I spent this weekend in Zambia, taking care of business with my car. In June I was in an accident and we had to take the car to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia for work on the body. Although the car has quite a bit of body damage, it actually looks worse than it is now, because the mechanic in Livingstone removed all the parts in the front to do the engine work and so the car looks funny because it is missing a lot of the body.
A dear friend of Pastor Chris, a man named James came down to drive the car to Lusaka, and I went with him. The journey was not easy—the important ones, I suppose, never are. The car has no windows on the passenger side and a plastic windshield that only covers parts of the empty space left by the one that is missing. There is about 100km (62 miles) of detour from Livingstone going toward Lusaka where the road is being resurfaced. The detour takes you into the bush on gravel roads in horrible conditions. People avoid this trip at all costs! We did this trip in half a car with no glass J By the time we made it back onto the main road we were covered in dust and very tired!
James felt bad that I was riding in the car in such a condition, but I told him “it’s all part of the adventure” and told him some stories of my time in Africa so far. He laughed and along the way would look at me and say, “it’s an adventure!” I try to make it a habit to never ask someone to do something that I would not be willing to do myself and this is one of those moments. We laughed almost the entire trip and I can say that whether the Pajero is in beautiful condition or lacking body parts, I have learned to be content! (Although I definitely prefer it to have windows!!)
I know we must have looked funny because every town or village we drove through people would look at us in the car and laugh, some of the more compassionate hearts would offer condolences. We had a minor breakdown and had to stop in a small town for repair—3 hours later we were back on the road, with a dilemma. We were driving a car with no headlights, and it was going to be dark before we reached Lusaka. We decided we would try to make it to Monze, a bigger town along the way with some lodges. About 45 km from Monze the sun had set and we were taking our chances driving knowing that our sight was limited. About 40km from Monze we could see nothing and no one could see us. We were in trouble. James was driving as slowly and safely as possible, but we had to admit that something had to be done.
I suggested that we get out of the car and flag someone down to help. The first car that past us almost ran James over, and didn’t stop to help. The second car stopped and drove very slowly to Monze, where he was also going to be sleeping and let us follow closely behind. When we arrived in Monze he took us to a lodge where he was going to be staying and I went in to check for availability. When I came out the good Samaritan said, “I know you, I have been to your house.” I didn’t believe this because it would be generous to say that 5 Zambians have been to my home in Vic Falls, what would the chances of one of those five finding me in the middle of the bush on a road I have never driven on before. But, God is so good and so sovereign, it was true. The man, Mambo Phiri had driven a bus for us with a team of volunteers in July 2007 and when we took them to the airport in Vic Falls we went together and stopped at my house to pick up a few things. He looked at the repairs I was doing and made suggestions. He had been stopped at a police roadblock and was going to be fined for something silly and I made jokes with the police in Ndebele and he was let off with a warning. We laughed at the memories and were awed by how good our God is, for sending along a friend to help in a time of need
I love this pic from outside our lodge the thatch
has "the real African story" carved into it. James
parked right in front of it last night when we couldn't
read it... this is what it looked like this morning as we left!
James and I spent the night in Monze and headed off uneventfully to Lusaka the next day. The car is now at a mechanic who will have it repaired relatively inexpensively and back on the road in about a month! I joined the M’kandawire’s at the Presbyterian church’s women’s conference in Lusaka and had the rare pleasure of seeing Pastor Chris and 2 of his brothers officiating a service together. It was a joy.
My favorite part of the service was when 3 of the church choirs were invited to sing. I was confused as to why they were singing separately if they were singing the same song, but I am so glad that they did. The first group sang, they were small about 10 woman and they sang beautifully in perfect harmony. I doubted that I would enjoy the next 2 any more than I had enjoyed that one, it was lovely. But then I was astonished, each choir got more and more impressive, bigger and a fuller sound. What impressed me the most about the last 2 groups were their conductors. Both women, were conducting small choirs (about 30-50 woman) in the middle of the bush, with wind blowing red dust everywhere and they, with their bright white uniforms stood in front of their women and gracefully moved their arms directing the voices with precision and concentration, as if they were conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. I sat amazed, with tears in my eyes, not from the dust in my contacts but from the lesson I saw in these 2 women. They very beautifully demonstrated what it looks like to use your full potential: your time, talents and treasures to build the kingdom. The size of their choir, nor the condition of their “performance hall” did not diminish the quality of their service. My heart was in awe of these women and their act of worship, they truly knew Who they were performing for: they truly know their Lord.
I couldn’t help but leave that place with a question in my heart: Am I fulfilling my role in the Kingdom with such passion and esteem? When people look at me, do they know who I am serving?
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