Monday 27th September 2004
‘GENUINELY a life-changing experience’ is how 53- year-old mum-of-two Jane Brown described the six months she spent in Zambia on the Experience Exchange Programme (EEP) of anglican mission agency USPG (United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel).
While teaching college students how to build an energy-efficient cooking stove Jane said she underwent a type of spiritual conversion that ‘opened the doors of my heart’. She said: ‘I have been going to church in England since I was a child but it was never a very passionate experience. But I am now a very strong follower of Jesus Christ with a strong international concern. My focus has changed – I feel alive and life feels full of fun – and that’s due to Africans!’ Jane, from Woodstock in Oxfordshire, first had the idea of working overseas when her son won a scholarship to study in India – and she found herself feeling envious. She attended an EEP exploration day at which she was relieved to discover she was not required to be a ‘super-Christian’. Indeed, she was told: ‘If you think you are going to bring Christ to the masses, forget it – they’ve got him already!
‘At the prestigious Mindola Ecumenical Foundation, in Zambia, Jane drew upon her Diploma in Craft and Technology to show 12 young adults how to build a cooking stove that is ideal for local conditions: the stove doesn’t require electricity; it can be built cheaply with second-hand oil drums and clay dug for free; it is cheap to run as it burns only a little charcoal; it is hard-wearing and long-lasting; the outside of the stove doesn’t get hot reducing the risk of burns; and, perhaps most importantly, it produces little smoke, avoiding respiratory diseases, eye infections and even blindness. Soon Jane noted a change in her students. ‘Their confidence and selfesteem improved. In an area of high unemployment they were learning a trade. They were inspired: one devised a mould to make constructing the stoves easier; another went to study engineering.’
Jane, who is now working as a supply teacher, described the impact of fellowship in Zambia. She said: ‘I received love and confidence. There was a lot of emotional openness from the Zambians, and my heart opened up. I learned that I too could love very freely, and once the love has started flowing you can’t go back!’
For more information about how your church can be linked up to projects like this, or even how you can have an experience like Jane’s, look at the website, uspg.org.uk, or get in touch with USPG’s mission advisor for Oxford Diocese, Martin Carr, on 01865 553631, or email him at martinc@uspg.org.uk