Number of Travel Days to Get Here: 5
Number of Beds I’ve slept in: 7 (1 actual bed)
Number of Hours I traveled by Bus This Month: 56
Number of Mosquitos I Have Stopped from Spreading Malaria: 648540958
Where I was: Started in Lusaka for just over a week, then moved up to Kitwe at the Zambia/DR Congo border, then back to Lusaka, then onto Livingstone to see Victoria Falls. Then back up to Lusaka to spend a couple days an hour outside the city in Chongwe. Then back to Lusaka and onto Lilongwe. Total of 56 hours on a bus!
What I did: This month our ministry was Unsung Heroes. So our ministry was to search for people or ministries who may not be known and see if they are potential partners for future World Race contacts. We visited schools, widows, special needs kids, orphanages, missionaries, compounds (slums), and a few other ministries.
What I ate: We ate pretty well. Mango and pineapple and banana were in season so we got fresh fruit nearly every day. Luckily we were in bigger cities and had access to grocery stores. Because Zambian food is… interesting. The hard part was staying hydrated. There is a potential for serious disease from drinking water so we had to purchase our own all month.
Where I slept: Tent city baby! Because we were searching for Unsung Hero’s we didn’t have a set place to stay. So we tented it up in hostels and let the daily downpours clean the bugs from our tents.
How I got here: This one’s a doozie, since it involves launching from Atlanta. On Thursday the 9th all 44 Z Squaders plus 2 Squad Leaders launched from Atlanta. We had a quick 2 hour flight to Detroit before boarding an overnight flight to Amsterdam. There was a 2-hour layover in Amsterdam before boarding a second 12-hour flight to Nairobi. We landed in Nairobi on around 7 pm on Friday afternoon, and our flight to Lilongwe, Malawi left at 9. AM. Saturday morning. So we spread out, tried to nap, and explored the Nairobi airport for about 12 hours. There were some really punchy moments. We finally boarded the plane to Lilongwe and arrived in Malawi on Saturday afternoon. But wait. Wasn’t your first country Zambia? Why yes, yes it was. So we’re only about halfway through the travel story.
Once we arrived in Lilongwe, we went to a campground and set up camp for the night. Sunday morning we all loaded 46 people and people sized bags into 3 15-passenger minivans and drove the 2 hours to the Zambian border. Once at the border, we unloaded all our stuff and exited Malawi, hung out in no man’s land while our visas were being issued, and finally entered Zambia. From there we split to go to different ministries. Some were about an hour away from the border. We were not. We were in Lusaka, a 10-hour bus ride away. So we went to a hostel about an hour away and set up camp with some World Race contacts. Since we would be leaving at 3:45 am the next morning we all crammed into as few tents as possible to avoid having to set up and break down more tents than needed.
Bright and early Monday morning we put 26 people onto a bus (this one was more like a Greyhound) and began our 10 hours of bussing. The plus side: we were given chips and sodas on the bus ride.
So finally, Monday afternoon we set up our real camp in Lusaka.
How I got around: Walking, local bus, taxi, and long distance bus.
Favorite Moment of the Month: Being surrounded by bus “hawkers” trying to get us to take their city bus. African buses are very different than American buses. There’s no schedule, they leave when the bus is full, it takes 2 people to drive the bus: one to drive it, one to recruit people to ride the bus.
Least Favorite Moment of the Month: Not being able to drink the water. At all. So that includes brushing your teeth, cooking and cleaning, being careful when showering, and just generally staying hydrated. *There is currently a cholera outbreak just north of the city.
Closest to home I’ve felt: Sitting in the Mugg and Bean coffee shop drinking coffee, eating pastries, and writing. Although security guards walking around with machine guns is a bit different than back home.
Furthest away from home I’ve felt: Walking around the compound of N’gombe where houses are built out of various materials, fresh, clean water is scarce, and preventable childhood diseases take more lives than are necessary.
If you come here you should: Bring sunscreen. Mzungus get sunburned. Also, go to Victoria Falls.
We are headed to Malawi next. Well, technically I’m posting this from Malawi but I haven’t had Internet for a while. If you want to stay up to date with my journey make sure to sign up to receive my updates (link on the right of the screen). Currently I am $4,050 from being fully funded. You can donate by clicking on “Support Me” at the top of the page.
