Tupa

I had the privilege of distributing Christmas Boxes to about 300 orphans through the Samaritan’s Purse program Operation Christmas Child. It was priceless to watch the faces of the orphans light up as they opened them. First we took the boxes to the orphans Noah Ministries has been working with. I explained to the kids how to use etch-a-sketches and that you can’t eat play doh. They had no idea what to do with their bubble tape gum or the deodorant that had been given to them. There were a few little kids who were terrified by stuffed animals but all in all the kids were thrilled to have such cool stuff from the united States. We happened to distribute them on the coldest day we had had in Likasi so far in the cold season. There were hats and gloves and socks for the kids to stay warm. It was such an honor to see those kids receive a tangible blessing from God. It’s like on that day the love of Christ was no longer an abstract concept but a tangible toy they can hold on to for years to come always knowing that although in society they are the lowest in God’s kingdom they are valuable.

Next we went to distribute them to the street children. I happened to be close to a little boy I’ve gotten to know on the streets named Tupa. He’s a smart kid and always seems to win over the hearts of people and find food. Tupa means throw in Swahili. Tupa is also the word used for throwing away trash. He was abandoned as a little kid. Nobody wanted him. Now he is given only what others throw away or throw at him. Rocks are thrown at him to make him go away. I was talking with an Australian business man about Tupa one day. He said he thought the best thing he could do for Tupa was to give him a job at his factory. His workers are fed a meal everyday and he offers fair wages. But the Australian man said he won't because he is against child labor (Tupa is somewhere around 12 none of the street kids know how old they are. What’s worse in this situation? So Tupa remains on the streets begging for everything and getting the world’s throw aways.

Tupa opened his box quickly but then slammed it shut. He looked up in sheer amazement. I could tell he was thinking to himself “how did I get so lucky?” Warm gloves and socks, candy, toys he had things that would make other kids jealous of him instead of the usual other way around. Then I saw Gaylord (as hilarious as that name was on Meet the Parents it is a really common name around here) open his box and totally ignore the toys and candy to grab the tooth paste! He held it up high and exclaimed “I’ve been searching for some of this!” It was a beautiful day.

Booklets were also given to each kid called the Greatest Gift of All. They were in French with cartoon black families depicted in brightly colored pages all about how Jesus is the great gift of all. These booklets have spread all over the communities and even the adults have described how much they appreciate and have gleamed from them.

I’m so thankful to everyone who worked with Operation Christmas Child and made it possible for all of these orphans to experience the Love of God. There are so many kids like Tupa in the world. I encourage all of you to pray for them and do what you can to help the Tupa’s around you wherever in the world you may find yourselves.

Kisankala

I went out to a mining camp for a week with some friends. It was a great experience sleeping in luxury tents complete with carpet and electricity with ablution blocks situated behind each one. They had a play station 3 and a 50” flat screen tv with satellite. We were in the middle of no where but I had wireless internet and microwaves. Eric, a Zambia guy who works there, has a pet monkey named Coco. He’s pretty cheeky and loves to break into the kitchen and wreak havoc so he stays tied up by a tree most of the time. One night Eric asked us to baby sit Coco. We accepted and tied him to a tree between our tents not thinking it would be a big deal. At around midnight Coco started screeching like only monkeys can. He just wouldn’t stop. All night long he made those high pitched noises and we didn’t get any sleep. When we went to move him in the morning there was poop everywhere. It was a really bad idea. Coco jumped on my back and started picking through my hair and wouldn’t get off. Never again will I baby sit a monkey.

The mine is just a few kilometers from a village. I was surprised with how much stuff they have in the village and how temporary it is. Most of the residents just showed up in hope for a mining job and live in make shift tents created from plastic tarps and sticks. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. I was amazed that even those who had lived in the village for years had never bothered to make bricks or thatch a roof using grass. Some of the artisanal workers are making more than $100 a month (consider that most people make $1-$2 per day) but you would never know it by looking at their homes. I visited some of the churches and was surprised to see so many. A lot of people don’t go to the churches though because there aren’t any trained pastors so the sermons are in general pretty bland.

I asked around about the chief and availability of land for people interested in agriculture and everyone said the chief would give out land but no one seemed to be growing anything. That was probably the most shocking thing about the village. In Zambia that is the only way villages survive. Here people see farming as beneath them. It’s like being a janitor or garbage truck picker upper. I really don’t understand why. They have impressive rain fall here. I’ve heard the soil has been depleted of resources and requires extra fertilizer but the price of food is high. I heard this country imports 90% of its food and my general observation is inline with that. Agriculture is the foundation of an economy. I wish Congo would realize they can’t focus solely on their mineral wealth.