This past month I haven't blogged. The first two weeks of it I didn't blog because we were traveling. These past two weeks I haven't blogged because I didn't know where to start. :) So this is me starting to write about our camping trip through Eastern Zambia and Malawi! This will just be an introductory post.
Why did we go? We wanted to take a family holiday and Malawi is really close. You reach the Zambia/Malawi border within 2 1/2 hrs of our house. We decided to take a few days of holiday around Lake Malawi, and then we extended the trip to take advantage of the opportunity to visit 3 of our more distant students -- 1 who lives in southern Malawi, and 2 who live in Eastern Zambia. It would be difficult to visit these men during term time so it made sense to do it during the term holidays, in conjunction with an already-planned trip in that direction.
Why do we camp? Believe me, it's the affordable way to travel with a family! We bought our tent in 2011, our first year in Zambia, so that we could join our colleagues on a 10-day camping trip through northern Zambia. At that point Elijah was 1 year old. We bought a large 6-person tent, figuring it was an investment which would last our growing family for a long time and would make affordable travel possible. Then last year we camped as a family for 10 days in Livingstone, visiting Victoria Falls, with nearly 2-year-old Elijah and 6-month-old Ketzia. This time Elijah was nearly 3 years old and Ketzia was18 months. We find that camping is an excellent way to travel with kids because kids love the outdoors, and because staying in the same familiar tent every night is easier on the kids than staying in a strange hotel room every night or two! And it is so cheap! I don't know how much camping costs in the USA, but most places here in Zambia don't charge more than $10 a night (2 adults) and some are even less. Since you're saving money on accommodation, you then have the flexibility in your budget to eat out a bit more, or to make it a really cheap holiday by cooking all your own meals (we did a bit of both).
But... camping?! What about laundry? And drinking water? And hot showers? And bugs? :) Hey, camping isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if you are relaxed AND prepared, it can be a fabulous low-key inexpensive way to 'get away.' You do need to be prepared though... especially camping in Africa. Not every campground will have clean drinking water available, so some places you will need to bring your own. (In 2011 we had to bring our own water - it was real off-road camping in wild and remote spots; this year all the places we stayed -being more 'touristy' - had safe drinking water.) I washed laundry by hand, trying to keep up with it throughout the trip. Since there are 4 of us, I didn't manage to actually keep up with it, but I at least kept it under control so that we did have clean clothes to wear throughout the trip and I didn't have 6 loads of filthy things to wash when we got home (only 2). :) Hot showers? Not necessarily guaranteed... even in places which advertise hot showers. Sometimes the hot water has been used up already by other campers. :) I certainly had my share of uncomfortable showers during the trip. But it just makes you more thankful for your shower at home. :) Bugs and other undesirable camping buddies? Well, be prepared, but not freaked out. Bring insect repellant, citronella candles, and Doom. Don't leave food or dirty dishes out for them to find and bring all their relatives to the feast. We camped with our fair share of ants, and not just bugs as camping buddies -- monkeys, too! (Nothing as worrying as having hippos, warthogs, and elephants in close proximity to our camp in Kasanka National Park in 2011, though!)
Do you have other questions about camping? Share them with me!
I will be continuing my blog posts about our trip, so keep checking back. They will be posted in date order (beginning 20 May 2013) below this post.
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
Monday, 3 June 2013
Camping, days 13-15: weekend in Chipata, Zambia (and visit to a student's church - 10)
Day 13 - Friday 31 May 2013
Travel from Senga Bay, Malawi to Chipata, Zambia
Our holiday was ended! We got up, took down our camp, and even had time for everyone to get showered before we hit the road around 9am. A nice early start for a not-too-terrible day of driving.
We drove almost due west from Senga Bay to Lilongwe. It was nice driving through yet another scenic area we'd never been through before. I didn't successfully get any good photos through the window of our moving vehicle, though!
From Lilongwe (where we stopped briefly to let Elijah use the toilet and so that I could buy bread to make sandwiches in the car for lunch) it was slightly over an hour to reach the border of Zambia! The border crossing was quicker going out than coming in (as was to be expected). Crossing on the Malawian side took about 10 minutes and crossing on the Zambian side took a bit longer - but everything went smoothly.
