The Resurrection and The Life

 I am in the middle of my Zambulance research adventure, and I will let you all know about that in my next post, after I have completed the journey.  But so far it has been amazing and the prayers have been working... so keep it up!  But that is not what I want to post about now.  This post is going to be a little different and here are some things you might want to know:
First of all, this is going to be a long post.  Second, it does not have much at all to do with Zambia.  Third, although completely sincere, you might consider it to be preachy.  If you are still interested... Read on.

A Japanese woman mourns the loss of her mother after firefighters recovered the body from the rubble. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)



When tragedy strikes, the news of it travels fast, like waves rippling out from the epicenter of the disaster.  As the news of such tragedy is heard by those on the fringes, those relatively untouched by the tragedy, they are quickly faced with their limited ability to do anything to remedy the situation.  They respond with head shakes, prayers, words of sympathy that seem only fall to the ground, the offering of support, and occasionally going as far as traveling to the site of the tragedy to do whatever they can to offer some relief or help to the victims.  But time passes... and those on the fringes move on with their lives.  And the news of the tragedy goes from shocking, to expected, to non-existent.  For such individuals, time serves to make the tragedy "a thing of the past."  But it cannot do so for everyone.  Despite what people say, there are wounds so deep that even time cannot fully heal (only an eternity).  And those at the epicenter of the tragedy are left having to relearn how to live in the aftermath.  They are only all too aware that things will never go back to “the way they were.” Although time allows for some adjustment, it does not ever fully remove the sting.  They must face a new, undesired reality and in the midst of shifted landscape and the rubble of the life they once knew, they are left searching to see what remains… to see what is still unmoved… unchanged.  They are left to rebuild.  They must rediscover hope, for the measure that sustained them before will surely prove to be insufficient. They must relearn truth, for what was easily accepted before will now have to stand trial in light of new evidence.  No longer can they survive on the truth and hope of yesterday.  That is a luxury that only those on the outskirts of a tragedy can maintain.  Instead, they must either dig deeper to the very roots of their previously proclaimed source of hope and truth to discover if it remains intact, or they must abandon it altogether in search of a new source to become the anchor of their soul.

Now my purpose in writing this is not to convince those who find themselves on the “fringes” to never move on with their life after they hear news of a tragedy.  Indeed, we should respond when tragedy arises, but it is impossible by our own efforts to somehow place ourselves in the shoes of those struck by the tragedy and it would be foolish to try to do so every time there is a tragedy.  No, I am writing this because if you have not already experienced a tragedy in your life, you likely will before your time on earth is complete.  You may not find yourself at the epicenter but at least close enough to experience the shaking first-hand.  And in that moment you will find yourself searching… searching for answers...  searching for truth....  searching for hope.  My prayer is that you will find a rock on which to stand, a rock that doesn’t move even if the mountains fall into the sea around you.  I believe there is only one such Rock, one such Truth, one such Hope… which is that God is good and Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.  In the midst of tragedy, God is still good.  He is not the author of evil.  “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I (Jesus) have come to give you the most abundant life.” (John 10:10)  “Do not be deceived my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of light with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  (James 1:16-17)  God does not bring tragedy.  He works to bring good and redemption into the midst of the tragedies of this fallen world.  The greatest tragedy the world has ever known is the separation of man from God by the original sin.  Mankind was left helpless and hopeless, yet God humbly sent His Son, Jesus to become a man and walk among us- to reconnect us to God.  Yet the people he was sent to rejected him, choosing to follow religion and tradition over truly “walking with God.”  So they took the hand of reconciliation that God had extended and nailed it to a cross.  Mankind spit in the face of God and killed His Son.  Yet God took this injustice and tragedy and displayed true love, forgiveness, and mercy- instead of pouring out wrath and judgment, He took all of our sins and shortcomings and placed them upon His own Son.  God chose redemption over retribution.  And out of the darkest hours of death and tragedy… Jesus arose.  And it is because of this that in the midst of the death and tragedy we face, we can endure.  Because there is a resurrection.  And Jesus accomplished what time could not- He took away the final sting.  And when the last of the mountains have fallen and the things of this world have all been shaken and time finds an end, those who share this hope shall rise with Jesus.  And then tragedy itself will become “a thing of the past.”

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who believes in me shall never die.” 
John 11:25-26

Zambulance Trip

While KU is busy continuing its progress on the road to the Final Four, I will be busy progressing on my own road.  I am going on a trip with Joe, an American Peace Corps/ Zambikes volunteer.  We will be gone for a week visiting various Zambulance sites, gathering information, and taking photos and videos at the sites.  I appreciate any prayers for safety, favor, and effectiveness regarding our trip.  When I return, I will be sure to post about the main happenings on our excursion throughout rural Zambia.

