Wow. Month three in Zambia is almost over! This Friday my squad and I head to Malawi for month four – our final month in Africa :0 … I cannot believe that we only have a MONTH left before the first third of the Race is over. We will begin our month in Malawi by having a mini debrief with the entire squad before each team heads to their specific ministry. My team will be located in Lilongwe, the capital!
Enough about next month…I really want to focus on this past month in Zambia. I have been really bad about writing this month because, if I’m being honest, my mind has been all over the place. Looking back on our time in Zambia, I have so much to share and I am excited to attempt to sum this month up in one blog post.
Before I say anything else I just want to give a shoutout to my team’s host family. We stayed with Pastor Dennis (the pastor and pioneer of the church we worked with in Lusaka) and his wife Miss Ireen and son Caleb. I have never met a family who took me in as their own child in the way Pastor’s family did. First of all, Miss Ireen is probably the best cook EVER. She took simple things like rice, vegetables, and beef and worked magic. To this day, I have no idea how the heck she makes her food so good. At one point, she said when she is not cooking she is thinking of how she can make her food better. And lemme tell ya, it shows. Miss Ireen treated us as if we were her own daughters. She loved my team members through sickness, took us to local markets to by beautiful fabrics to make skirts, and absolutely radiated the love of Christ this entire month. Saying goodbye to her is going to be very difficult. Not to mention, she killed multiple cockroaches for me….if you know me at all you know cockroaches are my biggest fear.
Pastor Dennis is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. And he works for Christ, to glorify Him and make Him known. Pastor never hesitates to serve others. He is always doing something with or at the church for the people who attend and it is clear he loves his family above all else. His hard work and dedication to pioneering his church here in Lusaka is inspiring. It was an amazing example of how when Jesus places a fire in someone, that fire will continue to burn and will create strength and dedication in that person that is unparalleled. It is so clear that everyone who attends the church loves and admires Pastor, and I think it is because he serves so well and emanates the love and welcoming nature of Christ. His sermons are incredible and, every Sunday, I walked away from the service learning something new. Not to mention the worship was like a legitimate concert in honor of Jesus – dancing and all.
Caleb was like a little brother to my team this month. We taught him how to play monopoly deal (the card game we play at least five times a day) and he ended up slaying us in it many times. He always made us laugh and amazed us with his creativity and art skills. Caleb and his best friend who lives next door would always be outside playing with the dogs (yes, we have been blessed with dogs this month) and it was not uncommon to hear them running around and acting how kids should act – imaginative and full of joy.
So yeah, our host family has been absolutely incredible. But I also want to share about our ministry this month and what God did through it.
Our main ministry this month was community outreach. We worked hand-in-hand with Pastor’s church and spent every day with the local Zambians who attend it. It was really cool to get to do ministry with locals and get to know their culture. It opened up so many doors. Some people we would meet out in the communities could not speak English, and because of the locals we worked with, we were able to get to know and communicate with them. This month, I witnessed people give their lives to Christ. It was powerful and something I have never really witnessed before. I was able to build relationships with local people who left deep impressions on my heart. Later today, my team and I are actually going to go and say our goodbyes to some these people. It is going to hurt, but the way in which I saw Christ help people through difficult situations this month makes it all worth it.
This month, I learned that God brings people together. People who don’t know each other, may not speak much of the same language, and who come from different backgrounds. At the beginning of this month, I did not know what to expect. Now, being at its end, the thought of leaving the warm smiles, hospitality, and incredible strength I see in Lusaka makes me want to cry. The stories of redemption I heard this month were unparalleled. The faith I saw this month was insane. Jesus is present in Zambia, and it is very clear. I felt it and saw it.
While our main ministry was community outreach, we also got the chance to work with kids at Sunday school and work with the boys at the orphanage that is connected to the church. Both of these experiences touched my heart in different ways. Since being on the Race, I have realized that I LOVE kids. Getting to put on Sunday school for them and hangout with them at their home was pure joy. It makes me smile even thinking about it.
Working in the orphanage was a powerful experience. I am not going to share much about the kids themselves, for privacy reasons. But we got to put on an activity called “What’s Your Worth?” It ended in tears and truths being spoken. If you ever want to know more, feel free to message me about it. I would love to explain the what’s your worth activity, as it is something that works wonders for people of all ages and from all backgrounds.
Zambia was a lot of things. It was community. It was good food. It was smiling children. It was traditional markets. It was my team growing closer. It was me letting go of stubbornness and pride. It was a learning experience. And it was Christ being patient with me, walking with me, and working through our combined team of Zambians and Americans. It was worship like I have never experienced it before. It was the power of the Trinity. I will never forget you, Zambia
