Encampment 9: Sikalongo (Continued)

The week began very cold in the mornings and with a moderate breeze, but towards the end of the week, things really have become quite hot. In spite of this we took a five hour hike with Peter Pwetenge and one of his daughters on Saturday to a lovely waterfalls in the hills to the east of us.


We made sure we took along plenty of water and made the trip across fields, through the woods and on bush trails quite well. The view at the falls was definitely worth the effort.




Along the way we were privileged to speak with an elderly man, Aaron Kanyandi, who was present when Myron Taylor was buried.


At his village we also saw these quaint little huts for the chickens.


Gene’s classes at the Bible Institute settled down into a routine and although we’re running a day or more behind in each class he’s determined to respond to issues as they come up and get as far as we can rather than just skimming the surface and covering all the material.

On Tuesday Gene visited the carpentry shop and watched Peter Pwetenge teach the Bible Institute students how to build a bed.


It is a passion of his to help the students learn a skill or trade with which to partially support themselves financially since most of the churches they are likely to serve would not be able to do so.

Thursday, Peter also took Gene to the hills to a place where Myron Taylor is said to have gone and prayed. It was an emotional experience to be at the place where this man of God sought the Divine guidance and strength he needed for service and to also take time to pray here.


Friday, the teacher of the Pre-school where Darlene assists needed to be absent and planned to leave the children in her care - alone. We didn’t feel that was the best scenario given language and protocol issues, so we asked our housekeeper, Rosa, to go along with her, which she did and they both had a delightful time with the children.

This week we have been hosting the students in our home for tea - a couple of them each evening.


They bring all their children along so we have as many as ten youngsters under the age of 10 all sitting quietly in the living room with their tea and cookies while the adults carry on their conversation.


These have been delightful times which often involve responding to their questions about life in America. The three unmarried students had lots of questions about how a pastor should choose a wife and were quite intentional about it. One student had questions about the Amish and we spent an hour talking about them, the shootings at Nickel Mines School and the book Amish Grace.

Power outages have become more frequent and longer and are a regular but unpredictable part of our life here. Two nights in a row we were not able to cook an evening meal and, since Darlene had bread ready to go in the oven, we needed to wait until 9:30 in the evening ‘till she could actually bake them. In like manner, the two evenings where we were invited to the homes of local families for dinner were shared by candlelight.


Sunday, September 21,

Today, we went to the Sianchekulo BIC about five miles north of Sikalongo, a half hour over a road more difficult. We took along Vincent Habeenzu, one of the SBI students who preaches there. There were about 60 people in attendance, attentively engaged in the Sunday School lesson and then with the worship service. Vincent preached a fine message on evangelism.


Again, the singing was enthusiastic and deeply moving. A hot meal was provided for us by the local ladies after the service. Driving is a huge challenge with deeply rutted and washed out dirt roads alternating with deep sand and Gene is always relieved then the journey is done and are all safe, the people we have with us are safe, the vehicle, which must still serve us and others, is safe.

Next Wednesday we travel to Macha for three days, where the Brethren in Christ mission work was first begun in Zambia by Francis Davidson and Gene’s grandmother, Adda Engle who later was married to Myron Taylor at Macha. On our way back we stop in Choma to get our visas extended.

We have certainly lived life to the full these three months and for the past month, we’ve had very little time to assimilate it all. Our time here has been totally filled with teaching, preparations for preaching (four times this coming week), visiting with people who have family connections with people who knew Myron Taylor, talking with students, having them for tea and dealing with the many requests which daily come to our door. And this was to be a laid-back time in a laid-back culture! Not!

Today we both found ourselves needing to consciously think about what things look like back in the States - even inside our own house! Our “world” has definitely shrunk to what is happening right here, right now, even as it is being expanded with new experiences. Nevertheless, we rejoice to be here, and to give and receive spiritual encouragement with the people of God in this place.

Encampment 9: Sikalongo

[Our house at Sikalngo (tw)]

September 10, 2008

We have thoroughly enjoyed 11 consecutive days without getting into a vehicle and staying in the same place, but that aspect of relaxation has been offset by the challenges of living in a new cultural setting.

We need to be attentive to just about everything we do or say (we are the only Westerners on the premises) and every day is learning something new. Do we prepare a meal for our night guards? How much is sufficient? How do we relate to the people who stop by asking for food? What are the protocols for morning, afternoon and evening greeting? What food do we buy locally and which do we buy at Choma? How much to pay for food and goods from "vendors." So we've found ourselves quite engaged in learning names, learning to greet, understanding how things are done and working at fitting in to the way things are here.

