Jesse: Last day of 40/40

Today is the last day of 40/40.

Even though we are at a nice resort hotel, the learning continues. In the mornings, we are learning how to learn languages. During my first three months living in Africa three years ago, I had to learn French. It was in a classroom setting and taught in a very western style, notebooks and a blackboard. Pilat language learning teaches that every opportunity can be used to learn a language – grocery shopping, church, building relationships – and anyone can be a teacher.

This afternoon I had my evaluation. God has used this month make some things that I’ve thought firm in my mind. He’s shown me that if I am continuously seeking Him, asking him for guidance and looking to follow his will. Then he will be faithful.

40/40 is an experience I’ll never forget. The people involved, the staff national workers and missionaries.


Kristen practices language-learning techniques during out final days of 40/40.

Jesse: Homestay, day 2

We were not invited to the ceremony–even though we were honored guests. The wedding ceremony is just for close friends and family. It started at 8 am. We were expected at the family’s home by 10 for the celebration. At a little before 9, the pastor, Deb and I walked into town to buy wedding presents. We got to the market as most people were setting up their booths. Pastor bought a blue, plastic pitcher and two red cups. He handed one cup to me and one to Deb, telling us this was our present.

We then walked back to his home to rest for a few min. A little before 10 we started our walk to the celebration. The pastor had said it was not far, to him it was close, to us, it was far. We were the first guests, Jeff and Blake came about 20 minutes later. They sat us under a shade arbor in the sets for the bridal party. But, that was okay because they didn’t arrive for about another hour. When they arrived in a caravan of cars, packed, the bride and groom were ushered into a small building where they stayed there for two hours. At one the mother of the groom took us into the house for rice and chicken. It was really good because we were hungry. By the time we finished lunch they had set up sets for us next to were the bridal party would sit.

The groomsmen and bridesmaids danced and the couple shuffled behind them. We stayed at the celebration until after we had given our gifts and gotten a piece of cake. Five hours later we started our walk back to our suburb of Petauke. It was definitely a cultural experience for us. The guys walked into town to buy us some water and then came to visit us for a while.


Blake watches the wedding party dance to their seats.


Family members of the wedding party get all dressed up for the big celebration--even using glitter!


Guests take turns giving wisdom and advice to the newly-married couple.


The bride and groom, not allowed to look at anyone, stand in front of the crowd as others talk about their future life together.

Jesse: Homestay, day 1

I’m sitting outside of Wallace Phiri’s tailor shop. I’m watching my “partner” for this weekend, Deb, sing with the neighborhood children. They sun is about to set and it has cooled down. Mr. Phiri is behind me making me an outfit to wear this weekend. The three of us walked about ten minutes into town to get a Fanta and buy material. I’m sure we met every relative Mr. Phiri has in Petauke. Five hours later he has finished my shirt. Now he is working on Deb’s skirt. I think she asked for one thing but I’m not sure of what she is going to get. Now Deb is telling stories to all the children.

Earlier Jeff and Blake came to visit. They are staying with a family just around the corner from us. They were headed to the market to buy a gift. We are all going to a wedding tomorrow and the gift is for the bride and groom. The sun should set soon and then it will be bedtime. I’m tired and am looking forward to sleep.

I almost forgot the most important thing that happened at the market today. Deb and I went to buy zippers for our outfits and the woman we bought them from gave us new names. Deb is now called Mwanida and I am called Mbonyiwa.

We’re to sleep in the pastor and his wife’s room. They gave us their nice double bed and we’ve hung a mosquito net that we’ll leave with the family as a gift. Kevin said we’re to call this our “happy place,” it is where no bugs can get to us.


We all packed up this morning and headed out to our homestays.


Wallace Phiri, a tailor by trade, is our African host for the weekend. He is what we call a "tentmaker," because being a tailor allows him to also be a pastor of a small church he started at the edge of town.


Deb helps the children pump water from the well.

Jesse: Last day at bush camp

All 33 of us 40/40 participants went to the immigration office to renew our Zambia visas today. This, of course, took three hours. But as people finished, they went into town. It was funny watching all of us ride in the back of a flat bed truck into the small immigration office in the town of Petauke.

The rest of the day was spent packing for the coming weekend. Everyone is staying with a national family. We’ll stay in teams of two or as a family. Some people are dreading it and some are looking forward to it. Some participants are staying in village huts and others in homes in town.

