Experiencing Africa

Since Johanna will be mostly 'out of touch' with the global electronic network that we are so used to experiencing here in the developed western world, we have decided to provide occasional excerpted 'readings' from several great resources about Africa until she returns.

To begin I would like to recommend a treasure of a book (unfortunately now out of print) by John Charles Kerr called Hidden Riches Among the Poor: Reflections on the Vibrant Faith of Africa. Mr Kerr has served for a number of years in Kitwe, Zambia (one of the countries next door to Zimbabwe). The following quotation is one of the best written synopsis of the region that I have seen. *

...you notice a kind of softening of attitudes in Africa. For starters, there is an easing up on all rules and regimentation. Pockets of efficiency probably exist on the continent but, on the whole, Africa is under a soft haze sprinkled with laughter and the notion seems foreign. There are no distinct lines of demarcation here, no precision. There is more of a blending, an almost infinite tolerance of the vagaries and digressions of life. Watercolor seems the perfect medium, with sightly blurred edges, wide margins, wide margins. Africa is a very human place.

In Africa there is no "point A to point B" transit. Rather there is something like "point A to point Z," with so many interesting happenings along the way that you may never reach your destination. The process of getting there is just as important as actually arriving.

This was pretty hard on us, the esteemed visitors from the industrialized and well-managed west. Either we change and enjoy the ride or we go away muttering invective. We need to change not just how we make progress but the kind of people we are. Africa is so resistant and tough that it forces a softening on you. Here the idea is not so much to impose the imprint of our know-how and programs upon a setting and 'have an impact." Rather Africa seems to say, "Let me impact you!" Africa forces you to become malleable. It allows you to be acted upon rather than just acting.

This makes Africa a wonderful setting for change. Of course, it does not impose change against one's will. But it offers to those who enter its life something like a liberation. Africa makes you feel like you have cast off a hard shell and entered a new kind of freedom. The margins of life have widened. The hard lines we have imposed upon ourselves gave way a little.

Slowly but surely, one's thinking undergoes the same transformation. It seems to me now that Africa has accomplished in two years, in its soft yielding soil, what several years of Western resolve could not manage: meaningful change. The indirect approach of Africa, which seldom like to address any issue head-on, may have produced what the concentrated approach of the North American mindset was utterly incapable of. it is as though your life has been exposed to the diffused light of dawn rather than the intense glare of the searchlight. Africa, obdurate and resistant -- as thousands of missionaries and visionaries who lie beneath its soil would testify -- Africa, the most unchanging of continents, has a residual power to change us. I think of Africa along the lines of the 'cornerstone' (1 Peter 2:6) of Scripture, which has the power to grind you to pieces if it falls on you and to break you if you fall on it. It seems ironic: the continent which seems to have the least to teach the western mind turns out, for me at least, to be the agent of change. I find Pierre Pradervand's Listening to Africa to be aptly titled. Africa has much to teach us, about achieving consensus, about giving, about patience, about relating to the elderly and vitality under duress -- if we can listen.

Africa can teach us about time... time that is not tied to the pursuit of objects and money; but to an openness and spontaneity -- the time of just being and having relationships, rather than doing or achieving. Above all, it is the time of the present moment, of living in the now, rather than in a constant projection into the future... Africa has a unique and profound sense of kairos (the master moment of golden opportunity). If it is true that the continent needs to master chronos (the tick-tock that keeps us rushing from one appointment to another), without being mastered by it, we need African kairos more.

And Africa does more than teach in a didactic sense. As you enter into its life, she imposes change on you the way strong African fingers break off a piece of cornmeal sahdza and work it into an edible lump, ready to be dipped into hot sauce. In this same sense it functions like the best of teachers. One can only hope that it will retain its cornerstone strength for the good of the human race, right to the end.

* Quoted with the permission of the author...

Lee Beachy

I love my life

Hi dear people,

I am borrowing my lovely Lissia's computer but she is from France so her keyboard is a little strange for me; if there are any typos it's because of that. The plus side is that I get to listen to fantastic French music as I write this. Someday I will be fluent in French.