We reached Chipata around 1pm and we were back where we had started! We set up camp at Mama Rula's for the weekend again, right in the same spot where we had put up our tent before.
Day 14 - Saturday 1 June 2013
Camping at Mama Rula's, Chipata
We didn't do much today! Just enjoyed being settled in camp at Mama Rula's with nowhere to go. We took the kids into the swimming pool in the late afternoon. It was REALLY cold so we didn't stay in long. :) Afterwards we had to run into town to get some fuel for the next day's drive to church in Lundazi.
Day 15 - Sunday 2 June 2013
Visit to a student's church (10) - Lundazi, Zambia
This was another big day for us. Another visit to a student and his church - but this time we would be driving a significant distance north, to the town of Lundazi. Lundazi is a small town located about 2 hours from Chipata. It is in a very rural area. Our student Peter (whom you might remember from this post - during his studies at the College he has planted a church in a nearby village and we have visited him several times) comes from this town where he is supported by a large Pentecostal congregation, and we arranged to visit him in his home church at the end of this trip.
When we contacted Peter he asked us to meet him in Lundazi at 9am. We didn't know how long the drive would take us (reports of the road conditions were varied) so we left around 6:30am. In the end it took us just about exactly 2 hours to get there and Peter was already waiting for us when we arrived. We picked him up and waited a few minutes for his bishop to meet us. He pulled up in a brand new Toyota Hilux (funnily enough, a newer model than our own). That was when we realized that this church visit would be unlike any of our previous ones. :)
The first thing Peter did was introduce us to his 'bishop,' a kind middle-aged man who is the leader of the local sections. The first thing the bishop did was tell us to follow him in our vehicle while he went to confirm arrangements for our lunch, which would be served at the hotel in town! We were shocked, but what could we say? We were given no choice in the matter. Most churches that we visit will provide a meal after the service - it is a common gesture of courtesy in this culture - but this was the first time that it had been served in a restaurant instead of in someone's home. The bishop informed us that the local congregation was having a 'prayer and fasting' event so they had made these arrangements for us to be served a meal even though the bishop's family could not host us. These sorts of situations are very difficult to deal with delicately and with cultural sensitivity!
We followed the bishop's vehicle through town - he stopped briefly at the hotel (more about that later) to confirm lunch and then led us to the church building. It was a large building on a small hillside. The name of the church is 'Comforter Ministries' which is a Pentecostal group supported by Pentecostal associations from the West (not sure exactly where). This church is connected with an NGO (non government organization) which helps orphans and widows.
We were given seats at the front - there were 2 sofas and I chose the one that was not a rainbow of colors. :) There were even seats for the children!
We got to the church around 8:45am and the praise team started 'warming up' within a few minutes. David was in the back of the church meeting with the bishop and I was sitting with the children. The praise team was alternating between starting to sing choruses, and giving the microphone over to a woman who was leading the gathering congregation in what they called 'intercessions.' She was talking about prayer - at a feverish pitch - and about God's promise to answer prayer - and then they would morph into a 'chaos prayer' for 5-10 minutes and then she would move on to another item for prayer ('And now we are going to pray that the Lord will, right now, answer every prayer that we ask Him - that before you leave this church you will find that your prayer has been answered, RIGHT NOW!....') and they would morph into chaos prayer. You get the picture. This went on for 30-45 minutes...
What made it REALLY difficult is that there were THREE people on the stage with microphones - and all three of them were praying aloud, simultaneously, into the microphones! Now, basic common sense would indicate that this was a recipe for headache-inducing noise. But that didn't seem to deter them one bit. :) It was... ahem... EXTREMELY loud. How did this become a way to 'pray'???
After the time of 'intercessions' ended, they transitioned into a time of 'praise and worship.' This church, unlike others we have visited, not only had an amplifier but also a drum set. Yes. So you can imagine it got pretty loud. It was like a rock concert, honestly.
