Immeasurable Learning

Today was the final day of our Zambian History Class.

We had two weeks full of early morning class, complicated conversations, laughter, circular discussions, foreign aid, Zambia as a Christian Nation, frustration, China in Africa, female presidents, African nationalism, colonization, HIV/AIDS, community development, dead end solutions, poverty, Chad & Botswana, national debt, child sponsorship, questions of justice, government corruption, handouts vs. hand-ups, and trying to find our role in all of this.

We ended our time today in fellowship, eating muffins and homemade lemonade.

Thank you Professor Mwenda for allowing us to learn, grow, and broaden our view of the world.

- Amelia

Out of all the topics and issues covered, walking humbly with our God lays a foundation for approaching them all. Micah 6:8

- Mel

This class took everything that I thought I knew about community development and helping other countries, and threw it out the window. I have been challenged and have grown in understanding on how to love and care for other communities.

- Mikala

Thank you for the constant reminder that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made.

- Sarah

This class educated and empowered me to think through issues like foreign aid, while learning my role as a believer and caregiver in poverty stricken areas.

- Kat

This course has been one of the most intellectually stimulating, spiritually challenging, and culturally expanding classes I have taken while at IWU. It has drastically impacted my view of missions, aid, and my future. It exposed many hidden aspects of African politics, economics, and infrastructure which would have never entered my mind. I can truthfully say that this has been one of my favorite courses in my collegiate career. 

- Joe

This class planted thoughts and questions in my head that I have never entertained before. I was challenged, frustrated, skeptical, but ultimately encouraged. This world is broken and there is a lot wrong with it, but we serve the God of Hope, so there is reason to be encouraged.

- Emily

Sometimes I thought my brain would explode, but I loved every minute of it!

- Liz

This class shook my worldviews to the core. The depravity of this world is overwhelming, but I’ve learned to keep an eternal perspective. The weight of sin shouldn’t hinder our desire to help, but we should continue to seek knowledge and wisdom with God at the center of our plan and motivation. God is already at work…everywhere. I’ve also been challenged to live a life by Romans 12 instruction.

- Kelsey

History is generally not my favorite topic to study, but I absolutely loved this class. It caused me to critically think, challenging my previous views. I am definitely going to re-read some of the articles we studied!

- Christine

This class provided a new, and sometimes frustrating way of looking at big issues in our world. But over the course of two weeks, my view on the world has been expanded and I can’t wait to see how God uses these truths.

- Dana

This course has transformed my persepctive on many important global issues. It has been humbling to learn that our "American" way of thinking is completely skewed. Also, recognizing that God is still sovereign - now and forever, no matter the issue.

- Andrea

Take Courage in the Journey.

Happy Sunday everyone

     
Today my group went to a different church than last week, called Mochipapa Wesleyan.  I truly enjoyed the sermon today. It has been hard for me to follow, concentrating is not always the easiest for me, especially when one pastor is shouting in English and the other in Tonga. However, this time I was able to concentrate on the English speaking pastor and really follow and God spoke to me.

The message was  from Numbers  21:4-8 where Moses is leading the Israelites through the desert.  Verse 4 says “They traveled from mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom, but the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food! I won’t preach his whole sermon, but I do want to share the summary of what he said because it really hit me. It says in verse 4 that God led the people around Edom to protect them from the edomites. The journey really could have been a lot shorter, but God led them the way He knew was best, to protect them and to teach them. God could have given Moses a shortcut through the desert, but it was the journey that matured them, disciplined them (not punished) and taught them.  However, the people did not trust in God and they did what most of us do when we don’t understand something, they complained. They complained about everything, they did not trust tht God knew where He was taking them and why.  We need to take courage in the journey God is leading us through. It may not be the path we would have taken, or the one that seems most simple or painless, but our relationship with God is not just about the end result, it is about the journey. We need to rely on God, when we look for our own shortcuts and solutions; we are not being patient or trusting that our Heavenly Father knows best and we are denying ourselves of the blessings He has in store for us along the journey.

Take courage in the journey.

Bethany

Day with the OVC and church.

Hey guys! This is Sarahlyn one of the team members. Yesterday we were able to leave the compound and go to Maumbwe school and Sianyinda Church to learn more about the programs World Hope provides to the local communities. We traveled about 40 kilometers to the Sianyinda Village. It was not a smooth ride over. The majority was off road type terrain; at one point there were branches and leaves in our land cruiser. We went to Maumbwe school to help the OVC's (orphans and vulnerable children) write thank you letters to their sponsors in the United States. 

Everyone helping the students write their letters.

