Returning to Zimbabwe from teaching first aid courses in East Africa in April 2009 I was contacted by MSF-Belgium with whom I had served during the recent Cholera epidemic to fill a junior management position under the expatriate Co-ordinator of Technical and Logistics, with the promise of training in Logistical management of the whole operation for a two year permanent contract. The trade-off however, was later explained that I could not be doing any other type of work even on my own time during this period because it was against MSF policy, as staff should be on permanent standby in case of emergencies. Even arranged and approved vacation leave could be cancelled with any immediate effect. Thus, instructing courses, taking mission trips, or any other excursions would be difficult to arrange with certainty.

The work began well with some good learning of systems, technical requirements, equipment and management. As MSF’s Zimbabwe mission grew rapidly however, I found myself operating more as a property maintenance manager: expatriate staff homes, construction, warehouses and communication systems, all from an office behind a desk. My health began taking strain after a month in that environment… I soon resigned to the fact that I was not designed to sit at a desk!

Soon I was visiting the physiotherapist and chiropractor for attention to my back a few times a week. It turned out that my desk job was accentuating the irregularities in my back – imbalanced muscular development along the right side of my spine – a result perhaps of the motor vehicle accident I experienced in my Land Rover on return to overland Missions in June 2007. Increasing pain and discomfort forced me to seek help. A special weight training program began to rebalance the structure and strengthen musculature on the opposite side of my curving spine. As if perfectly timed, I took a pre-arranged week off and travelled into Mozambique to accompany the Woodward family on safari. (See Mozambique Safari ’09, coming soon).

I was concerned about my back for this safari with the additional day pack on my back and rifle on my shoulder. Surprisingly, all the bending and creeping, stalking and long miles of walking in search of crop-raiding elephants, my back strengthened, suppled up and I found myself pain free again… and I was happy. I just seem to function better in the wilderness…?

Back in Harare at MSF a big and important decision had to be made on my return… should I sign my life over to MSF for the next two years? MSF then made it clear that the training they had promised in Zimbabwe may not be honoured by Belgium who made the final decisions. Staying would also cause me to lose anything else I had worked toward these past few years. I reasoned that my main motive to stay with the NGO was for the “security” of a small though regular monthly retainer and possible training. But at the expense of my soul! With that realisation I felt absolute conviction to walk away, to take a chance, trust my heart and pursue its deeper convictions. I resigned with immediate effect in accordance with my probation, accepting MSF’s request to be on call for any emergency reaction that they may choose to attend to, believing that another Cholera outbreak was likely soon. We went our separate ways in peace, both richer for it.

Only one month prior to my probation end I had also received a phone call from a Hungarian man who had hunted buffalo with me last year. Istvan had been on safari in Tanzania recently but it had gone bad! He and his collegue wanted to come back to Zimbabwe… could I arrange something?

Within two weeks I had a safari arranged, with my father and a cousin to do the guiding. However with the change of staus at MSF I could now do the safari myself. My cousin returned to his family fishing trip and I was off to join my father in the Zambezi Valley for two weeks of adventure.  (Watch for the next instalment for the feedback on this Zambezi adventure!)

I had a great time learning from MSF. Through my time with them I gained confidence, skills, more order and self dicipline. The time in the City of Harare also enabled me to be more a part of the local church, involving myself in the men’s groups, home cell, and even a cycling team, some guys with whom I competed recently in South Africa in the Highveld 94.7 Cycle Challenge with 26000 other cyclists!

Guarded by an army of heavy wet clouds the dazzling glaciers of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, drifted slowly rearwards of our morning flight on Precision Air from Kilimanjaro International in northern Tanzania to Kenya’s Kenyatta International on the outskirts of Nairobi.  “We will reach there within the hour,” I said to Josh, gazing through the small east side window of row five. 

We had just spent a week teaching a SOLO Advanced Wilderness First Aid course to the mountain guides of Tusker Trails, a company specialised in leading adventurous trekkers to the “roof of Africa” – the summit of Kilimanjaro.  With a class of seventeen Swahili men I was privileged to have SOLO Founder Dr. Frank Hubbell and WEMT-Fireman Josh MacMillan join me with the assistance and blessing of Mandate 3 Ministries, as we explored styles and techniques of teaching our courses to people where English is not their first language.  The experience proved invaluable toward developing future materials and coaching for instructors who would come out to teach our Village Medic courses in the developing world, particularly in Africa.

