After 5 long unique travel days Zealous Love finally has reached our first campground in Lusaka, Zambia where we are going to start our Unsung Hero project. Today to get here we had to wake up at 3:45am to pack up our campsite and catch a bus by 5am. This is the first time I have ever traveled on a public bus so my expectations were pretty low. I know shocking I have never took a Greyhound bus anywhere. Our hostel took us by van to the bus station and it was crazy. People were everywhere, and everyone wanted to help carry our bags…..needless to say it was a mini struggle to make sure everything got on the bus.
The bus was a new modern looking charter buses that you typically see in the USA. The biggest difference initially is there wasn’t a bathroom in the back and there were 5 chairs per row. So the bus sat 75 people, and thankfully it wasn’t overfilled. It was a tight fit but you had a small personal space for the 8 hour bus ride. The most shocking thing was about half way through the bus ride they passed out free (or prepaid for) Coca-cola in a glass bottle and local salsa flavored salsa chips. Coke out of a glass bottle was amazing and refreshing. Since we left so early we had to by breakfast at a quick 5 minute stop so our Squad Leader bought a ton of bananas and boiled eggs…so everyone got one of each. This $5 a day for food budget is all starting to come together…eat small meals and pray A LOT!
Once we arrived in Lusaka and settled into our new campground (yes, it has a pool!!! best way to beat African heat) we took our first venture into the city to buy food. Our team know we are going to be here for at least 3 days so we are going to try our hand at cooking and leverage our budget. The food store we went to was in a fancy mall by American standards which was awesome! Figuring out the exchange rate for all the food items and how much to buy for 7 people was a challenge. I am sure we are going to get this down to a science once we get a couple more food runs in us. For a travel treat we decided to buy pizza for dinner at a Pizza Inn. I must say their pizza was much better than the American verison but it wasn’t a buffet. Quality over quantity right?
The team is doing well despite early mornings, long hot days in cramped spot, and excited to be staying in one spot for more than one night. Through all the obstacles and challenges being stable for a couple nights is going to feel amazing! Eager to jump in and get down to intentional ministry.
Overall lesson learned through this process is to stay focused one day at a time and be grateful for when you find food. Life throws you many challenges and one thing you can control is your own personality. I have gotten into the habit of playing the “thankful” game and just reflect on all the positive things that are happening.
Be Bold, Be Intentional