Each of use took about 1-2 kids and helped them with a writing this letter. I helped a very shy girl named Sangestra Moono. There were many challenges and frustrations while helping her write this note. After a while I was finally able to communicate by first writing the word on another piece of paper for her to write on her letter. There was a huge communication barrier here, too. She did not know what I was saying, and I had no clue what she was saying either. 

Me and Sangestra

After we were done writing the letters we were able to hangout with the kids for a while and play some games. We taught them hand clap games we played in school as well as them showing us some of their games as well.

Andrea brought along some balloons along.We blew one up for the kids to play with. They loved it!!!  

One of the hand clap games we taught them. (Stacy magiga-gigagigajock)  (spelling??) 

We then went to the church where they explained more about what they do and  the projects  around the community. Above is a water pump which is not working the greatest. It needs a lot of repairs. The guy speaking said the community needed to take up where World Hope leaves off so they can have the best community possible. Some of the repairs  needed are a new pipe line and a better drainage system so mosquitoes don't linger and reproduce. 

Everyone is doing well. We are getting over some GI problems which several have been dealing with. Later today we are going to Choma General, St. Martins Hospice and possibly an orphanage. It will be great to be able to get out of the compound and be out in the community again.

-Sarahlyn

First World Hope Trip

It was so nice to leave after being in the compound since Monday. We went with the WHIZ team to a school where some of the students are supported through the OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) outreach. After driving down increasingly narrow dirt roads, we arrived. We helped the students write letters to their sponsors. This was difficult because few of the children spoke English well or knew how to spell. I worked with two boys, Adule and Ray, who copied what I wrote onto their letters. I have never wanted to speak Tonga so much. I wanted the letters to be personal, but I couldn’t make myself understood to find out if what they liked to do or if they had any favorite things. I can’t believe the community coordinator would have had to help 40 kids by himself. The students are supposed to write 2 letters are year. We played soccer and games with the students. Some of the girls also sang for us. Then we went back to the church that originally told World Hope about the children and talked with their community outreach team. As we arrived the women were singing in Tonga and clapping to greet us. We learned they sang “Here are our visitors, the visitors of love, we welcome them with love.” It was a blessing.  World Hope has a community partnership organization that helps boost economies by supplying farm animals. They also have a home based care program where community volunteers care for people with AIDS. We saw a water pump and a chicken coop supplied by World Hope. We are now back in Choma and ready for fun things tomorrow.

-Katana

House Arrest...

Hello!

Well, for the last two days, and maybe one or two more we hve been under a mandatory "house arrest." This is just due to the presidential election, and it's a mere precaution. We have seen no violence or political unrest. Today Bud, Judy, Dr. Mwenda (our newest addition forthe next few weeks) and myself did venture outto the market to replenish our fruit, bread and peanut butter. We go through TONS of peanut butter daily.
The last few days have been full of class class class. We have breakfast at 8am, their history class begins around 8:30-8:45 and lasts for four hours. Then the students have lunch, maybe an hour break, then back to class for two more hours in the afternoon with pam leslie for community development. Here are some pictures of the students hard at work!

Amelia, Taylor and Sarhlyn hard at work....apparently sarahlyn is not happy im taking this picture

Mel and Katan eating zambian chips and studying

Christine, Dana nd Sarah studying history for Dr. Mwenda

Mikala, Kelsey, Andrea and Emily all watching a movie in their room any studying

picture documentation

above: laura marie scrubbing into surgery during a hysterectomy in Chikinkata...amazing oppurtunity that she would never get in the USA.

Here are some children coming form school around Chikinkata. All the students in Zambia have to wear uniforms to school. With the cost of these and other school fees, it is very difficult for families to keep their children in school.

This is a traditional Zambian meal, sheema and chicken. Another main staple we ate alot is called rape, which is cooked greens. Sheema is a dried corn based meal that has been ground fine until it becomes a moldable paste, then you dip it in whatever gravy you have. Most of us loved it, but after awhile it gets alittle old ;)

Here are our nursing students at the chikinkata school of nursing that we toured. We got to know a lot of the students and had a great time working with them and learning from them.

-Bethany Strickland-

(ps i havent been signing my name but they posts are from me :)

some of the students at the HIV/AIDS and vulnerable children outing in chikinkata last week.

Sunday

I hope you are all doing well back home, we are doing well here! We have settled into our new home in Choma, Zambia where we will be on and off for the next few months.  Right now, all of the students but 6 I believe are in history class with Dr. Mwenda, who arrived from IWU last evening before dinner. I think he was wondering what he may have gotten himself into with many loud, fun and giggly girls J Joe and Bud will be good for him.  He is going to be a great addition to our team and we are all very excited to have him here.

