Hey everybody,
My life has been pretty quiet, not to mention a touch on the lonely side, the last couple of days. (Somebody please buy Sarah a plane ticket back here.) Just kidding... kind of. Being able to rest has been good though. It was very much needed after going like a madman with the team for the last three weeks. Today I went to Murundu. I hitched a ride in one of the huge mine dump trucks. Kind of fun. I went out to the edge of Mufulira by the road that goes to Murundu and some guys started hollering to come over and wait for transport with them. I did and it turned out that they know Dr. T, as soon as I said Agape, they said, "oh, Thinus." Anyway, they flagged down the dump truck for me and then hit me up for some kwachas... which I gave them. I was walking into Murundu, after getting off the truck, and as I turned the corner to Joseph's street, I was greeted by one of the little ones from our VBS. I don't know his name, but he said, "Hallo Dave," and promptly grabbed my hand and held it the rest of the way to Joseph's. It is nice to feel welcome. Kids tend to do that better than adults, no matter what part of the world you are in.
The purpose of my visit was to check out a little more of the chicken farming venture that I am getting into. The more I see and find out about this, the better I like it. I think it shows promise of being able to almost totally support the orphanage that Joseph and Hilda are building. Please pray for the birth and growth of that business as it will very directly effect how about 60 kids are living and eating. In addition to seeing the farming operation, I also got to see the piece of property that Joseph bought as the future location of his orphanage. It is 25 hectares (I don't know the exact conversion, but it is a huge piece of property) and it is located on the edge of Murundu and actually has frontage on the main highway. It seems like a pretty perfect scenario. Please also pray that God would provide the funds for building the houses for the kids on this land. He will need about $15,000 to build two homes that would allow him to take in about 50 children. Within that first $15,000 a very large part of the expense is in getting a well and a pump and having electricity run to the property. So, after the first two houses, each subsequent structure should be only cost around $4000. Once everything is built, the idea is to use the remaining land to farm. With that land, they should be able to produce enough to feed the kids and cover nearly, if not all, of the costs of running the orphanage. Another prayer request is that God would show me if this is a project that I am supposed to be significantly involved in. Right now, my involvement there is minimal, but it looks like it might be a good place to consider getting more involved.
Today was fun. Tomorrow I will be leaving Mufulira for Ndola to spend some time with the Vineyard church there. That should be fun too. I will talk to you all later.
Dave
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
7/28/07 Update from Dave
Well, everyone is gone. The team left Lusaka yesterday. Dr. T is driving to South Africa. And I am back in Mufulira alone and very quiet. I did finally retrieve my guitar though. After dropping the team at the airport, I took public transport from Lusaka back up here. It should have taken about 5.5-6 hrs for the trip, but it wound up taking more than 7.5 due to road construction and the fact (which I discovered about 5hrs into the journey) that this particular bus company had many accidents last year and a bunch of people died and the government shut them down for a while and they just got their license back, so all their drivers only drive at about 45mph now. Yesterday, we left the house for Lusaka at 4am and I didn't get back until after midnight last night. Today has been a good rest.
One thing about the ride back that was really cool was that right after I got on the bus, Pastor Joseph got on the same bus. Pastor Joseph is the guy that has been feeding the orphans in Murundu and hosting us there. He had ridden down to Lusaka with us, but had been off all day taking care of some other business and came to the bus station and got on my very same bus. That was nice of God to organize a travel buddy for me. We had a really good talk on the way back. We spent most of the time discussing a chicken farming venture that I am going to invest a couple hundred bucks in. Joseph and his wife have been raising some chickens and using the money from that to feed the kids. As we spoke, I shared some ideas for growing the business. Joseph was liking the ideas, so I think I am going to be a partner in a small Zambian chicken farm. That will be a new one for me. My portion of the proceeds (assuming there are some) will go towards other ministry here.
This past week was real interesting. I had a pretty solid run in with Malaria. Actually, I can't say that, my illness was brief. Thanks for all of you who were praying for me. I feel totally fine now. Tuesday I started feeling like I was getting the flu or something. I was still well enough to go through our VBS program and then go shopping for more stuff that we were going to be giving the kids. By Tuesday night, I felt pretty horrible. Then, at about 5am I woke up very feverish, freezing cold and my whole body was aching terribly. It was miserable. Dr. T was already up and he got me another blanket. When I told him all my symptoms, he said it was almost certainly malaria. Later that morning, he got me some medicine called fancidar (not sure if I'm spelling that right). Fancidar is some quinine super-cocktail that blasts malaria out of your system quickly (if you take it early enough). I took the medicine probably around 10am. The fever and aches and all that got worse and worse and this peaked around 230pm, then the fever broke and it was like I was immediately a human again. I still didn't feel good, but the difference was night and day, and it happened so quickly. Thursday I still spent a good bit of time in bed but by the afternoon, I was pretty much over it. 48 hour malaria is pretty reasonable. Thank God for quick healing and quinine.
