Touristy Travels

Since the last time I blogged so much has happened. I’ve done the “Cinnamon Challenge,” visited Macha Hospital, and even jumped off the side of a cliff!

Believe it or not, things can get a bit boring when there’s not classes to go to, children to be with, or patients to tend to. Some of our group had the great idea to make a “Hardcore Parkour” video. It started last weekend when we made our first walking trip to town. The road to town is 7 kilometers and there’s only so much one can talk about on an hour and a half walk. Anyway, someone had the bright idea to do the “Cinnamon Challenge.” If you don’t know what that is, it’s when you get a spoon, fill it with cinnamon and try to eat it without throwing up. It is a challenge indeed. I thought I could do it, but once it started coming out of my nose as I was breathing, I lost it. I’m proud to say I didn’t throw up, but I certainly didn’t complete the challenge! Oh well, better luck next time, right? Everything smelt like cinnamon for the next few hours and I thought I would never be able to eat anything with cinnamon on it again, but I ate cinnamon toast the next week. 

Thursday we had the awesome opportunity to visit Macha Hospital. It was so interesting to see. We were greeted by one of the founders. He gave us a tour of the different wards which consist of Men’s, Women’s, Children’s, Chronic Care, Prenatal, and Postnatal. He told us that there is no intensive care. He said, “If you’re not breathing, you don’t get care from Macha.” I thought this was pretty interesting, but you do what you can. He showed us the “waiting room” which was called the “Fires” because this is where the families would sleep and make their food while visiting their relative that’s in the hospital. He also took us to the lab where they do testing. The most interesting thing I about Macha was that they have a whole building dedicated to Malaria research. They even breed and grow mosquitos. That freaked me out just a little considering I’m always the first to get bit. My parents told me when I was little it’s because I was so sweet. Don’t really know how true that is today! Ha!! 

Friday we left at 5:30am for our weekend in Livingstone. This is where we became tourists for a weekend. I must admit, I didn’t like it too much. That morning I rode elephants. That certainly was an adventure. Our elephant freaked out a little bit and strayed from the rest when we were crossing the deep waters. No worries, though, our guide had everything under control and got us back on land safe and sound. The next thing we know, our “Protector Man” was running toward a wild elephant with his gun. Our guide simply told us to “hold on tight!” We really thought there was about to be and Elly Fight! The cutest things were the baby ellies that went on the walk with us. One of them tried stealing our elephant’s food and ended up sniffing our feet in the process. 

That afternoon a group of us headed to Victoria Falls to go on the Devil’s Pool walk. We walked on top of the falls to get to our destination. In our group we had a German, an Englander, a Canadian, a mother and son from Delaware, and a man from Nashville. Quite the variety, I’d say.  While crossing the Falls, we had to make a chain when wading through rapids so we wouldn’t have a straight shot to the Zambezi! We had to swim about 15 meters to climb on the rocks above the Devil’s Pool. We all jumped in and then we got to hang off the edge of the falls!!! I have to admit, I was a bit scared! Heights are not my thing. It was absolutely gorgeous, though! We got to watch the sunset on our walk back. When we got back to the entrance, we decided to visit that shops. Of course, we were bombarded by the shopkeepers. I have never felt more manipulated in my life. One man tried to offer me a bracelet that would normally cost $1 at the most in the States for 100,000 Kwacha which the equivalent of $20. You know my reply was “CHADULA!” (“too much” in Tonga).  Once I was finished shopping in with one guy, he hands my purchases to his friend. His friend takes my stuff, offers me a stool, and begins to wrap it up and while he’s doing that, he’s also showing me what he has to offer me. “Tandiyandi! Tandiyandi!” which means, “I don’t want! I don’t want!” came out of my mouth probably 100 times! They would just put stuff in your lap. Needless to say, I was annoyed. That night, we had a talent show with our group. It was great to see everyone’s hidden talents! I mean, who knew Phil could blow balloons up with his nose while Seth is reading haikus?

