Sunday 17^th March – Saturday 23^rd March

Sunday:

We took the opportunity of visiting a different Church this week and decided to go to Ndola Baptist Church. They were having a special service to welcome students from the various colleges around Ndola and they named it College/University Sunday. The church was packed out with lots of visitors (including us) who were made very welcome with cake and fizzy drink after the service.  Later we were introduced to Pastor Grave Singogo who had previously attended Kabwe Chapel when Jim’s dad was Pastor there and had fond memories of him.  It was a very hot day and so after lunch we took up the invite from Hettie for a swim to cool off and then invited her around for dinner and a movie.  In the evening it was a wonderful clear night and so we were able to appreciate God’s wonderful creation by doing some star gazing.   

After our day off on Monday (although Jan did a bit of teaching at MFA) the rest of the week followed the programme.  The highlights and unusual events being: 

Tuesday  - Woken up at 5.20am by the fire alarm due to a dodgy  battery!  After our morning run Tim and Jo finally got to do hut to hut with Pastor Albert at Kamfinsa without any interruptions, thank you God. They visited an elderly lady with chest pains who had been unable to eat or drink anything for 2 days. They prayed for healing and peace for her and her husband. By the time they left the lady was able to drink a glass of water. God is good! In the afternoon we once again enjoyed Lene lecturing on the subject of Praise.   

 Wednesday:  The day started with Team Prayers on the theme of Praise (following on from Lene).   While Jan taught for an hour at MFA the rest of the Team cycled to Farm Fresh for a further morning of digging with the hoes while dreaming we had a tractor!  It was hot and tiring work but we were rewarded with a lovely lunch of Nshima and beans.  The afternoon was spent at Isubilo, where we met Lucy for the first time (a volunteer) who taught some of the kids Aretha Franklin’s song ‘Say a little prayer’.  Some of the team struggled with the high notes (Jim)!

Thursday:  Jim and Tim went off to St Anthony’s to install a tyre segment under each end of the see-saw to cushion the landing which was scaring the children.  Jan, Jo and Natalie met Pastor Albert in town and gave him a lift to transport 75 live chicks he had just bought - very cute.  They drove him back to Kamfinsa, with a lot of chirping coming from the back and stopped for sawdust and chicken feed on the way.  The dirt road was really bad after all the rain. Jo loved the drive to Kamfinsa but Jan got the Landcruiser stuck on the way back.  Fortunately Jo managed to drive it out of the hole.  The afternoon was spent with Laurie looking at Spiritual Gifts.  In the evening Tim led the Bible study on Ephesians, which followed on nicely from our afternoon session.

Friday:  We went to Lifeline and were joined by an American girl (Rachael) who had been staying at Kaniki for 5 weeks.  Jim and Jan stayed at the playgroup to help with the children while the rest of the team went off with Elizabeth to visit a very elderly lady – who Jim and Jo had visited a few weeks before.  She was slightly improved from the previous week, but we found her with no food, no firewood and no cleaning materials. Tim and Jo sat and talked with her while Natalie and Rachael went to the nearest stall and bought her charcoal, eggs, nshima and fish, which should last her a few weeks! In the afternoon we all went to St Anthony’s.  Jim and Tim spent some more time working on the see-saw re-aligning and tightening the fixing bolts, once they had finished the children loved playing on it now that it doesn’t crash into the floor.   All of us enjoyed interacting with the children and babies, especially the children in the cerebral palsy unit.

Saturday:

We did an early morning bike ride, instead of our usual run to mix things up a bit.  After breakfast it was off to Isubilo.  There we met Michael (a Zambian University Sociology Student) who will be helping out there during the Easter break.  He wants to empower the girls to stand up for themselves using the medium of drama to perform on the parent/guardian’s day.  In the afternoon we began a study on the book of Acts, with Jo taking the first lecture.

As we won’t be writing another blog before Easter, we pray that you  enjoy celebrating our ‘Risen Lord’ and trust the weather in the UK improves (we heard reports you have had more snow!)

Prayer points:

·       The continued health of the whole team.

·       Discernment in deciding on new ministry opportunities.

·       Transporting members of Kamfinsa Church to Luanshya for an Easter camp.

·       Lady we visited with Lifeline

                           Update from our Team out in India.

Back with the builders...

 

On my first SoapBox trip here in March 2012, we visited a group of migrant contruction workers living and working for around £1.20 a day in Mumbai. They've been on my heart since our first brief encounter with them. I wrote an account of their plight and our encounter in an earlier entry on the Life Association blog (www.lifeassociation.wordpress.com). When the planning for this trip was being discussed, I really wanted to come back and visit them again.

