Chapter Seven: Beautiful Tan Lines

Romans 10

Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God…

The shadows across the tops of my feet are deepening. I am growing accustomed to the walks beneath the intense Zambian sun which casts its shadow upon my skin a little more thoroughly with every passing day. With every imprint in the red, dusty road, it excites me to remember that God thinks my feet are beautiful, for it indeed is good news that they carry.

On a typical day, Kolezi wakes up in his Copperbelt University residence, alongside three other young men who all share two twin mattresses in one room. Due to a lack of housing infrastructure on and around campus, this arrangement is common and still four occupants short of the worst case scenario. He is an undergraduate student in business administration, hailing from the capital city. At the age of thirteen, Kolezi lost his mother to pneumonia, becoming an orphan. He finished his exams under the supervision of his grandparents before moving in with his uncle. Devastated and consequently separated from his younger brother, Kolezi needed purpose and hope. Shortly thereafter, he found it; the young man met Jesus.

Nine years later, Kolezi entered into the company of a group of men led by Chapo Masona. This group met under the name of The Navigators to study the Bible and discuss its implications for life. Chapo had arrived a few months prior to begin a ministry at Copperbelt University of training men and women to be noble and influential Christians. Since then, recruits like Kolezi and his three roommates had agreed to meet with Chapo to learn what the Scriptures say about their faith. On one particular night, Kolezi and his roommates welcomed some new and excited faces into their lives.

Meeting new friends: Bryce, Evans, Kolezi, Ephraim, and Me in A206

Bryce and I knocked on the door of A206, the first on a list of Navigators’ residences. Wilfred, one of Kolezi’s roommates welcomed the fair-skinned strangers with an air of intrigue. Within the hour, Bryce and I were exploring the campus alongside our new companions. We shared richly in the ways of life, academics, family, and faith. Life on campus has its similarities to the life I knew at Purdue. As I learn about the differences, I also look forward to the depths we may share together in the gospel. These steps down to the East Gate of Copperbelt University have also been a blessing to me.

Chapter Six: Northbound

Deuteronomy 8

…You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD…

The hours spent on the road have not afforded me much rest, but for a few days, I maintain hope for encounters with a thing called stillness. Few can claim the blessings through a lifetime which I have experienced in a week. Days after a nearly hazardous return from the village of Mumbwa, I joined my teammates on a secluded lawn along the southern edge of the University of Zambia at Ridgeway campus. It marked a transition in our bond as teammates and travel companions. As the sun set behind me, our hearts came into the light before each other. Irreplaceable is the sincere trust between brothers.

Visiting the Victoria Falls in Livingstone with the Team

Sitting in Musipa family’s living with Eddie Broussard will shine among our many priceless, shared memories. Few discussions stir the soul to the depths we reached that afternoon. It was a time to be weak, to be learners. It was a time to hear from Eddie, who may know more about the nations than I will in a lifetime. His insights into thriving through life’s many droughts may be the encouragement I need most.

I am about five hours north of Lusaka in a mining metropolis called Kitwe, sitting across from Bryce as he records his reflections within his notebook. Todd and Silas are on their return trip through Dubai, back to the States. The rest of the team remains in Lusaka, partnering alongside local staff in reaching men like the Pacers basketball team and medical students at Ridgeway. As I continue to grow in my understanding of the God who sends me, I find that the distance between me and the majority of my companions is an uncomfortable necessity. Do I trust God as a companion? By grace, I am still with Bryce, but I may be entering the hardest of the desert days. The city of Kitwe and I are about to get acquainted.

Chapter Five: The Discipleship of Bishop Wise Chasemena

2 Timothy 1:1-14

“…For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. For this I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands…”

I am no better. I have no more. With a bowl of plain yogurt with some raspberry jam thrown in for flavor, I sit in disbelief on a leather couch in my hosts’ apartment in Lusaka, musing on the stark contrast and striking familiarity between the life to which I woke this day, and the life to which I woke one morning ago. It had been a strenuous yet relaxed week in the village of Mumbwa. From the stories I had heard from the team in the village of Chibombo, setbacks and trials are in no short supply this month. However, the blessings of the week in a relatively primitive existence far overwhelm the feelings of exhaustion I am experiencing this morning.

Bishop Wise was born and raised in the village. Without complaint or mere mention, Bishop Wise struggles with what appears to be autism. Neither his stature nor his demeanor do justice to the giant that he is in character and passion. By modern and developed-world standards, he is fit for little work or success in the world. His education was abruptly halted in the seventh year of primary school due to the death of his father. Students in Zambia require sponsorship or funding to cover the costs of attending class, and those who lack the financial resources have had no choice but to withdraw. On behalf of his family, Bishop Wise resolved to leave the classroom for the maize fields. His sister Lizzy was able to complete secondary education.

Bishop Wise Chasamena from Mumbwa

By eternal standards, Bishop Wise is a major player for impacting his community. When ten gear-laden city dwellers pulled into the church lot one week ago, Bishop was present and eager to greet and assist his new companions. Despite the language barrier, Bishop Wise wasted little time in getting acquainted with visitors like Dan, Aaron, and me. Sitting under the thatched roof of the insaka hut, Bishop Wise observed curiously as I attempted to portray the continents through lines drawn in the dirt. While he did not understand the placement of “St. Louis” somewhere in the middle of one poorly drawn triangle, he did comprehend that these young men had lived dramatically different lives, and he set his mind to living and learning with the two muzungus and the one with muzungu skin but not face.