Seriously, anyone who thinks that being a Christian means you are always going to lead a boring life full of rules is missing out on so much. I can barely begin to list the amazing things I get to do just because of where following Christ leads me. I'm going to Zimbabwe in 6 days because of Him. I wanted to remind you all of one of the ways that our God blesses us; by giving us adventures. He's so cool!

I and my classmates had a wonderful time in Knysna as I said. We had some interesting days together learning more about our personalities and differences but it was good. We are spending this week cramming in some last lectures before we leave. Our teaching is on the nervous and endocrine systems which I didn't realize I would like so much. They are such delicate and incredibly important systems that are created so beautifully how could you study them and not glorify our Creator God. Really amazing. On Monday we are on our way. We take a bus from here in Worcester to Johannesburg which will be about 16 hours. We'll stay in Joburg overnight and then take a combi to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Please be praying for safe travels and that we can get across the border as soon as possible. The police can take a rather long time checking everyone's bags and then visas take time as well. Still I've driven across borders in Africa before and it is really fun. It's a great way to see the nitty-gritty of a country. I have been learning whatever I can about Zim before we go and God has blessed me with some great opportunities to talk with people about it. I'm so excited to go!

I will talk to you again before we leave. Thanks for your prayer!

Isimbi Johanna

A certified South Africa First-Aider!

Hello all of you,

I wanted to give you a bit of an update about what is going on in my life here but please I also love knowing what is happening in your lives so any time you want to write me or leave me notes on Facebook or something please do.

This past week our school was learning First Aid. Really cool subject even though it was mostly review for me. I did an EMT-Basic course two years ago and learned all about keeping people alive. My certification just ran out in May though so this was great timing. It is surprising how much you forget when you aren't using it. I passed my CPR exam this morning so I am now officially a First-Aider in South Africa anyway. I really loved the whole week because our teacher was a great man; very experienced but very humble and he is a fully alive Christian. I've never had medical teaching that goes hand in hand with Biblical truth before and it definitely makes a difference. Every morning our class has either worship or intercession together and our teacher this week joined us for that before teaching.

Next week, we are focusing on outreach into the local community. We are finding out tomorrow morning what exactly we are doing but one thing I know is that this Wednesday afternoon we are presenting a health teaching to a group of kids in a really poor community near us. We decided to teach on personal hygiene and it should be a lot of fun. Also this Friday night there is a youth concert that is being run by a worship leader for the young people of Worcester. I am very excited for this because these youth face so many battles and I mean intense ones. They are living a country with the worst crime rates, high HIV/AIDS infection, and wrong mindsets left from apartheid. If you happen to think about it please pray for this Friday evening (it would be earlier in the day in America). Pray that the youth will have the courage to respond and that they will hear the Truth when they come and recognise it. I plan to attend it mainly to be there and pray for them as it is happening. I am excited to see what God has in store for the young people of South Africa.

Alright, I have a book report due in a week (on a book I haven't read yet:) and a teaching plan due Monday so I am going to work on that. See you later!

Isimbi Johanna

Lately in Rwanda

Hello all you people,

So I have been cramming in lots in my short time here in Rwanda which explains why I haven't written. OK an update...

On Saturday we had a mini reunion with some of the students from my DTS . It was a lot of fun to hang out with them. About five of us met at Jean Paul's new house which was perfect because then we got to meet his new wife. He just got married on June 6th and they are adorable. It really cracks me up at these type of get togethers because people here really like formality. There were a bunch of people we didn't know who would get up and give speeches in Kinyarwanda and then while we were eating one of the guys there whipped out a huge old camera and started taking snapshots of everyone. It was fantastic!