Because I was ill, the others took care of handing out all the clothes and shoes and treats we bought for the kids. Hats off to the team for handling all of that. I know it was a pain. The kids always are pretty rowdy when you are handing stuff out. Here is a brief rundown on what you all at home gave the kids at Murundu. 22 have their school fees paid through December, got a new school uniform, and a pair of school shoes and a pair of flip flops. The kids not in school (about another 34 that are too young) got a new shirt or two, a pair of shoes, and a pair of flip flops. All of them got a bag of treats. Also, we were able to cover the cost of feeding the children daily during the three weeks of our program. It is a drop in the bucket as there are more than 1000 orphans in just this little village, but to these 56 kids it is huge. The other part of what you sent over is that they all heard the gospel and all the ones who wanted a hug or piggy back ride or to be spun around (or all of the above over and over) got their wish.
Later,
Dave
p.s. Just one final thought. One of the most annoying parts of this trip for the whole team was anytime that we were handing anything out--like coloring pages or crayons or candy. The kids would freak out and push and punch each other and the little ones would get knocked down and start to cry. Then you would see another kid with 5 pages behind is back and his hand out again. It really sucked, every time. It was hard to keep a good attitude. Each day, everyone would get theirs, we always had enough. Didn't they remember yesterday when they all got one. Didn't they understand when we said to sit there and wait that we were going to make sure they were taken care of. It was real frustrating. Wonder if God ever feels like that with me?
One thing about the ride back that was really cool was that right after I got on the bus, Pastor Joseph got on the same bus. Pastor Joseph is the guy that has been feeding the orphans in Murundu and hosting us there. He had ridden down to Lusaka with us, but had been off all day taking care of some other business and came to the bus station and got on my very same bus. That was nice of God to organize a travel buddy for me. We had a really good talk on the way back. We spent most of the time discussing a chicken farming venture that I am going to invest a couple hundred bucks in. Joseph and his wife have been raising some chickens and using the money from that to feed the kids. As we spoke, I shared some ideas for growing the business. Joseph was liking the ideas, so I think I am going to be a partner in a small Zambian chicken farm. That will be a new one for me. My portion of the proceeds (assuming there are some) will go towards other ministry here.
This past week was real interesting. I had a pretty solid run in with Malaria. Actually, I can't say that, my illness was brief. Thanks for all of you who were praying for me. I feel totally fine now. Tuesday I started feeling like I was getting the flu or something. I was still well enough to go through our VBS program and then go shopping for more stuff that we were going to be giving the kids. By Tuesday night, I felt pretty horrible. Then, at about 5am I woke up very feverish, freezing cold and my whole body was aching terribly. It was miserable. Dr. T was already up and he got me another blanket. When I told him all my symptoms, he said it was almost certainly malaria. Later that morning, he got me some medicine called fancidar (not sure if I'm spelling that right). Fancidar is some quinine super-cocktail that blasts malaria out of your system quickly (if you take it early enough). I took the medicine probably around 10am. The fever and aches and all that got worse and worse and this peaked around 230pm, then the fever broke and it was like I was immediately a human again. I still didn't feel good, but the difference was night and day, and it happened so quickly. Thursday I still spent a good bit of time in bed but by the afternoon, I was pretty much over it. 48 hour malaria is pretty reasonable. Thank God for quick healing and quinine.
Because I was ill, the others took care of handing out all the clothes and shoes and treats we bought for the kids. Hats off to the team for handling all of that. I know it was a pain. The kids always are pretty rowdy when you are handing stuff out. Here is a brief rundown on what you all at home gave the kids at Murundu. 22 have their school fees paid through December, got a new school uniform, and a pair of school shoes and a pair of flip flops. The kids not in school (about another 34 that are too young) got a new shirt or two, a pair of shoes, and a pair of flip flops. All of them got a bag of treats. Also, we were able to cover the cost of feeding the children daily during the three weeks of our program. It is a drop in the bucket as there are more than 1000 orphans in just this little village, but to these 56 kids it is huge. The other part of what you sent over is that they all heard the gospel and all the ones who wanted a hug or piggy back ride or to be spun around (or all of the above over and over) got their wish.
