A personal retrospective of Pentecost in Zambia

“The Chief Apostle gave an interview to Ruth Kanyanga of the Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) on Thursday evening at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Lusaka. One of the questions was why he had chosen Zambia for this year’s Pentecost celebrations,” Nicole mails to the editors of nac.today on Friday afternoon. At the same time she uploads the video with the interview for release on nac.today.

She and her cameraman have been in Lusaka since the beginning of the week, documenting the preparations for the 2015 Pentecost feast. They landed at the international airport in Lusaka, the national capital, on Monday. “When we deplaned we walked to the terminal, where every arriving passenger’s temperature was taken. The fear of diseases such as Ebola being brought in by outsiders is great,” Nicole Ide writes. In the scope of her work as a TV reporter in Germany she has seen a lot.

Antilopes, elephants, and black mambas

On Tuesday Nicole and her cameraman, Ingo, are taken on a safari to Chaminuka, a game reserve situated close to Lusaka, by Shepherd Maxwell Masempela. He works in the tourism industry and knows Chaminuka like the back of his hand. He worked in the park for two years. “We saw many animals from the car: antilopes, giraffes, zebras, and even an elephant. We had to stay in the car, because black mambas could have been lurking in the bush, one of the most venomous species of snakes.”

Nothing escapes Nicole and Ingo’s experienced eye. They are producing a video to bring the Pentecost festivities, and the country and its people, to life for brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. They want to show that Zambia is not just a divine service and a concert, but wildlife, nature, and cheerful at heart.

A flying visit to the Church administrative offices

The next day, the two German visitors have an appointment at the administrative offices of the New Apostolic Church Zambia. “On the way there I was surprised: the Pentecost festivities were being advertised all over Lusaka. There were huge signs with a picture of the Chief Apostle on the roadside, advertising the Pentecost service,” Nicole remembers.

At the Church offices they are received by the public relations officer, a 32-year-old Deacon. Nimon Muleya shows them around the offices. He introduces them to District Apostle Charles S. Ndandula and then to the 38 other staff members, who are all more than happy to meet the film team and have themselves filmed.

Divine service in the dark

“In our first divine service in Zambia we experienced a power outage. This is quite common here and the people take it in their stride. Since the sun had already set, it was pitch-dark in the room. Someone went to fetch a small portable lamp. There was no groaning or moaning. For the rest of the service the brothers and sisters used their cell phones as flashlights to read the music and the song texts. Power failures are nothing unusual and occur at least twice a month. Usually they last for about 15 minutes, but this time the power outage lasted an hour. But no one got upset. After the service the brothers and sisters stayed together, eating and drinking, and talking happily—all in the semi-darkness: the headlights of a car parked at the door brought some light into the room. Crickets were chirping outside,” the Hamburg native describes the evening service.

Arrival of the Chief Apostle

Accompanied by a police escort, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider and his party are taken to the hotel in a bus. Many brothers and sisters have lined the roads, and wave, dance, and cheer as the bus passes them. A children’s choir sings to welcome the Chief Apostle. The youngest choir member, a little girl, sings the solo. The Chief Apostle takes his cell phone out of his pocket to take a picture. Delight is written all over his face as he thanks the children and picks the little girl up and gives her a hug.

“The Lord is coming soon!”

How do you get a group of more than 200 people to smile for a picture? Nicole knows. “On the Saturday before Pentecost, all the African Apostles, the visiting District Apostles, and the Chief Apostle assembled for a conference. A group photo was scheduled afterwards. The photo session was organized by Shepherd Maxwell Masempela, whom we met a little earlier. When he had positioned everybody just so, he called a cheery ‘The Lord is coming soon!’ to everybody. And the faces lit up!”

The Pentecost service

“As camera team, Ingo and I were assigned seats on the left of the altar stage during the divine service in the National Heroes Stadium, right behind the wives of the ministers. District Apostle Michael Ehrich said that the acoustics behind the altar were not optimal when he was called up. Neither were they where we were sitting, but I savoured the unique atmosphere.” Some 70,000 brothers and sisters attended the divine service in the stadium.

“The brothers and sisters in Zambia are so excited about their faith, and then there is their friendly and peaceful way, their kindness and hospitality, which overwhelmed Ingo and me every day anew,” Nicole Ide says at the end of her report. Visitors to nac.today have seen many of Nicole and Ingo’s impressions online. Soon their video will be released.