Wrapping up my time with First Serve

In true Alison style I’m writing my final First Serve blog over 7 weeks after I returned from Zambia. I do have an excuse as I managed to get involved in 6 summer camps (3 of which being linked to Christian Adventure Holidays), which started a couple days after my return to England. I’ve had loads of fun, not only enjoying being in the outdoors and doing sport that I love but I also gained so much from the worship, teaching and spending time with great friends. I am, however, very happy to be home for a bit before starting university on 28^th September so that I can sort out all I need for moving away and spend some well needed time with friends and family at home.

So my final week at Chitokoloki was a fun one, quite a few new visitors arrived so we enjoyed a few nights playing Rook (a popular game of Chit station) and I was introduced to ‘Fire Ball’ which consisted a tennis ball, methylated spirit, fire and therefore screams and laughter. It was very sad to leave Chitokoloki and all the people there who I’d made friends with. It was especially sad leaving the amazing family of Tanis and her two girls, Mika and Hope. I am blown away by Tanis and her hospitality, generosity and kindness and how hard she works because of her love for people and Christ. It was also strange leaving the hospital which I had gotten used to helping out in and to know I wouldn’t be passing the familiar faces of the patients and all those who work there – who were so inspiring.

 

Games night at Tanis'

Rebekah and I then made our way to Loloma Mission Station for my last 3 weeks in Zambia. I continued to share a guesthouse with Rebekah, which was great as we had a good laugh and we were able to explore the place together with another Rebekah – a Canadian newly qualified nurse who is working at Loloma for a year. I had some more experiences of Zambian culture – a lady we met at Loloma girls camp invited a few of us visiting girls for a morning of making a traditional meal of nshima chicken and mafo (fried cabbage made in a peanut sauce), we were amazed by how much work was needed to prepare it and how the Zambian ladies would do this most days. I also had my hair braided into corn rows by the very kind Thumba who we also met at Loloma girls camp and who we became friends with as we saw her at many functions such as Sunday school, and youth bible studies and days out – such a dedicated and mature young lady!

Rebekah and I in front of the hospital

Ladies hard at work

I admire the girls who get this done every month or so - Thumba did an amazing job!

We enjoyed a day out at a beautiful farm by the river with some local youths - there was singing, food and discussions after some talks by visiting South Africans

I also got to see the Loloma nursery and Sunday school in action - such important places for these cuties!

Seeing a different mission hospital was also very interesting. I spent a lot of the time watching ultrasound and in the maternity ward. I learnt a lot about ultrasound and relating anatomy from Rebekah. It was great to see how the Lord was working with her time in Zambia – she decided to prolong her stay and it encouraged me how much she was helping the different hospitals and patients through her work. I’ve enjoyed continuing to see how she is doing by reading her blog. I loved learning lots in the maternity ward as well, as the local midwives were so eager to teach and let me get stuck in; I was even able to catch a few babies and cut a few chords, etc. The atmosphere created by the midwives and mothers and dancing families was contagious.

Theresa (a midwife) was such a laugh in the maternity ward - she insisted on having a photo in front of the breastfeeding poster

Attempting to dance with a family celebrating a newborn baby

The newborn baby after a caesarian section

It was great to see another mission station and to get to know the missionaries there who were all so sweet and helpful! Hearing more stories of how they came to work at Loloma and seeing how hard they work to help people who really need it in the remote area was amazing.

I really enjoyed playing with the Bear missionary kids as they showed me their play spots around the station and we enjoyed a few games of cricket and baseball.

 

Great food with great company - some long term and short term missionaries having lunch at the Bears

We enjoyed a bonfire by the Zambezi on one of my last nights in Zambia

We loved our games of cricket

Spelling out LOLOMA on our walk down the airstrip

Finally I’d like to thank everyone who supported me during my First Serve experience. I am so appreciative of all the people who read my blog (well done and thank you if you managed to get through some of them!), it was so encouraging for me to have people interested in First Serve, in what I was doing and in the work of the places I was at. A massive thank you for all the prayers and I realise that I didn’t even know about some of the people praying for me so for them and everyone else I am truly thankful. Every time I talk or think about First Serve, the people I met, the things I learnt and the experiences I had I am just overwhelmed by how amazing the whole thing was – not to sound too clichéd, but it really was so much more than I expected!

