UK, Zambia, & South Africa

[Peasie]

Re: UK, Zambia, & South Africa



A good friend of mine managed the Africa operations of a large trade organization. He used to tell me that when he grew bored in endless meetings, he would just look at the shoes the officials were wearing just for the entertainment value.

((((all mi African bredrin)))

[Diplomat]

Re: UK, Zambia, & South Africa

Too funny, but you are right, those shoes were everywhere and it was hard not to laugh when you see the guys stepping in them. The other thing is that the wearers were extremely proud to be wearing them. In the market, some of the vendors were a tad agressive in pointing them out as we went by and all I kept telling them was, "Sorry, that's not my type." The only problem was they were talking in Bemba (one of the main dialects) so neither of us understood what the other was saying

[Peasie]

Re: UK, Zambia, & South Africa

Many moons ago, I traveled to Kenya and Zimbabwe for over four weeks. We flew from Harare to Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls ) just where Zimbabwe and Zambia share borders. Oh. My. God. That is beautiful majestic country and it is calling me to come back

[Compry]

Re: UK, Zambia, & South Africa

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ChurchDude</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">Next day out was on Friday, a trip to the market before our morning session. For those longing to hear about the mission itself, do bear with me. I'll get to that after this.</span></span>
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Patiently waiting. I am following along and loving the pics so far.

[Diplomat]

Re: UK, Zambia, &amp; South Africa

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Peasie</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Many moons ago, I traveled to Kenya and Zimbabwe for over four weeks. We flew from Harare to Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls ) just where Zimbabwe and Zambia share borders. Oh. My. God. That is beautiful majestic country and it is calling me to come back </div></div>
Zambia is a beautiful country and like you, I hear it calling me back. Unfortunately, we did not go out to Victoria Falls as we were told that because of the summer, the government had basically diverted the water from the falls for hydro purposes and so we wouldn't see it in its splendour (January to June was the ideal time). That was a bit disappointing for me because I had seen a video of it and was really looking forward to seeing what others had raved about. I have heard lots of good things about Kenya though for some reason I want to go to Malawi and Namibia. As you know, these countries share borders with Zambia so next time I'll get a multiple entry so I can go exploring.

[Diplomat]

Re: UK, Zambia, &amp; South Africa

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Compray</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Patiently waiting. I am following along and loving the pics so far. </div></div>
Thanks. I wasn't able to get the video clips posted so I'll try and get those done later.

[Diplomat]

Re: UK, Zambia, &amp; South Africa

<span style="font-weight: bold">Religious belief in Zambia...</span>

The influence of Christian missionaries is evident. An estimated 53 percent of the population considers themselves Catholic, the country's official religion since 1993. There are other religions, including a large Muslim population (the result of the immigration of Arabs from Tanzania during the slave trade). However, only about 1% of the population are Hindus, Jews, and Pentecostals.

Animism (the belief that that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment) is practiced by a large amount of the population, even if they are Catholic, Seventh Day Adventists, or practitioners of another religion. Animism beliefs vary from tribe to tribe, but most are based on beliefs in the power of ancestors and in nature. Some people call this witchcraft and indeed such terms as &quot;wizards&quot; and &quot;witches&quot; are used.

For some Zambians, christianity is not THE only &quot;religion&quot; but one of the many isms that they embrace at the same time. Of course, tribal customs also play a huge role and so we were told it was not unusual for polygamists, for example, to become christians while still wanting to maintain that lifestyle. One of the challenges facing the Christian church in Zambia was teaching biblical truths that conflicted with tradition/culture. This was a part of our focus, not planned, but one that became evident to us as we did the daily sessions. For some of the country's youths, Satanism was the latest attraction and some of them did not see embracing that belief, and that of witchcraft, as conflicting with christianity. In other words, the belief system for these youths was a syncretism of various religions.

The church we worked with had approximately 1,500 members and was biblically sound in their teachings. However, the growth had been fast and some of the leaders were lacking in experience and needed leadership training in the various ministries and church life in general. This was where the six of us - with our different talents and ablities - came in, covering areas such as ministries for men, women, youths, children, praise and worship, teacher development, to name a few. It was a LOT of time, very exhausting but very fulfilling.

