Gracepoint Discipleship/Medical Team
Darin Davis, Missionary Supervisor
July 30 – August 8, 2003

I. Schedule

A. Review schedule
B. Remember to rest
C. Leave time to eat

II. Food and eating

A. Breakfast choices – Oatmeal, Mealie Meal or Rice and sugar
B. Lunch choices – Crackers with peanut butter, cheese, and or sardines. Chips and cookies.
C. Dinner Choices – Chicken, Beef, spaghetti, mealie meal, and or rice.
D. Snacks – If needed we will go to Shoprite and you can purchase your own snacks, drinks, fruit etc.
E. The translators will also be eating with us. We will get some girls to cook dinner for us each evening. The translators will want mealie meal and relish.

III. Supplies for bush work.

A. We will provide a footlocker of cooking supplies and food, eating utensils, tent, sleeping bags, and more. I will go over all the items with you in Mongu.

B. Water – Water needs to be used as sparingly as possible. Do not assume the translators or those cooking will use your water sparingly. Remind them to be careful how much water they use. The water you bring with you should be used for drinking and cooking things that will not be boiled when you are in the villages. The villages may have water wells or other sources of water. This water is usually fine so long as it is boiled. However, the water in some villages is very dirty and should not be used for drinking or cooking but used for bathing and cleaning dishes only.

We will bring plenty of water for the team to use to drink. Water for cooking food that will be boiled and bathing water will be obtained from a well in the village. Be sure the drinking water is not wasted.
A bottle of Jik (bleach) is in the footlocker. Below is a recipe to make even the dirtiest water drinkable in case you are in an emergency.

Fairly clean looking water – 2 drops of bleach per liter or slightly less than a teaspoon for four gallons of water.

Sort of dirty looking water – 3 drops of bleach per liter or slightly more than a teaspoon for four gallons of water.

Let the water stand for thirty minutes then you can drink it. I suggest you also boil it for added safety.

IV. Speaking through an Interpreter

Be prepared! You may be asked to extend a greeting to a group, give your personal testimony, or lead a brief devotional. A greeting is an expression of prayer or goodwill from your home country/church. When speaking through an interpreter, stop after each sentence or two to let the thought be translated. Avoid American terms or expressions. Avoid jokes. Stories are well liked. You may want to mention something positive which has happened since you’ve been in Zambia.

Your translator has sacrificed a lot to help you. It would be appropriate to give a small token of your appreciation such as kwacha and a small gift. We would suggest Kw 5,000 per person for each day they have been with you. Daren will take care of the gift of kwacha for you.

V. Culture and Cultural Stress

A. Cultural stress progresses slowly and may not even be noticed in a two-week trip. However, everyone is different and the stress will be different for each person.
B. What can be done about cultural stress?

1. Keep sharp spiritually. Put on the full armor of God daily (Eph. 6:10-20)
2. Keep a sense of humor.
3. Relax your grip on your own culture. Realize that others have survived this experience and with God’s help, you can, too.
4. Do not belittle the host culture.
5. Major on relationships with people, those of the mission family, with your team members, and with nationals.
6. Do not lose faith in yourself, your host culture, your mission, and the positive outcome of your experience.
7. Be flexible.
8. Keep your expectations in check. Staying busy is not the goal but relationships are.

VI. Cultural Sensitivity

A. Adapting to another culture in order to become a stronger, more effective witness was standard procedure for the Apostle Paul who wrote: “I become all things to all men in order that by all means I might save some.” (1 Cor. 9:22)

B. Why is it important to adapt to the culture? The quality of relationships that you develop will be key to the effectiveness of your ministry, and the kind of missionary experience you have. You have only one chance to make a first impression.

C. Do not worry if your plans are not going as you had hoped. Do not worry if people do not arrive when you expected them to come.

VII. Being a Good, Effective Missionary

Part of being a good and effective short-term volunteer missionary is being flexible. Sometimes you may find that things are dirty, transportation is slow and inadequate, food tastes different, and the toilets are less than to be desired. But remember! It’s an everyday thing for the nationals and the missionaries.

If you are privileged enough to visit a national’s home, be sensitive! They will give you the best they have even though it may not seem much to you.
Lower your expectations. Don’t expect your standards of cleanliness and personal hygiene to be theirs. Don’t assume your priorities are their priorities. Don’t judge the new culture as being backward, inefficient, etc. But see things as being different.

Look at this trip as an opportunity to meet brothers and sisters in Christ that you did not know previously.

