A deep breath

Greetings,

            As I had anticipated, things have really calmed down here from the past few weeks.  Although after jumping off bridges, pretty much everything is “calmed down.”  The second half of the trip has begun as Dan has been saying and our purpose here is finally coming about.  We are here to share Christ and his gospel with those that we meet.  So that is exactly what we plan to do.

            The main campus of the University of Zambia is still not open due to the professors being on strike.  That really is unfortunate for us and our ministry because that limits what we are able to do here to going to the medical campus which takes at least an hour to get there by bus.  The good news is that the basketball team is still there and practicing two or three times per week and I have been able to spend some time with them.  Several of them seem interested in the prospect of having a Bible study so when we find a night or afternoon that works for them we will begin one on the book of Colossians. 

           

            The last practice that I attended consisted mainly of some of the team playing the game 21 or one-on-one which was good to be able to judge where I am compared to some of the other members of the team.  The answer so far is: far less athletic but far taller.  I will be missing our first game this weekend due to the National Conference here but that should give me time to get back used to playing on a consistent basis.  Our next practice is this afternoon at 17:00 (they seem to run on military time here) and I hopefully will get to finally meet the coach.

            The National Conference that I have mentioned several times up to now is actually on this Saturday unlike my last post said.  The speaker for the conference is the Associate director of the Navigators in the United States, Eddie Broussard.  He has been here for a week now and we have had the privilege to hear him speak several times on “trusting God” and the “journey of knowing God.”  He is a passionate speaker that clearly has a close relationship with Christ and he is very open to new cultures.  It has been great to have him here even when the wildfires in Colorado Springs are threatening his home.  If you all could pray not only for their home but the homes of those that are still in danger of the fires.  The National Nav headquarters are there and could use some heavy prayer.

            Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I move into the portion of the trip that I am probably more uncomfortable about than even spending the week in the village.  I do not have much experience at all with campus ministry so I will be pretty much relying and trusting in God with all that I have.  Pray that I will have the confidence to go out and make disciples of the students here in the mighty name of Jesus.  If any of you have any prayer concerns that I can be praying for you, message me on Facebook or email me at aspesar@purdue.edu. 

From halfway around the world,

Aaron Spesard

Jumping off bridges

Greetings,

     Jumping off a bridge is something that sounds both crazy and fun at the same time. After doing just that twice in a span of thirty minutes, I would say that it was the stupidest and most amazing thing I have ever done. The bungee jumping platform at the bridge by Victoria Falls is the highest commercial jump in the world and it was a tempting prospect since I heard about it. The one condition for going was met as I left the Chicago airport when my Dad gave me permission. I know that was not an easy decision but I am very glad he made it.

     Pretty much immediately after making the trip to Mumbwa, we set off for the city of Livingstone which is about a 6 hour trip south of Lusaka where we are staying. We left at four in the morning and the trip went very smoothly. Upon arrival, we got some breakfast and headed to the safari. We started off into the National park with seeing several monkeys running around and climbing and got off to a good start with seeing an elephant very early on. As we continued on for a few hours, we saw giraffes, monkeys, impalas, elephants, baboons, zebras, crocodiles, warthogs, several different birds, hippos, and a monitor lizard. Unfortunately and fortunately both at once, there were no lions, hyenas, and cheetahs in the park.
We left the safari, hit up lunch, and headed to Mosi-o-tunya; the native word for the falls that translates to "the smoke that thunders." I could not think of a better word for it. The falls were absolutely massive. They continued on as far as I could see and the bottom could not be seen at any time due to the giant amount of mist that was created when the water reached the endpoint. The sound was extremely loud the whole time and the mist did resemble smoke slightly. Besides the Grand Canyon, this was the most awe inspiring thing I have ever seen. The sheer size was unbelievable and I could do little but sit there in silence and take it in as much as I could. God’s power and beauty were on display simultaneously in a brilliant and magnificent manner.

      The mist that is created was also incredible. Not only was there mist at the bottom where the water thundered down against rocks but it rose all the way above the level of the falls themselves which is no small feat. You could feel the effects of the mist even over 100 yards away as water droplets landed all over. Getting closer only increased the effect and the entire team quickly became soaked to the core. Our walk around the outside of the falls showed there was no escaping from the wall of water that was enveloping the surroundings. As Silas described it, "[T]his is the hardest I have ever seen it rain upwards." While that sounds ridiculous that is actually a pretty accurate description of the phenomenon that we were experiencing.