On clearing customs in Nairobi we were met by our host for the next week, Pastor Murray Jackson of Crusade International, a Kingdom-minded missionary whose experience includes 25 years serving in East Africa.  Through Murray’s invitation and coordination the three of us joined him to find ourselves airborne again, this time over the grassy savannahs of the East African Rift Valley.  Descending toward the airstrip of Kitchwa Tembo Lodge on the northern edge of Masai Mara National Park the clusters of coloured dots speckled on the mottled landscape below soon became herds of Masai cattle, with slope-backed wildebeest and stripe-coated zebras running thin dust plumes off the airstrip as they escaped the descent of our approaching thunderbird.  For the next eight days Kitchwa Tembo was to be our home and base of operations as we trained a variety of lodge, safari, security, ranger and medical personnel in the skills of trauma handling as Wilderness First Responders.

Our time in the “Mara” was abundantly blessed.  Our SOLO team taught 17 students for five full days focussing on trauma as could be experienced in this remote wilderness.  We sowed of our knowledge, skills, time and resources, and reaped great satisfaction from the progress made by our students who grasped the hands-on concepts and instruction extremely well.  We also enjoyed the privilege of regular short visits into the National Park through the Oloololo Gate to view amazing wildlife and capture memories on camera (I am sure Josh was military trained in automatic fire, considering the rate at which his cameras shutter was exposing “shots”!)

This Mara Triangle is formed by the western edge of the rift-valley escarpment, the Mara River where it brakes away from the slope to meander in convoluted curves southwards toward Tanzania, and the Tanzanian border, an imaginary line separating it from Kenya and demarcating the crossing from Tanzania’s Serengeti Game Reserve into Kenya’s Masai Mara.  Our memories of the people here and the wildlife experiences set a passion in our hearts to return someday soon.

While Frank and Josh winged it back to the USA after a stormy departure from the Mara, I met up with a ministry and outdoor leadership training group from Nairobi called Dawntreader.  A city-car taxi from the airport to Nairobi’s centre, followed by a Matatu ride (mini-bus shuttle) into the night toward Nakuru, and a further taxi ride (suffering a puncture with no spare or jack!) took me with my hosts to a private farm and the adventure centre, arriving after 10 p.m.  The hot meal was a warm welcome, as was the comfortable bed in my private two-man tent.  The next morning I took a run, hot shower and got into teaching straight after a hearty 3 course breakfast!

The following four days were intense with evenings included as I taught an AWFA alone – but with only 5 students it was a great deal of fun!  We all worked hard and the results paid off.

My thanks to Eddie Frank and Julian of Tusker Trails – we trust we shall further expand our joint influence into Tanzania.  Thanks also to Murray and Ruguru.  I am certain that between Crusade International and Dawntreader with their work in Kenya and East Africa, God has greater outreach in mind for SOLO and Mandate 3 as we continue to advance the Kingdom of God through partnerships.   Asante sana.

Muungu yu mwema!

Karibu,

Bwana Rowan

The rainy season came at the perfect time in November to complicate the efforts of NGO’s who had responded to the outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe in September 2008. Without adequate medical resources in the country’s government clinics and hospitals, even before the emergency, it was an effort by the international community through NGO’s such as the UN and MSF that supplied, financed and coordinated the efforts and resources to deal with and bring control over the Zimbabwean Cholera crisis. Expanding their efforts further afield as the bacterium spread, a demand for more manpower and local resources increased accordingly.

Having recently returned from Zambia teaching the first Village Medic course for Overland Missions I was oblivious to these surreptitious efforts of NGOs (as most Zimbabweans were because until that time there was still an official State denial of the existence of cholera in the country). However, compelled by the Holy Spirit I approached MSF (Doctors Without Borders) to explore the possibility of teaching our SOLO Village Medic Courses through the MSF network. Sadly this idea would not fit in with their policy. They were however recruiting staff for the emergency – drivers, nurses, doctors, and logisticians.

I queried if further, hoping to get some use of the EMT training I carry, but unless I was a nurse or a doctor I was not suitable – but what about logistics – could I set up and run a camp? Well of course I could. I hadn’t been there 20 minutes and I was being asked to start the following morning – with suitcase in hand!

Suitably packed and equipped I duly arrived the next morning ready to run a bush-based CTU for the next three months… but plans had changed. The departure was delayed as we needed some essential supplies – how well did I know the city of Harare, I was asked. Knowing it pretty well from previous years of living here I found myself rapidly denied the isolated task of managing a remote emergency Cholera Camp to be given a desk, access to a driver and vehicle, and a shopping list.

So it was that from mid November 2008 till mid February 2009 I served as a volunteer logistician and purchaser for MSF in Harare, Zimbabwe until the cholera was on a decline and we began closing and withdrawing our volunteers and CTUs from the remote regions of the eastern part of the country.

I left MSF on a good note, glad for God’s provision of a place to live and my living expenses taken care of for the past three months. I had gained some new experience, grown in confidence, made some great contacts and friends. Now I focussed on the deeper burning task of my heart – a mission trip to East Africa to teach SOLO Wilderness Emergency Medicine to Mountain Guides of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Parks Service and Safari personnel in the Masai Mara, Kenya, and to a leadership training and ministry team out of Nairobi, Kenya.