They sang choruses - each individual chorus went on for more than 10 minutes. Literally just repeating over and over again, 'Jesus, you are wonderful...' and so on.
After close to an hour, the kids were having trouble sitting still, and I couldn't blame them, because half the congregation was wandering up and down the aisles in ecstasy. So I took them outside to give them some distance from the earsplitting noise. :) While I was outside, they transitioned into a time of testimonies - I didn't manage to really catch what was being shared (by various individuals in the congregation who came to the front) because a lot of it was in the local language. In between the testimonies there was a lot of drum-rolling and excitement and breaking into song randomly! The time of testimonies lasted close to 30 minutes and then they had more praise and worship - for more than 30 minutes!
They finally welcomed David up to preach - poor man, he shared that every time we are in a congregation with such a loud service, he really struggles to be mentally ready to preach. His head is just reverberating from the noise! It takes him about 10 minutes to re-acclimate so that he can pitch his voice correctly (and he gets vibes from the congregation that they can't hear him properly at first, either because they are all half-deafened, too!).
I managed to catch part of the sermon, but my poor hungry, tired children couldn't sit through another hour after what they had already endured... so we ended up finding a shady place to sit outside, part way through the sermon, where Elijah and Ketzia entertained the crowd of children. Interestingly, this congregation didn't have a single child (except nursing babes) in the worship service. All the children had a separate 'children's service' outside which lasted until just before the adults' sermon, and then the children were all released and spent the rest of the time goofing off and playing wildly outside the church! I think quite honestly that the worship service was considered too loud for children!
After the sermon ended, I took the kids back in for the last bit of the service, and then our family was asked to come up front! They prayed for us as a congregation and then presented us with a gift. This is the first time that we have ever received a monetary gift from a congregation in Zambia!
After greeting us, the bishop and his wife got into their car and accompanied us (with Peter) to the hotel, where they made sure we were served our food. And then they left us to enjoy our meal, with Peter's company! They went back to church for the fasting program. ;) Funny things.
This hotel where we ate is 'the' hotel in Lundazi, renowned because it is a castle! It was built by an Englishman (if I remember correctly) who wanted to have a proper castle in Zambia. It's seen better days by now, but it still has a lot of character. It did not seem to have a lot of business - the dining room was very quiet when we were there and we were practically the only people eating. Tasty lunch of nshima with chicken and cabbage.
We were very disappointed that we were not given the opportunity to visit Peter's family. Unfortunately they attend another church, so we didn't even have a chance to meet them during this church visit. And they live in a village outside Lundazi, so it would have added another hour of driving to our already long day to go out to their home. We hope that this will be possible in the future. It was nice to see Peter in his home environment and we pray that the teaching he is receiving in the College would benefit him and his acquaintances as they seek to serve God - we pray with 'reverent fear.'
Travel from Senga Bay, Malawi to Chipata, Zambia
Our holiday was ended! We got up, took down our camp, and even had time for everyone to get showered before we hit the road around 9am. A nice early start for a not-too-terrible day of driving.
We drove almost due west from Senga Bay to Lilongwe. It was nice driving through yet another scenic area we'd never been through before. I didn't successfully get any good photos through the window of our moving vehicle, though!
From Lilongwe (where we stopped briefly to let Elijah use the toilet and so that I could buy bread to make sandwiches in the car for lunch) it was slightly over an hour to reach the border of Zambia! The border crossing was quicker going out than coming in (as was to be expected). Crossing on the Malawian side took about 10 minutes and crossing on the Zambian side took a bit longer - but everything went smoothly.
We reached Chipata around 1pm and we were back where we had started! We set up camp at Mama Rula's for the weekend again, right in the same spot where we had put up our tent before.
Day 14 - Saturday 1 June 2013
Camping at Mama Rula's, Chipata
We didn't do much today! Just enjoyed being settled in camp at Mama Rula's with nowhere to go. We took the kids into the swimming pool in the late afternoon. It was REALLY cold so we didn't stay in long. :) Afterwards we had to run into town to get some fuel for the next day's drive to church in Lundazi.
