Friday, July 2, 2010

The day started around 4:30 am with group devotion. We sang and prayed together before separating for personal devotion. During exercise it became apparent that the previous day’s sore throat had progressed to some sort of respiratory infection, but there was no time to be sick. We had potatoes and imana for breakfast, imana was similar to some of the vegetarian meat substitutes we eat in the USA. We had a debriefing after breakfast where we reviewed the Bible study for the day and split into teams. I packed my medical equipment into my backpack and joined Busiku and Panji walking to the village.

In the village, we went to see the chief who was not feeling well. Busiku and Panji gave me a crash course in greeting officials and how to show proper respect. People are so casual in the USA, kneeling in front of the chief was a new experience. I conducted a brief physical exam on the chief and recommended follow up at Santa Maria then we prayed with him before leaving.

We stopped to study the Bible with several young men and they guys spoke to them in Bemba. I was able to turn to the scriptures they used but I had difficulty following the rest of the Bible study. Based on the things I had heard the previous day, I was expecting that we would have a difficult time, but things went well and people were receptive at each place we stopped.

Around noon we returned to the house and met up with all the other teams, we shared our stories from the morning and prayed together. Everyone had good reports about the Bible studies they gave and their reception in the community. God was definitely warming the hearts of the people to us; it was wonderful to see that answer to prayer. We began preparation for Sabbath which primarily involved cooking the meals we would eat on Sabbath. While we were cooking two people arrived on bicycles, Daniel Cho (one of the missionaries from Canada) and Muyereka Nyirenda (a 6^th year medical student from Lusaka).

We made plans for the Sabbath program and ate lunch. Muyereka and I had a long conversation after the meal. He was familiar with the medications they had handed to me the previous day and he told me what they were for and explained the standard doses. We also talked about the practice of medicine in rural Zambia. Before the sun set, we carried the generator and sound system to the crusade site and set up all the equipment. People began to gather and we had song service before the sermon. Nelson preached in English about the law of God and Gift translated into Bemba. We retired to the house for evening devotion and prayer and went to bed.