      We left the falls after walking on the path that is set aside for pictures and just viewing the spectacular sight and went back to the safari for awhile. While we had seen all the animals mentioned above there was still one elusive creature that we really wanted to see. Talking with Sam who drove our car from Lusaka, rhinos are not only rare but very expensive as Zambia had to pay South Africa to bring some of the rhinos over and try to jumpstart their population. On our way there we actually were lucky enough to see tons more animals than our earlier trip such as entire herds of elephants and even baby elephants, giraffes, impalas, and four baby warthogs. The only way we could come up with to find the rhinos was to pay a fee to the rangers to walk us out to find them on foot. This was no easy task or a short trip by any means. It took a five to ten minute drive followed by a twenty minute walk through the bush to reach one. Not only did we reach one, we were so close I was caught off guard. The rhino was evidently somewhat used to having people around but he still marked his territory several times due to our proximity. We were within 10-15 yards at the nearest point to a creature that weighs more than three tons and has two giant horns on its head. Nevertheless we were with three rangers that all had assault rifles so we felt somewhat safe.

         We spent the night in a lodge that had several small cabins each named after animals that could be found on safari and for some reason I was put into the one named giraffe. After a night of great rest, we got up, had a great breakfast of cornflakes, eggs, bacon, toast, and juice, and headed back to the falls for the moment that I had been waiting for since I decided to go on the trip. We were going to the bridge that connects Zambia and Zimbabwe that crosses the massive gorge carved by the river. Halfway across the bridge is the platform from which you jump. The same platform that someone jumped from and did not come back up. The same platform that boasts the highest commercial bungee jumping in the world. The same platform that I was getting ready to jump from.

        When we got to the spot that we signed up, I saw that they offered some other features beside bungee jumping that were called the slide and the swing. The jumping and swing cost the same amount at $120 each and the slide (or zip line) was $35 but they had a great deal. It is called the "Big Air Experience" and everything about it seemed like a perfect idea to me. It allowed you to do all three (jump, slide, and swing) for a total of $155. How could I pass that up? It sounded like the best thing ever but I did not want to be the only one to do it and make everyone wait for me so when Silas showed the same interest I knew that I had to do it. Borrowing five one dollar bills so I didn’t break a fifty, I purchased the whole shebang.
The slide came first which was a great way to view the whole gorge at an elevated view while not falling straight towards the water. It was also a much slower pace that made things look amazing. For those that do not like heights at all, this would have been a nightmare. It is around 200 meters to the bottom and you are sliding along one metal line. For me, it was a great experience that I would gladly do again.

       Next I was over at the bridge and I got to see most of the rest of the team doing their bungee jumps. First went Todd our leader, then Bryce, then Dan, and then Sam. They all made the leap off the bridge having faith that they would return which they did. For me the swing came next. This one I did not know about before but was somewhat similar to the jump. Instead of jumping off headfirst with a bungee cord, you pretty much step off the platform with a harness. Technically you are told to jump about a meter away from the platform and stay in pencil dive form the entire time. While in this streamlined position, speed increases at a ridiculous rate and your nerves go crazy. Towards the end of my free fall, I was getting really nervous because I had been falling for what seemed like way too long and my speed at that point was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Yet I continued falling until I felt the harness begin to catch and swing me out down the canyon. Being before the bungee jump, this "suicide fall" as Silas and I called it, was the more intense of the two. If I were to do one of the three again it would most likely be the swing.

       The bungee jump came third but was just as intense as anything. Stepping up to the edge of the platform with the cord wrapped very tightly around my ankles was even crazier because I could feel the weight of the cord pulling at my ankles that were strapped together. In the same way as the other two, the guy that is telling you what to do right before you go and getting you started, he did not waste any time allowing you to stop and think about what you are doing. He pretty much says "okay so jump three meters out and keep your arms out and head up. 5.4.3.2.1.Bungee (the no spaces is meant to show how fast he went). It makes sense that they do not give you time to think because I think most people would back out when they look down. The 111 meter drop that you experience is the longest drop of any commercial bungee jump in the world and goes straight down at the river flowing below you. When you add in the fact that last year there was a girl that had her bungee cord snap and she plummeted down into the water, this is one nerve-racking experience.

