Back to school

January 12, 2008
The holiday is over and school has started back up. The children are anxious as they begin a new year in a new grade. We have a new headmaster here at the Mumena school and we are all praying for a great year for the children. The school here has had its share of problems and at one point toward the end of last year there were 70 children in all different grades to two teachers. Now we have hired more teachers and with the new headmaster, things are looking up! We are excited to see what God can do to get the education here turned around.

Preschool is starting on Monday and we are praying that all goes well. Because of our team strategy of indigenous sustainability, we have put a few stipulations on the villages if they want their preschools to continue. The villages are required to provide a teacher trainee from their village who is to come every morning and began learning how to teach the children. As long as they provide the trainee, we have agreed to provide the trainer and the materials needed for teaching.

The teacher trainee from each village is paid monthly according to what the village agrees to pay them. Whether it be maize, rice, mealie meal, or other crops, money, men to help with odd jobs at their home--whatever--that is the circumstance they agree to work under. The villages that agree to this contract with our mission team have to come together as a community and help pay the trainee and keep the preschool going. So far, only two villages have agreed to this. People were interested until they found out there is no foreign money coming in for the teacher trainee, then they pull out. People aren't willing to provide their children with a head start in education if there is no money.

As sad as it is, we are sticking to our guns on this one. If we continue to provide the teachers, the supplies, and the materials needed to have a preschool, they will never learn to do it on their own. This way, they can work at something as a village and learn how to start providing for their children together. They can be proud of their preschool and take pride in something that is THEIRS alone.

We are praying for the two villages that have stepped up to the challenge, knowing that it will be a struggle for them and for us in the beginning. However, as time goes on, things will hopefully start developing and soon maybe other villages will follow their example. This is a process that could take years, but we have to start somewhere! Our prayer is that when our missionaries pull out of this place, these people can continue on their own with everything that has been started and be very productive ON THEIR OWN. I will be going with our preschool teachers (trainers) and helping develop a bible curriculum. We have already started on it, but now I will be helping show them how to implement the material we have put together. All of the lessons that I am showing them how to teach are lessons that stick with our methodology of indigenous, self-sustainability. The locals here can easily put these lessons together using what little they have. Nothing needs to be purchased and no special talents are necessary.

For example, there is one lesson that is done using blocks of wood or bamboo. There is another lesson that simply requires hand motions. Anyone can do them without time-consuming preparations (which none of these villagers can afford to do) or artistic abilities.

Once I teach the trainers how to implement these lessons they, in turn, will teach the trainees not only how to implement them, but also how to create them and use them in different ways with different bible lessons. This is going to be a great way to teach the bible to the preschoolers on a level that they understand. Again, this will take a lot of time to get going, but it will be worth it in the long run when these people can say they did it.

Years from now, what we want to see is the local people that have been involved and learned how to use their resources and their time for their children going out to other villages and teaching them to do the same. It will spread quickly that way and it will help the people of this area to stand on their own two feet rather than having foreign missionaries step in and take over and then leave them no better off than when they came.

There has also been a request for these indigenous bible lessons at a couple of our church plants, so I am preparing presentations to show the people of the churches how the lessons work and give them enough materials to get them started. This will help them to start having Sunday school for the children.

I pray that God works through me and the other teachers to get these things off the ground and show people that it's possible for them to do this without us. It will be good for the children's education and for learning about Jesus, and it will also be good for the adults that are helping because they will build up a whole new confidence. It starts on a small scale but can be spread widely. Please join me in praying for the success of these programs!

In other news, our mission team is learning the importance of accountability. Accountability to each other, to supporting churches, and most importantly, to God. We had a training session on it recently and there are some struggles with the subject. There are many reasons why accountability can be difficult for people and we are working on being accountable NO MATTER WHAT. It's a tough concept to grasp, but we are learning how.

The biggest struggle in cross-cultural mission work is the difference in ethics. When we are approached with a problem we tend to ask, "What is Zambian ethic in this situation? What is American ethic?" What we are challenged to ask, and what would be most beneficial is, "What is Kingdom ethic?" We always refer to the bible.

If we do that, there is no problem with how we come up with solutions. People can question us, but if we tell them it was God who said it, who can argue? It is a system that should be used every day by everyone. I know that it is something I want to continue even after I move back to the States. I challenge everyone to do the same. Talk to God, read the bible, pray. . .it's a system that can't fail, but is often over-looked. Please pray for our mission team as we face struggles and overcome obstacles. It is definitely a learning experience!