| Friday, June 30, 2006 |
| Visa |
Here is an update on the visa situation, for anyone who has been worried.
This morning Kevin and I drove to Ndola, the immigration office, and talked to some lady. Told her someone had written that I needed a business visa by mistake and she said we’d have to pay a million kwacha and to go next door and talk to some other guy. So we went to talk to him, and he said we’d have to pay two million! So we were like, um but I am leaving next Tuesday, it’s only 4 days. He said oh well do you have your tickets? And Kevin said no. BUT I had put them into my bag, so I did have them. He told us to go make a photocopy of the tickets and my passport and his work permit (why, I don’t know). So we did and then he said to come back at 1400 and he’d give me an extension until Tuesday. He kept my passport though! I’m like hmm what if I don’t get that back? ;o) But we went into Ndola and shopped and looked at tiles and whatnot, killed time for a while, then went back and they weren’t ready yet. So we stood around there for another hour and a half, and finally he called us in and wrote out this paper that I signed and stamped my passport. So I have this paper to give to the people at Ndola Airport when I leave. But we didn’t have to pay any money! It was awesome. I had told Kevin earlier that I was fully expecting to pay no money at all. :) And the Lord worked it out. So awesome!
Thanks to all for your prayers; we serve a faithful God! :o) Hallelujah! |
posted by emily @ 11:28 AM  |
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| Thursday, June 29, 2006 |
| issues |
It has been a few days since I've written, but lots has changed. Both of the teams from Kansas City and Las Vegas have left, Amy and Jimmie have left, Randy and Julie have left. So it's just Charis, Sarah, Jessica, Bobby, Kevin, John and me now. I realize that sounds like quite a few people still, but compared to 26, it's nothing. Life is very much quieter now, but we're still having fun. I miss Amy and Jimmie though! They're still flying back to KC ... hopefully not too bored. :)
I'm having a few issues, though, with my visa. Bobby and John came to the clinic today - and somehow whenever John says "Emily we need to talk" I feel like I'm about 2 feet tall and about to be yelled at. ;o) But anyway, it turns out that when I arrived at the airport in Ndola, I wrote student on my visa papers - and someone wrote "business visa" in my passport. Apparently, I was supposed to put tourist or visitor, but I didn't know that. OOPS. The visas are only good for 30 days, but they won't renew it now because it's a BV (business visa). So basically my visa expires tomorrow. We went through this whole big mess to try to figure out what to do; I tried to get my flight changed to tomorrow instead of next Tuesday, but all the flights out of Ndola are booked because it's a holiday weekend. Then we thought maybe I could fly to Zimbabwe or Botswana and come right back in, because then I'd be able to get a reentry visa. But we couldn't find any flights out of Ndola to anywhere. So Joseph talked to the immigration office in Ndola, and they said I could get a temporary work permit if I paid 1,000,000 kwacha. Which is about $275. Ugh. THEN Kevin thought he might have to drive to Botswana tomorrow anyway - we're having some issues with a container down there - and I could go with him just to go across the border. It's a ten-hour drive one way, but if he was going anyway, I'd save the money. If I don't do anything, I'll get arrested and won't be able to leave the country at all.
It turns out that he's not going to go down to Botswana until Tuesday, so I have to just get the work permit and pay the million kwacha. I'm praying that God would have mercy on us and soften the hearts of the immigration people when we go back to Ndola tomorrow. But ugh. It's been a mess all day, and I've been feeling kind of upset and emotional. I hate that feeling! I know God is ultimately in control and He will work something out. But it's still kind of nerve-wracking when it seems like no options are good ones.
Other than that, life is good. We got two puppies at the mission. Our dog, Grizzly, had puppies with another dog next door, and they're about 6 weeks old. So adorable!!! hehe. I've been playing with them every day, and I keep meaning to take pictures. Maybe I'll post some tomorrow.
