Three Perspectives of Zambia Week #1

From Paul: 
Our journey started in Springfield where Dr. K Jones and Nate drove us to begin our journey to Africa. We were ready to begin our journey and Brittany had bought an iced lavender latté for the journey. Our first flight intended for Chicago was delayed an hour seemingly at the last second. Little did we know this was a bit of foreshadowing for what laid ahead. Our flight was making great time until our plane was put in a holding pattern due to inclement weather over Chicago. Our flight to London was scheduled to leave in 3 minutes by the time we got off the plane and B-rabbit (Brandon) took off in an act of heroism to try to hold the plane. Great effort by b rabbit but it was too late. We missed our flight. Uncertainty started to set in and morale was low during the following hours in Chicago. Morgan and Mallory were negotiating with American Airlines customer service for what seemed like hours with a nice gentleman named Khalil. The rest of the Zambia team waited in anticipation. Finally from afar we could see the Khalil stapling something together and Morgan and Mallory returned with our tickets. We were headed to Barcelona. Upon arrival in Barcelona, B rabbit thought he heard his name called over the intercom and was flying around the airport trying to find an airport employee to help him. Unfortunately, It was around 2pm in Europe and there were no employees in sight. After going through security where Brandon was searched extensively including a mouth swab. Tough day for B rabbit, but we made it to our gate to where Morgan and Hannah had to fight tooth and nail at the front desk to get their boarding pass printed because Khalil had trouble printing their boarding passes.... we could feel the line of Europeans growing restless as the boarding passes were sorted out. Once aboard our plane to London things were starting to look up. In London, the Z-team was on top of the world. After going through security where Brandon’s prescription shampoo was confiscated, The Z-team treated themselves to a nice dinner in a sit down restaurant at the airport. Mallory got a 21-ounce porter house steak and a pomegranate Tea which looked incredible. The team was having a little bit too much fun and quickly lost track of time. Just like that we were in a mad dash to gate 42 which we had to take a shuttle to get too. We would be lying if we said we weren’t scared. We made it to the gate 42 for our flight to Johannesburg in the nick of time to find that 4 out of the 6 team members had boarding passes that wouldn’t scan correctly. For the second city in a row we were faced with a crowd of Europeans who were beginning to grow restless... Our flight to Johannesburg was 11 hours and it was pretty crazy. Upon arrival in Johannesburg, the Z team was glad to be on the homestretch. After going through security where poor Brittany wasn’t able to scan her boarding pass and was separated from the group for a few anxiety provoking minutes. We would finally board our flight to Zambia! Touching down in Zambia was an incredible feeling. A memory we’ll never forget is seeing Brandon crying his eyes out in sheer joy. The Z team had finally made it. We arrived at the airport in Livingstone, Zambia to find that none of the checked luggage had made it to our final destination... Gracious. We were greeted at the airport by a taxi driver that took us to a local grocery store to exchange our US dollars to Zambian Kwacha. We arrived at our hotel named Jollyboys Camp. This was a pretty happening place equipped with a jacuzzi and swimming pool. That night we ate dinner from a local takeout place in Livingstone where an unnamed member of the Zambia team ate 1 kilo of crocodile ribs... that’s the equivalent of 2.2 Lbs.... gracious. Anyways the Z team conversed with some other travelers and retired to their living quarters to recuperate from the traveling. The next morning the Z team went to pick up there long lost team member Jamie who had also had her fair share of traveling difficulties. We greeted Jamie at the airport. This was a great moment as the Zambia team was nearly complete and things were really coming together and we had gained a valuable member. The Zambia team was loaded onto a bus where we met some of the physiotherapists from the Macha Hospital where we would be working. Our journey to Macha Hospital was a long but entertaining trip. We talked with the therapists and enjoyed each other’s company. We finally turned on the final road to Macha which is a long bumpy dirt road. The Z team had no idea they were in for the ride of their life. The Zambia team found themselves flying down this dirt road going what seemed like 60 mph... Our top heavy passenger Van was rocking like a ship on the ocean but our driver George, an employee of Macha Hospital, was not scared and finessed every turn with skill that could only be compared to Jeff Gordon himself. The team arrived at our quaint guest house on the hospital property with the team frozen in fear but glad to be home. The Zambia team members were finally assembled as we finally met up with our fearless team leader Kailyn Dearing.

From Brandon: 
The theme of this trip so far has been “We don’t know what will happen, but God is in control.” We have found ourselves trusting God with several things and over and over again we have been amazed by God’s way of getting us through any bump in the road... sometimes literal bumps in the road (the dirt road rides have been very trusting times). It has been this same trust in God with our experiences in the physiotherapy clinic. Most of the team came on this trip with barely any real clinic experience, but each day we have prayed about God working through us and in our interactions with the locals of Macha. We have witnessed his power over us as we have treated patients together along with the therapists who work at the clinic. We have also been able to share our knowledge and techniques with the therapists as they share their ways of treating in Macha. The main difference between our styles of treatment are the availability of resources. The lack of medicine and medical equipment makes treatment much simpler, but also less sufficient in most cases that we have seen in Macha. Being able to supply some medical devices has already made a difference as we have found much use for them in many of the ortho cases that we have treated. One of my experiences in the clinic has been with an older gentleman who came to be treated for osteoarthritis in his knees. This man was an absolute joy to work with as we made each other laugh and told each other about our families and spiritual beliefs. He told me about his 14 children and how he became a Jehovah’s Witness. Although we don’t share the exact same beliefs, he still allowed me to pray for him before he left and was happy to had let me pray with him. Although I may never see him again, I still felt God’s presence as I prayed over him and can trust God to work through his life.

From Brittany:
 Macha is a rural community situated in the southern part of Zambia. Many of the locals survive off of farming or work within the Macha Mission Hospital system. The primary language spoken within the region is Tonga. However, many speak some English as well. The women often wrap a colorful, patterned cloth around their waists to wear as as a skirt called a chitengi. It is also utilized to secure babies and toddlers to their backs as they go about their daily routine.

The road (Macha Road) leading to the community is bumpy and full of pot holes. Due to this, the ride into town is not easy. Once in Macha, everything seems to smooth out, however. This is due to the hospitality that we have been met with. The people light up while exchanging the morning greeting. They are friendly and willing to alter their plans in order to help. We experienced this when the team decided to walk to a local football (soccer) game. When we stopped to ask for directions, a local boy ditched his ride to the game to walk 2 miles to the field with us. All along the way, he remained interested in our stories and freely shared information about himself and the town.

While here, we have sadly experienced the loss of a 17 year old from the village. This loss showed us the importance of community within this culture and town. Off and on throughout the day, a large procession of people could be heard singing and playing the drums as they mourned over and celebrated the life of their loved one.

The greatest lesson learned from our friends in Macha thus far is how to love without restriction and how to cherish each moment.