The one thing that we find most heart-rending and difficult is how to say "No" to the very frequent requests for food and just about anything else one can imagine that come to our door daily. Yes, we have, and we can give food for some, but we can't for the many and we have been counseled by Westerners who've been here, by local leaders and by our wonderful house-assistant Rosa, not to give food indiscriminately or we will have the "many" at our door in no time. So we depend on Rosa to help sort out the mere requests from the people who truly are in difficult circumstances. Nevertheless it is extremely uncomfortable to have so much in the presence of those who have so little. There is no easy way to come to terms with it and so we will be as generous as discretion dictates and live as simply as possible ourselves while we are here.

We seem to be doing OK with all of this but we do find ourselves quite tired by nightfall. Aside from some queasiness that we experience from time to time from our anti-malarial medicine and a occasional intestinal rumblings, we've been well. We're not to quick to start medicating these kinds of things but we monitor temperature, pain level and hydration and watch to see if our bodies take care of themselves.

So far, the days have been remarkably cool, particularly in the shade and the nights downright cold, requiring blankets. Mornings are brisk and refreshing. By early to mid-afternoon the temperature peaks and in the sun it can be quite hot. But after 4:00 (16 hours) the sun loses its punch and things cool off. Evenings are lovely - at least so far. None of the sticky nights we have in Pennsylvania. We know hotter weather is coming and we're learning how to manage sunlight and air-flow through the house.


Rolling power blackouts happen on an unpredictable basis, usually about 2 hours a day but on some days the power is on 24 hours and at other times, off twice in one day. This is due to rising demand throughout the country and power generation has not kept pace. This is likely to get worse in the foreseeable future. But for now, it's just one of those things that happens and more than once a hot meal has been deferred to some other day in favor of bread, peanut butter and fruit. It's interesting to reflect that when Gene's family was in Zimbabwe in the early 1950's, power outages were never a problem because electricity had not yet been run to the mission stations! But they always were able to cook on schedule because it was all done on wood. Ah, the limitations of technical advance.

School began this week - one week later due to the period of mourning for former President Mwanawasa. Gene is teaching two New Testament courses at the Bible Institute, one in the Pastoral Letters (seven students) and the other in Hebrews (three students) and preparation for these courses takes a considerable amount of his time. These men are passionate about the Lord Jesus and their desire to serve Him in the ministry. It's not at all easy for these students to find the financial resources to attend SBI and so they have had to persevere, work hard and make considerable sacrifice just to be here in the first place. Consequently, they take their studies very seriously and are appreciative for the opportunities they have here.

[The BIC Churchat Sikalongo (tw)]

Last Sunday, at Sikalongo Church, one of the third-year Bible School students preached a very passionate word from the Lord from Nehemiah Chapter 1. He had done his studies, was faithful to the text and truly opened it to our hearts and minds. We are not only encouraged but personally challenged by the faith and the commitment we find among many of the people we meet here.

Darlene is now helping Paulene Muleya with the children in the pre-school five mornings each week. She will have anywhere between 7 and 22 children ages three through six. They play games, sing, and all the fun things one usually does with pre-schoolers plus a very healthy dose of age-appropriate academics including social studies, science, math, English, phys. ed, art and music, on which they actually receive grades and report cards.

[Darlene, Rosa & Marian]

Thursday, September 11 (or as we say it out here 11 September).

The day began with Gene opening the kitchen door only to be greeted by a dozen or so bees who immediately swarmed into the house and took up residence around the kitchen light. There were hundreds still outside around the porch light. Some bug spray took care of the ones inside and quickly dispersed the ones on the porch.

Gene did not have classes today so we went into Choma to have our visa extended (they only gave us 30 days on entry), re-stock on groceries and pay some of our bills for travel and lodging at Nahumba.

Jane Meetwa, who is in charge of Macha Clinic and one of her assistants joined us for the trip after Jane had finished delivering a baby in the wee hours of the morning. We also took Rosa along for help with on-the-street purchasing while we did other shopping. She definitely extended our money! We were unable to get the visa renewed because they only will extend it on the day when it expires, so back we will go on September 26, a trip we were hoping not to have to make. Gene drove the entire way without mishap, even negotiating the traffic in town (which includes cars, trucks, bikes, pedestrians and a variety of animals) while staying in the left lane, but it is quite a workout.

