Blogs are hard. Putting life into words is hard. Attempting to describe the roller coaster emotions I’ve been feeling is hard. And for the past two months, Africa has been, for the most part, hella hard.
But here it is – life in Zambia.
Ministry:
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Play Park – Currently this is just a piece of land, but it’s in the process of becoming a great place to reach out to the local community. Our job includes weeding, creating a race track, creating a volleyball court, and starting the base for bathrooms.
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Widows Bible Study – Every week we join a beautiful group of widows to study the book of Numbers, worship, and laugh. I get to see The Lord in their crinkly eyed smiles and goose bump raising voices singing all together at once.
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Ebenezer Orphanage – This is the most incredible place I have ever been. They take in orphans and raise them with a holistic approach to life (spiritual, physical, mental, social, and emotional). A group of us works in the homes, taking care of the babies and toddlers. Another group works at the school, teaching classes and running programs. We also get to join them every Sunday night for worship nights. Imagine a room full of all your best friends, holding adorable little nuggets in their arms, dancing around and worshipping The Lord. It’s my absolute favorite.
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SOS Orphanage – This is another nearby orphanage that we get to help work at. We have worked with the moms, who give up their own lives and families to live and take care of these children all year round. We had the opportunity to sit and talk with them about what they struggle with, how we can best help them, and to pray with them. I’ve never respected anyone so much. We also work with the kids and run a program, which includes games, songs, bible stories, and complete chaos.
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Awana’s – During the school year, we ran an Awana Program for a school full of little tikes. We broke into groups to play games, sing songs, do sports, teach bible lessons, and attempt to keep control of the toddlers.
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The Village – This is probably everyone’s favorite ministry. We head out to Mukumba Village during the weekends in a jam packed truck bed, ready to take on whatever comes our way. We’re always immediately swarmed by smiling children, eager to help us set up our tents, play with our hair, and sing songs. We evangelize in three different groups, spreading out all over, and making our way to different villages. It’s simply building relationships and encouraging people to look in the right direction. We go to four different churches to preach, worship, and run Sunday school. We go on prayer walks and have worship around the fire, fighting the battle of spiritual warfare. The Enemy has a tight grip on these villages. He works through the local witch doctors and people who come to the crossroads (anywhere four paths meet) to curse the land and people and take part in, for a lack of better words, Satan parties. It’s crazy and heartbreaking, but The Spirit is going to sweep through that place and He’s already working.
The Last Leg:
The past two months, I’ve really struggled to focus and stay present. My mind has been all over the place. I’ve been walking through a dry season and it has rocked me pretty hard. I let it get in my head. I felt like I was failing in my relationship with the Lord. I felt like I was taking steps backward. I wondered if I had really even changed at all. I kept pursuing God and seeking out what He had for me, but felt no answers being spoken and no change happening. I was frustrated and stuck.
The past two weeks have been a bit of a turning point though. Someone spoke some rock solid truth at just the right moment.
“You can’t feel the presence of God unless you’re PRESENT. Sometimes, you don’t ‘feel’ His presence, but you have to rest in the anchor of the reality of His presence. We are called to STIR UP the gifts we’ve been given, to ignite the fire inside of us. We are called to STAND UP in a crowd that’s settled.”
I have one month left. One month of waking up and climbing over my tent mate to get off of my squeaky plastic mat. One month of reading my bible, drinking crappy coffee, and swatting flies. One month of walking into any room of the house, finding a group of people, and sitting down to talk and laugh for hours.
One month of mirroring the widow’s crinkly eyed smiles. One month of listening to the unrestrained laughter of orphans as I spin them around. One month of walking for two hours in the middle of the bush to bring the Gospel to people who are never reached.
One month.
That’s all I have left on this crazy incredible journey.
Since then, my entire mindset has changed. My thoughts are no longer consumed with home, but with the here and now. I’ve been much more appreciative of people and opportunities. I’ve learned and changed exponentially on the Race. Now it’s time to apply those things and learn how to walk them out every day, every moment, and in every situation. This is also a time to use the gifts The Lord has blessed me with to continually challenge and empower the people around me.
This last month will not go by wasted and I will not sit stagnant.
