Heading to Ghana!

We are going to Ghana for the third All-Africa Theological Education by Extension Association (AATEEA) Conference, October 2-8, 2010. We depart tomorrow, and will stay an extra week afterward, in order to explore the country a bit while we're all the way over in West Africa. (If you'd like to help sponsor part of this trip, check out the "donate" button to the right).

We plan to check out the capital, Accra, visit the Ashanti capital of Kumasi, see the old slave castles at Cape Coast, and relax on the beach and perhaps with the sea turtles (!) at Kokrobite Beach.

We will have overnight layovers in Nairobi, Kenya, both coming and going, so perhaps we will see a bit of that East African city as well.

Some Enlightening Coversations

Check out this Charlie Rose episode from last year on the theme of aid to developing countries, including conversations with Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo, author of Dead Aid (mentioned in a previous post); Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO and Founder of the Acumen Fund and author of The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World (very highly recommended); and Peter Singer, philosopher and author of The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty.

Meet the TEEZ staff

Ms. Edina Mbewe, Director's secretary and first face you see when you enter the TEEZ office. (Esther is sitting at the side, in the green dress).

Ms. Phyllis Chabinga, updates courses, does follow-ups for training programs and sends out reminders.
Ms. Esther Chishala, Registrar, corresponds with Tutors and students. There is always a large stack of mail on her desk.

Mr. Henry Mwengwe, produces training material. (next to Esther above).

Mr. Charles Chalwe, driver extraordinaire.

Mr. Muyunda Simangolwa, Mr. Fix-it, go-to-guy, he does various and many tasks around the office.

Mrs. Gladys Daka, accounting (photo will be forth-coming).

Mr. Knowledge Gondwe, accounting (photo will be forth-coming).


Rev. Kangwa Mabuluki, Director. Oversight of program, works with the board of trustees, fundraises, keeps everything going.

Rev. Ackson Banda, Training officer. In charge of scheduling and carrying out training courses throughout Zambia. We will spend aLOT of time traveling and teaching with Rev. Banda!

30+ Adult Baptisms at UCZ Buchi

Two Sundays ago, 12 Sept, we witnessed over 30 baptisms of youth and adults at the United Church of Zambia Buchi congregation here in Kitwe. (Buchi is one of the compounds/townships which is part of Kitwe--kind of like burroughs or neighborhoods in US cities. We live in Mindolo compound/township.) It was an amazing experience. Ryan and I had never seen so many baptisms at once in our lives! Rev. Mabuluki (TEEZ director), who was formerly the pastor for UCZ Buchi, assured us that this is not unusual--it happens every few months. There were 30-40 baptisms, along with another 30-40 confirmations, which all happened this Sunday morning. So this is what is meant that the church is growing in Zambia!

We went along with our friend Jenny Featherstone, who also lives in Mindolo. She brought a truckload of visitors: Ryan and I, along with two visitors from the Church of Scotland--Jennie and George, as well as a Zambian woman, Beatrice, who was our UCZ Buchi host, as she is a member of that congregation. After picking everyone up, we arrived and the service was already in progress, and the sanctuary was packed. So we were escorted around to the door which led to the chancel, and given the place of honor, to sit there in front of everyone. We were heartily welcomed, and invited to introduce ourselves. At Ryan's suggestion, I was the main speaker for the two of us, greeting them in Bemba "Mwashibukeni mukwai!" (Good morning), and bringing greetings from TEEZ and from Madison Avenue PC in New York.

The service was alive--4 different choirs sang, and during a few of the more lively songs there was drumming and some of the women deacons and others danced up to the choirs waving their chitenge (traditional cloth). Our camera was sadly out of battery that day, but George, visiting pastor from the Church of Scotland, took some great video of the service. I will try to upload it here for you to see. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of George himself!

Things you'll see in the video:

The Baptisms-- the pastor performing the Baptisms was actually our next-door neighbor. She is the administrator of the UCZ Theological College, which is next door to the TEEZ office. We were surprised to see her when we came in! Before then, we knew her only as "Mrs. Nachilembe" but now we know she is "Rev. Mrs. Nachilembe"! She is not the pastor of UCZ Buchi, but is a "floating" minister, meaning she is available to preach, perform the sacraments, or otherwise participate in worship as needed and invited. Kind of like a "minister at large" in a US Presbytery, I suppose.

