When the Lights are Out

It’s our first night with no electricity. We’ve been kept busy by going to the clinic, the Haven, with reading assignments, helping out in the kitchen, classes, and learning Tonga songs. Our days here feel so short because of everything we do. Since the last time I’ve written, I’ve gotten sick, been to Victoria Falls, gotten a truck out of a sand ditch, fell in love with babies, and worshiped with our brothers and sisters in an African village. 

Friday night was a very eventful one after I turned in for the night. Exactly one hour after going to sleep, I was rudely awakened by nauseousness in my belly. Considering it’s been years since I’ve throw up, I was extremely surprised to figure out that I was the first of our group to get sick. I stayed up until about 5am making friends with both the toilet and the trash can at the same time. Not the ideal way I wanted to spend the night before we would be traveling to Livingstone. Thank God I felt better in the morning. The only thing that was really wrong with me was that I was dehydrated and quite exhausted from the lack of sleep. 

Saturday we made our way to Livingstone to see the “7th Wonder of the World”. I must admit, even though they weren’t to their full potential, Victoria Falls were beautiful! I was absolutely amazed! I didn’t get to do as much as I wanted since I was still so tired and trying to get rehydrated, so after I walked around for about 20 minutes, I found a spot, sat, and marveled at the awesomeness of God’s creation. As soon as I saw someone from out group, I stood up to greet them, but as soon as I did, I was bombarded with Africans asking to get a picture with me! It was quite a hilarious incident. They lined up and one by one, they would put their arm around me an smile for the camera. They even handed me their babies! Once they were finished, as I was walking away I heard some of them say, “Hollywood! Hollywood!” I wonder who they thought I was.... 

Sunday was quite an eventful day. After breakfast, we loaded up to head out to the village church. Jeremy was driving the truck I was in and he kept mentioning things that were wrong with it as we drove away from the mission. About halfway through our drive, Phil says, “There is SO much sand!” and right after he finished his statement, our truck gets stuck. HA! Just our luck.  So, of course, we all unload and try to push the truck out of the sand. After about 3 attempts and no success, we were so fortunate when a woman came along on her way to church and without asking her, she just started helping us. The next thing we know, we’re out of the sand. Without her help, I’m sure we would have been there way longer than we wanted. Needless to say, we gave her a ride to church to thank her. 

Service was great! The Zambians’ voices are just beautiful and their songs aren’t missing a single part. Some of the guys had the opportunity to participate in leading the service. At the end, we all got to go up to the front and sing some songs we knew in Tonga. They were only expecting one, but we surprised them with 3 songs in our broken Tonga.

The rest of the week has just been filled with classes and going to the havens. Yesterday I was a part of the group that got oriented at the clinic and today I got to go to actually work. Since today wasn’t a busy day at the clinic, we headed to the Havens to check babies’ weights and give them immunizations. I actually got to give a baby a shot!! It was one of the most exhilarating feelings! I wasn’t really nervous to give it, but as soon as I pulled the needle out of that sweet baby’s leg, my hands were shaking so much I almost couldn’t get the Band-Aid on! I really hope I get to do more hands-on learning. 

Tomorrow we’ll get to go to the market to practice what we’ve been learning in our Tonga class. We’ll also have to buy some chitanges for the traditional Zambian wedding we’re getting to go to on Sunday! Can’t wait! Until next time guys. I’ll try to make it sooner than this last one. Sorry for the delay!

Peace and Love.

Our First Full Day

What a day today has been! We started off with breakfast and orientation in the morning. Megan Hawley gave us a good talk about what to expect from the Havens and aunties. We also got to hear a little of the Merritt’s story from Kathy. She’s such a servant of God and I only hope one day I can be like her! 