We have three days to learn everything we can about life for Africans. “This, more than anything, gives the participants a glimpse into African life and issues that are important to the people God has called them to reach,” said our program director Kevin.



There was standing room only on the flatbed truck, as we traveled into the town.


We each prepared a bag of gifts for our host families that included items like bread, sugar, butter and tiny dried fish that we hoped they wouldn't serve us.

Jesse: Life cycle

This morning it was my turn to teach the Bible story in our small group. I had the group act out the story of David and Goliath. The group did really well and got into it. They enjoyed being the different characters.

Later in the day, the group of women attending 40/40 walked 5 kilometers to my helper’s village. Daisy welcomed us to an initiation of a 16-year-old girl.

The girl was passing into womanhood.

Eight of us with four helpers crowded into a small hut and a group of women showed us what they’ve been doing to teach her about married life. Most of it was shocking, but also it was culturally informative.

We had more practical living teaching this afternoon. I learned how to tie knots to hold down luggage from Dan who has been a missionary in Sub-Saharan Africa for 32 years and then I went to soak my feet and scrub them.


The story of David and Goliath gets a new twist with Blake and a Zambian pastor acting out the major characters of the famous story. Africans love this story of the small winning over the large.


We're walking the 5 kilometers to the cultural ceremony of a young girl entering into womanhood.


The ladies of 40/40 experiencing a ceremony not seen by many outsiders. We all packed ourselves into a small hut to watch just a small part of the week-long ceremony.


Kristen's feet are dirty today. After walking a total of about 10 kilometers, on a dry dirt road, it's understandable.


After a couple of days walking around the bush my feet are pretty dirty. The orange, clay-like dirt turns our feet a pale orange and it can take a really hard scrubbing to get it off, after a soak in detergent filled water.


Dan helps Bert practice tying a knot, which will be useful to know to tie luggage to the roof of his 4x4.


Tessa practices driving a stick shift on the left side of the road on the right side of the car. Out in the bush there aren't many other cars, so we were safe.

Jesse: Church in Petauke

How confused is the spiritual landscape?

Sweating, cramped, sitting on the cement pews of the Reformed Church of Zambia, I wondered how the others were doing. The 40/40 group split up and attended 14 different types of churches in the town of Petauke.

I think the church Sarah and I attended was more toward the Presbyterian persuasion. Others went to Catholic, Pentecostal, Anglican, Church of Christ and others.

The reverend preached on 2 Corinthians 5:17-20. He informed his congregation to become ambassadors for Christ – to not just be a Christian but to speak for Christ, his nation. The church was happy to receive us and all the choirs sang beautifully in Chichewa. But, the point of today and all of us attending different kinds of churches was to see how polluted Africa is with "Christian" religion. The fact that we could go to 14 different types of churches in the small town of Petauke shows just how important religion is in Africa. We saw that this part of Africa is saturated with religion that is not necessarily biblically-based. It seems that everyone had an interesting time and it has definitely brought up questions about how to partner with other denominations.

This experience has left me with questions about church planting. When do you let go? When should we give up ownership, and let it be their church? The purpose of church is to worship God. As long as we have Africans who go to scripture for all the answers then maybe its time to leave one place, and go to another.

kristen: morning routine

this morning, i woke up a beautiful sunrise. i grabbed the bucket and basin and walked to the well to pump some water for my bucketshower. carrying the water the short distance from the well to the showers was more difficult than i expected. i had to stop every few paces to switch arms, spilling it as i went. the “showers” are actually canvas dividers on a concrete block, each equipped with a pulley system. you let down a bucket, pour in your water, and pull the bucket back to the top, making sure you tie the rope well. the water was cold, cold.

after my shower, i walked to where the "kitchen tent" where there is coffee waiting, and spent some time reading and praying. i love the mornings here.


bryce pumps water for himself and his family. he's a nice guy.

kristen: medicine and the spiritual world

today we are going to learn about health and medicine in a rural context. when we got out of the truck, falecy led us a long way from the torwn through what can only be described as an African subdivision. as we walked, a group of zambian children followed us, hiding behind trees and bushes when we stopped. we finally arrived at a house. the torn sign on the front gate announced dr. mikeluwai, traditional healer.

