The Missionary Position

One of my friends here in Zambia was recently describing his stereotypical view of a missionary. Socks and sandals, long hair, floaty clothes…you get the picture. I did laugh at the time when I realised I was actually wearing a raincoat, head torch, socks and flip flops. Not quite the look I would usually go for at home! 

Looking ridiculous in the rain recently

This conversation with friends got me thinking about what a missionary is. The Oxford dictionary definition is ‘a person sent on a religious mission, especially one sent to promote Christianity in a foreign country’. In this context, I guess I could be considered a missionary. I have been volunteering at a Christian school and with an orphan project that has the hope of Jesus at the core of its values. However, in some ways what I am doing is not so different to what many people in the UK do. There are a large number of people in Britain who volunteer or give their time in different ways to support people, relieve poverty or empower others.

Arise youth meeting praise and worship

Growing up, I was inspired by books I read about several Christian missionaries. I was interested to discover their tales of adventure and challenge, and to read about their courage in spite of adversity. It seemed amazing that they would give up privileged lives to spend years doing things such as working with drug addicts in China like Jackie Pullinger, or building relationship with people in Ecuador like Jim Elliot and his friends who were later killed by the Auca tribe. 

But much of the world has changed in recent years. With the advance of technology the world has become seemingly smaller. Moving to a third world country doesn’t necessarily require you to live in basic conditions and in many places it’s much easier to keep in contact with friends and family back in your home country. Poverty also exists in every single country to some extent, so we all come across it and have the opportunity to respond to it, wherever we live.

Not exactly slumming it at the ice cream parlour in Ndola

During my time here I have come to believe that the local Zambian people are often the best people to help other Zambians. They have a far deeper understanding of their own culture than visitors do. For any of us who come to volunteer in their country, our roles should be focused on empowering them to create their own change. 

A young man from a local bush church teaching at a community school

In the Bible Jesus said that the most important thing we should do is to love God and our neighbour. The well-known parable about the Good Samaritan reminds us that our neighbour can be anyone we come into contact with. I think the biggest impact us volunteers working here in Zambia can have is to demonstrate love and care. This might mean giving food to someone who doesn’t have any, or donating a pair of shoes to a child who is unable to attend school because they don’t have own shoes to wear there. It could also mean listening to someone who’s facing a difficult situation or giving up your time to help someone in a crisis. In fact it’s something that any one of us can do in any country of the world. 

An Arise guardian collecting school shoes for her grandson