After breakfast, as the sun was shining, it was a great morning to do some laundry. Got that washed, wrung out and hung on the lines to dry.
I worked on the forms for registering as a non-profit society here in Zambia, filling the parts I knew in, and emailing Jan for what I didn’t know. Went on line, and looked for peanut butter making machines, only sold in China and India, for approximately $1,000 to $2,000 US. Recorded money spent and prepared for the trip to Kabwe. On line I found jam and jelly recipes that don’t take a fruit pectin to firm them.
Had a peanut butter, jelly sandwich just after 11:30, as Catherine would be here at 11:45 to leave at noon for our trip to Kabwe.
Siwale said it would take us an hour and half to get there. We were to meet with the counselors from the Rock Way Chapel and the Reformed Church in Kabwe.
The drive began along the Great North Road, heading north away from Lusaka. The road is like a state road, two lanes, and in good condition. The road is filled with semi trucks and traveling very slowly, especially up hills. We would speed along at 120-130km (calculated that into mph and it is 80.7, seemed much faster) and then slow down and inch along behind a truck until it was clear to pass. Then we would speed along again at top speed, this happened over and over and over. Interestingly enough the speed limit signs I saw on the roads were a constant 80km, oops we were going a little faster than that!
There are no policemen who patrol the roads, they just have check spots every so often, and these always cause my heart to beat a little faster. We are always sure to have our passports with us, and Siwale often has to show his license. He has a sticker that says his vehicle is licensed to transport passengers and that is up to date, so we think we are good. Depending on the officer, he will sometimes go around the car until he finds something to ticket the driver for, a broken bulb, a windshield wiper that isn’t working, or a lamp out. One time they made Siwale pop his trunk, they took his jack, and said he could pick it up when we came back. Really strange!
I wanted to take some pictures of the scenery as we went by, but because of our speed, most of them are of something, I didn’t want to take, what I wanted I had missed. It was a picturesque drive; I think the city on the north side of Lusaka is cleaner and nicer than where we are located, or even the downtown area. As we left the city, there were the ever present roadside markets, lined with women selling their goods. Hut after hut of them all selling the same things, how does anyone ever decide where to buy their tomatoes? The further we got out of Lusaka the more little villages, with grass roofed huts I saw, men walking behind cows keeping them from the road. The traffic on this road moves very fast, so there were few people walking on the side of the road, and few bikes filled with bags of charcoal. Some were on a second road, a dirt path that runs adjacent to the road, much safer there away from the speed traffic. There were lots of interesting people to watch as we drove along.
A small village
Gathered under a shade tree
This truck with all these people was traveling down the highway in front of us until he turned off, can you imagine going 60-70 mph on a highway in a truck like that!
Another village
Just one of many of the road side markets we saw today
There were groups of people gathered under trees, or men resting in a grass roofed hut with no walls, that look similar to a gazebo. Ladies walking with umbrella’s shading their heads, or chitanga covering them from the harsh heat of the sun.
It started out sunny and warm, which means the afternoon will be hot! And hot it was, as we whizzed along in the little Toyota Corolla, the windows were down. Catherine sat in the front, and Stephanie and I in the back. The wind was whipping my hair into my face, I kept pushing it back, but it was a never ending battle. I was so wishing for a scrunci or a headband, anything to keep it from stinging my face. The wind wasn’t cool and refreshing; it was like a small blast furnace pushing out the heat at you. Every time I started thinking, how really warm I was, I would see a minibus come along side us and I would send up a prayer of thanksgiving for Siwale and his wonderful little car. I look over at Stephanie, she has her iPod with headphones on, her eyes are closed and she is pretending to play the guitar. She is afraid her fingers are going to be all soft and she doesn’t want to forget the songs she loves to play. There are no conversations, the wind is too loud, and Siwale has a tape in the tape player playing African tunes very loudly. We drive on, and we arrive about 2:30, a half an hour late! Oh dear! How I hate to keep people waiting.
Catherine calls and makes contact with Joyce, she tells us where she will meet us, something about the Elephant Hotel, we inquire of a man on the street, he says it is the Tusker Hotel, straight ahead to the roundabout and then to your right. Sure enough, we pull up and soon Joyce and Lucy come up, Joyce rides with us to show us to the church.
We enter the church yard, and there are a couple of girls in pink shirts to greet us. Joyce tells us to wait and she goes around the back of the church, we wait for some time, and then the Pastor comes to greet us. Then he goes around behind the church, after several more minutes, he and Joyce come back, and he invites into the church and to the front rows. He inquires of us, when we’ve arrived, and how long are we staying. He asks about how the Reformed Church in North America is doing. He asks where I attend worship, and then he is excited about it being a Christian Reformed church.
Lucy and Dorcus arrive about a half an hour later and then Fanny from Rock of Hope Chapel. They are all so glad to see us, and welcome us to Kabwe.
Soon, we hear shuffling of feet, and we see the girls all lined up at the door, and they begin coming in down the aisle singing, “we welcome you.” They come to the front and sing 3 more songs, they begin their recitation. Catherine explains that we don’t have a lot of time, so only 7 or 8 girls recite from the group. They recite the mission of GEMS, the aim of GEMS, one girl knew all the information about GEMS, when it began, how many clubs, how many counselors how many girls. In which countries GEMS has clubs, everything! Steph and I went “whoa” she has more facts down than we knew! We clapped and thanked them for sharing what they are learning, and brought greetings from the US and Canada.
The girls singing "we welcome you"
Stephanie took the girls outside and played and sang with them, while we had our counselor meeting. First, we shared about ourselves and our families, then we talked about their clubs, and some of the challenges they face. I handed out their sister club letters. We closed by praying together and having some pictures taken.
Joyce was insistent that we return to her home with her for refreshments, but by this time it is almost 5:00 and we have a two hour ride back to Lusaka, and the sky is full of threatening clouds and lightening. We bring Joyce to her house, she asks us to help her carry in the Bibles and books. I explain that we would love to stay, but that we must start on our way, we have a night guard who arrives between 5:30 and 6:00 and we will already be late. She agrees, but uncovers two large loaves of bread, banana bread she explains, that she learned how to bake while she lived in Canada. Catherine grins from ear to ear and tells her that she made some banana bread this week! She gives us one of the loaves to take with us. We tell her good-bye and we’re off down the road toward home.
When we arrive the guard not finding us, has gone. Siwale calls the guard company and they say they will send him back. Siwale waits until he is here. Stephanie and I throw some leftovers in the microwave and eat dinner, have our baths and rejoice that at 8:30 we still have power!
It was a great day, how we were blessed by these dear sisters and the joy they have in their new clubs. They all shared how they are growing and learning as well as teaching. It was another special day and I am rejoicing in the part I was able to share.
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