Later,
Dave
p.s. Just one final thought. One of the most annoying parts of this trip for the whole team was anytime that we were handing anything out--like coloring pages or crayons or candy. The kids would freak out and push and punch each other and the little ones would get knocked down and start to cry. Then you would see another kid with 5 pages behind is back and his hand out again. It really sucked, every time. It was hard to keep a good attitude. Each day, everyone would get theirs, we always had enough. Didn't they remember yesterday when they all got one. Didn't they understand when we said to sit there and wait that we were going to make sure they were taken care of. It was real frustrating. Wonder if God ever feels like that with me?
Home from Zambia - Sarah 7/28/07
Today, for the first time in three and a half weeks (give or take a few days), I drank a Starbucks coffee. I know that doesn't sound especially fascinating, but when one really loves coffee, and one isn't able to have it consistently, or even at all, for a sustained period of time, one becomes excited about the prospect of drinking a real cup. Not this instant crap, which is what has been keeping me going for the past three weeks. That, and God.
Today I am back in the states. For those of you who were unaware, I have been in Zambia since the beginning of July. It's been nearly a month, and I still cannot believe that it's over. It went by much faster than I expected. I am sitting in my own living room, in my green computer chair, and I am viewing MySpace pages, and I am reading and responding to emails, and it still doesn't seem like I'm really home. Kind of surreal. I still have not had a shower since leaving Mufulira at 11:00 pm on Thursday evening (Jacksonville time).
Coming home, I've been feeling so many different things. One of the big things is the rising dread of returning to the first world, with bills, and jobs, and possible jobs, and a very acute lack of money (I'm sensing a... money theme). For different reasons, some of which I will keep to myself, I have felt anxiety and worry. I spent a decent amount of time writing in my journal on the way home about that. And praying, also. I feel much better about the things I was anxious about. One of the things I tend to do... in life... is get ahead of myself. I'm so anxious to know the plan, to know what is ahead. I want all the details, and I worry about details that haven't been given to me, which is so pointless. I mean, worrying about things that have not and may not happen. I do that a lot. It's never a good idea.
I've also thought a lot about Africa. I cannot possibly describe what that land is like in a way that will do it justice. I think it is what you might imagine it would be. It was kind of like I imagined. There were villages, actual villages, with actual clay and thatch huts. The huts were all packed together, with tiny paths beat out by feet. In fact, throughout the town we stayed in, Mufulira, we saw those paths. They were everywhere. Walking is a main form of transportation. It reminded me of an ant farm. I had one of those once as a kid. At first, it was a wall of sand. But then, slowly, little tunnels were built, one at a time. Finally, just before I let the ants go, the entire wall was an intersecting maze of criss-crossed tunnels. That's what these paths were like.
I thought that I would be scared in Zambia, that my personal safety was at stake, that I would encounter the kind of violence that you see in the media. When people here in the states think of Africa, they think of AK47's and tribal conflicts, and child soldiers, and a general atmosphere of violence. I know, because when I told people where I was going before I went, they all furrowed their brows in worry. But Zambia isn't really like that at all. I saw absolutely no violence while I was there. I didn't feel threatened while in the market or taking a walk.
On the contrary, everyone that we met and talked with seemed extremely grateful that we were there; grateful for what we were doing with the orphans, grateful for the HIV/AIDS education that we provided. It was interesting... in Zambia, everyone is tuned into HIV. You see signs of it everywhere: in the national newspaper, in comic strips; on the news. People are aware of it, people are terrified of it, and still, so many people seemed fairly ignorant about it.
We spent every day playing with kids. Just... playing with them. Giving them attention, giving them the kind of love that they ought to be receiving from an adult anyway. We had a routine: arrive at 10 hours; play, play, play; sing songs; have a dance party (really, just a bunch of kids dancing for other kids); talk about God; do an art project; play some more. I think the bulk of our ministry was in time spent with the kids. Not necessarily giving them a sermon, but holding them, holding their hands, playing games, communicating as well as we could, and smiling. I think that those things can do an amazing amount of good for an orphan whose never really known the love or care of an adult.
We were also able to pay school fees for those who needed it through the month of December. For those children, we bought uniforms and school shoes. For everyone, we bought some new shirts, a new pair of flip flops, and some of the kids also received some lace-up shoes. Everyone got a goody bag with treats inside. I was very glad to be able to provide for some of the material needs of the children while we were there.
Coming back, I realized that I felt love for the land and the people in Zambia. Real love. I'm not sure what my future holds as far as Zambia or Africa is concerned, but I do know that I'd like to go back. I definitely would like to go back.
As I mentioned earlier, I have not yet had a shower. My body has put up with the filth for long enough. My pores are screaming, "What are you doing to us? We are greasy, and we are only becoming more greasy as you type!" Not really, because they can't talk... but that's what they would say if they could. So, I really need to go. I hope that I've given you a little bit of something of Africa. Something of what it's like to be there, something of what it meant to me. Something... enough... to maybe want to go yourself someday.