 

Unfortunately their plight has not improved in the intervening 12 months. They have moved from the high rise apartment block they were constructing 12 months ago into an area on the edge of Mumbai that is being developed into a new high class residential area. This is another development by the same Mr Hiranandani that they were under the employment of last year. The profits of his company, Hiranandani Construction, has made him the 10th richest man in India. In spite of his massive wealth, he still pays desperate migrant workers 100 rupees a day (about £1.20) to work from dusk til dawn in sweltering heat doing back breaking labour.

 

They are living in conditions probably not unlike the shanties that the navvies that built the Victorian railways lived in. We entered the building site through big steel gates and bounced across the terrain through tracks strewn with waste and filled with crater sized potholes. We entered an expansive village on corrugated tin huts with tarpaulin roofs. There are mosquitos and rats, no running water and no sanitation. These are the worst of the worst conditions, from which there is no respite.

 

After speaking with a group of the builders who are Christians, they tell us there is not even any time for meeting together in fellowship and worship because of the hours they must work to keep the project on track. We worshipped with them, tried to encourage them and prayed with them. At the end they all shook our hands. Men, women and children all with palms as course as sandpaper and as tough as leather. A very telling sign of what is going on here. This is exploitative harsh labour taking place in the worlds 10th richest country, it's fastest growing economy and its biggest democracy.

 

This is not an isoltated case. This is happening across this nation. In every corner some of the worlds poorest and most vulnerable people are being exploited because if they do not work they will die. This is the cold truth of life amidst the 'economic miracle' that is India. But it is not just India that is at fault. The whole society of the world is set up against these people. They are at the absolute bottom of the worldwide pecking order.

 

Thankfully we have been able to do at least something to help. Some of the SoapBox project money will be used to host a celebration feast for the Christian builders this easter weekend. The beautiful thing about this is that, in true Gospel nature, they did not want to keep this blessing to themselves. They will be inviting their Hindu colleagues to share the celebration of the resurrection.

 

 Please pray for the builders of Mumbai, they need our prayers. Please also consider joining a future SoapBox India trip to see for yourselves what is really going on here.

Update from India team. 

SoapBox India 1 team have arrived at the Life School & Oprhanage in a village in the Krishna district of Mumbai in Andhra Pradesh state. We received a wonderful welcome from the children here and have begun making preparations for 8 days of ministry and practical work. The weather here is a wonderful and sunny 34 degrees. Enjoy the snow :-)

Sunday 10th March

Sunday - We decided to visit a new Church this week and went to CCC (Christchurch Community Church) and Hettie from Isubilo joined us.  They meet in the Ndola Theatre, so the seats were very comfy!  As it had been International Women's Day the previous Friday, the ladies were in charge, except for the Pastor giving the sermon.  We enjoyed good worship, a sketch,  testimonies and a powerful sermon. Afterwards we, and the other visitors, were treated to wonderful cake and fizzy drink.  In the afternoon we washed the vehicles as we hadn't been able to do it on Saturday due to the rain, just before it poured with rain again. 

Monday - is our day off, so we all did our own thing.  This was the day we heard the sad news about Fred's Sister (see previous post).  Fred  has now been able to visit Kabwe and visit his sister's grave. His brother-in-law, who we have just heard, is now in a stable  condition in hospital but he has a long way to go.  Please continue to pray for Fred, his brother-in-law and his family.  Fatal road accidents are common in Zambia so we would value your prayer as we travel around.  Fiona (friend of Charlie and Sharonne) came to look around the Guest House. She had been on a short term  SoapBox Trip and had helped to build the guest house, so she was thrilled to see the finished product.

Tuesday - International Youth Day - so another public holiday!  As we were not going to Kamfinsa, Marci invited us to her house to meet her  'nephews', for an 'afternoon of fun' - and 'be prepared to get wet'!  We had a great time; first of all listening to them read, and then lots of games involving water.  The boys thought our attempts to balance beakers of water on our heads was hilarious, as we tripped and fell and they hopped without spilling a drop.  We had an extra team member today as Fiona came along.