        Despite the seeming to be danger, our entire team survived and lived to tell the tale to their children and their children’s children of how they jumped off a bridge with nothing but some rubber attached to their ankles. As for me, I do not want to say that I will never do it again. Something about the freefall is amazing and I have not stopped smiling since I did it. I want to thank my parents for giving me permission to do this. I know that it was not easy and I really appreciate what you did.
For the rest of our stay here in Zambia things will be settling down. Todd and Silas are leaving tonight for Dubai where they will stay a few nights before returning home and Bryce and Jon are currently on their way to the Copper Belt where they will be staying in Kitwe and helping to renew the ministry at CBU (Copper Belt University). Dan, Nathan, and I will be staying here with Abel, Sam, and Gershom and when UNZA finally opens (the professors are on strike currently), we will get to work with our college ministry there. Until then we will be mainly working at the medical campus over at Ridgeway and helping with the National Navigator Conference that begins Thursday.


Over and out from Lusaka,

Aaron Spesard

T. I. A.

Greetings,

      T. I. A. This Is Africa. That thought was running through my mind multiple times during this last week. Whether it was the riding on the back of a truck going down a path that was meant for walking or beheading several chickens, this was what I had in mind when I was thinking about going to an African village.

      Between my last post and our trip to the village our summer team was allowed to go and play basketball with the team at UNZA. Jon Chen had befriended a few of the team members last year when he was here and so he contacted him and asked him if we would be able to play with them one night for fun. We ended up playing for a couple hours in their gym that was nothing by our standards but they were thrilled and loved the game. Afterwards we were talking with Richard who is our main contact on the team and he was interested in several of us playing for their team in the tournament that they play in. This week we will be unable to make it to practice and so we will be missing the game but Dan, Nathan and I are on the team’s official roster for the tournament. They have plenty of small and quick guards but they said they could use some forwards. So I am officially on a college basketball team. Who cares where that team is? Not me.

      Our trip to Mumbwa began on a Tuesday around 10:30 in the morning. The city bus that we had chartered had arrived and we were loading all of our food, clothes, and kitchen equipment. Once we set off we only had to make a few stops for some fresh food and gas but it was only three hours of American music later that we reached the village. The village of Mumbwa is located a ten minute drive on a rough dirt road away from the town of Mumbwa.
     
     While at the village, we stayed at a church that was located in the middle of nowhere. There were some huts around but only two other homes were within eye sight. We set up our four tents in the side yard of the church next to several small huts known as insakas. The insakas were used for fires, group gatherings, and cooking. The church was made in a similar fashion to many buildings in the area which is brick with a coating of concrete on the outside with a metal roof.

       For the first time in my life I was truly outside of my comfort zone. This was not camping. This was not vacation. This was not home. This was not with anyone that I knew very well. I had known Dan from the one day orientation that we had before the trip and the 8-10 days that we had been on the trip. Jon Chen was on our team and despite going to Purdue with him and being with him a lot I knew very little about him. I somewhat knew Ngambo and Gershom from the week before we left but the other four members of our team I did not know at all. I did not even find out Chiti’s name until halfway through the week. The person that I know the best here is Bryce and he went to Chibombo (another village).

      People say that you find things out about yourself when you get out of your comfort zone. That is completely true. During the time that we spent in Mumbwa, I found out much about myself as God revealed to me the arrogance and sense of self worth that I had. It is amazing that it took me this long to see that I looked down on these people for no reason. Day after day I was shown that in no way am I better than the people that strive every day in the village for their food and carry tons of water just to have something to drink. The rest of the lessons that I learned I will keep to myself but I feel that it was an experience that would benefit virtually every person around my age and make them into a better and more well-balanced individual.

       Speaking of getting water. Before leaving the states I was given so many warnings about the water and told all the ways that I should be keeping my water clean and how to survive without getting extremely sick. I took these things into account and drank bottled water that we were able to bring with us for the first two days. All the water that we cooked with for the trip came from a borehole or well that was about two to three hundred yards away. That distance is nothing when only walking there carrying the empty water jugs. The way back is a different story. Carrying forty liters (or litres as it is spelled here) of water is no simple task for that distance. The containers were manageable only when you took a couple breaks to allow your hands to rest on the way. The containers that the women fill and balance on their heads are smaller but there is no doubt that is brutal work. My respect for them as they do that and cook nshima (which is a task that wears my arms out) is extensive. There are even small kids that tote around large amounts of water with the help of bicycles. After the first two days I was able to drink water directly from the pumps which made things much easier.

