Sunday, May 20, 2012

Sunday's in Zambia - The Beginning

Two and a half years ago I started a regular Sunday feature regarding my adventures in Zambia. I decided that I would resurrect the series this year. There are 15 segments. Who knows, I might even add something new this year. If you'd like to read ahead, just click on the "Zambia" label on my sidebar.

I went to Zambia as part of the Journeyman program of the Southern Baptist Church. It was a program designed to use recent college graduates to fill temporary support positions in the foreign mission field. I was the secretary-bookkeeper for the Baptist Mission of Zambia from January 1987 until July 1988. Later I’ll provide more detailed info about what I did & experienced while I was there, but first I want to talk about who I was.

Based on what I remember (or don’t) from that time I have to conclude that I was a shallow, unobservant silly girl. I was pretty good at my actual job, but I didn’t have a lot of life experience and I didn’t know how to be really present in the experiences I was having. I was a flibbertigibbet & wasn’t as mindful as I could have been. I had discovered boys while I was in college (late bloomer here!) & I wasn’t done with them yet. I was 22 going on 16. Get the picture?

Over 10 years after I returned from Zambia I created a scrapbook (actually two rather large volumes) trying to recreate my experience there. The following is a poem I wrote when I completed the albums. I decided to use it in my first “Zambia Post” as my disclaimer.

Who was that girl?
Superficial…
Boy crazy…
with an occasional
flash of insight.
I hardly remember
her
or what she did
that long ago
time in Africa.

These are the
images she brought
home with her.
These are her stories –
remembered as in a dream
edited by time
reconstructed to suit myself.

This is her book
and mine too

Whoever we are!

Dana Wallace Rhyne
May 17, 1999

3 comments:

  1. I for one won't be scrolling ahead. I can wait for the weekly installments.

    Be kind to that young woman as you reflect upon her. She has come to be the sum of ALL of her parts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an interesting journey and such lovely photos:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Everyone is silly at 22! What a great experience. I went to Zambia, too, though I only went to the Zambia side of Victoria Falls -- I didn't get to see anything else. (I was staying on the Zimbabwe side at the time, and just walked across the border for the day.)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by - I'd love to hear what you have to say!

2024 Project 365 – Week Twelve

I woke up not feeling well and skipped church (for the second week in a row - oops), but that doesn’t keep me from being deep in the throes ...