Today I am back in the states. For those of you who were unaware, I have been in Zambia since the beginning of July. It's been nearly a month, and I still cannot believe that it's over. It went by much faster than I expected. I am sitting in my own living room, in my green computer chair, and I am viewing MySpace pages, and I am reading and responding to emails, and it still doesn't seem like I'm really home. Kind of surreal. I still have not had a shower since leaving Mufulira at 11:00 pm on Thursday evening (Jacksonville time).
Coming home, I've been feeling so many different things. One of the big things is the rising dread of returning to the first world, with bills, and jobs, and possible jobs, and a very acute lack of money (I'm sensing a... money theme). For different reasons, some of which I will keep to myself, I have felt anxiety and worry. I spent a decent amount of time writing in my journal on the way home about that. And praying, also. I feel much better about the things I was anxious about. One of the things I tend to do... in life... is get ahead of myself. I'm so anxious to know the plan, to know what is ahead. I want all the details, and I worry about details that haven't been given to me, which is so pointless. I mean, worrying about things that have not and may not happen. I do that a lot. It's never a good idea.
I've also thought a lot about Africa. I cannot possibly describe what that land is like in a way that will do it justice. I think it is what you might imagine it would be. It was kind of like I imagined. There were villages, actual villages, with actual clay and thatch huts. The huts were all packed together, with tiny paths beat out by feet. In fact, throughout the town we stayed in, Mufulira, we saw those paths. They were everywhere. Walking is a main form of transportation. It reminded me of an ant farm. I had one of those once as a kid. At first, it was a wall of sand. But then, slowly, little tunnels were built, one at a time. Finally, just before I let the ants go, the entire wall was an intersecting maze of criss-crossed tunnels. That's what these paths were like.
I thought that I would be scared in Zambia, that my personal safety was at stake, that I would encounter the kind of violence that you see in the media. When people here in the states think of Africa, they think of AK47's and tribal conflicts, and child soldiers, and a general atmosphere of violence. I know, because when I told people where I was going before I went, they all furrowed their brows in worry. But Zambia isn't really like that at all. I saw absolutely no violence while I was there. I didn't feel threatened while in the market or taking a walk.
On the contrary, everyone that we met and talked with seemed extremely grateful that we were there; grateful for what we were doing with the orphans, grateful for the HIV/AIDS education that we provided. It was interesting... in Zambia, everyone is tuned into HIV. You see signs of it everywhere: in the national newspaper, in comic strips; on the news. People are aware of it, people are terrified of it, and still, so many people seemed fairly ignorant about it.
We spent every day playing with kids. Just... playing with them. Giving them attention, giving them the kind of love that they ought to be receiving from an adult anyway. We had a routine: arrive at 10 hours; play, play, play; sing songs; have a dance party (really, just a bunch of kids dancing for other kids); talk about God; do an art project; play some more. I think the bulk of our ministry was in time spent with the kids. Not necessarily giving them a sermon, but holding them, holding their hands, playing games, communicating as well as we could, and smiling. I think that those things can do an amazing amount of good for an orphan whose never really known the love or care of an adult.
We were also able to pay school fees for those who needed it through the month of December. For those children, we bought uniforms and school shoes. For everyone, we bought some new shirts, a new pair of flip flops, and some of the kids also received some lace-up shoes. Everyone got a goody bag with treats inside. I was very glad to be able to provide for some of the material needs of the children while we were there.
Coming back, I realized that I felt love for the land and the people in Zambia. Real love. I'm not sure what my future holds as far as Zambia or Africa is concerned, but I do know that I'd like to go back. I definitely would like to go back.
As I mentioned earlier, I have not yet had a shower. My body has put up with the filth for long enough. My pores are screaming, "What are you doing to us? We are greasy, and we are only becoming more greasy as you type!" Not really, because they can't talk... but that's what they would say if they could. So, I really need to go. I hope that I've given you a little bit of something of Africa. Something of what it's like to be there, something of what it meant to me. Something... enough... to maybe want to go yourself someday.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
7/24/07 Update from Sarah
Hello Jacksonville!
It is very late on Tuesday night, the last week of our trip. I cannot believe that the end is so near... everything has gone by so fast. It seems like yesterday when I was writing the first blog of the trip, and now I am writing one of the last. We will be back in Jacksonville this Saturday afternoon.