        It would make sense to talk about food immediately after water so here goes. It ranged from delicious to atrocious. That is the best way that I can put it. Breakfasts usually consisted of cornflakes mixed with peanut butter and/or hard boiled eggs with a cup of hot cacao (not hot chocolate for sure; far more bitter). The first lunch consisted of bread and sandwiches that contained all combinations of mayonnaise, cheese, and jam (not the most usual combinations but alright nonetheless). Most of the other lunches would be either nshima, rice, or pasta served with the gravy and cooked cabbage. Those were not bad at all and nshima actually became something that I enjoyed by the end. Some of the highlights of the food were fritters (fried balls of dough about the size of a baseball), some mutton stew from our friend Thaddeus the sheep, fried chicken, a couple new fruits that I had never tasted, roasted maize, and the gravy. Lydia who was in charge of the gravy during the trip made some heavenly tasting stuff that I would have seconds and thirds of. Now on the opposite side of the scale stands Capenta. Without a doubt it was the worst tasting thing that I have eaten and I have eaten grubs, entire crawfish in one bite, and I believe once as a kid I ate a leaf off of our sweat gum tree in our backyard because the name made it sound tasty somehow. When they were thrown into the pot of grease I knew it was not going to go over well. To put it simply, they exuded the odor of death and as it works with most foods, they tasted like they smelled. In my time here I will not again touch those fish. Never.

         One thing that we had not planned out overly well was allotting time to cook and prepare the food. Similar but far more exaggerated to camping, everything began from scratch and literally from scratch. We had to cut every tomato that we ate (and that was no small amount), every onion, every carrot, all of the rape (terrible name for a food but oh well), and all the cabbage. That was not the major time consumer though. The meat took far longer to get ready with the exception of the capenta and other fish that we just fried. After the first two or three days I walked into the church to where our supplies were stored and saw a box with seven chickens inside. We also had to start from scratch on the one sheep that we had which as I mentioned before was named Thaddeus by Kayi (another member of our team from Zambia but studying in Canada). I was given the "privilege" of beheading one of the first three chickens as was Dan and Iden. The second time around I was stuck with two more. While I did not enjoy it necessarily it did not bother me and I did not have to dress (or undress would make more sense?) them afterwards. None of our team was awake for the killing of poor Thaddeus as it was the day after an all-night "prayer" meeting that will be discussed later on.

         The language barrier in the village was far worse than it has been in Lusaka. While there were still many that spoke English, it was usually those that were in the age range of 20-30. Much older than that and they might not be able to communicate more than a few sentences. The children were also too young to know any English at all which made things very frustrating. Many of the people did not speak English there but the number of languages in which some were fluent was amazing. One man who was called Bishop Wiseman, had a mental condition that hindered his motor skills and his speech but he could speak fluently in six languages. He truly was an amazing man that had his entire life straightened out. He was the one person that I talked to the most and he was able to change my impressions of village people and even help me to change my own life. Never will I forget Bishop Wiseman.

         Since we were staying by the church and were there on church business, many of the members really wanted to hear what we had to say. They even called two special services so that we would have more time to share with them. From our summer team, Dan and Jon both gave lessons/sermons. Jon spoke twice; one about how having met God changes your life, and one about discipleship. Dan spoke at the all night prayer service about renewing our strength through suffering. Their messages were so much more powerful than some of the "motivational speeches" that were given by the members of the church.

          The all night prayer meeting that I have been talking about was one of the memories that will stick with me even though I was cringing and plugging my ears for much of it. It was similar to other services that we experienced in Mumbwa but was far longer. I think that preach has a different interpretation here because I am not used to the yelling that was going on. The church was able to rent a generator, keyboard, and microphones and I do not think they knew how to use them correctly. The speakers were turned up the entire way the entire time to the point that many of our team was either plugging our ears or putting toilet paper in them to muffle the sound. It did not help when the person using the microphone would yell into it as if it was not loud enough. The prayers would even be like that from time to time and they focused mainly on defending the church and the people in it from demons. At one point when we were all asked to kneel in prayer, most of our team of Navs fell asleep and did not get back up when he said amen and his response was do not let the devil make you sleep. Normally I would have no trouble staying awake especially with the sound so loud but when the service lasts eight hours I could not resist nodding off a little bit.

