(Way) Off the Beaten Path
Bennett, his "gift chicken", and several new friends
Well, we journeyed out from our safe, comfortable home here in lusaka. jeff wanted us to see the "real Africa" (i guess Lusaka isn't Africa enough for him! any of you who visit will beg to differ...:))
what a weekend we had. we took off early on friday morning with jeff's truck loaded down (had i told you that he has a truck, kinda funny, but can't imagine if we hadn't had it this weekend!) we drove about 2 hours to Mazabuka, where the World Vision field office for that part of the country is. wish i could easily send the sights and sounds...i sat on the curbside by the truck while jeff and the kids wandered from shop to shop looking for bread/juice/yogurt...the only white people i saw all morning were jeff and the kids. the whole scene-- cars honking, people hanging around, washing "taxis", city buses (little blue buses) teeming with people, all manner of delivery trucks, etc... we sat on the curb and shared a loaf of bread and pineapple juice-- probably closer to what the eucharist is meant to be like than how we normally have it!
we went to the world vision office and met up with a wonderful woman named Mercy (she grew into the name her parents gave her at birth, by the way)-- Mercy ended up being one of Mackenzie's highlights. She is a fantastic woman who grew up in northern Zambia and went to University and has given her life to the poor...she is serving as a RAPIDS liason with World Vision in this small corner of Zambia. She set up our day for us and gave our girls a vision of what their lives can be about. We followed a Land Cruiser full of people who had been "in town" for training about an hour and a half, one hour of which was WAY off the road... really, a lot of the drive was 4x4 trails. i asked jeff at the end of the day if that was how remote vision trips typically are and he said, besides an island off the coast of haiti, this was as remote as he'd ever been-- and he was driving himself with his three kids in the back seat!!! it was amazing.
what an unbelievable day we had. we went to a clinic where we were greeted by a group of women singing and dancing and hugging us... they were joined by some men and we gathered to hear that they are the community volunteers for this area. they were all wearing these t-shirts that say RAPIDS and on the back say OVC (orphans and vulnerable children)/HBC (home-based care) CAREGIVER. these people have volunteered to be the hands and feet of Jesus in their village...they are amazing. they go around daily/weekly to visit kids who have lost one or both parents (mostly to HIV/AIDS) and those who are at home dying of the disease. they encourage and KNOW them. we saw many examples of how their knowing these people, the network effect we call it, made a life-changing difference....they shared with us their challenges and hopes... our kids sat on little wooden chairs with us an listened ,how amazing... (well, bennett didn't, he wandered around outside getting stared at by all the kids!)
they had chosen a few places for us to visit and so we set off. by the end of the day we had covered miles and miles in this little slice of a little corner of one country in africa and we saw only a hint of life there...some very beautiful things and some very difficult. we started by visiting fiona, a little girl clara's age who has lost both parents and is living with an aunt who is single. there were about 6 kids there (cousins). the aunt was gone (getting water) and we sat and talked with fiona and mercy and her caregiver. she was stunned really, to have us there, wanting to hear her story. her caregiver mostly talked and Mercy stroked her back and let her know we were there to care for her....as we drove away i asked her caregiver when she goes and what they typically talk about. she goes to see fiona every sunday and she mostly encourages her to stay in school and talks to her about the fact that Jesus does care for her...one child, being loved, fed, watched out for, sent to school...
next we visited a group of huts that was a set of grandparents, and one of their daughters. they had lost their son and daughter in law, so the grandparents and aunt are caring for both family's kids...Mercy knew these kids well (not only do these caregivers visit their fellow community members regularly, Mercy is out there-- one and a half hours each way-- a couple times each week) there was a baby there that had benefitted from this sense of community by being sent to the hospital by her caregiver (no one can afford the bus fare to the hospital in Mazabuka) after she came to visit and found that they baby had fallen and needed to be seen by a doctor...a cool story of how these people KNOW each other and care for one another. the whole time we were talking bennett was chasing their chickens all over. after they were done sharing their story, the grandfather starting getting his grandkids to scoot and go do something for him. turns out he was having them get a chicken for bennett! so we left that home with bennett carrying a chicken by the wings-- beaming!!!!!