Monday was not as much fun although just as important. Robert took Laura and I to see the memorial in Nyamata. There is a catholic church in Nyamata where a hundreds of people were killed during the genocide and as a memorial to them the government has left the church almost untouched. When you walk inside all you see are piles of ragged clothing laying on all the pews. The bones have been moved to an area behind the church where they are respectfully displayed. There are so many skulls. The ceiling of the church is still riddled with bullet holes and the white cloth draped across the altar table is covered in 15 year old bloodstains. It is disturbing to see. What struck me the most though is that as we walked out of the burial chambers where we had been surrounded by skulls and femur bones, many of them children, there were these three little girls waving at us and laughing from the other side of the fence. You see, the church in Nyamata is smack dab in the middle of all the other buildings. People walk by it every day going about their business. It was just an intense reminder of what you can't always see in Rwanda as an outsider; the people here carry out their lives with constant reminders of what happened right next to them. You just can't go anywhere that something didn't happen there that has bad memories.

Other than that I have been visiting friends and helping Laura with her classes. I will be leaving this time next week to fly to South Africa and start my school. This weekend, however, Laura and I are going to Butare to visit the National Museum and spend some time by the pool. It will be a good break for her. Hopefully this Sunday I will get to visit Selassie's mom which I am looking forward to. Talk to you all later!

Isimbi Johanna

A Glimpse of African Healthcare

[This journal from the BBC's series on a medical clinic in the country next to Liberia, is typical of the challenges that African heathcare workers face...]

Medical staff at a clinic in the coastal slum of Kroo Bay, in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, are keeping a diary of their working lives.

Here, Bintu Koroma, who is a midwife at the clinic, talks about traditional beliefs and troubled pregnancies.

A woman arrived on the maternity ward last month, who had been in labour for more than one-and-a-half days without delivering

Her waters had broken from a premature rupture and she had gone to a traditional birth attendant, who had tried to deliver the baby but with no joy.

I examined her, however, there was not much I could do at this stage and I advised her to go to the hospital at once.

It is in our regulations that if a delivery goes on for more than 24 hours we must refer them immediately.

Inside I felt it might already be too late for this baby.

I learned later that in fact she had gone back to the traditional birth attendant because her family did not have the money to take her to the hospital.

The issue here is always money.

She eventually delivered but the baby was stillborn.

When I saw her several days later, her belly was still swollen as if she was still pregnant, I told her she must go to the doctor.

Most people in the slum still prefer to go to a traditional birth attendant as this is what they have done for generations.

They use local medicine and herbs, which are part of people's beliefs.

Herbs are often rubbed over a pregnant woman's belly to protect the baby, not only from medical problems but also from any curses.

When something goes wrong, people blame others for putting a jinx on them - and this was also the case with this woman.

She said that she had a competitor for her husband, who, she believed, had placed a curse on the baby so that it would die.

I told her that this was not the case.

"Your baby died because your waters broke too early and you didn't go to the hospital," I said.

Excuses

We have talked with the traditional birth attendants and asked them to bring their patients to the clinic to carry out the deliveries.

We usually charge 70,000 leones ($24) for a delivery, but in these cases we just want to observe and be able to step in if there is an emergency - we don't charge any money to the birth attendant or the patient.

It's difficult find out how much birth attendants charge, but it's thought to be between 40,000 leones ($14) and 100,000 leones ($34) - a higher fee for a boy than a girl.

Sometimes the attendants do come here with their patients, but most of the time they don't.

When I see them in the street and ask them why they didn't come to the clinic, they tend to invent excuses: "Oh, the woman's family called me, and when I arrived at her house the baby immediately fell into my hands - there was no time."

I think there are two reasons why they avoid the clinic.

Firstly we do not allow them to bring their herbs.

But, more importantly, they fear that by bringing their patients to the clinic, other traditional birth attendants will get to hear about the delivery.

They will then turn up uninvited in the delivery room, impose their help and then expect a share of the money.

Africa's Agonies

Fergal Keane, the BBC's correspondent in Nairobi, Kenya wrote a helpful article on the nature of the tribal violence that has plagued the continent for decades. You may read the article here.

Some of the key points are:

• The Western mind has been conditioned to accept a simplistic notion of what "tribal violence"' really means.
• Tribal issues are only the symptom.
• This is a conflict in which the poor are set at one another's throats.
• Those who have nothing are looting those who have a little bit more.
• This population has seen successive governments rob billions from the public purse in well-documented scandal.
• There are tens of thousands of Aids orphans.
• There is no proper water or sanitation or electricity.