The men and women to be baptized were all wearing white shirts or blouses. The women were mostly wearing chitenge wrappers as skirts. Rev. Nachilembe told us though sprinkling is an approved method in the UCZ, she prefers to baptize at a river or other body of water. However, this congregation didn't have provisions for that. Then she told us she wanted to have a whole bucket of water for each person--but the congregation didn't really have provision for that either. So she merely poured a bowlful of water over each. Even still, the floor was pretty soaked and everyone pretty drenched using this method.

Joining the Church-- each of the newly baptized, or newly confirmed (those who were already baptized as infants) is officially joining the church as well. After being baptized/blessed, they receive a certificate of membership and a stack of offering envelopes--which I believe has an individualized number on it. Often proud deacons, mentors from the girls brigade, or family members will come up to the front to greet the new member with hugs, gifts and "snaps" (taking photos).

Deacons-- Here they can be distinguished as wearing red blouses or sport coats. They lead a great deal of the service.

Offering-- (not seen in this video) was collected by district. While choirs sang, everyone filed to the front, one pew at a time, and placed their offering cards in the proper slot. There was a basket for visitors like us. I estimated there were 20 or 30 cubbyholes for all the different districts.

Jenny Featherstone, our friend and neighbor, with Jennie who works for the Church of Scotland building partnerships in Africa and the Caribbean.

Jennie with Rev. Nachilembe, administrator, and Rev. Dr. Musonda Bwalya, principal, UCZ Theological College

Further (Somewhat Repentant) Thoughts on Prosperity Gospel

On Friday morning in the office, I was having a conversation with Esther and Mrs. Daka about American denominations. They knew that Molly and I were somehow different from each other professionally, but they couldn't figure out how. "So Molly is a student at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church but you are a Reverend?" they asked.

"No," I responded, "we are both Reverends, but Molly and I are from two different denominations--Molly is from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and I am from the United Church of Christ." They looked a bit confused, and somewhat disturbed.

"So you don't believe the same things?"

"Well, our denominations are pretty similar to one another," I said, "similar enough that we are part of an agreement called 'Full Communion.' The Presbyterian Church (USA), The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ have agreed that the gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered in each denomination, so we can all swap ministers if we want. Which means that as a UCC minister, I am allowed to work in a Presbyterian church, and as a Presbyterian minister, Molly is allowed to work in a UCC church." They smiled.

"Well that's nice. How many people are in your denominations?"

"There are about 1 million people in the United Church of Christ, and 2 million people in the Presbyterian Church (USA)."

"Wow. Those are big denominations."

"Not really, given how many people live in the United States. The US has much bigger denominations than the PC(USA) and UCC."

"Like Pentecostals?" Esther asked, smiling. "That's me."

"Yes," I said. "There are many more Pentecostals in the US than Presbyterians or UCCers."

"Like Benny Hinn and T.D. Jakes. Do you know them?"

"Yes, I know them," I responded.

"Do you like them?" Esther pressed me.

I paused. "Not really."

"You don't like Pentecostals?"

"It's not Pentecostalism that I have a problem with," I said. "It's what those particular preachers teach about money. They say that if you are a faithful Christian, God will make you very rich. I don't think that's necessarily true. I don't like that they are always wearing fancy suits and driving big fancy cars and living in big fancy houses."

"It's true that they are very rich," Esther said. "But they also give lots of money. Like once, a bunch of poor muzungus [white people] came to T.D. Jakes [an African-American], and he gave them money even though they were muzungus and he didn't care what color they were or where they came from or what-what. He just gave them money. And Joyce Meyer also gave lots of money to the American people that were suffering because of the floods."

I didn't have an immediate response. "Well, it is good to give," I said, rather dumbly.

"Yes, it is good to give," Esther affirmed. "You know, some people attack them very much, but they do many good things for people. People don't think so, but we are capable of listening to what they say and analyzing what they say and making up our own minds. Do you watch them very much?"

"No, I don't," I said. "Not very much."

"Well you should watch them more and tell me what you think. You have satellite, don't you?"

"No, we don't have satellite." Esther looked surprised.

"You don't have satellite?"

"We only get two TV channels at our house. But one is TBN [Trinity Broadcasting Network], so maybe I will watch some more and tell you what I think."

