Today, the Gonzaga-in-Zambezi 2017 team was joined by past Zambezi alumni and the Gonzaga Choir (also traveling to Zambia in May) for a “missioning” service.
Through poems, prayers, reflections, and song, the theme was clear — we are sending Zags to Zambia to build relationships and practice accompaniment. There are incredible opportunities for growth when you allow yourself to be vulnerable with the people you are serving and working alongside. For the past eleven years, Gonzaga students have found these moments in the rural and remote town of Zambezi, Zambia. As Father Baraza said, it is now time to start running toward this growth.
Katie Barger (Zambezi ’16, Gonzaga Accounting ’18) was asked to provide a reflection for this missioning service and I believe her wise words provide encouragement and challenge for the journey ahead.
Katie Barger
“To my old friends, new friends, and fellow Zambaes,
In 7 days you will all get on a plane en route to Zambia, whether that be with the Gonzaga in Zambezi group or our wonderful choir. I can imagine there is probably lots of nervousness, curiosity, excitement, and fear floating about. If you are freaking out a little right now, I understand. I remember anxiously waiting in the line to check my bag at the Seattle airport, looking around at my friends, who would soon become family, only to realize that I was the only one not wearing my Chacos on the plane. I had a minor panic attack. I frantically opened my carefully packed 24.9 pound bag, found my Chacos, slipped them over my white socks, and nervously put my tennis shoes in my bag, hoping that this last-minute switch wouldn’t put my bag overweight and cause our bush plane to crash in the middle of rural Zambia the next day. So, speaking from a girl who thought her world was ending because she wore the wrong shoes on the plane, just know that I get it. However, in an attempt to ease your mind, maybe just a little, I would like to offer some words of advice and hope as you embark on your journey.
- Just because everyone else wears their chacos on the plane doesn’t mean you should too. I promise your feet will not fit back your the straps when you land.
- Bring at least 2 more pairs of underwear than you think you need. I promise you really can’t go wrong here.
- Ask the Mamas lots of questions. You will find that they are the greatest sources of wisdom in Zambia.
- Name the spiders. It makes them a little less scary.
- Enjoy your classes, or choir performances, and talking with students. Don’t stress too much about following your curriculum or schedule. Trust yourself and your team.
- Go on lots of walks. It is a great way to check-in with each other and learn more about Zambezi, or other places you might find yourself in.
- Practice your luvale and lunda with the kids. They will love teaching you new words!
- Explore the market. You will meet some amazing friends there.
- Become familiar with “Zambia Time,” which means almost nothing will start on schedule. Use this extra quiet space while you wait for people, to reflect, journal, or practice your singing, whether that be for a performance or for Mama Josephine.
- Give yourself the grace to feel frustrated, mad, or sad. It going to happen, and that’s okay. This is part of learning.
- Be present and intentional with those around you. Keep your eyes, ears, and heart wide open.
- When you say a word wrong, or don’t know what to do in a situation, remember the Zambian Proverb “Even monkeys fall out of trees sometimes,” and lean into your failures. Support one another.
- Watch as many sunrises and sunsets as you can. They are truly magnificent.
- If you ever get invited to a Zambian Wedding, to go see your friend’s recording studio, or to meet your friend’s friend’s 10 day old baby, always accept. Just say yes.
But especially, my greatest hope for you all that you let yourselves love and be loved. I hope that you come to love Zambia as a new home, or rather as a home you’ve finally met. Not because it’s perfect. Not because of all the incredible experiences you all will share, but because you come to know it for all its parts; good and bad, beautiful and broken, just as you will come to know one another, and just as you know yourself. I say this with caution because I think we all know that you can’t hope to learn everything about a town or even a person in one month, but a relationship isn’t confined to a month, it is forever developing, changing, and always has the potential to grow. I was looking back in my journal the other day, and ironically, I didn’t finish my last entry. The last sentence I wrote was “I know this journey is far from over. It is,” and then I guess I must have fallen asleep that night. But I think that is what my trip to Zambia means to me. It simply is with me everywhere I go now. It is in the newfound confidence I have when I walk in my chacos. It is in the sunshine I see as I remember singing about its beauty with my friend Glory. It is in my dreams of pursuing education one day because of the joy and power I found in simultaneously learning and teaching in Zambia. It is in the gratitude I have for one hour masses here in the States, but also in the longing I have to burst out in vivacious song and dance during every slowly sung hymn. It is in the greater strength I now feel when I use my voice as I am reminded of Jessy, Helen, and all the Mamas. It is in my left ankle that mysteriously decided to swell one night in Dipalata, and is still larger than the other to this day. It is in the frustration I feel when others talk about people in Africa as disempowered and perpetuate stereotypes, as well as in the continued empathy I feel for their lack of understanding. It is in my deepened desire to ask tough questions, listen to the stories of those who are different from me, and the curiosity I have to discover our universal humanity. Zambezi has woven its stories into the threads of my being and continues to so in new ways, and in new patterns of its beautiful chitenge. I wish you all the courage to let Zambia and one another do the same for you. Kisu Mwane, my friends. -Katie Barger”
We are flying out next Tuesday, May 16 — we hope that you will follow along in this blog as we discover what Zambezi has to teach us.
Dr. Joshua & the Zags in Zambezi ’17
Yayyyy!