         One of the main highlights of the meeting was the trip there and back as well as Dan’s message and the portion of the service that most of our team left the church and sat and talked around the fire. The mode of transportation that we used to get from our church to the church that was hosting was a big flatbed truck that had a railing around the outside. The coolest thing about it was we would be driving down the road and stop and keep picking up other people until we had around fifty people loaded up. The trip consisted of trying to talk over the sound of the wind in your ears and singing praise songs. The fire outside was where our team was so tired that we lost all inhibitions about what we were saying and we just talked about all the different parts of the service that we found crazy or annoying even though there were some church members out there with us. At that point we had heard enough.

         The churches were not the only organizations that wanted to have us go and speak to them. We were asked to speak at a boarding school in Mumbwa and a youth training facility that allowed members of the younger generation that were unable to find jobs to be trained in certain fields such as agriculture, catering, computers, and brick laying. At the boarding school I was asked to speak about bullying while other members of our team covered topics such as furthering your education, balancing your life with Christ, and the hand illustration (an illustration used by Navigators to teach how to study the Bible). Afterwards we split up the boys and girls and allowed them to ask any questions that they had. They were very open with their questions and I believe we were able to make an impact on their lives. The youth center gave us less time so we had talks about the bridge (another illustration that allows you to share the Gospel using only one verse) and how to manage your time.

        The children were an absolute blast to play with. We brought a Frisbee disc to give away but we did not expect the response from them. Soccer dominates their sport life but these kids would play with the Frisbee from dawn until dusk without slowing down at all. It took them some time to learn how to throw it but with time they were picking it up. One day I was able to give away all of the toys that I brought which included hot wheel cars, squirt guns, stickers, and bubbles. I ran out almost immediately once they figured out that the big white man was handing out the good stuff. One child in particular was my favorite though. During the church service on Sunday, she was with her mom and she was not scared of me at all. We played peek-a-boo for much of the service and then afterwards I gave her my first gift of bubbles. From that point on she would yell "mazungu" which means white person at me and then we would both point at each other. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

        Since this post is already ridiculously long, I will draw it to a close with how our trip ended in magnificent and crazy fashion. We were going back using the same bus that took us there but it showed up more than two hours late. When we finally set off, it was only fifteen minutes before the engine began to smoke. It had leaked oil from a pipe so they worked on that for a little bit then poured some water on it that we got from a club on the side of the road called FM Clubhouse where we met a guy who "loovvvesssshhh mussshic" (obviously drunk) who danced away. The fix evidently was not sufficient because another ten minutes led to the same smoke coming from the engine. The second stop was at another club where we stopped and got even more water. The fix finally worked and we were off again. We were able to make decent time for a little bit then but we were stopped outside of Lusaka at a police checkpoint for "having luggage on the back seats" and that we could go on if we paid a fine of 270,000 kwacha which is around $60. The true reason for the stop was that they saw Dan and I in the bus and thought we would get frustrated and just pay it. They even told our driver and Gershom (team leader) that they should just have the "mazungus" on the bus get off and pay it and they could get going. We were not going to pay the price so we just waited them out. Once we finally made it to town we were out of gas and the first two places that we stopped were not pumping so we had to wait while the driver and his partners went and bought fuel at the next place which took another 20 minutes at least. In total the trip which would normally take 3 hours took 6. But we made it eventually.
　
Until next time,
Aaron Spesard

Mumbwa

Greetings,

            I am officially Zambian.  I bought my Zambian footbol jersey and I am now watching my first game although I am somewhat distracted by writing.  The last few days we have been doing a large amount of training for our trip to the village known as Door of Hope.  The meetings have started at 9 in the morning and the meetings on Wednesday and Thursday lasted until late in the afternoon around 5:30. 

Yesterday we took some much needed team time and discussed how we all had been adjusting to the new culture and how we were doing in our personal walks.  This all happened at Nelson’s house (The leader of the Navs in Zambia) and he brought us some pizza back for lunch.  Immediately after lunch we went over to UNZA for some personal quiet time and some more team time in smaller groups of two or three as we discussed different things that we have struggled with and what we had been learning.  We continued to stay as a group late last night as we went from store to store at the mall at Manda Hill.  While there we visited a total of 6 stores; one of which was the store that I purchased my nice jersey and another was the Milky Lane where Silas shoved his ice cream cone in Nathan’s face and Nathan graced us with several magic tricks.

