Meet Jon and Jo Jake, on Mission in Zambia

Tell us a bit about yourself and your family, where are you on mission and why do you feel called to that particular area?

We are Jon and Jo and have two sons; Hudson who is 5 years old and Boaz who is 2 years old. We currently live in a region called Mkushi which is in the central province of Zambia (approximately 6.5 hours drive from the capital city Lusaka). Although we have had the long held belief that God could and would use us anywhere, almost 2 years ago a door opened for us to come and volunteer with a start-up non-profit organisation called Mission Geeks. It’s a charity that supports Christian community development projects in rural parts of Zambia in the fields of health, education and conservation. 

On visiting Mkushi in the summer of 2022 we also discovered that there was plenty of midwifery work for Jo and youth ministry for both of us to get involved in should we move here, not to mention an excellent school that uses Cambridge curriculum for our boys to attend. So we moved out in October 2023. 

Tell us a bit about your journey to becoming missionaries.

For Jon, having grown up in Democratic Republic of Congo, coming back to this part of the world was almost like coming home. Since leaving DRC at the age of 11 he had always felt that God would call him back to the same region of Africa at some point in the future. Jo, however, had no experience of Africa until 2010 at the age of 23. Although she had already felt a similar calling to Jon for some years prior to that. We both undertook various mission trips individually, testing the waters, until 2016 when a trip to Zambia together opened the doors for us to move to a rural Mission station in the North West of the country. We lived there for 18 months and then 2 years at another mission station in a similar area. In 2021 a family member’s ill health caused us to return to the UK and we were unexpectedly back for over 2.5 years.

What are your individual skills and contributions?

Jon has qualifications and experience in aircraft maintenance and piloting, as well as many other practical skills. Jo has been a midwife for almost 10 years, having spent over 50% of that time practising within the Zambian government structure. She has recently undergone a short course in gynaecology and early pregnancy scanning. We also have many years of youth work experience between us. 

What impact have you already had on Zambia? 

An easier question to answer to this question might be what impact Zambia has had on us! We often joke that God has had to send up halfway round the world to teach us lessons that he could just as easily show someone else at home in the UK! But in all honesty we have been so blessed to have formed some beautiful friendships and to have witnessed such a deep and inspiring reliance on and trust in God. In a country where material possessions or financial gain are much harder to come by we’ve observed a greater contentment and gratitude to God even for something as simple as waking up each morning. Having said that, that’s not to excuse the unjust disparity that is apparent between those in this world who have privilege, possessions and opportunity than those who don’t. Our heart is to stand alongside Zambians as they work tirelessly to improve upon their circumstances and pave the way for future generations to come. We believe this involves both practical and spiritual mission and we feel honoured that God would invite us on the journey.  

What impact are you hoping to have in the future? What are your hopes for the future?

We look forward to seeing Mission Geeks and the Youth Ministry we’re leading grow. We’d love to see strong teams established in both these ministries and raise up and train others to continue the work long after we’ve gone. Jo would love to continue her work in training nurses and midwives in maternity care, so that in turn they can go on to share their knowledge and skills with others and ultimately many mothers and babies lives would be positively impacted as a result. 

Many years ago we were advised to consider the ones and twos when building relationships with those around us. It is so easy to get overwhelmed by the needs both practically and spiritually here, but we believe it’s the depth of the discipleship we undertake combined with the grace and power of the Lord that will lead to a widespread impact in this nation, through individual Zambian’s following the call of God on their lives. And of course some of them are being called to other nations too, including the UK! 

What challenges have you faced so far?

The most obvious challenges are usually relating to everyday living; broken down cars due to poor roads and having to drive long distances for many amenities, power outages due to lightning storms, lack of rain water in the hydro dams or poor maintenance and management of the electricity grid. Day-to-day living really does require that much more effort and planning here, and inevitably plans constantly change and it’s something we’ve had to get comfortable with, especially coming from a country where order and organisation is such a priority.

It’s also really difficult forming any kind of structure of rhythm to our life, including carved out rest and family time. Because are roles are voluntary with no set hours or set days off we have to work hard to keep a check on having down time. Living in a culture where your door is always open to anyone who might be passing is both a privilege and a challenge. We often find the times when we truly rest and set things down is if we go away for a few days which we try to do a few times a year. 

