Zambia 1977

My very first passport, and my first trip outside of the UK. My employers sent me off to Zambia for a month; what a culture shock for me! We flew in to Lusaka by a large jet, and then by a smaller plane to Ndola, and on by road to Luanshya, where I was to spend one month working at the Baluba Copper Processing Plant. The town was well laid out, with avenues named after exotic plants - I stayed in a villa in 'Jacaranda' road.

The manager of the project turned out to be from the same part of UK as I was, so I had a good welcome. I also discovered that an English family at the church in Luanshya were not only from my birthplace but had been members at my childhood church, and were well-known to me: they were flabbergasted when I turned up on their doorstep! They introduced me to a church in Luanshya that had been founded by missionaries from the same church background as myself. All very cosy, you might say, but I soon found myself asking questions about my own beliefs and understanding of Christianity.

As I was staying for a month I was allocated a roomy villa which I shared with a colleague who returned to UK after about 10 days. To my surprise, I was allocated a 'boy' (older than I was!) to look after my laundry and keep the place tidy. I did feel somewhat uncomfortable about the arrangement - especially when I found out that he lived in a small 2-room hut with his wife and 7 children, whilst I had the sole occupancy of the villa for another three weeks.

I attended the church with my friends and immediately was struck by the way in which we had 'angliicised' the African church. The hymns were in English (16th c variety!) as were the prayers - Africans using 'Thee and Thou' while addressing God. The congregation was approx 80 people, 90% of whom were Zambians. The leadership was all male - and all white. There was one Scottish lady missionary who was probably the most knowledgeable and talented Bible teacher, but she was not allowed to preach in the presence of men! I found myself thinking more about the ways in which we 'do church.' ................ to be continued.