A couple nights ago Bryce and I sat down and had a very long conversation with our friends Gershom and Ngambo and the topic of family came up.  We found out that we were not cousins in Zambia.  We are actually brothers.  Here in Zambia, the only way people can be considered cousins is if they are the children of your father’s sister or your mother’s brother.  If they are the children of your mother’s sister such as Bryce and I, they are considered brothers.  We also talked about how great it would be to have the Navigators from here come and visit us in the US and then all the challenges that would come with that.

I meant to mention this in my last post but I am pretty sure that I have the greatest family in the world.  Ever since I have started getting into my bags and getting stuff out I have been finding little surprises in the most random locations.  I have found pictures of everything from me at the talent show to the mouse that I caught and hung up at the cabin that has been hanging for over a year now.  I have also been finding Bible verses hidden all over such as inside my socks or in my giant bag of mints that I brought.  I got a brief phone call last night to Jenny and it was good to get to talk to someone on the phone before our trip to the village.

Speaking of the village, we will be leaving for the village on this upcoming Tuesday.  The original plan was for the Zambitious 7 (our name we came up with last night), the staff members here in Zambia, and then the students that have agreed to come would be split up into groups of about ten each and we would go to three villages.  That plan has since changed due to a lack of numbers and now it appears that we will only be going to two villages, Mumbwa and Chibombo.  We will be at these villages from this Tuesday until next Sunday.  During that time I will not have access to internet obviously and we will be sleeping in tents around the village.  We will be bringing a lot of food but I believe that we will also be eating some with the villagers who grow maize and make their own nshima. 

While we were being trained about what to expect in the village some interesting things came up.  We at times will be asked to share about different life skills that would be good for those that live there such as ambition/vision for their lives and hygiene.  We even might be asked to share at the church service that we will be attending on the last day of our stay.  Some customs that we will have to abide by while living there are to not deny their food.  When they offer their food to us they see it as offering themselves to us and us rejecting that food is us rejecting them.  Another thing is that being given a chicken is a great honor among them.  So if one of them were to offer me a live chicken I should accept it with a smile on my face and then be ready to kill it.

We have now treated our hosts as well as many others to some American food.  Last night for dinner we served twelve people French toast using a whopping three loaves of bread and 25 eggs.  The syrup was very similar and the whole process went very well.

As of now, I will be going to the village Mumbwa with Dan and Jon.  We will be going with several of the staff members here and some students from UNZA as well.  The planning has been very hectic but we seem to now be pretty much ready to go and experience the villages of Africa for ourselves.  Over and out!

Aaron Spesard

Week 1

Greetings,

Mom and Dad I am still alive.  It has been some time now since my last post and there have been too many things that need telling about.  We have now spent three days and two nights here in Zambia and I am having a great time.  The people we are staying with are gracious and really fun to be around.  Gershom is a very good cook and has made us some nshima which is the main food of those who are native to Zambia.  It is a mixture of a very fine cornmeal that is called milli-meal and water.  Heating that up forms a surprisingly dense and sturdy food that is served with virtually everything.  It is balled up and formed into a spoon-like shape and used as a spoon to scoop up vegetables, beans, and different meats including beef liver which I recently had for the first time (not my favorite choice). 

The drink of choice for most meals is a concentrated form of orange juice that reminds me of lemonade with oranges instead of lemons.  It is called mazoe and it is mixed with water in a ¼ mazoe and ¾ water ratio.  That is one of the highlights of meals so far.  I still have not eaten a large amount of nshima mainly because I have been avoiding it slightly but I have been trying to slowly bring it into my diet by eating as much American style food as I can.  One afternoon we stopped at a mall in the area called Manda Hill and we exchanged money and bought some phone plans.  The mall was surprisingly American to me and it even had some food places such as subway.  We ended up eating at a Zambian fast food restaurant known as the Hungry Lion where I was very adventurous and had fried chicken and Pepsi.  The three guys that we are living with (Abel, Gershom, and Sam) are all doing a fast during every day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and so lunches have been ours to figure out and bologna sandwiches work well.

One of the true Zambian experiences that I have had so far is the bus routes.  The city is a very large one and not everyone has cars so buses and other mass transportation methods are vital.  The resourceful people in Zambia have seen this as an untapped market and renovated their own personal vans to fit as many as possible mainly to bring in more money.  They add seats onto the ends of benches in 14 passenger vans and we fit 19 into one van.  For a slightly larger bus we were able to fit 31 adults and 2 babies.  The prices are very cheap as we ride for less than one dollar every time we ride.