Day 15 - Sunday 2 June 2013
Visit to a student's church (10) - Lundazi, Zambia
This was another big day for us. Another visit to a student and his church - but this time we would be driving a significant distance north, to the town of Lundazi. Lundazi is a small town located about 2 hours from Chipata. It is in a very rural area. Our student Peter (whom you might remember from this post - during his studies at the College he has planted a church in a nearby village and we have visited him several times) comes from this town where he is supported by a large Pentecostal congregation, and we arranged to visit him in his home church at the end of this trip.
When we contacted Peter he asked us to meet him in Lundazi at 9am. We didn't know how long the drive would take us (reports of the road conditions were varied) so we left around 6:30am. In the end it took us just about exactly 2 hours to get there and Peter was already waiting for us when we arrived. We picked him up and waited a few minutes for his bishop to meet us. He pulled up in a brand new Toyota Hilux (funnily enough, a newer model than our own). That was when we realized that this church visit would be unlike any of our previous ones. :)
The first thing Peter did was introduce us to his 'bishop,' a kind middle-aged man who is the leader of the local sections. The first thing the bishop did was tell us to follow him in our vehicle while he went to confirm arrangements for our lunch, which would be served at the hotel in town! We were shocked, but what could we say? We were given no choice in the matter. Most churches that we visit will provide a meal after the service - it is a common gesture of courtesy in this culture - but this was the first time that it had been served in a restaurant instead of in someone's home. The bishop informed us that the local congregation was having a 'prayer and fasting' event so they had made these arrangements for us to be served a meal even though the bishop's family could not host us. These sorts of situations are very difficult to deal with delicately and with cultural sensitivity!
We followed the bishop's vehicle through town - he stopped briefly at the hotel (more about that later) to confirm lunch and then led us to the church building. It was a large building on a small hillside. The name of the church is 'Comforter Ministries' which is a Pentecostal group supported by Pentecostal associations from the West (not sure exactly where). This church is connected with an NGO (non government organization) which helps orphans and widows.
What made it REALLY difficult is that there were THREE people on the stage with microphones - and all three of them were praying aloud, simultaneously, into the microphones! Now, basic common sense would indicate that this was a recipe for headache-inducing noise. But that didn't seem to deter them one bit. :) It was... ahem... EXTREMELY loud. How did this become a way to 'pray'???
After the time of 'intercessions' ended, they transitioned into a time of 'praise and worship.' This church, unlike others we have visited, not only had an amplifier but also a drum set. Yes. So you can imagine it got pretty loud. It was like a rock concert, honestly.
After close to an hour, the kids were having trouble sitting still, and I couldn't blame them, because half the congregation was wandering up and down the aisles in ecstasy. So I took them outside to give them some distance from the earsplitting noise. :) While I was outside, they transitioned into a time of testimonies - I didn't manage to really catch what was being shared (by various individuals in the congregation who came to the front) because a lot of it was in the local language. In between the testimonies there was a lot of drum-rolling and excitement and breaking into song randomly! The time of testimonies lasted close to 30 minutes and then they had more praise and worship - for more than 30 minutes!
They finally welcomed David up to preach - poor man, he shared that every time we are in a congregation with such a loud service, he really struggles to be mentally ready to preach. His head is just reverberating from the noise! It takes him about 10 minutes to re-acclimate so that he can pitch his voice correctly (and he gets vibes from the congregation that they can't hear him properly at first, either because they are all half-deafened, too!).
 |
| David preaching with student Peter translating |
After the sermon ended, I took the kids back in for the last bit of the service, and then our family was asked to come up front! They prayed for us as a congregation and then presented us with a gift. This is the first time that we have ever received a monetary gift from a congregation in Zambia!
 |
| visiting after the service, a church member, Peter, David, and the bishop |
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| our family with the bishop and his wife |
After greeting us, the bishop and his wife got into their car and accompanied us (with Peter) to the hotel, where they made sure we were served our food. And then they left us to enjoy our meal, with Peter's company! They went back to church for the fasting program. ;) Funny things.
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| Lundazi Castle Hotel |
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| didn't get a photo during the meal - but this is Peter with the remnants of our lunch :) |
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