Updates from 2007 (including Zambia)

These are updates from 2007, including my trip to Zambia (Vineyard Church and World Vision) and my vacation exploring Washington State's national parks.

Medical School! Friday, December 12, 2007, 9:58 PM I'm in the process of applying for medical school. I still love my job as a pharmacist, but  prayers and plans for the future have led me to pursue another degree. Being a medical doctor will expand the opportunities I have to develop health programs both at home and overseas. At this point I've turned in my secondary application materials and am waiting to see if I'm invited for interviews. if accepted I'll start classes this Fall (2008). If you'd like to read more about my reasons for pursuing medical school, please follow this link to one of my medical school application essays... Medical School Application  Essays

Continued work in Zambia Sunday, November 25, 2007, 9:48 PM I've been encouraged this past week to hear that our partner church in Zambia continues to make progress in using the training center we helped build. I'm including a link to the latest Seeds of Hope Newsletter that will give you more details.

Hawaii September 2007 Have I mentioned I live an amazing, spoiled life? After leaving Zambia I flew around the world to join my grandparents, parents, and some of their friends on a lovely vacation in Hawaii. Quite the contrast from Zambia! More Hawaii Photos

Mapalo, Zambia September 2007, Our main focus of ministry in Zambia is a settlement called Chapalakusu ("the cursed") renamed Mapalo ("the blessed") by outreach churches in 2000. To most people outside the settlement, it still carries the stigma of "the cursed." Mapalo started when villagers came in from villages seeking work in the city of Ndola, and settled as squatters on land at the outskirts of the city. Over several decades, more and more families moved in and children grew up to get married and build huts on smaller and smaller plots of land. The place was saddled with the name Chapalakusu because of the extreme poverty of the people there. Human waste and overpopulation has left very little potable water. Seeds of Hope is working to provide clean water by drilling new bore holes, providing locally manufactured sand filters, and training poeple in hygiene and sanitation principles. The Mapalo Vineyard has a church right on the outskirts of the settlement and we are helping them build a training center where local people can learn trade skills like sewing and carpentry.

Drilling and Sanitation/Hygiene Training   September 2007 We spent several afternoons at one of the new well drilling sites funded by Seeds of Hope. It is right in the middle of the Mapalo village, and children would run excitedly up to me each time I arrived yelling "Hello Jennifer!" I enjoyed playing with the huge crowds of children there and learned a bunch of Bemba vocabulary from them. The people with huts near the new site are thrilled to be getting a source of clean water. Unfortunately, the crew hit bedrock at 9 meters (~29 feet) on the last day we were there and may have to search for a new site if they are unable to break through the rock. Shallow holes are not an option in this area where the surface water is all contaminated. LifeWater is an organization that teaches pump maintenance, sanitation, and hygiene in developing countries throughout the world. I worked with Zambians teaching LifeWater curriculum both through World Vision in Singazongwe and through Seeds of Hope in Mapaolo and surrounding areas. It is really fun to see local trainers take the information and teaching styles brought in by foreign LifeWater volunteers and teach villagers. Teaching about sanitation and poop naturally leads to hilarious skits that are funning in almost every language and culture.

World Vision and Helgah (my sponsored child) Monday, August 27, 2007 I split off from the rest of my group today to visit Helgah - a child I sponsor through World Vision. One of my teammates traveled with me and we'll catch up with the team tomorrow. What an amazing experience this visit has been! Helgah is now 17. She lives in an area called Singazongwe, at the southern end of Zambia. After traveling several hours fom the main highway, we bounced along dirt roads in a land cruiser for another hour or so. Then we parked the vehicle and walked across dry, dusty terrain with scattered straw huts and craggly African trees to find the small circle of huts where Helgah and her family live. Helgah is pregnant. The World Vision staff was nervous about telling me this, because she is not married and will face discrimination in her village (a frustrating fact in a culture that condones male sexual promiscuity). What a gift it was to spend the afternoon hugging Helgah and assuring her she is lovely, precious, and absolutely delighted in by God and me. I will continue to support her and the baby and encouraged her to return to school as soon as possible. Please pray for this precious young woman who faces so many obstacles in life. More pictures from Helgah's village are in the   Zambia Photos

Zambia Roads and Transportation September 2007 Even I am surprised by how bad the roads are here. There are a few paved streets in cities, and a couple of narrow, pothole pitted highways, but everything else is a dirt road - and road graders seem to be extremely scarce. Again and again I've wished I could just get out and walk to avoid the jostling and jarring of riding in a crowded van on horrible roads - but there is quite a distance between the house where we stay and the settlement where we work so I'm trying to appreciate the van. Rides are even more interesting when American team members drive. You drive on the left in Zambia - and whoever designed the paved roads in town was quite fond of roundabouts!

Victoria Falls & Botswana Game Reserve August 26, 2007 While adjusting to the time change we had a fun day as a team at a game park just across the Zambian border in Botswana. What a spectacular experience! It is hard to find words to describe the splendor of boating beside crocodiles, looking up elephants' noses as they drink from the river, and racing alongside a leopard as it stalks its prey. All in the setting of dry African safari. Victoria Falls is one of the natural wonders of the world. It is running low right now because it is the dry season, but it is still spectacular. Imagine a rock wall with waterfall after waterfall for about mile. During the wet season it is a huge, solid wall of water. Too spectacular to really catch on film - what an amazing creator God is. More pictures are in  Zambia Photos

Zambia July 29, 2007 11:25 AM I am going with a team of people from Vineyard Boise to Zambia at the end of August! This will be a short trip that I hope leads to future outreaches. We'll be in a village outside Ndola, in north central Zambia. The Vineyard Boise is partnering with Seeds of Hope (in turn partnering with Life Water International) to develop an outreach center in northeastern Zambia. We hope to develop a center for ministry here that will allow frequent outreaches to this area of Africa. I'll post links to websites for each of our partner organizations so you can read more about the long-term vision if you like. The links also include some great pictures. My team will be involved in the construction of a building that will be used for future programs and outreaches. In addition we'll be involved in drilling several new wells, assisting with pump repairs and training villagers to maintain wells and pumps. We'll help with hygiene and/or sanitation training, and hope to set up a small sewing business in the training center to allow women a means of earning money. This is the plan anyway. We Americans love to plan and the realities of the developing world tend to change our plans. A great saying I heard recently: Americans have the watches, Africans have the time! I will be the medical person for the team, and I'm excited to evaluate the health needs of this area and prayerfully consider future medical outreaches there.

Life in the USA July 1, 2007, 9:00 AM It is hard to believe I've been back in the US for 6 months. Here's what I've been up to: January Restful time off at Mom and Dad's winter home in Arizona. February - April Worked in Boise, completed Physics course and studied for MCAT. May Worked in Boise, explored Olympic National Forest with my friend Tiffany June to present Working in Boise, doing prep work for Vineyard Mission Medic course, and preparing for trip to Zambia! My house is still rented out, so I've adopted Mom and Dad's guest room semi-permanently. They have a BEAUTIFUL home right on the Boise river (see picture). I love living with them and sharing life with them while I'm home in Boise.

Exploring Washington State May 2007 My dear friend and amazing fellow adventurer (Tiffany) planned a trip for us through Washington State in May. We took the ferry through the San Juan islands, drove to the top of Orcas Island, and went whale watching! We went up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains,  explored the northern coast of Washington including Cape Flattery (northwestern point of WA), and hiked into parts of the western seashore only accessible on foot. We hiked to one beautiful waterfall after another and finished our trip by exploring our favorite waterfalls  along the Columbia River Gorge. What fun! There are more pictures from our Washington trip HERE