Reflections on Zambia When I first think of Zambia, I think of the people with a smile on my face. They touch my heart in a deep way. I wish for the relationships that are so easy to create there were the same here. Life there is not easy but it is simple in the way they treat one another. They treat each other with respect, civility, caring, compassion, friendliness, and helpfulness. I’ve been to Zambia twice now and I feel like each time my knowledge and appreciation of the people grows and becomes deeper. Let’s start at the beginning of their greeting. It isn’t a simple handshake that greets you. They can greet you in multiple ways. The normal way starts as a handshake like we do but after the initial handshake your hand moves up to gently surround your hand around their thumb and then back to the normal handshake so that it is a 3-step process. Depending on the person, sometimes normal handshake is then greeted with their cheek touching your cheek on one side and then the other side – both men and women do this. Quite often when men or women want to show respect they will dip their knees a few inches while extending their hand. The last method to greet someone with great respect is that the woman will get down on her knees and walk the last couple steps to you on their knees and extend their hand. It is a very humbling way to show AND RECEIVE a greeting respectfully. I was taken aback by it. Part of the respect that is given is because of my age – 65 now and 66 in a couple months. This is a country where the average age a person lives is 38 and I was told it is dropping. So yes, by their standards I am quite old but instead of being ignored by them, it is treated respectfully and warmly. When driving around, people frequently noticed our group as there isn’t that many light-skinned people in Zambia. But they are curious and when we would wave to them, they would immediately bless us with their very warm and wide smile with a wave of their own. I found this to be true in the city and in the rural countryside. They appreciate being recognized in a friendly manner. There were about 10 pastors in the chaplain training class in Lusaka. There was confusion at first as their understanding of a chaplain and our understanding were different from one another. However, the pastors were very intelligent and committed and by the end of training many were exhibiting new skills that they fully embraced. One even commented that when he got home after the second day, he asked his wife how her day was (not a normal Zambian question). She asked him why he was different. Now that is a very immediate and positive result. Another chaplain came to the hospital where the training occurred early on the second Monday of training. He stopped by to visit patients and hospital staff to see how they were and to practice his chaplain skills. He was very warmly received and showed great incentive by doing that. The chaplains and main trainers were Dr. Bill Lotz, Cheryl Kulas, and Micki Shulkind. I was there for logistical support and I was going to meet with the hospital’s IT manager. However, the IT manager was on sabbatical so we never met. God works in mysterious ways. Instead of spending time with the IT department, I became useful and learned very much in other ways. Role play is an important part of learning to be a chaplain. I relived the experience when Josh was in the hospital 2 years ago so that the chaplains could practice their skills. Then, in Livingstone, I relived the experience when Micki had a TIA back in 2001. Both were very emotional retellings of difficult times. In addition to taking pictures of the chaplain training and other events, I also took individual photographs of the 2013 fourth year medical students at University Teaching Hospital (UTH) for their yearbook. After the photographs were done I joined Dr. Snyder in the lecture hall to be her ‘patient’ as she demonstrated to the medical students how to take a thorough health history, stopping along the way. There was some time that we could enjoy what Zambia had to offer in Livingstone. We went on a sunset dinner cruise on the Zambezi River above Victoria Falls where a beautiful sunset did not disappoint us. There were many animals including hippos and elephants to see. The next day we went on a safari where we say a elephant, giraffes, wart hogs, impala, rhinos and other animals. The excitement of the safari came when a hippo that had been underwater and year where Micki had just been down by the water’s edge completely breached out of the water the way an Orca whale does here in the Northwest. Everyone that says it stepped back as a natural reaction. Unfortunately my camera is pointing in a different direction so I didn’t get to see the very unusual spectacle. Also, when in Livingstone (which is where we were the first time we went to Zambia), we had dinner with 3 of our friends from Overland Missions and greatly enjoyed catching up with Jack, Amber (who married since the first time),and Beverley who has since become the proud mother of baby Addison. The last place I must mention is the Mother Teresa Orphanage we visited just walking distance from the house we stayed at the second week. The orphanage was founded by Mother Teresa and is run by the Sisters of Calcutta. They are dressed in their traditional white robes with blue lines and are very humble in the way they present themselves. It may be an orphanage but it is not just for orphans. We visited people in three areas. First we visited the hospice room. It was difficult to start conversations as the people were quite sick and didn’t know us so they were reserved. We talked to a couple women and prayed for them. Next, we visited another ward. I didn’t know it at first but all the women in it were AIDS/HIV patients receiving medical treatments. We met Dinah who has 2 babies but not in the area. She had been there for 7 month and was greatly her babies and home but she knew she had to be there to receive treatment. While Micki prayed for her I held Dinah’s hand. Every once in a while she would smile as something was said that would touch her. The last place we area we visited was where the 3 – 5 year olds were. They each came up to was and shook our hands without being told to do so. One 3 year old boy reached his arms up to me to be held so I sat down and he was happy to be held. Another girl came up to me in her pretty dance dress and just leaned into me while I was still holding the boy. The children seemed relatively happy but it was obvious they also enjoyed being around parent-type figures. I could go on and on about the trip but I know this is long for a FB posting. We love the people of Zambia for their warmth, hospitality, cheerfulness, strong faith, and willingness to not look at us too strange when we act crazy or silly to them. The country may be one of the poorest in Africa in material ways but they are rich in relationships. Toilet paper was not something you took for granted in bathrooms so we always carried our own. We arrived home yesterday evening. Micki and I went to CJ’s restaurant in Seattle for breakfast this morning, one of our favorite places. I went to the restroom and my eyes immediately looked in the stall for the toilet paper. It was there. It’s a small thing but it left me with a smile and a remembrance of Zambia.
Posted on: Mon, 09 Sep 2013 22:05:28 +0000
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