The currency of Zambia is the Kwacha and the transfer rate is around $1 to         K 5400 so when I exchanged my $400 to Kwacha I became a millionaire for the first time.  While that was exciting I was also paranoid for most of the trip home about carrying such a large sum on me at one time.

We were able to get tours today of several different areas that we will be dealing with.  Along with Abel, Gershom, and Ngambo (a girl on staff here), we went into downtown Lusaka on the bus so we could see how to get there for different things and how to connect to a different bus route when we are in town.  Downtown was different from expected as almost every street was filled to the brim with either trash or vendors selling anything from mints to shoe polish.  From downtown we went out to the regional campus known as Ridgeway which serves as the medical campus.  We will be doing some ministry there in the future but most of our work will be at the main campus known as UNZA (University of Zambia).  From Ridgeway we walked a long way through UNZA and saw several of the residential areas as well as the library and soccer fields.

The focus among the staff members here is not on the campus ministry right now.  We will be leaving for what is being called Door of Hope.  This will be our trip to the villages outside of Lusaka.  We have training tomorrow and the rest of the week before we leave on Tuesday.  Currently we do not know which village we are going to but the 7 of us on the summer team will be split up between the three total villages that we will be going to.  We will then leave the village either Sunday after the church service in the village or the next day.

I know there are things that you are unsure about and I admit that I have not been able to document and blog about everything that has happened so far but we do have a limited access to internet that you pay for the amount that you use.  Uploading a blog and Skype would take up too much of our memory so the posts will not be as frequent as any of us hoped for so I will make an attempt to be thorough with my fewer posts.

I want to thank all of you for praying for us especially during our time next week when we will be in the village.  I might be able to have one more post before we leave but that is uncertain.  I would like to have you pray specifically for help with sleep as last night was not as restful as I feel that I need.  I also ask that you pray for the ministry that we will be working to further and expand.  You guys are great!

If any of you have questions ask me on here and I will try to answer them when I can.

Farewell,

Aaron Spesard

New York City

Greetings,

Our trip has officially begun! Our two hour flight from Chicago to New York went very well as it was a beautiful day and we were still able to see some of the ground which was pretty amazing.  So far I love flying and I look forward to the start of flying again tomorrow.  That will most likely change after the first 12 hours or so.

Our time in New York was amazing! We got into the airport around 4:30 p.m. which was before my family even made it home from Chicago.  After getting all of our luggage loaded onto the wrong van and taken to the wrong hotel, we had to wait for a long time before finally getting to our rooms and dumping our stuff off.  After that we loaded up into a SUV cab and went to the subway to go downtown.  Times Square was the main attraction that we went to and nothing could have prepared me for the overall atmosphere.  The sidewalks were packed and huge crowds waited at every crosswalk.  The giant screens are so crystal clear with their advertisements and the billboards were phenomenal.  The buildings seem to go up forever on either side for miles and miles.  While I never could see myself living in a place like that, I can see the beauty and the positives behind it.  We then had some great pizza for dinner at the Little Italy pizza place right next to Times Square.  Bryce, Jon, and I split a large "Everything Pizza" that included ingredients varying from pepperoni to broccoli to anchovies.

Bryce has had some pretty neat adventures so far and he is doing his best to keep things interesting for us.  It started at the airport with checking in bags.  They asked him to bring out his immunology record and noone else was asked to do that.  After that, security ended up going through his entire bag.  That turned out to only be a flashlight in his carry-on.  Perhaps the most intense encounter of the day was on the subway back from our trip to downtown New York.  A gentlemen (that reeked of alcohol) was going around the train making some very racist statements towards several of the African Americans riding in the same section.  Then for no known reason he began to talk to Bryce.  Without even a single acknowledgement from Bryce, he continued to go on for what seemed like 10 minutes.  Asking Bryce about it afterwards he had spent most of the time trying to figure out what he was saying.

Tomorrow will be virtually all flying.  We leave in the morning around 11 and we have a 12 hour flight to Dubai followed by a 7 hour flight from Dubai to Lusaka.  There will be movies on the plane but sleep would be the ideal way to burn through some time.  Giving me the ability to sleep and sleep comfortably on the plane would be a great thing to pray for.

Over and out,

Aaron Spesard