Chindelli (white person) in the bush!

So the answer to the question in my previous post’s title is no. I’m still here at Chitokoloki and shall be heading to Loloma for 3 weeks next Thursday – one has to be flexible about plans in Africa – I am happy to stay here for a little longer as I love it here as you shall see if you dare to read on!

Every Tuesday a missionary called Dorothy from the US drives through many remote villages on her way to a place called Mpidi and I joined her one of those days. As she drives through the villages - there and back - she picks up and drops off patients and/or students and gives out baby bundles in return for food farmed by people (maize/sweet potatoes/kasava) for the hospital and other people at Chitokoloki. She’s helped by one of her loyal workers called Joffrey who does a good job lifting and tying things on her car. I admire the work they do so much as it is a long day – usually around 13 hours, and it must be tough making decisions about who is in most need for bundles and lifts and food according to how much they can fit in her landrover. I so enjoyed seeing even more remote areas and how the people live there (we delivered a wheelchair to an old lady who’d had a stroke so I got a chance to see inside a little village hut as well). At many stops loads of excitable children gathered so it was fun saying hi to them and taking pictures of them, which they found hilarious when I showed them the photos. When Dorothy gets to Mpidi – her last stop before returning by the same road – she does a bible study with the women there. I asked where the nearest church was and she said that there wasn’t one a walkable distance away so the lessons are so important as these places are not reached much with teaching of the gospel. It was great hearing stories of how people had come to the lessons, how they ask lots of questions and give their lives to Jesus as a result. I unfortunately did not sit in on her bible lesson as I got distracted. I was playing a few games with a football in a circle with loads of kids who had accumulated where we were. They then said they were going to the field to play football so I followed them to a football pitch sized clearing in the crops. We played a brilliant game of football in the hot sun in my long skirt and no shoes on (which resulted in my feet getting a few cuts which I got some antibiotics for – my feet are not as strong as I thought – at least not as strong as Zambian feet). I enjoyed it so much – it reminded me of playing sport in Sudan!

The gathering of kids grew rapidly at each stop!

Dorothy and I enjoyed nshima for lunch

Our game of football - Will he score?

I’ve got some more experience of villages having gone out to the village meetings on a couple Sundays. A missionary family from Canada – Shaun and Rhonda who have 2 girls – do a great deal of gospel outreach to villages around Chitokoloki and one of their ministries is going out to one of 3 villages for a little gospel meeting each Sunday afternoon (they are joined and helped by a good Christian local man called Chimwanga). It’s so lovely sitting outside on grass mats with the village women and children, listening and singing along to their Sunday school songs and listening to a message – I just love the atmosphere. At the end they’re all given sweets so its fun watching them all scramble up and eagerly wait in line for their sweets.

Spot the Chindelli!

Sweeeets!

Another Zambian culture experience I’ve had was a fun little canoe ride on the Zambezi. Some of my friends took me out on a typical canoe which is a hollowed out tree trunk. It felt quite unstable especially with the 6 of us on it and my worried gasps amused them a little, but they still let me paddle for a while which was fun. I’m sure poor chakow was having to paddle extra hard to compensate and I was probably to blame for arriving back to shore as it was getting dark.

Everyone a little nervous on the right

Beautiful scenes on the river

I’ve continued to enjoy learning lots and seeing all kinds of things at hospital. A couple of specialist doctors have come while I’ve been here which means there are surgical marathons which go on till about 10pm so they can help as many patients as possible during the couple days they are here. It’s so good they come to do these surgeries for people in remote areas who need more specialised procedures and reduce the load for Dr McAdam. It was interesting seeing the difference between the two surgical ‘arts’, with delicate plastic surgery transforming cleft lips to a normal shape and brutal orthopaedics dealing with fractures.