Today was our last day with the kids in Murundu. It went like most of the other days. We could see the crowd of children gathered and waiting for us as we drove our van into the village. They were all grinning and hopping and clapping their hands... it's really quite a reception. We definitely know that they've been waiting for us. Lately, our team has gotten a little worn out. We've been going non-stop for about two and a half weeks. During the first week, most of us ran around with the kids, and played games, and kicked balls as soon as we arrived. A few of us are still doing that, but myself and some of the others have taken to holding the kids, sitting with them, letting them play with our hair. It's quality time spent, but it's a lot easier on the body when you're tired. I really enjoy this part of our day. We have very little to actually say to each other because of the language barrier, but you find ways to communicate. There's one small girl (she's about six) named Colvier. I've taught her how to say, "I love you" in sign language. I've tried to translate it into Bemba so that she knows what we're saying... I'm actually not sure that she does, but she has a pretty good time when sign it to each other.
Today we reviewed the Gospel story and prayed the salvation prayer with the kids. We did that last week, as well, but there have been so many new kids this week that we decided to do it again. I expected that all the kids would want to pray the prayer, and they did. After that, we explained to the children that we wanted to pray for them. So we had them raise their hands if they wanted prayer while we walked around. I really enjoyed this time. I sort of expected it to be a madhouse, with a riot of kids wanting prayer because it's another way to get attention from us. But it wasn't like that at all. In fact, they were very quiet, for the most part, and when we prayed for them and laid hands on them, they covered their eyes and bowed their heads. It seemed to me that our time spent praying for them really meant something to them... it wasn't a joke. It's amazing to feel the Holy Spirit at work, and to be a part of something eternal that's being done. I feel incredibly blessed that God has allowed me to be a part of the time spent in prayer with the kids today.
In fact, I feel blessed to have been able to come on this trip. This was a short-term trip, and after we leave on Friday, we're gone. Those kids will stay, and they will continue living the way that they were living before we arrived. We have been able to provide for some of their material needs while we've been here, and that's awesome. I'm glad that some of those needs are being met. But even if that wasn't the case, even if all we were able to do was spend a little bit of time with them, it would have been good. These kids, they're so hungry for attention. They climb all over us when we arrive, and they don't let go. To be able to give them the kind of love from an adult that they ought to be receiving anyway, even if it's only for a short while, has been good. They need that. And I thank God that I've been able to do that for a child... to help her know that she is special, that she is worth something, and to do that just by holding her.
All right, it is very late now. Good night to everyone in Jacksonville... we will all see you very soon!
Sarah
It is very late on Tuesday night, the last week of our trip. I cannot believe that the end is so near... everything has gone by so fast. It seems like yesterday when I was writing the first blog of the trip, and now I am writing one of the last. We will be back in Jacksonville this Saturday afternoon.
Today was our last day with the kids in Murundu. It went like most of the other days. We could see the crowd of children gathered and waiting for us as we drove our van into the village. They were all grinning and hopping and clapping their hands... it's really quite a reception. We definitely know that they've been waiting for us. Lately, our team has gotten a little worn out. We've been going non-stop for about two and a half weeks. During the first week, most of us ran around with the kids, and played games, and kicked balls as soon as we arrived. A few of us are still doing that, but myself and some of the others have taken to holding the kids, sitting with them, letting them play with our hair. It's quality time spent, but it's a lot easier on the body when you're tired. I really enjoy this part of our day. We have very little to actually say to each other because of the language barrier, but you find ways to communicate. There's one small girl (she's about six) named Colvier. I've taught her how to say, "I love you" in sign language. I've tried to translate it into Bemba so that she knows what we're saying... I'm actually not sure that she does, but she has a pretty good time when sign it to each other.
Today we reviewed the Gospel story and prayed the salvation prayer with the kids. We did that last week, as well, but there have been so many new kids this week that we decided to do it again. I expected that all the kids would want to pray the prayer, and they did. After that, we explained to the children that we wanted to pray for them. So we had them raise their hands if they wanted prayer while we walked around. I really enjoyed this time. I sort of expected it to be a madhouse, with a riot of kids wanting prayer because it's another way to get attention from us. But it wasn't like that at all. In fact, they were very quiet, for the most part, and when we prayed for them and laid hands on them, they covered their eyes and bowed their heads. It seemed to me that our time spent praying for them really meant something to them... it wasn't a joke. It's amazing to feel the Holy Spirit at work, and to be a part of something eternal that's being done. I feel incredibly blessed that God has allowed me to be a part of the time spent in prayer with the kids today.
In fact, I feel blessed to have been able to come on this trip. This was a short-term trip, and after we leave on Friday, we're gone. Those kids will stay, and they will continue living the way that they were living before we arrived. We have been able to provide for some of their material needs while we've been here, and that's awesome. I'm glad that some of those needs are being met. But even if that wasn't the case, even if all we were able to do was spend a little bit of time with them, it would have been good. These kids, they're so hungry for attention. They climb all over us when we arrive, and they don't let go. To be able to give them the kind of love from an adult that they ought to be receiving anyway, even if it's only for a short while, has been good. They need that. And I thank God that I've been able to do that for a child... to help her know that she is special, that she is worth something, and to do that just by holding her.
