Christmas 2012

Amy & Jim Lusaka March 2012

As you may know from following our blog, 2012 was a memorable year for our family. We are all growing up and growing old. By far and away the defining event of the year was Jim's emergency surgery in South Africa in April. Having turned 50 in September,  Jim decided to have a screening colonoscopy during a trip back to the States in March. It wasn't particularly smooth, although everything was reassuringly reported as normal. He felt a bit run down for the next three weeks. Then in April, while Amy was off in Petauke village at a Community Health Evangelism (CHE) training, things unraveled.  It seems his colon was 'nicked' during the procedure and  the pelvic abscess which had developed began draining into his bladder. Antibiotics on board and intravenous fluids in hand, he met Amy at the airport and they took off for South Africa. It's still not clear how she made it back through the mountains on Zambian roads so fast.

Jim in Pretoria

We learned many things over our three week stay: 1) our kids are pretty resourceful (John spent extra nights in France and Ethiopia due to plane cancellations), they step-up when they need to (sharing cooking, shopping and driving responsibilities), 2) we have many friends around the world who pray for us regularly (thank you!), 3) South African doctors do not believe in pain medicines, and 4) you can outlast everyone in a meeting if you have a colostomy and foley catheter in place!

Amy managed to find the beauty in an otherwise difficult event - locating a lovely bed and breakfast , The Crane's Nest, across from a bird sanctuary in Pretoria so that Jim could recover before going back to Zambia. Just as Jim was getting the hang of managing a colostomy, he had his final repair and reconnection in Chicago in July. In October, Jim participated in the second annual all night Relay for Life event in Lusaka - while many participants proudly announced that they had survived cancer, he simply smiled and said, "I survived cancer screening".

Of course, the year had many enjoyable celebrations and less traumatic events:

Miriam  said goodbye to all the children and orphans she had been ministering to and returned to Evanston. She and Amy found a lovely apartment where she lives with a young woman from the PACE transition program. She is doing quite well negotiating independent living; cooking, shopping, bill paying and cleaning, although finding a job has been difficult. She enjoys being involved with the children's ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Evanston (FPCE), and gets to see her grandparents each Sunday.  We have been so impressed with how well she is doing and look forward to watching her continual blossoming. She and John will travel together from Chicago to celebrate Christmas with us.

Ruth spent less than a month in the US, checking out art schools and visiting her Aunt Linda and Uncle Grant in CA before returning to work at the US Embassy in Lusaka. She is a roving administrative assistant and has managed to get to know many more people than anyone else in the family. We regularly hear, "Oh, you're Ruth's dad/mom, she is such a great worker." She has even received an award for her work and an unsolicited letter of recommendation. She has also started a small business as a child entertainer - making piñatas and  organizing children's parties - complete with games, face painting, and balloon animals. The pottery wheels at Afrikolor have provided a creative outlet as well. Her next project is the portfolio for art school.

John at Mt. Rainier during new student week

John finished his senior year with an acting debut in Great Expectations and met friends from Evanston in France for spring break. In June we celebrated his graduation from the American International School in Lusaka. He spent the summer being a church camp counselor, getting life guard certification, and hanging out with friends working on a "bucket list." In September, Jim took him to Seattle Pacific University where he is thriving. We think he has become some sort of covert operative as he has maintained 'radio silence' quite effectively since then. Thank goodness for bank card transactions and Facebook posts!

Chris (left) as Aaron Schultz in Legally Blonde

Chris took guitar lessons and driver's education in Evanston this summer. Both he and John went on the FPCE PYGs Mission Trip to work with HIV/AIDS patients in the Bahamas. He is settling in at AISL as a tenth grader. He has become a setter for both the junior varsity and varsity volleyball teams. His coaches report he is a hard worker and an excellent sportsman. His athletic intensity led to a serious sprain which made him have to practice his role as Aaron Schultz in the musical Legally Blonde on crutches.  He sometimes misses his older siblings, because now his parents focus their undivided attention on him! For his 16th birthday,

Morning sky filled with bats, Kasanka December 2012

Amy and Chris went to Kasanka National Park to view the annual fruit bat migration - some 8-10 million bats fly in from the Congo to feast on special fruit trees.

Amy teaching a thoracentesis in Nkhoma

Amy travelled in February to Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi to provide pediatric coverage during the peak malaria season, while PCUSA missionary Dr. Barbara Nagy was away. Fulfilling her vows to Jim "in sickness and in health" kept her busy for four months of the year. Yet she managed several trips to support CHE trainings and co-facilitated a course on Peacemaking and Conflict Mediation for evangelists at Justo Mwale Seminary. Since developing a cervical spine nerve injury in July, daily PT and cervical traction has become a routine and she limits lifting to keep from aggravating her spinal arthritis. Yes we are ALL getting older. After seven months, government permission to provide care to women and their children in the prisons has been granted and she is visiting Lusaka Central Prison several times a week.

CDC Team Zambia with President Bush

Jim has continued in his work with CDC, focusing on maternal mortality reduction (www.savingmothersgivinglife.org) and cervical cancer activities (www.pinkandredribbon.com). There have been many, many, many official visitors, including six US senators, a congressional staff delegation, and President GW Bush (again). It is chaotic, but it is good to see so much interest in health care for Zambians. He enjoyed the opportunity to give a keynote address to the Zambia Interfaith Network Group (ZINGO) on how the faith community can address AIDS.  He is doing less direct patient care than he would like.



Through the year we have been sustained by the prayers of our faithful church and friends. We consider ourselves to be incredibly blessed to be here together to celebrate another year. We thank God for his grace and mercy in our lives and the light of His Son shining into the world and our lives. Blessings to all of you for 2013.

The family at John's graduation from AISL, June 2012

Eastern Province Adventures



Nancy, Kari, Lovemore, Debbie, CHE trainer, Dr. Chilenje

Several weeks ago I traveled to the eastern province with Rev Kari Nicewander, new PCUSA mission co-worker to Zambia and a discipleship and church growth specialist, Rev Debbie Braaksma, PCUSA area coordinator for Africa and Nancy Collins, PCUSA regional liaison for East Africa. We went to hear about the work and plans of the CCAP church, to visit several church schools and clinics and to attend a special ceremony for those completing course work at Chisefu Theological College. Lovemore Zulu, Zambia CHE (Community Health Evangelism) director updated us on our four hour drive to Petauke where we had lunch with several of the CHE trainers that I had previously met and worked with in April and May.

Mphamba Basic School

We drove on through Chipata to Lundazi arriving around 11:30pm at the "castle." I stayed in the room with a turret on the right.

During our trip we visited several basic (primary)schools and several secondary (high schools). The schools were all challenged by a high teacher to student ratio, a lack of books for students, safety issues for the high school girls, insufficient facilities but motivated and passionate staff. On the right is a blackboard with a lesson on "Common Faults of a Sewing Machine", including things such as causes for skipped stitches, broken needles etc. Students do not have books but dutifully copy lessons into their notebooks. The school does not have a sewing machine for the students so they are memorizing lessons in the hopes that one day they will have access to a machine not just pictures in the teacher's book.

Newly "collared" pastors ready for service

 

 

We also visited two medical clinics both of which lacked medical personnel due to housing issues. In both clinics cleaners were diligently passing out medications and continuing to see patients though they have had no formal medical training. Jim tells me that this is not uncommon in other rural areas of Zambia.

Patients waiting to be evaluated at the clinic