Last Thursday we were able to go visit a traditional healer. I was really looking forward to this, thinking that we would learn all about herbal home remedies - but right when he started describing the roles and action of himself as a "diviner" we realized...witch doctor. Oh. Ok...Well, it was interesting. He explained how he was a doctor (um, sure??) and that he gets all of his ideas about healing from his ancestors through his dreams. So he went on to explain several of the different things he does for certain diseases such as TB and malaria...none of which make sense in our training in Western medicine. I think it hit me later on how we were in the midst of ungodly spiritual forces and how God was protecting us the whole time we were there. I was never afraid but I have confidence that God was in control of that whole situation.
Last weekend was Independence Day here in Zambia. I loved every minute of the weekend events. Friday we were invited by the lady who runs the guest house here at World Hope, Mrs. Phiri. So finally for the first time since we have been here, we were able to go out AFTER DARK. This may sound shocking but its true. And its mostly because its just really not safe after dark. But this was a special occasion. It was the Rotary Club’s Miss Independent Independence Day pageant. When we got there, we had VIP seats on the side at the front, right by the catwalk. And for the next 5 hours we listened to incredibly loud American pop music and narration by the Emcee as we watched the 10 contestants go through 6 different categories of modeling. My favorites were:
Office wear – The girls would walk out wearing appropriate attire for their aspiring profession and many of them would sit down at a desk while the Emcee made sure the crowd knew that they were “hard at work for the day.” A nurse even had a patient come on stage and we all watched as she listened to her lungs and “saved her patient’s life.” It was entertaining.
Sports wear – This was one of my favorites because 2 girls came out in swimsuits. Many of the girls wore tennis or futbol outfits but these girls decided to come out in the smallest bikinis. And the best part is that they were soaking wet. Or according to the announcement they were “straight from the pool.” Again, hysterical.
Traditional wear – Probably my favorite category because each girl came out and modeled a traditional outfit and did a traditional ritualistic dance. The dances were a little more provocative than we had expected – but I can't say I wasn't a little jealous of the way they can move!
I laughed so hard that night. They also had entertainers come out in between the category – almost all of which were a group of 3 young guys either rapping (aka lip-syncing and jumping around on stage) or break dancing. After my favorite group called The Disciples performed I just kept thinking that I could not be any happier. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.
Saturday was the Independence Day program. We went, thinking we would be just watching like everyone else. And we were – only we were told to sit on benches in the middle of the huge rectangle roped-off area. Half of our group sat there, on a bench under the tree while the other half sat behind the District Commissioner under the tent. I have no idea why they had us sit there or thought that we were somehow at all important but we were definitely stared at by hundreds of people. It’s a good thing we are pretty used to it by now! The program was a few hours long and we watched about 12 different secondary schools perform. Most of them were a type of African social dance – probably not appropriate and definitely a little disturbing that young children were dancing in this way. Entertaining for us to watch? – yes. Would we ever get away with it in schools in America? – not even a little.
Monday and Tuesday were my last 2 days at Zimba Mission Hospital. I spent Monday with a P.A. student in the outpatient department (closest thing you get to an Emergency Room) and I really enjoyed that. Then I got to spend all day Tuesday in the surgery department, otherwise known as the theater. I watched 5 different surgeries, including a hernia repair, chest tube placement and a keloid scar excision. I will spare you the details of the others for now, but would love to talk about them later if you want to know!
That brings you up to my life in this moment. It's still so miserably hot and we have had 5 girls get malaria – so keep the prayers coming!!
great post. : ) it's good to catch up with you!
ReplyDelete