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By Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

It was in 1999 that Jeannie Niebel, of Glenmont UMC in Wheaton, met her son?s nanny, Mary Lungu. The pair felt an instant rapport. From this simple friendship an extended family was born and the Niebels see God and mission in dramatically new ways.

This 'new way' is evidenced by the 39 children who could never have afforded an education who are now in school and the almost 1,000 pounds of books that sit in the Niebels? family room awaiting shipment to a new reading room in Africa.

People in Glenmont and other area United Methodist churches and the surrounding community are awakening to the needs of their neighbors more than 5,000 miles away.

Niebel says she believes the Holy Spirit has been present every step of the way, and she applauds the words of Bishop John R. Schol, who at a Washington West District meeting, said people should not wait for the permission or gbwc_superuserance of a committee to begin to do mission.

Passion is all that is required, she has concluded, along with a heart to please God and the gumption to take that first step. Niebel wants every United Methodist to take this message to heart.

She looks back to when she and the nanny first met.

Lungu is from Zambia, Niebel said. She took a job working for Niebel?s son and daughter-in-law caring for their three children when he was stationed with the U.S. Foreign Service in that country.

Lungu accompanied the family back to Wheaton, leaving her eight daughters and husband Howard in Ngombe Township in Lusaka, Zambia?s capital.

Niebel admits she initially frowned on the decision for Lungu to come here. But after just a few conversations, she realized that the world she lived in differed dramatically from that of Lungu, who sent most of her salary back to Zambia to provide food and medicine to 30 family members.

Niebel began to admire the courage and love of the plain-speaking woman who shared her stories.

'Those living in Ngombe Township live in abject poverty,' Niebel explained. 'Residents have little money and few possessions. Few parents are able to provide shoes for their children. Food is scarce and water is taken from communal wells. Good medical care is beyond the reach of most and AIDS has had a profound impact on the community.'

Generally, Niebel said, there is no electricity, running water or indoor plumbing. Mud or concrete-block houses contain one or two rooms and typically have leaky tin roofs held down by heavy rocks.

'Amazingly, in the midst of all this need there is a strong sense of community where people care about and help each other,' Niebel explained.

While she always strove to be responsible with her money and says she sometimes turned a jaundiced eye on the television reports crying out for relief in Africa, Niebel's conversations with Lungu lit a spark within her that she didn?t quite understand, but knew she had to act upon.

Her husband, Hal Niebel, also helped Howard start a store, and to expand and make improvements to the Lungus? house.

A retired third-grade teacher, Jeannie Niebel is convinced that education is one of the keys to breaking the cycle of poverty that binds many of the children in Ngombe. The annual cost of education is $150 U.S., which is out of the reach of most parents and guardians, she said.

She started a sponsorship program as part of what is turning out to be a continuing relationship with Lungu?s hometown, matching people in the United States with students in Zambia. The sponsors pay for the students? books, tuition and uniforms and receive progress reports about their studies.

During their visit in Zambia, the Niebels were also struck by the absence of books.

'I didn?t see a single one,' Niebel said. She called on her church again, and collected more than 700 pounds of gently used books, which were shipped to Ngombe Township and placed in a specially-designed two-room reading center.

With an unexpectedly large grant of $9,442 from the Delta Kappa Gamma educational sorority, Niebel also purchased books that would be of specific interest to African children and adults. Among Niebel?s favorites are biographies of Thomas Rivera, Richard Wright and Booker T. Washington, men who used education to raise themselves out of poverty.

With a knowledge of English, Niebel hopes, the children will be able to broaden their horizons enough to get jobs outside the township. These books have not yet been sent and sit in the Niebels? family room in Wheaton.

Although she probably could find the $1,500 needed to send the books, Niebel is convinced that 'God wants people involved,' so she has put out a plea.

In a notebook that is beginning to overflow its bindings, Niebel keeps track of her ministry efforts. Stored inside are some thank you notes from people who shared in the programs. 'What you did is love,' one child wrote.

Jeannie Niebel believes this is so. Through Lungu, her heart has opened in new ways. 'It?s God-inspired,' she said. 'It?s God working through us.'

MAKE THE CONNECTION:

Individuals or groups interested in paying for the shipping of the extensive collection of books that has been gathered for a reading room in Ngombe Township in Lusaka, Zambia, are now being sought.
For more information, on how you can become involved in shipping the books, or sponsoring the education of a child, call Glenmont UMC at (301) 946-5578.