As part of the ‘come and see’ portion of our trip, we were introduced to some of the people that the Huckaby family partners with in ministry. This began on day two with a coffee meeting at the East Park Mall (the place to be!) with two of the teachers from Action Pastor’s College. Pastor Emile and pastor Cassius are two wise men of God who both lead churches and teach other pastors in ministry. Due to the place we met, this seemed very similar to so many meetings that I have had before, with brothers in Christ sharing the joys and struggles of leading the church in a sinful world. And coffee.
I also got to spend some time with a church planter, pastor Enock, who had moved from the city to a rural area to lead a small church there. Once again, it felt very familiar, with statements like: I committed to 3 months, that was six years ago. Pastor Enock was an encouragement to me, as he has been following our church since we became the home church for the Huckaby family. He invited me to come to his church for a marriage seminar – to speak on God’s design of one flesh – the following week (more on that later). We also talked about the details of leading a church – elders, membership, church discipline, baptism, communion – and while aspects of our churches are very different, the core of who we are and what we do is the same.
The next morning, we drove over to the compound to see the feeding program. Before describing this work, let me give you a quick description of the compounds. Lusaka is a city that was designed for one quarter of the number of people who actually live there. In order to accommodate these additional people, informal ‘shanty’ housing has been set up which has created these neighborhoods of poverty. These areas have their own cultures and businesses and ways of operating that are not really governed by the larger government. On our walk through the compound, we walked to a police post that had been burnt down by the residents, only to be rebuilt but without any actual police residing there. All is not anarchy. There is a strong sense of communal responsibility and dependance, which makes these places both chaotic and ordered. They are full of life and business.
As we walked through the compound waiting for the feeding program to start, we were met with wide eyes and big smiles. Kelly told us that many of the people here had probably not seen a white person (mzungu) in the last month. They certainly were not used to seeing one as large as I am, and we had a line of kids following us (one who got a laugh from all of his friends as he imitated my walking stride). While gangs controlled the other side of this compound (Kelly knew where to turn us around), this side was filled with a sense of joy, even in poverty.
As we got back to Faith Tabernacle, we found out that the feeding program wasn’t actually happening that day. Due to some unforeseen challenges, it had to be postponed this week. ‘Unforeseen challenges’ are a regular occurrence here; there are more often supply chain issues than not. We did get a chance to sit down with Wozifera and Easter Ngoma to talk about their work. It began with the feeding program, moved into hospice training for people with HIV, and then ended with a subsistence farming program where they are training pastors on how to be self-sufficient. In between were another 3 or 4 programs that they currently run when funds and staffing allow. On top of this Easter is an actress. The amount that they do is astounding and it was fun to just sit and listen to life after life affected by their faithful work.
That evening, we had the joy of sharing a meal with the Silumande family (pastor Cassius). Lunch everyday at APC was going to be nshima and they wanted to make sure that we knew how to properly eat it before sharing it with the other pastors (which I appreciated). The Silumande family lives at the top of the hill in an area called Kawiya. They do not own a car, so they have to take a bus and/or walk. They often have to walk because the road gets covered in water and the buses will not go all the way up to where they live. The church they serve is adjacent to their house. There is a plan for a building, but right now they worship under a temporary structure. As we were there, the choirs were practicing for the next day. It was beautiful to sit on the hillside (with a view out over the surrounding area), listening to voices raised to God in worship, as we enjoyed the hospitality of this pastor and his family.
As these few days confronted me with how different the situation in Zambia is, it also reminded me of the commonality of being elect exiles in a world that is not in line with God’s order. Most of all, it is exciting that our church gets to be connected to all of these ministries and churches on the other side of the world. While I had not met them until I got to Zambia, there was already overlap and partnership that existed through the missionaries we support. Now that we have met, there may be additional opportunities to partner with them in their work!