The power was out in Choma the entire six hours we were there (the longest outage we've experienced since being in Zambia). The butcher couldn't even sell us ground beef because of the outage. Fortunately the main grocer in town had a power back-up and so operations there were fairly normal.

The days are heating up and if one is in the direct sun, it's quite hot but not (yet) oppressive. The low humidity makes a huge difference and we're enjoying it. Once the sun goes down everything cools off and the nights are quite pleasant. None of those sticky nights we have in the summer back home.

[Sikalongo Gate (tw)]

The jacaranda trees are also beginning to bloom with their vibrant purple and before long we anticipate an archway and carpet of purple on the road in front of our house. It's quite interesting to observe a variety of plant life which greens up and blossoms well before any rains come. We hope to learn more about this particular phenomenon.

[The Jacaranda]

Tomorrow Darlene is back with the children and Gene has a class to teach. Then it's the weekend and getting ready for next week.

Encampment 8: Livingstone, Zambia

Tuesday, August 26

Victoria Falls

We spent the day in the Victoria Falls area taking a hike above the falls where we could see all the way across to the Zimbabwe side, then along the Knife's Edge, a narrow strip of land almost at the same level as the lip of the falls which extends from the Zambia side right in front of the falls itself.

From this vantage point one can see the expanse of the falls and at this time of year, with not so much water going over, also see all the way to the bottom, something that visitors don't see in the rainy season.

For Tim, this was a treasure trove for shooting pictures and he kept firing away with his camera.

Our next trip took us down to Boiling Pot, a 350 foot descent right down to the water's edge where all the water coming across the falls cascades down a narrow ravine with incredible force. For Gene, a kayak paddler, it looked inviting, but it was quite easy to underestimate the incredible power of the waves moving through this area.

The hike back up was a challenge and we hadn't adequately figured our water requirements. Darlene took her Malaria pill while we were down there and didn't have enough water to go with it... the result being that she had a nasty case of nausea. This, plus the exertion of climbing back up, got the best of her and she needed to stop. Tim and Sara stayed with her while Gene went up to fetch some water but all he could find at the concession stand was soda. Well, at least it was wet and cold so he bought a bottle for everyone and headed back down followed by a troop of baboons. The drink was enough to give Darlene the lift she needed to get to the top where we left the park and found water at one of the shops.

Feeling somewhat refreshed, we walked to the Victoria Falls Bridge to view the Falls from there and to at least put our feet on Zimbabwe soil. As we approached the bridge a young man came along side and started pointing out things and indicating where we should go through the checkpoints. Obviously he was looking to be our "guide" so, without any formal agreement and since to all appearances he was being helpful, we simply allowed him to do his "thing" with us which was most helpful and greatly appreciated.

The view from the bridge was incredible, looking up river at a portion of the Falls, down to the Boiling Pot where we had stood just an hour earlier, and directly underneath – four hundred feet to the river. The experience was marred slightly by a gauntlet of young men hawking their wares. Persistent young fellows.

We made it to the Zimbabwe side, snapped a few pictures and headed back, walking past a constant stream of Zimbabweans headed home loaded with food stuffs from Zambia. Tim negotiated a good price on a the taxi which took us back to Chantors where Dee and I hopped into the pool for a serious cool-down. The day ended with a great dinner graciously served by our hosts and off to bed to get some sleep before our big day tomorrow. Before we retired, however, the waitress took each of our orders for breakfast so it would be ready when we arrived in the morning.

Wednesday, August 27

Chobe Game Park, Botswana

We were up at 5:45am and breakfast was ready for us at 6:30. Our transport arrived around 7:20 and, after picking up a German couple and their son (at a very posh hotel near the Falls), we headed for the border, through a small Zambian game park where we saw a couple giraffe.

Approaching the Zambezi River, on the border with Botswana, we saw scores of trucks lining the road on both sides. We learned that some of these wait for up to a week to get across. There are only two ferrys operating (not very swiftly) and most times one of them is out of service. But the real snarl-up seems to be with paperwork, etc. There didn't seem to be a lot of agitation about the situation and apparently it's accepted as the normal mode of doing business.

We drove between the lines of trucks, and sometimes off to the side, right off the road and arrived at the Zambezi where we were taken across to Bostwana in a small, fast boat. Our guide walked us (literally) through the Botswana immigration office and onto our next transport which took us to Chobe Lodge to freshen up and get our boat for the river part of the trip.

