. In fact, Islam is the fast growing religion in Zambia. The second is non-religious. In Mpulungu the Muslim community has donated many water filtering tanks and have several nice schools. Many of the people who have immigrated from Tanzania are Muslim. In Mpulungu the Chief of this region has decided that all the churchs and worship places should be in the same area.

                One of the things I still have not full adjusted to or at least don't remember all the time is the fact that it is wrong for a woman to show her knees but fine if she shows her top. Most days I wish I could just run to the market in shorts (even long ones) rather than having to find a citenge to wear. Mpulungu is still very traditional with this. You rarely see a woman in pants and never in shorts. In the larger, diverse towns it's becoming common to see women with nice pants on but still never shorts. Another thing I still have not gotten use to is the difference in living. Here Zambian Missionaries, a family of four, live on $100 a month (and that's it). A Zambian teacher lives on $97 a month. Most often an American family spends $100 or more a week on groceries alone. Each classroom that is being built cost $3500 - they are building 5 (they do need funding). There are 60 orphans in the school. Each one gets feed twice a day (breakfast and lunch) which is normally all they get fed. It cost $600 a month to feed them which sounds like a lot at first but when you calculate it its only 33 cents per child per day for two meals. Wow! If we had to live on only 33 cents per day for food, we would starve. I have decided that any extra money that is donated to my OM mission account will be given to the orphan school for food and such. The $600 a month still does not include teacher salary, uniforms, school supplies, or anything else.

                My favorite fun memory so far:  One Saturday I went to the base to work on some painting but when I found out that I would not be able to paint what I needed I took the morning off. I decided to kayak to De Bat Island which is about a 30 min swim away. The island is known for two things 1) spirit ceremonies and sacrifices and 2) crocodiles. I paddled to one of the far sides where large rock cliffs were. When you paddle around, past the cliffs you come to a beautiful pebble beach. There I found about 10 monkeys climbing and swinging in the trees on the steep hill side. It was so cute watching them. I just sat there in the kayak watching them play. Then I noticed a large group of bright red dragonflies in the reeds. There were about 30 or more. The water was so clear that you could see deep into the water and watch the tropical fish swim. It was truly an amazing memory.

Chipwa Village

They are so precious!

Zambian Fishing Boat going out at night to fish. It has two little boats on it.

Early in the Morning

Fishing Nets

Zambian Fishing Boats

Bathroom (Not kidding!!!)

Dinner

Medical Boat

I am AMAZED how the woman can carry things

OM Team (I am on the right, behind Elli who is in the lime green)

Cutting the Ribbon

Local Doctor giving a speech about the boat filmed by the News crew

First Official Trip

Light the Lake is the theme (I painted it)

Mariska and I on the boat :)