The next morning we woke up to head out to our Adventure Day! When we first got there, we were briefed about all the things we would be doing that day. There was repelling, zip lining, and the infamous gorge swing! I began my day with zip lining out over the gorge, Superman style! That was incredible! Such an adrenaline rush! Of course you have confidence in your harness and the cable holding you, but it just takes your breath away when your feet leave the ground and you’re flying 50 plus meters above the ground! Next, since I decided against the repelling, I headed to the gorge swing. I was pretty nervous about that. Again, I have complete confidence in the equipment, but there’s alway that slight doubt about “What if I’m the one person it breaks on?!” Well, I chose to ignore that and to get harnessed up with Kailey. Once we practiced how we would be falling, we headed to get all strapped in. We scooted to the edge with our heels hanging off and waited until our safety guy counted down to one. “Three, two, one, BINGO!” We raised our toes, and there we went. Free falling 53 meters, 3.5 seconds, praying to God our cord did snap when we caught. I was silent the whole way down, but once it caught, a scream of pure happiness and excitement came out of my mouth! There we were, swinging from a cord in this huge gorge! The worst part was when we stopped swinging and we had to be lowered to the ground. Those harnesses are NOT comfortable, at ALL! The next worse was having to hike back up to the top. Fifteen minutes of climbing steep rocks. Not my idea of fun. 

Sunday we went to church. They were a little upset that we didn’t tell them we were coming. They wanted our men to do the service. It’s tradition to let the visitors share their knowledge to the hosts. The service was wonderful, even though our group was trying not to pass out from the heat. At one point, I looked across the crowd and we were all fanning ourselves while that Zambians were just sitting there paying perfect attention to the speaker. We Mukuas (white people) just aren’t used to this Zambian heat yet. Once service let out, we all greeted one another and they continued to the baptism! We loded up our land cruiser and bus to get some lunch before it was time to head back to Namwianga. We obviously chose the wrong place to eat. It took us an hour and a half to get our food. Just a word of advice, when in Livingstone, Zamia, never eat at the Rite Bar and Pub. 

I was so happy to be back on the Mission. We were no longer tourists or strangers. This is our home now. People don’t seem too surprised when we greet them in Tonga as they did when we arrived a month ago. Things that we found odd are now just normal everyday things. 

We got some unexpected news when we got back. One of our team members would be returning to the U.S. She actually left Wednesday. I still can’t really believe she’s gone. We were just starting to get close and open up about our lives to one another. I guess it just goes to show that time here really is short. We must be intentional with all of our relationships. While returning home is, indeed, what she needed, it was still very hard to see her go. 

Lord, I pray that You watch over each and every one of us, whether we be in Zambia, the United States, South America, or wherever. I pray You give us healing where we are suffering. I pray You give us comfort where we are hurting. I pray that we are intentional, not only in relationships, but in everything we do. I pray we keep You first, that we give YOU the glory for everything that is good. We know You are good. We know You are faithful. Your Presence is incredible. Thank You so much for everything. Thank You for the suffering, for it’s through suffering that we draw closer to You. Thank You for weakness, for it’s in our weakness that You are strong. Thank You for Your love, for without it, we would be nothing. Thank You for Your Son! Thank You for Your Spirit that fills us. Thank YOU, LORD! Let it be so. Amen.

Die in Your Arms

Words can’t express my emotions. It’s one thing to be told that a baby you met two weeks ago has passed, but it’s a whole different situation to be with a baby for one month from the time she was one week old, and to watch her lie helplessly in the arms of someone who has fought for her and who has loved her from the moment she was brought to the Haven. 

Last week I, along with Holly and Kaitie, got to go with Meagan to take baby Jensen to see the head of the Kalomo district Health Care. We three girls sat attentively while we watch Meagan do her thing. While on our way to the appointment, she told us that normally doctors will simply say a baby is “just fine” even when they can clearly see that this is not the case. Fortunately, this was the son-in-law of Momma, the head of the Havens, and quickly stated that something was wrong and action needed to be taken. He referred her to be admitted to Zimba Hospital that day. Before we knew it, Jensen was on her way.