I went back to my office feeling a bit at a loss. I don't believe that it is always and necessarily bad to be rich or that wealth always and necessarily prevents one from being a faithful Christian--as Jesus said, while it is exceedingly difficult to be a wealthy Christian (it is easier, in fact, for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Reign of God), it is not impossible, for all things are possible with God (Matthew 19:23-26). If one is a wealthy Christian, however, it is important to be exceedingly generous, to share one's wealth with those who do not have the same degree of access to resources. If this is what people like T.D. Jakes and Joyce Meyer do, though, who am I to object?

I pulled out Philip Jenkins' The New Faces of Christianity:

Believing the Bible in the Global South, a book on the reading list we were given by Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church to prepare us for our work in Zambia, but which I had whizzed through in the rush of all our other preparations. I remembered that it had some interesting and provocative things to say about the prosperity gospel, but I couldn't remember exactly what. I found the relevant section. A few things stood out. First, Jenkins' definition of the prosperity gospel is much more generous than mine. While I defined it above as a false and simplistic doctrine that claims that faithfulness brings material blessing while unfaithfulness brings material woe, Jenkins defines it as "the controversial belief that Christians have the right and duty to seek prosperity in this world, to obtain health and wealth in the here and now," (p. 90). Defined this way, I do not find it nearly as repulsive; I have never understood the gospel of Jesus Christ to be limited to inward or otherworldly matters or to promise blessings only after death.

While Jenkins readily acknowledges the potential pitfalls of prosperity gospel theology, he argues,

Few mainline churches in Europe or North America would dream of promising health and wealth, which they would regard as a vulgarization of the faith. At the same time, though, they do not pursue their critique to what would seem to be the logical course, of offering their congregations an enticing message of "sickness and poverty." Rather, they fully agree with the prosperity churches that health and wealth are desirable goals, but that realistically , such blessings can only be obtained by secular means, through hard work, thrift, wise investment, and access to good medicine. Health-and-wealth churches assuredly exaggerate the potential role of prayer and godly behavior in securing material prosperity, but they might well respond by asking if Euro-American mainline churches allow any serious belief whatever that prayer can shape one's material conditions. Are Christian critics of "prosperity" arguing that faith and prayer are absolutely unconnected from material realities? Why then do most or all incorporate prayers for well-being into their services and liturgies? (p. 96)

Provocative questions indeed. Later, he quotes Kefa Sempangi, a Ugandan member of parliament-turned-pastor, who writes, "A religion that speaks only to man's soul and not to his body is not true. Africans make no distinction between the spiritual and the physical....If the gospel you are preaching does not speak to human needs, it is useless. It cannot compete with the witch doctor and the gods."

I think I needed to hear this perspective. It got me thinking--perhaps the prosperity gospel and the "community gospel" I'd been preaching and teaching are in some ways not so different. Looking around at the state of the Church on some days, I start to think that the hope of the Church becoming a true reflection of God's Reign is just as supernatural as the hope that God will make one healthy and wealthy by prayer and obedience alone. In truth, I have to admit that health, material prosperity (as distinct from material excess), and loving community are all real and legitimate aspects of the consummated Reign of God. Could it be that I arrogantly decided that human community was a more legitimate place to put my hope than health and wealth simply because as an American, I need and lack true community more? Could it be that I rejected health and wealth as legitimate objects of Christian hope because I am, compared to most people here, healthy and wealthy already?

This is not to say that I have suddenly become an enthusiastic fan of the prosperity gospel. Far from it. But perhaps, contrary to what I had thought, the big problems with prosperity gospel theology lie not in its doctrine of Christian hope--the hope of sick and materially impoverished people for health and material prosperity are indeed legitimate--but elsewhere. Upon further reflection, I have decided that my main critiques of prosperity gospel theology lie in three places:

1. Theodicy (the doctrine of evil, or, the perennial question, "Why do bad things happen to good people--and vice-versa): it is misguided, I believe, to assert that there is a one-to-one correlation between obedience and blessing, and disobedience and woe. As humans have lamented throughout history, bad things do indeed happen to good people (see, for example, the Book of Job) and wonderful things happen to people who are, by all accounts, despicable and undeserving (see, for example, the Book of Psalms). As mentioned above, such one-to-one correlations should have been laid to rest for Christians once and for all by the observation that our Lord, who led a sinless life, was rewarded for his obedience with worldly rejection and a Roman cross. Any theologically and pastorally coherent doctrine of theodicy must finally admit that the phenomenon of evil, human and natural, is as opaque to us Christians as it is to any of our fellow human beings, and that we cannot have any more ultimate knowledge of its purpose or reason for being, if indeed they exist, than anyone else. As many theologians have observed before me, God does not give us a reason for suffering and evil; instead, God gives us a person, his Son, who weeps with us, suffers with us, and offers us the knowledge of God's eternal and unconditional love in the midst of whatever evil may befall us in this life.

