Friday, July 16, 2010
Hello everyone! Got a free day today so I decided to give you some bonus coverage of what's going on in Zambia.
Basically this week has been pretty routine with our ministry at UNZA. We went to campus Monday through Thursday in the afternoon and either went sharing or followed up with students we had met before. I had the privilege of meeting up with my new friend Chanda for bible study twice this week. It has been a real growing experience to be put in a position to teach some truth, as well as learn some truth from the people I've been meeting with. This week we focused on growing as a Christian and what that looks like (Holy Spirit, reading the Word, praying, fellowship, ministering to others).
Aside from our normal campus routine, there have been some discouraging events that have taken place this past week. For those of you who don't know, our director has been working for many months trying to work it out so that one of the boys at the orphanage named Moffat, who is blind in one eye and losing vision in another, would be coming back to the U.S. with us next week and potentially have a transplant surgery and hopefully restore his vision. The full story is here: http://zambiahope.com/updates/ Unfortunately as of yesterday it appears that this will not be a reality because of all the hoops we are having to jump through to get his visa approved by the U.S. Embassy and other issues. Thankfully all hope is not lost, there is still a decent chance that he could come at some other point in time, but we just won't have everything set up for him to return with us; so keep praying for him as this is obviously a disappointing time for him, and that the process of making his trip to the U.S. would go smoothly over the next few months.
We also have been expecting a huge aid truck to arrive in Lusaka so that we could distribute food, clothes, etc to the slum the orphanage is in. We found out the other day that the truck was in a bad accident and flipped so the bin with the aid is currently in a ditch on the side of a road. Please pray that they are able to get the bin on another truck and that the contents have not been too badly damaged, and that it arrives in time for us to deliver to the slum.
Lastly, one of the guys on project, Chris, fell quite ill (mainly vomiting and dry heaves) last week around Thursday, and this Wednesday we finally had to take him to the hospital because he had not gotten better in nearly a week. 2 by 2 members of the team were with him for his entire stay, including Jesse and I who spent Wednesday night with him. It was actually really good to see him at the hospital because he was getting hydrated and able to have a lot more energy. Our time with him was a lot of fun. He came home Thursday afternoon and is feeling a lot better!
Tomorrow will be our last day at the orphanage, which will obviously be a ton of fun, but very very sad when we have to leave. We will just continue playing games and doing bible story skits for the kids. My time at the orphanage has really wrenched my heart and I know that it won't just be an experience I can tell people about, but it has really grown my compassion for not just orphans but people with all sorts of troubles. The bible is pretty clear that as Christians we are supposed to care for those who are fatherless, widowed, lame, blind, crippled, poor and that whatever we do for them we've done for Jesus, and whatever we don't do, we didn't do for Jesus.
Next week we will be on campus for 2 days, and then we will be taking a bus down to Livingstone for 2 days. While we are there we will debrief and process everything that God did during our time in Zambia. We will also have the opportunity to see the Victoria Falls (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world), go on a safari, and maybe even bungee jump! It will be a great way to cap off our trip to Zambia and hopefully lead to some wonderful fellowship with the team. I am really going to be sad to say good-bye to everyone.
My next update might not be until I am back in the states, but thanks for reading and praying!
1 comments:
I know how you feel about this experience seeing personally what the lives of the less fortunate are like. We get too comfortable sometimes and we forget of those that don't have much or are needy in some way. Compassion for others is so important and the joy you experience from spending time with them and sharing with them is amazing. God can do amazing things, and I am so glad these children are being taught about God and how He loves them. I can tell how much they love Him too. Will keep praying for Moffat and his visa. God's will be done in this situation. Also for all the students that your team has ministered to al Unza and Coperbelt so that they may continue to grow and give back by ministering to other students as well.
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