Day 6 at Namwianga. None of us expected that we would be eating as well as we have been here. Leonard, a Zambian brother, works as the cook for guests that come and stay here and he is a skilled chef. Every meal has been spectacular and we always finish with a delicious dessert. Today we had our first taste of an authentic Zambian meal. It consisted of shima, a cornmeal mush that is thick enough to eat like bread; chicken cooked in a delicious tomato-based sauce and a dish made from turnip greens. And the best part is that you’re supposed to eat it with your hands, which makes any meal better in my opinion.

The Namwianga Mission houses a medical clinic at the front of the property. People come from all around to receive free services and medication from the friendly staff. On Tuesdays, they have an ART clinic for HIV patients to come receive special care and medication. Laura, our host and a nurse here at the mission, suggested that we go see if we might be able to offer any services as swallowing disorders are not uncommon in HIV patients. So Tuesday morning, Becca and I were dropped off at the clinic. People were straggling in from all directions to get in line to be seen. Cars and trucks full of patients drove up periodically, unloading more people than you would expect to fit in a vehicle. We walked along the covered walkway until we found an open office where a nurse greeted us and called Laura to show us around. We walked around the inside courtyard stopping at each door to see the different rooms: labour and delivery, HIV clinic, soon-to-be inpatient ward, pharmacy, x-ray, and other offices. We were then passed off to observe patients being seen. We weren’t able to offer too much help but we did learn more about HIV and other diseases as we sat in on some of the general patients being seen as well. The doctor seeing the HIV patients was a Congolese man. Each patient came in, he asked them a list of questions (to which we added a question about swallowing), and, if eligible, he renewed their prescription. For some he listened to their breathing and looked in their mouths. All ages were seen, from infants to adults. HIV is much more common here than we like to think it is in the States. After seeing a good handful of patients, Becca and I left the clinic to join the rest of our group for lunch. We had hoped to be of more help, but we were grateful to the staff for allowing us to follow them around and learn about their patients. Our funniest incident at the clinic was when one of the doctors was plugging his phone in to charge. The plug was two-pronged and the outlets here are three-pronged. The doctor asked me to hand him a metel pair of scissors which he handed to Becca and asked her to stick in the third hole of the outlet. Apparently it works as some sort of release in order to plug a two-proged device into it, but Becca, knowing better than to stick metal objects into an outlet, respectfully refused and allowed him to do it himself. We both laughed about it afterwards realizing that we are raised with a few more precautions than the Zambians are taught.

Our afternoons are spent back at the Haven, feeding and playing with the babies and toddlers. They are so sweet and we are seeing some progress with the language development of the toddlers. They are beginning to use words that have been introduced in the morning lessons. It is so exiting to see progress!

One of our goals for this trip is to collect data and set the groundwork for future intervention, in the process we are giving the local school system useful information and education. Each morning half of the group goes to the Haven to work with the little ones and half of the group goes to the Namwianga school to do language and hearing screenings. Today Becca and I joined the group at the school. We performed hearing screenings on about 40 kids and language screenings on nearly 100. As a part of the hearing screenings, we also used an otoscope to look in their ears. Besides a lot of nasty earwax build up in most ears, we found a bug in one, a piece of straw in another and some unusual growths in others. If you know any ENTs that would like to come to Zambia, I’m sure there would be plenty of work here.
Tomorrow we will be joined by two other mission groups who are coming to serve in various ways. We have been spoiled by having the guest houses to ourselves, so we’re going to have to make some changes to share the space, but there is plenty of space. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for the work we are doing and that we will be a light and an encouragement to the workers at the orphanage and the schools.
Pictures from top to bottom: going through the line to get our Zambian meal, conducting a hearing screening at the school, children outside the school during a break.

Our experiences are shaped by our responses. The other night the power went out. We were told it might be out until morning, but it ended up coming back on a few hours later. It was after dark and most of us were in the house of Mono, a lady next door that makes beautiful purses out of traditional fabrics. A couple of girls had their flashlights and led us back to the main house for a candlelit dinner. Later that night some of us decided to take advantage of the power outage to view the magnificent stars. After checking the area for snakes and spiders, we laid down on a small patch of grass to get the full effect of the speckled sky. It was spectacular! The sky looks different in the southern hemisphere, something about it seemed much closer than it typically does. We were awed to say the least and we were thankful for the power outage that allowed us to appreciate the stars in the full darkness of the night. Later that evening the lights came back on and we had some good laughs around a game of Uno.

As I write, two of my roommates are napping after our first really busy morning. On Saturday and Sunday we went to the Haven, the Namwianga orphanage, to meet the toddlers and babies and to play with them. There are currently three houses that are a part of the Haven and one more is nearly completed. Of the two where we have spent most of our time one is primarily for healthy toddlers and the other is primarily for the infants and the medically fragile children. At the toddler house, we were swarmed with little ones, arms reaching up for anyone to hold them. We played with them and held them and loved on them, something they don’t get near enough of, simply because there aren’t enough caretakers for the number of children. In the other house there are 4 rooms: two with HIV negative children, or children who have not yet been tested and two with HIV positive children. On Sunday afternoon we went to the infant house and played with the children and helped feed and hold the little ones.

Today (Monday) we spent the first part of the morning doing some language stimulation with the toddlers. We played games and sang songs and observed their communication levels. Many of them are doing very well considering all the factors they have going against them, but there are some who we’re concerned about. They all seemed to enjoy the extra attention and the songs...as did the caretakers. After spending a couple of hours with them, we went to the other house to feed and play with the infants and the medically fragile.

