KC Represent

Dustin, Vaughn, and I met this great couple here in Zambia a few weeks ago at a dinner party. Their names are Ben and Anna.  They are originally from Colorado and have their first baby (a girl) due in mid April.   But more importantly, Ben likes to BBQ.  And when I say BBQ, I mean a good old American smoked meat BBQ.  Ben asked if we would like to come to his house for a BBQ in a few weeks- and of course we obliged him.  But somehow in the discussion of BBQ it came up that there is a popular BBQ place in Kansas City named after my family.  Ben excitedly bestowed upon me the honor of bringing a homemade Kansas City BBQ sauce to the BBQ.  Last week, I realized how serious this task was when Ben sent out an email to the 20 or so invited guests promoting that there was “a guy from Kansas City who is going to bring some of his family’s famous, top secret BBQ sauce.”  I quickly started researching KC BBQ sauce recipes on the internet.  Before long, I had found some that looked good.  After collecting the ingredients at the store and determining acceptable substitutes for those which can’t be found in Zambia, I went to work.  I did a trial run the night before and after adjusting the recipe slightly for my preferences and adding one or two secret ingredients of my own- I had a sweet and spicy KC BBQ sauce.  But when Saturday came, I was still a little nervous about putting my family name on the line for this sauce so I decided to take drastic measures to ensure its success...

Because you just don’t question a guy with a handle bar mustache when it comes to BBQ sauce.  Needless to say, the sauce was a hit and the BBQ was amazing.

Bringing Home the Bacon

I don’t think that I have mentioned this yet, but Vaughn has a farm... a pig farm... with over 250 pigs.  Every few weeks, Vaughn and his farmhands load up some pigs to sell at the market.  This is not an easy process.  Somehow, pigs seem to know that getting into the back of a truck means that they are going to end up as sausage links.  They are anything but compliant to being loaded up and hauled off.  Aware that I am a Kansas boy, Vaughn assumed that I must have rassled a few pigs in my day.  Unfortunately, I don’t know the first thing about wrestling down a pig.  He enlisted my (and Dustin’s) help anyway.  The reason Vaughn wanted the extra help this week was because in addition to the usual 15 pigs, he had to haul off a 400 pound boar.  This boar had gotten too big to breed and was starting to crush the sows (and any good pig farmer knows that you can’t have that).  The first round of pigs was fairly easy to get into the back of the truck.  We herded them from the back, and they pushed each other up the ramp.  The second round was a little more difficult.  I quickly learned that when a pig turn to face a certain direction it is almost impossible to redirect it.  You have to keep it facing forward.  Otherwise, at the first opportune moment it will let out a hellish squeal and charge the other way (regardless if you are standing there or not).  And a charging pig is a lot like a train... a small, feces covered, angry train.  After getting most the pigs in the truck, we had to face the boar.  He was ready for the showdown after having watched all his friends get loaded up.  It was quite a challenge to even get this huge pig to move... as you can see in the video below.  Edward, one of the farmhands, is attempting to get Monster Pig down from the stall...

After struggling to move the Monster Pig, Vaughn stepped in with a shovel and in a very aggressive and Non-PETA approved manner, convinced the boar that the back of the truck was the best place to be.  After watching Vaughn get the boar up, Dustin was inspired and managed to “convince” the remaining pigs into the the back of the truck as well.  All in all, it was a successful morning of pig wrangling. (Even if a few pigs jumped out of the back of the truck on the way to market... Don’t worry... they still made it to market.)

Bike Ride to Lake Kariba

Our entire Kariba camping group

Over the weekend, Vaughn, Dustin, Danny (I mentioned him in an earlier post), and I went on an 80km bike ride (approx 50 miles).  This is nothing impressive for anyone who rides bikes often, but I have never gone that far on a bike in my life.  On top of that, I am just over 2 months out of knee surgery, it was through the Zambian mountains, and I didn't have a road bike (I did get to use a pretty sweet mountain bike though).  Anyway, I was just happy to be alive at the end of the ride.  The ride itself was breath taking.  There were beautiful flowers and green trees lining the mountainsides.  Around every turn it seemed we would come across a small village composed of thatched roof huts, children calling out to greet us, or a giant baobab tree (Rafiki was probably living in one of them).  The collective beauty certainly made the ride much easier to manage.  At the end of our ride, we decided to join a bunch of villagers that were swimming/bathing in a river.  We may have stood out- I guess there is something conspicuous about three "mzungus"(white people) and a Zambian all in tight bike shorts swimming in the village river.  From there we loaded up in a truck and caught a ride with some friends to Lake Kariba.  We made it just in time to watch the sunset on the beach.  (I know what you are thinking- living in a 3rd world country isn't sounding quite as miserable as you thought.)  We camped out on the beach for the night and then headed out later the next day.  I may be sore from the ride (muscles and sunburn), but I am still smiling from the experience.

