On the road for training
For the past 3 weeks, I’ve been on the road to deliver 2 training sessions in 2 cities where we are working as OM. This was a nice, but also crazy and challenging time. It was a journey of faith. I feel like God is working something out in me the last few months. And it was not different for those two training sessions.
First I need to give some information before I can tell my story. When I look back on the year, a lot has happened with highlights and lowlights and I think I have been growing a lot due to challenges that came my way. But it is not always been easy. After I came back from the Netherlands, a few personal things didn’t work out the way I was hoping for. And I had a few unexpected expenses after which, I didn’t had much to spend. But because of the things that had happened, I really wanted to see God at work. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense to me why I’m doing the things I’m doing now. So I decided just keep going until it couldn’t go any further. But until now, that point never came. Together with my former housemate I still share a car and this is still working out well. Recently, the insurance and road tax expired, but I didn’t had the resources to renew it. So for about a month the car was standing unused right outside my door. All the things I had to do by then, I could do walking or by bicycle.
Within SportsLink we want to increase our influence throughout Zambia and training is important for that. By doing this we equip more people to reach out through sport. The training we are offering is called “Whole life coaching”, so that the sports coach is not only focussing on the physical part, but also on the emotional, mental, social and intellectual part of young people he/she is working with. In these training sessions we lay a few important Christian foundations of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. So now that I’m a leader, I’ve emphasized a lot on this kind of trainings.
The first training was in Chipata, a city in the east of Zambia, about 700 kilometers away from Kabwe, Michael works here for SportsLink. The second training was in Kasama, also about 700 kilometers from here and this training I organized with Francis, a good friend I know of the Africa Trek (which I did almost 6 years ago), but he is not working for SportsLink. These 2 cities themselves are, in a straight line, about 500 kilometers apart from each other, but are barely connected. The only real road is back over Kabwe, a journey of almost 1500 kilometers. And then there is a shortcut of approximately 800 kilometers of which is about 200 kilometres over dirt roads. But I could only take this road if I went by car myself. The costs for this trainings are covered by SportsLink and I was actually planning to go by bus and take the longer route.
A week before departure I talked to Michael in Chipata about what I need to bring with me. He gave me a longer list of which it was difficult for me if I came by bus. I said, more like a joke, to him that he had to pray that I would be able to come by car, he didn’t know the situation. That same night, my neighbors took me out to dinner. for the birthday of one of them. My resources were completely dried up at that time, so this was a huge blessing for me. When we arrive at the hotel/restaurant I heard that Andy, my former housemate was there with his wife. So I went to them to say hi. He asked if I had already renewed the insurance and road tax and I said no. He gave me 600 kwacha and with this was enough to extend both things for 1 quarter. He was fine with it that I was using the car to go for the trainings. I saw this as an answered prayer and decided to go by car. I’m still a little bit adventurous and I thought the shortcut could be a nice route to take. After the things that had happened, I was looking forward to get away for a few weeks.
The following week, I prepared and left for Chipata. In Chipata, Michael did already the preparations and because of the work he is doing there he made contacts and we now we are about to train these people. I was there a few days earlier, so that we could discuss some things and make the last arrangements. It was also really good to spend some time with Michael, we are not working together that long and didn’t know each other very well. But it was good to also hear his story how he came to faith and the change it brought in his life. In the training we had 13 participants from within and around Chipata. The training was very good, I have been teaching before and people told me I could teach very well. It felt like we have already given many of this of trainings, while it was actually the first one for both of us. The response of the participants was also very positive and now Michael will go on with a mentoring journey with 3 of them.
The costs where a bit higher than expected and slowly I started to calculate if it was going to work out for the next training. And I had some regrets that I came by car, even though it helped us a lot. After the training, I stayed an extra day to get the car and myself ready for the next journey. I didn’t feel very fit that day either, but I didn’t pay much attention towards that. I left the next day, felt a little better and took the shortcut to Kasama. It all went pretty well and in places there was asphalt where I didn’t expect it. At one point, the good road stopped, but I expected that. A little further, 2 guys asked for a ride I have helped them. This was the worst part of the route, but our car is strong. At one point the road was getting better and there was a wide dirt and I could drive a little bit faster again. And all of a sudden the ball joints gave away and of the left front wheel and the wheel flipped under the car. We slided a bit for a few meters before we stopped.
