Reflections from the Zambezi

Betty Konayuma (1986) Tuesday, 21 April 2009 marked 50 days since my beloved mum passed away. On 3rd March 2009 when I was in Mansa on duty I received an sms from my dear wife which stated “mum has departed”. My mother: Betty Rundu Konayuma died at the age of 65. She had turned 65 on 2nd February. This was after suffering a second stroke in eight years. She was admitted on 8th February. At the time she was staying with my young sister Catherine and her husband Matthew. She was in hospital for three weeks till she passed away. Mum is survived by four children i.e. Gabriel (myself) aged 41, Catherine and Kenneth aged 36 and Tendai aged 25. On the siblings side mum is survived a brother Enock aged 73 and Jescah aged 65 both living in Mutoko in Zimbabwe. I travelled to Zimbabwe to bring aunt Jescah when mum was still in hospital. This remembrance of mum focuses on mum’s early life, her studies, working life, family life and religious life. Early Life and Working Life Betty Konayuma was bor...

REMEMBERING CYRUS PHIRI December 2008 marked 5 years since the death of Cyrus Phiri. Cyrus at the time of his death was a husband and father. He was also a Baptist pastor and World Vision Programmes co-ordinator. He went to be with the Lord in his early 40’s. I first met Cyrus in 1981 at Kafue Secondary School where he was completing his secondary school (Form 5), while I was starting mine (Form 1). At the time he was the School Captain (Head boy) and Scripture Union Chairman. He was also a very good marathon runner. Let me share my remembrance of Cyrus Phiri by considering his conversion, character and conviction i.e. three C’s. Conversion Cyrus became a Christian in 1977 whilst doing his form 1 (grade 8) for you who did grade 10 in 1984. At the time he was involved in the School Choir and Scripture Union. However, he sensed that all these things were just following religious rituals without having a knowledge of Christ. After sharing about his spiritual life with Mrs....

On Tuesday 20th January 2009, Barrack Obama was inaugurated as USA's 44th President. There was much euphoria on unprecedented levels. His campaign was quite intense. The campaign team to ensure that what was considered an outsider won the elections. And win he did by a landslide margin. What lessons can be learnt from Obama's ascendancy to the American presidency? 1. Doing things differently matters. Obama used social networking sites like Facebook to appeal to an online community and a younger generation. Did it pay off? Yes it did. We must be willing to try unchartered waters in the way we do things in our work places and businesses. How many are really using the Internet for competitive and strategic advantage? Using the Internet in business you can reach the whole world at the click of a button at a far lesser cost than the print media or TV. 2. Good presentation skills matters. One that seeks to serve in public...

I've not been able to post anything on my blog for the past four weeks due to so much work pressure. However, today I thought I needed to squeeze in something before 2008 comes to an end. I thought I could share with you my latest blog discovery. This is a blog of Jay Adams (http://www.nouthetic.org/blog/?author=3) a renowned Christian Counselor. His blog is on current issues in Christendom that we will all easily relate to. Take for example his blog on Writing : Writing Just a word or two about writing. Since I’ve been able to do a great deal of writing in my life, I thought I’d pass along one suggestion that may help if you are one who has always wanted to write but didn’t know how to get started. It used to be when I sat down to write that I’d always wait until I was “in the mood” for writing. That was OK, except for one thing-I rarely was in the mood! That bothered me, because I just couldn’t make any headway that way. It’s what they call writers’ block. Then,...

In my earlier blog on Ghana entitled "Akwaaba Ghana" I briefly mention on evangelical work in Accra. Below is an email from Pastor Ferguson Kcofie of Truth Missionary Baptist Church, a Reformed Baptist Church in Accra, Ghana. Please read and pray for the work. On the left is Pastor Ferguson Kcofie with his wife and daughter (June 2008) ************************************************************************************* Dearly Beloved, It is a great joy to know that the Lord is still with you, and keeping you in good health for the sake of His name and ministry. For my part, the Lord is pleased, in a measure, to show me the suitableness and necessity of a humble, dependent frame of heart. A ceasing from self, and a reliance upon him in the due use of appointed means, I am far from having attained—but I hope I am pressing, at least seeking after it. I have attached a brief report of our activities since last July. • Church Business Meeting. We had a Business Meeting on...

Ireland, also known as the Emerald Isle, is renowned for its charm, warmth and fun loving people. From the richness of it’s history and culture to the beauty of the countryside, it has a magical way of capturing your heart. On 17 th August 2008, I landed at Dublin International Airport in Ireland. This was after a long journey that started on 16 th August from Lusaka International Airport in Zambia at 07 20 using South African Airways. I had breakfast on the plane which I found not to be as much as in previous flights. Anyway almost 2 hours later I landed at O R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. After doing the immigration formalities I requested to go into town so as to do some shopping and site-seeing. This was due to the fact that my stop-over was 12 hours long! I was met by Leon and the mum from Kempton Park in Johannesburg. Leon’s mum dropped us at the Festival Shopping Mall in Kempton Park. Before shopping Leon and I had a delicious lunch. Thereafter, we went shopp...

Gabriel at Kotoka Int. Airport Arriving in Ghana Akwaaba! Welcome! This is the greeting that you meet when you land at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra. Accra is the capital city of Ghana which means "Warrior Ling". The date is 27th May 2008 and the time is 14 00 hours. What brings me here and how have I gotten here? I'm here to attend the 3rd e-Learning Africa Conference at Accra International Conference Centre. My trip has taken almost 24 hours having left Lusaka on 26th May 2008 and spent a night in Addis Ababa at National Hotel. The trip from Addis to Accra has been almost five hours with a stop-over in Lome, Togo. Looking at the many goods being removed in Lome I think "wow the goods people buy in Africa!" All sorts of goods! Probably from Dubai, Hong Kong and China! At the Kotoka International Airport after the necessary immigration formalities I'm received by an e-Learning Africa host Afua who assists me to book a cab to my hotel. Gabriel wi...