Friday
morning arrived much too soon because I hadn’t gotten a good night’s
sleep. Nonetheless, I was looking
forward to the events planned for the day:
I would have my formal introduction meeting with Chief Mnukwa, and I was
nervous as a cat! I had been anticipating
this meeting for more than 8 months. In
August 2013, I received correspondence from the Chief indicating his
willingness to work with S.O.S. in developing land for the Malongwe Village
Education and Vocation Initiative (MVEVI).
Even though the Chief had given his permission to implement all the
components of the MVEVI, cultural protocol required that I introduce myself to
him formally as the representative of S.O.S. and share my vision for our work
in Zambia.
It
is customary to bring a thank you gift to the Chief when he grants a meeting at
his palace. Before driving out to the
bush, Kevin, Dan and I drove to the Down Shops to purchase the gift. I
would be presenting the Chief with rice, sugar, cooking oil, and washing
powder. Yes, I thought it was an unusual
offering, too, but when in Rome… ☺ The
total cost of all the items was 405 kwacha (about $80 American dollars). I prayed the Chief would be pleased with the
gift.
We
picked up Doreen and Robert Zulu on the way to the Chief’s compound. Once we arrived I was really surprised to see an enormous cell phone tower that had been erected on the property. I chuckled inside and thought about how modern
convenience was making its way to the Bush.
Surely, electricity and indoor plumbing were just around the corner!  | |
| Our entire group: Kevin, Doreen, Robert, Dan, me, the chief's wife & Chief Mnukwa |
Before the meeting began, Robert gave me some
counsel on the topics I should and should not mention. He told me just to share my heart and overall
vision with the Chief, steering clear of the specifics and minute details of
our plans. We walked a short distance
from where the truck was parked to an enormous tree. I was
told that this was the ceremonial gathering place for residents of Mnukwa
Chiefdom when they wished to address the Chief and seek his counsel for answers
to their troubles. I looked off into the
distance and there were at least a dozen villagers that were sitting and waiting
for an opportunity to do just that. The
whole scene reminded me of an open air throne room, and I thought about the
children of Israel seeking an audience before Moses when they needed his
counsel. Chief Mnukwa and his entourage of advisors
arrived. There were two chairs placed beneath the tree
for the Chief and me to occupy, and there were several others chairs and reed
mats placed around the tree for the advisors, Dan, Robert, Kevin, Doreen and
the Chief’s wife. All eyes were on me,
and I was given the floor to speak.
 |
| Sharing the vision of S.O.S. and my burden for Zambia |
Only
the Lord himself knows just how nervous I was.
I wish I could write that I had the confidence of the Apostle Paul when
he stood before King Agrippa and shared his testimony of life change through
the grace of God. That kind of
confidence escaped me, and I felt like I was speaking with gravel in my
mouth. However, I know that the Lord was
guiding my words. I shared just a brief
part of my salvation testimony and how I had come to be interested in Zambia
(you can read my bio here). I shared
with him how our organization had grown, and the desire that we had minister to
our brothers and sisters in Malongwe Village through the MVEVI program. After I finished speaking, Chief Mnukwa was
so gracious in his comments and said the conversation was very inspiring. I was overwhelmed! That sounds like a boast, but I was
humbled. I praise the Lord for His favor
and the positive response we received! The
Chief then addressed our entire group and gave us a brief lesson on Zambian
history and a ‘state of union’ address about economic conditions in Mnukwa
Chiefdom and the vision he had to improve the lives of his people. I didn’t realize the Chiefdom was so
large. It is made up of 30 villages with
more than 20,000 residents. The plans we
hoped to implement centered around Malongwe Village, where Big Tree Baptist
Church is located. Chief Mnukwa had a
much larger vision in mind for the entire chiefdom.
He invited us to be part of that overall vision and took our group on a
short tour to see some of the projects already in place near the palace
compound.
 |
| Resource Center Building |
 |
| Land surrounding the Center |
 |
| Water is already available |
This
building shown above is located near Mnukwa palace and is a Resource Center for the
community. It was built in 2011 by a non-profit group from England for the
purpose of providing the youth of Mnukwa Chiefdom with vocational training in
marketable agricultural practices. It comes equipped with 3 large classrooms
that are powered with solar electricity, the foundational structure for 4 staff
houses, a bore hole for water, and plenty of arable land. It is a GORGEOUS
piece of property. After we’d finished
the tour, the Chief announced that if we, Sisterhood Of Servants, had the
vision and could develop a program to utilize the facility to better the lives
of the people of Mnukwa Chiefdom we could take possession of the building and
all its resources. I almost fainted on
the spot! We've many questions that have
yet to be answered concerning this property, but the potential is incredible. Our group was invited back to the palace for
just a few minutes. I assumed we had
more official village business to discuss, but the Chief had a special surprise
waiting for us.
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