we waited until we were invited in. 2 men ushered us into the backyard and laid down reed mats for us to sit on. after we all sat down, we exchanged introductions and told him that we were here to learn about african and zambian culture. he explained that he was a traditional heanler, age 28, and had ben practicing for 12 years. he told us he used herbs and trees for treating various illnesses. he also told us that he had a spirit he inherited from his parents that told him what illness a person was suffering from and how to treat them. there are some diseases that he sends on to the hospital, and some that he can treat himself. he also said that some people will come to him who have been bewitched, or possessed by evil spirits. he told us that all healing, and all medicines of the earth, are from God, and we should pray as we receive them.

he told us that he was a christian. he said sometimes even witches come to him when they want to give up witchcraft, and he shows them how to do this. talking to him really challenged by opinions about medicine, healing and witchcraft. the people of africa are so much more in touch with spirituality then us in the west. i think, often, they see the spiritual world much more clearly than i can. the demonic warfare they face daily is more real than what i know. i find myself wanting black and white answers, wanting to categorize what i see, and clearly define it. but the lines between the spiritual and the physical, the sacred and the secular, the church and the world, are so blurred.

a christian witchdoctor?


the sign on the front gate of the traditional healer.


dr. mikeluwai. he was a kind and soft spoken man.

Jesse: Medicine and the spirit world

The room is dark. A small table with a white cloth laid over it is placed in the middle of the room. On the far wall and the wall on the left, the men sit on benches and chairs. The women are crowded on the floor next to the wall.

The witch doctor, seated alone in the center, looked like any other African man. Neatly dressed in trousers and an African-patterned business shirt. He smiled freely and conversed intelligently. He was not what one might think about a witch doctor. No wild hair, painted face, half-clothed and chanting to control the spirits. He was calm, polite and gracious.

But when he spoke and talked about his word that is when it became evident that he was a witch doctor. He spoke of controlling good and evil spirits, looking into a mirror to find murderer and praying to Jesus to heal.

The challenge to teach about Jesus and to lead someone to believe and have faith in Jesus is separating him or her from what has been handed down through many generations. Show them that all the other things that they fear, that they believe in, are powerless. Show them that they have to give it up to follow Jesus.


The traditional healer, or witch doctor, reads a list of his services, which include both physical and spiritual ailments.


Grant examines the witch doctor's baptism certificate. In this culture, being a traditional healer and a Christian is not uncommon.

Jesse: Meeting officials

We received the District Commissioner’s wife and the local head chief’s wife this morning out at the bush camp. They spoke to us about working in culturally appropriate ways to teach our African friends about Jesus.

The ladies asked us a few questions about our lives: whether we were married and had kids. We asked about how they had met their husbands. Some of the girls had baked cookies and some had decorated the room. We talked and laughed together. It was definitely a good girl time.

Later in the day we went through practical training like killing and cooking a chicken, driving lessons and car maintenance.


Melodie bakes cookies for our honored guest in our outdoor "kitchen."


The District Commissioner's wife explained to us about politics in Africa, and about her life.


The children wrote and illustrated a book to present to the guests.


We danced and sang together as we bid our guests goodbye.

kristen: first day in town

today is the first day we travel out to patauke town. after our morning devotional group, we all loaded into the back of a lorry (flatbed truck). we drove about 15 minutes into town. everyone we passed called out to us, or waved. when we arrived, we hurried to the director of health’s office. we waited with his secretary until he was ready to see us. we were ushered into his office. after introductions, he told us about the health system in zambia. he told us how missionaries have helped with health care, and how churches help now. we prayed with him, then we left.

as we waited for everyone to for everyone to finish their DFAs, we went to a local shop and got to know each other other over cold fantas and cokes.


we were all ready for a cold drink after a hot day in the town.

Jesse: First day at bush camp

I’m sitting in a safari tent about six hours east of Lusaka in the heart of the Zambian bush.
I like the camp. People really do pay ”thousands of dollars” as Kevin says, to have experiences like this.

All the families have two tents, each couple is in their own and the singles are two people per tent and they are big. Now that it’s night it’s nice and cool. My tent mate, Johanna and I are praying for a breeze tomorrow.


When we arrived at bush camp, our tents were already set up, and we were provided with a folding chair, bucket, and kerosene lamp.