VIII. Cultural Do’s and Don’ts (an example list)

A. Dress modestly. Dresses or skirts are to be worn by women whenever in Mongu or the UZT Geographical Area (Western Province and Eastern Caprivi Strip of Namibia). Shorts or pants can only be worn by women when at tourist spots. Men can dress casually such as jeans, khakis, shorts and any type of shirt. However, at church khakis or the like with a collared shirt should be worn. A tie is not needed since very few Lozi men can afford or find a tie. A hat is a good idea to shade yourself from the hot sun.

B. Bracelets or ankle bracelets should not be worn. It is a sign to the nationals that you are inviting the ancestral spirits or warding off evil spirits. WWJD bracelets and beads are not advisable.

C. Smoking, chewing or drinking alcoholic beverages will NOT be tolerated.

D. If you are interested in leaving a monetary gift for a national, speak with the missionary first before mentioning it to a national. Make no promises to nationals about how you can help them in the future. If you are listening to a national tell you how they would like to build a church building, for example, and you say, “That would be a good idea,” to the national you have promised that you will help. Be careful how you comment. We suggest you simply listen but do not respond verbally in any way until you have had time to pray, think and talk to the missionary about it. There is always a lot more to consider than we can understand. There will be many needs which you see but gifts of any kind unless given to everyone will cause jealousy and problems which will last long after you are gone leaving them for the missionary. Reserve gifts for those with whom you have worked the closest. When in doubt consult the missionary.

IX. Greetings and other Silozi

The Lozi people greet by gently clapping their hands together and then shaking one another’s hands once or maybe twice. As they are doing this they also bend slightly at the knees. This is a gesture of respect.

A. Mulumeleni Sha – is a generic greeting for anytime of the day
B. Muzuhile chwangi – How did you rise?
Nizuhile hande – I rose well.
C. Mutozi chwangi – How is your day getting along?
D. Nitozi hande – My day is getting along well.
E. Nitumedzi – I thank you

X. Malozi Worldview

A. Respect - In this culture relationships are built on respect for one another.
You will notice the greeting is very respectful and humbling. When you
shake hands, always do it with your right hand with your left hand gently
touching the right forearm and slightly bend at the knee. This is a gesture of
respect.

B. Witchcraft/evil spirits – Traditional Lozi beliefs say that nothing just happens
but instead something has caused it to happen. If your crops die it is because of a curse put on them by a witch Dr. If someone in your family dies there is a spiritual reason. If something bad happens to you it is caused by the evil spirits.

C. Ancestral Worship – The people believe their dead ancestors have power over their life.

D. Demonization – You may come into contact with people possessed by a demon or demonized (highly influenced but not under the complete control of a demon). You may become involved in praying for that individual.
Suggestions:

1-Discern their spiritual condition. Witness to them and lead them to Jesus.

2-The individual must want and be willing for the demon to come out.
3-Pray in the name and the blood of Jesus.
4-Pray with confidence. You are a representative of Jesus Christ and the demons must flee in His name.
5-Follow the lead of the Zambian leaders.

E. Jealousy – This drives much of the witchcraft and curses. If a person is jealous of someone else then they will use the Witch Dr. to put a curse on them.

F. Westerners – They view westerners as the answer to most of their problems. They will see your coming to their village as their opportunity to gain physically and may do what they think you want them to do in hopes they will gain physically. This causes obvious problems.

XI. Upper Zambezi Team’s (UZT) Vision

A. Who is the UZT?

1. Conards
2. Davises
3. Helton
4. Stateside Advocates
5. Silverdale Baptist Church
6. Rehoboth Baptist Church
7. Westside Baptist Church
8. Gracepoint Baptist Church
9. Prayer Partners and Church/Individual/Organization
10. Volunteers
11. Nationals

B. Vision – We will be on mission with God to reach the peoples of the UZT Geographical Area with the gospel of Jesus Christ through facilitating church planting movements.

1-UZT Geographical Area – The entire Western Province of Zambia, which is almost twice the size of Virginia or about the size of Nebraska, and the Eastern Caprivi Region of Namibia.

