The Guys' Overnight

Yesterday Tracy and Adam returned from an overnight camping trip in Chikankata. Their journey took them two and a half hours south of Lusaka with another member of our AZ team, his sons, and father-in-law. Our mission has property which has been donated by the village headman and has been developed into a tribal village-like setting.

On the way down they stopped at a baobob, one of the more curious trees in Zambia. If you’ve read Little Prince you’re familiar with its name. Baobobs look like they’ve been stuck in the ground upside down. Tracy purchased a baobob seed pod at a local market. They actually eat the pod but we are told it is very bitter. We won’t eat it but in fact, hope to plant it in Makeni’s sandy soil and see what happens. As they traveled through the beautiful countryside it reminded Tracy and Adam of central Wyoming.

After unloading their camping gear and settling into their huts, some of the guys took a short nap while Tracy and Gift flew a kite in the breezy, African wind. Later, the guys had the great and unique honor of visiting Queen Mwenda, who is the monarch of 98,000 Tonga people in the Southern Province. There are slightly more than a hundred chiefs in Zambia with only a small handful being women. Chiefs in Zambia wield significant political power outside of the urban centers and have ultimate control of all the land.

Slightly unusual for chiefs to be Christians, Queen Mwenda is a believer who grew up in the Salvation Army Church, which has one of their largest missions in Chikankata. Queen Mwenda faces many challenges trying to help her people. Some of the Tonga are very remote with little or no contact with the outside world. This year thousands will face starvation conditions because of the poor maize crop, which resulted from the flooding and heavy rains from January through March. Although we will not be involved in relief for her people, we have offered our services of leadership training for her headmen.

During our visit Glenn Ripley presented a copy of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology to Queen Mwenda as a gift. You should never visit a chief without presenting a gift. Tracy was able to tell her that Dr. Grudem was one of his favorite professors at seminary. After the presentation they had their pictures taken with the queen, and she suggested that we hold some authentic war spears of her people. How was it to handle a real war spear, Adam? “Really sweet!”


As usual, Adam was a child magnet on one of their walks. Although they didn’t speak English, they definitely communicated. They also loved having him take their pictures.

After a campfire the guys hit the hay, or should I say ground. Tracy and Glenn’s father-in-law had air mattresses, but that didn’t stop them from also being pestered by earwigs. Crawling all over

them during the night ensured a restless sleep. The roosters also

made sure everyone was awake by 4 a.m. Taking off at 4:45, the guys climbed a nearby phiri, or hill, to watch the sunrise. In a word, it was glorious!

Driving back they stopped at some vendors selling crafts. Here Adam tried out his bargaining skills and did quite well! He’ll make a good Zambian yet!