All right, it is very late now. Good night to everyone in Jacksonville... we will all see you very soon!
Sarah
Monday, July 23, 2007
7/23/07 Update from Dave
Hey Y'all,
Just wanted to give you all an update on what has been going on for us the last couple of days. We spent the weekend in Ndola, a town about an hour and a half south of where we are staying. Ndola is a bigger city and some of the areas there are really nice. We stayed in a bed and breakfast place that was in a neighborhood that looked like it could have been suburban Anytown, USA (except for all the potholes in the road). It was really nice there though. We spent Saturday in a community named "Overspill." It was named that because they ran out of houses and had to build more. Zambians often aren't really creative with naming things, but they sure are accurate. Anyway, we were there all day and had our Stop the Spread meeting under a little tent while Dr. Thinus had a meeting with a bunch of pastors inside the church. The location of all this was on top of a hill and looking out off it, you could see into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Which of course did not look any different from Zambia, but it is one of those things that is cool for some reason even though I couldn't really say why.
Our meeting was attended by about 15 youths from the church and one town drunkard who was fairly disruptive at several points during the meeting but what can you expect from someone that is wasted at 10am. Chris took that guy under his wing and wound up praying with him and giving him his flip flops. Good stuff. I was proud. STS recently hired a Zambian guy named Henry to be the full time coordinator of the program. Henry basically ran the meeting and we provided a little assistance. Sarah put together some short skits and the team did a great job performing them. It was a good day all around.
Sunday, we got to visit a Vineyard church in Ndola. This was actually my first time to a Vineyard in Africa and it was absolutely amazing. It just felt like home. I have not felt that in any of the other churches I have been to. Everybody on the team said the same thing. The worship was amazing and the pastors (they have 3 on staff) were all really great. Sam did an awesome job sharing his testimony. He is becoming more and more of a public speaker... even though he would deny it to the end. I got to preach and it just felt real good. I have a love/hate relationship with preaching. I hate the stress of preparing it and wondering if you are getting ready to speak the word of God or if you are just about to run your own mouth so you can listen to the sound of your own voice for a while. I hate having expectations (my own) of what a successful message sounds like or what the results of it should be. I also hate the question of whether I am doing this for God or so that people will think I am a good person. But, I love doing it nonetheless. I love knowing that I can make a difference. I love knowing that God can speak through me. I love knowing that at times, he has spoken through me. I hate falling into the trap of thinking that it is me that is making the difference in peoples lives, and not God. I hate my tendency to be results driven with it, but I really do love it. It is definitely a niche for me. On top of having a really good experience on Sunday, I am going to be spending the next couple of weeks after the team leaves, in Ndola, working with that church. I am really looking forward to it. I will keep you all posted.
The next couple days, we will be wrapping up our VBS with the kids at Murundu. We bought a bunch of clothes and shoes and will be giving that stuff out on Wednesday afternoon. That should be fun. Please pray for us. We are all really tired and several of us don't feel well. It is nothing too serious at the moment, we are just run down. We need a little boost to make it through the next couple of days. Talk to you later, Dave
Just wanted to give you all an update on what has been going on for us the last couple of days. We spent the weekend in Ndola, a town about an hour and a half south of where we are staying. Ndola is a bigger city and some of the areas there are really nice. We stayed in a bed and breakfast place that was in a neighborhood that looked like it could have been suburban Anytown, USA (except for all the potholes in the road). It was really nice there though. We spent Saturday in a community named "Overspill." It was named that because they ran out of houses and had to build more. Zambians often aren't really creative with naming things, but they sure are accurate. Anyway, we were there all day and had our Stop the Spread meeting under a little tent while Dr. Thinus had a meeting with a bunch of pastors inside the church. The location of all this was on top of a hill and looking out off it, you could see into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Which of course did not look any different from Zambia, but it is one of those things that is cool for some reason even though I couldn't really say why.
Our meeting was attended by about 15 youths from the church and one town drunkard who was fairly disruptive at several points during the meeting but what can you expect from someone that is wasted at 10am. Chris took that guy under his wing and wound up praying with him and giving him his flip flops. Good stuff. I was proud. STS recently hired a Zambian guy named Henry to be the full time coordinator of the program. Henry basically ran the meeting and we provided a little assistance. Sarah put together some short skits and the team did a great job performing them. It was a good day all around.
