Truth is who You are

Monday of this week was our first day doing ministry at the University of Zambia (UNZA for short). It has about 10,000 students but the campus is HUGE! it is a lot of ground to cover on the days we go sharing, but I think I have started to have the general layout memorized. This week each of the students spent 4 days on campus, and 1 day at the orphanage (my day at the orphanage was Friday along with 3 other students...more to come on that later). Most of this past week at UNZA was freshman move-in and orientation activities, so the campus wasn't in full swing yet. Unfortunately for the freshman, only a small percentage are assigned rooms, and the rest are forced to fend for themselves and find a room to squat in. We helped these guys move into their room and found out that 6 of them were staying in one room, and there were only 2 twin beds! A typical day at UNZA this week consisted of walking to campus around 1 p.m. and then going around and finding people who were around campus, and initiate spiritual conversations. It was a lot like at Copperbelt, except we haven't started going door to door yet since not a lot of people have moved in yet. (Classes were supposed to start tomorrow, but they were delayed a week, so this week might be similar to last week as far as not having a lot of rooms to go to with occupants). The conversations were pretty easy to start, and the gospel was shared many many times. I had a lot of conversations on what it takes to gain salvation. There are a lot of people who believe the equation is Faith + Works = Heaven but Ephesians 2:8 - 9 would beg to differ, so we would show them scripture and explain that Faith = Heaven and the works are a natural outflowing of us already having salvation. We got some contacts (mostly phone #'s because most didn't have rooms yet) that we will hopefully be able to use use to follow up with and spend some time studying the bible together. Thankfully the days are only 4 hours on campus, so we are not as worn out as we were at Copperbelt.

Wednesday of this week we had a USA vs. Zambia soccer game that consisted of 11 of the americans vs. 11 of the kids from the orphanage. The game took place near a slum called Ng' Ombe and was mainly used to draw attention to the Jesus Film that we showed after. I was lucky enough to be one of the 11 to play the game and it was a blast! We put up a good fight but due to an offsides call and an own goal we could only manage a 3-4 loss. The kids from the orphanage loved it and our director told us that the game was probably something they'd remember for the rest of their lives. I'll gladly take the loss if it means that they can tell all of their friends about the time they beat the Americans in soccer. After the game we all walked to where a projector and screen were set up to show the Jesus Film, which was shown in their native language, Nyanja. The turnout was pretty stellar and at the end of the movie there were so many who prayed to receive Christ as their savior, too many to count! One part of the film that really touched me was when Jesus appeared to the disciples after rising from the dead. The Zambians cheered and cheered when he first appeared and it really shook me how spectacular and wonderful it is that Jesus is who he says he was, and that he rose from the dead to prove it.

On Friday I met up with a team from our director's church who was in Zambia this week specifically working with the orphanage. 3 other students and myself led a devotional in the morning about focusing on Christ, and letting him be our motivation and source of power for the work we were doing at the orphanage. Believe me, it is really easy to get satisfaction out of helping others, but if we aren't doing it in the name of Christ, then it is basically in vain.

After the devotional we all went to the orphanage and continued working on some projects that they were trying to finish this week. They included new windows, an outdoor bathroom, and steps leading to the front door. We made some progress on both of these and as of today everything is pretty much done, except for some last few things with the bathroom. We also had plenty of time to play with the kids again, which was a joy like usual. I had a lot of tickle-fights with some of the younger boys, as well as some good juggling circles with a soccer ball.

Friday night I watched possibly the best soccer game I have ever seen, with Uruguay defeating Ghana in PK's. We went back to the same restaurant as we did when the U.S. game was on, except this time we all were rooting for Ghana. It was a sweet atmosphere teaming up with the other Africans as they held on hope to the last African nation in the world cup. Sadly they lost, but it was still a really fun time.

Last night we went to dinner at the house of the Zambian national director of campus crusade for Christ. His wife prepared a wonderful meal for us, and it was good to relax at the end of the week and enjoy the company of the team from Larry's Church as well as the other Zambian crusade staff members.

Today we went to church and are planning on having a 4th of July dinner, complete with hot dogs, hamburgers, and baked beans. While we are all loving our time in Zambia, we still miss America. Hope you all have/had a wonderful 4th of July!