Update #5

 

Friends and Family,

This has been my first week in Africa without the routine of Camp LIFE and it has been quite an experience.  I left Lusaka early Monday morning and headed north to a town called Luanshya to stay with my friend and professor’s family the Musoma’s.  Before leaving my villa at Camp LIFE we made sure I had a proper send off by frying up some caterpillars for a little late night snack (a delicacy here in Zambia).  I got two handfuls of these dried critters for 2500 kwatcha or about 75 cents – what a deal!  This was just the beginning of a multitude of cultural experiences I would share with the Musoma family.

Monday afternoon and night I spent resting and viewing the restaurant/bar that Mr. Musoma owns.  Tuesday I was invited to attend a funeral in the morning which lasted until the midafternoon.  On the whole the service was not terribly different (Mass followed by burial), but there were a couple things that were entirely new experiences.  First thing I noticed is that most of the Zambians were dressed in bright colors and were not ashamed to take pictures of any and everything all throughout the service.  Secondly, there was a wide array of emotions expressed during the service and they were always expressed emphatically.  Those who laughed did so heartily and those who cried practically wailed.  There was no sense of “putting on a face.”  You expressed exactly how you felt and there was a great amount of sincerity to the whole experience.  There was also a stronger feeling of family and community than in American funerals.  Between the death and the burial, close family members stayed at the house of the deceased, even if it meant sleeping on the floor.  At the actual burial most family members help cover the casket with dirt once it is laid in the ground.  The only conclusion I could draw from all of this was the fact that Zambians view death much differently than Americans.  Yes, I am sure they are sad and grieving, but the entire process had the feeling of something that should be remembered and not forgotten.  Most American funerals I have attended always seemed to be covered in this sense of darkness that is reflected in the dress and solemn faces.

On Wednesday Mr. Musoma took me to Da Gama School for the Disabled.  This was a Franciscan project that was absolutely incredible.  Driving up to the school you are given the feeling that it is a nice, quaint little building, but you have no idea what lies behind.  This school sustains itself off not just a farm with pig and chicken raising and a garden, but an enormous banana plantation – mostly cared for by the sisters themselves.  Any food they do not use in the cafeteria is sold at the market to generate revenue.  Along with a dining hall, dormitories, and numerous classrooms, this school has a swimming pool, a physical therapy room, and a shop where the specially make prosthetic limbs for their students.  To top it all off the place has this incredible sense of community.  It is really amazing to see one legged boys pushing around their friends who are in wheelchairs, knowing that without each other neither could move very far.  After visiting the school, Mr. Musoma asked me to play at his bar.  So….Taylor had his first international concert.  The crowd was not huge but they were very attentive and insistent on buying me drinks

Currently I am back in Lusaka waiting for my flight to Rwanda which leaves early tomorrow morning.  On the way back from Luanshya today I went on a little safari and saw some giraffes, zebras, and only one hundred different kinds of antelope-looking-things.  It was very enjoyable, especially taking in the scenery while riding through the crisp and cool African air.  I am incredibly excited about the next leg of my journey to Rwanda, where among other things, I will be teaching English to women’s groups.  Along with my excitement, however, I am experiencing a little bit of sadness knowing that I am leaving Zambia behind.  It has been an incredible time that will truly be unforgettable.  To close I would like to include a list of some things I’ve discovered about Zambia and its people:

1. Zambians are make an incredible effort to be the most hospitable people you will ever meet.  This makes such a difference when you are traveling.  It gets really stressful and lonely sometimes and having almost all natives go out of their way to talk to you or welcome you into their homes works wonders to brighten your day.  This is something we need to remember back in the States, especially college students.  We have a multitude of exchange students on our campuses who simply need friends.  (A&M students get in touch with Matt Hickey if you want a solution to this problem.)

