Rhythm

Jon & Renae Deleeuw
Jun 15
5 min read

The last time I wrote a post, Jon was in the thick of fighting off malaria. We appreciated the outpouring of messages, calls and prayers in regard to his health! He made a full recovery (he lost 14 pounds in the process!) and never wants to experience that again! I always review the photos/videos on my phone to get an overview of what we've been up to, and the last month could be summarized with the word "rhythm". Week in and week out, there is a similar rhythm to our days, and most of this was pretty ordinary, and somewhat boring to "report" on. But I'll do my best to tap into the highlights.

We just capped off the kid's school year, and this is my highlight! It feels good to have slower mornings, and less on the plate each day. On day two of holidays Austin exclaimed, "The days are so boring without school!" It has taken some adjusting for them to get used to full days without a set agenda, and without others off school to hang out with! I'm confident they will settle into it well and really lean into the needed downtime!

After Jon's health was back to normal, he went full swing back into work! There is always something to keep him busy! A big project on the go right now is converting one of the empty dorms into a Teams House. The dorms were all set up with children in mind; bunk beds and study areas for the children, and obviously this isn't the most ideal set up for adults visiting from the USA. The maintenance team is working to make the rooms comfortable and functional, and there's a nice deadline as the Living Hope Board will be coming at the beginning of July! This will be so great for them to be able to stay onsite, instead of staying in a hotel that's at least a 45 minute drive (on a good day!) from Living Hope!

A special event in the last month was a karate competition that took place in Ndola. Participants came from different areas of Zambia, and were judged in two different categories: kata (detailed patterned movements) & kumite (fighting against an opponent). London opted out, but Austin, Zara & Ivy all competed in both categories. Their nerves were high (Zara said at one point,"I haven't been this nervous since running in cross country!"). It's true, they really haven't had to push their selves quite like this in some time! They did amazing! All three of them walked away with medals for both categories they competed in! We were so proud of their hard work!

Leslie and I grew up in the farming community of the same town, but we never actually met until the last time we lived in Zambia. She lives near Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, and last week she flew to Ndola for a visit, which was so lovely! Leslie has lived in Zambia for 8 years and is the Director of Academics at a large and thriving school. Having a fellow Canadian with knowledge & lived experience into the schooling system in Zambia come and offer guidance and insight was awesome! She toured through Living Hope Christian Academy, spent lots of time talking school things with the teacher in charge, and even met up with friends of ours who run a school in town. Aside from education talks, we were also able to get out for a little hike together, play Balderdash and even hit the local thrift store with success! Felt nice to have a little slice of "normal" like that.

Another special event last month was a movie night that Living Hope hosted for the community. A projector and speakers were set up, and when it got dark outside, a Jesus film with Bemba voiceovers played. There were roughly 150 people who huddled together to watch the movie together. While we understood about 5 words of it, just being in community was well worth it!

More and more the little things that used to stand out now feel pretty regular. Here are a few examples of things we've gotten used to. I've been pulled over by our police friend just to ask how things are going and to have him joke to Austin about beating him in a game of cards. Seeing a motorcycle with a mom passenger with a little baby strapped to her back no longer shocks me. Having football teams show up one hour after the match was supposed to begin is not unusual. Having children greet adults with a bow & a handshake happens frequently. Watching a single-lane road become two lanes by cars driving on the wrong side of the road or the shoulder is an everyday occurrence. The hard work that manual laborers pour into their work; like pushing bikes full of charcoal, doing field work without machines, or hand shoveling ditches.

While not specific to Living Hope, the maize (corn) season has come to a close for most in our area. Planting typically takes place at the beginning of November, because it is when rainy season begins. The rains and sun aid in the growth of big, beautiful crops. When the maize has reached full maturation, it is then left in the fields till it dries out, and only then is it harvested! The dried maize is ground into what is called 'mealie-meal'. This mealie-meal is a staple to Zambian families. Mixed with water, this is boiled till it becomes thick (it kind of looks like mashed potatoes) and is known as nshima. Nshima is often eaten with cooked green vegetables and is eaten nearly every day, sometimes multiple times a day! Our girls love any opportunity they can get to have nshima!

After the fields have been harvested, it's not uncommon to see big plumes of smoke in the sky. Farmers intentionally set their fields ablaze to clear the land and prepare it for the next growing season! It's so interesting how, in Canada, things catching fire are so destructive and devastating, but here it is just part of the time of the year!

That would be about all for the overview of the bigger things in the last month. There were plenty of small joys too, like biking to village visits, a volleyball match against another local team, board games every lunch time, finding Shreddies at a grocery store (they're my favorite!), calls with loved ones back home, every morning coffee, encouraging sermons, line-dried laundry, kids' laughter, and recognizing more and more locals. One day Ivy and I went for a bike ride down the road and by the main highway. As we're going there was a boy around her age who shouts, "Hi Ivy!" He comes to watch football games on the weekend. It just made me smile to know that the relationships are being made. It takes time, and it takes patience, but we're making progress!