2. The Good Life and the Theology of Enough: It is my strong conviction that the picture of the Good Life offered by preachers such as T.D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, and Joyce Meyer are profoundly distorted. According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, it would require the resources of about six planet earths if the whole world lived at even the average American's lifestyle--and preachers like those named above are much wealthier than the average American. If our species and others are to have any chance of surviving on the limited resources of one planet, we must develop a vision of a good life that is much more modest. I am appreciative of the witness of "plainness" carried forth by the Historic Peace Churches (Mennonite, Brethren, and Quaker) as a way of conceiving a life that is neither materially deprived nor excessive, modest enough to sustain and abundant enough to thrive. As Shane Claiborne writes in The Irresistible Revolution,

   I would suggest we need a third way, neither the prosperity gospel nor the poverty gospel, but the gospel of abundance rooted in a theology of enough. As Proverbs says, "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and say 'Who is the Lord?'" (Prov. 30:8,9). After seeing plenty of poor folks forced into economic crimes by their poverty and after seeing plenty of rich folks so content in their riches that they forget they need God or anyone else, I think we are all ready for something new.

   It is probably true that the vast majority of Zambians are in no danger of the gross over-consumption characteristic of the American way of life, and so warning them of its dangers may be something of a moot point. At the same time, the distorted vision of the Good Life which fuels the greed and corruption of African political elites is not helped by the parallel distortions of prosperity gospel preachers.

3. Political, Economic, and Social Analysis (or the lack thereof): It is unconscionable to even hint that the materially impoverished people of this continent have brought their suffering upon themselves. There are complex and undeniable historical, political, and economic reasons for the material impoverishment of the majority of Africa's people, and to pretend that the primary cause of their suffering is their own faithlessness is profoundly misguided. As the preacher at UCZ Buchi reminded us a couple of Sundays ago, "The African is notoriously religious." The assertion that it is African faithlessness that has caused the Continent's material poverty would be humorous were it not so cruel.

I am so grateful for the honest conversation of my Zambian coworkers that pushed me to think harder about my initial judgments of the prosperity gospel, and for the writing of a fellow Christian which gave me a broader and more nuanced perspective. As I continue in my dialogue, preaching and teaching in this place, I will be more careful not to dismiss the hope of others in a healthy and prosperous future, while challenging my sisters and brothers in Christ to a deeper social analysis, a more humble theodicy, and a simple-yet-abundant vision of the Christian life well lived.

It tasted just like Mom's!

That is, the spaghetti I made for dinner last night. Was it the ground beef in it? or the green peppers? or the bit of sweetness?

I was totally surprised, especially since when I started browning the "minced beef" we got from Shoprite, it didn't taste like ground beef as I remember it from the States. I thought to myself, "everything just tastes different in Zambia. I have to get used to it. ho hum." But then, once I was finished adding the green peppers and homemade tomato sauce I'd made the night before, an amazing transformation had taken place.

I told Ryan it was the most satisfying meal I've eaten here so far, and I think it was because it tasted just like the spaghetti that my mother and I would make together when I was growing up. It tasted like home to me, and that was satisfying to my soul.

Ryan also really liked the meal. "I could just keep eating this forever," was about what he said. We agreed it should be a regular on the menu--that we could handle it every week even.

Thus was established the first Jean-Dowell-Style Pasta Night!

Some Political, Economic, and Theological Musings

I love Zambia. The vast majority of Zambians I have encountered so far have been some of the most kind, friendly, welcoming and hospitable people I've known in my life. Which makes it all the more painful to witness the plight of most of Zambia's residents.

Zambia is one of the 10 poorest countries on earth. 86 percent of people throughout Zambia live below the poverty line and 50 percent are unemployed. The average annual income is US$360, with about two thirds of the population living on less than $1 a day. Only the most affluent Zambians have access to proper health care. The average life expectancy is 38 years and 182 out of every thousand children born die before age 5. Malaria remains the biggest killer of children under 5 and poses a major health problem for the rest of the population. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is widespread, with more than 1 in 7 adult Zambians infected and some 710,000 children orphaned by the disease. About 50 percent of Zambian children suffer from malnutrition.