I recall that evening with the man the community members call Bishop; the one Aaron called Bishop Wiseman. In my heart, I harbored uncertainties about how effective the week would be. Life moves much more slowly in the village, and locals approach little to nothing with much urgency. At least, that is what I believed. In truth, many members of the community, especially the church, were seeking to play their roles in the grand tapestry of life. They just needed to know what their roles were and how they could fulfill them.

The message of discipleship and generations of faith came to life in the village. Full of reservations about the execution of the training program, I sat stunned in the shade of the insaka as, one after another, men and women were committing their hearts to a labor of love for their neighbors and their families. The burden of transitioning to the village lifestyle and serving alongside locals was lifted. Just as I had learned a life of compassion, several locals were embracing the work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

They were really no different from me; they lacked nothing, from a certain perspective. They breathed like I breathe. They ate like I eat, except for the emphasis on eating without utensils. They walked like I walk, except farther and more frequently. They biked like I bike, except with more skill and utility. They laughed like I laugh. They loved like I love, except with more emphasis on the relationship and less on the material. They learned like I learn, though effectually without a formal education. Fond thoughts of friends, of family in the village of Mumbwa cross my mind, and I pray hopefully that they would now make disciples, as I have learned to make disciples, of their children and of their neighbors.

Chapter Four: Mweba Kulu

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;

That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin:

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;

Mweba kulu, how great Thou art!

Staring at the Bemba adaptation of otherwise familiar lyrics, I thought about the impact of the Gospel as witnessed through parallel experiences across the world on Sunday morning. In fact, all across the world, men and women are singing these lyrics in whatever tongue is comfortable, and praying that the gospel of Jesus Christ would reach the ends of the earth. A teammate had planted a sprouting seed in my mind, one which continues to seek ways to sink its roots deeper. The obvious conclusion, as I stewed in the question, is that the ends of the earth have not yet been reached, that several peoples have remained elusive to the news of God’s grace. However, men and women have crossed every longitude and latitude in the name of Christ. If not a geographic objective, what then is the end of the earth?

The team rests after joining the Pacers, the University of Zambia Pacers that is, for a pickup game of basketball. They are young, energetic men who, before my first engagement, I considered the end of the earth. The reunion proved warm, and the new relationships we formed tonight seem promising. We rest in anticipation of the next adventure. Eight hours and counting, the ends of the earth await.

Chapter Three: Fellows Abroad

Psalm 16

          “…As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight… You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is the fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

Lusaka is a buzzing metropolis of over two million individuals. Many among them have converged from all over the world, and for the week, the team of seven from the American Midwest finds its place among the swarm. Unlike the persistent streams of New York City, the streets of Lusaka are a nest of hundreds of buses, cars, pedestrians, merchants, peddlers, and indiscernible taxis, comparable to a hive and its bees.

 I am delighted to see the team embracing the culture, the people, and all of their stares. The arrival of a mzungu (Caucasian) or two is fairly commonplace in town. However, a group of six and an accompanying choinchoili (Oriental) made a splash in the regular swirl of town as we stepped off the jam-packed public bus into a state of cautious amazement.

Bryce is perhaps the most cautious member of the team, but I have found it entertaining and appropriate to refer to Bryce’s reputation as righteous trouble. While he does nothing to draw attention to himself, he seems to be the most popular of the seven for street peddlers, security guards, drunkards, and bus conductors. He complements me well, and he is a man of God.

Aaron, who happens to be Bryce’s younger cousin, is an adventurous, likeable soul, though recent events would suggest the elder cousin has the edge on both traits. I anticipate a swift turn of events once the nearby university’s basketball team comes into the presence of the 6’ 4” stature that I sometimes utilize for relief from the midday sun. He is zealous for life, and he is a man of God.

Nathan is a purposeful and dynamic man, one with whom I delight to engage in conversation. Much to my amazement, the topics from which to choose and upon which to expand seem inexhaustible with Nathan. Experience in building relationships should serve him enormously through the coming month. He has given much towards the establishment of disciples at Indiana University, and he is a man of God.

Todd and Silas are often seen together. The father-son duo is worthy of emulation, and they bring much energy to the team. Todd is a meticulous team leader, a crucial element for a group of traveling young men. A passion for college students and persistence in prayer have placed him on this team. After a nineteen year wait, Todd has returned to Africa. Silas, the youngest of the seven, is experiencing life overseas for the first time, and he continues to demonstrate competence in cultural adaption. They could not be more excited to be in Zambia, and they are men of God.

Dan is a refreshing and thoughtful teammate for me. Depth in insight and prayer has become distinguishing marks of the companion from Ball State University. In his own words, Dan is a “gentleman and a scholar”, and most prominently, he is a man of God.

Looking across the room at them all, hope and excitement well up in me as I imagine how these noble men will continue to, in the words of a Zambian, raise some dust for the Gospel in the nation. Optimism and eagerness preside over the room as they make preparations for week-long partnerships with churches in rural villages in the region.