We had our first traditional Zambian meal of nsima, cabbage, tomato sauce stuff, chicken, and rice. Every Thursday we have traditional food for lunch. I must admit, it was pretty darn tasty! After lunch we put our sunscreen and hats on, filled our water up and made the 1.5 mile trek up to the Havens. While we were walking, Megan assigned babies to those who wanted them. She gave me Tim in Haven 1 and Marisa in Haven 3. Once we got there, we toured the havens and each of us were introduced to the aunties and our babies that we’ll be working with for the next 3 months. Tim (1 year) is such a cutie! He looks like a little man! Our goals for my time here is for him to start walking and saying words! Marisa (11 months) is in Haven 3 and that’s where the sick babies live. Our goals are to get her more comfortable on her stomach, a stronger core, and to get her vocalizing! 

We ended our tour at Haven 2 where the toddlers live. They are a handful, that’s for sure! We were told we had an hour to do whatever we wanted, so I went to Haven 3 to spend some time with Marisa! When I got there she was lying in her crib with her bottle. She still had some left, so I picked her up and let her finish it while I sat in a rocking chair. Once she was finished I stood up to walk around with her and before I got out of the room, she threw up on me! And it wasn’t just a little spit up, it was like Ole Faithful was erupting! I was fine, though. I was more concerned about her and the other children’s well-being. I hope she’s not too sick. After Christine, one of the aunties, got me cleaned up, I got to spend some time with Leo! He’s such a precious boy! I sat with him in my lap while Marisa and her sister Maya sat in some booster chairs next to us. It’s so surreal to finally hold babies that you have been praying for all summer! 

After about 30 minutes in Haven 3, I made my way over to Haven 1 so I could spend some time with Tim before it was time to leave. I sat on the couch with several others and their babies and got Timmy to clap! Before it was time to leave, I got Tim to walk back to his crib using my hands to keep him from falling! He’s already doing so well!

We walked back and started unpacking a container before it was time for dinner. I really don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad meal here in Zambia! Ba Leonard is spoiling us, for sure! After dinner, Holly and I made our first adventure to the shower house! We started by killing a wasp. Halfway through my shower, a HUGE spider came crawling into my shower and scared me half to death! Right as I wrapped my towel around myself, another wasp came flying in my stall and landed on me! I smacked it off of me, but then it landed on Holly and it stung her through her shirt! I ended up killing it with her Chaco. Now, I’m sitting in the living room of our house with Aubrey and River who are journalling and Molly who is passed out asleep on the couch! There’s about an hour before tea time which I am very much looking forward to, as well as bed time! 

Until next time, guys.

No Turning Back

Well, guys, this is it! There’s no turning back now. I’m officially in Zambia!

After coming up to Harding on Thursday to see some people before leaving for three months and saying bye to my Mom who I probably won’t get to talk to much, our group departed for HUT on Friday afternoon. The send off was very emotional. I was doing well holding back my tears until Kelly prayed over Holly and me. I am definitely going to miss my little Harding family (yes, Cierra, Kaitlyn, and Kelly, that means you). I am so blessed to have the friends and family that I have. 

Our time at HUT was packed with both fun and class. Before we got out there we got to go swimming at the Fouts Farm. It was nice to have some fun before we dove straight into  our Missionary Anthropology class. The rest of our weekend was basically class and bonding time. Sunday we had worship in the amphitheater. Some former HIZzers came out to worship with us. We learned some new songs in Tonga. That made me so excited to worship with our brothers and sisters in Africa! It’s so crazy to think that halfway around the world there are people gathering to worship and praise the same God and Creator that we do here in the United States.

Today was basically filled with packing and cleaning up the Smith building at HUT. Jeffery Hopper and some others came to give us some last minute advice and to have lunch before we left for the airport. Once we got to the airport, it took us a while to get checked in, but going through security went pretty smoothly, although I did get a pat down because my necklace showed up on the x-ray. I guess it’s not really a good thing to be so ticklish in times when you’re supposed to be serious! Oh well.. 

Both of our long flights went very well! We made our connection in Amsterdam and so did all of our luggage. Well, with the exception of Phil’s suitcase with all of his clothes. I’m sure we’ll figure something out! We had a short ride to the Portea Hotel, which is very nice might I add. We unloaded, got our roommates, and headed up to our room. We got to take one last hot shower for the next 3 months. 