Wednesday - Jan started the day teaching for an hour at MFA, before catching up with the team at Farm Fresh.  More backbreaking clearing,  raking the  ground ready for planting and mowing of lawns.  Our reward was lovely Nshima this time with sausage, cabbage relish and a tomato sauce.   In the afternoon we went to Isubilo.  The heavens opened and we got soaked getting out of the car.  Hettie asked us to take some Mealie Meal to one of the orphanage houses, as  2 young  boys were about to take it in a wheelbarrow, in the pouring rain, to the orphanage about 1km away.   Jan duly obliged and got very wet again.  On leaving we gave little Marvin a lift, we thought he lived at the orphanage, however Tim had a lovely wet walk through the market as he directed him to his house, the rest of us following in the vehicle. Marvin obviously loved walking through the township with a Muzungu!

Thursday - Jim and Jo went off to Kamfinsa to meet up with Pastor Albert to go to a cell group.  After biking another half hour they arrived at the hut to find the group meeting  had been moved.  Another half hour cycle was undertaken to find the group. Jo led the study and a great time was had, however as it finished it started pouring down with rain and they had a very muddy wet ride back to the car.  Meanwhile Jan dropped Tim and Natalie at St Anthony's  - visiting the cerebral palsy unit, while Jan went to Jacaranda Mall to get some bits and pieces before joining them.  This time they met the 'Teacher' who was very welcoming and invited us to come and help anytime.   In the afternoon we had our first lecture from Laurie (a Canadian) on LifeKeys, looking at how God created each of us with different gifts and talents.  The evening finished off with a great team time which included more studying  of Epheshians, led by Natalie.

Friday - Jim went off to Immigration to get our visas renewed.  He wasn't looking forward to this, as we had heard lots of horror stories of waiting for hours in line.  The rest of the team went to work alongside Lifeline.  Jo stayed at the playgroup with the children, while Tim, Jan and Natalie went with Kris, Royd, Elizabeth  and Janet (all in one Landcruiser.  The aim- we thought-  was for Kris,  Royd and Tim to measure the wells and then later to return and  make lids for them to install Zoe water pumps, while Natalie and Jan with Elizabeth and Janet  visited Lifeline clients in their huts.  As we are learning, nothing goes to plan.  After measuring the first well, Royd and Janet went off to find another 'close by'.  An hour later they still hadn't returned.  We stood around the vehicle as more and more children came to investigate these 'muzungus'.  Impromptu games and versions of 'heads, shoulders' knees and toes'  were played to pass the time.  Eventually Royd and Janet returned and we all piled back into the car. As we drove off Tim was waving enthusiastically from the boot and was wondering why the children didn't respond, until he realised the tinted windows rendered him invisible to the children!  We went to a Lifeline clients home and Tim helped make the concrete for a well top.  Jan and Natalie helped draw the water from the well.  It was fascinating to see how you can manage with so little mechanical and proper materials to make a well lid so quickly.  Elizabeth and Janet spent a long time talking to the lady of the house, and her 16 year old daughter who Elizabeth thought was pregnant!  In the afternoon we went to St Anthony's to play with the children and babies.  We finished the day by going  for a curry to celebrate Jo's birthday a day early.

Saturday - Jo woke to a decorated house and a chorus of Happy birthday.  After breakfast we went to Isubilo where the Youth Forum gave a talk on Sexual Relationships from a Biblical perspective.  They had been told it was Jo's birthday so sang her happy birthday and one of the boys performed a rap in her honour. Later they celebrated in their 'traditional' way by throwing lots of water over her.  Over lunch Jo opened her presents and we all had a piece of homemade Banana cake- Jo's fav!  In the afternoon we went to Marci and Bill's house for a Braai.  We had a great time playing  a game of croquet and eating fantastic food (steak to die for). Americans certainly know how to entertain.  Later we played a card game called 'Chronology'.  We had a really good evening which ended with another birthday cake and rendition of Happy Birthday. Best African birthday ever!  Jo and Natalie finished the evening off stargazing, wrapped up in blankets to protect themselves from mosquitos!

Sunday 3^rd March – Saturday 10^th March

Sunday:

On Sunday we visited Kamfinsa church and it was a special occasion because Tim spoke a word of encouragement and Jim preached. In between the upbeat and harmonious worshipping, there was a time for prayer against any evil spirits. We witnessed a demonic spirit being cast out of a young woman by Pastor Albert. This was a new experience for the majority of us and in all honesty we couldn’t keep our eyes off of this lady who was writhing on the floor being set free from whatever hold it had on her life.

Monday:

Our day off started with boiling hot sunshine and the washing of both vehicles. Jim left early to go to Isubilo to help again with the tiling and Jan started to sort out finances.  The rest of us thought we would make the most of the sunshine by visiting Hettie’s house who happens to have a swimming pool. It was just our luck that once we had got there and cleaned the pool it started to rain! Tim just about squeezed in a five minute swim before we all gave up and went to the internet café instead.

