When Two Worlds Collide

I remember the day well. Luke and I were at Lusa teaching a Bible study and nutrition lesson to members of the community. The rain started coming so violently that our voices couldn't be heard over the pounding on the aluminum roof. So we sat, waiting out the storm. As we yelled to each other occasional thoughts or questions and cooked some pumpkin seeds over a brazier (as we had just taught on their nutritional value), we began to wonder where Mama Yoba was. I walked to the front veranda as lightning struck somewhere nearby, to find her mopping the veranda, catching buckets of rain water, tirelessly working to take advantage of the “free water” – all while singing a song.

I asked her what she was singing and she told me it was a song she learned in grade one at a private school in Lusaka. She went on to tell me that she didn't stay at that school because she was diagnosed with Type I (Juvenile Onset) diabetes at a very young age. Her father didn't think she would live long, so he decided to not “waste money” paying her school fees.

But she’s outlived most of her family, managing her diabetes through diet and the occasional trip to the clinic to have her blood sugar checked - and she still going strong (though her blood pressure shoots up any time she gets stressed).

So she has spent her entire life trying to give others a chance, people who've otherwise been written off as hopeless, useless, “too sick,” “too poor,” and so on. She defied the odds and knows that sometimes those who have to prove themselves in life are the ones who go the farthest. There’s a saying in Zambia that says “those who go alone go fast, but those who go together go far.” She dedicates herself to helping others go far.

Many nights she doesn't sleep, delivering babies in the community, making jewelry to sell to help fund Lusa, or worrying about her family and community members. Lately, she’s been worried about her house caving in while she’s asleep. 

You see, Mama Yoba has been building a new house for more than 20 years.  Many times when she had a bit of money or a stack of bricks ready to use, someone would come and ask for assistance: pastors needing bricks for their homes, friends needing money for medicine or funerals, or even repairs needing done at Lusa that in her mind, were more important than her own house. She’s a firm believer that when a man asks you for your tunic, you give your cloak as well. 

And through all this, you would think the community would absolutely adore her, but on the contrary, many talk about her because of some unfortunate circumstances that happened regarding an outside organization helping at Lusa a few years ago. Many only come to her when they’re in need, and often do so demanding her help. When her husband died, his family came and ransacked her house for her belongings (which is a fairly common occurrence here). She’s even been taken to court for “Satanism” and when the judge ruled that she clearly was not in the wrong and suggested she sue them for defamation, she stood firm on her beliefs and simply “turned the other cheek.”

Mama Yoba and Regina making jewelry
in their current home (taken in 2011) 

Don’t get me wrong – sometimes Mama Yoba is downright stubborn. But overall she is one of the most giving, selfless, strong individuals I know. And we hate the idea that every time it storms, there's a chance her house could collapse.

But her new house is almost done. Luke and I have really encouraged, challenged, donated, and even pushed her to finish this year. Bit by bit, brick by brick, she’s getting there. And when I went last week, she was down to countable needs – a few sheets of glass and putty, wiring, a few pockets of cement….

Enter story number two (I realize this is getting long…). Our involvement with the expat community has often provided great benefit to Mama Yoba and the children and benefactors of Lusa. We often take them carloads of gently used clothing and toys from friends at the mine – bringing such joy and meeting great needs. Our friends are glad to donate to a worthy cause and we’re glad to create a bridge between two very different communities. Rarely, though, do the two worlds actually connect (with the exception of craft markets where Mama Yoba and Regina and I sell the jewelry).

But this Christmas, our friends at the mine wanted to teach their children about giving. This week the kids and their parents got together and put together 100 sachets of candies, pencils and small toys to give to children in the community.  And we knew of no better place to distribute these special gifts than at Lusa. So as the emails have gone out inviting participants to come out to Kimasala on Christmas Eve and I've made the arrangements with Mama Yoba, we asked our friends if they would be willing to help Mama Yoba finish her house. And the response has been amazing. Emails went out beyond our church community and donations are coming from people we've never met. Tomorrow after church we are collecting several hundred dollars worth of kwacha, to present to Mama Yoba, who thinks that we’re coming purely to the benefit of the children.

And I feel like the greatest Christmas blessing for us, aside from the birth of our Savior of course, will be having the opportunity to bless Mama Yoba and Regina, our special friends and amazing examples of generosity and humility, in this awesome way.  

