1%
Community Volunteers Trained to Care for
Orphans and Homebound HIV/AIDS Patients
Greetings from Beautiful Lusaka.
The fact that I have been here two weeks and have not written speaks to how quickly my month here is passing and to the reality of starting a new job on a new continent. A steep learning curve on all fronts.
The summary of these first couple weeks is….wonderful. The people I am working with, mostly Zambians, the project we are working on, the feel of the community, the kids school, the beauty of Africa, the friendly smiles and hopeful spirit that you encounter everywhere. Wonderful.
Lusaka itself is very green with most of the streets tree-lined. It is a small and clean city by African capital standards and has just enough western conveniences, e.g. pizza and good roads, to be comfortable. However, not a minute passes where I am not reminded that “I’m not in Kansas anymore.” I still have not found a Starbucks, much less 5 of them near our home.
The biggest challenge, not surprisingly, is living with the challenge of immense poverty and the disparity between the rich (me) and the poor. Everyone reading this falls into the top 1% or so of the wealthiest people in the world. We know this intellectually. When we live surrounded by the rest of the 1%, as most of us do, we begin to compare and contrast within the 1% . Here, we will be surrounded by the 99% -- A constant reminder that we have so much more.
I’m reminded when I drive to work (on the wrong side of the road I might add) and pass hundreds of Africans walking to work (if they are lucky enough to have a job.) I’m reminded as I sit down to a meal that is far beyond the reach of those same people I just passed on the road, perhaps even the person serving me my food. I was reminded when I visited a potential home we may rent- a beautiful place really. There was a maid working in the kitchen, I asked her where she lived and she pointed to the side yard. She then took me out to her home, where she lives with her son, daughter and grandchild. So, my family lives in the “big house” and hers’ lives in the “small, small, house.” What do you do with that?
All of this to say, we are going to be confronted with some issues that we have not been confronted with up to this point. I marvel at the privileges bestowed to us simply for the fact that we were born in America. “To whom much is given….”
One of the things we are most grateful for in this opportunity is the chance to know the poor. Someone (whose name is escaping me) said that, “It’s not that we don’t LOVE the poor, it’s that we don’t KNOW the poor.” We can’t love someone, really, that we don’t know. Most people would not debate the fact that God has called us to love the poor, therefore, He must actually want us to get to know them. Our American system does not facilitate this very well. Most of us live, work and breathe on one side of the tracks or the other. Crossing them is difficult, or at least has been for us. This experience will get us on the far side of the tracks.
The amazing thing is that when we do “cross the tracks” we gain so much. I have visited several communities that are facing Immense challenges and yet persevering with a spirit that is astounding. I am the one blessed by their dignity, creativity and faith.
Now, the weird irony, is that we could (and will have to fight against) setting up a lifestyle that keeps us even more isolated. We could easily set up an expat existence that keeps us all sheltered from the reality of the 99%. We will, in fact, be living within a fenced in home that could become the lense through which we experience Africa. I pray not.
The other real challenge will be missing friends, family and home. Relationships are everything and distance refines and highlights that truth. For all the wonderful opportunities this experience will bring us, the cost is being away from many of you. Scriptures refer often to the idea of “being together” even when we are apart. Our prayer is that this would be a real experience. (I’ve got a lot of prayers going…)
Last weekend I went down to Victoria Falls. Wow. Truly one of the most powerful things to witness on the entire planet. The trip down there reminded me that we will be living in a wild playground. I’m very excited to introduce my family and many of you to this wonderful country.
Thanks to many of you are caring for my family while I am gone. (That means you Mom...) I am grateful. I will be back on May 8 for a couple months with a likely move date of mid-July. Looking forward to those two months.
Much love to you from the middle of Africa.
PS - Mackenzie, Clara & Bennett – You are the Best of the Best.
Orphans and Homebound HIV/AIDS Patients
Greetings from Beautiful Lusaka.The fact that I have been here two weeks and have not written speaks to how quickly my month here is passing and to the reality of starting a new job on a new continent. A steep learning curve on all fronts.
The summary of these first couple weeks is….wonderful. The people I am working with, mostly Zambians, the project we are working on, the feel of the community, the kids school, the beauty of Africa, the friendly smiles and hopeful spirit that you encounter everywhere. Wonderful.
Lusaka itself is very green with most of the streets tree-lined. It is a small and clean city by African capital standards and has just enough western conveniences, e.g. pizza and good roads, to be comfortable. However, not a minute passes where I am not reminded that “I’m not in Kansas anymore.” I still have not found a Starbucks, much less 5 of them near our home.
The biggest challenge, not surprisingly, is living with the challenge of immense poverty and the disparity between the rich (me) and the poor. Everyone reading this falls into the top 1% or so of the wealthiest people in the world. We know this intellectually. When we live surrounded by the rest of the 1%, as most of us do, we begin to compare and contrast within the 1% . Here, we will be surrounded by the 99% -- A constant reminder that we have so much more.
I’m reminded when I drive to work (on the wrong side of the road I might add) and pass hundreds of Africans walking to work (if they are lucky enough to have a job.) I’m reminded as I sit down to a meal that is far beyond the reach of those same people I just passed on the road, perhaps even the person serving me my food. I was reminded when I visited a potential home we may rent- a beautiful place really. There was a maid working in the kitchen, I asked her where she lived and she pointed to the side yard. She then took me out to her home, where she lives with her son, daughter and grandchild. So, my family lives in the “big house” and hers’ lives in the “small, small, house.” What do you do with that?
All of this to say, we are going to be confronted with some issues that we have not been confronted with up to this point. I marvel at the privileges bestowed to us simply for the fact that we were born in America. “To whom much is given….”
One of the things we are most grateful for in this opportunity is the chance to know the poor. Someone (whose name is escaping me) said that, “It’s not that we don’t LOVE the poor, it’s that we don’t KNOW the poor.” We can’t love someone, really, that we don’t know. Most people would not debate the fact that God has called us to love the poor, therefore, He must actually want us to get to know them. Our American system does not facilitate this very well. Most of us live, work and breathe on one side of the tracks or the other. Crossing them is difficult, or at least has been for us. This experience will get us on the far side of the tracks.
The amazing thing is that when we do “cross the tracks” we gain so much. I have visited several communities that are facing Immense challenges and yet persevering with a spirit that is astounding. I am the one blessed by their dignity, creativity and faith.
Now, the weird irony, is that we could (and will have to fight against) setting up a lifestyle that keeps us even more isolated. We could easily set up an expat existence that keeps us all sheltered from the reality of the 99%. We will, in fact, be living within a fenced in home that could become the lense through which we experience Africa. I pray not.
The other real challenge will be missing friends, family and home. Relationships are everything and distance refines and highlights that truth. For all the wonderful opportunities this experience will bring us, the cost is being away from many of you. Scriptures refer often to the idea of “being together” even when we are apart. Our prayer is that this would be a real experience. (I’ve got a lot of prayers going…)
Last weekend I went down to Victoria Falls. Wow. Truly one of the most powerful things to witness on the entire planet. The trip down there reminded me that we will be living in a wild playground. I’m very excited to introduce my family and many of you to this wonderful country.
Thanks to many of you are caring for my family while I am gone. (That means you Mom...) I am grateful. I will be back on May 8 for a couple months with a likely move date of mid-July. Looking forward to those two months.
Much love to you from the middle of Africa.
PS - Mackenzie, Clara & Bennett – You are the Best of the Best.
posted by The Dykstra Family at 10:16 AM
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