Sometimes some nurses do outreach clinics (usually for children and pregnant women) at remote villages, which saves many lives as vaccinations and check ups are vital in preventing illnesses and/or complications. I got the chance to join Tanis and a few local nurses on one of those trips. So we set out on our epic journey to Pungu. The journey involved crossing over the Zambezi on a pontoon then braving roads very rarely travelled – which resulted in another bumpy ride. On many occasions the tracks had to be checked by ‘the human GPS’ Charles Chindola (he knew we went down the wrong road a few times when they all looked the same to me) who would get out and walk in front of the landcruiser – driven very well by Tanis – till we thought it was ok to continue. After 4 hours of bumpy off road craziness and getting stuck a couple times we arrived to find a huge crowd of ladies and children waiting. It was encouraging to hear that even on such a hectic day (for example Tanis did 48 ante-natal check ups), the opportunity to share the gospel to a crowd who may not hear it much is taken and a little message was shared as they waited. It was very interesting seeing what happened in the little clinic on such a day. I was looking after Tanis’ girls most of the time so enjoyed playing outside with them and the other kids who were there.

Charles checking the ground under the lake was ok to drive on

Nearby villagers came to help us get unstuck

The crowds waiting in the sun

Playing with the kids

Last weekend Tanis, Rebekah (who is an ultrasound technician, she is my new house mate and will be coming to Loloma with me) and I got the chance to go to Loloma girls’ camp, which is for the rural Zambian teenaged girls. It was a brilliant few days camping in a lovely spacious tent with Tanis and her two girls with freezing outdoor showers and squat loos – I would even call it glamping (glamorous camping)! I felt immersed into the culture as for every meal we had nshima and local relishes including caterpillars – another first time experience for me which wasn’t too traumatising – actually quite good! I really enjoyed seeing and helping out on a different kind of Christian camp compared to ones in the UK. Rebekah and I were assistant counsellors for a little discussion group so I loved joining in and encouraging them. I also very much enjoyed more Zambian singing – 111 Zambian girls make a great sound!

Campfires and quizes 

Thought I'd show you all the camp facilities

Caterpillars waiting to be eaten

Our wee discussion group

I’ll leave you with a verse, it spoke to me when I wanted to motivate the girls at Loloma girls camp with it then a friend from home encouraged me with it – I hope it will do the same for you. God has challenged me in many ways while I’ve been out here. One thing has been about prayer, which I’ve learnt more about in the First Serve discipleship course and which has been spoken about a few times at meetings at Chitokoloki. I’ve realised my prayer life needs vast improvement and that if one commits to it; ‘Fellowship with God, trust, confidence, peace, relief – these wonderful feelings will be yours as you learn how to pray.’ (Too Busy Not To Pray – an quote from a chapter which was included in the discipleship study pack)

‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’ Philippians 4:6-7

Am I really halfway?!

I’m sitting on the lovely veranda watching the sparkling Zambezi as the sun reflects off it, after going to church this morning. It’s so lovely listening to the amazing African singing in the local languages and trying to follow the words, then the sermon also in the local language which is usually translated which is nice. I love listening to them singing – the other day I went with Grace to the nearby school and before she taught her lesson they sang a couple songs – the sounds that filled the room were just amazing!

The class were very welcoming

There have been a few busy days at the hospital and I am continuing to learn so much about medical work as there is such a range every day. I so admire all the people who are such a witness who work at Chitokoloki, from the doctors and nurses who work long hours to those doing maintenance who work so hard to keep things running. There are some very sad cases that you see most days but I know it would be a lot worse without the work that goes on at Chitokoloki. It’s just inspirational seeing a vital service being provided; medical care to the people of rural areas here and places far away (even patients from Angola – some walk for a few weeks to come here for treatment) and seeing them hear the gospel while they are here. It gives me a smile when patients ask for bibles in their language!

I love helping out during surgery, from setting up IV fluids and filling in anaesthetic charts to passing different instruments to the surgeon and adjusting the lights, I even got to hold an instrument that was holding back the trachea the other day because there weren’t enough hands for that moment. When not in the theatre I’ve done a range of other jobs. In a busy hospital there isn’t much time for the doctors and nurses to sort and tidy all the time so I’ve tried to do bits here and there; the other day Grace who is a teacher who visited and I spent a few hours till about 9 in the evening sorting and tidying one wall of a little cupboard. Although time consuming and tiring we had a good laugh and were proud of the slight improvement by the end. When on ward rounds, although a lot of it goes over my head I have learnt a lot about the different illnesses and the doctors and nurses are very helpful with explaining things. I go around with a little notepad so I can write down little jobs that they let me know I can do like changing dressings or simple physio or giving out toys and reading glasses – it’s great getting stuck in and getting hands on jobs!

