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

Preaching in New York City

We both got the opportunity to preach at MAPC this summer. Molly preached her sermon entitled "Extraordinary Deeds, Ordinary Means," on July 4, 2010; and Ryan preached his sermon entitled "Reframing Holiness," on August 22, 2010. (Click on the sermon title to be directed to the sermon on MAPC's website.)

Arrival in New York!

After a very long week of graduations, an ordination, packing mania, unpacking mania, and many, many long hours on the road, Molly, Martha (Molly's sister) and I have finally arrived at our new place in New York City!

On the morning of Saturday, May 22nd, Molly graduated with a Masters of Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary and a Certificate of Sacred Dance from the Center of Art and Religion in Education. That afternoon, I was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament according to the faith and order of the United Church of Christ. The following afternoon, I graduated with my Masters of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion.

Immediately thereafter, the packing insanity began! Martha, who is the most brilliant, organized and helpful sister-in-law a guy could ever wish for, created a packing plan and inventory, giving each box its own number, recording its contents and where it would be stored. A number of friends from seminary and from First Congregational Church of Oakland also stopped by to lend a hand in packing boxes and loading the Penske truck. Very early Thursday morning, we hit the road and started heading east. To say it was not easy for us to leave our community in the Bay Area is an understatement.

On Friday night, we arrived at Martha's house in Enid, Oklahoma. She and her husband Alex graciously agreed to take all of Molly and my furniture, and so the next morning we unloaded the furniture, showered, ate, and drove five hours to Molly's parents' house in Atchison, Kansas. We spent about a week in Atchison, spending time with family, storing the rest of our boxes at the homes of various saints from First Presbyterian Church of Atchison, and meeting with Molly's Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM). It was her final meeting with her CPM, and she had to preach a sermon for them as well as be examined on a number of theological, biblical and vocational questions. Of course, she impressed them all, and after only five minutes of deliberation (no one had any reservations), they certified her ready to receive a ministerial call.

The morning after the CPM meeting (wow, that was yesterday!), Molly, Martha and I hit the road again, spending the night with our friend and former housemate Danny in Wooster, Ohio. Danny's hospitality was impeccable, as he prepared us a feast of local Northeastern Ohio cuisine for dinner, and a lovely breakfast this morning. After breakfast, we started the final leg of the journey, and arrived in New York City at about 7pm, where we were met by Pastor Fred Anderson of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, who helped us unload the car, let us into our apartment, and gave us a tour of the building.

The apartment is beautiful and cozy, on the tenth floor of the church building, which is on Madison Avenue and 73rd St. I'll post a few pictures of the place that I took this evening--you can't get a sense of the beautiful city views out our windows, but we'll post pictures of them at a later date.

Thanks to all of you who have been thinking of us and praying us through this journey. We have felt your love buoying us up along the way, and we are so relieved to have arrived!