Chapter Eleven: So-Longs & Setbacks

2 Timothy 1

“…Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you…”

Who am I? Why am I here?

These questions weave subtly through the fabric of existence. If they are ignored, the answers remain tucked within the Hem. Some look for the answers in various pockets and folds, but they fail to properly and diligently rip the one Seam that gives way to a bond with the eternal tapestry. To those who search and pry along the Seam, the Hem will reveal a knot already severed and a thread readily removed. I pray that many cloths will join the eternal tapestry through the strong and vibrant with Hems wide open.

Bryce and Gerald concluded their series of three discussions among young men on campus, with a celebration of our time together and an evaluation of God-given identity and the purpose through which that identity is fulfilled. It was a surprising group that came to the Masona residence that evening: Shiloh, who has been meeting with Chapo for quite some time but has been missing as of late; Gerald, our friend and ally; Godfrey, the busy engineering student who shares sleeping space with Gerald; and Chips, whom Gerald invited moments before he came. The meat was good; the discussion was better; and the sendoff was full hope.

Farewell Gathering at Chapo's Home

On Sunday evening, Bryce and I joined our friend Asa and the youth at the nearby Lighthouse Christian Church where we have been a weekly visitor. The recent graduate of Copperbelt University has been an integral member of the youth fellowship, demonstrating great faith and integrity while facilitating the gatherings alongside Chapo. Through generous encouragements, Asa stands out as a highlight from among a body of unforgettable young people, who all exhibited a sincere passion for God. Our time with them has been marked with thanksgiving in prayer, and joyful celebration for prayers answered. The discussions Bryce and I facilitated were equally necessary and encouraging for them and for us. Our ties to the Lord in spirit will retain for us unity across continents and oceans, even as I have enjoyed with those on the team and those at home.

Youth Members of Lighthouse Christian Church in Kitwe

I have logged countless kilometers on foot. I have traversed factors more by bus. I came and went eleven ways, eleven times. The weeks have sifted through my fingers, almost as easily as the previous forty-four. Two nights ago, I added a second final farewell to my tally behind the peach-colored building at Plot 62 Central Street. It is enough to make me question the finality of such parting words. The complications of travel through the last twenty-four hours have established a fine case that I may not need to think about coming back long-term. Zambia seems reluctant to let me leave at all. Just as we have until now, we will continue to trust God. The flight we had established as our mode of escape has left without us.

We pray. We wait. We hang on to the promises of the Father who cares. We continue to be disciples even when circumstances are unfavorable. Nostalgia for Zambia will have to wait. We are, as it turns out, not finished. The things we have yet to learn are great, and the growth we welcome in our lives even greater. I am not certain what that may still entail. However, I do know that I can give myself more reason for nostalgia through a few more Zambian memories in the coming hours. In two sunrises, I shall hope to turn the page and invite the next chapter.

Chapter Ten: Witnesses

Acts 1

…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth…

I cannot hope to measure the impact of my team in the land of the Chipolopolo. I lack the insight and the objectivity to tell you what will come of the work I leave behind at the end of the month. I can only pray and trust that the same Spirit, who gives me understanding and permits me to teach on matters I am far too naïve to teach, will continue to do for our new friends as has been done for me.

Evans is one of Kolezi’s roommates in A206. I casually address him as “Governor”. Currently a third year student in the School of Banking and Finances, he aspires to one day be a governor for the Bank of Zambia. The young man is ambitious, but he seems to have room to grow in the area of time management. Unfortunately, I fall short of the distinction of “pacesetter” in that department. Nonetheless, he is a willing and effective learner, and his potential is great, for what it is worth.

He and Kolezi shared two afternoons with me at the conclusion of the last week. The two provided their usual, dependable attention as I walked them through the Bible’s teachings on living a Christ-centered life, and the tools and vision for sharing their hope with others. The latter yielded unexpected results when a follower of the Jehovah’s Witness faith joined minutes into our time together, intent on steering my presentation of the Gospel towards a hidden objective. Two hours would pass before he would confess his agenda. The discussion would have been a complete loss if I had not witnessed an encouraging quality in the two men I had come to see. They were firm in their faith, though not in ignorance. Their knowledge was well founded, and their logical refutations were sound. It is good to see that I do not know these men as well as I had initially believed.

The next morning, Evans and Kolezi were gone. Bryce and I are working around the vacuum the university’s term break has created on campus. The week-long hiatus offers several advantages to building relationships with the remaining students, though we are obviously coping with the academic exodus. Bryce has capitalized on the availability of one student Gerald, who has responded with immense eagerness and humility. Their relationship continues to mutually foster deep spiritual growth as they learn about new roles in the ministry of reconciliation – Bryce as a mentor, and Gerald as a disciple maker.

Bryce and Gerald sharing their last week together

I delight to see Bryce mature as a man of God, and the process has been swift since our settlement in Kitwe. Almost two years ago, Bryce moved onto campus at Purdue University as a first year student in engineering. He quickly found old friends and assembled with a small group of men to read from the Bible. It was not Bryce, but one of his friends in the group that I met first. However, my earliest memories of him were of a steady and purposeful young man who was prepared to gain much more than a mere Bachelor’s Degree through his time at Purdue. I often found him reading and reflecting on life issues, and I coveted the opportunity to walk alongside him.