The guys I had given a ride helped me a lot. They put the car on the jack and we went to seek help. The place I had the breakdown was just in front of a hill, and after the hill the tar road continued. And just a little bit further there was a small village where the guys where living. Here was also a mechanic who was willing to help us. It was towards the end of the afternoon and he thought he would have it fixed the same day, but it didn’t work out and it was getting later and later. I had my camping gear with me and was not in a hurry so didn’t mind staying there for a night. At first I was pretty calm but at one point I got a little bit frustrated. And with the things that had happened in recent months, at some point, I had the tend to take my bag out of the car and take a bus to it airport and leave everything in Zambia behind. But I realized that this is not option. When it was clear that the car could not be made the same day I dropped the back seat, pumped my air mattress (which was special for the locals there) and went to sleep. I made a good night, but the next day, I felt worse than the day before, but I had to go on. In the morning I waited for the mechanic, he came to pick up some parts and to fix the ball joints with some welding. In the meantime, one of the locals came to chat with me. He barely spoke English and I don’t speak much Bemba either, but we understood each other quite well. He asked if I had already had eaten breakfast and asked whether I ate “sugar of God, forest”. I had no idea what he meant, but hadn’t eaten yet, so decided to go with him. He gave me a plate with honey. I started eating, but it was very sweet and couldn’t eat it all. A little bit later, the mechanic came back and he fixed the ball joints as far as it could and turned the wheel back on the car. The impact caused the the brake pipe to snap, fortunately the mechanic had another, but a lot of break fluid had been lost. And I didn’t have any more brake fluid. The mechanic said that the chief would have and we went there together. I do have talked to headman’s, but this was the first real chief I met. Greetings him goes with a protocol. But we had a good conversation, it turned out that he had been to school in Kabwe and he gave me a bottle of brake fluid.
It was by noon that I could continue. I was over the half and had had all the dirt roads so it wasn’t that hard anymore. But I had made extra expenses and had to make even more expenses because it was just a temporary solution. And I had stomach pain and I was wondering if it was a good idea to to Kasama. Somewhere I just wanted to go back to Kabwe. There was even a point on the route that it was straight to go home and I had to make a turn to Kasama. But decided to go to Kasama anyway. It was a bit of a journey of faith, but it was also quite a big struggle. I didn’t feel fit at all and didn’t know if everything was going to be alright at the end. I didn’t had that much money anymore and still had to go back to Kabwe, and I needed to work on the car. Once I was in Kasama I didn’t feel well at all. I was even scared that I might have malaria.
The next day was still a resting day before we start the next training. I went to the doctor to check if I didn’t had malaria but this wasn’t the case. I felt better but still far from fit. Together with Francis, we prepared the last things and I went back to bed. The next day we started the training and this went very well again. I was the only one facilitating. The response was very positive and I found out more and more that I was good in giving trainings. The training lasted 4 days and I started feeling better and better, even though I didn’t really get through it completely. It was also good to spend some time with Francis and he found my journey of faith encouraging. On Friday the training was over and on Saturday there was a decent gift inside that allowed me to fix the car. That Saturday itself and also those Sunday I spent mainly in bed. Not that I really felt bad, but because I didn’t really get through it and was healing completely and I didn’t know what it was. And I really had the feeling that God said that I had to rest. That Monday I was hoping to fix the car and return tuesday. but it all didn’t work out and took a day longer. In the end, Tuesday the car fixed and I came back on Wednesday.
It was an interesting journey. I feel like God has been stretching my faith and has been testing me for the last few months and that He is testing me and preparing is for bigger things that lie before me. Quite a few Bible passages came alive over the last few months. And for these training sessions, it was Peter who walked across the water towards Jesus. As soon as Peter’s took his eyes off Jesus he started sinking. That’s how it felt, and still feel. When you walk over water, you don’t really understand what’s happening. I also don’t always what is happening. And as soon as I take my eyes off Jesus and to the surcemstenses (the waves) I am discouraged and I start sinking. The is important that I keep my eyes on Jesus, for Him everything is possible. In the end, it all worked out, despides there were quite a few challenges. But both training sessions themselves have gone very well and give us opportunities to expand the work further in these areas. And I’m wondering what God is preparing me for.