Our boat was out of commission so we waited for about 40 minutes untill another one was rounded up and the tea table appropriately set out. Seated in chairs along the rail with tea cup in hand and a canopy above to shade us from the sun, we headed off on a fabulous cruise of wildlife watching on the Chobe River. Our river guide skillfully brought us within easy watching distance of a variety of bird life and other creatures including hippos, crocodiles, elephants, lots of antelope and cape buffalo. He did a great job of keeping the sun behind us as much as possible to improve viewing and picture taking.

Because of the size and mobility of our craft, we were able to have incredibly close encounters which would not have been possible otherwise. Several herds of elephants crossed the river right in front of us. After several hours we returned to the Lodge for lunch where we were provided with enormous portions of food. Not having had a hamburger for a while, Gene and Sara each ordered one and were amazed at the size. It must have been close to 8oz! Stuffed to the gills, we headed out to our safari vehicle and spent the afternoon driving such sandy roads that we often thought we would become stuck but the driver kept all four wheels engaged in low gear and plowed through the continuous sand trap.

Most of the drive paralled the river where we had cruised earlier but we did see some new bird life, Kudu and Sable antelope which were both spectacular.

Back at Chantors that evening we ordered a very light meal and called it a day.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Zambezi River Canoe Trip

We learned earlier that, due to the body of President Mwanawasa being viewed in Livingstone today, our morning canoe trip was postponed until afternoon. So we all walked into town to get bus tickets, recharged the phone time and did some souvenier shopping. Once again Sara demonstrated her tough bargaining skills. We had a good time, didn't feel threatened in any way but you never know when someone will suddenly accost you with a plea to buy something, including Zimbabwean Billion Dollar notes

Our driver for the canoe trip arrived at 1:00pm, and we were soon introduced to "Potato" an accomplished paddler, guide and paddlesport instructor who has trained with rafting instructors in the US. When we reached the river, Potato briefed us on procedures, hazards and safety measures. Dangers included the sun, rapids, hippos and crocodiles. Precautions included being properly covered with sunblock, not going broadside in the rapids, keeping our limbs inside the canoe, and watching him for signals to move left or right away from dangerous wildlife.

He pointed out that should a hippo surface beneath us we would probably fly 15 to 20 feet in the air. Sharing the river with hippos in a canoe? He then presented us with a disclaimer form to sign! We did an initial run through some nice Class II rapids then settled down to steady paddling with a gentle current with Tim and Sara in one (inflatable) canoe and Gene and Darlene in the other. Potato would occasionally pound on his kayak to warn and wake up any unaware hippos. Quite reasurring.

It wasn't long before we spotted an enormous crocodile which we allowed to continue to sleep peacefully on shore where he belongs.

We observed several hippos near the banks and gave them wide berth. Potato had no interest in cruising closer to get better pictures and gives evidence of a very healthy respect for these dangerous animals. We also saw monkeys, giraffe and a variety of birds, all of which Potato could identify.

Toward the end of the day, we spotted some hippos with young on the Zimbabwe side. One of them, most likely a cow, loudly expressed her displeasure with our presence, detached herself from the group and made a steady move in our direction to which we responded with a hasty downstream paddle. She continued to follow us for three to four hundred yards. Potato was definitely concerned and didn't tolerate any casualness on our part insisting that we put some good distance between us and her. It's quite a feeling to know that you're being seriously pursued by a 2 ton angry animal with a mouth large enough for an adult to sit upright in and from which your inflatable canoe provides no protection whatsoever. So paddle we did and we were glad to reach our take-out point before long and I'm sure that Mrs. Hippo was also glad that we were off the river and no longer a threat to her young.

As soon as we got back to Chantors Gene took a chilling but wildly refreshing dip in the pool (which I had done each of the previous two nights), showered; then he and Tim went off to an internet café which we had previously identified to check email and update our blog. Tim did some shopping while Gene worked with the laptop and a rather slow connection for DSL. It was dark by the time they were finished and they walked back to Chantors with some apprehension and a lot of caution but without incident.

Following another great meal at Chantors to the sound of frogs in the courtyard, we settled down to the serious business of packing, paying our bill and settling accounts with one another. It's amazing to think that we received a nights lodging, full English breakfast and transportation to the airport and Victoria Falls all for $25 US per person per night, and four dinners only cost us about $50 per person total. All tips and taxes included. This in contrast to what some other lodges at the Falls cost - $200 to $400 per night. We saw some of them up close on our way to Chobe (had lunch in one of them) and they are posh, but don't really have anything that Chantors doesn't have to offer and I can't imagine them being any more personal.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Moving On

We enjoyed our last breakfast at Chantors in the dining room rather than on the deck to the BBC commentaries on Barak Obama's speech of last night. Apparently it was a classic. Good for him. We hope, whatever the outcome of this election, that he can carry himself well and perhaps present a fresh approach to looking at the issues of our times. His own personal background and journey certainly give him a perspective that is not shared by most Americans and, as such, has the potential to provide a much needed corrective to a lot of how we see ourselves in the world.