My dad asked about nshima the other day, and I actually wrote a post about it - and then it got deleted somehow. So ... nshima is the staple food of Zambia. It's made from ground up maize, mixed with water and cooked. It looks similar to mashed potatoes, but really has no flavor. They'll roll it up into handfuls and eat it dipped in whatever is available - gravy, cooked vegetable leaves, or whatever ... if nothing else, they'll have salt. It has basically no nutritional value whatsoever, but it makes them feel full so they like it. Jessica and I have a bag of mealy meal, so we're going to try to make it one day before I leave. Just to feel like real Zambians. :o)
No pictures today, because I haven't taken any lately. And I haven't really done anything picture-worthy.
To leave on a happy note, I won both games of Farkle tonight. Yay for me. :-D |
| posted by emily @ 4:17 PM |
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| Sunday, June 25, 2006 |
| youth camp |
The youth camp ended last night. Basically, the youth from churches all around this area of Zambia come from Thursday - Saturday for games, singing, and preaching. They sleep in a big huge tent and in the church, and basically hang out. Last year there were a lot more kids; someone estimated maybe 500 this year. So I didn't really get to help much, because I was at the clinic every day, but I got to play some games on Saturday with the kids.
I was part of the tug-of-war game ... the team members from the US were on one team and the Zambians were on another - and the Zambians won. It was fun, especially since I was on the Zambian team. ;o) hehe. Then we played some other games and launched water balloons, which was very entertaining.
I made friends with a guy named William who has an absolutely amazing voice; he's going to Kitwe next week to record an album! So here is a picture of us together today. He's a real sweetheart.
So many of these kids just want to be loved. They all give us their addresses because they love getting mail from Americans. Someone told me that when they get a letter from someone in the States, they carry it around with them for weeks. They show it to everyone - they're so proud that they have a friend in America. It is amazing how just one letter can make them feel so special. So I have a bunch of addresses, and hopefully I can remember to write to all of them.
This morning Mike, Tracy, Chris, Anderson, and I went to a church down the road. It was nice, although many members of the church weren't there because they were at a funeral. They fed us lunch afterwards, and it was fun to watch Chris, Tracy, and Mike eat nshima for the first time. They didn't believe me that it was good until after they tried it! :o)
Oh by the way - this is for my dad, since he asked - I haven't seen any babies delivered at the clinic yet. There was a girl who was due last Friday, but she must have had the baby at home because she didn't come in. |
| posted by emily @ 11:26 AM |
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| Friday, June 23, 2006 |
| Victoria Falls |
Hello everyone!
I'm sorry I haven't written in a long time ... I was in Lusaka for a while and then we went to Livingstone ... and then life back at the mission has been very busy and I just haven't had time to sit down and write.
The trip to Victoria Falls was absolutely awesome! It makes Niagra Falls look like a raindrop. Seriously, you just walk by the falls and think, is this ever going to end? It seems like it goes on forever. So incredible. Here is a picture, which doesn't do it justice - but you can't help but be in awe of the God who takes pleasure in making things like this. He is so awesome.
We took a couple rides through the game park and saw some elephants, giraffes, monkeys, zebras, baboons, water buffalo, warthogs, impala, hippos, and probably other animals that I can't remember at the moment. We went to a crocodile farm, where I went into the area with the crocs and petted one and held its tail. ;o) I also held a 4-month old baby croc. That was fun! Here is a picture of me with the crocodile.
It's child health week in Zambia right now, and we've been going out into the bush to vaccinate children this week. It's actually pretty amazing - the kids come and get weighed and get some standard medicines, and we update their vaccines. I was surprised at how organized the whole thing was. And the kids are such sweethearts, as usual. :)
Right now we are in the midst of an annual youth camp here at the mission, which is why I've been too busy to update this site. Since I'm at the clinic during the day, I've missed out on the fun with the kids during the day, but they have had a service at night which is fun to go to. The kids are great - they just love singing and praising God. A few have come to Christ, and we'll see what He continues to do tomorrow and Sunday. I actually get to go out and play games with them tomorrow, because it's Saturday, so I'm excited about that.
I know this is a brief update on the past few days, but such is life. I'll try to write again tomorrow.