<span style="font-style: italic">Next, &quot;The People and their Worship&quot; and hopefully, some video clips...</span>

[SandiF]

Re: UK, Zambia, &amp; South Africa

enjoying the trip and pictures... still reading

[Diplomat]

Re: UK, Zambia, &amp; South Africa

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SandiF</div><div class="ubbcode-body">enjoying the trip and pictures... still reading
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Sure appreciate your tagging along

[Diplomat]

Re: UK, Zambia, &amp; South Africa

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">The people and their worship...</span></span>

From the very first day two things were particularly obvious to us about the folks at Bethel Temple; they knew how to worship and they knew how to pray. The worship was awesome and even when done in the dialect of choice, it was an experience that reminded me that worship transcended language and culture. It is good to know that God understands it all, whether in the dialect from St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, or Lusaka, Zambia.

It seemed almost sacrilegious to have the video cam on or to be taking pictures during the worship and prayer times but I didn't manage to get some clips. I don't have the time to edit the clips from some of the different sessions but for me to watch them is to relive some of the most wonderful of experiences that are forever etched in my mind.

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It wasn't necessary to understand the words to share in the experience.
To see the expressions on the faces was to understand what it was like to be in presence of God.

[Diplomat]

Re: UK, Zambia, &amp; South Africa

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Worship and adoration...

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I particularly loved this moment; ours is indeed a wonderful God,
Again, I don't have the time to edit; I appreciate your understanding.

[Diplomat]

Re: UK, Zambia, &amp; South Africa

The membership in the church was divided into twelve tribes, like the twelve tribes of Israel, and the scheduled prayer times for leaders, whether at the church or a designated home, was an hour every evening. It was an acknowledgment on their part of their reliance upon God for everything. For the time we were there, this hour of prayer was integrated into both daily sessions.

One of the things that I found &quot;precious&quot; was how they didn't rush prayer but they knew that prayer wasn't a monologue but a dialogue. We say our piece and if we are mature enough, we wait on God to say His piece.

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Their ability to &quot;wait&quot; in the presence of the Lord was profound.

<span style="font-style: italic">ETA to add...</span>




There is no more powerful a picture than to see men on their knees...

[Diplomat]

Re: UK, Zambia, &amp; South Africa

The people love to dance as they sing. The song captured in this clip quickly became one of our favorites

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Here are the words for after the 1:05 minute mark

<span style="color: #000099">Takwaba uwaba nga Yesu *4
Takwaba Takwa.kabe.

<span style="font-style: italic">Na enda enda konse konse
Na fwaya fwaya konse konse
Na shunguluka konse konse
Takwaba takwa kabe</span>

There's no one, there's no one like Jesus
There's no one, there's no one like Jesus
There's no one, there's no one like Jesus
There's no one, there's no one like Him.

I go walking here, there / I go searching here, there
I turn around here, there / There's no one, there's no one like Him</span>

Got it?

The song leader in this clip is the wife of one of the pastors.

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It was great seeing her kick off her shoes to make herself more comfortable for worship.

[Diplomat]

Re: UK, Zambia, &amp; South Africa

There were times when our team members led worship.

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These two awesome P&amp;W leaders were a tremendous blessing.
There really is no one else like Him.

<span style="font-style: italic">Teaching session on praise and worship...</span>






Some of the P&amp;W leaders.

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">Next, a visit to the pediatric ward at one of the local hospitals...</span></span>

[Diplomat]

Re: UK, Zambia, &amp; South Africa

Saturday morning and an impromptu visit to the pediatric ward at one of the local hospitals. I didn't mind hospital visits but I find visits to pediatric wards can be very emotionally difficult. While such visits do not provoke a crisis of faith for me, they often leave lingering questions for which there are no easy answers. Sometimes the feeling of helplessness can be overwhelming.


Outpatient building...






Nothing ambiguous in the instructions.