We all had prayer together and then the taxi arrived to take Dee and I to the bus for a 10:00 departure while Sara and Tim remained at Chantors for their ride to the airport at 11:00. We are truly grateful for these incredible 8 days together which we will always treasure.

At the bus station we were again really harassed by two street vendors but they finally moved on. Mazhandu Bus was again on time but very full and we wondered for a while if we were going to get our bags on. Our bus got us to Choma OK but it was definitely not as nice as the one on which we came to Livingstone. It had smaller seats, not as good suspension and seemed to be a lighter vehicle (except for the passenger load), and no AC. It was considerably rougher on the bad stretches of road but quite bearable. At Choma, Marian arrived about three minutes after we got off the bus. After rescuing us from the mob of taxi drivers we accompanied her to the Sparr and helped her with some shopping which was also quite informative for us, then back to Nahumba, grabbed a bite to eat and off to the General Conference at the Choma Secondary School.

When we arrived, business was in recess while the Executive Board was still working on some nominations while the congregation and various ladies' choirs sang. Then things got down to the business of electing overseers, a short break and we re-convened for Communion. At the beginning of this part of the meeting we were graciously introduced by Bishop Thuma Hamukang'andu, and then, by demand of the congregation, requested to come down front and bring greetings which we both did. It was a deeply moving and emotional time as we made this connection with the Zambian church, a church established in part by Gene's grandparents, Adda (Engle) and Myron Taylor and for which Myron gave his life. For Gene it also brought back many memories and feelings of being in Africa during his childhood.

Following communion we had in-depth conversation with Esther Kalumbo from Macha, a grand-daughter of Jobe who apparently was with Myron at the time of the lion encounter and daughter of a lady who was a childhood friend of Gene's Aunt Anna. With Gene and Esther being third generation offspring, it was a delight to make this connection. We hope to be able to visit her and some others in Macha before we leave here

Saturday, August 30, 2008

On to Sikalongo

After another of Marian's incredible breakfasts, we prepared to leave for Sikalongo. Gene drove into Choma where we did some serious grocery shopping before we leave Choma.

We were grateful that Overseer Hamasele and his wife were riding with us back to Sikalongo. This provided some back-up to make sure we didn't get lost and someone who knew the language and the country in the event something went wrong. (Guides are important whenever one is in unfamiliar territory - including the Journey of life.)

Driving to Sikalongo went OK but was absolutely exhausting for the close to 1.5 hours we were on the road. Gene made all the right moves except one where, on the dirt road back to Sikalongo, he was way to the right to avoid one of the many serious potholes, when another vehicle (the only one on this stretch) approached and he instinctively looked for a place on the right to pull over. Darlene calmly said "Left," and we were back where we needed to be. The dirt stretch seemed to go on forever and Gene took most of it in 2^nd gear because there was no sense getting up speed when you didn't know where the next hole was and we were in no hurry - other than just to have it over with.

We arrived safely, dropped Rev. Hamasele and his wife off at their place and drove to the guest house and began unloading.

When we walked back the hallway of the guest house we discovered that a drip from the toilet valve had overflowed the catch pail, flooded into the bathroom, hallway and bedroom, soaking a large rug and also through one of our suitcases. We hung everything out to dry and Gene mopped the floor with a towel while Darlene put away the groceries.

As we were organizing ourselves the cell phone rang at 4:58 and here it was Tim calling from JFK on his cell phone. They've arrived safely back in the States, BUT the van won't start! We learned later that the battery was down for some reason and they got a jump-start from a parking lot security guard to whom Tim gave 500 Zambian Kwatcha (!) for his troubles.

Later in the evening we enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by Jane Mweetwa, and met the rest of their family.

It feels great to be setting up "base camp" here for a while. This is not a permanent residence, mind you, but it is a place of abode for a season and particularly after the last two weeks, it feels like settling down. Since July 1 we have slept in 23 different beds and travelled in 27 different means of conveyance. Sikalongo is a welcome refuge for a while.

Thus begins our soujourn at Sikalongo.