What's the Problem?

We are all living in a world where the devil is working. Glorious will be the day when we shall be separated from the evil that he brings.

I have learned so many things as I live and work in Zambia. I know that when I leave this place I will come back to America a changed person. I will never look at life the way I used to and I am glad. I know it sounds cliché to say, “It’s a different world here!” but it really is. I am amazed daily at the differences of living here and living in the States. I am constantly being reminded of how luxurious life once was for me and I didn’t even realize it. I am always thinking of things that I took very much advantage of and only now that I don’t have them, I notice and appreciate them.
I am recommending to everyone a trip to a third-world country. If you haven’t been to one, you really need to go. Even on a short visit, you will gain immeasurable insight on how life is for a large percentage of the world’s population. If you have been to one, you know what I mean. I always want to take pictures of everything I see and experience so I may show people back home, but I know it’s not the same for them to see a photograph as it is for me to see the real thing.
I don’t want to go on and on about the poverty here because I know you have all heard it before. You’ve seen commercials about the orphans without shoes and read the pamphlets about how little it really takes to feed an African family. You know it’s here. I used to watch those commercials, too and often found myself feeling pity on them, but not really understanding the extent of it. It really hits me now that I am here. However, I don’t want to tell you about that. I don’t want to talk about looking out my window in the morning to see village children digging in my trash looking for food or things that they consider treasures. I don’t want to talk about the preschoolers that walk long distances barefoot to get to school, or the man I saw lying in a hospital bed whose legs were as thin as my wrists, or the child we had to rush to the clinic because his entire body was swollen due to malnutrition. I don’t want to talk about those things, because you already know about them.
There are so many things about Africa that make it different besides those issues you are used to hearing about. I have been introduced the cruelness of this world and am becoming more and more familiar with it as the days pass. My prayer list for this people is getting so long that each night it takes me more and more time to finish. When I look around me I see many issues that need to be addressed and taken care of. In fact, they are so numerous that I often feel overwhelmed at the fact that they most likely won’t ever be changed. Not all of them.
One major obstacle for people and a cause for many deaths is the lack of medical care facilities. The nearest clinic to our center is over 70 km away. We have often found when people make it there, they are then referred to a place where there needs can be met because that clinic lacks the know-how, the equipment and many other things necessary for proper care-giving. The places they are referred to are very far away. Many people in the villages die in childbirth, of snakebites, malaria--things that are easily treated once in the right care. Sometimes they die on the way to the hospital and sometimes they are so deep in the bush, they don’t even get that far.
A large part of this problem is due to lack of education. We have a certified nurse onboard with us and she is constantly in disbelief with some of the problems presented to her. We want to inform people of ways that they can be healthier and avoid so much sickness, but they are so far behind that it often seems like an uphill battle. Some people get it and some are not as fast to catch on. The issue is that in their worldview, they become fatalists, which means they believe that whatever is happening to them can’t be stopped because it’s fate. Here is an example to help you understand: There was a village of people that were all getting sick and many were dying. A missionary doctor came to their village and found that there was a dead goat in the bottom of their well. He said, “You have a dead goat in your well!!” They all said, “Yeah. . . ?” They knew the goat was down there, yet they continued using the water for bathing, cooking, drinking and cleaning. They made absolutely no connection to the fact that there was a decaying corpse of an animal in their water. They believed it was fate. Whether it be witchcraft, punishment, or the devil himself, there was nothing they could do to stop it.
This, obviously, is a large obstacle to overcome. We have many classes on healthy living and give out books on eating balanced meals and keeping your drinking water clean and so on. Germs don’t exist to them. They don’t have the cognitive domain to understand that. Disease is caused by germs and bacteria and can be cured and often prevented. Why are so many people dying of AIDS? It’s fate.
I don’t know how any of that makes you feel, but it really disturbs me. I sometimes think, “Oh, wouldn’t that be great to come and build a big hospital right here?” But then, who would come? Who would understand that they can go there with their sickness and get help? Who would rather go to a witch doctor. Who thinks that their baby girl has been bewitched so they have nothing to do but watch her die? It’s so hard to know where to start. It’s hard to see our progress from day to day. These people, that I have come to love very deeply, need more health education. It seems simple, and is compared to what some people think is needed over here.
It starts with the children. In preschool we talk about brushing teeth, keeping hair clean, bathing every day, eating vegetables, etc. They were all given tooth brushes and when they were asked where their tooth brushes were after a month, half of them had either, broken them, lost them, or had parents take them for themselves. Every day the teacher I work with checks them to see if they have bathed and cleaned their fingernails. It’s so important to learn these things and we want to start young so they can develop these habits over time. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like I am doing much until I look at the bigger picture. You gotta start somewhere!
We need your prayers for our efforts here. There is so much work to be done and not enough people to do it. It will take years for any changes to be really noticed to the outside and that’s too long. So many people will die in that time. I wasn’t originally trying to recruit anyone, but if you thought there was nothing you could do if you came to Africa, you were wrong. If you know how to take a bath and take care of your health needs then you are a prime candidate. Come on down! J Thank you everyone for your continuous prayers and support. I am so thankful for everything that is happening here and I am thankful to God and other who have made it possible for me to be a small part. Praise be to God.

