Mulishani! Hello! My name is Stephanie.
I'm a skirt-wearing, bug-eating, bucket-washing,
bike-riding, maths-teaching, drum-playing, sunset-watching, mosquito-squashing, proposal-rejecting, fish-gutting, fire-cooking, blackboard-writing, Africa-driving, grass-slashing, Bemba-speaking, Aussie in Zambia! I've been here in Zambia for just over a year and I've absolutely loved it!
I came to Zambia to train teachers at a teacher training college and somewhere along the way I found myself to be the Vice Principal of a college, teacher mentor and coach, and coordinator for teacher training trips overseas...crazy right?!
This website is a collection of my adventures, thoughts and photos, and trying to be all there for the people in the community. Welcome.
Getting Here
From a young age, I felt drawn to work overseas. I remember sitting in my lounge as a young girl watching photo shows and listening to the stories of friends who were working in distant countries. Curious, I would read as many books as I could about people who packed up everything to live and work in another country.
>> Fast forward about 20 years and I'm in Zambia working as a teacher trainer. In between these two events, I completed my teacher training in Australia (and part in South Africa) lived and worked in London for two years, and worked at a Bible College for 2 years. All of which have prepared (well, sort of) me for my adventures here in Africa.
“Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”
― Jim Elliot
I really love this quote by Jim Elliot. Jim Elliot was a missionary to an Auca tribe in South America. He and his colleagues were killed by the people they went to serve shortly after making contact with them.
While some might think his life was wasted, and he never got to see the fruit of his work, I think his quote shows that he would not have thought that. Not only is his life and story inspiring, this idea of living to the hilt is a great thought. It's a challenge to make the most of every opportunity. To not waste the time you have been given and to see the journey as just as important as the destination.
To invest in the people that are around you. To go where God leads and trust that He knows what is going on, even if you don't know what the future holds.
I was also thinking about my previous blog titles: Aussie in Korea & Aussie in the UK. I did think of contiuing the theme with Aussie in Zambia, but I felt that the 'Aussie in' was too temporary...that it had the feeling of a being visitor. And while at this stage I'm there for a 2 year period, I want to Be All There. Learn the language, embrace the culture, make this my home for whatever period of time I'm there.
