Sponsorship

I know many of you have probably been made aware of the dire need for sponsors so many kids living in poverty possess. You have probably seen commercials, or even videos that tug on your heart’s strings for a few moments, but then just moments later the emotions have passed and you are back to living in your daily routines without giving sponsorship another thought. “How much of a difference could I, just one sponsor, sending a small check every month really make in a child’s life?” These thoughts are all too familiar and maybe even commonly thought, but through EOH I have gotten to see a whole new beauty to sponsorship and the new life it brings these kids. Kids once living in darkness now know what it means to walk in the light and have a joy so much more deeply rooted in them than anything in this world can destroy through the opportunity to live in these homes and be brought to life in Christ. These kids are able to attend school and live in homes with brothers and sisters and a Mama. None of which would be possible without their wonderful and generous sponsors. What makes sponsorship through EOH different than any organization I have encountered before, however, is the relationships that are able to be formed between the child and sponsor. I have gotten to witness firsthand the joy these children gain from the love and support of their sponsors. Just yesterday we walked over to the Lusaka homes and got to take part in the distributing of gifts being hand delivered from these kids’ sponsors all the way from America. One by one, each child’s name was called and they were able to receive a personalized gift and/or letter from their sponsor families. I cannot even begin to tell you the joy it brought me watching these kids receive these gifts with such gratitude and thanksgiving. What excitement filled the room during this time of not only receiving gifts but being reminded that they are loved and cared for. That they are being prayed for by people who love them all across the world. Many of these kids have even had the opportunity to meet their sponsors and form relationships with them beyond writing letters back and forth. As I sat and watched the smiles on these kids’ faces as they opened their gifts and read their letters and were given pictures of the people who have made such an impact on their lives over the years, all the doubts ever mentioned of sponsorship and the difference one sponsor can make wiped away. Sponsorship is so much more than sending a check once a month. Sponsorship is just the beginning of a lasting relationship between you and a child for maybe even a lifetime.

 

To learn more about how you can join the EOH sponsorship family and sponsor an orphan follow this link: http://everyorphan.org/sponsor-an-orphan/

Girl Time

My heart continues to be touched in deep and crazy ways by all of the kids here with each encounter I have with them, and I can’t help but fall deeper in love with them in each of those moments we share together. Yesterday since all of the Lusaka girls had the day off from school, we had a girl’s day in the office and invited them all over to spend the afternoon together. Some of the highlights of the day included:

Making popcorn (the old fashioned way)

Some quality girl bonding time of just hanging out

 

Painting Nails

 

And of course what is a girl's day without baking some delicious treats to enjoy?!

It was a fun day full of lots of sweet memories I know I will cherish for the rest of my life, but there is one that sticks out in my mind. As I sat and got my nails painted by sweet Esther, I noticed a bracelet on her wrist filled with all different colored beads. I commented about how I thought it was pretty and asked if she had made it herself, and immediately without hesitation she replied with a yes, and took the bracelet she had worked so hard on for herself off of her wrist and placed it on mine. There was no further thought that went into it than that. She simply gave because she could. Because she wanted to. Despite the fact that she has so little, that this bracelet was probably so special to her, she gave it up for me. For someone who has so much in comparison. My heart has been touched. Why is it so easy for these kids who have so little to give what they have away without a second thought, while we fight to hold on to our hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of excess and unnecessary commodities? These kids are continuing to teach me so much about what I am not. So much about what Christ is. So much about what I want to be.

A Sweet Sunday Morning

     This morning I experienced my first Zambian church service, and oh was it an experience. We showed up to the Lusaka homes early this morning and began the walk with the kids to their home church they attend every week. The entire walk there sweet Lisa had her arm wrapped around me, and we spent the walk just enjoying each other’s company and getting to know each other better. Our precious time together included her telling me everything from her favorite subjects and what she was learning in school to making me guess the English words for Nyanja, naturally attached with lots and lots of laughter. Upon arriving at the church we were greeted so warmly, and welcomed in as part of the church family immediately. I loved being able to worship alongside my new friends, despite the language barrier, knowing we were worshipping and serving the same God. I am constantly amazed and blown away with the way the people here go before our God in prayer and thanksgiving. It is unlike anything I have ever experienced before, and they have a faith that is so sound and assured despite the lack of what they have. I think what the pastor this morning explained it so well as he declared, “Worship does not depend on what we have or do not have.” What a simple concept that we all know, but so easily forget in getting consumed by the things we do have in the materialistic culture we live in.

     About four hours (yes the service really was that long) after the church service started and after meeting lots and lots of new and welcoming faces, we were finally ready to make the trek back toward the houses with even more kids than we came with. As we walked down the same dirt roads these kids walk every day, through the streets and markets and back alleyways, I paused for a moment to take it all in. These are the moments I never want to forget. Walking arm in arm between Clement and Lisa, with all of our friends surrounding us. The sound of laughter and so much joy filling each of these kids’ faces as we walked them home. This is exactly where I want to be. I don’t ever want to leave.