We hadn’t heard anything for a few days so I inquired about her Last night. Katie Daggett informed me that she hadn’t gotten much better and that we would know more tomorrow. Well, tomorrow’s here. After our family meeting, we got news that Meagan had brought Jensen home with her. She hadn’t gotten any better and she had been brought home to die. Normally I would think this to be so cruel. “Why isn’t she in the hospital where she can get help? Why isn’t she hooked up to tubes to get nutrients and medicines she needs?” These questions would have gone through my head had I not been exposed everything that I have in the past month. Normally, I would be running from this situation, not wanting to go near this child in fear of the pain and sorrow that this would cause my heart. But when Katie asked me if I wanted to go see baby Jensen after the meeting was over, I couldn’t say no. As soon as hugs were given, Holly, Kaitie, Katie, and I made the short walk to Meagan’s house.

When we walked through the door, my eyes went straight to Meagan. She was holding that baby girl so closely and you could see the love in her eyes for that child. We all walked over to look at Jensen. She looked so different from a week ago sitting in the doctor’s office. She didn’t have as much life in her. She was pale and her breathing was more labored than before. One thing remain the same though, that crazy, wild, jet black hair. The most beautiful hair I have ever seen a baby have. We all sat in silence just admiring this sweet little baby. She had fought for so long and didn’t seem to be giving up. Ba Lou told us that she was really close to letting go before we got there, but somehow, she pulled through and got to the “stable” state she was in. Ba Janice showed up shortly after that. She checked her heart rate and breathing. She said her heart was strong and her lungs were clear for her condition. Pretty soon we began to chit chat a bit to somewhat ease our minds of the situation at hand, but it wasn’t long until little Jensen’s breathing became more labored and shorter. I couldn’t help but to bow my head and pray to my Lord and Creator.

“God, just stop this baby from suffering. She has fought for so long. She’s hurt for so long. God just take her! Take her into your arms. Take her where she’ll never hurt again, where she’ll never have to have another needle stuck in her, another IV in her tiny baby hand, another test run on her. Lord, just take her to spend eternity with you!”

There were so many times when I thought, “This is it, she’s gone to be with You, Lord,” but she continued to fight. She hasn’t given up yet. Before we left, her breathing and heart rate had slowed and her temperature had dropped. It’s so hard to sleep knowing that tonight could be her last. 

It’s ironic how life works sometimes. Earlier today I was in Haven 3 celebrating Marisa’s first birthday. Little did I know that I would be watching and waiting for 5 week old baby Jensen to take her last breath. 

What would have been, “Why isn’t she in the hospital where she can get help? Why isn’t she hooked up to tubes to get nutrients and medicines she needs?” a month ago has now turned into, “Thank you, God, for giving Jensen Meagan and all the aunties at the Havens. Thank you, God, for letting this baby die peacefully, with no tubes in her, in the arms of someone who loves her. Thank you, God, for giving this baby a woman who fought for her and gave her every chance she could. Thank you, God, for being faithful and for loving us even when we turn against you. You are good all the time. In birth and in death, in happy times and in sad, in everything, You are good. Your love never fails.”

Weddings, Wildfires, and Wailing

As I sit here looking back on what I have experienced over the past week, I can’t help but be flooded with emotions. 

Saturday morning we had a sun day of going to town and shopping for specific items. We had to use the Tonga which we’ve been learning in our class that starts at 6:30 morning! After we found our items, the girls proceed to chitenge shopping for the wedding. I went a little overboard and bought 4 and it looks like I will be buying plenty more while I’m here. They are so comfortable! 