Selling Lusa jewelry at a craft market at the local mine

Merry Christmas everyone!
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Change Takes Time

“We can make an envelope for the cash box for the renewal.”

Surprising words to come from Mama Yoba’s lips.  A year ago she didn’t like the cash box.  She didn’t think it would work, and she really didn’t like that she didn’t have access to it.  If the money went in the cash box, she didn’t think she would be able to give to help friends when there was a funeral or get anything done that she wanted.  If she received money for things at Lusa, she would use it as she saw fit instead of putting it into the cash box.  In fact, she even asked Luke one day if we didn’t trust her with a key.  Granted, Luke just responded, “If that’s true, they must not trust me either, because I also don’t have a key!”

Change takes time.  When we started the “envelope system” at Lusa, it was a sort of experiment.  An experiment Regina was willing to try.  We created 10 envelopes, labeled with things like “feeding program,” “Zesco/Mema house” (electricity/water), “chickens and agriculture,” “teacher supplies and stipend,” “savings,” etc.  The idea was that each time any income was generated, through craft markets, handmade jewelry sales, donations, or other means, that money would be divided among the envelopes and documented on sheets of paper in each particular envelope.  This idea is very foreign in a culture where people are quick to spend any money they have so that they do not feel obligated to give it to family or friends in need.  While bank accounts exist here, the majority of account holders have zero balance until pay day, at which they immediately withdraw the entire payment sum and spend it.  Others live too far from town for the accounts to be practical for every day use.  Lusa has a bank account, but putting small amounts of cash in an account five kilometers away and then withdrawing said cash for a few dollars here and there for charcoal or tomatoes became a bit irrational.

So we started the cash box – kept hidden in the office at Lusa – with Regina holding the only key.  In the last year since starting the “experiement,” the electricity has never been turned off as a result of delinquent payment, the chicken house has been completely wired for electricity, the doors have been replaced, the teachers have received occasional stipends as gratitude for their hard work, and the children have received a nutritious meal almost every week that school has been in session. 

There have been times that Regina had to stand up to her mother when Mama Yoba wanted to give large amounts for funerals of community members or wanted to buy something for the hall on a whim rather than considering the true needs.  There were times when community members and volunteers questioned the system – hoping to pocket some of the money for themselves.  But after a year, Mama Yoba is on board.  If there is a need for which we don’t have an envelope (like renewing the organization’s certification with the government), she suggests we add one so we can start saving toward said need.  If she receives money, she now gives it to Regina to distribute through the cash box.  And just this week, Mama Yoba repeatedly told me, “thank you.” 

The reason I write this is not for my own accolades.  I got the idea for envelope budgeting from Crown Financial’s Money Matters radio program I used to listen to in the States.  No, the reason I write this is in recognition of the fact that change takes time.  We could probably raise a bunch of money and build fancy buildings and hold special events and be able to create a grand list of all the things we’ve “accomplished” since coming to Zambia, but without working side by side with our brothers and sisters here, without cautious, diligent, and sometimes painful teaching, those “accomplishments” wouldn’t really “accomplish” anything in the grand scheme of things.  True, lasting change… takes time.

And in order to introduce change – to experiment with new ideas and go new directions in ministry – we have learned that we have to start with the youth.  In a culture where everything is tied to tradition, relationship, and the “way it’s always been done,” the youth rarely get a voice.  But they are eager to learn; eager for responsibility and trust; and eager for change.  Regina took a risk standing up to her mother, but now has the respect of Mama Yoba and several others in the community because of that stand.  She’s also learned how to budget and wants to teach others in the community and put what she’s learned into practice in her own business and personal efforts.  In the last year, we may not have built fancy buildings or touched hundreds of lives, but by pouring into one person at a time, over time, change happens.

The cash box is a very tangible example, but we see the same impact on a spiritual level.  Regina has grown to be an incredible, devoted woman of God, and is leading young girls and others in the community in the same direction.

We look forward to seeing the same kind of changes and growth in the young men and women we work with as coaches for Sports Friends, who will then become leaders and role models for the children on their teams.  Life on life, day by day, disciple-making.  And in the long run, that is far more satisfying – and glorifying to God – than fancy buildings or numbers on paper.