a letter from Luampa

Subject: a letter from Luampa
Date: 10‑Apr‑00 at 16:06
From: Luampa Hospital, 1106104

written Fri, 14 Apr 00

Hello, Everyone!

Well, it's been almost 4 wks since I arrived in Zambia, so I'm in the middle of my experience here. In some ways I've become much more settled in, yet of course there's much to learn (esp. when you're 10,000 miles from home!).

Today alone was quite a full day. (Take a deep breath: long sentence ahead...) When I learned a few days ago that there's a meat market (literally, not figuratively) near the mission station, I the Western (actually, why do I say "Western"? If it's as opposed to "Eastern," what then is Africa considered?) CITY SLICKER whose experience with carrots is "they come in sprayed‑down bundles under supermarket lighting" & with beef is "it comes in clean‑cut slabs on polystyrene rectangles wrapped in plastic," I made an appointment with one of the Zambian nationals I've gotten to know through a men's Bible study, to see how a cow is slaughtered. I'll spare you the details: suffice it to say, it made me glad God doesn't require animal sacrifices anymore. (God of the Bible required sacrifices until Jesus' own sacrifice on the cross.) Several of the men doing the slaughtering thought it was funny that this "white man" made these weird expressions & kept taking pictures. For those of you who DO want details, you'll be able to see the photos later.

For the rest of the morning, I was at what's called a "Primary Health Clinic," which the Luampa Mission Hospital coordinates in conjunction with the Zambian gov't & sponsoring communities. This was my 1st significant distance away from the mission station since I got here, & my 1st look into a typical village. The whole trip ‑‑ in addition to my conversations with the hospital staff, incl. missionaries ‑‑ has given me a better understanding of good approaches to missionary medicine. It
really is critical to have community involved in their own health care. One statement I heard was pretty enlightening, esp. b/c I've often heard the generalization of women's better communication skills mistaken as only negative; it's very often a great strength. The statement was "When you teach men [how to prevent, recognize, & treat diseases], you teach INDIVIDUALS, but when you teach women, you teach WHOLE COMMUNITIES." I laughed (respectfully!) when I heard that fact.

One thing that I noticed abt. life here in the last few weeks before today is something I discovered this week when learning to ride a dirtbike in order to go to the PHC today (another thing I didn't expect to learn: to ride a dirtbike in the Kalahari Desert!): according to the bike's odometer, my life before today has been lived all within a 3 km (<2 miles) radius of the hospital. I compared that with life back home where I routinely drive 20‑50 miles a day, & thought abt. why life couldn't be simpler (ie: wake up, work hard @ my job, love my family, spend time with
God, go to bed) & how modern "conveniences" often make life more complicated. To be sure, it's a blessing also to have been able to fly to Africa in one short weekend, but sometimes it seems life'd be easier without a car. (maybe I'm being naive...)

Thank you so much for your prayers. God has been teaching me quite bit, both in ways I expected (abt. medicine and culture) & ways I didn't expect (abt. how I wrongly base much of my feelings of self‑worth on others' opinions of me & my performance). Please continue to pray for me, particularly with regard to having peace in God's great love, having godly humility before others, & also understanding what God has in mind for me with mission medicine as a possible career.

You may also pray for increased understanding of & sensitivity to cultural issues & language for the remainder of my stay here. One issue that I came across once in clinic was polygamy, in which the female patient had travelled a long distance to come to the hospital for help with getting pregnant, which she had been unable to do in her 2nd marriage, this time to a polygamist whose other wife already bore him 6 children. Although she didn't say it, she seemed to be struggling because her value as a person was being measured in her culture by her ability to bear children,
& she had bought into it. I must admit that in my mind I was pretty quick to condemn the culture (unfortunately we weren't able to address the spiritual issue during clinic), but just days later God reminded my squarely in my face how I have bought very much into the equally wrong lie in my culture that my worth is determined by how many people appreciate me, or my line of work. Call me a 'brown‑noser' if you will, but the fact that days ago when I was hurt to the point of becoming seethingly angry inside when one of my supervisors used very negative language to evaluate my clinical skills, probably showed me more abt. my own misplaced values than abt. his own. (He later apologized & asked for forgiveness, by the way.)

I don't know if any of you are dealing with some of these issues, but perhaps God's putting them in the forefront of my own life might open us this area in your own. May God have mercy on all of us.

Well, I think it's abt. time to go to bed now. I'm 'pre‑writing' this letter by candlelight, and Tui our housedog is snoring from across the room. I hope you don't mind the long letter. I really would not mind it one bit if you only skim through my emails (it IS a mass mailing, after all); this is just the easiest way to do things from this end. If you have the time, I'd be honored to hear how I may pray for you.


As the song goes, He's [REALLY!] Got the Whole World in His Hands!
Sid

EFC people: has there been any talk of Mexico Missions? Please let me know ASAP if anything's being organized.

Dad & Mom: please don't worry about the motorcycle. Usually there are very few people on the roads, and the 'roads' themselves are made of very deep, soft sand in case I fall. But I haven't fallen yet!

Eric (my brother‑in‑law): I know it's still a month away, but please don't hesitate to let me Greyhound from Atlanta, and don't let Ruth 'guilt‑trip' you into driving all the way out! Hee hee. I've been praying for you guys & really look forward to visiting.

Ruth: don't misuse those feminine powers! In the next few wks I'll put together a talk for hypertension & stroke; how long did it need to be again?

Anneta: sorry to hear abt. Bingo; hope he comes back. Continuing to pray for the situation with S's family, and also your living & work situations. Notes are VERY encouraging; thanks! There's been no change in my itinerary.

Men's Group: Funny thing: since I've been taking malaria‑prophylaxis meds, I've had much more VIVID dreams (one of the side effects), and Tue night I was dreaming abt food & woke up Wed AM almost chewing my blankets!