Africa- The Final Frontier

I was standing in the midst of downtown Lusaka looking to purchase a bearing for our broken washing machine.  I was definitely off the beaten path and probably the only white person for a few miles in any direction (I was down there for 2 hours and never saw another “mazungu”).  After walking through a few alleys surrounded by makeshift workshops constructed mostly of recycled wood, cardboard, and pieces of tarp, I came to an opening and found the place for which I was looking.  To my left, there was a man soldering metal.  He closed his eyes and turned his head with each solder because he had no glasses (or gloves).  In front of me, a woman in an apron was cooking shima (a traditional Zambian staple food like corn meal), rape (a spinach-like vegetable), and frying chicken in a cauldron over a small fire.  To my right, a few guys were gathered around a pool table that had been squeezed into the dirt floored space between the surrounding shops.  After a little haggling (at the shop with the guy soldering), I managed to purchase the bearing at a reasonable price.  I made my way back through the workshop alley maze and out to the main road, where the cars were busy zipping around.  In that moment, I thought to myself, “This is Africa.”
There is just something about it that I love.  Actually, there are many things... but there is one in particular that comes to mind: Africa is unprocessed (It is like pulling a piece of fruit right off the tree, where America is like buying it in the store with a sticker on it).  Africa is a pioneer’s paradise.
In the states, it often feels like all that there is to explore has already been charted and mapped out.  All the boundaries and limits have already been pushed, leaving behind laws and signs that restrict you from testing them for yourself (for safety reasons, of course).  It is not that those things are bad, it is just that they make for a less adventurous world.  (I know my mom would appreciate it if I valued safety over adventure, but... I don’t.)
In Africa, most things leave you with a raw, natural, and unique experience that in the US would be commercialized, prepackaged, and restricted.
I have found that one of the by-products of this unprocessed culture is that you are likely to acquire skills (and experiences) that you wouldn’t have otherwise.
Whether writing website code, making mosquito screens, repairing washing machines, or building a house, you find that in many situations, you are as knowledgeable a source as anyone else.  So with a little help from google, you may find yourself to be the nearest expert on any given subject.  You may be a long way off from being a “licensed” or “certified” expert in the US and your finished product will likely look like it was “made in Zambia” (where final results are more often “close enough” or “it will work” than “exact” or “perfect”), but you will definitely learn something new- which is always worthwhile.

Happy 21st Birthday Zach!!!

As great of a time as I am having here in Zambia, I wish I could be home for my brother's 21st birthday.  Today, March 14th is the big day.  (So, you should all wish him a happy birthday.)

Zach, I love you brother and I hope that your 21st year proves to be the best thus far.  I couldn't ask for a better little bro or friend.  Wish I could be there to celebrate with you.  Dustin, Vaughn, and I will have a drink and toast in your honor tonight.

Also, Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!  KU- Big XII Champions!  (I am also really missing March Madness.)

Zach and I in France in 2008

Mulungushi Lake

It turns out that Dustin and Vaughn have a lake house.  Granted, it is a very Zambian lake house... They bought a small plot of land next to a lake for about as much as you can buy a TV set in the states, dug out a bunch of dirt and rock on a hillside, and used local stones, mud, and cement to construct a cave-like house alongside the lake.  It is a perfect Zambian lake house in my opinion.  It is far from luxurious (It is no Shell Knob “Mac Shack”), but if you want to spend a weekend at the lake with a roof over your head, it works just fine.  Anyway, the lake house is not exactly furnished yet... It is just two empty rooms with a few windows.  So we went up this weekend to build a kitchen counter, stone grill for BBQs, and window screens to keep out mosquitos.  I worked on the grill and window screens, and let me tell you that if you have screens on your windows right now and you did not have to construct them yourself... Be thankful.  Because apparently, you can’t just go buy window screens in Zambia.  Anyway, after 3 solid hours of trying to construct a window screens, we admitted defeat... At least until we can get some more supplies to try another method.  Despite that setback, we had a productive and enjoyable time at the lake. But I think my favorite part was actually the ride down to the lake because I got to take a motorcycle down there and drive for an hour or two down a crazy muddy road.  I somehow managed to keep from falling but couldn’t prevent myself from ending up soaking wet and covered in mud. (I gave up on staying dry when I came to a river that had decided to form over the road about 2-3 feet deep.)  Another good weekend in Zambia.

Project Updates

So I figure that I am overdue in updating you all on the projects on which I am working.  So here it goes:

Zambulance Project-
I have been working with an American named Joe on the Zambulance project.  Joe came to Zambia with Peace Corp and since finishing his term he has been doing some volunteer work with Zambikes.  We have contacted several organizations that distributed a large number of zambulances and have made plans to visit several of the sites in the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Provinces.  We budgeted out the cost of visiting each province and determined that it would be easy and cost effective for Joe to visit several sites in Northern Province (due to his Peace Corp connections there).  So Joe headed out last Friday and is currently conducting surveys there.  Meanwhile, we are determining the best way to contact the other provinces so that we can conduct those surveys as inexpensively as possible.

Website project-
This project is a more recent development. I have been taking some photos for Zambikes to update their website, and it fell into my hands to learn how to upload them.  I figured it out relatively quick, so Vaughn and Dustin asked me to work on updating and changing a couple other things on the Zambikes website.  So I have been teaching myself how to edit and write code for websites.  It has been a fun task and given me plenty to do to stay busy.

Restaurant project-
My involvement at Revolucion, the Mexican restaurant, has decreased over the last few weeks because they hired a new general manager named Melissa.  Melissa was a general manager in the states but had been wanting to come work in Africa because her parents are missionaries here.  She has been busy trying to nail down new policies and solve all the random problems that can occur with a Zambian restaurant (ie- “The food delivery guy didn’t show up today, we are out of ice, the power has been out all day, and the generator is almost out of petrol”... that all happened Friday).  I am still doing some work to help train the servers from time to time and helping with some marketing projects (facebook page, flyers, posters, menu inserts, etc).  But I have been spending more time working with Zambikes as of late.