Lydia and I doing our bit in saving lives - sorting the kitchen cupboard

Cleaning a little child in ICU

Seeing the masterpiece of a colour by numbers I gave this little boy

Helping the doc

The last two weekends have been so much fun and its been great seeing other places around Chit. The first weekend I was here we drove up river to the only bridge till the Victoria Falls – Chinyingi bridge. It was a narrow swinging footbridge in a beautiful setting. One of the scrub nurses, a Zambian called Kayombo, had never been there before and his shout of glee when he saw the bridge was brilliant – he was worried it wouldn’t hold all of us so I enjoyed running and bouncing across to scare him and the other adults a little – don’t worry I only did it for a moment. We then looked around on the other side at an abandoned mission station, which was pretty and a little overgrown. Then back over the bridge to have a lovely picnic in some shade before heading home. When we weren’t on the long straight tarmac road us ‘young’ folk sat on the roof while the car drove through the bumpy sandy off road tracks through trees and long grass and by villages full of happy waving people. It was so fun and funny riding along on the roof (don’t worry mum, the driver was very careful and we held on to the roof-rack tight!).

In mid-air over Zambezi 

Horay for Chinyingi Bridge! The whole group of us

What a picture by Doctor Paul!

Confused and happy waving onlookers

The next weekend we went on another trip, so the truck was filled with me, Lydia, the two medical students and some patients who needed a lift and it was driven very well by Nathan – the ride is a lot of fun as it bumps about so I was surprised when a few of us had a little snooze on the way back! We got to Dipalata which is a smaller mission station with a hospital – the few nurses have to deal with about 400 births a year – and there we set up to go fishing for the day by a very pretty little tributary which flows into the Zambezi! It was such a sweet relaxing day and was so lovely getting to know the family who work there – they are such a witness and were a great encouragement. We also found out that one of their sons was in my brother’s year at RVA – a boarding school in Kenya – love hearing about connections like that. We didn’t catch any fish but as Jeff said ‘we caught a good time’ and we still had fish and chips for tea then a fun game of dutch blitz to finish off the day.

The beautiful setting for fishing 

Jeff cheated by putting a freshly bought fish on his hook to trick the 2 boys who had been patiently fishing without success

Evenings have also been very well spent over the last couple of weeks, when we’re not inside chatting, laughing and playing games (usually dutch blitz) we’ve been outside looking at the stars (Doctor David got his telescope out the other day and we were able to spot Saturn and Jupiter which was cool) or around the campfire with some local boys. It’s been really interesting getting to know the local people and about their culture. One night they showed us how to cook ‘tshima’ which is the staple food in Zambia made from kasava and maize pounded into a powder then mixed in water till it becomes a thick dough. We then ate it with fish (eyes and all) from the Zambezi – they were amused at us questioning whether we should eat the whole fish including the head. After it was all eaten up I was stuffed full! The other night around the campfire they showed us some dancing which was quite impressive and they taught us some local games. As Graham and Lydia were leaving the next morning they sang a song in their language, which they explained wished them well on their travels and that God would bless them. They are very sweet and very good at catching animals I might add – in just one evening they caught a little mouse, a few fish and a crab (which we put in the sink to scare Grace and Rachel in the morning – was funny waking up to them gasping). I’ll not forget to mention the fun we have playing outdoor volleyball which the locals play every day – they are so talented and it’s brilliant watching their games – they are very gracious to let me play!

Lydia's farewell gift from the boys?

The winning team - the result of which I made little input to

Saying goodbye to the fish before cooking

Bon appetit!

I was sad to see people leave, they’ve all been such a blessing to have around. It makes me admire the permanent missionaries here who are so hospitable and see people come and go all the time. I am now sharing the guest house with just a few frogs and gheckos as Grace and Rachel have left, the laughs they gave us will be missed! As nurse Tanis is away for a week I am alone in this little corner of the mission station but I am coping well especially with the practice I had in Warwick and the fact that all visitors are invited to different permanent missionaries here every lunch which is just so lovely – delicious food and great company! I got on very well with Lydia and Graham. Graham was so helpful around the hospital, explaining things to me and making me feel settled around the hospital and brought a lot of fun to the group. I spent most of my time with Lydia who really helped me settle here and loved the chats and laughs we had. She will be starting her nursing this year and it was so lovely seeing her excitement about coming back to Chitokoloki as a nurse – God has placed a love of this place in her heart and I know she will do so well!