Goodnight! |
| posted by emily @ 6:52 PM |
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| Friday, June 16, 2006 |
| crusade |
I am writing from the Inter-Continental hotel in Lusaka ... connected to the internet at 300 kwatcha per day, which is a great deal. :o)
Today John and I drove from the mission to Lusaka to join the gang for the crusades that are going on this weekend. We didn't leave until about 1:30 because the muffler on the vehicle was being replaced - and thanks to the now quiet exhaust system, John was able to pick up the sound of a loose universal joint in the back (whatever that is ... he tried to explain it to me ...) but apparently it's a big deal and it's a good thing we made it here safely.
When we got to the place where the crusade was being held, the singing was already going on - a big choir on the field and all these Zambians singing and dancing. One of the things I love most about their music is that they don't just sit still and sing. They can't help moving around - hand motions, clapping, dancing on every song. I love it!
Then John preached the message - it was absolutely amazing! He really was annointed by the Spirit and is an amazing speaker. Here is a picture of him speaking, although it is a bit hard to take pictures in the dark.
After the service we hung around the tent outside to pray with people and talk. The kids were so much fun to talk to and very sweet. Again, they loved having their pictures taken, so here is one of this one girl that I really liked.
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| posted by emily @ 6:16 PM |
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| Wednesday, June 14, 2006 |
| big news |
Big news in the bush tonight:
Local man taken to the police station after being caught stealing a neighbor's goat.
Yes, that is is big news in Zambia. :)
 In other news - today I spoke at the little devotional time for the Happy 5 soccer group (after work of course!). There's a group of kids who get together and play soccer and have devotions and worship Jesus. Last week I went with Jimmie while he taught them, and the leaders asked me to teach the kids today. It was so much fun! They are all such sweet kids - very attentive and responsive to me. Afterwards I took their picture all together - and then of course some of the kids had me take their pictures again. They are such suckers for a camera! It's so cute. There's one kid that is absolutely adorable - I'm putting in a picture with him in it, because he's so cute.
I'm really loving being at the clinic, as a side note. There are times when it's difficult because of the language barrier, but I'm definitely feeling more comfortable there. More confident in my knowledge - at first I think I sort of forgot that diseases and sickness are the same in America as anywhere else. So maybe we don't have the same technical skills here than we do in the States, but the disease processes are the same, the differential diagnoses are the same, the signs and symptoms are the same. And the patients all still want to be loved and taken care of. And that's what I love doing. :)
Also - I found the CUTEST baby today. I want to bring him home with me. Unfortunately, I think his mom would've noticed if I untied him from her back ... too bad. Maybe I'll find another cute one unattended someday. ;o) hehe. |
| posted by emily @ 5:27 PM |
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| Sunday, June 11, 2006 |
| long days |
I know it has been a few days since I’ve written, but I’ve been so busy and so tired at the end of the day that I haven’t wanted to write.
Friday I didn’t go to the clinic – instead, Jimmie and I painted some of Kevin’s floor and shopped in Luanshya, then played with a bunch of little Zambian kids. It was fun – they are so precious.
Yesterday we all walked to Catherine’s village nearby (Catherine is our housekeeper – she is an absolute sweetheart). When we got there, she walked with us down to Kafulafuta River. As we walked, we accumulated a bunch of kids who wanted to walk with us. So we sang as we walked – they taught us some Zambian songs and then sang some others for us. It was a blast. The kids are so sweet – and so funny when you take their picture. Especially if the camera is digital and they can see it afterwards. I was showing a group of little boys pictures (or “snaps” as they call them) after I took some. They’d look at a picture and then squeal, then look and squeal again. It was so cute.
When we got back from there, Lorna drove us into Kitwe (the second largest city in Zambia) to have lunch at a restaurant owned by a friend of hers. We went to a market outside to buy some gifts for people at home, and then got ice cream (my idea, of course) and drove back home.
Here is a picture of one of the huts we passed on the way. Just to give you an idea of what their houses look like here in the bush.
