So sorry that I haven’t been able to blog or update you guys! I am actually writing this with no internet and I will post it as soon as I get wifi. Wifi is pretty scarce here in the area of Zambia that we are in.
3 teams, including mine, have been sent to Chipata, Zambia for our month of ministry. We are all pretty excited that we were sent to Chipata because it is not as much of a tourist area like Livingstone and Lusaka. Because of that we get to experience TRUE Zambian culture, and it is very rich.
This month, the three teams that are here in Chipata are being split up. Two teams are sent out to villages and one team remains in the city. We will stay for one week and then rotate. This way we will all get to spend time in both villages and in the city. My team was sent to one the villages yesterday. While I am writing this, it is our first day of ministry here, and while the villages living accommodations are very humble, with almost no electricity and no running water, the people here are so kind and loving. The village women spend most of the day cooking delicious traditional African meals for us, over tiny little coal stoves. They are very industrious and very talented.
Today the ministry we had lined up did not really work out, so we simply sat on the porch of our little room and people kept coming to us asking for prayer. In this village white people only visit once or twice a year, sometimes never, so everyone was very excited to meet us and receive the blessings and prayers we had to offer. So we prayed and ministered to people all day. It was wonderful! We got to pray for many people and say many of the villagers delivered from bondages like alcoholism and abuse.
This morning I went to meet the Chief of this very large community of villages in order to represent my team. If I am honest, It was a little intimidating! I did not know quite what to expect, having never met a chief of a people group before. But he was very kind, and It was great to meet him. He was very proud and honored that we would come to his village and his people. As I am writing this, the right hand man, the guy who is allowed to speak for the chief, just walked in and gave us a chicken as a gift from the chief. He liked us so much he gave us a chicken! That is a great sign of respect and welcome in this culture.
Update: We have made it through our first week! We spent our first week in a village called MtnGulni. It was great! The people here in Africa are so kind and full of love and respect. You can literally walk up to almost anyone and start talking to them.
This has been a great first week. Keep your prayers coming as we continue to minister to the people in this village. I will blog again as soon as I am able to!