This is the context in which Molly and I have been called to do ministry in the coming year, and speaking wisely, relevantly, and theologically to this context feels like an overwhelming task. My response to these feelings of overwhelm has been to talk to everyone I can--colleagues, neighbors, taxi drivers--about the political and economic situation here, and of course, to do what I usually do when I am insatiably curious or confused: read, read, read.

One of the best books I've read so far is The Fate of Africa, Martin Meredith's comprehensive and engagingly-written (though somewhat depressing) history of the Continent's past 50 years, stretching from the wave of African countries gaining their independence from their colonial rulers in the mid-20th century (Ghana was first in 1957; Zambia became independent in 1964) to the present. He documents the rise of what has become known as Big Man politics in Africa, characterized by one-party political systems, the autocratic rule of heads of state, minimal checks and balances by the legislature and judiciary, and tight state control of the economy. This kind of political system is hugely conducive to corruption, and many of Africa's resource-richest countries have fared worst economically due to the greed and corruption of political leaders. Even after many African countries (Zambia included) legalized opposition parties in the 1980's, most (Zambia included) have remained "Big Man democracies" in which heads of state retain unmatched power and elections are rigged so that sitting incumbents are nearly impossible to replace. Zambians have been victimized by Big Man political culture as much as any other of the Continent's peoples, with Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) rating Zambia at 3 out of 10 (with 0 being most corrupt). According to some Zambians I have spoken to, the opposition PF (Patriotic Front) has been the clear winner in the last three elections, and yet the ruling MMD (Movement for Multi-Party Democracy) has remained in power.

Dambisa Moyo's Dead Aid has been another enlightening (though again, rather frustrating) read. Moyo is a Zambian economist who has worked at Goldman Sachs and the World Bank, holding a Doctorate in Economics from Oxford University and a Masters degree from Harvard. In Dead Aid, Moyo argues that developmental (as opposed to humanitarian) aid to Africa is a negative force in the life of the Continent, further promoting corruption in government and dependence in citizens. She argues for more innovative ways for Africa to finance development, including trade with China, accessing the capital markets, and microfinance. Though some Zambians I've spoken with disagree with some of her solutions (especially Chinese direct foreign investment--one person opined, only half-jokingly, that "Zambia is becoming a Chinese colony"), most seem to agree that her analysis of the deleterious effects of aid is right on.

Bottom line: Western donor countries are sending millions upon millions of dollars of aid to corrupt African governments that use those dollars not to finance development, but to line the pockets of their officials, while the vast majority of the population remains poor, sick and hungry.

So what's the theological situation? As is the case throughout the Global South, prosperity gospel theology is on the rise in Zambia. The prosperity gospel, promoted in the US by preachers like Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes (the latter being wildly popular here), has no real political or economic analysis to speak of, but posits that poverty and deprivation are primarily the result of unfaithfulness. If you're not being "blessed"--by health and wealth--it's because you're not faithful enough. The prosperity gospel is a grossly simplistic matter of personal "faith" or the lack thereof: if you're faithful, God will bless you. If you're not--well, He won't. Such theology fails to notice, apparently, the life and example of its Lord, who remained a homeless wanderer throughout his life and died a political prisoner executed by the State.

Why, then, is such thinking so popular throughout the Global South? Likely because, theologically dubious though it is, it offers hope of better days to come for some of the world's most materially deprived people. Such hope is not easily come by in places like Zambia. I am keenly aware, therefore, that if I reject prosperity gospel theology in my preaching and teaching here, I must be able to articulate some other legitimate Christian hope that makes sense in this context.

In my teaching, preaching, and theologizing in the States, I most often identified the Reign of God as the legitimate object of Christian hope, visible in provisional form in God's people, the Church. I placed my hope in God's capacity through the power of the Holy Spirit to form the Church into a true foretaste of his coming Reign; into a people who live in right, just and loving relationship to one another, their fellow creatures, and all of God's creation; into a people who really see one another, take care of one another, and bear one another's burdens, into a people capable of laughing, rejoicing, weeping, worshiping, praying and breaking bread together.

What I don't yet know is what that [i.e. the Church as foretaste of the Reign of God] looks like in the Zambian context, and how God is at work to make it real. That, I suppose, is the object of my theological quest these days: how are my Zambian friends, neighbors, and fellow Jesus-followers showing me the Reign of God as it takes shape in Zambia, and how in God's name can I point to it, lift it up, and offer it back to my Zambian friends, neighbors, and fellow Jesus-followers as the object of real, legitimate, Christian hope?

