Travels with Dick and Brenda

Ngwenya’s First Service

Sat, 6 Feb 2010 22:36:05 -0800

Today the “old church” served as “mobilization center” for a whole new way of life in the stone-crusher village of Ngwenya. The members sang and sang and sang ... and then sang some more, eager to march from the thatch-and-termites of the old to the steel-and-concrete of the new.

The thatch church was already overflowing when we arrived - like when you push the drink machine’s “hot chocolate” button too long and get a cup-and-a-half of chocolate. We jumped from our van, cameras in hand, and were immediately distracted by a rainbow that was painting an arch above the hill. Like God’s smile, the bow floated above the people, providing an affirmation of God’s presence for the afternoon celebration.

The congregation packed more than 600 people into and around the new building, demonstrating that its 500 member capacity was a tad low. The brilliant blue-and-white Dorcas uniforms and the muted blues of men’s suits framed the rainbow-hued clothes of the children who filled the rest of the concrete floor.

Everyone listened as Pastor John Lomacang from 3ABN challenged them to “Stand as a lighthouse on God’s Hill,” and a score of visitors came forward to accept Christ and prepare for baptism. As one of the members said, “This is the beginning of a lifetime of High Days in Ngwenya.”

We came down from the mountain exhausted, yet energized by the power of the day. Events like this remind us that standing tall with God makes everything better.

Dick and Brenda Duerksen
Storytellers
Maranatha Volunteers International

dduerksen@maranatha.org

Professor Wilson

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 12:22:45 -0800

Professor Wilson has established 2 church congregations during his life as a teacher and community leader for the Tonga people of Zambia. He was trained as a teacher at the Seventh-day Adventist Rusangu Mission, an educational center established by Pastor and Mrs. W. H. Anderson in the late 1890s.

When Professor Wilson accepted the position of Middle Grades Teacher in the bush community of Sinde there were no Seventh-day Adventist members in the area. However, as he taught geography, language, mathematics, and history to his students he often dropped in quotes from the Bible and introduced his students to modern Christian leaders.

“I love history,” Professor Wilson says, “and there are always good ways to teach about God by telling stories.”

At first only a few students were interested in their teacher’s love for Jesus, but each month more accepted his invitation to study the Bible after classes. Having already planted one congregation farther north in the country, Professor Wilson approached the community with prayer and patience.

“They came to the Bible studies, brought their parents, and stayed for church,” remembers the professor.

The first Sinde church was built (with genuine concrete pews) on Professor Wilson’s farm. It served well for many years, but after four new thatch roofs it was ready for retirement.

On Sabbath, January 30, Professor Wilson sat in a special chair beside the platform of the brand new Sinde Seventh-day Adventist Church. Though he is no longer able to see, he sang and prayed with the congregation – a constant smile creasing his face.

“It is better than I could have dreamed,” said the teacher.

Dick and Brenda Duerksen
Storytellers
Maranatha Volunteers International

dduerksen@maranatha.org

The Zambian Time Machine

Wed, 3 Feb 2010 08:34:02 -0800

Time travel is not science fiction. You can get into a 4WD vehicle today at Victoria Falls and drive right back into 1850.

Little has changed.

The grass grows 10 feet tall beside tiny trails that wind beneath wide-spreading acacia trees. The homes are made from mud and sticks and designed architecturally just as the Matabeles have done for generations. However, the sounds of cattle, cicadas, and playful children are now interrupted four times each day by the roar of British and South African Airways flights that bring gawking tourists to David Livingstone’s favorite haunt in Africa. And some of the buckets are plastic.

However, one thing is completely, irretrievably different. Today you’ll find schools, churches, and clinics among the acacias - and many of the people can communicate in simple English.

In the late 1890s when Elder W. H. Anderson and his wife met the Tonga and Losi people on the edge of the Zambezi River the wide-eyed children and kind adults caught their hearts forever. The Andersons stayed, established the Rusangu Mission, and changed the world forever!

Dick and Brenda Duerksen
Storytellers
Maranatha Volunteers International

dduerksen@maranatha.org

Bicycle Repairs

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 06:08:50 -0800

Recently I needed a repair on my seldom-used bicycle. No problem. There’s an excellent bicycle shop just a couple miles up San Juan Avenue and all was cared for in less than 30 minutes. While Dave was providing emergency care for my ailing wheel I lusted among the hundred or more bikes in his showroom. They ranged from inexpensive and heavy to diamond-priced and feather-light. Though a couple of the light and almost-affordable ones tempted my desire...I returned home with just my old Trek.

It would not have been as easy in Ngwenya, Zambia.

There is only one bicycle repairman in Ngwenya. Joseph Andrew is his name, and his reputation matches the friendliness of Andrew and the trustworthiness of Joseph. He sits in the shade beside his stone and mud home, humming softly while he repacks your bearings, adjusts your spokes, and conducts any other repairs necessary to tune your bike. In the morning he works beside the orange door in front of his home. In the afternoon his shop follows the shade to the back.

His shop consists of a homemade bench, a plastic basin, and an ancient rice-bag that holds a small cluster of well-loved tools. But if your bike needs fixing, Joseph Andrew can fix it.

There is no showroom. There are no bikes for sale. All Joseph Andrew does is repair yours with skill and a smile. Perfectly.

Dick and Brenda Duerksen
Storytellers
Maranatha Volunteers International

rduerksen@mac.com

Zambia 2 - Friday at Ngwenya

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:41:36 -0800

Imagine waking up before sunrise, preparing a meal of Zambian Porridge for yourself and five other family members, and then taking the entire family down the stony hillside for work. That’s what hundreds of mothers do six days each week in the village of Ngwenya, Zambia.

Their family’s daily work at the quarry is using hammers, steel rods, or old shock absorbers to break large stone blocks into gravel. At $1 per wheelbarrow-full of gravel that’s maybe $1.50 to $2.00 per day for each of the adults and older children, considerably less than the average wage in the country and hardly adequate to maintain a healthy family.

The Ngwenya temperature usually hovers above 90 degrees, clouds provide only intermittent shade, and many days the breeze forgets to blow away either the dust or the heat.

But the families are there anyway, breaking stones into gravel. Today many of them, members of the Ngwenya Seventh-day Adventist church, were breaking gravel that will be used for the foundation of their new church building - one of the 50+ church buildings our 170 Maranatha volunteers are building as part of their 2-week service outreach in Zambia.

Dick and Brenda Duerksen
Storytellers
Maranatha Volunteers International

dduerksen@maranatha.org