Dear friends,
If you ever develop a desire to come to Africa, come fast. I've experienced so much within just two days, and I can't wait to see what all God has planned for the next two weeks. Abby and I are enjoying each other's company; I haven't laughed so hard with my best friend in so long. She's such a blessing, and she's much like a sister to me!
We had the privilege of attending a church service in Zambia on Sunday, and let me tell you, Zambians don't just sing songs to God, they praise him with dancing and shouting, lifting their hands, holding nothing back. When I walked into the tent where church is held every Sunday, and my eyes filled with tears as I listened to the sound of Zambian voice singing the songs "There's no one like Jesus," and "I surrender all." I imagine that heaven will sound like this one day, only better!
I listened to the pastor preach on the joy that comes with dying to ourselves daily- that when we as Christians take up our crosses and follow Christ, we experience a joy and peace that does not come from anything offered here on earth. We get to worship a King who loves us with an everlasting love, and whom we will soon spend eternity with. "Until that day," the pastor said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures here on Earth...but lay up for yourselves the treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destory, and where thieves do not break in.." Matthew 6:19-21. It was so encouraging to hear this. I love that even though the Zambian christians are poor, they still find joy in putting their hope in Christ Jesus who protects, saves them every day.
Finally, today, we met the orphans! This morning we visited the villages where the children live; it was hard to see the dirt floors, and the bed sheets hanging in front of their houses that are used as doors. I walked into a small community with the rest of my mission team, and within 30 seconds I was surrounded by at least 15 orphans. They are just fascinated with Americans. I held one boy who was covered in dirt, wearing a ripped shirt and jeans, no shoes, and whos eye was almost swollen shut. All he wanted to do was be held; he just needed comfort that he obviously wasn't receiving. He is just one of many hungry orphans I visited today. It was hard to smile for pictures.
After a hard visit in the villages, we headed over to the Go Center to meet the children we wil each individually counsel this week. Wow! What an energetic, lively bunch of kids. I will be working with ten girls, ages ten to fourteen. I love this age because the girls are able to talk to me in depth about their lives and the struggles they deal with every day. This is a sad truth, but in Zambia it is not uncommon for a young girl to be used as a prostitute in order to make money for her family. It's rare for a young girl to be told that she is a treasure made by God, who is worth "far more than rubies." Instead, girls are brainwashed into thinking that the only thing they're made for is to be used by men. My heart aches when I think of all the precious girls in Zambia who just want innocence. Please be praying that I will have the strength to handle any of the hard stories my girls tell me. I will be spending one-on-one time with each child tomorrow, and I will need the Holy Spirit to guide me as I try to minister to their sweet hearts.
Here is my prayer for the week:
"The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengence of our God; to comfort all who mourn," Isaiah 61:1-2.
My heart is refreshed by the children of Zambia. It is so neat to finally experience a dream I've had ever since I was a child. Thank you for praying for the orphans!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Abby's day..."Not for my glory"
We made it to Zambia! Hallelujah! Being back to Zambia has been a blessing from the Lord. God's prescence is so much clearer here and it's refreshing to see the Zambians worship in a genuine and whole hearted way. It's obvious that their love for God is at the center of their lives.
I was a little discouraged yesterday about not being able to be with the kids that I worked with last year and see how God has been working in their lives, especially since the process of creating trust with the kids can be long nd tiresome. However, through talking with my translator I realized that it's not about me at all, it's about the fact that ten more children will come to know Christ because of the work that God does through me. I got caught up in my own selfish desire to see how the seeds that were planted in my girls last year grew when truthfully, it's not for myself to see how God has worked in their lives. God is always good and he blessed me with a group of ten precious girls who have never been to camp LIFE before! Because of God's great blessing, I was able to share the gospel with them, for most of them it was the first time ever to hear the word of God. It was such a joy to see how God is constantly working in our lives and creating unexpected opportunities. I feel so blessed that He has brought these girls to me!
I am so excited to see how God transforms the orphans this week. My girls are incredibly shy, mostly because of the shock of being at camp and not really knowing what's going on. Today in the first worship session they weren't really participating and their faces looked so broken, however by the second worship session, they were all smiling and raising their hands! It brought tears to my eyes and chills down my arms to see these young girls worshiping the same amazing God I'm serving today. I still have a week ahead of me, but it was so encouraging to see a glimpse of heaven while watching all of them worship. Please be praying that God will teach how to communicate with my girls through love. They are all very young and don't speak any English so pray that my actions will reflect God's love for them. It's especially hard during the time I spend with them in a group and one-on-one, be praying that there will be easy connections and that all barriers will be broken down.
God has also blessed us with wonderful people on our team. We have had a sweet time of prayer each night in our villa where we stay. It has been so encouraging and we have enjoyed getting to know everyone on the team. They're is the sweetest elderly couple living in our villa, and they have "adopted" Lily and I as their grandchildren because they are not able to have grandchildren of their own. They have been an incredible blessing to Lily and I and we are very impressed that they have come here at an older age.