2-Gospel of Jesus Christ –

a. Sinners – They must understand they are lost because of their sin. Ask them: What is sin? What sins are they committing?

b. Repentance – They must repent from their sin. I ask them if they are willing to turn away from the previous mentioned sin or sins.

c. Believe and Confess – They must believe in their heart and confess with their mouth that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died, was buried and was resurrected from the grave. His death paid the price for our sin.

d. Pray in faith – They must pray confessing their sin; repenting from their sin and inviting Jesus, the Son of God, the One who died and rose again to save them from their sins.

e. Avoid as best as you can mass evangelism whereby individuals are saved by raising their hands. You will have many raised hands but few changed hearts. Instead invite people who are interested in repenting from their sins and trusting in Christ to meet at a certain time and place.
This is not always possible especially when using the Jesus film. On such occasions I do the following.

1-Ask them to raise their hands or some other outward sign that they are sinners. I ask a few to name some sins.
2- Ask them to raise their hands or some other outward sign that they are repenting from sin.
3- Ask them to raise their hands or some other outward sign that they believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross to pay the price for their sin.
4-Ask them to raise their hands or some other outward sign that they have faith that Jesus can save them.
5-Those who have agreed with these statements lead them to invite Jesus to be their Savior and Lord through prayer.
6-Entrust them to the Holy Spirit.
7-Arrange a time for those who have made decisions to meet for more teaching.

3-Church Planting Movement is a rapid and exponential multiplication of indigenous churches within a population segment (people, city or country).

C. Goals

1-To have 300 Baptist churches in the next four years.
2-To Baptize 5,000 people in the next four years.
3-To establish 16 extension Bible Schools in the next four years.
4-Use methods which will be reproducible so that the work will continue without missionary presence.

XII. Church Planting Movement

A. It begins exogenously (i.e. of external origin such as a missionary), but becomes indigenous and self-propagating.
B. It is lay intensive.
C. It is not dependent upon buildings or facilities.
D. It tends to be messy (both in form and doctrine)
E. Subsidy hinders a cpm.
F. Global Observations to enhance a CPM

1-Both regionally and globally, the harvest fields are the frontiers.
2-CPM are inevitably lay-intensive, driven by local Christians and missionaries.
3-In too many instances, the churches we are planting are mules instead of horses (They do not reproduce.)
4-Convention structures and strictures have tended to stifle cpm.
5-Subsidies by churches, conventions and pastors are the death of cpm.

XIII. Application!

A. Help the people wisely and with much prayer.
B. Give gifts, which will enhance the efforts of evangelism and discipleship.
C. Give to the association instead of to individuals or churches.

Note: The areas where you will be ministering do not have an association but there is one formed in the Mongu area.

1-When you do give, give a matching gift.
2-Give to support a discipleship or evangelistic event and give a matching gift.

D. Give to the Lottie Moon Offering and Cooperative Program.
E. Give to the missionaries IMB approved capital requests. These requests are strategic and are used to enable the missionary to evangelize and disciple the Malozi.
F. Do not offer to buy Silozi Bibles. We subsidize the Bibles and are willing to barter goods for Bibles. If certain individuals receive Bibles for free then all will expect the same.

XIV. Requests from the missionaries.

A. Please do not tell individuals and/or churches that you will send money or a gift to the missionary for that church or individual. We will not act as a liaison between you and individuals or churches.
B. Please do not offer or agree to build a church building. It has been proven that the churches can build a church on their own. If we provide the money for one church the other churches are going to wait for their turn. This hinders a Church Planting Movement.
C. Please be careful when discussing the possibility of doing something for a church or individual. A discussion is seen as a promise.

Conclusion:

It is our prayer that your experience will be a spiritual marker in your life. We praise God that He has led you our way and we look forward to working together. Remember that our goals are the same as yours. We want to see all people bow before the Lord Jesus Christ and live for Him.

Gracepoint Schedule

Team 1 – These are the members of Gracepoint who will be teaching Bible studies
Team 2 – These are the members of Gracepoint who will be working with health care related issues.
Team 3 – These are the members of Gracepoint who will be working with the children.
Note: A team member may be on more than one team.

Lunch Preparation teams – Kit and Mary Ann Smith will be overseeing the lunch preparation each day. These teams will be responsible for assisting Kit and Mary Ann in the preparation and packing lunch and water for each day before we depart.

Team A – Shawna Davis

Team B – Mark Robinson, Beth Robinson, Crispin

Team C – Barbie Noren, Diana Kennedy, Lubasi

Team D – Daren Davis, Lori McDaniel, Mike McDaniel

Translator, John Rogers

Translator

Breakfast preparation will be done by Daren Davis or by some women from the village.
Dinner preparation will be done by women from the village.
Cleaning of the dishes after breakfast and dinner will be done by the women.