Today we walked an hour to a church across the river. It was soooo hot. I don’t know how these people wear all the clothes that they do. You wouldn’t believe how hot it can be at 9 in the morning.
Amy taught Sunday school to the kids at church – it was so adorable. We sang a lot … taught them some English songs and then sang a few of theirs. Then Jimmie preached the message, after all their choirs got through singing. It was a very long service. But I absolutely love the emphasis they place on music and dance. Those are very important aspects of my walk with Christ, and so I love to experience it in another culture. They had us get up in front and sing to them - one of their songs! haha. And another song we had to march around the church singing. So much fun!
One of the best parts of the singing was the drums! There were two guys who were beating on old yellow jugs of some sort – they sounded incredible. I couldn’t believe that sound was coming from these old jugs.
Here's a picture of Amy and Charis leading the kids in a song during Sunday school. 
After church we walked to the pastor’s house, where they had prepared a meal for us. It is just the way they do things – they cook for the muzungus (white people) who visited their church. It’s a very humbling experience. They had killed and cooked a chicken for us, and served it with nshima and rice. It was actually delicious, but I felt a bit guilty for eating all their food. Especially to know that they were going to eat every scrap of what we left behind. But that’s just the way it’s done.
Here we are in the boat, crossing the river (I know, I look like a dork. But it was sunny!) haha. 
When we got back to the mission, after walking the 5km in the hot sun, we drove into Luanshya to meet another group who was having a Bible study. It’s a singing group called Encounter; it’s a bunch of young people who go around singing and dancing and doing skits to promote the name of Jesus. They’ve been on tv and the radio all over the country apparently. It was a lot of fun.
There was one guy there named William who has an absolutely incredible voice. I mean, most of these Zambians can sing but holy cow. This guy can SING. He told me that he’s planning on making an album soon.
I know this has been a long post and I’m sorry. But I haven’t had the energy to write the past couple nights – and if I didn’t write it now, I wouldn’t write it at all. |
| posted by emily @ 6:02 PM |
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| Friday, June 9, 2006 |
| Lusaka |
Yesterday Lorna and I had to go to Lusaka to pick up Charis and Sarah, two medical students from the UK. Lusaka is the capital of Zambia, and about a 4-5 hour drive from Masaiti, where we are. We left at 5 am so we could get there by 10, when the plane was to arrive. We had a lot of fun talking on the way; I love Lorna. :)
The plane was late so we had to wait for a while at the airport, and then Lorna had an appointment to get her hair done. Lusaka is the biggest city in Zambia - there are actually two "malls" which are like shopping centers in the US.
There was a Subway - so here is a picture (just for you, Matt) where we had lunch. Walked around the little stores. Tried to exchange money. Then Lorna had some errands to run so we did a bunch of stuff, and didn't end up leaving until about 6.
I did have one adventure when I thought I was going to be stuck in the bathroom of a "petrol" station. First, it was the most disgusting excuse for a bathroom ever ... but when I got in and locked the door, I couldn't get back out. I couldn't for the life of me get the key to unlock it; it just kept turning and turning. So I gave it to one of the girls who was outside, and she managed to get me out. :) Here's a picture of the petrol (gas) station.
Anyway, we got back really late, so I am not at the clinic this morning. I'll probably have Felix bring me in a little while.
Here is one more picture of the sunset on the way home.
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| posted by emily @ 3:45 AM |
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| Tuesday, June 6, 2006 |
| life in the bush |
Today was probably the most interesting day I have had yet. Felix drove me down to the clinic and I saw patients with Akson (he's one of the doctor-guys). There are two of them - Mulenga and Akson. I love Akson; he's really sweet - I have to keep asking him "what's wrong" or "what did they say" because he talks to everyone in Lamba. Mulenga is really hard to understand, and when I see patients with him, I have to have Maureen interpret for me. She's a "nurse" or something, and really sweet. But anyway, so Tuesdays and Thursdays all the pregnant women come in - so we saw about 8 pregnant girls. They are so cute! One girl is supposed to deliver June 16. Apparently the girls will want me to deliver their babies, since I'm a girl, so we'll see how that goes. :o)
So about 11:30 Kevin shows up and tells me that he needs me, because Joseph is sick (Joseph is one of the Zambians who works for us- he is awesome. I love him). So Kevin drives me up to this other clinic where Joseph is.