after that we visited a man who is recovering from near death from HIV/AIDS and his family. he shared about how the HIV/AIDS support group-- another thing these community leaders foster-- had helped him rally when he was really sick, how he had been taught how to eat more nutrionally, etc. and how he had recovered-- a true testimony. astonishing, really. so hopeful. and guess what?!! the kids gave him the chicken! the gift that keeps on giving!
we took a break for lunch (it was only 2:30!) well, jeff and i did. the kids kept on going. the girls had used some of clara's "TFC" money (TFC is a "charity" clara started in minnesota that we didn't think would really get off the ground b/c it kind of got lost in the shuffle of moving, well, it's alive and well!) to buy granola and candy and they had put little bags together of food and had brought them with us. so after they had a few crackers and peanut butter, they started handing those out to some kids nearby. so jeff and i sat in the dirt drinking coke watching...
our last stop was our favorite. we went FURTHER out into the bush to a school up on this beautiful hill (don't picture Blake School!) that is for orphans... they were waiting for us and did a whole presentation. they had made signs saying that their parents were gone, but now WV/RAPIDS was their mom and dad-- sending them to school, etc. wish you could've seen their faces. wish you could meet their teacher. a man, about 45, again, a community member, tears in his eyes, so proud of them...our kids played soccer with the kids and got introduced, etc... the sunlight was waning and shining in that bright end of the day sort of way and we were up on a hill LITERALLY in the middle of nowhere, loving and being loved and it was awesome....
weird that as i write this those kids are there....the "visiting" is a weird thing. so good to know what is really going on, so weird to just drive away from it...Mercy blessed us as we drove around. I asked her about her life and it was so cool to hear and so good, as I said earlier, for our girls to hear her CHOOSING to be where she was, serving. What a great vision for their lives...
and we did drive away....we went to a motel in mazabuka and then off to the lower zambezi the next day...
we had a great weekend camping, being together, seeing animals by boat-- elephants, LOTS of hippos, a croc... i even ALMOST caught a HUGE tiger fish! really... we mostly relaxed and enjoyed each other and the beauty of the place. we were on the zambezi river, looking across from zambia into zimbabwe. kinda wild. not as dramatic as it sounds. just camping together... met some great people. one couple lives on our street here in lusaka and she is a teacher in bennett's grade at their school (doesn't have bennett.) met another family with kids going to our kids' school...lots of fun memories. played a lot of "would you rather..." (i.e. would you rather swim across that river at nite or sleep on a thorny bush for 3 days????) it was beautiful there, as was the drive...
it was wild "coming home" this afternoon. it actually felt a lot like we were, in fact. this home in lusaka feels like home. there is already a lot of love here. it was good to get outside the city to realize how much we DO live in a city, with so much we need/want and that our home is a BEAUTIFUL haven....
tomorrow Katie Mooty comes for 3 months. We can hardly wait. I'm sure the kids will be up early. Her room is all set, waiting for her to settle in. We are excited to have someone live with us, it is something we've always wanted to do, but haven't had the opportunity. What an opportunity we have now! Pray for us as we transition to being a family of 6!
Upcoming events/things to pray for:
*Katie's arrival/transition
*Getting phone/internet set up at home (the lack of communication is HARD)
*Kids start school a week from Wednesday (orientation is a week from Tuesday)
*Katie and I settling into a rhythm w/ the kids in school
*Friendships for all (SO THANKFUL for Debbie Vermiglia who has been a fantastic friend to me, to all of us, these first couple weeks)
Please keep emailing us and telling us about YOUR LIFE...it is life-giving to us...
So many more things to share....but we'll keep writing...