2. Zambians do everything with intense passion, especially praying.  They shout, they scream, they shake, and they cover EVERYTHING in the blood of Jesus.  Funny story.  One of my last days of Camp LIFE this little seven year old boy named Wisdom came up to me with his hand raised.  I naturally thought he wanted a five so I gave him one.  He looked displeased and muttered something in Nyanga to a translator who told me, “no he wants to pray for you.”  I was like alright thats sweet, this little boy wants to pray for me.  So I got down on my knees (so he could reach my shoulders) and let Widsom and the rest of his group lay hands on me.  Next thing I know this little boy is calling down all sorts of powers and just screaming away in my ear.  Now I don’t know much Nyanga, but I was picking out words such as Jesus, Satan, and Uncle Taylor.  I was being violently shaken the whole time and periodically hit on the head.  I’m sure any oppressions that may have been over me were quickly scared away.

3. Zambians eat everything with their hands.  It’s fun.

4. Toilet paper comes in the normal white, but if you want to get gender specific there is also pink and blue.

5. And the doozie…gas here is about $9 a gallon, so I don’t want to hear anymore crying about this 4 dollar business.

I love you all,

Taylor

Update #4

 

Friends and Family,

So another week of Camp LIFE has by and the next adventures of my trip are quickly approaching.  This week was much more difficult than the last.  The group of guys I got ranged anywhere from 12 to 15 and came from a school called Bwafwano, which was apparently much rougher than the last.  Some of their life experiences are things we can hardly imagine in the West.  One of my kids Brahim had lost a brother and a sister just last week.  The story he tells is that a group of witches came to his house with coffins and announced to the family that this is where the two children would lay and within the week both had passed.  Apparently this is how Brahim’s mother also died.  I do not have the details of how they were killed, but understandably Brahim faces each day with an incredible amount of fear that he will be next.

I found many of my boys to be numb to any emotion and nonresponsive to any affection.  This made it very difficult for me to face each day with a positive attitude and continue to pour into these kids.  I see this as my own personal weakness and desire to know I’m making a difference.  It’s truly selfish.  Having a difficult week in contrast to my more positive last week has provided me several revelations.  I have always been able to say that I derive much satisfaction serving others, yet I realize this week that I have never really served someone who is difficult to love or does not reciprocate love.  If I am to pursue development/nonprofit work in the future, I have to be willing press through difficult times and continue to build others up even at the expense of my own satisfaction.  I think an entry from my journal sums up my thoughts well:

“Visiting the kid’s compound today after working with them all week weighed heavy on my heart.  The poverty, its causes and effects, seem truly insurmountable and it left me feeling rather hopeless.  The numbness of my boys and the gravity of their situations makes all of my efforts feel frivolous.

The contrast between the two weeks has forced me to contemplate on both hope and love.  It is truly hard to love those who do not reciprocate your love. It can be frustrating, maddening even.  Yet true love is loving the unlovable, and true love continues through struggles and shortcomings.  So it should be when working with kids who are so broken and emotionally stunted from their experiences.  We are called to love unconditionally, radically even.  Through we might be struck down and crushed in spirit, we should never lose sight of the revolutionary transformation and change love can bring.

Hope.  Hope is the only thing that makes sense and the only thing that will bring lasting change.  We can lay down now, call it a lost cause, and never see any transformation.  Or we can strive, never ceasing, experiencing the pain of loss and failure with the chance that we can make a difference in the life of even one child.  If we fail the outcome is the same as hopeless inaction, but at least our lives were lived with meaning.  At least we dedicated ourselves to a worthy cause, transcendent of ourselves.  At least we lived boldly and fearlessly, never chained up in the self-prison of doubt.

The greatest joy, however, is that love never fails.  We may never see an entire generation lifted from poverty or every child receiving the education they deserve.  But personally, I have seen the smile on a child’s face after realizing that there is someone out there who cares.  That there is someone who is willing to fight for him, to be his voice to a world that covers its ears to his cry and says I don’t care.  To this child, love is everything and your hope gives him hope.  Therefore no act of love, no matter how small or how “ineffective” is never, ever in vain.”