Sunday, we got to visit a Vineyard church in Ndola. This was actually my first time to a Vineyard in Africa and it was absolutely amazing. It just felt like home. I have not felt that in any of the other churches I have been to. Everybody on the team said the same thing. The worship was amazing and the pastors (they have 3 on staff) were all really great. Sam did an awesome job sharing his testimony. He is becoming more and more of a public speaker... even though he would deny it to the end. I got to preach and it just felt real good. I have a love/hate relationship with preaching. I hate the stress of preparing it and wondering if you are getting ready to speak the word of God or if you are just about to run your own mouth so you can listen to the sound of your own voice for a while. I hate having expectations (my own) of what a successful message sounds like or what the results of it should be. I also hate the question of whether I am doing this for God or so that people will think I am a good person. But, I love doing it nonetheless. I love knowing that I can make a difference. I love knowing that God can speak through me. I love knowing that at times, he has spoken through me. I hate falling into the trap of thinking that it is me that is making the difference in peoples lives, and not God. I hate my tendency to be results driven with it, but I really do love it. It is definitely a niche for me. On top of having a really good experience on Sunday, I am going to be spending the next couple of weeks after the team leaves, in Ndola, working with that church. I am really looking forward to it. I will keep you all posted.
The next couple days, we will be wrapping up our VBS with the kids at Murundu. We bought a bunch of clothes and shoes and will be giving that stuff out on Wednesday afternoon. That should be fun. Please pray for us. We are all really tired and several of us don't feel well. It is nothing too serious at the moment, we are just run down. We need a little boost to make it through the next couple of days. Talk to you later, Dave
7/23/07 Update from Chris
God is good all the time. We are the bad ones, and that is why that statement at times may not seem true. Here in Zambia, we pick up orphans all day. They sneeze on their hand and then come running up to you, expecting you to hold it. I just smile and look up to God and laugh, after the initial cringe. Orphan snot appears to be on a whole new level compared to people snot. It just grosses me out more, but you laugh and play and sing songs all day. They are great (the kids), if you are tired and sick and lazy. You can pick one up, for many are quite small, and just hold them. There is something very special about holding a young orphan in your arms and praying for them. Love is felt there. It is a special kind of Love, which I wish I perceived more. I am very tired. But I suppose if I had just got done hiking ten miles through a desert I would be much more tired than I am now, so that makes me think I am really not that tired now. My head hurts a little, but that too is a passing frivolity. (Thought- If I assume that pains to the body are of minor notice, does that mean I count pleasures to the body of a similar minor notice. New Thought- Are pleasures to the body of any real concern. Certainly severe pains to the body are of need; they let us know something is wrong. Something needs to be corrected, made right, so we can go on living the way we should. Now pleasures, are they opposites of pains? Entirely different than a warning notice of some necessary correction? Are they then a notice of something done correct. A sort of message that says, “Hey Chris, you are doing everything right. This is why you are experiencing this, Keep at it.” A beautiful sunrise, a delightful meal (after a long hard days work might I add), sensual enjoyment. Are these gifts for behaving correctly? I don’t know.) Where was I? Oh, yes. Writing about how tired I was. I’m o.k. I suppose because I've never really endured real suffering, physically, that I call this physical suffering. For is not our greatest moment of pain used, or which should be used, to measure our current status? It should be. Or it helps me. Whenever I am tired of running, I think to how in lifeguard training they made me run far beyond what I thought I was capable of running. This experience of immense pain was groundbreaking distances for me, so whenever I now run, it is a piece of cake compared to that lifeguard running experience at Huguenot Park. However, as that memory is becoming more faded, I am becoming less concerned with how it felt then, and more concerned with how I feel now. It is good to be pressed to your limits and then beyond, in order to know you can do it right now. You have already overcome that thought, that doubt, Can I really make it? Once you know you can really make it. You can run the race with ease, even though you are still suffering. The ease on your mind is indescribably important when you are facing tough situations. It allows you to do it with peace. You get used to the suffering where it does not bother you anymore, and in time the suffering seems to decrease and greater enjoyment is found in the midst.
