A Snapshot of Namumu

Welcome mat 

Namumu.

It’s a place I’ve prayed would frequent the pages of my journals and blogs. It’s way past time for me to share Namumu with you, so maybe it can frequent your prayers and thoughts and journals too.

Namumu is a community run orphanage that shelters, feeds, and educates orphans and vulnerable children in the Siavonga District of Zambia. (from their website)

Namumu is two-fold. There is the orphanage center. And then on the premises, there is Namumu Primary School (grades 1-7). 

Map of Zambia that is painted on the side of Namumu Primary School

Playground at Namumu Primary School

The school was originally started for the orphanage, but since has been opened up to the community because there was a great need for a school in that part of town. It may only be a 15-20 minute drive for me to get from Namumu to the primary school in town, but it’s a much longer walk, up and down mountainous Siavonga for the kids. On any given school day, you see kids walking up and down the hills to get to school. It’s not like there’s a school bus to come pick them up. By the time they get to school, they’re probably already exhausted. And so Namumu opened up to keep some kids from having to make that trek.

Grade 1 students

Kids here wear uniforms to school. I think it’s another thing that gives them a sense of community. These kids clearly belong to Namumu Primary School because of their green uniforms.

 

Grade 3 students and classroom

The classrooms at the school are, well, not the ideal classrooms by American standards. But they are some of the nicest I’ve seen in Siavonga. And the class size is more manageable than most I’ve seen too. There are maybe 30-40 kids per class instead of 60-80 like the main school in town.

And then there’s the orphanage. Right now, Namumu cares for about 55 children, but they have the potential to house up to 80. When I first went to Namumu, I was a little struck by the conditions in the dormortories. There were bats in the ceiling boards and the bat feces were seeping through the boards and down the walls. Sorry if that image grosses you out. But at least you weren’t living in it. I can’t even describe to you the smell. But thankfully, since that first visit, they have taken the ceiling boards out and are in the process of cleaning and repainting the girls' dorm so that they can then move to the boys' dorm, which is in the same conditions.

The girls' temporary housing while their dormitory is going under improvements

So at the moment the girls are living in the chapel while their dorm is repaired. Maybe it doesn’t look ideal to you, but I promise it’s a thousand times better than what they were living in before this move. I was happy to see they carried their “Welcome to our Palace. Feel at Home” sign with them to the chapel. I always found it to be in such stark contrast to their living conditions, but at the same time I loved the message. You are welcome. This is home. 

Namumu does some great work for their kids. Both the girls and the boys have maize fields that they plant and harvest each year. Namumu also raises goats and hens. They currently have 212 hens that lay eggs twice a day. They are then able to sell those eggs and use the money to help support themselves. They also are in the process of starting carpentry and sewing programs so that the children at Namumu can have a means of providing for themselves when they one day venture out on their own.

Namumu's hens

And that’s Namumu. It's just a snapshot of it so that later, as it becomes a bigger part of my story here, you'll know what I'm talking about. Plus, I'm way overdue on a blog update too :)

(And a little shout out for some of my most cherished readers... I love and miss you, Mr. O's class! I'm so thankful I can share my life in Zambia with you even when we're thousands of miles apart from one another! Thanks for encouraging me to update my blog again.)

He Allures Me Still

I've spent the last 16 days camping out in Hosea every morning. Kinda a random place to camp out? Maybe. You probably know the story (at least the Redeeming Love version), but camp out there for 16 days? Well it was well worth it, let me tell you.

At the very beginning of Hosea, we find this little known prophet asked to do something a little crazy--marry a prostitute. Then he is asked to name each of their children with some peculiar names: Jezreel, "No Mercy," and "Not My People." Great names, huh? Hosea's family is to be a picture of how Israel "commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD" (Hosea 1:2). Ouch.

And then for thirteen more chapters the Lord tells of all Israel's sins, the ways they have left God, and the judgement that is coming their way. It's not a pleasant read. It's really not pretty at all. Just page after page of all Israel's whoring around. It's almost uncomfortable to read.

"Their deeds do not permit them 

to return to their God.

For the spirit of whoredom is within them,

and they know not the LORD" (Hosea 3:4).

"For a spirit of whoredom has led them away;

and they have left their God to play the whore" (Hosea 4:12b).

"You have plowed iniquity;

you have reaped injustice;

you have eaten the fruit of lies,

Because you have trusted in your own way

and in the multitude of your warriors,

therefore the tumult of war shall rise among your people,

and all your fortresses shall be destroyed" (Hosea 10:13-14).

"It was I who knew you in the wilderness,

in the land of drought;

but they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;

therefore they forgot me" (Hosea 13:5-6).

And I shake my head at those Israelites. After all, Hosea is not the first or last book in the Old Testament full of the Lord's plea for Israel to return to Him once again. How could they be so ignorant? How could they continue to rebel?

And then I stop. I am those Israelites. I'd hate to have all my sins and shortcomings written out like theirs. Even recently, I have depended on my strength, run to lesser "gods," and forgotten the true God. And let me tell you, it was rough. I trusted in my own way, and reaped iniquity as a result. I've had some rough days here. I have really struggled at times. Some days, I've struggled well. I've run to the fortress of my God and remembered who He is and rested in His strength and peace. Other days, the struggle hasn't gone so well. I've run to other comforts, other idols, and looked for peace there. And let me tell you there was none.

But the beautiful thing about Hosea, is that woven throughout Israel's sins and judgement are beautiful pictures of God's grace and mercy:

"And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD" (Hosea 2:19-20).

"Come let us return to the LORD;

for he has torn us, that he may heal us;

he has struck us down, and he will bind us up" (Hosea 6:1).

"Sow for yourselves righteousness

reap steadfast love;

break up your fallow ground,

for it is the time to seek the LORD,

that he may come and rain righteousness upon you" (Hosea 10:12).

"So you, by the help of your God, return,

hold fast to love and justice,

and wait continually for your God" (Hosea 12:6).

I deserve every bit as much judgement and condemnation as the Israelites. I am no different and no better than them. I have a heart prone to wander just like they did. But that's the beauty of grace. I can't even return to Him without His help. He is steadfast. He is faithful. He is full of grace. I come to Him in my brokenness and sin and He clothes me in the beauty of Christ's righteousness. I go after other lovers, other sources of fulfillment, and He allures me still and speaks tenderly to me (Hosea 2:14). What a Savior we have!

--I read through Hosea as part of an online Bible reading plan with the She Reads Truth community. Check out their website here: www.shereadstruth.com. New reading plan starts tomorrow!--