I will try to update more often—sorry about that!

Life Lessons

1. Don’t take everything personally, but use every situation as an opportunity to learn something about yourself.

2. Every day is a good day, only attitudes are bad.

3. Something good can be found in every situation.

4. Having to face challenges is God’s way of telling us we’re strong.

5. A 3rd world country is the easiest place to find your weaknesses, but the best place to find your strengths.

6. Always. . .
Use your hands to work for the Lord,
Use your voice to glorify the Lord,
Use your heart to love the Lord, and
Use your life to show the Lord

7. No matter how little a person has, if they have God they have everything they need.

8. The Bible is the best book I’ve ever read.

9. No matter where you’re from everyone laughs the same and everyone cries the same.

10. Be thankful for what you have.

11. God can use me in situations that seem to have no purpose.

12. Trusting in the Lord is the best thing I can do for myself.

These Are the Moments. . .

It seems that there is more for me to tell you than there is time in which to tell you. I am experiencing far too much to be able to fit everything into this space that I have. Then again, perhaps even if my time and space were unlimited, I would still never have the ability to make you fully understand what it is truly like for me. . .
The past week or so has been full of it's ups and downs, as every week is. The good things that happened outweigh the not so good things by far, as they always do. The preschool program has been amazing! The local villages have been beyond receptive to our new school and are very eager for their children to become involved. This program has been limited to children of ages four, five and six because our resources are limited, but I am hoping that someday we might be able to expand beyond that. As of Thursday, our numbers peaked at forty-two children! That's a lot of kids! It is most encouraging to see their willingness to participate and learn. It almost brings me to tears every morning when I ride up on my bike to see them all eagerly awaiting my arrival, nearly falling off their benches with anticipation.
We have, however, hit a slight and most unfortunate snag. The young man whom I was training, Fremont, has been called up to work in the mine. This is something he has been waiting for, and it is very good news for him, but we had no idea it would be so soon. It has left me without a teacher and interpreter. I went to the children this morning to tell them the news. Someone from the church was supposed to meet me there to interpret, but no one showed up. After singing with the children for a while, there was nothing left that I could do without an interpreter. So, I told all 30-some kids to follow me. I walked them up the road to the roadside and bought them all a piece of bubble-gum. They were very excited! :) Then, not knowing what else to do, I told them, "Mukeye kikwipilo kesha." Which means, "You should come to the church tomorrow." That's all I knew to say, and I figured we would take it from there. We parted ways as everyone headed to their villages. Later I saw the man who was supposed to meet me to interpret and he went and told all the parents to take the rest of this week off from preschool and hopefully we will have a teacher by next Monday. I walked some of the kids home and met their parents. They were so excited to introduce me to their moms and dads and their parents were very excited to see me. It was a good day. We are searching desperately for a new teacher, though, and praying hard.
As long as I live, I will never forget walking down the road with over thirty preschoolers following me. I was packing one on my back and had five holding on to each hand. The rest of them were stumbling over themselves trying to get close to me. I was thinking about this later that day and I was trying to figure out how I could re-capture it so I could share it with everyone. There is no picture, no video, and there are definitely no words that will ever show people what it was like and how it made me feel inside. I found myself talking to God about it last night in prayer, because he is the only one who was there with me. I kept saying, "Oh, I loved it when. . ." or "Remember how she smiled after. . . ?" I can picture God nodding and smiling right along with me and I am forever thankful that he is here for me to share these things with. These are the moments that I wish I could pause and hold onto forever. These are the moments that I want to share with all of you. These are the moments that I live for.

Every day is a miracle. . .