I find myself constantly repeating "blessed," but God has truly blessed both Lily and I here in every way possible. We are so grateful for your prayers and this trip wouldn't be the same without them! Much love to you all!
Here are my kids names if you would like to include specific names in your prayers, I will let you know more about them individually as I hear stories: Grace, Mama, Fareyi, Saze, Erlika, Martha, Zefar, Grace, Mwape, Justina
I was a little discouraged yesterday about not being able to be with the kids that I worked with last year and see how God has been working in their lives, especially since the process of creating trust with the kids can be long nd tiresome. However, through talking with my translator I realized that it's not about me at all, it's about the fact that ten more children will come to know Christ because of the work that God does through me. I got caught up in my own selfish desire to see how the seeds that were planted in my girls last year grew when truthfully, it's not for myself to see how God has worked in their lives. God is always good and he blessed me with a group of ten precious girls who have never been to camp LIFE before! Because of God's great blessing, I was able to share the gospel with them, for most of them it was the first time ever to hear the word of God. It was such a joy to see how God is constantly working in our lives and creating unexpected opportunities. I feel so blessed that He has brought these girls to me!
I am so excited to see how God transforms the orphans this week. My girls are incredibly shy, mostly because of the shock of being at camp and not really knowing what's going on. Today in the first worship session they weren't really participating and their faces looked so broken, however by the second worship session, they were all smiling and raising their hands! It brought tears to my eyes and chills down my arms to see these young girls worshiping the same amazing God I'm serving today. I still have a week ahead of me, but it was so encouraging to see a glimpse of heaven while watching all of them worship. Please be praying that God will teach how to communicate with my girls through love. They are all very young and don't speak any English so pray that my actions will reflect God's love for them. It's especially hard during the time I spend with them in a group and one-on-one, be praying that there will be easy connections and that all barriers will be broken down.
God has also blessed us with wonderful people on our team. We have had a sweet time of prayer each night in our villa where we stay. It has been so encouraging and we have enjoyed getting to know everyone on the team. They're is the sweetest elderly couple living in our villa, and they have "adopted" Lily and I as their grandchildren because they are not able to have grandchildren of their own. They have been an incredible blessing to Lily and I and we are very impressed that they have come here at an older age.
I find myself constantly repeating "blessed," but God has truly blessed both Lily and I here in every way possible. We are so grateful for your prayers and this trip wouldn't be the same without them! Much love to you all!
Here are my kids names if you would like to include specific names in your prayers, I will let you know more about them individually as I hear stories: Grace, Mama, Fareyi, Saze, Erlika, Martha, Zefar, Grace, Mwape, Justina
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Kingdom: Zambia 2011
I can’t believe that Lily and I will be flying off to Zambia tomorrow! It seems like yesterday we were doing cupcake sales and planning fundraising nights. I’m so excited to see what God has in store for us and I look forward to keeping y’all updated throughout the trip! Prayer is absolutely crucial for this trip, so we would both greatly appreciate your dedication to pray for us. As it says in Matthew 18:19, “If you believe you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” I truly believe that God will do incredible things through your commitment to pray and I cannot express how grateful I am for all of you! Along with what Lily shared, I highlighted a few more things to be praying for as we go off tomorrow:
-The Kids:This year's theme at camp is The Kingdom, teaching that each and every child is apart of the kingdom of God. Please pray for all of our kids that they will take to heart everything that they hear at camp. These kids are told on a day-to-day basis that their lives are invaluable and that they really don’t belong anywhere. Please pray that they will fall into the loving arms of their Abba Father and know that His love is unconditional. It’s very difficult for them to understand the concept of a loving Father in Heaven when all they experience Satan’s hold on them, so please pray that they will be trusting and believing in God’s greater plan for them.
-Vulnerability: Many of the kids are sent to camp, and told not to share anything about their home situation, so please pray that the kids will be open to speak their heart. Pray that they will trust us and know that we came to Zambia to because we love and care about them individually. Most of the kids that come to camp live with an aunt or grandmother who don't want them and simply view them as another mouth to feed, therefore, they have difficulty understanding that someone would love them when they don't know them. Please pray that we will connect with them immediately and that any barriers between us will be struck down. Zambians often view Americans as royalty and that they’re undeserved of our attention, please pray that our kids will see God’s love for them and for us equally.
-Spiritual Warfare: Satan is doing a strong work in Zambia; however, please pray that through all the evil that we will consistently believe in God’s Mightier work. Please pray that the fear within us will be driven out, and that God will grant us the courage to battle Satan’s plans in Zambia. Satan will be incredibly unhappy about what is going to happen in Zambia, so we pray that God will give us His strength and that we will not depend on our own strength. Please pray, as we are discouraged, that we will not allow Satan to steal our joy.
-Dependence: Please pray that we will constantly rely on God through whatever He brings us and be reminded that His plan will always be better than ours. Pray that as we are frustrated or at rock bottom that we will know God has a purpose in everything.
We fly off tomorrow around 6 pm so we could greatly appreciate your prayers for a safe journey there as well! Thank you so much for your prayers, they're such a blessing to both Lily and I!
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