Day 10 – Thursday 23rd June 2011

This was a tough day.  Raw pain and distress were all too evident, yet so was deep faith and even joy.  Pastoral visiting.  The same sort of getting alongside people I’d expect to do at home, but with a really challenging twist.  We’ll get to that much later. 

So, to the first house visit.  The man offered a very warm welcome as he showed us into his home.  He spoke of how blessed he was that the pastor had come to visit, and how extra blessed he was that I had come too.  Oh help, here we go – I’m seriously not comfortable with this sort of comment and yet that is how many Zambians genuinely see things. There is a reverence for clergy that permeates peoples whole approach to things, and it seems that Jenny Chinembiri (of our world Mission Council) was spot on when she had warned me in advance of coming here that this reverence would be extended to me too.  Just seems wrong though.  But back to the visit. 

After introducing his wife, the man took us into the bedroom to speak to his son.  He was a young lad of around twenty who had fallen from the third floor of a building – possibly trying to commit suicide.  His dad pulled back the blanket to reveal the stump of an amputated leg that rested lifelessly alongside the leg that had been saved and strengthened by a long metal in the thigh.  The crushed spine now limits the potential for movement although the fractured skull seems to be healing.  The scars on the rest of his body bear testimony to the physical healing that has already begun to take place.  As the father praised God for his faithfulness and goodness I sat and listened.  As he pastor spoke to the boy I sat and listened.  The father and the pastor looked at me expectantly.  So then I prayed.  Now walk with me into the next room.

And say hello to this young lad’s sister who is a year or two older and who has had a stroke.  And listen to the father praising God for his faithfulness and goodness.  As the girl began to try and respond to the pastor and a strange woman coming into her room it was obvious that her recovery will be a long process.  Her mother stood at the end of the bed, content to say amen or halleluiah as her husband spoke.  This time the pastor prayed and I joined in. 

As we left this house I knew we were leaving a place where there was deep faith and trust in God.  But I couldn’t help wondering how this family coped with the practical aspects of caring for two very seriously ill young people.

House visit two was equally difficult.  We drove to a very obviously poor compound and went into a small dark house.  A young child of about two or three lay on the settee looking quite ill.  But we had been brought to see the grandmother who looked after the family.  This grandmother had recently suffered a stroke and was only just beginning to get some sensation and movement back on one side of her body.  The other side showed no improvement. She had had a few sessions of ‘physio’ and some medication, but now these had run out.  Her eyes lit up and as she spoke to the pastor she spoke in unclear words about the pain she was suffering.  The pastor prayed, and as I knelt before her she feebly clutched at my hand and placed it on the sore area.  I prayed.      

The child never moved.  I prayed.  We spoke to other family members who had appeared.  We prayed for the whole family and went on our way.

Driving slowly out of the compound over the dirt track littered with ruts and boulders we passed what I though was a derelict building.  It was the church.  And I prayed again, this time silently crying out to God about what I had seen.  And remembering the times when those I love have had prompt tests and excellent care from a health service that is just – there.  Pastoral visiting with a challenging twist.  Nowhere to go, but to the Lord. 

I felt pretty drained when we got back to St Margaret’s.  Not much time to rest though for we were almost right into the evening service.  The young man leading the worship was lively and enthusiastic and after leading praise for a wee while he led the congregation into a time of prayer.  Not one person leading though – this was full on everyone joining in at once with their own prayers.  And once again the sense of worship was really strong.  Rev Musaba gently ended the prayer time and began to speak to those gathered about July.  July?   Indeed – it’s the time when all the congregation of St Margaret’s will be doing a month of corporate prayer and fasting.  Aah.  Mmm.  I’ve never been part of a corporate fast before.  As Rev Musaba spoke he was preparing them for what to expect and encouraging them to consider what they needed to be dealing with and bringing before God.  The overall theme is ‘Dump the Old Man’, and there will be a service every evening for prayer, and praise, and sharing what God is doing.    

This should be ‘interesting’!!