I hope you all are doing well in the States.  Tomorrow I head north to Luanshya, Zambia for a homestay with Professor Henry Musoma’s family.  The rest of my trip will pretty much be on my own.  My friends Ryan and Courtney are currently on their way to London after spending two weeks with me at Camp LIFE.  Send out thoughts, prayers, ect that the rest of our travels are safe and that we continue to grow and to be challenged.

“If you never try you’ll never know what you are worth,”

Taylor

Update #3

Hello All,

Well, I survived my first week of Camp LIFE, and I am utterly and completely worn out.  The experience was not only draining physically but also emotionally.  Hearing some of these children’s stories weighs pretty heavy on the heart.  Almost all have lost one if not multiple relatives and many are abused and neglected.  One of my kids, Peter, told me that his father works for a tobacco company and has sufficient money to provide for his family.  However, he went on to explain that his father favors the other children above him: Peter’s brothers and sisters go to government schools, he goes to community school; his brothers and sisters are bought clothes, he receives their old hand-me-downs.  The only time he is tended to is when he falls ill.  Peter told me he feels so unloved by his parents and everyone else in his life.  As he left camp, this sixteen year old boy sat there and cried because he did not want to go back to that life.  Stuff like this just breaks my heart.

It was not all sad all week, though.  There were many moments I spent with these kids where I was so impressed with their ability to learn and grow and the sheer tenacity with which they face life.  I would like to share a few:

I had this one boy by the name of George.  One day, my partner Nkandu (who is awesome) and I were talking to the boys about what it means to respect women.  We discussed the servant nature of Christ and how we are called to love and serve women in a way that reflects the character of Christ.  George spoke up in all honesty and shared how difficult it was for him to love this one girl at his school.  Despite all the kind things George tried to do for her, he always felt rejected and mocked by her in return.  At that moment we talked about how Christ loved even His enemies and was willing to put their needs before our own.  Love is never easy, but it is what we are called to.  We then discovered that this girl was at camp, so we challenged the boys to think of a way they could serve this girl and her group during the week of Camp LIFE.  After much discussion we decided during lunch on Thursday we would go over to the girls group and offer not only to serve them lunch, but to wash their feet as well.  At first the boys were hesitant and shy, but once a few of them started taking off girls’ shoes and washing feet they all jumped in the mix.  The girls, I’m sure had never experienced anything like it.  They were very grateful and in reflection the boys demonstrated incredible understanding of what they had just done.  It was a great moment.

Later in the week we were all sent into the communities for a time of street-evangelism, which admittedly, I was not too pumped about.  It always feels so superficial to try and talk about such deep and meaningful things with people whom you lack relationships with, but I went regardless.  Before we began, I tried to challenge the boys not just to preach Christ in word, but also in deed.  About halfway into our time, there was this one single mother who the boys began engaging in conversation.  She kindly brought us a mat to sit on during our discussion.  The boys talked to her and prayed for her and then one of the boys Timothy (who everyone calls Pastor) told the woman, “I saw you doing chores alone, is there anything we can help you with?”  The woman just started tearing up she was so blown away by these kids.  She said she could manage the chores but she wanted to give the boys money so they could by some food.  Despite her insisted the kids replied, “we are not doing this for money, only for you to know that God loves you and we do to.”

So clearly camp was marked by a lot of memorable moments for me.  These are just a few example of things that happened on a regular basis throughout the week.  The best part of this story is I have another entire week of Camp LIFE before I move off to a different part of Zambia for the next chapter in my African journey.

I realize this is getting long.  Though I have much more to say, I will leave it at this for now.  Remember, I will return to the states with profiles for each of these kids if any of you are interested in sponsorship.  I do not have any websites or addresses for you to reference now, but everything should be set up by the time I get back.  Thank you for all your thoughts, prayers, or whatever else you might be sending out.

“Dream away like every bruised eye and every chipped tooth is worth it.”

Taylor