40/40

April 21st-May 20th is our next session of 40/40 in Zambia.  Many of you have heard us talk about this in the past but just in case you have not heard about it I thought I would share a little about it in this blog.  

Often times as missionaries we come from America thinking that we have all the right answers… only to discover after years of frustration that we don’t even know the right questions! Yes, Jesus is the answer, but if we don’t understand the questions and problems in an African Context, we will be busy dealing with the problems we perceive, but not really touching the heart of the lost person in Africa. 40/40 is designed to give the missionary a head start into a lifetime of learning and growing into effective missionary service. Because it is experiential, participants learn the culture and how to be effective in it by interviewing and interacting with typical Africans on the street, African helpers and guides, program staff and each other. This allows them the opportunity to learn by “doing” as well as “hearing,” and to face (and overcome) their fears and questions before they ever reach their field assignment.

The compounds and villages of Africa are the classroom, and the common man/woman of Africa is the teacher. Our goal is to teach our participants how to learn from Africans and how to learn to ask the right questions. 

There are several phases of this program.  The first phase is in the city of Lusaka where the participants learn about African life in an urban setting.  Daily they are going out into the city to do DFA's(Daily Field Assignments).  These DFA's are designed to get the participants out among Africans and asking them questions that are going to help them learn about culture.

After about 12 days we will all shift to Petauke which is a rural area of Zambia.  It is about 5 hours away from the city.  Here the participants will do similar DFA's as they did in the city only this time it will be in the villages.  During this time we all stay in tents and have no electricity.  

10 days later the participants will go and live with a Zambian family for 3 nights.  This is called their homestay.  They will do whatever their host family is doing-cooking, washing, working in the field, sit around a fire, and go to church.  During this time they are taking all that they have learned and applying it to this situation.  This is usually a highlight for the participants.

When their homestay is over they will travel back to the city and keep going another hour to a lodge.  While the participants are here they will learn a method of learning language called PILAT.  They will also have the opportunity to debrief their experiences at 40/40 and discuss how they are going to take what they have learned and apply it to the countries they are serving in.

This is really an excellent program for new missionaries as they begin their careers in this foreign land.  We would really appreciate your prayers during this program.  If you'll look in my sidebar you can click on "month long prayer guide for 40/40" which will give you a daily prayer guide with specific ways you can pray.  Also, there are two websites listed as 40/40 and 40/40 Kidz if you would like to see some pics. of past sessions.