24-25 October 17

Zambia celebrates Independence Day every 24 October! When I was growing up, my familiarity with Africa came mostly from missionaries' slide shows, and that's how I learned about "Northern Rhodesia," with a special emphasis on the schools and churches in "Jembo Mission" that were associated with the Pilgrim Holiness Church. The country gained independence (from Britain) in 1964, taking the name Zambia. In the late 1960s, a Zambian Pilgrim minister named Denis Sichombo and his family came to study at a Bible college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and our families became good friends. Much later, in 2000, Beth's parents went to Zambia on a short-term mission opportunity, and when they returned, they brought me this tie -- whose orange and blue letters spell out Z-A-M-B-I-A. I have a couple of Facebook friends who live in Lusaka, the capital!