To Lusaka and Back

Last week, Thursday and Friday, we made a trip to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. We traveled with the TEEZ Director, Rev. Kangwa Mabuluki. Our business was 1) to pick up our work permits from the Immigration office, 2) to see about gaining permission to enter the prisons from the Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs, and 3) to apply for visa to Ghana in preparation for the All-Africa Theological Education by Extension Association conference in October.

Lusaka is about 226 miles from Kitwe. It takes 5 hours to make the drive. There was a lot to see along the road, and we had time to talk about many things from Zambian politics to the presence of dance in Zambian worship to theology and ecclesiology. We also took naps and tasted the convenience-store fare such as mango juice, cappuccinos, chicken pies, biltong (Southern African jerky), and sausages. We discovered the Director's secret to staying awake is Super Juice (10 different juices carbonated with added vitamins and minerals), Red Bull, and cappuccinos from the Fig Tree Cafe in Kabwe.

The main road goes through Ndola, which is out of the way, so we took a short cut, on which we passed by this market under my favoritblue jacaranda trees. The short cut road is not as well maintained as the main road, with huge potholes (see above) which are avoided by slowly and carefully weaving in and out of the flat places and often just driving on the dusty shoulder. The short cut sometimes may take as long going through Ndola, but if it doesn't save on time it saves on fuel and therefore money. There is only one divided highway in Zambia, which is on the short stretch of road between Ndola and Kitwe. The rest of the highways are 2 lanes. The main road to Luska was much better maintained, as far as potholes go, though we had to pass many big trucks and other slow traffic if we wanted to make good time.

As we drove along, we passed huge termite mounds, people selling bundles of charcoal, woven mats, calabashes (dried gourds), small settlements and many people walking along the side of the road.

termite mound- probably 10 ft tall at least
charcoal bundles for sale

calabashes drying on a tree-branch-display stand


goods being sold along the road also indicates a settlement nearby

While in Lusaka, we got to visit our friends, the Ellingtons: Dustin, Sherri, Clayton (12), Christopher (8), whom we met at the PC(USA) Mission Orientation this summer in Chicago/Louisville. They live on the campus of Justo Mwale Theological University College, where Dusty has recently begun his job as professor of New Testament. We enjoyed catching up with them, table fellowship, playing games (I won the 2nd game of "10 days in Africa"), and using their excellent shower.

The Ellington Family
in front of a banana grove in their front yard

Molly the victorious, planned her 10-day itinerary through Africa first!

Christopher decked out in fish-print pjs, rabbit skin loin cloth, snake around his neck and chameleon on his head

We were very grateful for their gracious hospitality. Sherri cooked us a lovely dinner on Thursday night, including Egyptian-style rice. (The Ellingtons previously lived and served in Cairo, Egypt). Dusty cooked us a lovely breakfast Friday morning. After our bacon and eggs and french-pressed locally-grown coffee, we attended the school's morning chapel, which we very much enjoyed. On campus, we were excited to meet Cosmas Pamaso and his wife Elizabeth. Cosmas is a student from Harare Synod in Zimbabwe, the recipient of a scholarship from MAPC. We had already seen photos of them on a bulletin board at the church, explaining the partnership with Harare Synod and the scholarship. Cosmas had been waiting since 1993 to attend seminary at Justo Mwale. 17 years!

Ryan & Molly with Cosmas & Elizabeth Pamaso

Entrance to Justo Mwale Theological University College

On the business front, we were able to pick up our work permits, no problem. We got in to Lusaka at around 4:30pm, just before the Immigration office closed. On Friday, we accompanied Rev. Mabuluki to the Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs office, where he was able to successfully deliver a letter requesting our permission to enter the prisons, to minister and teach there. Apparently, delivering it in person speeds the process quite a bit. Finally, we got passport-sized photos taken, filled out the forms for a visa to Ghana, and drove to the Ghanaian embassy, only to discover it was a holiday in Ghana and thus the embassy was closed! The guard greeted us with this news and the instruction to "come back on Monday." Argh. Well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad. We will return to Lusaka tomorrow (Tuesday) to try again with the Ghanaian embassy. This time we will take the Euro-Africa bus, which should be an adventure. Unfortunately, it probably won't stop at the Fig Tree Cafe for cappuccinos.