Read as well about Ruth Awuma who lives in the vast Kibera slum in Nairobi.

Johanna's team will be going to a location southeast of Nairobi (in the opposite direction from the Rift Valley which has been the center of much of the violence since late December). We will share more details about where they will be staying and the nature of their service as we learn more.

Nurture and don't Kill

The following is a 12/21 editorial in the Children's Times a weekly publication of the New Times of Kigali in response to certain educational materials that do not strongly condem the ideologies that led to genocide in 1994.

It is very disappointing to see future Rwandans being tarnished by the very people who are supposed to be helping them.

These rising cases of genocide ideologies which are continuously taking place in primary and secondary school should be seriously fought against.

Teachers or parents who are spoiling their children with such ideologies should be punished because they are not nurturing.

Since we all know the horror that befell our country in 1994, why then should we try to make history repeat its self by poisoning the minds of our innocent children.

And why can’t we leave the evil deeds of the past remain as history and never to be mentioned again?

Dear teachers, parents and guardians, if you say that you are nurturing children into future leaders, why then do you want to spoil them with ideologies which are of no help?

Let us have a sense of humanity. Why should we continuously reflect on a terrible history and yet we benefit nothing.

You had better empower children with developmental ideas rather than giving them worthless knowledge which will lead them to turmoil.

Rwanda is a developing country; it has come from far and still has a long journey ahead. Help the government to build instead of dismantling what has so far been put in place.

See also: BBC Article

Mizero!

Mizero. They are beautiful. I got to see them and hear them on Sunday morning. Many of them watched their parents being killed during the genocide - many would have been about 3 and 4 and 5 years old at the time.

And yet there is such grace and tenderness in their faces and in their movements. The woman, Francois, who was with them, took them in and taught them to sing and dance and led them all to Jesus.

They did a couple lively songs where they invited people to dance with them. It was very fun to watch! We were standing and clapping to the beat of the drum and guitar. I looked to my left and there was one Rwandan teen girl with about 6 or 7 little American girls dancing in a circle in the aisle. Precious. Then on stage there were Rwandan teens dancing with older Americans. At one point some young African American men jumped up on stage and danced with the young Rwandan men.

I know the Holy Spirit was in that place and filling us with joy. It seemed the Lord gave me a tiny glimpse of Heaven in that moment, when we, all from different tribes and language and country, will be worshiping our great, loving Creator together forever!

Pray for the 1,200,000 orphans in Rwanda. Pray for the 6,000 more every day all over Africa.

Here's one verse of a new song from Stephen Curtis Chapman called, Yours
"I walked the dirt roads of Uganda
I see the scars that war has left behind
Hope like the sun is fading
And they're waiting for a cure no one can find
And I hear children's voices singing
Of a God who heals and rescues and restores
And I'm reminded that every child in Africa is Yours."

Please watch the new movie, Amazing Grace. The story of William Wilberforce and the abolition of the slave trade in Britain 200 years ago.

"Africa! Your sufferings have been the theme that has engaged and arrested my heart." - William Wilberforce

With an arrested heart,
Gloria Beachy

Children of Mizero

For residents of NH there is an opportunity this weekend to hear and meet orphaned children from Rwanda at the Mizero tour events listed below. You can learn more about this group here and view images from their December 7, 2007 performance on the photo website of Johanna's father.

Mizero Children of Rwanda
Bringing, Building, Spreading: Hope

The Mizero "Hope" troupe comprises twelve orphans from ages 13-15, who present a captivating program that encompasses all of Rwanda's music and dance traditions. While many have lost family members to the 1994 genocide, these children have experienced Christ's peace and healing, which they elegantly express through their music and dance performance.

They are the future leaders of Rwanda, and it is our hope to help empower them to build a stronger, self-sustaining homeland.

This Mizero or "Hope" tour will bring awareness of the present status of Rwanda, as well as raise financial support to build an arts-centered academy, where they will learn the necessary skills to be the next leaders of the country.

Date: Where:
December 9 Bedford, NH Bedford Community Church