Overland Missions Basecamp – Livingstone, Zambia
I knew God would stretch me when I accepted the responsibility of being a team leader – and let me tell you, He has been faithful.
The last few days my team has travelled from Johannesburg, South Africa to our ministry site here in the outskirts of Livingstone, Zambia. I would have to assume it was one of the most stressful travel days our team would experience the entire year.
Due to lack of Internet, the other team leaders and I had much trouble getting bus tickets to our respective ministries. We were able to take a taxi to the bus terminal in Joburg to buy tickets on the last day, and buses to Livingstone already being limited, the only ticket left was a connection in Lusaka. We left at 7 in the morning, and with bus delays and constant police stops, what we thought to be a generous 16 hour bus ride actually turned out to be a full on 44 hour transit time. We met many very nice people along the way, including three Zambians – Eric, Eddie, and James – who told us all about the great country we would be serving in for the month.
The Basecamp here is extraordinary. Overland Missions is a worldwide missions organization with its main field site here in Livingstone. They train up missionaries in their school, Advanced Missions Training, a 3 month boot camp where they equip you with everything you need to know to go out into the field from wilderness emergency medicine to welding to mechanics and of course spiritual training. They send out teams on "expeditions" for a week or longer into what they call the "bush" to spread the love of God to tribal villages. They often make contact with tribes that have never heard the gospel or even encountered non-Africans.
I feel so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to be here in Zambia to be a part of this effort. It is insane. Many times I catch myself thinking, "Holy moles.. I'm sitting here in the middle of Africa, listening to Pastor Jeff, with the Zambezi River in the background. How did I get here??"
On Monday, my team and I will be taking an expedition into the bush for one week. We will be taking all our supplies and camping among the people, far away from any Internet or phone. We will all have the opportunity to speak to the people, share the gospel, and share our testimonies. Please pray for my team and I that we would be filled with the Holy Spirit and that we would bring the love of Jesus, and that our words would not be of our own, but God speaking through us. I'm so excited for this trip and so excited to share it with all of you when I come back. Or if I come back. Just kidding.
