Our our once and future history with Zambia.
THAD: This story started 40 years ago with a thought while I sat beside a pretty girl named Mary in my high school English class: “Thad May may marry Mary.
The rest of the story… is history. Our present story starts with a question: “What does it look like when a guy in his 50’s has a mid-life crisis?” Quits his job? Finds a beautiful blonde? Runs off to some exotic place? Well, in my case...all of the above. Only…that beautiful blonde also happens to be the love of my life for 35 years, she also quit her job, and she wants to go to the same exotic place I do: Zambia! Yes, the Mays are moving to Zambia in early 2011.
MARY: Actually, there’s a story behind this. My husband woke up the day before Christmas last year muttering words that Jesus once spoke to Peter, “Launch out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4). What may look like a mid-life crisis I actually believe is a calling we both share.
THAD: We’ve been to Southern Africa now 7 times: Great stories, good times, but short. Now, as empty nesters, it seems we’ve being invited to come out into deep waters.
MARY: After working 15 years as a hospital nurse, giving some of the best years of my career, I wondered, “Is this what I still want to be doing in 5 or 10 years?” No, actually. I want to teach village health care to the poorest of the poor. My heart wants to be in Africa.
THAD: And as a civil engineer for the last 30 years, I realized I’m still waiting to do what I really want to do with my professional skills – help develop clean water and sanitation projects in places where this fundamental health need is desperately needed.
We want to finish our productive career years serving in Africa.
MARY: We have a history with Zambia. I first lived there in the summer of 1972 with my Mother and Father. I volunteered in a hospital, went safari camping on weekends, and even turned down a few marriage proposals! Nineteen years later I returned to the same city, this time to follow Thad’s engineering assignment for a year, arriving in Zambia with 4 kids, 6 carry-ons, and 18 bags in tow. That was a spectacle!
THAD: More recently we’ve led short-term teams of college students to Zambia. It seems we always leave a piece of our hearts there after each visit. We now believe Zambia is part of our future. People ask us, “How did you choose Zambia?” Actually…Zambia chose us. It’s part of our story.
MARY: We did our missions training with All Nations and plan to join an All Nations team that began working with the Lozi people in 2009.
THAD: Long-term, our goal is to serve a church planting movement among the indigenousness villages: Simple churches that reproduce simple churches. This will happen hand-in-hand with community development: Assistance and training in practical skills our team can offer.
MARY: Short-term, it’s all about learning the local language – Lozi. We’ll be using the LAMP method. Coming as learners, we make friends in the process, learn about their culture, and discover the stories God is already doing in their culture.
THAD: The challenges in Zambia are massive:
- Extreme poverty
- Illiteracy
- 80% unemployment
- 20% HIV infection rate
- Highest orphan rate in Africa
But real, sustainable development that transforms communities out of poverty starts with their story. The transformational development story belongs to the community. It will be their story long after we leave. Learning the language is a key to discovering that story. This can make sustainable development possible.
MARY: I get life from one-on-one, compassionate caring. So the natural way I respond to our calling is to connect with Zambians at a heart level. That’s why learning the local language is exciting for me. Mother Teresa says, “The miracle is not that we do this work, it’s that we do it with joy.”
THAD: And me? I’m just blessed to be doing what I love, where I love doing it, with the person I love most. A calling? As one friend put it, “It’s really a love story: A love story between Thad and Mary; A love story between you and God, and a love story between the Mays and Zambia
MARY: But in the end, this story is not about us. It’s really about God’s love story over Zambia. We want to be a part of that. We’ve been invited to step into this story, launch out into deep waters, and follow Jesus in Zambia.
THAD: This love story is still being written. Many of the villagers we’ll be working with are illiterate; It’s an oral, story-telling culture. Storying will be a primary means of communicating God’s story.
MARY: We still call Kansas City our home, and will travel each year to connect with friends and family, from one heartland to another.
THAD: We invite you be a part of God’s love story over Zambia. Make a difference in someone else’s life…and change your life along the way. Thanks for listening.
THAD: Oh, one more thing. Check out the blog to learn about different ways you can partner with us to serve the poor Zambia. But we’re limiting it to only two (2) kinds of people actually: Artists… and Non-Artists :-)
MARY: So, if that’s you…consider yourself invited!
Love,
Thad & Mary May
Email: Thad_may@hotmail.com
