A few weekends ago, we went to Chirundu for a little retreat from the busyness of the city. We camped at a little place at the confluence of the Kafue and Zambezi rivers. It was one of those places that you sometimes stumble across and wonder why movies haven't been filmed there or novels written about them. There are many places like that in Zambia, even from the very little sliver of the country we've seen in our short time here. The people are fascinating, the scenery unbelievable. And I feel privileged to be one of the people that got to travel down some pretty bumpy dirt roads to get to Gwabi River Lodge.
While we were there I read a book recommended to me by our roommate here. It was called "Restless" by Jennie Allen:
I like change. I tend to get restless quickly, wondering how long I should stay in one place and how long to wait before moving on to the next "thing" or next "place". I ask myself what my purpose or focus should be while I'm in a place for a short time, because even though I like change I worry that spending such brief amounts of time here and there can be a waste of time. I hate wasting time. This week at the hospital it took three days to get a unit of blood that wasn't full of sludge or clots for a baby needing a transfusion, and I was frustrated the whole time, because we wasted so much critical time and instead of treating this patient I felt like we spent days just waiting around to be able to do what needed to be done. I recommend this book to any twenty-something friend (or anyone) who is restless in this season of frequent change, wondering what lasting impact could possibly come from such a time. I think we're part of a bigger story than just our own lives and it's inspiring to reflect on what that story could really be about.
This retreat took place at Gwabi River Lodge, where monkeys and lizards and all sorts of things roam around.
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| The monkeys spent most afternoons in the tree behind the swimming pool |
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| We were the only campers in the campground for most of our time there. We're pretty sure monkeys peed on our tent all night. |
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| The trees lining the river bank |
While we were there, Mason and I had the chance to spend a day on the river fishing with a guy named Claude. It sort of ended up doubling as a safari with all the wildlife we saw. We even ate lunch in Zimbabwe next to an elephant carcass.
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| Heading out on the Kafue River |
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| This kid called to us from his perch on the tree, yelling "How are you? Fine! How are you?" |
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| Village people came to different points along the bank to do their washing, bathing, etc. Our boat driver parked us one time in front of a bathing pool. Like DIRECTLY in front, maybe a few dozen metres away, from people who were bathing. So we just had to look the other way the whole time and pay attention to our fishing. |
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| Mason and Claude aboard our fishing vessel |
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| Still hadn't caught anything at this point |
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| The bait |
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| Moments earlier I was dozing on the cushions at the front of the boat. Mason insisted I should put the third rod in because "We're more likely to catch something with three lines in the water, Jasmine. Here, hold my rod." I begrudgingly stood up and held the rod. Then literally instantly there was a bite on the line and this happened. |
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| Tiger fish. With TEETH |
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| Hahahaha |
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| Nightmare material right there |
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| After a successful morning on the water, we stopped on the banks of Zimbabwe for a braai and a break from the hot sun. |
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| Happy tourists |
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| This is an elephant carcass at our lunch spot. |
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| Pretty good for a packed lunch! |
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| Babboon |
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| Bush buck |
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| Crocodile |
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| Elephant on the left, hippos on the right |
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| These guys run FAST |
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| !!! |
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| !!! |
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| This was after I got off the boat and then got yelled at by Claude and Mason |
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| Is it safe to swim in the river with these guys? |
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| Apparently, because Claude then took us to a beach just across from those hippos |
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| This guy was in the water, so it must be fine, right? Claude? |
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| Okay, so we went in, but very briefly! |
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| Gwabi River Lodge - the view from the pool overlooks the Kafue River. |
It is very easy to worship God here in this place where He is acknowledged and his daily provision of life, food, and joy is acknowledged openly on the minibus. Here the people love you first before they even know you, and here there is untouched natural beauty on display, as if it just came into existence yesterday. Here the pace of life is slow enough for you to think and breathe and think about breathing. I only pray that I can remain a little bit changed, and hold onto what I have seen and learned when I return to the busyness of Calgary and the familiarity of what does not always seem so new and inspiring.
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Back in Lusaka, there are funny things that surprise you everywhere you go.
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| Meet Natasha: This little ball of fire is always on the move. The other day during a tutural for the moms on how to catheterize their babies, Natasha slapped her mother's face for 30 minutes straight. There is no restraining this child. She doesn't like me (I'm scary looking), but the other day she uttered the word "Auntie?" in my direction and I was overjoyed. Usually she only likes the male nurses. This delightful girl has spina bifida and is still recovering now from the surgery that placed a lumbo-peritoneal shunt to drain the fluid accumulating in her spinal column. She is recovering but due to an electrolyte imbalance before surgery, it's been a slow recovery. Pray for this beautiful girl, that she would continue to heal free of further complications. Her mother is a great mom with six other children and she is often seen at the bedside of other moms of babies like Natasha. Can't wait to see Natasha full of life again, I can only imagine what her future holds. |
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| I guess you just can't be sure which kind of fruit is in this juice. |
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| This is the milk we drink here, long-life milk that doesn't need to be refrigerated. Actually the kind of milk that DOES need to be refrigerated is more expensive, because it doesn't sell. People don't always have refrigerators. |
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| This is in Kamwala, the fashion district. I was at the guy on the right's stall, and he only agreed to the price I bartered if I also agreed to buy some fabric from this lady, Era. So it was a good day for business for them, and I got a sweet deal. Era then asked me if I would like to marry a Zambian man. I said, "No, I'm married already!" She said, "Oh, you don't like African men?" I said, "No, that's not it. I'm already married--that's my husband over there." She then called Mason over: "Would you like to marry a Zambian woman?" He said, "No, I have already found a wife--she's right here." She said, "Ohhh, I see. You also don't like African women?" We ended the conversation on a good note by laughing and saying that she was welcome to visit us any time in Canada. |
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| You don't find a lot of bottles that say "Mason" or "Jasmine". |
