Thunderstorms

We have been in Zambia for 6 weeks now and while we have had some challenging times (inevitable due to the nature of the work we do here – often misunderstandings and difficulties arise when you are learning to adapt to a different culture and way of doing things) we have had many blessed times and feel so at home with our Zambian family. We have grown and learned so much that I actually wouldn’t ever take back any of the difficulties we experienced. It has not only strengthened us but it also made really appreciate the uncomplicated times…times like the 4 days that we had with Blessings and Towela, the coordinators of the service center in Kitwe.

We had just come out of one of one of those trying situations when we set the time to spend the weekend in Kitwe. Tyler stayed with Blessings (a young guy, soon to be married) while I stayed with Towela and her family.

Towela has been married to Henry for 21 years now and they have four children of their own, ranging from the ages of 8-19, as well as a fifth, Rose who is 13. Rose lost both her parents as a young girl and instead of being embraced by her sister and grandmother, was neglected and abused. Towela met Rose a few years back when she was a care worker in the township of Mulenga. Immediately she began to advocate for this girl and care for her at a distance. But when time past and nothing got better, Towela and her husband took her in as one of their own. Timid and shy, Rose also touched me when I met her. She has the sweetest smile, one which speaks much louder than words. One which instantly elicits the recipient of the grin, to also break into a huge smile. Tana, Towlea’s sister, also lives with the family in their two bedroom house. That brings the count up to 7, 8 including me. When shown my room, one shared with Tana and Rose, it was clear that one, or two people had given up their bed for me. This family was nothing less than amazing. So loving, respectful, generous, giving, sacrificial…most of the time I felt like a queen. Whether it was Tina insisting on doing my laundry or scrubbing my sandals clean, or Towela serving me coffee on a silver tray while the boys offered to iron my clothes and Chimwemwe combed my hair, daily I was blessed in some way. But the most inspiring thing about this family was that they live this way every day. Every day they serve each other with love. They actually live out who Jesus calls us to be…humble servants. There is such beauty in the simplicity of this kind of attitude.

By the time Friday night came, I felt like part of the family. We had just finished a light supper when the most spectacular storm I have ever seen came out of nowhere. Now, as a child, I used to be so scared of thunderstorms. As soon as I heard the first boom of thunder and saw a streak of lightening, I would bury my head under the covers and pray that the tree beside my brother’s window wouldn’t fall over and crush our house. But as I grew older that fear disappeared, and in its place a love and fascination for these storms developed. Unfortunately the weather Westcoast doesn’t offer much of these remarkable displays of nature, so I would get my “fix” when travelling to places like Thailand, Toronto, South Africa and most currently, Zambia. Now it is the latter where I have witnessed more thunderstorms in 3 weeks than I have in a lifetime. And this storm was by far the best. Massive bolts of lightning lit the dark sky as the thunder boomed overhead. The rain hadn’t started to fall yet, so a crowd of us (minus Towel, who afraid of storms, buried her head under some pillows) stood out on the street to take in the brilliant display. I was like a little kid at the zoo…mouth open, ohhing and awwing at every streak of lightning that appeared to hit the earth. I was so animated my hosts couldn’t help but giggle at me. It was a good night.

The last day, still without electricity (the storm had knocked out all power the night before) I cooked a maasive pot of Jambalya for the family outside over a coal brazier. There was something so special about that night. The lack of electricity only added to the beauty of the evening. It seemed to quiet the noise and evoke deep conversation, laughter, singing, dancing and fellowshipping. I felt as though we were being bound to this family in a unique, indescribable way. I thank God for that weekend as it brought about redemption, healing, joy and rest for both Tyler and I.