The beautiful entrance to Fig Tree Cafe- our new favorite "rest-stop"

A New Way of Life

Erin and Brent Raska departed Kitwe yesterday morning, leaving Molly and me the lone muzungus (Westerners/white people) on the TEEZ staff. Everyone was very sad to see them go--they will be missed a great deal by many. The children especially were very sad at their leaving. One of the little boys, Benja (about 5), told Erin that he was going with her in her suitcase. Mwewa, a girl of about 8, told Erin she'd come to visit her in the US, and after Erin explained the high cost of airfare, Mwewa declared that she would take the bus. Despite mourning the loss of their friends Erin and Brent, the children have been very welcoming of Molly and me and are already making us feel at home, helping us to move furniture and boxes into our flat and escorting us to work every morning. You will no doubt see pictures of them here shortly.

Molly, Erin, Me and Brent at the Raskas' Farewell Dinner

At the farewell dinner TEEZ held for the Raskas on Sunday night, Erin told the group that Bob (the Global Ministry Fellow, or GMF, that preceeded them) once remarked that a distinguishing characteristic of the TEEZ office is the palpable joy that can be felt there, the joy everyone seems to take in their work. With tears in her eyes, she told us all that she found that to be true, and prayed that the TEEZ staff would never lose that joy. We too have been delighted at the joy we have encountered in the office, and the whole staff has been wonderfully welcoming of us. They greet us every morning in Bemba ("Mwashibukeni!"--Good morning! "Mwabuka shani?"--How did you rise?) and are teaching us as much of the language as we can handle.

The Raskas w/ some of the TEEZ staff: Rev. Banda, Esther, Phyllis, Henry & Charles

We are slowly but surely getting settled in here, learning our way around town and getting used to some of the differences between life here and life in the States. I have found that these differences are most evident to me in the morning; they start as soon as I wake up. We open our eyes and find that we are enveloped by a big white net, a mosquito net which is our first line of defense against malaria. Mosquitoes are mostly out from dusk until dawn, and so sleeping hours are prime time for contracting malaria.

Our Bed w/ Mosquito Net

The next difference is in my morning bathing routine; so far we do not have hot water, and the water that does run to our flat (when it's running--even that is sporadic) doesn't make it to the shower head, so we can only get water out of the shower faucet. We bend down and put our head under the faucet to wash our hair, and fill a bucket and use a hand towel to wash our bodies. When the cold season comes, we will likely heat up the water a bit on the stove before washing, but for now, at the start of hot season, a cold splash of water in the morning isn't so bad.

Our Shower Faucet (the red stuff on the walls is is copper)

If we want a drink of water with breakfast, we must use water that we have purified using our nifty Sawyer water purification system. Most of our predecessors had to filter and boil their water in order to make it potable, which is rather time consuming and uses lots of energy, but Brent and Erin managed to acquire this handy device, which is much quicker and more energy efficient. It runs by gravity--you fill the bucket with water and let the hose hang below it, and the water runs through the hose, through the filter, and into a bottle. This filters out the copper which is ubiquitous here on the Copperbelt (in the soil, in the water, etc.) as well as whatever little bacteria might be living in there waiting to make us sick.

Our Sawyer Water Purification System at Work

Every morning with our filtered water, we each take one tablet of doxycycline, our anti-malarial drug. Contrary to popular belief, anti-malarials do not actually prevent malaria, they just lessen the impact of the infection if (and most likely for us, when) we get it. To actually eliminate malaria once it is contracted, you have to take another drug which is not healthy to take over long periods of time.

Our Doxycycline Bottles

After breakfast comes the difference that is hardest to get used to for eco-freaks like Molly and me: we have to take our trash to the pit out back, where it is periodically burned. There is no garbage collection service in Kitwe, much less a recycling program, and so everyone burns all of their waste in a big heap. I try not to think too much about what inhalation of the smoke does to our bodies. We're trying to start a compost pile, but every morning I find that about half of it is gone, eaten by birds and cats. Eventually it should accumulate enough that we get a bona fide pile; some of our neighbors tell us they have managed, so we are hopeful.

The Trash Pit Behind Our House

Yes, life here in Zambia is different. But every day it becomes just a little bit easier, a little more normal, and today, I found myself walking to the office with a smile on my face, surrounded by adorable children, thinking to myself, "I think we're going to be alright."