The view is beautiful from inside my tent.

kristen: on the road, again

we got up early today. we loaded up our things and piled into two buses—prepared for a long day of heat and driving. i have a friend who tells me there's hot, then there's africa hot. today is africa hot. the first couple hours of the drive were pleasant, we had breakfast on the road, and i jammed to some elvis, wilco, and bob marley on my ipod, windows down, and beautiful countryside all around.

around noon, we stopped on the side of the road for a bathroom break. it was more than 110 degrees outside, and from that point, it only got hotter. soon, the dry air and dust blowing in through the windows was warmer than a hair driver, and the bus felt like an oven. as we traveled away from the city, we saw less and less people, and more and more afriacan landscape—mountains, grass huts, and cows.

around 3 pm, we arrived at the camp. it was much larger than i anticipated. our tents were already set up, complete with mattresses, towels, basins and a chair. we spent the rest of the day learning about camp life.


deb, michael, and trevor rock out in the back of the bus. all the cool kids always sit in the back of the bus, you know.


madi holds on tight to her dad, bruce, as she enjoys the breeze. this kid is the best traveler i've ever met. no complaints from her.


jesse. could she be any cooler?

Jesse: Telling THE story

The Creation to Christ story is roughly 15 minutes long and missionaries use it to find people interested in knowing more about who Jesus is and why he is our savior. Tessa and I walked through a neighborhood looking for people willing to listen to us practice telling the story. I like telling the story and listening to it be told. They way it flows from God creating the world to Abraham’s sacrifice to Christ’s resurrection and then the story of the prodigal son. The story shows the need for a savior and how he receives us.


Tessa, Agness and I wave goodbye to our friends on the minibus as we prepare to go into the city, sharing the Creation to Christ story.

kristen: learning to tell stories

today we learned about creation to Christ. tim, a missionary from south africa, told us the story of salvation, from the creation of the universe to the death and resurrection of Christ. this method of evangelism is particularly effective in africa, where oral learning and stories are passed from generation to generation. i am learning how important it is to really know the stories God has given us. how remarkable it us that God has chosen to give us his word in narrative form. that he has chosen stories to tell us the great truths and mysteries of the universe.



jesse practices sharing the story with her teammate, tessa.


tim shares with us the creation to Christ story.

kristen: death and funerals

today was the day to learn about sickness and funerals and death. we took a minibus to the city and stopped at a small dark shop off the main road. there, bridget advised us to purchase cooking oil, soap, sugar, and juice. it was a hot, hot day, and we began asking bridget questions as the sun beat down on our necks. she told us we were going to visit her friend, cynthia, who had been sick for a couple weeks.

as we approached the house, cynthia’s mother, eunice, ushered us in with a warm handshake. she invited us to sit, and offered us cold fantas. cynthia sat in the corner, with her hand to her forehead, her eyes glossed over, looking miserable. she had a deep cough, and told us she had been sick for maybe a week. but her mother told us quietly that she had been coughing since 2005. her son, duma (age 5), was also coughing.

soon her brother, kennon joined us. he also was sick, and his wife had died a couple years ago. he told us the sickness was difficult for him, because he was unable to work. we gave cynthia the gifts we had brought, and told her they hoped they could be of some comfort and help to her.

the neighbor, mrs. sikhosna also came in, and was sharing her difficulties with us. she has arthritis in her knees. she told us that she had expected to be able to visit and minister to people in her old age, but instead she was in constant pain. i was overwhelmed with the amount of pain and suffering in the lives of these brothers and sisters. i asked if we could pray for them, and we did. i was so convicted in my lack of faith, and my own self reliance.

it was good to fellowship with these brothers and sisters. we talked a lot about the diseases that are common in africa: malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis. There was little to say about the pandemics. life is difficult for most of the world. the sin and the fall seems to touch every atom of the universe, every part of our lives. how rarely do i realize that all of my hope is in Christ.

they asked us if things were different in the states—if our wealth makes life easier for us. we admitted that we suffered much less in body, but that other diseases—greed, arrogance, promiscuity, and drug abuse were common to us. it to was strange to realize how much sin has affected every culture. the human condition is universal. as we continued visiting, eunice disappeared into her room, and emerged with two chitanges (zambian skirts). she kneeled in front of us and told us that now we were true zambians. and that when we wear them, we can remember her family. it was humbling.


cynthia sitting in the doorway of the small room she shares with her mother and son. though she's never been tested, bridget tells us it's likely she is suffering from HIV/AIDS.