Hello, all! Things are going very well here in Mumena! I wish you all could be here to see God as clearly as I am able to. As I work with the people and all of the children, I am filled with a joy that I thought I would never know. God is truly amazing in the way he works things out according to his purpose.
I started the preschool this week, on Monday, and it is going well.The first day was good, but not many children showed up because of communication problems. That, unfortunately, is not uncommon as we try to put things together. We worked it out, however, and on the second day we had about 35 children! It was wonderful! They are so eager to learn and so full of life and energy that I am just amazed. They all took the time to bathe and put on their nicest clothes to come to school. It made me very proud to see such enthusiasm, not just from them, but from their parents as well. If this works out, it can be a very good thing for the community. The children are sharp and are catching on to my teaching much quicker than I originally thought they would. I am incredibly excited about that!
The children have shown me so many things and taught me so much without even trying to or knowing that they were. Language is not as big of a barrier as some would think, or as I thought at first. It can be frustrating when you are trying to communicate something and nothing is getting across to you or to the person with whom you are talking. However, it has been a blessing to be with these children and not know what they're saying. Often times I can tell what they want or need just through their actions or facial expressions. Today I was sitting on the ground watching them play at break time and a little girl came up to me and smiled (I love the fact that smiling is the same in both languages). She grabbed a hold of my hand and just stood next to me, looking into my eyes. I pulled her onto my lap and she laughed (which is also the same) and seemed very excited to be so near to me. There were a few other girls who followed her lead and came over to sit with me. They were touching my hair and my arms and my clothes and saying things that I couldn't understand. I could, however, feel their desire to be held and loved. I could hear in their voices that I was making a huge impression just in this moment that could seem so small to someone else.
After class none of the children wanted to leave. They all wanted to stay and hold my hands and touch my skin and tell me the few words they know in English. I will never forget today as I stood there looking down at them. All 35 of them were holding onto some part of me whether it be my arms or my hands or my clothes. Their big black eyes were looking up at me with questioning gazes. They were all smiling, showing their white teeth, and their little black fingers were moving up and down my arms as they inspected me. It's as if they wanted to see what I felt like. They are learning to trust me one step at a time and it is truly an experience that I will hold onto for the rest of my days.
I have been here almost two months and have already learned so many things from these people. They are loving, kind, gentle, and eager to please. They make do with what they have (which is near to nothing) and they keep on going day after day. They never question why they don't have more and they seem very content. They are hard workers and very strong. The women spend most of their days hauling water from the well to their homes so that their children can bathe, and so they can cook and clean. They get up early in the morning to heat their coals so their children can have a hot breakfast. They are up late at night trying to finish their day's work. They do their laundry by hand, they cook everything over a fire, they hand-wash their dishes and bathe their children. They sew their clothes, clean their homes, butcher their own chickens and pigs for dinner. They have an average of 4-5 children per family, and more if a mother dies. There is one lady here who takes care of all her nieces and nephews on top of her own children. There are almost 20 of them! Yet, she manages.
They do very well and the only thing they are missing is hope. They don't have any hope for a future or any hope of coming out of poverty. There is no hope. You can see it in their eyes and hear it when they speak. In fact, I have often wondered to myself what exactly keeps these people going? What motivates them to keep on keepin' on? That is where I come in and the rest of the missionary families. We are here to teach them of hope. There is a God who loves them unendingly and wants them to live forever with him. There will be no suffering! No AIDS! No hauling water for baths! There will be no tears, no mistreatment, no lies. There will be no disease, no sickness and no dying. This is a message that gives them hope and gives them somethingto live for. When we go to church I love to sit back and watch their facial expressions as they hear the message. I love to watch them clap and sing from their hearts about a God who is coming back for them someday. It's almost unreal that I am able to see these things first-hand. It's like every day is a miracle. Every smile, every laugh, every song, every baptism. The angels in heaven are surely rejoicing every hour that we spend here seeking and saving the lost.
That is how the ministry here is going. That is what it is like for me here every day. That is why I wanted to come and do what we are doing.

More on the work in Mumena

Things here in Mumena are going great so far! God is blessing all of the work we've been doing. I am starting to feel very at home, here. The preschools we are starting are right on schedule for the first week of September, and I am getting anxious to start. To get the children from the area used to me, I have been going to two different villages and teaching them about God and telling them stories from the bible. They seem to be very receptive to me and they are all very excited about being taught by a "muzungu" or "white person". I love to teach them and watch them hear these things for the first time. It is truly a blessing to be here and be a part of the Kingdom work!
On the side I have been putting together Sunday school lessons that can be taught using materials in the area. Once I get them all put together, I will be going around to different churches and presenting the material so that they can teach their own children. We are also leaving them enough materials to get started. They are the ones asking for the material and that is a good thing! It means they are ready to start taking part in their churches, and that's a huge step.
I have one bible study going with a young girl (18) in the next village (I have an interpreter--she speaks very little English), but it's hard to know when she is going to show up to learn. When she does come, she seems to be very interested. I've found that often times out here, they are too busy working, hauling water, and doing other various chores, to make time for education and bible studies. I am tutoring a young Zambian girl in her schooling. She is seven and very behind on reading. She comes every morning and we work on her letters. Yesterday she didn't come, but I did see her walking back and forth with a bucket of water on her head and her baby brother tied on her back. My heart went out to her because she is so young to be working so hard. She is so small and looked even smaller underneath the heavy bucket. That's how it is out here, though. That's life for these children and their parents.
This has certainly been eye-opening for me and I will never forget some of the things I have seen. Please pray for our work here and hopefully all of the small things we do will come together to make a big change. Thank you for your support and prayers. God is definitely omnipotent! Praise Him.