Livingstone!

        This past weekend looked a little different than most. And by a little, I mean it was unlike any weekend I have experienced thus far. Since the busyness and preparations for Camp Hope and the short term mission teams have not set in yet, we got to take a few days off of work and spend a long weekend in Livingstone. We left early Friday morning, took a 6 hour bus ride, and began our weekend adventure. As soon as we arrived in Livingstone, an old EOH friend and partner picked us up from the bus station and took care of us for the weekend. Sanderson and his wife, Lwendo welcomed us into their home for the weekend, along with their two precious baby girls Cheyenne and Shannon.

     The weekend was jam-packed full of fun and crazy adventures, some of which included an early morning game drive where we saw all kinds of wild African animals, an elephant-back safari ride, and walking and petting lions and cheetahs. Yes, you read that right. We got up close and personal with some of the most dangerous wild animals in the world and enjoyed every second of it. After our time in the wilderness, we were able to visit Victoria Falls, and I was blown away with how beautiful it was. I have always loved and appreciated nature and God’s creation, but seeing Victoria Falls gave me an even greater appreciation and awestricken view of how Great our God is. How Big and How Vast He is that He could create something so marvelous. There are literally no words that can describe the beauty of what I saw, and the way God’s presence is so known in a place like that.

      Beyond our semi-dangerous encounters with wild animals and visiting Victoria Falls, we got to spend some precious time with Sanderson and his beautiful family. From the way they welcomed us into their home and their unexplainable joy in serving us for the weekend to the way they couldn’t help but speak about the Lord in nearly every conversation, their love and passion was extremely contagious. I was challenged and encouraged so much by them, just in the short time we spent together, and they are doing amazing things for the Kingdom and for the people in Zambia who they clearly have such big hearts for. They are trusting in the Lord’s plan for them and following His call for them to start the first Christian youth camp in Zambia, and are in the initial stages of waiting on funds to build on their newly purchased land. If you remember to, please lift up a quick prayer for this family as they follow the Lord’s call to be His hands and feet to the Zambian community through Camp J-Zone.

Our not so uneventful morning

     Yesterday morning started out as uneventful and a pretty slow day at the office. We are quickly learning the extent of the event orientation lifestyle here in Zambia. Some days we will show up to the office, ready to roll and end up waiting for several hours only to find out that there is not much for us to do besides catch up on blog posts and emails before the kids get out of school at 4:00. Yesterday was one of those days. After refreshing our email pages for a few hours and waiting to find out there was nothing more for us to do in the office, we decided to get out of the office for a little and go to the internet café to grab some lunch and relax for a few hours before the kids got home from school. A pretty low key afternoon right? Right. No wait….Wrong.

     Just as we were getting ready to meet our taxi driver out front Shelby realized her bag that was just in front of her minutes ago was now gone. Okay, no big deal it’s probably in this pile of stuff somewhere. No wait. Huge deal. It is nowhere to be found in the pile of our stuff and inside the bag is her passport, drivers license, some personal cash, and the key to her room with the address of where we are staying on it. We all tried to remain calm, double checking everywhere around us and retracing our steps from the day, but after awhile of searching and our taxi driver waiting on us we decided to call it quits and leave our number with the security guard in case it was turned in.

     As soon as we got back to the office and informed Maretta and Caison about the missing bag scenario they were certain it had been stolen. Apparently this is not the first time Mzungos have run into this problem at Arcades. After conversing with them and making a few phone calls we came up with a game plan and put it into action. We will head back to Justo Mwale (where we are staying) to figure out the key situation –hopefully there is a spare key, and or they can change the lock so that whoever has Shelby’s bag cannot access the room and the rest of their belongings, and then go back into town to file a police report. Side note: on the way to Justo Mwale there was a huge traffic jam due to a Mzungo driver running into a kid carrying dozens of eggs on his head. The kid was fine, but the eggs were not. This day just keeps getting weirder.

     Once we got back to Justo Mwale and spent some time finding out that the key person would be back later in the evening, we decided to split up. Christina and I would stay back in the room that we still had a key to while Kate and Shelby would go with Maretta and Caison to talk to the police. As Christina and I waited patiently in the room for the gatekeeper to bring us a spare key, we hit another small bump along the way. The electricity went out. Did I mention it gets pitch dark here by 6pm? After another couple of hours of waiting while Kate and Shelby were talking to the police we finally got news. And the verdict is: there is no spare key. Alas, the four of us crammed into one tiny room and had a sleepover after scrounging to fin an extra mattress to use for the night. A bonding experience to say the least.

     Our not so eventful morning turned into quite the afternoon –thankful that we are all safe and trusting that all will be well despite the chaos of the day. And today we are off to conquer the Embassy! Prayers that all will run smoothly from here on out and we can get Shelby a new passport.