by Fenton Rees
Editorial Note: This fourth post about Fenton's second trip to Zambia. Start by reading the first post here.
I arrived back home on Monday afternoon, after flights totaling 30+ hours via Johannesburg and London. Definitely a “whipped puppy” by that evening, but much better today and glad for the cooler temperatures and dust free air.
First off, lets me say a BIG THANK YOU for all of you who prayed. As many of you know who have traveled to “third world countries”, one can never assume that everything goes according to plan or that traveling on local ground transportation is not without hazard (given the typically poorer roads and the often crazier drivers). And I never assume that something bad could not happen to me as I have my hands inside things electrical--just one moment of inattention could be quite bad. After 40+ years of doing such, I have obviously had a few close calls, but nothing too serious. So again, thank you for praying for safety and for the reasonably successfully work we were able to do.
So now what happens?
• In about six weeks we will find out if USAID has awarded the requested funds, ($750,000), in response to the Salvation Army’s proposal that was based on the results of the previous (February) trip. So Pray!
• Around about that same time, we will have compiled the results from the latest trip into a new report. That will be the latest electrical work plus water and sewer.
• If the funds come through, we will somehow have to work through the issues related to the new statement-of-work being somewhat different to that which the funds were given for--as a result of the new information we became aware of on the last trip.
• Then after receiving bids from the four contractors we visited, one will have to be selected.
• And if the USAID funds do not come through? They will re-submit a revised proposal to USAID, and it sounds like the SA might be able to internally raise at least a portion of the required total, allowing some of the required work to proceed.
On long flights such as these, I try to use the time at least somewhat productively and not totally “space out” watching the many mindless movies they have to offer. I did however watch one “Hacksaw Ridge”, the true story of a conscientious objector in The Battle of Okinawa in WW2. Partly due to his SDA (7th Day Adventist) upbringing and partly because he nearly killed his brother in a childhood fight, he swore off any use of firearms, but volunteered to be an army medic. Initially mocked and ridiculed by those he served with, he became a hero after rescuing 75 badly injured fighters under intense Japanese fire. At the end of the movie they showed an interview with the real Desmond Doss as a very old man, where he said that as he was going about his rescuing he was saying to the Lord, “Let me rescue just one more”. BUT be warned, some of the battle scenes are not for the faint of heart. Okinawa was the only battle in WW2 where more of the attackers were killed or injured than those of the defenders.
I also try and catch up on books that I have intended to read and never get around to it. So I finally got round to reading “Don’t Waste Your Life” by John Piper. Really good, but as he really “covers the waterfront” touching on many areas, I’ll spare you a full summary; however, there were a few ideas that I will relay:
I finished the last Update with the description of our day “fun day” at Victoria Falls. That should NOT be interpreted as meaning that the rest of the trip was not fun--that would be totally false. Piper talks about “the greatest joy in God comes from giving his gifts away”, (Chapter 4). Engineering and problem solving was “fun” when I was/am paid to do so; but this was even more so as in addition to the technical aspect there was the knowledge that this will have a direct impact on the Kingdom of God.
That calculated risk for the right reasons is right, (Chapter 5), and that the myth of safety by avoiding risk is just that, a myth. Like Queen Esther going before the king at the risk of her life, or a lot of the situations that the Apostle Paul found himself in. Of course I’m not at all saying that going to Zambia is nearly as risky as those above examples, because clearly it is not--but a small amount of extra risk, sure.
That “no misery that a true Christian ever experiences is evidence that he has been cut off from the love of Christ”, a commentary on Romans 8:35. Right now some of our church friends and acquaintances are going through some very unpleasant medical “mumba”, so that was a good reminder.
Chapter 8: “Making much of Christ from 8 to 5”: That professional Christian work (clergy, missionary work, etc.) should not be elevated above “secular” employment--a mistake the Catholic church in past times made where ALL the best and brightest went into the ministry, so that all the other areas of life got the second best vs. the likes of Christian giants such as William Wilberforce who stayed in parliament and changed the world. The result is that more Catholic southern Europe is poorer and less well governed than northern Europe. And then there was the comment: ”Retired people who are truly happy have sought creative, useful, God-honoring ways to stay active and productive for the sake of man’s good and God’s glory." I agree with that!
I could go on, but that is enough for now.
I’ll keep you posted on the status of the USAID grant.
PS. Oh yes, and in just over a week Pat heads off to Bongolo Hospital in Gabon for over six weeks--substituting for a couple of surgeons coming back for a short furlough. Last year we were able to synchronize our trips when we were both in Burundi for the summer and that also was the case in 2015 when we were both at Bongolo. But this this year it just didn’t happen, so pray for her, too.