It all hasn’t hit me yet. I don’t feel like I’m really going to be living in Zambia for 3 months. I’m sure it will sooner or later, but as of now, I feel like it’s just a little vacation. I can’t wait to get settled in our houses and rooms tomorrow, or should I say later today? Either way, I’m still very excited to actually see where I’ll be living for the semester! 

I’m here. This is what I’ve been preparing for for the last year.

This is it, guys. There’s no turning back. 

What If..?

As I'm lying here on my bed after cleaning for my "Going away/Early Birthday" party, I can't help but be flooded with overwhelming emotions about what is about to take place. I can't believe that my trip of a lifetime will be beginning in just 9 short days. NINE! We're in single digits now!  I can remember the day I found out I was chosen for this trip. It was so far in the distance, I didn't even think it was possible. Now it's so close I can't even wrap my mind around the concept of being on a plane in just a little over a week. I mean, come one! Really?? This isn't really happening, is it?

With all of that running through my mind I also have the dreaded fear of the "what ifs" mixed right in my thoughts.

"Petra, what if you're forgetting something? Even worse, what if they lose your luggage!? OR you could get there and absolutely hate every second of it. You could even just be horrible at everything you do. Why did you even sign up for this? You know you aren't cut out for it."

All of these thoughts never even crossed my mind a week ago. All I could think bout was how excited I was to go to a new country and love on children. Now, I can't shake the negative from my mind. It's so scary to think that I won't be able to call my mom if/when something goes wrong. All I will have is the 29 others that will be going through the exact same thing.

That right there is what's keeping me going. The 29 others that I came to know and love in the two weeks at the beginning of my summer. Although we weren't exactly in another country and we weren't in any "real" bad situations, I got closer to some of those people in those two weeks than I've ever gotten to some in 2 years. What an incredible feeling knowing that people you love and care about will be right there by your side, every step you take.

I can't imagine what all God has in store for me, but I couldn't be more excited! While I do still have some pre-trip jitters, I have confidence in my God that He will not forsake me! He's proven Himself over and over to me and I have no reason to doubt Him. Whether it be His getting me through my last semester, or these summer classes, or even just comforting me in a time of need, He's always been there. He's never let me down. He never will.

Just thinking about seeing these faces has got my heart in a whirl. I can't wait to meet ever single one of these babies as well as the college students and teachers that we will soon know and love.

Racing

For the past couple days my mind has been racing. Here, there, everywhere. I can't quite fathom the thought that in 10 days I will be boarding a plane to start my life in a foreign country. For the next 3 months, I, as well as 29 others, will be living in Zambia. I have been packing my life into what seem to be 2 tiny bags. It's hard to believe that I will be living out of these when I have a full closet and dresser sitting right next to me. I can't help but think I am forgetting something. While I get this feeling every time I pack to go somewhere, this time it feels a little different. It's not like I'm just going to a different state, where if I forgot toothpaste I could just run to the local Walmart or Target. No, this is way different. I'm going to a place where I have to walk several minutes maybe even an hour to get to town! Wow. My eyes are about to be opened to so many things.

I have never felt so nervous to leave the country before. I mean, I've lived in a Muslim country, been to Mexico, and spent a week in Guyana right before protests started. What makes this so different? Well, for one, I'm not 7 years old and so naive anymore. Two, this isn't just for a week. And three, I know my life is about to be changed forever. I know that God has a plan for me. I know He has so much in store for my life and I know it's only just beginning. What an incredible journey we are about to embark on.

While I am very scared and nervous to see exactly what lies ahead, I choose to press on. To strive  toward that goal of fulfilling my Heavenly Father's commands to love Him, love others, and to spread His Good News! I will continue to run this race, even if it does take me all over the world.

Where HE leads me, I will follow. I'll go with HIM all the way.

Here is the promo video from 2009. Just a short glimpse of what I will begin to experience in 10 days.