Yesterday was Sunday, so we split up into 3 groups to go to 3 different churches. One group went with myself to a more traditional African church. The singing was amazing and they used traditional drums in their worship. We got there around 9am and didn’t leave until 1:30pm. All of our groups were gone for about 4 hours, this was quite different for most of the students, but during debriefing they all shared their different experiences and how the Lord blessed them though the service. 

Spirits are generally high among the students, I believe what they call the “honeymoon” phase is winding down, which means the students are starting classes, figuring out they DO have to study J and learning that life here in Zambia is not as easy as at home. No automatic coffee maker (this is rough for me J) internet isn’t awesome (pictures take 15-45 minutes to download) they can’t talk to family as much, and just simple leisures of home are not here. We as staff pray for them nightly, and I would ask that you as family, friends, professors, would continue to pray for strength and endurance for us that now that we are realizing how long 3 months is, we will continue to thrive in our new environment and continue to be blessed and bless those around us. They are learning so much, and they are a great group of students who I enjoy deeply. I know that everyone on this trip will return home changed person, matured and with eyes open. God is working in everyone here as a unit and individually, I can’t wait to see what He has planned for us on this trip. Thank you so much for your prayers and support.

p.s for any parents worried we are being fed well!

home sweet home-choma

Hello!

We are at our new home in Choma, Zambia! Currently the students are playing a game at a surprise "birthday party" we had today for all the students who have bdays on the trip. We burnt the cookies, but the cake turned out great! Andrea and Amelia did a great job shopping for and cooking with zambian ingrediants! On Thursday we split up into two groups; one group went to the hospital and the other group went with judy and pam to do  mother/baby clinic. Thursday was surgery day in Chikinkta and some of the girls actually got to scrub in during a hysterectomy. This would never happen in the US so it was an awesome experience for the students! While some of the students were in the OR other students were in a sort of emergency room. I was the only nurse with IWU nursing students and zambin nursing students, it was quite an experience. We dressed alot of wounds and gave some injections. I will post pictures of those later. The students in the ER were frustrated because of the lack of resources. For instance, a 1 year old littler girl had her fingers rn over by a wheelbarrow and basically they were cut off and bleeding. we didnt have any antibiotic cream or pain meds. So we cleaned her tiny fingers with saline, wrapped them with gauze then reluctantly sent her off crying with no pain meds. This was eye opening for the students. The other group went into  rural community and weighed babies to check for malnutrition. They also gave immunizations and other post-natal check ups. Tomorrow we will go to church and have some activities  in the afternoon. Our history professor comes in tomorrow, so history class starts Monday. That's it for now! Thanks for reading nd plese keep us in your prayers. The students want me to tell you they are hving a great time, and we had an amazing time in chickinkta and made great friends! goodnight!

Bethany

Hey everyone

I wanted to introduce myself to the blogging world :) My name is Bethany Strickland I am one of the clinical instructors/RD onthe zambia trip. I am loving all the students, they are a great group of people. I know they each have so many things to share with you. we have experienced alot of culture already, and tomorrow we leave for a smaller village where we will see many new things. Everything has been going smoothly so far, we have had to be flexible, but this is a great learning oppurtunity for everyone here! I think we are all learning more patience as things are not always done the way we are used to here. Here are a few pictures to helpgive you an idea of our surroundings! enjoy! Feel free to ask any questions you might have for myself and the students and we will try to repsons back as quick as we can! Thank you for all your prayers and support.    Bethany


here is one of the rooms we are staying in while we are here un lusaka....very nice!!

right: delivery room at  medical center in Luskasa

 below: some of the girls taught sunday school our first sunday here!

The Amazing Zambia Abroad 2011 Team

safely in D.C

Hey Everyone!

My name is Bethany Strickland, I am the clinical instructor and RD (resident director) thought I'd introduce myself to the blog world. We safely made it to D.C, at 540 we will be taking off and headed out for our 16 hour flight to South Africa....yes it sounds exhusting just thinking of it ;) we have a GREAT team and I am very excited to start this adventure with them.

Bethany

On Our Way!

After 9 months of official planning and many more months of prayer and preparation, we are on our way! After a wonderful commissioning in both the nursing convocation and commissioning service, and many goodbyes, we have left IWU. After a close call in Indianapolis :), we made it to Dulles and are enjoying our last hours in the US. We were also blessed to be able to take a few extra bags at no extra price. Thank you for all your prayers!