(What I did not know for certain was that on my return to Zimbabwe MSF would be looking for me again.)

Harare, Zimbabwe, Africa

11^th November, 2008.

To all my friends who have partnered with me through 2008,

Thank you for your love and encouragement, gifts in kind, in time, in prayer, in word, meals, homes, lodgings, transport, vehicles, fuel, use of telephones and printers, postage, funds, flights, licences and permits, conversations, advice, accountability, books, knowledge and wisdom; and the many cups of tea!

Finally after working on the many facets of how, where and when to get the Village Medic training launched into the peoples of Africa, with a vision for the world, as a means of the Gospel of Truth reaching the lost with God’s love, we – you and me – were able to officially get that opportunity this October, 2008. 

While teaching the second Missionary Wilderness First Responder course of the year at Overland Missions Base in Zambia in September, I was blessed with opportunity to arrange a return visit specifically to teach the foundations of First Aid, required by curriculum, to the LIFE Project’s Community elected Pre-school teachers who would be launching their Community Pre-schools for under 6’s on 1^st November 2008.  It was a challenging but blessed time, a report of which I enclose below.

While there I was also able to run a Farming God’s Way workshop with the Community Liaison Volunteers – elected leaders from 8 of the Zambian villages where Overland is working through the SAM Project.  Agriculture was a more familiar topic for the students than was health and First Aid, so presenting an easier teaching opportunity for me.  Again, please see the detailed report below.

As I continue to modify the First-Aid course materials to suit the local African village student in their unique circumstances and various levels of understanding, while trying still to live in Zimbabwe under very difficult economic circumstances, I thank God that he is in control and that he is doing amazing things to our benefit.  He has supplied miraculously this year in protection and provision, and I have been blessed with the joy of serving his people as a friend, brother, father, prophet and teacher in the USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

As the rainy season looms beneath large grey cumulonimbus clouds I have retrieved my tent from Zambia, and taken up residence in Harare, Zimbabwe, closer to family.  From here I shall continue to study, write and serve others, preparing myself and the materials as necessary, for more effective advances in the season to come.  I would love to return to the USA this year to visit with you however such a trip is probably beyond my budget at the moment.  Should God have a plan to get me there I am His to take where He will. 

I shall write again soon.  I covet your prayers and your letters.

With much love, and appreciation,

Rowan

Report back on Village Medic primary course with LIFE project, Overland Missions.

Date:               23-24 October 2008.

Place:  Footsteps Church (Pastor Dragan Zondani), Songwe Village, Livingstone.

Facilitator:       Rowan Lewis, Mandate 3, Village Medic (Rowan Lewis Africa).

Hosts:              Carl and Megan Wonderhaar, LIFE Project, Overland Missions, Zambia.

Attendees:       Village Community Liaison Volunteers & 30x Preschool Teachers of LIFE Project;

Purpose:          To equip LIFE Preschool Teachers with a minimum of curriculum-required First-Aid knowledge and skills, to the standards and methodology of The Village Medic Program, under SOLO through Mandate 3.

This was a preliminary venture to, at the very least, fulfil the above goal, and explore the levels of understanding present amongst these rural communities so as to create an ongoing multi-level series of teachings for First-Aid and health within them.  Ultimately it is hoped to achieve an acceptably high standard of Village Medic personnel within a representative portion of each community, while improving the general health knowledge and health practices of these communities in general.

1.         After “morning tea” we began our first session at 10:45, the outside temperatures rising above 100 degrees F.  By midday under a low metal roof the heat was oppressive – fortunately the dim-lit church is well ventilated at the podium so I could always get a prevailing breeze through the patterned vents in the wall.

2.         Generally the hands on learning was well accepted, as men worked on assessments (physical exams) with other men, and the ladies argued and finally gave in to working assessments on each other, which with much laughter and encouragement from the others watching, they did very well.

3.         To coach a hands-on practical of the assessment system for 40 people simultaneously was to prove too difficult, so we had a flow of volunteers through the middle of the room role-playing patients and First-Aiders.  The Physical assessment system was met with some shyness initially as people are generally not so physically “familiar” with each other in this culture.  However, an “unconscious patient” remains an unconscious patient when told to do so, unlike in the USA where mock “unconscious patients” are often alive enough to be giving their own advice to rescuers!

4.         We covered Primary and Secondary Assessments with SOAP-notes the first day, going into lifting & moving techniques, and making litters as the activity for the evening session 8 to 9 pm.

