Adventures in Zambia- Merry Christmas

The past 8 days have been filled with many hours of driving and hours of exploration and adventures. Last Friday we loaded up a little Toyota Sprinter(Sputnik) and pulled out of Blantyre, heading for the Zambian border. We crossed through the Malawi countryside, through the Zambian jungle and cities, all to reach Livingstone. The home of the great Zambezi river and Victoria Falls. Here are a few stories and adventures we encountered that I wrote on the way.

Malawi- Zambia Border: Dec 17

We made it! Its official, we are now in Zambia. The border crossing was slightly confusing and frustrating but not as bad as we thought. We pulled into the Malawi gate and parked out little Sputnik car, at the gate. The officers kept telling us we needed a gate pass, but not how to get it. We were finally directed to the right office and began filling out the exit papers. Since we’ve been here for 5 months our tourist visas have expired and our temporary work visas have been in processing since October. We were given receipts and letters from the immigration office explaining that our TEP’s were processing, so we could leave the country. The immigration officer at the border was so ignorant and irritating. He kept telling us that we didn’t know what a receipt was and that we didn’t have the right papers to cross. He refused to call our immigration worker that gave us the papers and refused to read the letter that had his boss’ signature on it. I finally slide him my receipt and he accepted it for both of us. Such a joke!

Zambia-Victoria Falls: Dec 19

Today I accomplished something that many may dream about but never get a chance to do. We not only saw Victoria Falls, but swam at the edge of the several hundred foot drop. We pulled into the park and were met by beware of baboon signs and the thunder of the falls. The mist ripples through the trees. The fact that you’re are so close to all that natural power and wonder is amazing. Since its December the water level is decently low and clear. Even though the falls is not at its full potential it is still so majestically beautiful. I can’t even imagine David Livingstone’s thoughts and excitement when he found such an incredible piece of nature for the first time.

We hired a guide to take us to the top of the falls and to swim in Devil’s Pool. He showed us the different parts of the falls. The whole length of the falls is 1.7 km , 1 km is on the Zambian side and 700 m is in Zimbabwe. We hiked across the whole length on the Zambian side. We walked 200 meters on a 3 inch dam across the Zambezi River. We walked hand in hand crossing the Zambezi river right above the mighty falls. It was incredible. We finally reached Livingstone Island, in the middle of the falls. We reached the main falls and was told by our guide to just jump out in the river and let the current push us to the edge. Um wait, what? Let the current push us to the edge, doesn’t exactly sound like the safest plan. But like blundering tourists we followed our guide, jumping into Devil’s Pool. In fact the current was not very strong and we just slowly floated to the 3 foot thick cliff separating us from the 300 foot shortcut to the Indian ocean. Just another day in Africa. J

Zambia-Victoria Falls: Dec 20

Swim the Zambezi- P

Swim with crocodiles-P

Raft class 5 rapids- P

Didn’t flip while rafting the Zambezi- P

The last 12 hours have been a full time adrenaline rush. We woke up early and hopped on a safari truck from our hostel. We were joined by 3 other brave souls, out in the search of big holes, fast water, and surprisingly crocodiles. We met the rest of the people willing to risk their lives, and the crew who was willing to extract money from those that are crazy enough to risk their lives. After getting a run down of safety and other important information, we headed down to the “Mosi-oa-Tunya” (Victoria Falls) to hop on the Zambezi river and begin our adventure. Pathetically it took us 5 tries to paddle into the first rapid ( we had to enter half way through it) but we made it and the adrenaline continued for the next 8 hours and 30 km of river. The rafts with us each took turns flipping or dumping out passengers in various rapids, ours however conquered all. We did flip one person out, get stalled for a couple minutes in a hole, and flip completely vertical; but we never flipped. The great Zambezi, like most rivers in Africa, are known for crocodiles. This fact did not cross our minds until towards the end of the trip and we began seeing baby crocodiles resting in the sun. Of course where there are small crocodiles around there are bound to be big ones as well. Thankfully crocs do not like whitewater, so they stay clear of that, but they love the calm, warm water. Several times our experienced river guide told us to jump in and swim a smaller rapid (class 2-3), no hesitation I was in ready to be hit in the face with water and ride the waves. I didn’t think much about the fact that the river was home to crocodiles, until we reached the flat water. All of our eyes were peeled to the rocks and water lines, watching for splashes, we made slow movements and made sure our feet were up (not sure it would of made a difference). Thankfully no crocs were hungry today and we made it to the take out site. A gondola carried us 200 ft out of the canyon, on to live another day.

