Lamiel Phiri: "What a Year!"

Events have proved what a wonderful year 2003 has been for me. Today as I spend the last of it, I could not help looking in retrospect at the events that became. Thank you for the role you personally played in breaking that hard core of personality resistance to some subtle changes in me. It took persistent reference and great mirroring to make me realize it was not about you or me, it was about how to make me a better world server. Thanks.

Well, recently I had some encounters that continue to show why being at CPL makes a lot of sense. I have been spending an average of seven hours per day in the past three months for six days a week with eight other men at the church service project. I put into effect the servant leadership lessons learned at the Center.

Our sewage is giving us challenges, and one day we got to church only to find the men’s toilets flooded with sewage. One of the young men came to me and said that he had cleaned up a similar mess some Sunday past. I could sense that he had no intention of doing it again. I cheerfully asked him to show me the mess and told him that last time it was him and now it was my turn to clean it up, which I did joyfully. That action transformed their thinking of serving the church. It was not about me being a senior person, but it was about our church members having access to clean bathroom facilities when they came for service.

This incident reminded me of bathroom checks and cleaning at California Fresh Buffet, tasks which totally changed my perception of what work is for who and when. The joy of having to work in that CFB environment has built in me a joy that no man will ever take away—the joy of doing what others may think is the worst task.

As if that were not enough, some few days later I was at church in my suit, and guess what? The sewage pipes burst and out came the effluent. The church was in service and I took up the task of taking care of the mess in order not to get the children exposed to the unhealthy situation. When I went back to the congregation to announce the measures to be taken when visiting the toilets, people wondered how a man dressed the way I was could just change and take care of toilets. Well it is CPL’s success story!

I never imagined myself having to do these tasks some years back. As an elder at the church I would have delegated to juniors, but CPL transformed that mentality and brought in the goal of true service. I flashed back to the time when our drains had become blocked at CFB, and our manager Susan Park gently took up the role of making sure the service to customers went on under someone else’s watchful eye, whilst she and other servers back there took care of the mess. That night changed a section of my life for good. No job is greater than the other at CFB, and when you are out here [in Zimbabwe] you will see the reality. It may appear as just some theory meant to get things going when you are a student, but mark my words; it is an unwise ear that does not put into practice what is learned at CPL. Thanks once again to you all.

I see 2003 as one year that saw my accelerated growth in service. I managed to break more barriers to service than I have done in my entire life. I live knowing that it does not really matter what happens to me. It is not about me but service to humanity. I am finding it hard going right now, but I take pride in the fact that God has a plan for me and in the bigger picture all is well. Whining can only promote heartaches and stress; taking charge can only usher a stress-free and blameless life. Thanks to the TRP [Totally Responsible Person] way of life.

2004 is coming and I am ready for it. I also have faith that the umbilical chord with CPL will be maintained, and I foresee greater growth in service. Sharing with CPL board members and taking advice from the Teaching Group [TG] only propels you to greater serving heights. What my eye may consider selfless service, TG may help refine to see the rough edges of a not-so-selfless personality trait lingering within the service, the “I” that may be too subtle to detect on my own. Motivation, even for seasoned servers, at one time can be colored by the “I” [personal agendas vs. higher motivations], as no man is perfect. TG will surely call it upon you and guess what? When the situation is addressed, it will be gone for good as it will die of attrition. I wanna be there time and again to serve with the group in the lifetime I have now.

I will write about my plans for 2004 in a separate e-mail and seek your kind guidance as before. May I at this moment conclude by wishing you all a serviceable 2004. May all your aspirations to serve be magnified, and may you continue to touch the lives of those that you will serve in 2004.

God bless.
Lamiel