5.         The second day covered soft-tissue injuries and treatments, some typical diseases and precautions, building of a simple splint; water and water related illnesses, heat illnesses, bites and stings, animal bites (incl. rabies and tetanus) and African snakebite.  How to make bandages, slings and sterile water with what you have in your village, and long-term wound care, recognising and treating infections also featured.  We also challenged many old traditional myths and mystical practices.

6.         A further full day and a half would have been advantageous to cover more material and reinforce the skills practically.  The whole concept is brand new to most of these “students,” nursing mothers and grey haired men alike.  It takes time to get the thought process rolling on subjects totally unfamiliar.  However, many were very enthusiastic and attentive, able to give feedback afterwards when not certain of their facts.

7.         My observations were that these students will seldom interrupt a lesson to ask a question or reveal that they have not understood, while you are talking.  But they will come afterwards and ask. 

8.         Also, teaching by diagram and illustration helps a great deal.  My sketches on the whiteboard were well received with some folk approaching the board to sit on the reed mats and feed on the visuals as I taught.

9.         One student who had previously attended the Missionary First Responder course and struggled with the information and language overload found that a simple revision as this was to him made many things make better sense and reinforced his understanding.

Reinforcing the lesson with examples from their societies is very important:

         finger amputation while carving a wooden axe-handle;

         knife wound while communally cutting up an dead elephant;

         lower leg fracture from a kick-tackle in a soccer game;

         Head-neck injury from falling backwards off a run-away donkey-cart.

         Reviewing the lessons again in six months time would be invaluable!

10.       Trauma-drama:  Acting out the story of the accident, and then the rescue and treatment, you can often be rewarded with some alarmingly accurate results as the students attempt to mimic you.  Some however, are dangerously lacking any concept of anatomy, physiology and possible threats to the human body.  I had to use the butchering of goats and chickens (a common part of typical village life) as a reference to initiate an understanding of blood, veins, arteries and pulses.

11.       “That was a very good answer… but perhaps include the following…,” is a better way of coaching and encouraging more feedback than telling them that they are wrong.  Remember that this is a society that is so set on politeness that if you asked if you were on the road to heaven you would be told “yes” even if you were knocking on hell’s gate, for want of offending you.

So, in closing, I suggest working with smaller groups, in even numbers of each – either men or women (so they can pair up with same sex for practical assessments); a minimum of three full days to allow for more information and practical reinforcing of the material.  Also, a cooler time of year without night classes as the info overload needs the evenings free for reflection and self study/revision.  Many folk still have to go draw water from the well to carry back for heating and bathing purposes – there is still a large aspect of life without the modern conveniences that we have to work around and respectfully consider.  Providing good food, drink and regular meals will help to keep energy levels high; and a simple language point-by-point manual with pertinent illustrations (like a children’s story book), will help to make this course a very worthwhile foundation.  An introductory lesson on the Village Medic Bucket and the use of its contents can later be added for select VM representatives upon reaching standard.

Report Back on Farming God’s Way seminar with SAM project, Overland Missions.

Date:               27 October 2008;

Place:              Rapid 14, Overland Missions Base, Zambia, in the Vegetable Garden;

Facilitator:       Rowan Lewis, Mandate 3 & RowanLewisAfrica.

Attendees:       Leaders and Community Volunteers of LIFE and SAM projects from 8 different rural village communities.

Hosted by:      SAM Project:  Teddy Ncube, Village Headman & Personnel Officer, Overland Missions, Zambia.

Purpose:          To challenge and equip the CV’s to the Farming God’s Way agricultural system as a means to break out of the poverty chains and help their communities toward working to make a profit through small scale intensive and well managed agriculture by applying the principles of the Kingdom of God.

·         The program began late as the said attendees failed to arrive at the prearranged pick-up point at the pre arranged time.  However, they later were collected from Mukuni Village by Teddy and arrived at the Overland Base, Rapid 14, at 9:15 a.m.  Teaching began at 9:40, 1:10 minutes after the appointed time.  A tea break was necessary at 10:30 for tea and sandwiches (breakfast), class resumed again at 11:00.  We broke for lunch at 12:45, and resumed the practical side of the FGW seminar at 13:30 wrapping up in the field at 16:00.  Attendees were transported to Songwe village to join the other Life Project Staff for further training.

·         Teaching focussed on an introduction of why FGW was of importance to our rural communities as a God-ordained means to overcome poverty through the disciplines of Kingdom of God principles applied to all areas of life, including farming.  The history of LIFE project’s focus on orphans and the difficulties of western strategies as perceived by an African mindset.  Then placing the onus of responsibility for poverty alleviation back on the shoulders of the African people themselves.  Zambia just celebrating 40+ years of independence from colonial rule and dependency on the western world needs to be free from the begging syndrome, and the dependency syndrome.  Attendees took up the slogan from the teaching, “We are not supposed to be beggars…” as they worked in the small demonstration plot.