A little known area of speech pathology is the assessment and treatment of feeding and swallowing disorders. Because of the experience that Rebecca, my fellow UTD graduate, and I have gained in that specialty (which is more than any of our Harding coworkers), we have been dubbed “the feeding specialists” for the purposes of this trip. Most of our time has been focused on the feeding methods at the Haven and what improvements we might suggest as well as looking for individual disorders and how they can be treated. In preparation for Zambia, I took a course that allowed me to focus a project on feeding disorders in children who are HIV positive, which has been very helpful in knowing what to look for. Thus far, most of our time has been spent in observation and brainstorming. This week we are going to try to start collecting data on the infants and making suggestions to the staff. We’re hoping to implement some changes by the end of the week that will hopefully reduce the occurrence of chronic ear infections and respiratory problems that many of the children suffer from. Please pray that we will find a realistic and effective solution and pray for the health of these children, so many odds are working against them.

We worshiped with the large Namwianga Church of Christ on Sunday, both morning and evening services were packed and we were warmly welcomed. At the morning service several of the children from the Haven had been placed in our care and we passed them around during the service.

Currently, I smell like baby spit-up and my feet are covered in dust. I would love to take a shower right now, but we’re going back to the Haven this afternoon and water is too precious to shower twice.

Thank you for your prayers and interest in our work. All of our team are healthy and doing well.

The pictures are from the Haven, from top to bottom: bath time in the toddler house, singing with the toddlers, and a crawler in the infant house

Upon arrival

Most of you have been directed to this site to read updates on our short time here in Zambia. It’s true, that is the primary reason for starting a blog at this time, but I hope it will be something I continue to use to share stories, experience, thoughts, lessons learned, and photos, whether traveling or not. I hope you enjoy what you read. I hope it makes you stop and think, evaluate, be thankful and pray. Prayer, after all, is something we could all do a little more of.

So...Zambia! As our South African Airways flight from Johannesburg descended upon Livingstone, the captain directed our attention to the mist rising from Victoria Falls in the distance. With Namibia directly behind us, Botswana and Zimbabwe on the right, and Zambia on the left, we navigated along the Zambezi River until we reached the small airport. After collecting all 24 checked bags (12 people) and 24 carry-on bags, we piled into two vehicles for the last leg of our journey to Namwianga. I have seen roads much worse than those we drove on to get here, but potholes are potholes, and sometimes there is no avoiding them. Needless to say, the ride was a bit bumpy at times, but, with help from the Chinese, Zambia is working to improve their roads. Along the way we passed several children on their way home from school, families doing laundry by a small pond, and small herds of cattle grazing along the road. At one point there was a beautiful cow in the road. He decided to stroll right in front of the car in front of us. Eventually he decided to walk on the grass instead of the road. Our driver, Donald, laughed and told us this story:

There was a cow, a goat and a dog going on the road. The cow paid his fare to use the road, the goat did not pay, and the dog paid, but he was not given his change. That is why the cow walks on the road like he owns it, because he has paid the fare. The goat, runs away from the road when cars pass, because he is in debt and in fear of being caught. And the dog chases after vehicles on the road because he wants his change back.

Upon arrival at the large campus of the Namwianga Mission, I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful vegetation. Around all the buildings are large blooming poinsettias, orange trees, papaya trees, hibiscus, and several other flowering and fruit bearing plants. We went for a walk around campus this morning, and saw the school and college nearby. This afternoon two of our professors are meeting with the mission superintendent to set up a schedule for our work here. This morning we discussed the different work we plan to do with the infants and toddlers in the orphanage, the children in the schools, and perhaps some of the patients at the medical center. I am very excited about the opportunities that we have here and a little overwhelmed by the great need. I’m certain we will not be able to do everything we want to in our 6-week stay, but I am also confident that the work we will be able to accomplish will make a difference and be the start of something bigger.

The photo is of our group in front of the Namwianga school. Mrs. McLain sacrificed being in the photo to take the picture.

the heart of a global nomad

Not long ago I was given the opportunity to give a guest lecture in a college class on intercultural communication. I was asked to talk about growing up inter-culturally as a third culture kid (TCK). In preparation I briefly looked over the chapter from the course textbook focused on culture shock and living across cultures. There was a short section on TCK’s. The term was defined and alternative names were given, one of which was global nomad. Global nomad. When I read it, I knew it was exactly how I saw myself. Those two words summed up the transient lifestyle that I know so well and the perspective that I have tried to explain to my more “settled” friends. A nomad is defined as a member of a people having no permanent abode, a person who does not stay long in one place, a wanderer. I am a global nomad. I can’t quite find that place to call “home”...at least for longer than a few years. I’d rather be going and doing. I’d rather be exploring and learning.

The more I thought about those two words, the more I identified, and the deeper the meaning of those two little words ran. Being a global nomad does not merely refer to the international lifestyle that I was born into and continue to maintain. Though I love that life, a global nomad is more than that. I am a global nomad because I am not of this world, this world is not my home. Are we not all wanderers to some extent, making our way through this life longing for that “permanent abode”? Throughout scripture, God’s people are referred to as aliens, set apart, only finding peace in having a home when in His Kingdom. Whether living in one place for the entirety of life or not, may we never become so comfortable in life that we forget we’re on a journey, this isn’t the home intended for us.

No matter how “settled” I become in life, I will always be a nomad at heart. I will always love the journey, and I will always be looking forward to home - this is my heart.