My Hope is Found

In moments of weakness I remember the little things of home that I miss. I miss the way the world seems to stop when snowflakes fall. I miss my family and the comfort and warmth of home. I miss the holiday celebrations and the excitement of being with all of my family. Its in these moments of weakness that I get so wrapped up in myself. I worry about what it will be like to return home, I worry what it will feel like to leave Africa. In the end, yes Africa has changed me and I can honestly say I will never be the same, but I did not come to Africa to cause that change in me I came to help impact other people. In these moments of weakness I have to stop and try to see the big picture and look away from myself and see that there are people hurting, struggling around me. God has placed me in Malawi for a speific purpose and its easy to loose track of that

Now for those of you that know me really well, you know that I am in love with the Owl City. He is by far my favorite band, and I get excited at any new music he releases. One of the biggest reasons I love Owl City so much because he is Christian. Even though he has a huge career and he is making a ton of money he has not lost sight of his mission in Christ and his relationship with his Father. A couple weeks ago I discovered one of his new releases; In Christ Alone. Now this is a pretty famous Christian song but as I listened to it, it brought me to tears and gave me a sense of encouragement. The lyrics pull you out of yourself and your problems, and make you look at the bigger picture. You may be going through "moments of weakness" or through hell and back, but when we stop and reach for God, our hope is found.

In Christ alone, my hope is found


He is my light, my strength, my song


This cornerstone, this solid ground


Firm through the fiercest drought and storm


What heights of love, what depths of peace


When fears are stilled, when strivings cease


My comforter, my all-in-all


Here in the love of Christ I stand

There in the ground His body lay


Light of the world by darkness slain


Then bursting forth in glorious day


Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory


Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me


For I am His and He is mine


Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death


This is the power of Christ in me


From life’s first cry to final breath


Jesus commands my destiny


No power of hell, no scheme of man


Can ever pluck me from His hand


Till He returns or calls me home


Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Snapshots

Old Man Falls, Mulanje

The Blantyre girls at Malamulo
Samantha and I in the bush

Mbiza church, we rode bicycle taxis to get to
Hudson and I, one of the missionary kids at Malamulo

Hospital Day 1 10-29-10

This week I spent my first couple of hours in Blantyre Adventist Hospital. I was very unsure what exactly they would have me doing. I discovered it would be a lot of observing. This in a way is disappointing but also good, hopefully over time of observing and asking questions they will allow me to do more. Even though there were not any hands on stuff I did get to watch things that I may never see unless I was in med school in the States. The first thing I got to experience was a 12 year old boy who has been fighting cancer since this summer. He came to the hospital in June for his first surgery, where they removed his skull and removed two brain tumors (one on the inside and a mass growing on the outside of his head). It has now been about 4 months of long recovery of chemo and lots of skin grafts. Now all he has left to show for it all is a wicked scar, a soft spot on his skull, healing skin and a small wound they are still trying to get healed. He has been coming to the hospital daily since his surgery, to have his wounds dressed and cared for. It was incredible to see the healing process and what it all looked like several months back. After redressing his wound I was then taken to observe the OB/GYN doctor for the rest of the afternoon. It was amazing to watch the ultrasounds and try to understand what was in the confusing sea of gray that is portrayed on the computer screen. Being able to watch an ultrasound and hear the heart beats of the fetus’ was so intriguing and incredible. The OB doc then took me to the operating theater to watch my first procedure. I got all prepped for surgery, which here means wearing crocs, a surgical gap and hospital gown. For those that know medical terminology, the procedure was a D&C (or incomplete miscarriage). The thing that most intrigued me during the surgery was how fast the anesthesia kicked in. Since I’ve only been on the other side of it, it was incredible to watch. Before the anesthesiologist even pushed the last of the drugs into the IV the patient was out and snoring. The moment the snoring began the operating theater was a bustle of activity as they got everything ready to go. The procedure was only 15 minutes long and I loved every minute of it.

