Big questions, and, life doesn't stop

The subject of Migration is one that concerns all of the Cevaa member Churches, whether it is South to North migration, or South to South migration. Some countries are losing their young people to migration (usually illegal), while others are having migrant populations that either pass through their country or try to settle there. From my contacts with the Cevaa in recent years, I was familiar with what some of the churches are doing to carry out a ministry of helping the “weak and wounded” in this area. So, I was taken totally by surprise when the subject came up here and it was said strongly that the immigration problem that these African and island countries are now facing is from the Chinese! For most of them, the problem is with Chinese companies that are moving into their countries and bringing in Chinese workers instead of hiring local labor, as well as taking over some traditional forms of small business. So, this is a problem of "elite" migration rather than poverty-based migration. Going into Kabwe we drove by a textile factory that had been a Zambian-Chinese joint venture. It was enormous. Only, now it is closed and the work is gone. The Chinese are not appreciated here right now. Welcome to one of the downsides of the new globalization!

Packed into the 5 days of this seminar were the high’s and low’s of life. Four of the people here celebrated their birthday this week. Each one was a time of light and happy bantering. But, the day of his birthday, one of the men that had flown with us from Montpellier got a call from his doctor that he must return to France immediately since a blood test he had taken last Friday showed a very serious condition that must not wait for his normal return. On Thursday one of the delegates from Mozambique was feeling ill and saw a local doctor for treatment – something which is always distressing in a country and a language that are foreign to you. He received medication that helped him recover quickly. Then, we had just returned from the festive evening at the restaurant when the head bishop of the Zambian church learned that a young sister-in-law died suddenly that evening right here in Kabwe. She had just left her 13-year old son at a boarding school here when she collapsed and died. Quite a shock for the bishop and great sadness for all of us. The same evening, we learned on tv news that a cyclone was bearing down on French Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. The Cevaa president from Tahiti is here with us and went through a worried 24 hours trying to get in touch with his family back home. We were all relieved to learn that the cyclone had not hit any of the major islands and that all of the president’s family was safe. Our morning Bible studies for those two days were from Jeremiah 20 and Job 1. We had the feeling we were experiencing immediate practical application of what we were reading in God’s Word. Life doesn’t take a break, even for important seminars.