Tuesday:

 We started early with a fast paced run which saw Jan and Natalie set new personal bests! Natalie and Jan then went to Kamfinsa and spent the morning working in the local school teaching English to 6-7 year olds. They started by teaching them the jolly phonic sounds of ‘a’ and ‘s’ and how to write their names, coming alongside Enoch, the teacher there. Jo was supposed to have gone with them but got a cold (which lasted all week with her sniffing and snorting!). Yet again the team were called away from doing hut-to-hut because Tim had locked the keys in the car and Jan and Natalie had to bring them the spare! However before they arrived Jim located a local ‘mechanic’ that helped us to break into the car. Scary! In the afternoon we had another amazing lecture on giving thanks in every situation, something which we have really tried to live out in the past week.

Wednesday:

In the morning we cycled to Farm fresh to help them with their crops. Jim and the girls were busy hoeing while Tim mowed the huge lawn in the VERY hot sun. We really enjoyed seeing how much our hard work paid off, but enjoyed even more the traditional Nshima they prepared for us to eat for lunch! In the afternoon we went to Isubilo (minus Jo) to help out and play games and read with the youngsters there. We ended by playing a game of netball with the older girls who put us to shame with their natural athletic skills!

Thursday:

The day started with another fast paced run where Jan knocked another minute off her PB! With Jo still ill, Tim went with Jim instead to Kamfinsa to lead the Bible study.  Jim followed on from his sermon on joy and all 24 people there really enjoyed it, sitting in the shade of a banana tree.  At the end of the study, they were both given a bottle of coke- this was a huge gesture as it would have cost them so much! Meanwhile Natalie and Jan went to St. Anthony’s orphanage and spent the morning in the cerebral palsy unit, being taught by Milton- a fresh and eager physiotherapy graduate, on how to use physiotherapy to interact with them.  In the afternoon we had another lecture on HIV and AIDS which was very informative and should help us in the coming months to deal with this issue in a culturally acceptable way.

Friday:

Happy International Women’s Day! This apparently warrants a public holiday in Zambia… (Tim gets kicked by the girls). We couldn’t do our normal Friday ministries so we thought we would take the advantage of taking Hettie to a local nature reserve called Nsobe. We enjoyed a long walk in the countryside, admiring God’s creation and built up the appetite to demolish the cheap but tasty steaks in the evening! Jan held a snake and Natalie and Jo held a baby crocodile. Before we settled down for bed a HUGE storm started and we stayed up to watch it and play monopoly by candle light, as we had yet another Electricity failure.

Saturday:

In the morning we went to Isubilo to run some games, read some books and generally just hang out with the kids aged between 6 and 20. All of whom would just be roaming the streets and not attending school without this amazing charity that gives them a place to relax and pays for all 150 of them to attend school. Another fast paced game of netball was suggested and Tim could not resist being the centre! He then ‘accidentally’ ran into one of his own team mates and knocked her clean to the floor. It’s obviously not a game for boys. Natalie and Jo enjoyed watching the game, cheering from the side while having their hair plaited by some of the girls. After lunch we went to St. Anthony’s to visit the babies and the toddlers. The baby boy we met last week who was severely malnourished was already looking much healthier and had come on leaps and bounds in just a week! As we visited him he was full of smiles and was tucking into a bottle full of milk- thank you everyone for your prayers.

Prayer points:

                   Thank you for Jo who is over the worst of her cold.

·       The continued health of the whole team.

·       Discernment in deciding on new ministry opportunities.

·        For Hettie who  will be leaving Zambia in about a month’s time . She has a heart for Zambia Prayers for her future would be appreciated and that she could really hear what God is telling her to do next.

·       Please pray for understanding over the hut to hut ministry in Kamfinsa village that we do along side Pastor Albert- so far each time we have gone to do this ministry something has pulled us away.  

·       Since writing we have also heard the tragic news from Fred (our builder)  that his  sister was killed in a car accident at the Weekend and that her husband is currently in a critical condition in hospital. They have 6 children.   Fred is not only devastated by the death of sister, but also stressed and worried about how he will be able to look after more children if his brother-in-law dies.   Please pray that  he will know God' s presence  and  that we will know how to bless him at this time offering  any help,  and spiritual guidance he may need. 

Sunday 24^th February – Saturday 2^nd March

Sunday

Today was our first time at Ndola Christian Fellowship, the church based at MFA. Natalie and Jo did a possible mission scout of the Sunday school where Jo got covered in paint as the children made handprints. The others enjoyed a powerful sermon from a guest speaker. The rest of the day we relaxed and Jim, Tim and Jo did a cycle ride around the local area. Tim led a great Bible Study for us in the evening.

