Don't trust the locals - they get eaten

Tomorrow I am leaving for Chinguale. Lloyd Kaputula (a good friend and translator) and I hope to stay there for three and a half weeks to share the gospel with completely unreached villages and to train a core group of leaders who can serve and pastor the people there. I will most likely be the second white person to have ever been in their villages (Paul has visited briefly on a few occasions). For that reason, I even shaved off my dreads so the villagers wouldn’t get the wrong idea about Christianity and white people in general! Prayers are desperately needed!

Our mission: to find a man named Kosta who made a sincere commitment to follow Jesus; to teach, disciple, and train him and others to be leaders of a church community in their region; to share the amazing news of God coming to earth in Jesus with as many unreached villages in that region as Lloyd and I can; and to bring two men back (Kosta, hopefully, and one other) to the Zambia Project’s Bible School in Mongu by its winter session that begins in early August.

Our destination: Chinguale
Yesterday, Paul and I sat down to talk specifics, and he used Google Earth to show me the route. My journey with Lloyd will take us from Mongu north to Lukulu (you can find it and follow my description for where I’ll be on google maps!). From there, we will cross the Zambezi River on a small pontoon ferry. As the bird flies, it is about 17 miles to cross the floodplain by foot. (Of course, 17 miles is generous, because the “road” is much more circuitous and longer!) However, there may be ox-carts or something else where we can hitch a ride! After reaching the west side of the floodplain, Lloyd and I will travel north until another road forks off to the northeast, back toward a tributary of the Zambezi. We will follow that road until we come to a fishing camp along the river. Follow this link to see the area and zoom in two or three times to get a view of the windy river! (You can see Lukulu about 18 miles East-Southeast of the Google maps marker.) The image below shows the possible route Lloyd and I will be taking to arrive at our destination. The sections around part of the river might be much too swampy (Paul warned), so Lloyd and I may need to circle back a few miles south to find another crossing where Paul believes the locals usually cross in boats.

In addition to the lions, hyenas, and leopards that may be along our route (according to Paul, if Lloyd and I “get big” and always make eye contact, we’ll be fine), we will arrive in villages that apparently have very large crocodiles lurking in the water. We’ll bathe, wash clothes, and get water in large groups so that we don’t become easy pickings for the crocodiles! However, I was also warned by Paul to never go near the water if I can't see into it for at least ten meters, even if the locals say it's okay. "Don't trust the locals. They get eaten."

Along with general directions and some handy tips on not getting eaten, Paul also made sure that I brought Co-Artem, Amoxillin, and other drugs to treat myself and Lloyd for anything from skin rashes to Falciparum (the worst kind of malaria). Since the entire area is surrounded by rivers and is swampy through much of the year, the mosquitoes will be pretty thick.

In the villages, I will eat what the locals eat (think fish, either little tiny ones called Capenta or other dried variations), work in the fields, go fishing, and share the good news about Jesus! It will be an amazing chance to teach the very basics about Christ and, hopefully, to establish a good foundation with the proper emphasis on our God who loves us with and models for us His self-sacrificial love.

Please be praying for Lloyd and I for the next three and a half weeks!