Molly and Jeff and Kids
Well, we journeyed out from our safe, comfortable home here in lusaka. jeff wanted us to see the "real Africa" (i guess Lusaka isn't Africa enough for him! any of you who visit will beg to differ...:))
what a weekend we had. we took off early on friday morning with jeff's truck loaded down (had i told you that he has a truck, kinda funny, but can't imagine if we hadn't had it this weekend!) we drove about 2 hours to Mazabuka, where the World Vision field office for that part of the country is. wish i could easily send the sights and sounds...i sat on the curbside by the truck while jeff and the kids wandered from shop to shop looking for bread/juice/yogurt...the only white people i saw all morning were jeff and the kids. the whole scene-- cars honking, people hanging around, washing "taxis", city buses (little blue buses) teeming with people, all manner of delivery trucks, etc... we sat on the curb and shared a loaf of bread and pineapple juice-- probably closer to what the eucharist is meant to be like than how we normally have it!
we went to the world vision office and met up with a wonderful woman named Mercy (she grew into the name her parents gave her at birth, by the way)-- Mercy ended up being one of Mackenzie's highlights. She is a fantastic woman who grew up in northern Zambia and went to University and has given her life to the poor...she is serving as a RAPIDS liason with World Vision in this small corner of Zambia. She set up our day for us and gave our girls a vision of what their lives can be about. We followed a Land Cruiser full of people who had been "in town" for training about an hour and a half, one hour of which was WAY off the road... really, a lot of the drive was 4x4 trails. i asked jeff at the end of the day if that was how remote vision trips typically are and he said, besides an island off the coast of haiti, this was as remote as he'd ever been-- and he was driving himself with his three kids in the back seat!!! it was amazing.
what an unbelievable day we had. we went to a clinic where we were greeted by a group of women singing and dancing and hugging us... they were joined by some men and we gathered to hear that they are the community volunteers for this area. they were all wearing these t-shirts that say RAPIDS and on the back say OVC (orphans and vulnerable children)/HBC (home-based care) CAREGIVER. these people have volunteered to be the hands and feet of Jesus in their village...they are amazing. they go around daily/weekly to visit kids who have lost one or both parents (mostly to HIV/AIDS) and those who are at home dying of the disease. they encourage and KNOW them. we saw many examples of how their knowing these people, the network effect we call it, made a life-changing difference....they shared with us their challenges and hopes... our kids sat on little wooden chairs with us an listened ,how amazing... (well, bennett didn't, he wandered around outside getting stared at by all the kids!)
they had chosen a few places for us to visit and so we set off. by the end of the day we had covered miles and miles in this little slice of a little corner of one country in africa and we saw only a hint of life there...some very beautiful things and some very difficult. we started by visiting fiona, a little girl clara's age who has lost both parents and is living with an aunt who is single. there were about 6 kids there (cousins). the aunt was gone (getting water) and we sat and talked with fiona and mercy and her caregiver. she was stunned really, to have us there, wanting to hear her story. her caregiver mostly talked and Mercy stroked her back and let her know we were there to care for her....as we drove away i asked her caregiver when she goes and what they typically talk about. she goes to see fiona every sunday and she mostly encourages her to stay in school and talks to her about the fact that Jesus does care for her...one child, being loved, fed, watched out for, sent to school...
next we visited a group of huts that was a set of grandparents, and one of their daughters. they had lost their son and daughter in law, so the grandparents and aunt are caring for both family's kids...Mercy knew these kids well (not only do these caregivers visit their fellow community members regularly, Mercy is out there-- one and a half hours each way-- a couple times each week) there was a baby there that had benefitted from this sense of community by being sent to the hospital by her caregiver (no one can afford the bus fare to the hospital in Mazabuka) after she came to visit and found that they baby had fallen and needed to be seen by a doctor...a cool story of how these people KNOW each other and care for one another. the whole time we were talking bennett was chasing their chickens all over. after they were done sharing their story, the grandfather starting getting his grandkids to scoot and go do something for him. turns out he was having them get a chicken for bennett! so we left that home with bennett carrying a chicken by the wings-- beaming!!!!!
