Harvesting, Hospitals, and Hospitality Friday, May 21, 2010

Today I added harvesting bananas to the life experiences list. Harvesting bananas was really cool. If one was to look at a clump of bananas one would think they grow upside down. (compared to what we have in stores etc.) What I thought was interesting was that we had to chop down all of the leaves and then lower the bunch of bananas down with a cord after it too was chopped with a machete. Someone then took a sharp knife and cut away sections of the bananas. These were handed to us and we got to break them into groups of 5-7 bananas (called hands). We would then stack these bananas in a crate. The group harvested a total of 340 kilograms (748 lbs) of bananas. Another piece of the harvest that I did not know is that the tree would die after we cut off all of the leaves and next year’s bananas would come from suckers growing from the base of the current banana trees. I was surprised that a banana tree only produces fruit for one year. Harvesting bananas was a great experience and the team had a wonderful morning learning from Farmer Bob who was a very patient teacher!
In the afternoon the group visited a children’s hospital. This was a difficult experience for all of us because we felt as if we were not wanted—at all. The nurses looked at us with scowls when we came down their halls, and did not seem pleased to be giving us a tour of their wings. Many of the Dordt students felt uncomfortable as we seemed to strut our health and wealth all over the hospital. The hospital was busy and severely understaffed. The director said that they could use 6 doctors, 27 RNs and 52 LPNs. If I remember correctly the hospital had 13 nurses working when we were there. The building seemed to be falling into disrepair with windows missing, paint peeling, and concrete floors wearing away in places. It was difficult seeing all of this and knowing that we just got a new hospital in town and there are many nurses still looking for work around home. Sometimes I wonder why I was so blessed to grow up in North America rather than Zambia or another African country. Why? I did not deserve any of this, yet I was blessed. The question is, Are any of us North Americans willing to share our blessing with those less fortunate than us?
The hospital also had a prosthetic leg center and a psychosocial ward. The prosthetic leg center was one of only two in the country and the guys there were working hard with many orders to fill. It was good to see that so many people could be helped from this branch of the hospital. The psychosocial ward was a place that many of the team members expressed interest in revisiting. There was a playground covered in children (300 to be exact). They were running, jumping, skipping, laughing, and just having fun. The workers there told us that it was a place originally designed for HIV positive children but has since become open to all children. After playing three hours the children are eligible for a snack, which is what they are really after. Along with their cookies and milk they get taught lessons such as English and reading but also including the Lord’s prayer which was encouraging to see. It was good to hear that several of the Northrise students had been visiting and playing with the children on occasion. Leaving the psychosocial ward was difficult and the entire team had a desire to stay and play with the children.
Upon returning to the Northrise campus I had an excellent conversation with a fellow from the dorms. We discussed relationships with women and how to have a relationship that is God honouring. I will not give any more details but I was glad to talk this through with him and share any advice that I could with him.
We had to say goodbye to the dorm guys that afternoon. That was tough. Many of the guys said that they would never forget us. I did not believe we made that much of an impact on them. The parting was sad but also full of hope as we said “see you again, either in this life or the next.” It is comforting knowing that we will see our brothers in Christ when the world is mad new!
Friday night the power went out. As North Americans we are privileged to have power all of the time. (well, besides storms) In Zambia the power company will shut down the parts of the grid for several hours in order to save money. We took this time to reflect as a group over the week we had at the university. There were many stories shared and lessons learned. (Several of the lessons have been shared in earlier posts) One of the group members commented on how hospitable the Zambians have been. The statement was true to all of our experiences in Ndola. The people of Northrise were willing to show us around and take care of all of our needs. We were blessed with very good hosts! The power did come back on eventually but it was nice to reflect and refocus by candlelight. The group spent its first night together since we had left and prepared for the early departure scheduled for 4:45 the next morning.
The day was full of blessings. Speaking with the group that night reminded me how the Lord has been with us every step of the way. Thank you again for all of the people that prayed for us throughout our trip. As a team we witnessed the Lord working in and through us as well as keeping us safe throughout the trip. Praise to the Lord!