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!