Truth is who You are

I met the entire Zambia team Sunday afternoon after two short flights from Canton/Akron to Chicago. I was first greeted by our amazing and hilarious project director, Larry Conover. He then guided me to a shuttle which took me back to the hotel we would be briefing at for the next two days. When I walked into the hotel I was greeted by my very good friend (some might say best) Jesse Mentz who goes to USC, who proceeded to hug/tackle me, since we haven't seen each other in about 6 months. I then met the other men on the project, and they were all awesome, I am so blessed to have gotten to know them very quickly. I then quickly met and got to know the rest of the women and staff.

Briefing was a lot of fun and really helpful in understanding what project would look like. I found out about the different ways we would be doing God's work, which included going to some universities and spending a lot of time at an orphanage (see post below). We also played get-to-know-you bingo to help everyone learn names and get a feel for each person's personality. Basically my team is filled with 27 wonderful people who love Jesus and are committed to following him!

Monday evening the crazy trip to Zambia began, and it started with us finding out that 8 of the people on the team had their reservations on the flights lost (including the project director and his family). From this experience we got to practice what Larry had told us is the most important rule: "Expectations are your enemy, and flexibility is your friend." So 19 of us continued on without them under the fearless leadership of the rest of the staff (don't worry, they made it a day after us). Even though we spent roughly the next 36 hours either on a plane, or in an airport, I actually had a lot of fun just talking and getting to know my team better; Although I probably only slept about 6 hours of those 36.

We finally landed in Zambia around noon (6 am in the states) on Wednesday and made it through customs quite quickly and thankfully all of our luggage arrived too. We were also greeted by the Zambian staff, which was quite a relief since we had no cell phones, or idea what to do when we got to the airport. They helped us gather our things and drove us to the guest house we would be spending our time at while in Lusaka. The house is quite big, it sleeps all 27 of us pretty comfortably. I share a room with two other guys, Jesse and one of my new good friends Brendan who goes to Northwestern.

I got to see Lusaka on the first day with another student, Jason and Jonathan when we went to go buy water, toilet paper, and mattresses. It was really cool to see a completely different city. It was extremely busy, with people driving and walking everywhere. Also cars drive on the left side of the road (so they drive from the right side of the car...so I keep freaking out when I see a moving car with what appears to be no driver). The first two days were basically a time to rest from our travels, keep getting to know each other, and enjoy some euchre or watch the world cup together.

On Thursday the rest of the team arrived at the house, and we got to finally go to the orphanage we had been hearing so much about. As our bus arrived in the neighborhood tons of kids started pointing and yelling and running after us! It was incredible to see how excited we made them, and we hadn't even met them yet. We all got off the bus and were greeted by children and adults from every direction. The orphanage then put on a little singing performance which was seriously the most precious thing I have ever seen. Soon after that we started playing with the kids (from the orphanage and a lot more from the neighborhood who heard the commotion). "Playing" included taking pictures with our cameras and showing them, which they found absolutely hilarious. I also let some of the kids take pictures with it, so i have roughly 100 pictures of everything from other kids, my ear, the sky, and someone's finger nail polish! They loved it and I loved seeing how excited it made them. Others on the team also had balloons which they would fill up with air and then let go so they would rocket around the area, which would quickly be followed by a stampede of children trying to catch it. We also got a chance to kick a "football" around with some of them, which was fun for me since it's my favorite sport but also amazing to see how good they were for their age, and how willing they were to share with each other. I was very sad when the night was over and I had to leave, especially when all of the kids were grabbing/hugging/and everything they could to stop us. I can't wait to go back!

I'm almost out of time so I will update you on our Copperbelt stay next time! Keep praying for us and know that God is moving!