We are constantly being challenged about “doing” versus “empowering.” It is really important as outsiders to have an awareness of how what we would consider as helping could actually be hurting those around us, especially in a country with a long history of things being done for or to them, at an individual level and on a widespread scale. For this reason, simple tasks or decisions often require much more forethought and consideration. Sometimes the burden of wanting to do the “right” thing can become heavy. But ultimately we have to trust that God can made amends for our faux pas’ and that He will continue His work in and through us, despite our own mistakes or misgivings. 

What have been some of the best things about being on mission?

We find using our skills and passions as a means of helping others extremely rewarding. Not working the normal 9-5 is actually something we relish. We have been able to embrace that every day looks different from the next, and that we often don’t know what “work” will look like in the weeks and months ahead. 

There is no denying that living in a country with beautiful scenery and gorgeous weather almost all year round is an amazing privilege. It means we get to witness and bask in God’s creation on a daily basis. This definitely has a positive impact on our mental health and enables us to manage our daily stress a bit better. 

We also absolutely love our boys having the opportunity to grow up in a different culture to their home country. They get to be immersed in different languages, ways of doing church, friendships, values and customs. They get to travel and get used to staying in lots of different places. And they get to spend about 90% of their time outside, exploring and discovering the world around them.

We have really enjoyed being a part of North Church here in Mkushi. It’s got an eclectic mix of church traditions, cultures, tribes and denominations. It’s such a joy serving alongside other Christians who are passionate about God’s church, the hope for this nation and other nations of the world.

What has been some of the hardest things about being on mission?

Being away from family has always been the hardest part about living in Zambia. Especially now that we have children who have cousins (our nieces and nephews) in the UK that they’re very close to. It can be difficult trying to explain why we don’t get to see family very often but at the same time facilitate them maintaining those close friendships. It’s lovely when friends and family come to visit us or when we go back to the UK but the goodbyes never get any easier.

Anyone who has lived a significant chunk of time in a country different to where they grew up will understand that you find yourself feeling as though home is in two places. Especially if you go backwards and forwards between the two. It’s an amazing privilege to feel at home in two places but it does also mean you are always missing somewhere too! Jon and I have always tried to be fully present wherever we find ourselves knowing that as much as we can make plans, it is God that determines our step (Proverbs 16:9). 

Living away from family and our support network is mostly highlighted by how little time we have together as a couple, especially because we are living in a new place. We are gradually forming friendships with others who in the long run our boys might feel comfortable spending time with, but at present we are lacking any formal childcare for Boaz who is still a year away from being able to attend the preschool attached to Hudson’s primary school.

Helping our children become comfortable as what’s called “Third Culture Kids” is going to be an ongoing journey for us. We want them to first and foremost find their identity in Christ, and then work out for themselves how their unique upbringing fits into that. 

On a practical level it can be really hard when our kids are sick and there are very real potential threats of things like malaria, snakes or car accidents. We have to give our kids over to God daily and remind ourselves that there are no guarantees except God’s goodness and faithfulness, and that whatever happens to us as a family none of it will come as a surprise to Him and he will have a purpose in it all.

How can people pray for you?

We really do feel covered by the prayers of those who support us from the UK. It is an extremely vital way in which you can be on this journey with us. We send out a quarterly newsletter that people can sign up to which details more specific prayer requests, depending on what’s going on in our lives at the time. We also let you know praise points so that you can see how your prayers have been answered!

Right now we are praying into the future of Mission Geeks in terms of projects to be involved in and hoping for some more personnel to join the team. We are also trying to navigate Jo getting back into some Midwifery, albeit part-time, in a more formal capacity.

We are also praying for the nation of Zambia who has recently experienced an unprecedented drought (just after an unprecedented cholera outbreak!). Food security has been heavily impacted, as has electricity supply due to the hydro-electric dams being short of water. This is only going to get worse as the year progresses and we enter what is meant to be the actual dry season. We are praying that God has been performing a miracle enabling crops to grow with minimal water and that there will be enough food stockpiled, as well as outside support to feed the nation. As is always the case, it will be the poorest of the poor, who are mostly subsistence farmers, living a hand to mouth lifestyle, who will be impacted the most. Personally we can support local communities in need through the church we attend as well as assisting those families we are close to who we know might be struggling. 

How can people support you and your family financially?

The best way to give to us is via Stewardship UK at https://account.stewardship.org.uk/Give using our reference number 20117749. Setting up an account is easy and it enables us to claim back Gift Aid on your donation if you are a UK tax payer.