Monday

Day off! After a slow start to the day we headed into the town for a bit of market haggling (or attempted) and Internet café. Jim lent a helping hand down at Isubilo tiling the new bathroom block, which needs to be finished soon to enable more funding.

 

Tuesday

We all split up today with Natalie and Jim cycling into Kamfinsa for ‘Hut to Hut’, while Jan, Tim and Jo went into town for the weekly food shop. However on the way the 'shoppers' got stopped at a police checkpoint where people from immigration were checking passports. We didn’t have ours on us and so one of us had to stay behind while the others went off to find them. This turned out to be Jo who was taken into a small building on the side of the road to wait. Tim and Jan arrived back home and realised they didn’t have the safe key, (It was with Jim 45 minute drive away). They managed to reach Jim (a miracle in itself as usually there is no phone signal) and called them back from hut to hut (after only visiting one hut). Meanwhile Jo was still in the makeshift jail and by the grace of God far more chilled than the rest of the team! An hour and a half later the passport was presented, glanced at by the policeman and Jo was released. No worse for wear.

That afternoon we had our first lecture on being thankful in every situation, good or bad, for it is all in Gods plan. God definitely has a sense of humour and great timing!

Wednesday

Today started off with a cycle to farm fresh and we were put to the task of digging over a vegetable patch, African style! After a number of laughs at Natalie and Jo from the Zambians, they showed us how to correctly use the hoe and we made progress (panono panono – slowly but slowly). Jim however was a machine with the hoe and put us all to shame! We were definitely thankful for the cold, cloudy morning and tried to put what we learnt yesterday into practise as we thanked God for our sore muscles.  After getting a delicious lunch of Nshima and Chinese cabbage with a scrummy egg and tomato sauce to power us through the rest of the day we cycled back home

Upon arrival it was a quick shower to remove some of the soil we had tipped over ourselves and straight out to Isubilo. Here the team attempted to teach the kids rounders, Tim got sweaty playing football, Natalie and Jan tackled through some tough puzzles, Jim hid in the toilets tiling again and Jo was introduced to the medical clinic and some gruesome wounds, which she told everybody about during dinner that night!!

Thursday

Tim and Jan headed back to Kamfinsa to run a cell group. They led an enjoyable Bible Study on Ephesians in a Zambian hut with 16 people crammed into a tiny space. Meanwhile Jim carried on with the tiling at Isubilo and Jo and Natalie after getting a tiny bit lost eventually made it to St Anthony’s to  play with some of the orphans. We also visited Masala market in search of some vegetables and soon got chatting with some of the ladies on the stalls. The beginnings of some relationships were forming with free cooking tips for some funky looking mushrooms!! (No hallucinations were to be had that evening I can assure you. An elephant really did share dinner with us!)

Our lecture in the afternoon was by Marcie, "the sex lady", who gave us a great talk about HIV/AIDS and some valuable cultural advice.

 

Friday

Today was our first day out with Lifeline and to Chipulukusu, the second poorest township in Ndola. Natalie, Tim and Jan spent their time with the children at the playgroup, playing games, reading stories and danced (sharna sharna). While Jim and Jo headed out into the huts with a guide to visit some families affected by AIDS. We swept and scrubbed their house and washed up the plates with no soap. We then visited an elderly lady who was extremely unwell. She was covered from head to toe in open, infected sores and was just waiting to die. It was distressing to see.

In the afternoon we headed to St Anthony's orphanage again, where a new tiny baby had arrived who was extremely malnourished. We were told he was 5 months old, but looked and weighed like he was only a couple of weeks instead and newborn clothes were still too big for him. A difficult day all round.

Saturday

We had an amazing day at Kamfinsa running a family fun day. There were lots of kids, chaos, dancing (Ou cou sharna), football, laughter, games and bubbles. Not forgetting being able to feed around about 150 children and adults who might not necessarily have had anything for lunch at all. Was a great time to really bless the community and a great end to the week.

Prayer Points

• The elderly lady who we visited with Lifeline, for her health, energy and company.
• The young baby boy at St Anthony's (nicknamed Elijah) that we see recovery and happiness comes back into his life, with lots of beautiful smiles.
• Pastor Albert's health, he has been suffering lately from angina and a few other complaints that are causing a lack of energy.
• The woman in Masala market, that they will be receptive to us and relationships continue to develop.
• General health for the team.