Channels of Hope

participants at the seminar
lining up for dinner

Wow! What a busy time it was and I feel so happy with what we achieved.

Pastor Morgan Chilulu is an inspired teacher he spoke at every session for 3 days. He loves his work and speaks from experience. I have posted photos on facebook but didnt know how to label them.

There were many firsts at the seminar

• The first seminar in Mupitanshi.
• The first time eight different churches had united (Catholic, Pentecostal, Evangelical, Baptist, Jehovah's Witness, & Seventh Day Adventist, Plus).
• The first time HIV has been talked about openly.
• The first time HIV and Condoms have been mentioned in a church here.
• The first time someone openly admitted he was HIV positive as he gave his testimony of me saving his life.
• The first time the Chief has graced a seminar.
• The first time the Chief has stayed in my house.

72 people registered and attended the three days. Some came in the late morning just for the lunch! We had nshima and fish the first day then nshima and goat the 2nd and nshima and beans the last day. I also served watermelons for morning tea. The women from my sewing club did the cooking, and we had two specially selected cooks for the Chief who addressed the people and encouraged them to learn all they could.

Morgan was very inspiring, funny at times and challenging at others. His session on condom use will stand out in my mind forever. I had acquired several boxes of condoms and he gave a practical demonstration to illustrate his point that "condoms must be used consistently and correctly ". At the end of that session we gave away the condoms and I nearly died watching the 'widows' grabbing handfuls. The next morning I jokingly asked the people if they enjoyed practising... and Lewin got up to tell the people,"Durelle is the only person who didn't take a condom" which made everyone laugh.

Although Morgan spoke Bemba throughout the three days I knew what he was saying 90 % of the time by his body language and by knowing the content. At one stage he held up my 'white' hand in his black hand to illustrate that there are no boundaries, that we each have the same heart and together we can make a difference.

I was so proud of my friend Brighton who is a church elder but was willing to testify that secrecy kills while speaking out can save lives. Also present was my 'lost sheep' Langston, now returned to the fold and I got him to lead a singing chorus. I love the African worship songs. Their harmony is very moving. I enjoyed myself each day. It was hard work because at the end of each day I had to go home and cook for my guests. I rose at 5am each day to get things organised.

Each day and each session was begun with praise and worship and I danced in the aisle with them. Many Christians were challenged by the need to use condoms as this is considered to be a sin here. At the end Morgan convinced them. He said something like "So its okay for a Christian to spread HIV?" They were kidding themselves that Christians don't have HIV but the statistics show that 75% of the people in Zambia belong to a church yet the rate is 1-4 people who are positive. His most challenging question was "Are Christians having sex outside of marriage?" he divided us into groups to discuss this.

At the end we had a candle lighting ceremony with red candles to symbolise HOPE. Each person lit their candle from the person beside them symbolising how together we can fight HIV and restore health to Mupitanshi. He emphasised Faithfulness to one partner, correct and consistent use of a condom, know your status (in other words go and get tested). As we held our candles a small group acted out a role play.

Morgan was very courageous for he was talking to a group of people where husband and wife won't kiss in public let alone talk about sex. He was very clever he kept asking what is the local word for 'penis' or for 'vagina' to create conversation as he was teaching. There was a lot of laughter. In talking about the causes he talked about how in Africa its demand sex or 'dry sex' which causes ruptures and allows the virus to spread and how after a woman's husband dies the brothers have to have sex with her. I learned a lot about the culture.

People came to confess their positive status to him during breaks. Heartbreaking but healing all at the same time. From the seminar one man is determined to hold a support group and the community as a whole have agreed to form a Coalition to keep the momentum of healing going. Each Church will form a HOPE team who are willing to visit the sick, encourage people to go for testing, provide food and help when they are weak etc. Our first Coalition meeting is this Saturday. As you can imagine I was crying at the end with the joy of seeing these people step into the 21st century. Praise God.

Its very hard to put into words all that happened but I know it was amazing to see such a workshop in Mupitanshi. Morgan is going to come back in 3 months to check on how our coalition is going and to conduct a couples workshop.

Muptitanshi will never be the same!

On the last night I was so tired I tripped over a rock and lay sprawled in the dirt, the chicken dinner spilled beside me. I cried as I was hurt, and I was worried about my hip prosthesis. They carried me inside and I soon recovered enough to reconstitute dinner. I enjoyed having loving company to eat with and to chat with which is such a change. But running a guest house is exhausting. This week I have had Simon in my guest house with pneumonia so there is no rest.

We went to visit Sackson the man with shingles on his face - he is smiling again and the blisters have healed. It was so wonderful to see his improvement. He and his wife are a delightful couple.

Thank you dear friends for your prayers and encouragement. I could feel them.

Love to you all
Durelle