So I go in to see Joseph knowing that they expect me to figure out what's wrong with him. (!) He's lying there on this bed, drenched in sweat but bundled up in blankets. He says he's got a terrible occipital headache and that he tested negative for malaria. He says that the clinic people took his blood pressure and that it was 170/160. So I examine him and ask him a few things and can't find anything wrong. Other than the fact that he's diaphoretic and just looks terrible. Meanwhile Kevin is peering over my shoulder, waiting for my diagnosis.
It was so interesting. I felt actually needed. But it was scary being the ONE with the medical knowledge. Honestly, there is no one else here to turn to. It's just me. These people are looking up to me and respecting my knowledge and trusting me. Literally putting their lives in my hands. It's pretty amazing for someone who is used to having a doc or another PA or someone to say "I dunno, what do you think?"
I went back to the clinic after that whole drama and sat around with Maureen. I asked her to teach me some Bemba (another dialect). It was so much fun! All the Zambians were laughing at me trying to say words, but it was really fun. I really want to learn and be able to talk to them at least a little bit.
So then Jimmie and Felix came to get me and then Amy and I made dinner. After dinner we went to the clinic to get Joseph to bring him back to his house. He's such a sweetheart. He calls us "my Amy" and "my Emily." Anyway, we took him home and got a tour of his house, then Kevin wanted to drive through the bush to talk to another one of the guys who goes to the Bible Institute.
Gee, it's hard to describe the bush. That's basically where we are. You tend to think of Africa as desert, but here it's a ton of huge, tall grass and trees. There are a few main roads, but then there's trails in the midst of all this grass that lead to villages. There are usually about 4-5 huts in each village, and the people that live there are typically all related. So we drove to Anderson's village (he's the guy) through the bush ... made a wrong turn ... and ended up at the right spot. But it was incredible. So amazing. I wish you could've been there.
There were these 3 houses, all dark because there's no electricity and the sun has gone down a few hours ago. There is a hut with a grass roof and inside it are a bunch of Zambians crouching around a fire. I think they were cooking something over it. Listening to the radio. Talking in Lamba. The stars twinkling in the clearest sky you've ever seen, and the moon just bursting with light. It was such a foreign feeling. Like, this is AFRICA. It was awesome. I wish I could've somehow taken a picture or something of it, so you could feel it too.
Here is a picture of Joseph, taken yesterday. They carry things on their heads here; it's actually pretty amazing. You'll see women carrying 5-gallon buckets full of water on their heads.
I hope you enjoyed my day ... let me know if these kinds of stories are too boring to post :o) |
| posted by emily @ 6:05 PM |
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| Saturday, June 3, 2006 |
| malaria |
Anyone who is sick in Zambia has malaria. If they come into the clinic complaining of something else, they have malaria AND bronchitis or tonsillitis or anemia. It’s pretty amazing, actually.
The clinic has been very interesting so far – although I was frustrated at first, because the doctor is extremely hard to understand. I had to keep asking him to repeat himself, and he probably thinks I’m an idiot. Seriously, though, I have to concentrate fully on what he’s saying, and about half the time I still have no idea. But by the end of the day yesterday I had pretty much gotten the hang of how he wanted me to write in the charts and the different dosages of the meds that we have. It is a bit difficult on one hand because I don’t speak Lamba, and most of the people don’t speak English. So if nobody is interpreting for me, I can’t communicate with them. I’m going to try to learn some words, though.
