Journeying With God – Part One

A Letter from Paula Cooper, serving as regional liaison for East Central Africa

Spring 2024

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Dear friends,

I returned to Zambia on Aug. 1, 2023, to resume working with our international partners after spending over 14 months in the United States. During that time, I was recuperating, visiting doctors and having tests performed. You may recall that I had been admitted twice (one week apart from the other) to Medland Hospital in Zambia, where I spent three months recovering from COVID-19 and then Pneumonia twice. It was a close call, but I have been saved, thanks to God and your prayers!

Upon my return to Zambia, I was immediately invited to lead a workshop called “Woman of Integrity” for the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Synod of Zambia’s Ministers’ Wives Conference.

While in Lundazi, I visited several ministries of interest to our constituents in the U.S. We visited the Ndaiwala Mission clinic and learned that they need staff housing, wheelchairs and motorcycles to travel to the surrounding villages and provide preventive training.

In the rural area, we also visited the CCAP Zambia’s Phalaza Clinic. We are grateful to the donors and Presbyterian Women (PW) for their donations and support in the clinic’s construction. The clinic needs furnishings for the examination and waiting rooms, as well as equipment (wheelchairs, beds, etc.). The CCAP Health Department is building three staff houses for two nurses and a doctor to live on-site.

The CCAP Health Department also plans to construct a Mothers’ Shelter to house pregnant mothers until delivery. Since the nearest hospital is over 30 kilometers away, the mortality rate is very high in the nearby villages. They pray for a home for the chaplain to live on the grounds and offer spiritual and supportive care to patients and families during times of crisis.

To show their gratitude the villagers offered me a chicken. In the past when I had been offered a chicken, I asked someone else to take it for me due to my fear. This time, however, I faced my fear and graciously accepted the gift myself.

I met with the principal of Chasefu Theological College (CTC), Rev. Bannet Muwowo. He expressed the need for a mission co-worker to coordinate agricultural training for pastors-in-training. Previously, one of our mission co-workers had served with the Agriculture Income Generating Activity (AIGA). The coordinator of CCAP’s Relief & Development (R&D) Department accompanied us as we surveyed the land that had been used for the AIGA program and the model farm. Hopefully, R&D will be able to lend some support in the meantime. The borehole, funded by the gifts, is broken due to the constant use by the students and the community. I recommended that the CCAP Protected Water Department or the county take a look at the borehole to determine the problem and strategize ways to fix it.

CTC needs help providing food to the students and maintaining operations. CTC began construction for a female hostel in 2021 using a grant awarded by PW; however, the project still needs to be completed. Since further funding is needed to complete the hostel, I encouraged Rev. Bannet Muwowo to write another article for the Zambia-Zimbabwe-Mozambique-USA (ZZMUSA) Mission Network to highlight the need.

We also visited Kambaza Village, where the CCAP R&D Department has initiated four programs to empower the village volunteers. The villagers can participate in programs like the village savings and loan, nutrition and health, gender justice, and agricultural training. We listened to the villagers’ testimonies about the program’s impact and the challenges they faced. We observed a brief activity during our visit involving plowing and planting seeds in the field. As someone from the city, I find this agricultural training program a new experience and am excited to see how it will promote sustainability for CTC students and parishes.

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending the Centennial Celebration of the Chasefu Mission Station, where I delivered a short greeting on behalf of my office and the PC(USA). The event was a joyous and memorable occasion, attended by many pastors, congregations and choirs from the CCAP Synod of Zambia. The singing was lively and filled with joy. The chief and political officers from the Chasefu District were present, adding to the event’s significance.

The CCAP Education Department took me to visit two CCAP secondary community schools (Mphamba and Msuzi). At Mphamba, we met with one headmaster. At Msuzi, we met with two teachers who are also school counselors. Both schools receive the Educate Our Girls (EOG) scholarships for 20 young girls. Girls were significantly affected by the school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many were forced into early marriages, became pregnant, or couldn’t return to school due to insufficient funds to pay for their school fees. EOG is committed to saving girls. At Mphamba, girls are facing various personal and domestic challenges. The school has noticed a rise in pregnancy among school-aged girls and hopes that the same scholarships can be offered so they can continue their studies. Mphamba provides abstinence programs and counseling, but they feel helpless. They need a chaplain to help them address these issues.

The girls at Msuzi are performing well academically and receiving positive messages from the school’s guidance counselors. They inquired about a similar program for the boys. We were given a tour of the boys’ boarding house and discovered it desperately needed renovation. Both schools allow students to attend day school or boarding during the week.

I attended the CCAP General Administrative Committee (GAC) meeting Aug. 22-25. The GAC took place about 35 minutes south of Lundazi. The theme was Exodus 14:14. The meeting was very informative. I could see the bigger picture of the Synod and comprehend their practices and process of implementing the administrative process at the presbytery levels. Pastors receive transfers to different congregations through appointments during the GAC meetings while reports from the presbyteries are presented. Presbyterian parliamentary procedures were followed during the business meetings.

I was asked to deliver the morning and evening devotions on Friday, Aug. 25. I also brought greetings from The Reverend Cheryl Barnes, our Africa area coordinator testifying to our shared commitment to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for your undying prayers, and financial support, and for taking this journey with me. It is genuinely warming our hearts! Please continue to keep our international partners and their ministries in your prayers!

May God continue to keep you and yours.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Paula

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