·         After lunch together attendees cut measuring sticks marked at 60cm and 75cm lengths.  Using the 60 cm stick they made a Planting String to measure the planting-hole spacing from typical things available in their village settings – bailing twine and bottle tops.  Bottle tops were placed along the string at 60 cm intervals.  They cut pegs from sticks collected in the bush to mark the rows. 

·         With Base lines measured and set square using a sheet of A4 paper, pegs were placed using the second stick to mark the rows 75cm apart.  With the Planting string stretched between the row markers attendees holed out the planting stations with hoes, 15 cm deep for the holes using compost, and 8 cm deep for the commercial fertilizer holes, at each bottle top mark.

·         With typical plastic bowls and metal table spoons fertilizer could easily be laid out evenly in each planting hole.  With empty Jam tins, a measure was standardised for the application of compost.

·         Mimicking rain we watered half the “field” and planted it to Maize, as we would do in the village field, with the view to overplant so as to thin later while leaving room for typical 20% germination failure.  The other half of the “field” shall be planted after the first official rainfall (minimum, one inch /25mls), as a standard comparison to the fields of those in the villages who rely totally on the rains.

·         The whole field was then covered liberally with a layer of dry field grass and dry leaves (swept up from the grounds and stored in a pile during August & September – our Fall) to form a mulch to protect the soil and create a suitable habitat for microorganisms to flourish and enrich the field.

·         Planted stations were watered again and shall be watered regularly until the rains arrive.

·         We closed out the day with questions and answer time, and a final prayer.

I believe the FGW concept was well received and the principles of doing everything On Time; To Standard; Without Wastage; and With Joy, were challenges in season to all who attended.  It gave vision, with promise and so created hope.  Many of the attendees requested seminars to create demonstration plots at their churches, or at their own home fields for easier management.  FGW is not a “quick fix” solution to poverty, but it tests faithfulness and perseverance, and creates dignity with a long term investment yielding rewards.  For example:

1.            You have to give to receive: Unless you put nutrients back into the soils you are taking food from, they will not yield as high next season.

2.            We have a hope and a future: Composting the planting station this year will be a deposit for following season’s crop, as it takes the year for it to break down adequately – so we are investing in our future with hope.

3.            God has given us everything we need for life and godliness: Your plant residues (stalks, husks, etc.) took effort and investment to produce – they are part of your “savings” and provision.  Guard them carefully as they are your mulch for the following season.  Everything has a value.

4.            Address the invading sins while they are small: Weed on time before the weeds become a problem to get rid of.

5.            There is a time for everything:  Timely preparation can save losses later when unforeseen circumstances rob you of adequate opportunity: Prepare, plant, and weed early to harvest plenty.

I believe that as this ’08-’09 year’s cropping season follows through we will have testimonies of God’s faithfulness and requests for more of this teaching as it liberates and equips God’s people to live as Jesus intended – with life to the full!  Thank you for the opportunity through your partnership to achieve this foundation in the lives of the few who will be faithful to teach others while practicing what they preach.

Blessings and regards to you all.

Rowan Lewis

“You take five handfuls of freshly picked tips of this herb,” Angela began, “chopped and pounded in the pestle like this… Then add twenty five drops of the oil…” she continued as she instructed me in what she called “learning by doing.”  I had been pounding dry herbs the day before, making the usual novice mistakes and spilling the mix all over the ground… but with practice and coaching I learned.  The fresh herbs were easier.

 Angela was diagnosed with HIV over six years ago when her husband died.  Weighing just 34 kilos doctors gave her only two weeks to live.  She sought the help of a Catholic sister who introduced her to an herbal remedy regime.  Today at a bouncing 78kg she is a qualified herbalist and, under the guidance of nursing sister Judy Ervine, she runs the hands on day to day functions of Eden Herbal Clinic, the health division of Eden Children’s Village in Doma, north central Zimbabwe. 

Pounding herbs for medication

ECV hosts an orphanage, a school, and a clinic as its main functions.  Judy’s husband, Rory Ervine, an evicted white farmer from the Doma area serves the operation through a few hundred hectares of agricultural land leased now from the local government.  Food crops and dairy cattle are raised for food, milk and butter, as well as an abundance of various produce which serve the herbal needs of the clinic.  All the crops are raised here under the conservational minimum tillage system of “Farming God’s Way”.

 Following my return to Zimbabwe in March 2008, every mention of being a “Wilderness EMT” and “Wilderness Medicine Instructor” sparked comments of “Bush Doctor,” of Great-Grandma’s home remedies, or competition with the African Traditional Healers.  Such conversations connected me to various HIV-related orphanages and associated herbalists, herbal remedies being the only affordable solution available for improving health and healing on necessary budget restrictions in the crumbling economy of Zimbabwe, 28 years after political independence.    