Sunset at Lake Kariba

Hope

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the power of hope.  In a country where the life expectancy is approximately 39 years, 1 in 7 adults has HIV/AIDS, alcoholism is rampant and unemployment is over 50%, I have been realizing how real hope is both vital and rare.
If you give a man a fish, he will eat (survive) for the day.  But if you teach a man to fish, he will eat (survive) for a lifetime.  Right?  Isn’t that how the old proverb goes.  And it is true.  But is it really enough to teach a man how to survive?  Jesus said, “Man cannot live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)  I mean, it is valuable and important to teach a man to fish, but we were created to do more than survive.  I am convinced that hope is the key ingredient that distinguishes between simply existing and really being alive.  Hope gives us the power to endure great trials and overcome impossible obstacles.  It gives us the power to set aside trivial pleasures in order to pursue the far off vision of something more precious.  Hope gives us a reason.  Hope gives us purpose.  Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision (or hope), the people cast off restraint.”  It seems to me that this is what plagues many people in this country- no vision, no hope.  It is not that they are depressed, but with so much death around them they often choose to live self-indulgent lives, casting off restraint, and hardly ever giving thought to the future or those around them.
However, in the midst of this culture there are those who are rising up and resolving that they will not just “survive.”  They are educating themselves, working hard, investing in the future, and clearing a path for the next generation.
I have met a few individuals like this at Zambikes.  Dustin and Vaughn have sown into them in so many ways (relationally, financially, spiritually, etc) and they are seeing the very beginnings of the fruit being borne.  Through Zambikes, Dustin and Vaughn are able to personally and intimately invest in these individuals and their families.  For me, that is one of the most amazing things about Zambikes.
By now, many organizations have realized that handing out “fish” is not a long term solution to helping Africa.  It creates an unhealthy dependency.  Teaching them “how to fish” is a much more effective method.  It gives them tools to succeed.  But I believe the future of Zambia will be influenced by those driven by a hope to be more than “fishermen.”
I thank God for people like Dustin and Vaughn throughout the world, who are challenging individuals to be more than simple “fishermen” and discipling them toward greater vision and hope.  That is what brings lasting change.  It is my desire to follow the same pattern. (After all, it just so happens that I know a story of a someone who did the same thing with some fishermen, and it turned out to be a pretty big deal.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

There is nothing like learning how to drive a stick shift in a vehicle where everything is on the opposite side that you are used to, while driving in the left lane, with people and cars popping out in front of you at random...  (I kept trying to signal with my windshield wipers.)  I don’t know who was in over their head more- me or Dustin trying to coach me through it.
Up until now, I have been traveling primarily by back of motorcycle.  This hasn’t been so bad, but I have learned a few things about motorcycles:

Man + Motorcycle = Cool
Man + Woman + Motorcycle = Cool x2
Man + Man + Motorcycle = Not cool

So... as you can see, I need another way to get around the city.  Hopefully I can learn and adjust quickly so I can have some way of getting around that doesn’t inconvenience my hosts.

Danny Boy

This is Friday, Danny is busy working behind him.

So the other day I was talking with a Zambikes employee named Danny.  Danny, like all the workers I have met at Zambikes, has a great smile and a joyful heart.  I asked him how long he had been working for Zambikes.  He said that it has been almost 4 years.  As we continued to talk Danny told me that he had lost his parents years ago.  He said, “Since then Zambikes gave me a job and has been to me like my parents.”  Danny excitedly continued to tell me how Zambikes has blessed him and how he tries to work his best to show his thankfulness.  Because he has a job at Zambikes, he said that he can help pay for some of his younger siblings’ school fees.  It is encouraging to hear how much Zambikes means to those it employs and their families.  The employees all seem to have such great stories of how Zambikes has literally changed their lives.  This is why I wanted to come out here... to help an organization that is working to help better lives.  I certainly consider myself privileged to contribute to what is going on in some small way.  My constant prayer has been, “Lord bless me that I might be a blessing.”  I hope when I leave in 5 months I can leave something of worth behind.


In other news...
Vaughn shot a black mamba out of a tree.

Oh, Canada?

I have already seen many interesting things in Zambia such as giant, 6 inch long snails, grass being cut with machetes, and a man selling bunnies on a street corner.  But this weekend, I saw a sight I never could have expected to see in Zambia... a truckload of Canadian nurses.

Apparently, the University of Vancouver sends a team of nurses to Zambia each year to get hands on medical experience.  They partner with a non-profit here in Zambia that is run by a few Canadian ladies that have become friends with Dustin and Vaughn.  (Their friendship was birthed from a spontaneous mud-fight several years ago.  Go figure.)  Anyway, we invited these ladies and their freshly arrived team to join us for a Braai (BBQ).  So Vaughn and I headed into Lusaka and picked up 17 Canadian nurses in the back of a truck and drove them out to the farm where we live.  We had a great time playing games, having a sand (dirt) volleyball competition, eating, and dancing.  The 17 nurses stayed the night, cramming into the living room and the 2 spare bedrooms.  We all had a great time, and it just goes to show that you can never know what a weekend in Zambia will bring.

Zambulance Project

I now know what my main projects are going to be for the next few weeks.  The primary thing I am working on is helping do a Zambulance survey.  A zambulance is an ambulance bicycle attachment that Zambikes makes.  Since there are many rural areas that are impossible for an ambulance (or any vehicle) to reach, a zambulance allows for transport to a hospital or medical clinic for those who cannot walk there.  For example,  if a woman in a village goes into labor and cannot walk the 10 miles or so to a medical station, she can get a ride in a zambulance.  This is a fairly common occurrence.  I will be doing some research to find out more details about how the zambulances that have already been distributed are being used and the impact they have had.  In addition to this project, I have volunteered my limited knowledge of serving in restaurants to help organize and train the servers at La Revolucion in exchange for free meals.  I will do my best to keep you all updated on these projects, especially the zambulance project.