Getting Ready

I am looking forward to the new experience in Zambia. The Zambia reality will be so different from the Seattle reality. I am going from a country that has very high livability to a country that is among fifteen countries at the bottom of the livability rankings. I know that I am going to be given more than I can ever hope to give. I want the grace to be open to the experience and to learn and allow it to touch my life.

I will have access to the internet while I am in Lusaka, so you can reach me there. I will be updating the log from the parish. I am also on Skype which allows for inexpensive communication from the computer to computer or even to land or mobile lines.

I am arriving at the beginning of the wet season which will bring new growth, some muggy days, bugs and the need for afternoon umbrellas. I have been watching the weather and it has been in the mid 80's for the last weeks. I was told that I did not need to bring warm clothing, but it would be good to have an umbrella.

On Tuesday afternoon, I will board British Air for the Seattle - Heathrow leg. I have a six hour lay over at Heathrow and then fly direct to Lusaka arriving on Thursday morning. Start to finish it will be a trip through nine time zones and take about twenty four hours with the lay-over.

Aids in Zambia

In four decades of independence, Zambia has found peace but not prosperity. Today it is one of the poorest and least developed nations on earth. Around two-thirds of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. Zambia's problems have since the mid 1980s been compounded by one of the world's most devastating HIV and AIDS epidemics.

The statistics alone are shocking:

• one in every six adults is living with HIV
• 98,000 people died of AIDS in 2005
• life expectancy at birth has fallen below 40 years
• 710,000 children are AIDS orphans.

HIV has spread throughout Zambia and to all parts of society. However, some groups are especially vulnerable - most notably young women and girls. AIDS has worst hit those in their most productive years, and, as families have disintegrated, thousands have been left destitute.

From my earlier visit to Africa, I came to realize that Aids is a 100% disease, meaning that it touches the lives of all in Africa.

Ministry

Folks have asked what will you be doing in Zambia? In discussing the sabbatical, Jim McGloin, SJ, the socius and former Gonzaga classmate, suggested a number of things. I will be saying Mass in the parish, helping direct the Province retreat in December, and helping in the planning process for an Ignatian spirituality center.

The picture is of St. Ignatius church where I will be living. In addition to the pastor and assistant pastor there are five other Jesuits listed in the catalog. The Provincial lives in this community as does the Formation Assistant. Others include chaplains and the chair of the philosophy department at the University of Zambia. The church is located near the center of Lusaka. I visited the church with Janet Quillian when we were visiting SU students last February.

Zambia

I depart Seattle on October 30 for a three months in Zambia as part of my sabbatical. I will be living and working at St. Ignatius parish in downtown Lusaka. Lusaka, with a population of approximately 1 million, is the capital of the country.

The country is nearly the size of Texas with a population of 11.5 million people. There are over 70 ethnic groups with their own languages; however, English is the official language of the country. Zambia considers itself to be a Christian nation, reflecting the presence of Christian missionaries since the 19th century. In addition, there are Hindu, Moslems and adherents to indigenous religions.

The Jesuits have been in Zambia for over 100 years. In the 1960's the Oregon Province established a relationship with Zambia and a seven men from the Northwest serve in Zambia. There are approximately 100 Jesuits living and working in the Zambia-Malawi province. In Lusaka the Jesuits have two parishes, a Center for Theological Reflection, novitiate, and provincial offices.