Infection treated with Nasturtium leaves

 

My interactions with these fascinating associations rekindled an old interest in natural health.  So I found myself in Eden, scrubbing out wounds, treating infected injuries, debrieing dead tissue from third-degree burns, being appalled at the STD’s, and dressing everything with natural remedies made on site.  Later I learned how to create cough mixtures, antibiotic ointments and eye and ear drops, among others.  I even learned the consultancy system and began to get a handle on which treatments to give for particular ailments.  It is fascinating the power in the simple plants we often take for granted, when it comes to health and healing of our natural bodies.  Surely, God made things good, their fruit for food and their leaves for healing [Ezekiel 47:12].

 

 

 

Delicate work on Epileptic burn victim...

Back in Zambia this September at Overland Missions’ Rapid 14 Base I was joined by fellow Solo instructor, missionary and friend, Rachel Campbell, to teach a Missionary Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course to the latest intake of students in Overland’s Advanced Missions Training Program.  With nine American students and four local Zambian students (part of the pastoral and greater ministry team) the course posed many interesting and positive challenges for students and instructors alike.

The mixed class was a great blend of characters, ages and cultures. Adding to that a crash time factor of a ten day course to be completed in just 7.5 days!  The students did well, however, and Rachel and I were very proud of their progress.  They faced some prominent challenges discussed below.

Familiarity:  Young Americans are continually exposed to the emergency medical arena – the world of “911” – through the mediums of News and TV, encouraged by a nature of morbid curiosity.  However, although the facility exists in most African city environments, few people in rural areas, even have medical insurance!  The concept of dialling up a phone number in case of a medical emergency is almost a last resort, rather than a “first response”!

Language and terminology:  Medical terminology and American slang is difficult for the average Zambian to grasp.  Although those whom we were teaching have a fairly good grasp of the English language, it was taught to them in a British-based education medium (Zambia being a former British colony), and probably as a third or fourth language to their native dialects – remember, Zambia boasts 72 different languages!

Culture:  An interesting debate arose between the students as we entered the exciting field of Wilderness Bites and Stings, the realm of African belief and superstition fuelling the banter (of course I blew a little on the flames!)  Myths, legends and false beliefs about creatures that may bite you in the African bush have been the sole responsibility for the deaths of some native people who believed so strongly in the effects of a bite that they convinced themelves to death!

The result of this for Rachel and I as educators was to realise that we first needed to teach the Zambians foundations for understanding the functions and structure of the human body in terminology they could relate to from an African’s experience, before we could deal with ailments and restoration techniques which promote healing and health. 

Being born and raised in the African system I delighted in discovering ways to reveal the mysteries of this fascinating creature that God has so fearfully and wonderfully made in his own image – Man!  Following the course I remained at Overland Base for an extra day to work with the four Zambian students, going over any misunderstandings (they are often too polite… or self conscious to stop the lesson, inconvenience the teacher, to request  further explanation of a point they have not fully grasped).  We had fun through that day as I also learned ways to communicate essential lessons in a more appropriate manner. 

For example:  The structure of an egg helped to explain the structure and functions of the skull, cerebrospinal fluid and the brain.  Our standard test for circulation, sensation and motion (CSM.’s) in the fingers or toes of an injured limb would determine the presence of Blood, Feeling, and Movement (BFM).  Such definition and purpose of function made it easier for the Africans to understand and remember.

A fall while snow skiing is far out of their grasp, but a soccer injury, coming off a bicycle at speed, an amputated finger while chopping wood, or being blinded by a lightening strike to the hut are definitely things Africans can relate to.  Climbing a tree for honey, getting stung by bees, then falling from the tree with resultant fractures, contusions, possible lung injury and potential anaphylaxis from an allergic reaction sounds complex but is a realistic scenario!  So is the goring of a man by an elephant when chasing it from a field of corn!  Hyperthermia is a difficult one to understand – because when a man is termed “frozen” here, he is actually dead and rigormortis has set in.  No one in a rural village possesses a working refrigerator, so freezing is an unfamiliar term!

So, armed now with a new way of thinking for the African villager student I shall return to Overland Missions later in October to train a short but essential Basic Wilderness First Aid course designed on our Solo WFA but as suitable to our students’ needs as possible.  The target is the newly appointed pre-school teachers who will fulfil this function in the newly established Life Learning Centres in each of the target villages Overland Missions’ Life Project is now working in.  They must be prepared before the first of November.  This will be a learning experience for me also, and essential feedback for Solo and Mandate 3 as we press on to launch the full fledged “Village Medic” training program to the rural people of Zambia and other peoples of the world.

