Catching Up

Consider the following a long overdue one-way catch up session...I can almost promise this will not be linear.

Our lack of communication has been largely due to a perfect storm of a) a stolen computer b) a second computer that broke (which was later stolen somewhere in the UPS system and c) internet issues. Two out of three of these issues have been resolved and we are hoping for a perfect three next week. We'll see.

Anyway, the last 2 months have been full, rich and busy with a good combination of sublime moments, normal moments and at least one heart stopping moment.

Here are a few thematic threads....

Immersion

The pictures above represent one of the main reasons we came to Zambia. We wanted our kids to understand and experience the broader world and hopefully, in that, develop hearts for those who are different from them - particularly those who are suffering. We have had many opportunities in the last couple months to immerse our kids in the kind of places and circumstances that facilitate connection with real people facing very different circumstances. Mackenzie has accompanied me on a few work related trips and it has been beautiful to watch her sometimes-hesitant-self jump into village life. The girl she is hauling water with above is HIV positive and lives in a one room hut, but they are remarkably similar and made a strong instant connection. Clara and Bennett being both younger and wired not to really pay too much attention to what is going on around them, just jump in wherever we are for better or for worse. Usually for better. The pictures of Bennett and Clara above are at a school that Molly has immersed herself in, Mercy Ministries, where 300 orphans attend class each day. The kids love going out there and the Zambian kids love having them – again a mutual blessing.

Work

My work with World Vision/RAPIDS continues to go very well. The longer I am here the more I recognize what a great opportunity I have been given. We are seeing early success lead to even bigger success in terms of both the number of people we are able to help and the number of ways we are able to help them. For example, the core of our work is 12,000 trained Zambian volunteer caregivers. As I’ve written about before, each week these volunteers are reaching the most vulnerable people in the country who are affected by HIV/AIDS in one way or another with practical help and support. Because these caregivers have reach into such hard to reach places, we are now receiving very helpful items like 500,000 insecticide treated bed-nets that protect people from Malaria. We are getting these nets because of the trained caregivers who are in place, and the bottom-line result in more than 1 million at risk people will now be protected from Malaria. The real bottom line result is that a lot of kids are not going to die needlessly this next year. Initiatives like this are showing that both quality and scale are possible in the fight against AIDS and it is wonderful to be working on a team comprised mostly of Zambians who is responsible for making this happen.

Fragileness of Life

A few weeks ago I had perhaps the worst few minutes I’ve ever experienced as a parent. The short version of the story is that Clara and I were riding horses together in the bush and Clara’s horse bolted out of control. Even at a full gallop I could not reach her and she went off the horse. One second I saw her hanging on for life and the next I see her horse without her running down a rocky hillside. When I came through the clearing I saw her laying still and for the few seconds it took me to get to her side I did not know what I was going to find. I jumped off my horse right as she was coming to and she quickly gained a decent level of lucidity (e.g. she knew where she was etc. ) I called the ambulance service in town and sent the other rider to meet the ambulance at the road. It became clear that there were no major injuries and as Clara and I waited in the grass for the ambulance to come I was overcome with gratitude and shaken by the 30 seconds where I thought, perhaps, everything had changed. Living here in Zambia has brought suffering and death much nearer than we were accustomed to. As Molly has said, “Death is a way of life” right now in Zambia. However, it is still an arm-length away. This experience reminded me in a very visceral way that death and suffering is amazingly close for all of us. I don’t say this to be morbid, but rather as an encouragement to embrace the goodness of the many days for most of us that go well. It is not the baseline norm for the world.

School

The kids finish up next week what has been a great year of school for all three of them. They have learned a lot and have been enriched by the dozens of nationalities represented in their classes and school. We have decided for next year (despite the great year they just had) to home-school all three kids. We have always been intrigued with the thought of trying this for a year and realized this spring that this next year was the golden opportunity. We are using a classical curriculum (lots of history and literature along with the normal math, science etc.) and the kids are very excited for “the experiment.” The school is allowing the kids to come up each day for sports and after-school activities so we feel like we are getting best of both worlds. A big driver in the decision is knowing that this is perhaps our last year in Zambia and that home schooling will provide us total flexibility in allowing the kids to get the most from our time here. We’ll let you know this fall how things are going on this front.

Visitors

Right after Molly’s parents left (see last entry) we had a great few days with Bob and Ashley Naegele and then, at the end of their trip, Jon Good. Having good friends and family show up on your doorstep 8,000 miles from home is quite a gift. We had several great days just relaxing and hanging out together and being reminded of the value of friendship. Looking ahead we have a great “winter” planned with visits from the Bell family, Molly’s brother Brad and his wife Carrie, and college friends, the Urgharts. We are privileged to get to be a bridge to Zambia and Africa.

Molly and I

It is always dangerous to speak for someone else, especially your wife. But I think we would both say we are doing really well. Being removed from “life as you know it” forces you to examine and reexamine a lot of things and this is certainly true within your relationships. Over the last year all of the normal routines and patterns had to be recalibrated and this I think has led Molly and I to a really good spot. Our life here is much slower and less hectic. There is not stuff at night and most weekends are more quiet than busy. So we end up having a lot more time to reflect and live life together which led us the other day to say that we will always reflect back on this time as an unexpected gift in our relationship together.

So, I’ll stop there. For those of you celebrating early summer in Minnesota, enjoy an extra-dose for us. Someone go eat some Sebastian Joe’s Ice Cream, Someone else enjoy the smell of fresh-cut grass and a barbeque and someone else enjoy a perfect water-ski or wake board on a glassy lake without crocodiles or hippos that can kill you…

Love, The Dykstra Fam.