Challenges- 10/26/10

As I wake up and climb out of bed each morning I am greeted by the African sunshine, the strange calls of birds and buzzing of bugs and a possibility of a whole new set of challenges. I have never been tested and tried more in my life than I have been here. Every passing hour could bring another crisis, stressful situation or pure joy.

For the next month or so Samantha and I will be living with our oldest student Alexia. She is Brazilian and spending this year with her aunt and uncle (who are doctors at the hospital) to learn English. Her aunt and uncle left in the middle of October for leave to Brazil, leaving Samantha and I to enjoy an actual house and personal space.

However, not letting down the African reputation, everything seems to be falling in around us. The first weekend we were here we faced major flooding from the ceiling in my room. Three days later it happened again in a different room. We’ve had to deal with lazy house workers (who think they need to be our nannies), we’ve broken a vacuum, ran out of power, ran out of internet, killed the car, killed the lights in the master suit. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the Araujo’s will come back to their house still standing.

Being a teacher bring another set of challenges. Since we have such a big age range in our classroom (6-12) it is hard to keep everything running smoothly, and quietly. We’ve had to deal with fist fights, yelling parents, depancing of children, bumps and bruises, and tons of arguments.

Even though there are moments where you just want to give up and go home, they are met by moments that remind us why we are here. Like mom’s coming up to us before school and saying they’ve noticed such a change in their children since we’ve come. Their kids use to hate school, and now they can’t wait to come. Or one of our littlest kids (Sasha or Julian) comes and crawls into your lap or tap you on the shoulder and cutely say, “Miss Cassie (or Miss Samantha) watch me (or what is this).” Those moments make it all worth it.

A Taste of Malawi

A Bug's Life

Yesterday morning began with a jolt of excitement. Before coming to Malawi we had heard great things about all of the bugs, but the bugs have been staying clear of us for the most part. Not yesterday, bug after bug seemed to find its way to us. I awoke to Samantha shrieking. A big gross cockroach had decided to take up residence in our shower. It was sprawled on its back just chilling out, appearing to be very dead. She reached down to move it out when it became very alive and struggling to go after whatever had just touched its stomach. I woke from my grogginess of sleep and ask if everything was okay and all she said was "its looking at me". The nasty cockroach was staring her down with its beady little eyes. I jumped up and grabbed a toilet paper roll and our little blue pot for bucket showers. I trapped him and scooped him up. As soon as he was flipped back over, his legs began to violently move, clawing for an escape. I ran to the door and threw him out, as he had decided that my hand would be a better place to explore. As soon as that disgusting roach hit the ground it turned and ran between my feet, through the open door and back into the house. I tried once again trapping him against the wall, but yet again he escaped. We figured he had disappeared forever, since he was nowhere to be seen. I moved back our curtain and there he was, staring me down with his beady eyes, laughing at my inability to catch him. Roaches are extremely quick insects, with long stringy legs and before I could even dump him back in the pot he had launched himself out and onto my mosquito net(still hanging over my bed). Finally I was able to successfully catch him and I ran to the door and threw everything in my hands. The pot went flying, the toilet paper roll went flying, and that disgusting determined roach flew through the air. Until gravity kicked in and he hit the windshield of the Guarino's car. It landed on its back, legs flying everywhere. He quickly flipped himself over and scampered on down the car, hopefully never to be seen again. Our house was full of shrieks and laughter. In the past 24 hours we've found 2 cockroaches, 1 millipede, and 2 geckos inside our house. How they get inside we have no idea, but it sure is an adventure making them leave.