I can compare knowing, without any hint of doubt, that you can make it with trusting Jesus Christ. When you are really trusting Him, not just a little bit or a lot, but with all of your heart and not depending on your own understanding, I find I am able to have great peace inside of me. Now, if you trusted God 100% there would be no room for doubt. No room for error. There would be no uncertainties and absolutely no worries. This would be wonderful to live like this. No worries about tomorrow. For tomorrow will work itself out because God is taking care of it. Now I do not mean being lazy, oh course you work as hard as you can. But seek the Lord in all you do and He will direct your paths. Now, if we all really trusted God, 100%, we would have great eternal peace because there would be no anxieties within us. :) Wouldn't that be nice? Well that is the way God intended us to go through life. Trusting Him. Really trusting Him. Not just saying we do, but really trusting Him and having no doubts in the back of our minds because we know God has got it. Well, I have tasted that from time to time and would like to live my life like that. I think it all starts with fearing the LORD, and that starts with gaining wisdom, and that starts with reading Proverbs every day like a good little boy and growing up to be Christ like. A Christian. A real Christian. Not a lazy, insecure, doubting, feeble Christian. (I direct all of these comments on me, please do not feel that I am projecting this to the outside world, though I do believe there are similarities here and there and I am not alone in this.) Trusting in the power of God. Not thinking we are like God and can do his job. Believing that He will take care us, and that He will really do it. That is neat. That is how I want to Live. I’m working on it. Are you?? God’s so cool. Infinite He is. Endless topics of conversation and endless areas of Life. All is well in God’s hands. I am very glad to be there once again. Is escape possible?? I won’t get into that. Goodnight. I Love Y’all. Take care, Chris
I can compare knowing, without any hint of doubt, that you can make it with trusting Jesus Christ. When you are really trusting Him, not just a little bit or a lot, but with all of your heart and not depending on your own understanding, I find I am able to have great peace inside of me. Now, if you trusted God 100% there would be no room for doubt. No room for error. There would be no uncertainties and absolutely no worries. This would be wonderful to live like this. No worries about tomorrow. For tomorrow will work itself out because God is taking care of it. Now I do not mean being lazy, oh course you work as hard as you can. But seek the Lord in all you do and He will direct your paths. Now, if we all really trusted God, 100%, we would have great eternal peace because there would be no anxieties within us. :) Wouldn't that be nice? Well that is the way God intended us to go through life. Trusting Him. Really trusting Him. Not just saying we do, but really trusting Him and having no doubts in the back of our minds because we know God has got it. Well, I have tasted that from time to time and would like to live my life like that. I think it all starts with fearing the LORD, and that starts with gaining wisdom, and that starts with reading Proverbs every day like a good little boy and growing up to be Christ like. A Christian. A real Christian. Not a lazy, insecure, doubting, feeble Christian. (I direct all of these comments on me, please do not feel that I am projecting this to the outside world, though I do believe there are similarities here and there and I am not alone in this.) Trusting in the power of God. Not thinking we are like God and can do his job. Believing that He will take care us, and that He will really do it. That is neat. That is how I want to Live. I’m working on it. Are you?? God’s so cool. Infinite He is. Endless topics of conversation and endless areas of Life. All is well in God’s hands. I am very glad to be there once again. Is escape possible?? I won’t get into that. Goodnight. I Love Y’all. Take care, Chris
Friday, July 20, 2007
7/20/07 Update from Dave
Hello everyone,
Just a quick note tonight to let you know what is going on. Tomorrow we will head to a town (Ndola) about an hour and a half south of where we are staying. We will be there Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we will be doing a youth rally geared towards HIV prevention. This is tied into a lot of the work I have been doing here the past couple of years, but it is not something that we as a team have prepared for at all. The opportunity just got handed to us and so we are doing our best to roll along with it. The team has been really great about being willing to jump in even with next to no notice. They all rock and have been doing a great job this whole time.
Sunday, we will be visiting the Vineyard church in Ndola. They are a church of a couple hundred... and I will be preaching. I don't think I have preached in front of that many people before. Should be fun. Then, in the afternoon, we will be repeating our HIV prevention rally for the Vineyard's youth group. Anyway, you won't hear much from us for the next couple of days and we won't be answering the phone either. Please pray for us as we travel and also as we try to jump in and do a good job with some ministry stuff that we aren't really prepared for. Love you all. --dave
Just a quick note tonight to let you know what is going on. Tomorrow we will head to a town (Ndola) about an hour and a half south of where we are staying. We will be there Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we will be doing a youth rally geared towards HIV prevention. This is tied into a lot of the work I have been doing here the past couple of years, but it is not something that we as a team have prepared for at all. The opportunity just got handed to us and so we are doing our best to roll along with it. The team has been really great about being willing to jump in even with next to no notice. They all rock and have been doing a great job this whole time.
Sunday, we will be visiting the Vineyard church in Ndola. They are a church of a couple hundred... and I will be preaching. I don't think I have preached in front of that many people before. Should be fun. Then, in the afternoon, we will be repeating our HIV prevention rally for the Vineyard's youth group. Anyway, you won't hear much from us for the next couple of days and we won't be answering the phone either. Please pray for us as we travel and also as we try to jump in and do a good job with some ministry stuff that we aren't really prepared for. Love you all. --dave
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