My name is Kate from Chandlers Ford United Reformed Church. I’ve been working with a Christian organization called Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Africa for a number of years, and right now I live in Zambia. YWAM is involved in many different kinds of Christian ministry but the focus of my work is HIV and AIDS, in particular looking at the impact this is having on the life and work of the mission in Africa.          

Since I last wrote we now have a new family at the base in Lusaka (Orlando and Jane, with 4 year old daughter Bupe), who will be running the clinic. They are working on raising enough money to finish the clinic ($6,000 is still needed to finish the interior), and at the same time building a small house where they will live.

Thank you so much for your prayers for my recent travel to Tanzania. I had a great time visiting the base in Dar es Salaam and attending the national staff conference where YWAM were celebrating their 20^th year in Tanzania. There are 4 bases in different parts of the country. It was quite a unique experience being one of only 2 white people, amongst about 150 African and Korean YWAM staff.

I found out when I arrived, that a speaker had dropped out so they gave me a whole morning session to share about HIV. My Tanzanian friend Niwaely is trained as an HIV counselor and is now studying social work at Dar es Salaam University. When I asked her to join me at the conference, she apologized that she would be busy in class. But then her lecturers went on strike, so she was able to come at the last minute and she gave an excellent talk about HIV from the Tanzanian perspective (Niwaely is pictured on right, wearing white jacket). The base in Dar es Salaam is running a very busy clinic and they kindly offered to give free HIV tests to any YWAM staff who would like to know their result. At least 20 people volunteered which was an encouraging response, as it takes a lot of courage for people to take the test. 

When travelling in Africa, my preferred mode of transport would be chauffer driven luxury 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser. However pleasant this may sound, public transport offers more of a cultural experience. In August, I left Zambia with 3 friends, using a local bus going to Zimbabwe. A smartly dressed man wearing a tie and holding a Bible addressed the passengers with a short sermon. This was followed by a prayer for a safe bus journey and then he took the collection. I’m grateful that we had a very safe bus trip, although my ear drums felt battered after hours of being blasted with loud music. The following day we took a bus from Harare (capital of Zimbabwe) towards Mozambique. Soon after the bus set off, a man stood at the front wearing a casual jacket and flat cap, and I wondered if he was giving us a sermon in Shona (the local language). However he pulled out an implement which he could not adequately define in Shona, so he used the English description ‘vegetable cutter’. To my amazement he then pulled out a cabbage and started slicing it. I was very impressed as my only experience in slicing cabbages has been using a knife and chopping board on a stationary surface. Soon after this very novel demonstration, the bus broke down. We decided to abandon the bus and find another way to get to the Mozambican border. We eventually made it to Mozambique, quite exhausted, and slept very comfortably while trying to ignore the all night party in the city of Beira (which was celebrating its 104th birthday). The following day Pauline and I got up very early to try and get a seat on the train going to a town called Marromeu. We found the train already ‘full’ of people, but thankfully managed find the last 2 available seats in a carriage. We set off soon after 6am and stopped at the next station where more people boarded the train. This procedure was repeated at several more stops and there were eventually people and bags on every available floor space, plus somebody’s child on my lap. ‘Sardines in a tin’ comes to mind. 

Pauline and I arrived safely in Marromeu and were taken to the YWAM base which is under construction in a rural village. We stayed in a lovely newly built house with no electricity (yet) but clean running water. There was a discipleship training school running at the base with 10 students (8 Mozambican, 1 Brazilian and 1 Zimbabwean). On a couple of days I

was given the opportunity to share about AIDS with the students. We happened to be at the base the same week that a helicopter run by an organization called Mercy Air was taking YWAM health workers to villages on the Zambezi delta region, not reachable by road. Pauline and I were thrilled to go on a helicopter on 2 days. We helped with some of the health work and after the vaccinations and child health checks, I gave a short talk to the community about HIV and AIDS. We had a very interesting discussion about the appropriate age for girls to marry. The local women seemed to think that it was best to marry off their daughters at the age of 14 to keep them out of trouble!  

I take back what I said earlier about my preferred mode of transport in Africa. Helicopter wins by far. Pauline and I were very privileged to have the 2 remaining seats in the Mercy Air helicopter that dropped us in Beira, before heading back to South Africa. This was a 40 minute flight as opposed to at least 10 hours on uncomfortable trucks and buses. We had much to thank God for that day! 

I have listed my itinerary below and would really value your prayers for each item:

On 8^th September a team of 7 from the URC in Chandlers Ford arrive. Please pray that they will all stay healthy and really enjoy their time in Zambia.

· On 3^rd October my friend arrives from the Isle of Wight to volunteer at the YWAM base and visit an orphanage for a couple of weeks. Pray he has a great time here.

· On 8th October I will be travelling to Uganda to meet up with the YWAM team that I used to work with over 10 years ago (the HIV ministry called Facing AIDS with Compassion and Education). We will be travelling from Soroti (East Uganda) to Arua in North-West Uganda, then going across the border to Yei in Southern Sudan).  South Sudan is a newly formed country in Africa and many Sudanese are returning there from several of the neighbouring countries and from Northern Sudan. With such a mix of people coming from different places, there is an urgent need for HIV and AIDS awareCont/d…     ness, so we plan to give training to the YWAM team in Yei and possibly also teach a tribal group that YWAM teams have been visiting.

· On 5^th November I will be travelling to Zimbabwe where YWAM South Central Region is holding a regional staff conference from 7 to 11 November 2011. One of the main conference topics will be AIDS, and I will be helping to organise afternoon workshops on ‘living with HIV’ and other health issues. YWAM staff will be attending from Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia  and Zimbabwe.

God bless you.

Kate