Please continue to pray for me?  A letter of encouragement is always appreciated, and I long to hear how you all are.  If you care to write, I will respond.  Meanwhile, pray for my ongoing work to be full of safe travels, divine health and godly wisdom, full of joy – doing all things in the spirit of God who is Love.  Love opens the way to the hardest of hearts and heals the deepest of wounds, overcoming a multitude of sins.

Love deeply, and laugh much, give generously and thank God in all things at all times.  Despite what it seems, He is working all things together for the good of those who love him and are called to His divine purpose and pleasure.  Bless you.

With love from Africa,

Rowan

In a nation where the majority of people live on the brink of starvation while fat politicians argue over who is to rule over who, I found myself in the wilderness, far from the madding crowd, in the company of a few good men.  Prayerfully we fellowshipped with each other, dilligently searching, encouraging one another, stretching our faith and challenging each other to not accept the lesser prizes offered to us, but to go for the greater and more worthy prize – in keeping with life more abundantly.  So we sweated our weary bodies over many kilometers of rugged, broken hill country in the crumpled escarpment region of the Zambezi’s rift valley – an area offering no mercy to man or beast.  Heat, many empty miles, and the firey bite of Tsetse flies all added to the challenges of this formidible hunting area.  Not mentioning the great abundance of surface water, the ten foot tall grasses which obscured even herds of buffalo from view, and fires scorching the mountains in ravenous lines of creeping fury.  Yet all this still bore for me a sense of wild and raw adventure and a peace that only those who dare to walk on the wild side can ever understand.  So we fed six extended families, provided income for a dozen, two months wages just in gratuities – affecting homes and extended families of sixty to seventy people, while still raising a substantial fee toward conservation of wildlife which, in the current political and socio-economic climate, would be falling heavily toward the endangered side of the equation through poaching for food by a hungering populace.  Added to that the Good News was lived out in demonstration and in spoken Word before the menfolk of that region of Africa.  Harmony and brotherhood, honor and respect were displayed between white and black  – me and my tracker friend Enoch – a striking contrast in the light of recent media effects.

For more of the story of a hunting adventure with a heavenly perspective please click on the picture below:

Rowan and Emras Staff, Harare, Zimbabwe

The lame woman looked up at me, a weak smile cracked through her dry skin, anaemic looking for an African. I watched her expression; carefully looking for suspicion or surprise at being collected by a white boy, but instead I only found humility.  She was younger than I had first thought, weathered thin by her long illness, I imagined.  I could believe that her pocked cheeks and thinning, discoloured hair once belonged to a warm and welcoming face.  Still her eyes drew my attention.  Even in her pain they were kind, while she still had the grace to be grateful.

My first day in the ambulance section had me checking through my vehicle, getting it washed down, familiarizing myself with the operating system, including the all-important Beacon and Siren!  Later I was taken through the Jump Bag and Airway Kit, then over time I am learning all the paperwork systems, Medical Aid company requirements, and where all the clinics and medical facilities are located in the city and surrounds.

Challenges are finding fuel, the municipal water supply that gets cut off at unannounced times (can’t clean down a spoilt ambulance), and unavailability of basic and essential medical supplies!  The devaluing currency matters also make things difficult for some – like affording the bus fare to get to and from work, and affording food.

Day to day however, this is a very “Shona” experience!  I am the only white fellow in the crew, and much of the business is conversed in the local colloquial by necessity – most patients speak English as a second to fourth language!  I am fortunate to have a fair grip of the “Sezuru” or “Shona” language and culture, so get on very well with the staff and team on Emergency Medical Rescue Ambulance Service (EMRAS) Base.  It is fun to work with a lively bunch.

I have been crewing with a young EMT named Tawanda.  He, like many of the folks here, was traumatised by his exposure to the recent political violence.  They had the job of ferrying many of the victims from the rural hospitals and clinics to Harare for higher care.  In some cases they were arrested, detained, or turned back from their intended duties at the various state police roadblocks.  It has been interesting to share with, and encourage these brave and caring people.

Please continue to uplift in prayer the victims of the state-sponsored violence who have lost limbs (like the opening scenes of Blood Diamond – “Short sleeve or long sleeve?”), mobility, their homes, livelihoods, savings, food, resources, tools, family members and more.  Also pray for their families and those others whose lives have been traumatised by these insane atrocities against humanity.

Thank you for your love poured out to the wounded hearts of Zimbabwe’s people as you have strengthened me to share my heart and life with the likes of the EMRAS Team and the patients we have cared for.

With love in Christ,

Rowan

 With Air Zimbabwe on 17^th July I flew into Victoria Falls, jumped a shuttle bus to the border, taxied into Zambia, to Overland Missions Base on the Zambezi River gorge edge overlooking the boiling waters of Rapid 14.