Mumena Update

Hello, all! Everything here in Mumena, Zambia is going great! I am learning so much about the culture and how to teach the bible cross-culturally. I have attended a few training classes and it is all so interesting, yet challenging. Plans to start a preschool for one of the villages is coming along and we are planning to start in September. Everything we create here we want to be self-sustaining once we leave. Because of that, I will be training a local to teach the preschool and eventually take over. The children don't speak English so I have to have an interpretor, but I have already learned a great deal of Kaonde--their native language. Our goal is to teach them the bible along with all the basic knowledge that preschoolers need when they enter school. We want them to be able to speak English, also.
On top of that I am planning on starting a few one-on-one bible studies with the women in this area and there are a couple of other children's ministry projects that are in the works. I will update more on those as we go.
One thing that has become very clear to me as I spend more time with these people is that Americans as a whole have forgotten what's important in life and I love the simplicity out here--it is so refreshing. It's not as convenient, but it doesn't matter. They don't have any concept of time here and it's a big change for me, but I already like it. I love the people, too. They are friendly, caring, and so eager to learn about our loving LORD.
God is great and his blessings continue to pour out as we work in His name. Praise Him for He is GOOD!

In his arms I fly

I am finally on my way!!!!! It seemed like this day would never come and here it is. I made it to Dallas and am now at the airport waiting for the flight that will take me to London. Everyone has probably heard about the car bombings there and all the going-ons, and I just want to ask for your prayers to make it through security okay and get on my flight to Zambia in time. I am sure that everything will be fine, but it helps to know that people are praying for me. God hasn't failed me yet and he certainly won't start now. Thank you for your prayers and support that have helped me get this far. Soon you will be able to see the amazing things that God can do through me! Keep checking for news because it will be coming!!

After hours of packing, I finally got everything in!!

Time To Go!

Wow. It's finally here. I am leaving New Mexico in a couple of hours to start my incredible journey. I will spend about a week on the coast and then I am headed to Africa. I can't believe it's finally here! Packing proved to be more of a challenge than I had originally thought, but I finally fit everything into two 50 lb. bags and two carry-ons--that takes talent! I had to leave a couple of things behind that I wanted to take, but I didn't really need. Time to simplify my life. I am very excited to get started on my trip and I praise God, for he is good!!

Here goes!

I have started packing for my trip! I am so excited to be this close to leaving. It seems like the wait has been forever, but I am sure it will be worth it! There are so many things that I have to pack for a trip like this and it has been a lengthy process getting everything ready. Every time I start to get things together I remember something else that I need. I will be glad when I am done! Of course, I would like to remember everything that I need. Once I get to Africa there are many things that will be hard to come by or I won't be able to find them at all. I can't imagine life without Wal Mart, but I guess I will get used to it! :) As usual, God has been with me every step of the way and I am so thankful, for without him it would be impossible!

God of Wonders

It's so weird to be away from my friends and my church family. I feel sad when I think of Conway--the place I had come to call home. I find it very strange that my calling to serve in Zambia means making so many sacrifices and saying so many good-byes. It seems that doing the right thing should make life easier, though I know the very opposite is often true. In this case, leaving is probably the hardest thing I have ever done, yet I am doing it by choice because it is pleasing to God and it is exactly what he has planned for me. I can take comfort in this as well as in knowing that my family and friends in Conway will be my family and friends forever; even after this life is through. I pray that God eases my pain and blesses this time I have with my parents and other family and friends in New Mexico before I take the big leap and move across the ocean to the unknown. I also praise God for all that he has done for me as I continue to plan this trip of faith. I am so blessed. He truly is a God of wonders, isn't he?

Moving Right Along

Well, I went and recieved MORE shots yesterday in preperation for my trip to Africa. It wasn't bad, though. I am now vaccinated from Polio and Chicken Pox as well as a number of other diseases. It is getting close to moving time and the closer it gets, the more antsy I am to leave. I have been waiting so long for this and now I just want to go. I will be moving in with my parents in less than two weeks, thus leaving my home in Conway. I shall miss everyone in Arkansas greatly, but it is just a step in the direction of Africa--my ultimate destination--therefore I can't be too sad. The Lord continues to bless me everyday and for that I am grateful as well as excited to be able to serve Him in this way.

His Blessings Pour Out

I am so amazed at the power of the Lord. He is accomplishing so many things in my life right now and everything for my trip seems to be just falling into place. It's exciting to be confident that I am exactly where I should be right now preparing to do exactly what I have been called to do. God never ceases to amaze me!

Getting Ready

It’s a little over two months before I will be leaving for Africa!! I am going to be living there for about a year and I am totally stoked! I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for me there. I have been preparing for this trip for quite some time and am becoming a tad antsy to leave. I must say that it will be a bittersweet departure. . .