Saying goodbye to Georgia last week

Rachel, Grace and I looking snazzy in our scrubs

Will miss Lydia's reckless driving - our mode of transport on the mission station - very fun!

I am halfway through my time at Chit which is strange because it feels like I just got here despite all I've seen and done already - hoping I'll be able to take advantage and embrace the next few weeks before heading off to Loloma.

'He heals the broken hearted and bandages their wounds. He has decided the number of the stars and calls each one by name. Great and mighty is our Lord; his wisdom cannot be measured." Psalm ch 147 vs 3-5

Hello Chitokoloki!

Such an amazing first week, I only have time to talk about the first day so watch this space and I’ll write about the eventful first weekend!

I arrived into Lusaka after 5ish hours sleep on my 10 hour flight from Heathrow. After getting my visa and clearing customs – thank God my luggage got through – it was about 2 hours before I was up in the air again, who knew it was so slick in Africa! So my travel arrangements from Lusaka to Chitokoloki was on a 6 seater plane flown by the amazing Canadian pilot Don! I was so excited as we walked by the large British Airways plane I had arrived on, to the tiny plane in comparison. It was such a cool flying experience and as co-pilot for the journey, Don let me steer the plane a bit. He also showed off some of his tricks, I felt like I was back on a rollercoaster in Alton Towers except with amazing views of rural Zambia – it became clear how remote we are at Chitokoloki! The services of British Airways were topped by Don’s interesting stories about his life and Zambia (brilliant tour guide) and from the in-flight refreshments of sugar peanuts and coke provided by Don!

Plane I arrived on

Transport from Lusaka to Chit

co-pilot

view from above

We landed into Chitokoloki after 2 and a half hours and I met some lovely people and was shown to my cosy guesthouse, which I share with 2 brilliant, hilarious ladies. After unpacking and playing with 2 wee girls next door Tanis, a permanent nurse here asked if I wanted to go up to the hospital then and I thought why not, so went along. Straight away I was shown where to go and get stuck in so I whipped on my scrubs and went to the operating theatre where I saw 2 operations and a breach birth back to back. I was so amazed that firstly, I was already watching operations (having never seen one in real life before) and secondly, that I was able to do more than just watch but help out quite a bit. I found it so interesting as the surgeons and nurses kindly talked through what they were doing; I have learnt so much from them.

My humble abode

View from the guesthouse

We had got changed back into normal clothes ready to leave, when a lady was rushed to theatre to give birth. I felt like I was on a special episode of ‘One Born Every Minute’. It was a breach birth so quite a dramatic one, but thankfully everything was ok and a sweet little girl was born and I got to clean her – what an amazing experience.

Lydia, Georgia and I buying coke in our scrubs

We then left the hospital at about 5.30 and got dressed and ready to play some pool volleyball, which is a very serious activity that goes on at Chitokoloki. I was put on team World as the British had a couple too many. However this may have been an unwise decision as the absent World members produced a protest that that was against the rules and may have been the reason why they lost that match! It’s all joking obviously but often enters into discussions even during surgery, which we find quite funny.

Later that evening a few of us met to play some card games, 2 of which are student doctors who just passed their finals and who are very helpful at hospital showing me where to go and talking through some of the diagnoses and treatments. Georgia who was hosting us is a very sweet American girl who is visiting, as her Dad is a surgeon temporarily working at Chit. We have many things in common as she grew up in Kenya and is about to start a medical course (BioMed) so I have really enjoyed getting to know her. She’s been such a blessing to me as she has shown me round and has helped me settle as she was in my position a few weeks ago, I will be sad to see her go next Tuesday.

I then made the wise decision to go to bed however it took me longer than usual to get to sleep. I was just buzzing off everything that had happened that day and so amazed that it had all occurred the day I arrived!

Other things I have loved about being here over the last few days: Sunshine and heat, beautiful singing in morning devotions, bonfires by the Zambezi river with cooked maize and sweet potatoes. It’s like I had forgotten how much I love living in Africa, I am in such a beautiful place here and I’m so excited for what’s to come.