When we moved from Lusaka to Kitwe shy of a month ago, the opportunity seemed like a dream come true. Astonishingly, our time together has exceeded my expectations, and I find that I am realizing ideals of true Christian community I thought were unlikely in this era of media, entertainment, and social etiquette. In short, the Bible has been living and active at all hours of the day, and we are challenging each other towards Christian maturity in biblical ways.

Reflections by candlelight - A blessing of the occasional power cuts.

Tonight, Bryce sleeps on campus with the students. The idea and the initiative were his. As it has always been, his ministry here in Kitwe is being led by the Spirit. He has only two days to give to Gerald before we conclude and hand over our ministry at Copperbelt University. My little brother, friend, and fellow laborer Bryce Dzirbik has grown up.

Chapter Nine: No Man is an Island

Proverbs 3

Do not let kindness and truth leave you;

Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.

Everyone needs a friend, an ally, or confidant. When I look around, the inherent flaws of human nature corrupt the channels of trust which run between each of us, and between the individual and God. The resulting condition is the stranded man or woman. Betserai Maronga is an orphan, and until about three months ago, he was an island. For reasons concealed, he never knew his mother. His father was a devout Catholic, a voice for the Gospel of Jesus Christ up to the day he passed. When that day came, the silence was deafening. Betserai began on that day to drift away from God and from others.

When Chapo met Betserai, the young man was struggling with a heavy bag on the side of the street, apparently intoxicated. Over the course of the coming months, Chapo visited Betserai periodically in his room on campus at Copperbelt University. The friendship grew little by little, but the Purchasing and Supply Management major remained relatively reserved about the concerns of his soul.

Early in the afternoon on the sixth of this month, I sent Betserai a message, hoping to arrange a meeting. It is not clear with whom he had expected to greet, but he arrived and waited, oblivious to our curious gaze. In reality, Betserai is not accustomed to inquiries from anyone. Bryce and I have, by now, invited him to share the doubts in his soul on two separate occasions, and each visit has allowed us further access into his life. According to him, his thoughts and questions are typically not well-received, and it has limited the reach of his social circle to those in his room and in his area of study. Tragically, the pattern of those within his circle is fraught with deluding behaviors. He drinks without knowing why he drinks, and he refuses to surrender the habit.

"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness....No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”     ~John Donne

Betserai has a vision for being a positive influence in the lives of others, but he is unable to identify his purpose in coming to school. In his heart, he is there only because of those who could not be so fortunate. The hope in Betserai is dying, and we may be the last remaining plug.

Chapter Eight: One Day at a Time

Isaiah 55

For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace;

The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,

And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up,

And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up,

And it will be a memorial to the LORD,

For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.

The United States has been a sovereign and independent nation for 236 years and one day. Of that, I have been alive for the last 24 years and one day, and of this life, I have commemorated this anniversary on foreign soil at least five times, away from the house through indeterminately more. I am not trying to avoid my family, but circumstances have sometimes suggested it. I am living according to the call of the Gospel, and it has led me far from home. The Fourth of July is not celebrated here, except by those who are in the company of Americans and those who recognize the birth of individuals. This week, a day of merriment derived from both exceptions.

The Zambia Navigators National Conference brought together a community of Believers, to Chreso University somewhere beyond the city limits of Lusaka. One year ago, these three days represented some of the most exciting and exhausting moments in my memory. After five hours on the road from Kitwe, I hoped for nothing more than a refreshing time among other Navigators. I am thankful for the members of the team who took on responsibilities I did not enjoy last year like registration. The weekend provided me with new responsibilities like workshop facilitating and handout printing. Of course, the highlight of my time was hearing Eddie Broussard speak on the issue of renewing our commitment to the lordship of Christ and to the community. He challenged me to grow in my trust in Christ the Lord, something which is easy for me to say and difficult to do. Eddie declared Christ’s lordship is the absolute authority of the Kingdom of Heaven, the only unshakeable kingdom.

Entering into the most wearing stretch of this adventure, dependence on Christ and fellowship become not only good, but necessary for sustaining the energy I hope to pour into Copperbelt University. Bryce has been increasingly feeling the distance from home with each day. It has challenged him in his faith and driven him frequently into prayer. Indeed, it is in prayer where we often meet. This is what brothers in Christ do. In direness and desperation, we turn to God.

The promises found in Isaiah have become a banner for my time here. They speak of the need and providence of life and intimacy. I rest on these promises. They remind of me of what is true and what is proven. Though exhausted, I awoke the morning after an especially festive night with a new wind in my lungs (though my voice, two weeks gone, has yet to be recovered).

Fourth of July Party

Richard Kabuswe had been with us that night. After ten months, the captain of the University of Zambia Pacers basketball team reconnected with me. Since then, I have heard frequently from Aaron and his time on the basketball club of Richard’s initiative in partnering with us as we seek to reach the team with the Gospel. The first Bible study since July 2011 took place on the night of the Fourth, and it went swimmingly. Richard stayed comfortably with us through the Fourth of the July Party, like he had known us his entire life. Perhaps, time does not truly matter when it comes to trust and fellowship. It was good to see him one more time before I returned to Kitwe.