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July 2007 Newsletter Greetings to you all from Kalulushi, Zambia. This has been a busy month full of both happiness and sadness. The Lord chose to take home a dear friend, and new friends have been made. God has always been with us in the good times and the bad times.
DICKSON MWEWA
I met Dickson when I first came to Zambia in 1998. I remember that any time Dickson was around, there would be the sound of laughter. He had a great sense of humor that got even the most serious people laughing. Over the years, Dickson got married to a young lady named Calistus. They lost their first daughter, Patience, to malaria when she was just a few months old. Their second daughter, Emily, passed away when she was two. Then they had twins, Stanslous and Natasha. Stanslous also passed away when he was just one. They remained with Natasha who is now 2 years old.
Even with the grief in his own family, Dickson always took care of others. A few years ago, he took in his nieces, Ennis and Emeldah. They are now 22 and 16. He also took in one of the young men in our church, Joseph, who had nowhere else to stay. He also took care of Calistus' young sister, Mijelo who was a student at the preschool. Ennis, Natasha, Dickson, Calistus, Joseph, and Emelda Dickson had been the deacon of Liberty Independent Baptist Church for the last 3 years. Dickson had been suffering with malaria off and on for the last 3 months. On the 8th of June, his condition turned for the worse. He started getting special medical treatment at that time. On the 13th of June, he was admitted into Central Hospital in Kitwe. Pastor Frazer went to visit him that same day and had prayer with him. He also visited him the following day. Frazer's wife, Gaudencia, and I planned to visit Dickson the afternoon of the 14th. We bought some fruit and juice to take him at the hospital. We went up to see him with Calistus' aunt and Dickson's nephew. We entered the room full of 40 beds. Dickson was near the front. As we walked in the room, he took a few labored breaths before passing away. We took Calistus to another room so she could grieve. I should say that all of us were grieving. A couple other ladies from the church arrived by that time. Gaudencia and I started making phone calls to let people know about Dickson's passing. They had to prepare Dickson's house for the funeral before we arrived with Calistus. I called Clara, my housemate, who was at choir practice at the time with Ennis. They stopped practice and headed for Dickson's house while gathering other people from the church.
It did not take long before we left the hospital. I decided that it would be better for Calistus to travel home by way of taxi than going from bus to bus. It was a long, quiet ride back to Kalulushi with Calistus, her aunt, Gaudencia, and I. As we neared the house, the ladies all started wailing. Then the wailing started coming from the house. They had taken all the furniture out of the living room. It was left outside for the men to sit on. It is customary for the women to go sit on the floor inside to show their condolences. People came out to escort Calistus into the house. I helped Calistus' aunt with their bags. I then went to sit on the floor in the house. They brought a mattress in for Calistus to sit on because she would be sitting there until burial took place. The room was already full of women from the church and neighbors. As time passed, more women came. Each time another woman came, everyone would wail for a few minutes before everyone became silent again. I sat there for 2 hours as more and more people came.
It is customary for people to stay the whole night at the funeral while the choir sings and pastors preach. I was not able to stay because I had not prepared for the cold night (it is getting below 0 at this time). So I went home for the night.
The next morning, I was asked to help with lunch for everyone that was there. It is the responsibility of the family to provide food for all the mourners. I went to the market with Clara, Gaudencia, Ennis, and a couple other ladies from the church. We bought chickens and vegetables for the lunch. Family and friends continued arriving from near and far.
Saturday morning we prepared for burial. The ladies had collected flowers from the neighboring houses. I bought 100 small plastic bags. I sat with some of the ladies from the church, filling the bags with flowers for people to place on the grave. Pastor Frazer started driving people in a van to the cemetery.  Dickson interpreting for Pastor Frazer. They were friends for many, many years. When we arrived at the cemetery, we gathered in an open building they have there. The women of our church, sat to one side with Calistus. The choir and friends filled up the rest of the room. Others stood around outside. We sat there singing for over an hour while waiting for those bringing the body. Once the body arrived, they put it in the center of the room as everyone came crowding in for the service. The family all sat on the floor to one side and wept. There was more singing and Pastor Frazer interpreted for the message. Then everyone filed past for the viewing and headed on to the graveside.
The men placed the casket into the ground and then took turns with shovels to fill it up. They made a hill on top of the grave. There was some more singing and prayers. Then they started calling people to put flowers on the grave. It was touching to see all the family members. I also saw many old friends that I hadn't seen in years.
Please, be in prayers for Dickson's family at this time. Calistus is pregnant and expecting within the next couple of months. She will be raising 2 small children without their father. Calistus has decided to continue living in Kalulushi because of the love she has for Liberty Independent Baptist Church and the love we have for her.
LIBERTY PRESCHOOL
Preschool has been going very well this last month. The children are learning so quickly. They all are able to communicate in English now. Clara rarely has to come interpret anymore because they understand me most of the time. Sometimes they are even correcting my English. One day, I was imitating one of the children by saying, "I want to Nshima (the staple food)". Daniel quickly jumped in to correct me. He said, "No, Teacher. You should say it like this, 'I want Nshima'." Everyone got a good laugh at that.
The children love singing. I recently learned some new songs for each letter of the alphabet. I started teaching the children and now they can be heard walking home singing the songs. Sometimes, I let them each come forward to sing their favorite song. If they change their favorite song from one time to the next, then all the children will say, "No. Your song is . . . ." Then they get to sing two songs because they have two favorite songs.
LIBERTY SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday School has been very exciting the last few weeks. Many new children have been coming because there are many new people attending church. Pastor Frazer asked if anyone would like to start helping with the Sunday School. Two young people, Kenny and Charity, have committed themselves to help with Sunday School. I am at this time training them as to how to teach. They are also learning how to interpret for me. This is an exciting time as I get to train others to also teach.  Charity Namuchimba Kenny Ngenda (Pastor Frazer's Nephew) I thank you all for you love and support this last month and for the last few years. I appreciate all of your prayers and encouragements while I was sick. God has answered you prayers as I feel better than I have in years. It is hard to explain all that God has been doing here in Zambia in a newsletter. It is difficult to explain how lives have been touched this last month. It was a truly difficult time for this church to lose such a wonderful man, but we know that God has a purpose. It has definitely brought the people closer together. Old friendships have been renewed. God has His hand even in the difficult times.
Praise Be To God,
Jennifer
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