after that we visited a man who is recovering from near death from HIV/AIDS and his family. he shared about how the HIV/AIDS support group-- another thing these community leaders foster-- had helped him rally when he was really sick, how he had been taught how to eat more nutrionally, etc. and how he had recovered-- a true testimony. astonishing, really. so hopeful. and guess what?!! the kids gave him the chicken! the gift that keeps on giving!
we took a break for lunch (it was only 2:30!) well, jeff and i did. the kids kept on going. the girls had used some of clara's "TFC" money (TFC is a "charity" clara started in minnesota that we didn't think would really get off the ground b/c it kind of got lost in the shuffle of moving, well, it's alive and well!) to buy granola and candy and they had put little bags together of food and had brought them with us. so after they had a few crackers and peanut butter, they started handing those out to some kids nearby. so jeff and i sat in the dirt drinking coke watching...
our last stop was our favorite. we went FURTHER out into the bush to a school up on this beautiful hill (don't picture Blake School!) that is for orphans... they were waiting for us and did a whole presentation. they had made signs saying that their parents were gone, but now WV/RAPIDS was their mom and dad-- sending them to school, etc. wish you could've seen their faces. wish you could meet their teacher. a man, about 45, again, a community member, tears in his eyes, so proud of them...our kids played soccer with the kids and got introduced, etc... the sunlight was waning and shining in that bright end of the day sort of way and we were up on a hill LITERALLY in the middle of nowhere, loving and being loved and it was awesome....
weird that as i write this those kids are there....the "visiting" is a weird thing. so good to know what is really going on, so weird to just drive away from it...Mercy blessed us as we drove around. I asked her about her life and it was so cool to hear and so good, as I said earlier, for our girls to hear her CHOOSING to be where she was, serving. What a great vision for their lives...
and we did drive away....we went to a motel in mazabuka and then off to the lower zambezi the next day...
we had a great weekend camping, being together, seeing animals by boat-- elephants, LOTS of hippos, a croc... i even ALMOST caught a HUGE tiger fish! really... we mostly relaxed and enjoyed each other and the beauty of the place. we were on the zambezi river, looking across from zambia into zimbabwe. kinda wild. not as dramatic as it sounds. just camping together... met some great people. one couple lives on our street here in lusaka and she is a teacher in bennett's grade at their school (doesn't have bennett.) met another family with kids going to our kids' school...lots of fun memories. played a lot of "would you rather..." (i.e. would you rather swim across that river at nite or sleep on a thorny bush for 3 days????) it was beautiful there, as was the drive...
it was wild "coming home" this afternoon. it actually felt a lot like we were, in fact. this home in lusaka feels like home. there is already a lot of love here. it was good to get outside the city to realize how much we DO live in a city, with so much we need/want and that our home is a BEAUTIFUL haven....
tomorrow Katie Mooty comes for 3 months. We can hardly wait. I'm sure the kids will be up early. Her room is all set, waiting for her to settle in. We are excited to have someone live with us, it is something we've always wanted to do, but haven't had the opportunity. What an opportunity we have now! Pray for us as we transition to being a family of 6!
Upcoming events/things to pray for:
*Katie's arrival/transition
*Getting phone/internet set up at home (the lack of communication is HARD)
*Kids start school a week from Wednesday (orientation is a week from Tuesday)
*Katie and I settling into a rhythm w/ the kids in school
*Friendships for all (SO THANKFUL for Debbie Vermiglia who has been a fantastic friend to me, to all of us, these first couple weeks)
Please keep emailing us and telling us about YOUR LIFE...it is life-giving to us...
So many more things to share....but we'll keep writing...
Molly and Jeff and Kids
posted by The Dykstra Family at 1:48 AM
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