Well if I ever had any doubts that I was living in Africa, I now know for certain that I do. For several weeks Stephanie and me have been planning a trip to a nearby village, Shantumbu. Steph would teach her True Love Waits program to the youth and I would teach the children some Bible stories. My good friend Womba helped arrange the outing because of some connections she has with the church there. Womba and her friend Victoria came with us not only to translate, but also to also take care of us and show us the “ropes” of village life. Our plan was to stay there Friday and Saturday night. So after we packed up the vehicle on Friday afternoon we headed south to Shantumbu. After about an hour’s drive literally off the beaten path we were there.
Stephanie, full of enthusiasm as we set out for Shantumbu.
The roads to Shantumbu.
When we arrived at the church, the people were there to greet us. There were many children and youth waving to us as we got out of the vehicle. We immediately unloaded our stuff with the help of many of the villagers. We took it inside the church where we would be sleeping. After everything was unloaded we got out the balls we brought to play with. This was a big hit! While everyone was playing the ladies started preparing supper. The way they cook in the bush is over a small fire. The ladies even asked us if it was okay for us to eat food prepared “village style”. We told them yes (which I would find out later was a mistake on my part) and handed them the food we had brought with us.
A kid warming himself by the cooking fire.
Some pumpkin that they gave us as a snack.
Kids eating their nshima and kapenta (small sardine-like fish).
When the sun started going down, the choir circled up and started singing. They were really good and they even brought out the drums to play. There was also a lot of dancing going on by all, especially by the children. Even this white Southern Baptist girl from Louisiana (with no rhythm or coordination) joined in. Needless to say, many of the kids thought it was pretty humorous to see a “mzungu” (white person) acting like a Zambian. Womba tried to convince me that they weren’t making fun but rather they were very happy to see me participating. I’m not sure if I believe her.
Me and Stephanie trying to be Zambian by carrying the babies in a chitangi. Enoch, the baby I carried on my back.
A few of the children were pretty brave and would want me and Stephanie to hold their hand or pick them up. Eventually, we both ended up with babies tied on our backs with chitengi’s. After being here for 6 months and actually had the experience of carrying a baby on my back, I really do believe this is the best way to carry your kids around. As we were outside dancing and singing with the choir we looked up at the sky and were amazed by the stars and the night sky. When I saw all the stars the first thing that came to mind was when God promised Abraham that his descendants would become as many as the stars in the sky….that’s a whole lot! Stephanie proceeded to show off her knowledge of the constellations and pointed them out to me (I was really impressed!). We could even see the Milky Way very vividly. One constellation in particular was really neat to see because it can only be seen in the southern hemisphere. It was the Southern Cross.
Finally sometime after 8 pm it was time to eat. The ladies had prepared the nshima and rape we brought with us. They even made us chiwawa (pumpkin leaves), which they brought themselves. It was all very good! It was hard to believe it was prepared over a fire. But I guess when all you have ever cooked on is a fire then you become pretty good at it. After supper we began to get ready for bed. The church was made up of a large room where they met for worship and two other VERY small rooms. We guessed they were probably about 7ft x 5ft in size. They were just long enough for us to lie down and wide enough for two sleeping bags to fit side by side.
This is right before we went to bed…..pre ants! (here, “nock off” means go home. written above “nock off” is the schedule for the choir.)
Steph getting ready for bed.
Womba and Victoria slept in on room and Stephanie and me slept in the other. Me and Stephanie had come prepared with a mosquito net tent to protect us from the skeeters or any other little buggy that might come our way. But in the process of making our beds we decided against it because we were in a fairly enclosed space. While getting ready for bed Womba informs us that the ladies are insistent on sleeping in the church with us. We did not want them to but we knew this was a battle we would not win so we did not argue with them. The women told her that they wanted to sleep in the same room as a mzungu.
So while we are trying to sleep we can hear the ladies in the next room talking and laughing and their babies crying. I could tell already that this might not be the most restful night. Around midnight I felt something on my face. I picked it up and assumed it was dirt because it kind of crumbled between my fingers. Looking back I think I just told myself that so I could sleep. A couple of hours later I woke up again to pain on my head. It felt like something was biting me. I reached for the flashlight and when I turned it on I discovered ants on my pillow, on the ground around me, and on the wall that my head was against. I started making whimpering noises and feeling sorry for myself thinking that I was the only one the ants were attacking. Stephanie leans up from her bed and asks what is going on. I tell her that I have ants in my hair and then I change position and put my head where my feet were. As soon as I move she starts wiggling around and says she has ants too. The poor thing even had one in her underwear! So after a few minutes of flicking ants off of us we settle back down in bed.
A couple of minutes had passed and we hear something at our feet. I asked Steph what that was and she says, “You mean that wasn’t you?” I tell her no and she immediately starts scrambling for a flashlight. I, on the other hand, pull my sleeping bag over my head and curl up into a ball out of fear from what is in our room. When she shines the light she sees that it is a lizard. Better a lizard than a snake or rat! I figured that the lizard was there to eat the ants. When Stephanie sees that it is a lizard she says, “That’s it, we are putting up the tent.” So we then spend the next 30 minutes trying to assemble a tent by flashlight that is the same size of the room we are in. It was actually pretty funny. So now we are safe inside our tent but the problem is we cannot take in our sleeping bags or blankets because they are infested with ants. I had a sweatshirt to help keep me warm and Stephanie had a chitangi that she used as cover.
As soon as we lay down we hear Womba exclaiming, “There are ants in my hair!” Me and Stephanie start laughing at the whole situation but stay in our tent because there isn’t anything we can do. So Womba and Victoria go into the room where the women are and they all start making so much noise. The ladies then go outside beneath our window (which has no pane but only a security bar) and start a fire. So smoke is blowing in our room. The ladies then bring fire into the church to either smoke out the ants or burn them. Meanwhile, Stephanie and I are lying there watching burning embers and smoke coming into our room over the walls. This goes on for a while and I finally get up and go into the big room where Womba, Victoria, and the ladies are. I offer for Womba and Victoria to sleep in the car. They accept the offer and as we are walking outside the girls are saying there is no way they are spending another night here.
An unhappy and tired Ashley Saturday morning inside the tent.
Since we are approaching the cool season here, the next morning we woke up shivering. When we got dressed and went outside there were already kids outside playing and the women were gearing up to start preparing lunch. We got the privilege of watching the ladies kill, clean, cut, and then finally cook a chicken. That was my first time to ever see a chicken being slaughtered. It was quite interesting to say the least. We finally started teaching sometime before 10 am.
The ladies who cooked for us. Notice the chicken.
The chicken getting it’s throat slit. Me “helping” her kill the chicken.
When lunchtime rolled around the four of us made the final decision that we would return home when we finished teaching. So around 4pm we packed up and headed home. As it turns out, the very ants that I cursed and caused us to come home early were actually a blessing in disguise. All night Saturday and early Sunday morning I was incredibly sick. I am not sure but I think maybe some of the food that was prepared for us in the village did not agree with me. I am SO EXTREMELY thankful that we came home Saturday. I cannot imagine what would have happened if I would have gotten sick while in the village. The toilet in Shantumbu is nothing but a mound of dirt with a hole in the top…so thank the Lord for the ants!
One of the kids I taught. She had quite a hairdo.
These are hills near Shantumbu. If you look closely you can see some huts in a village.
