Lost Luggage & "Facilitation Payments" (wink, wink)

Hello Friends,

We have had a number of interesting developments in the past couple of days-- and to inform you all of them, I am going to hand things over to Christen Bloomfield.

"Twenty or more hours of flying. Too many airplane meals. One person sick. Luggage Missing. THANK GOD we’re finally here!

Carolyn had her luggage misplaced somewhere between London and Johannesburg, Africa. Yesterday after lunch and trying to strategically trying to figure out the flying schedule at Lusaka International, Carolyn and I with our faithful escort, Uncle G, headed to the airport to see if her luggage had miraculously shown up.
Right outside the airport, we approached a security hut (seriously, it was a hut with guards carrying guns from like the first world war…). We were motioned to pull over and told that the sticker on the vehicle had expired. Although they allowed us to continue to the airport, Uncle G was forced to give up his driver’s license.
Carolyn and I went into the airport alone while Uncle G parked the vehicle. We first asked an African man working for the airport where we would go and he pointed to one of the many hallways against a far wall. When we found the office, there was another man closing a door to a room chalk FULL of luggage to the ceiling. I’m not sure if he didn’t understand us or if he just didn’t want to help us, but he pointed to left and said “Go out der, to de office….” We walked outside to a scary, creepy alley way of the airport. Walking down the alley, passing door after door, we finally saw this tiny sign that said “South African Airlines.” We walked into yet another office full of luggage and crammed with people. Still unsure if this was the right place, we waited five minutes in a muggy, smelly office until we spotted a lady in a side office and decided to ask her. She told us to follow he and off we went on quite the adventure through the behind the scenes of the airport, we ended in a side room with literally three semi-trailer trucks full of luggage. There were two African men asking to see our luggage claims. I’m fairly certain that they didn’t even look at the tags, because ever since we entered the airport we kept asking if someone – ANYBODY- could just scan the bar code to find the luggage. We were only allowed to stand behind and look into the trailer to see if we could see the bags and wait for the “big boss”. We were looking for ONE black piece of luggage in a sea of black bags and box .We were told not to touch or go near the bags darn near impossible, I tell you. As we waited, the guard continually told us hello as if flirting. We were ready to give up w hen we were told to go through another door into the main part of the airport. Magically, Carolyn’s luggage was lying alongside a random wall with a handful of other pieces of lonely luggage waiting to be claimed. It was a total miracle that it was ever found at all.

As we left the airport, we needed to report back to the guard to pick up Uncle G’s driver’s license. We learned the way things worked in Zambia, as we paid off the guard with 50,000 kwacha (about $17) and drove off. We were really pumped – we bribed our first police officer!
With a scary, but highly exciting, adventure behind us, we headed to the marketplace where we continued to master our bargaining skills. We will continue to retell (and probably embellish) this story. It was well worth having the lost luggage!

Miss and love you all,
Christen Bloomfield"

Safe Arrival

I am not sure if "jet lag" is the precisely correct term, but I will use it for the remainder of this blog as a synonym for "really stinking tired." Everybody is jet-lagged. It is coming up on 8:30pm here, and the entire team is already in bed. The physical toll of our travels and the emotional toll of coming face-to-face for the first time with 40 orphaned children is evident. It is clear that this trip will not be easy. But it will be good. It already is good.

More later... Just wanted to let you know that we are here safely.

Peace,
Matt

It's A Small World After All...

It is 5:40pm as I write this blog from Heathrow Airport in London. So, if the time zone converter on my watch is correct, that would make it 11:40am in Racine. It is hard to believe that at this time yesterday, the Zambia Team was still in Wisconsin. In the past 24 hours, I have travelled from Milwaukee to Racine to Chicago by car, from Chicago to London by plane, and from Heathrow Airport to Westminster and back by underground train. (Somebody calculate the total mileage and post it as a response please.) I have had personal conversations with people from six different continents since checking in at O'Hare last night. It is indeed a Small World.



After we arrived at the airport last night, a few of us stopped to grab a bite to eat and a drink at one of the restaurants in the terminal. (Hey, why not? We had plenty of extra time thanks to Nancy Neill, Sue Walter, Debbie Morin, Bill Jankovich, and Naison Nyamatutu. Thanks for the ride to Chicago!) While relaxing in the restaurant, we struck up a conversation with a man named Madhukar Puniani. He is originally from New Delhi, India though he now lives in Toronto, Canada and travels to Indianapolis for work on a regular basis. Our discussion meandered, touching every topic from the annual festivals in India to the way that various wheat beers are filtered (this guy was pretty bright.)



Somehow, the topic of storage came up. (Like I said, our discussion meandered...) Madhukar is preparing to buy a house in Indianapolis, and I believe someone on our team advised that he consider the amount of storage space his new home would offer in terms of garages, sheds, and basements. He seemed a bit surprised that storage space would even be an important factor in his decision. (Of course, for us that is an obvious consideration. Storage is an immenent concern in most of our Little Worlds. Click here.) "Of course you need storage space," someone from our team interjected, "How else could you have winter and summer stuff like snowblowers and lawnmowers?"



"Well, how does the rest of the world do it?" he asked. (Or rather, he stated. The inflection of his voice did not seem to indicate any puzzlement on his part.)



My time on this pay-as-you-go airport internet kiosk is about to expire. (Note to Jim Parrish: I will not filling out an expense reimbursement request for this. I have a tough enough time with those without having to convert from pounds to dollars.) But I hope that we will all dwell a bit on Madhukar's question-- and if I may reframe it: What might happen if the reality of our Small World would rush into my Little World? What implications might that have for all the time, energy, and resources I spend managing my Little World-- when those resources are more readily available to the rest of the Small World than ever before?



Peace,

Matt

Instruction Manual

It has been brought to my attention, through various questions, that some people might not understand exactly how this webpage works. (ex: Why is it called a "blog"? Am I allowed to communicate with you, or is the blog strictly one-way communication? Can I read your "blog" on my typewriter, or do I need one of those newfangled computer contraptions?) Please accept my apologies for not being more explicit.

So now that Step Two is done ("create first blog posting") please allow me to move on to Step One ("teach people how to use blog"). This is a short, user-friendly guide.


Two-Way Communication

• You are allowed (in fact, encouraged) to leave comments and questions for the Zambia Team on this webpage. As stated in an earlier post, we may not have regular access to the internet while we are in Zambia, but please comment all the same.


• In order to communicate with us, simply click on the link that says "comments" at the end of each post. You may then type your comment in the box that appears. Don't forget to sign your name to your post!


• Next, click on the little circle that says "anonymous." This feature will allow anybody to leave a comment (for better or worse.)


• Finally, click "Publish Your Comment" and it will be sent to the Zambia team. Everybody who visits the blog will also be able to read it.

• If only programming your universal remote was this easy...

-Matt

Three Weeks Away...

Welcome!

Whether you are a member of Covenant, friend or family of someone on the Zambia Team, or simply a casual observer, we are glad you are checking this out.

The purpose for this blog is simple: To keep the entire church informed and immersed in its mission in Zambia while the team is away from June 26th-July 11th. As the Zambia Team experiences various joys and challenges, we want the rest of the church to experience them at the same time. Again, this is consistent with a culture of "shared mission"-- though 11 people are going, the entire church is being sent.

We have been told that there is internet access at a number of places in Zambia. However, the reliability of that connection is another matter altogether. As much as we hope to keep this page updated on a regular basis during the trip, we can't make any promises. Please check back frequently and remain committed in prayer regardless of what is or is not posted here.


-Matt
(on behalf of the Zambia Team)