Sunday was a day of rejoicing and pure happiness. Early in the morning, our group loaded up to take a 3 hour drive out to a village church. Our men did a wonderful job of leading the worship service. We thought we would be the only ones there along with about 3 Zambians, but slowly the people started trickling in. By the end of our service, we had a total of 102 people jam-packed in the tiny little church building. We again were asked to sing some songs. The Zambian people are such happy folks! They just love the fact that we are trying to embrace their culture and language. Once the service concluded, everyone filed out and greeted one another. We then headed out to the village to attend the wedding! We were greeted by hooping and hollering and smiles! They immediately invited us to dance. They broke out the drums and started dancing and singing a song which we later found out was about an adulterous woman that was a part of their village. The singing and dancing went on for 20 straight minutes and was interrupted by a wildfire. That was probably one of the scariest/most helpless moments I’ve ever witnessed in my life. God was definitely watching over us. After we all calmed down we stood around for a while before the music started back up and the actual wedding began. The “wedding party” was made up of younger boys and girls. They formed two lines and danced to get the groom and his best man and then back to get the bride and her maid of honor and then to the place in which the ceremony would take place. There was so much joy on all of the faces around us except for the bride and groom. This is because the bride is showing that she is sad to leave her family and the groom is showing respect to her family. The actual ceremony only last a few minutes and then the gift giving began. It was an experience I will never forget. 

The rest of the week was full of classes and homework/reading assignments with some fun thrown in there every now and then. I spent a bunch of time at the Havens this week. I spent time with Marisa and Tim and I even got to help Meagan a bit with language class at Haven 2. I had a breakthrough with Tim with the help of Holly. He walked all by himself! And on top  of that, he was babbling and laughing!! The most he’s ever done! I’m so proud of that boy. He’s doing great. He’s just so perfect. Marisa developed a cold and was not the happiest little girl that I know her to be. I hated to see her so unhappy. I got to go to Zimba with Meagan and several others to take Caleb and Paula to get their feet casted to help their clubbed feet. That was so interesting! Wednesday night a few girls and I climbed up on the storage containers to look up at the African stars. The sky is so clear here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stars in my life. God’s creation is so incredible! Friday night Holly and I got to spend the night at the Havens. We helped with folding laundry, feeding and changing babies, washing bottles, clothes, and dirty nappies. I also got to have a Bible study with auntie Betty. What an incredible/exhausting night.

Thursday was not the best day for getting news. After breakfast we were told that Adam, a baby in Haven 3 passed away. It all hit us pretty hard considering how quickly everything happened. One day he’s running around with yogurt all over his face, saying “HALLO!!”, and pulling cushions off of chairs and couches, and the next he’s gone. It’s still so hard to believe that when I go to the Havens, he won’t be there. None of us saw it coming. We attended the funeral today. I’ve never, in my life, witnessed something like that. The aunties that I saw the day Adam died, going on like nothing had happened, were expressing so much emotion. Emotions I have never seen before. Wailing. Wailing for the hurt caused by the loss of their dear Adam. He had been through so much, they all had grown attached to him. He was so loved by those aunties. Seeing that little body lying in that tiny coffin is a sight I never thought I would be seeing. I knew coming here that this was definitely a possibility, but never once did I think is was actually become reality. This child, this boy, loved by so many didn’t even get to live his life. He didn’t get to go to school, raise a family, and whatever else he might have gotten to do. On the other hand, he never got the chance to mess up. He lived his short innocent life and is now sitting on Jesus’ lap. That happy child will never have to go to another clinic or hospital, have another test run, get anymore blood drawn or shots. He’s home. He’s spending eternity with our Lord and Savior. When I think about this, I can’t be sad. I’m so jealous of him, actually. While we do miss him, it’s only selfish to want him back here with us. 

God is still good. Even through this suffering, he is still so good! He is faithful when we are faithless. He’s always with us no matter what. He is the ultimate comforter, and while we mourn the loss of this precious child, we have the hope of believers that we will be reunited with him in Heaven.