We were greeted by purple trees

One of the first things about Zambia which captured me was the beautiful purple trees which lined the road from Ndola (where we flew in) to Kitwe (where we live). The blossoms are larger than the leaves at this point. Though upon a closer look, you can also notice the tiny bright green sprouts of the leaves. My favorite colors--our wedding colors--in full display, greeting us as we arrived in our new home.

These beautiful trees are Blue Jacarandas which are said to herald the spring. It has been winter and relatively cool here prior to our arrival (lows get to 48 degrees), and is now beginning to get hot. Though I don't relish the coming hot season, I certainly enjoy how beautifully this changing season is announced.

I will post some more photos of TEEZ where we work below. Views of our flat will come later--we are still very much moving in. We are living in a different flat from the Raskas, and some of the things from their place will move to ours when they depart on Monday. We also went to the market today and bought groceries and other needed household goods.

If you'd like to send us mail, please address it to:

Molly & Ryan Dowell Baum
c/o TEEZ
P.O. Box 23054
Kitwe
Zambia

This second photo is us outside the TEEZ building (can you see the "Z" below?). This is the view of TEEZ from the main road in MEF (Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation). MEF is both the name of the compound in which we live as well as the name of an ecumenical NGO. The compound is home to six sister institutions, including TEEZ, MEF, YWCA, an Anglican Theological Seminary, the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) Theological College, and the UCZ Copperbelt Presbytery Headquarters. There are also residences inside the MEF compound, which house students or staff of the sister institutions, and some private renters.

The third photo is Ryan standing in front of the entry to the TEEZ building. Then in the fourth, we are busily working in our office. We brought along our little red netbook, and a Mac laptop which belongs to MAPC. TEEZ has wireless internet! Though it is a bit slower to download/upload things.

In the fifth photo, you can see us next to a cool fountain on the campus of the UCZ Theological College main entry way. We like it because it has a map of Zambia on it!

Arrival in Kitwe!

Hello, beloved friends and family! We arrived safely in Kitwe at about noon today (about 6am Eastern Daylight Time) and were met at the airport by Brent & Erin Raska (2009-2011 GMFs). We've just returned from a lovely dinner out with them and are now in the TEEZ office using the internet.

Our last day in New York was pretty hectic, getting the last of our stuff packed up, cleaning out our apartment and office. I think Molly pulled an all-nighter; I got about two hours of sleep.

In the morning, we scrambled to get the last of our storage boxes packed up and into the storage space in the church's sub-basement. About an hour behind schedule, Bob Louer (2008-2010 GMF) gave us a final push out the door and into a taxi, and we were on our way to JFK. Thankfully, there was no traffic and we made very good time, with plenty of time to check in, check our luggage, and go through security.

The flight from JFK to Johannesburg was 15 hours long, the longest plane flight of my life so far. The flight itself was pretty uneventful, except for an approximately four-hour-long patch of turbulence stretching from the coast of Western Africa to the coast of Namibia. Molly slept through it. She had me buy some melatonin, a natural sleep aid, but it didn't seem to work for me--it made me feel groggy and exhausted without actually knocking me out. Yuck. I should have stuck with NyQuil (my usual go-to sleep aid for long flights). I ended up getting sporadic bursts of low-quality sleep over the course of the flight, but it definitely felt like 15 hours.

When we got to the Joburg airport, we had to go through passport control, check-in, and security before we could board the flight to Ndola, Zambia, and we only had an hour layover! The young woman at the check-in desk looked at our boarding passes, made a face, and said to her colleague, "Yeesh. They're going to Ndola at 9:00." My stomach sank. She typed something into the computer and finally said, "Okay. You're alright. But the flight is boarding at 9, which is...like, now, so you're going to have to run a bit." We got through security with only minor questioning about the huge number of pills we were carrying, and literally ran to our gate. Fortunately, we made it in time.

It was a (relatively) quick two and a half hours to Ndola, where Erin met us at immigration with our work permit receipt. We got through immigration and customs with no problems, and all of our bags were accounted for. Brent drove the 45 minutes to our home in Kitwe, where we saw a bit of the campus where we're living, had lunch at the Raska home, met the staff at the TEEZ office, and were left at our place to take a nap. Afterward, the Raskas came by to pick us up for dinner. We went to Mukwa--a combination Indian and Portuguese restaurant in town. We all had Indian. It was delicious.

We're still kind of in shock that we live in Zambia. It's been a long but good day. We're off to bed now. Good night!

Me after arrival at Ndola Airport