Let me just say, the babies here are absolutely adorable! SOOO cute. I want to keep one! :o) When they’re really little they just stare at white people in amazement, and when they get a little bit older, they are afraid of us. This one little boy kept freaking out every time I tried to touch him to take his temp and listen to his lungs and whatnot. Apparently, when children misbehave in church, the parents will point to the white people and tell the kids that we (the white people) will punish them if they don’t behave. So they’re afraid of us and think we are mean. |
| posted by emily @ 8:02 AM |
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| Friday, June 2, 2006 |
| the flight |
Someone asked if I had any adventures on the flight over here. It was actually very uneventful. I flew from Philly to Atlanta and then waited in the Atlanta airport for a couple hours. Then flew here. The plane was HUGE. They said the economy class holds 240 people, and it was full. Lots of young people. We stopped at Sal Island, which is a Portugese island near the Spanish mainland ... refueling and changing flight crews. So it was 8 hours there, we stayed there for an hour, and then 9 more hours to Johannesburg, South Africa. By the time we got to Sal Island, I was going crazy - usually I don't have a problem sitting still for a while, but I just did NOT want to sit there.
I sat next to a guy from NYC, who was French but grew up in Morocco ... he was going to South Africa for 4 months. We talked a lot (well, he talked ... and I nodded, since he was hard to understand). Then he slept. And I just kind of sat there. Tried to watch some movies. I wanted to watch Syriana, because Matt Damon is in it :) but it was so boring that I had to stop. Haha.
Anyway, nothing interesting happened at all! It was nice to see the sunset from the plane, and then the sunrise again. When I got to Johannesburg I had to get a ticket reissued for my flight back, and I walked around the airport a while. I had about 5 hours to kill and I was EXHAUSTED because I hadn't really slept on the plane. So I could barely keep my eyes open just sitting there.
The flight to Ndola, Zambia was kind of cool - it was a little tiny plane. They took us on a bus from the airport over to where it was loading, and you had to climb up the steps to get in. I slept the whole way to Ndola. But when we were landing, it was cool to look out and see what I was going into. There were little blips of fire and smoke here and there on the ground - because it is dry season, the grass catches on fire easily.
The airport in Ndola is tiny. Went through customs and they check your luggage. Then the people from Mushili came and brought me back to the mission.
So that's it. Nothing exciting at all ... but I think it's better that way. ;o) |
| posted by emily @ 4:17 AM |
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| Thursday, June 1, 2006 |
| the clinic |
I went to the clinic this afternoon. Many of the people speak Lamba, but some speak English. So I saw the patients who spoke English. I am putting up a picture of the nursery - where the babies go after they are born. Basically, from what I gathered this afternoon, the patients come to the clinic, the doctor sees them and tells them what medicine they need, and then they go to the next room and pick it up. So we can only prescribe things that we have in stock - penicillin, doxycylcine, acetaminophen, ferrous sulfate, nifedipine, diazepam, streptomycin. I think there were a few more on the shelves that I saw. A few different HIV medicines - and some liquid ones for the kids. I am interested to see what I learn, and what kinds of things I am allowed to do. There are a few different clinics around the area with various specialties, so I think I'm going to be around different places.
Here is a picture of me in my room. (I set my camera up on my dresser and was playing with the timer). I am wearing a chitenge, which is a wrap skirt. We have to wear them when we are outisde of the gates of the mission, because it is improper for women to show their legs in public (we can wear normal skirts too). They are generally very brightly colored, because the Zambian people love bright colors.
Here is a story that was told to me today (it didn't actually happen to me, but it's interesting so I'm sharing it). We were talking about snakes and the different varieties that are found here.
Apparently, one day a Zambian man was driving along the road, and he had to stop to relieve himself. He just stopped on the side of the road. About a day later, someone from a nearby village stopped by the man's car, wondering why it had been running for nearly a day. They found a boa constrictor next to the car, sleeping soundly with a huge lump in its middle. They killed the snake and slit it open ... and there was the Zambian man! Completely asphyxiated and eaten for lunch by the snake. The whole man!
I thought that was pretty incredible.
If this doesn't take too long to upload, here is a picture of the grapefruit trees next to my house. We have grapefruit and banana trees, and I think oranges too.
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| posted by emily @ 4:16 PM |
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| about me |
 - Name: emily
- Location: United States
Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
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