Settled into my tent, I joined my dear friends Dr Frank Hubbell and Pastor Paul Richardson of SOLO – freshly flown from USA, to joyously catch up on the past few months since I left them in Conway, New Hampshire.  We had descended on Rapid 14 to teach a SOLO Missionary Wilderness First Responder course to 16 students of Overland Missions’ second Advanced Missionary Training program.  Advanced First Aid is one among many essential skills the AMT student will graduate with following three months of intense experiential training.

Over the next ten days I was blessed to work with Frank and Paul teaching practical emergency medicine and creating Trauma Mayhem for our students to solve as they reinforced the lessons.  The course went very well and the students did great.  Running this course in the wilds of rural Zambia, the scenery, the ruggedness, mountain bikes and construction sites for realistic props – all added to the uniqueness of this joint program between Mandate 3 (Solo’s faith based non-profit for humanitarian ventures) and Overland Missions.  For me, teaching with such great instructors and godly men as Frank and Paul was a rich blessing, as the misty vision we had spoken about a year earlier – me training to teach for Solo in Africa – became a reality.

The course ending, I bussed up to Lusaka where I successfully obtained a 12 month visa for the USA stamped into my Zimbabwe passport, so I am able to return to the States any time within the next year.  God is good!

David told the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of the army of Israel, whom you have insulted.”                 1 Samuel 17:45

I am sure that the Philistine boys were forbidden to throw stones in play after David met Goliath, and the sound of a stone whistling through the air was a fearful thing in Philistia, a severe beating the punishment of all small boys who would intimidate another by such outrageous jest!  But it wasn’t the stone itself that brought the giant down.  Just like the rock that crushed the feet of the image in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, so the Rock of Ages, the Stone that the builders rejected which has become the cornerstone, our strong tower and firm foundation, Jesus Christ, is the small pebble who brings down the pride of armies, collapsing giants and champions.  Even so today we are reminded that “It is not by might, nor by power, but by [the LORD's] Spirit” that our battles are won.  Jesus promises that we are already victors, more than conquerers, kings and priests over his kingdom, and we are here to establish it.

As I went to war in the Spirit today I felt the Holy Spirit, the God of the armies of Israel, prompt me to declare with the authority I have as a son of God in Jesus, that the followers of this “Mugabe-Madness” have their eyes supernaturally opened by the Spirit of Revelation – the Spirit of Light, so that they would see with fresh comprehension the TRUTH about what they are doing in their violent actions and destructive ways; and command them to repent!

Repentance requires a change of thought process, a change of mental authority over our own minds.  I declare a renewing of the minds of the people of Zimbabwe, followers of both sides, but especially those involved in violence and intimidation, that they will see the truth of what they are doing, the truth about the instructions they are following, and come under the greater authority of the LORD Jesus Christ.  I pray that their hearts be grieved and they turn away from the madness they are caught up in and the lies they are being led to believe.  “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love, and of power, and of self control.”

They follow out of FEAR of death.  But, “It is the thief who comes to kill, steal and destroy.”  The same ‘father of lies’ ‘goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour.’  His weapons are deception, intimidation and fear, with empty promises of god-like exultation.

Remember that we do not war against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  I invite you to stand with me against the ruling Lion Spirits of the Shona people, namely the spirit of Mbuya Nehanda (Grandmother Nehanda was a Spirit medium who led and directed the two major wars in former Rhodesia colony) and of Kuguvi (who was a male spirit medium – regarded as the Spirit of War, who served alongside Mbuya Nehanda).  Both original mediums were hanged in the City of Salisbury when they were finally caught and sentenced in late 1800′s, but their spirits have new hosts and are fearfully respected by the ruling party leadership who consult these spirit’s mediums for direction and wisdom with which to run the country.

It is my belief that should a change in government occur in the natural, perhaps under the MDC, a largely Christian-based and represented Party, the powers of the demonic “ancestral” forces will be curbed and persecuted at all levels in the spiritual realm, even being driven out.  Thus the battle for power ensues.

Pray that the church will recognise the authority it has in Christ and stand and speak Life into the land by the Holy Spirit… instead of the complaining and bickering we so commonly hear!  And also to pray for the leadership of the country – Robert Mugabe especially.  Pray that he has an encounter of revelation with the Living God!  Just as Paul (Saul of Tarsus) had on the road to Damascus!  That his pride and arrogance be shattered and he be humbled by the realization of the truth of what he has created and permitted to continue happening.  Pray that God’s overwhelming LOVE pierce his hardened heart and flood his soul, and stop his mad lust for power and wealth and fame.  Pray also that he find the forgiveness he needs in his own heart to free himself from the bitterness and resentment he has allowed to fester for so long that it has driven him to this end!  He has the authority as ruler of the nation – Pray that he reverses the order he gave to create this madness – killing, stealing, destroying – the fruit of the tree of EVIL – and bring his generals and militia leaders back under control for peace not violence.