connecting the dots.

Its 11 pm Zambia time and we have completed the last day of work for this call. We were able to pretty much finish the tile in the kitchen and bathroom and that is saying a lot considering my hands typically lay on home row rather than on quick set.

 

Before we left, a word was given that said that the floodgates would open.  It was hard for me to fathom especially because I have seen some pretty amazing things in the three consecutive summers I have been here.  But it was true. Nothing could have prepared us for what God was going to do to us in the way of compassion for these children this year.  The last couple years I have been so focused on the construction efforts that I didn’t really get to build relationships with the very people who would benefit from the efforts on the property.  That all changed this year.  With the vbs and the field trip to the local zoo, we had ample opportunity to get to know one another.  I was able to specifically get to know the child who I sponsor monthly back home.  How many people can say that? His name is Joseph.  I already knew that – but now I know his history, how many siblings he has and how it isn’t easy being the orphan baby in the family in this culture.  And as I wrote him a letter the day before I would last see him on this trip, I was able to make it personal and real – not a template driven outreach note- but perfectly REAL.  What was even better than that was he read it and before I left him he was able to come to me and say:

 

                ‘you wrote this letter?’

 ‘Yes,’ I replied.

‘you will pray for me everyday (like I wrote in the letter)?’

‘Yes,’ I confirmed.

‘thank you. I will pray for you every night.’

 

Those words are more valuable than gold.  A 10 year old orphan who sleeps on the floor and does not eat at night because he is a burden to his grandmother is going to pray for me.  Do I deserve it – probably not.  But I would never rob him of that joy.

 

It is hard to leave him knowing his plight.  But my job is to continue the efforts of making sure the funding is there for the village and that we will be able to house these kids soon.  These kids- I know their names.   I know what they want to be when they grow up.  I want to see them achieve it.  I want to see Joseph grow up to be an amazing man. 

 

It had me thinking…the first trip we only had land. The next trip we had an empty building. This trip were able to fellowship and build relationships with the very inhabitants of the building on the land of a vision.  I praise God and his continues to connect the dots for me.

 

And now as I prepare for my last restless night in Zambia, I pray that God empowered us all to make a difference while we still can.  I don’t know if and -if so- when I will return to my friends in Lusaka, Zambia, but I do know that they are my friends, my brothers and sisters, my hope for fulfilling my purpose. Mtendere Chewa and Endani bwino – Peace and go well.

-m

 

conference over

it has proven to be more difficult than i anticipated for accessing this blog. it seems like the days and nights are booked solid with activities, construction, conference and ministry.

the conference came to its conclusion today. we had a great group of over 100 teachers representing 40 + pre-12 schools in Zambia. on the third day i gave a presentation on technology more specifically the internet. it went quite well. only about 20 percent had used the internet before the lesson, but they understood the efficient and research capabilities. the country has recently invested in a fiber optic backbone to maintain a high speed connection to some of the neighboring countries. this is a good start to turning around the economy through Information technology.

we held a graduation ceremony today for the teachers and one of the local schools had their children perform plays about being orphans. they were really good- so good that it made us get emotional. many of the team members have been battling sickness. praise God that I have been able to avoid it up until this point.

we will return to the sponsored orphanage and continue our construction efforts tomorrow. we hope to finish off the tile work for the home and have the roofing complete so that the next team that arrives next week will be able to work on plaster and painting.

all for now. i am pooped.

catching up

it has been a few days since my last post. my intentions were to be more active on the blog this year...so much so that i brought technology that would allow me to access the internet any time of day rather than during internet café opportunities. This has proven to be more difficult as the internet café has been down and I have become a ‘café’ to the other team members… I should start an emergency mobile internet business here!

Much has happened in the past few days. The vacation bible school with the avila children was a smashing success. The team was worried at first because of what they believed was going to be a major language barrier. While it did exist, communication easily took place through collaboration and help for pone another. Once the children were comfortable with the ‘mazungu’ they wanted to be your friend for life.

We did this cool project where the children were broken into groups and each group brainstormed on ideas that made up their village. For example groups would complete ideas on food, agriculture, transportation, greetings, weather, architecture, etc. then after compiling that information, we gave the groups disposable cameras so they can take pictures of the items that they brainstormed. We will use the finished written section along with pictures to create an ‘Our Village’ book. What a great idea!

We also took the children to a game park. Here they were able to see chimpanzees, baboons, gazelle, bushpigs, warthogs, and lions. Some of them were able to swim in a pool and go down a high water slide. We gave our little caps that resembled different animals like monkeys, tigers, lions, etc. some of these children have never been away from their local compound. It was a really blessing to see their eyes open to this new experience.

We had church Sunday. I requested to return to BIGCOCA Chaisa to share with Pastor Blackson and his assembly. He has invited me back each year and I have taken to this group. We did the crusades at this compound two years ago. Chaisa is one of the larger but more poverty stricken – if you can believe that - compounds in Lusaka. I was up late the night before completing an update video for the church back in Wildomar so when I prayed to God for what he would have me share with the Chaisa assembly, I thought I was half asleep when what returned was marriage. I mean, come on, I haven’t been married a year and God wants me to talk about marriage! But I listened- and I shared with them the divorce rates in America, the changes to the institution as it was originally intended, the way marriage has been treated more like a contract than a covenant. I shared with them the duty that God has commanded in marriage. That if we love our spouse as if our self, if we care and nurture for it as commanded, than marriage would be victorious. Its simple. I think of a vision of wedding bands interlinked and fitted around the base of the Cross. When Christ is the center of the marriage, there can be no fault, no wrong, no anger. Its strict, but it preserves a loving marriage. It hit home. I asked for people who wanted restoration in their marriages to come forward and we’d pray for them. They did. Women who wanted their husbands to be equally yoked and to take care of the family to not leave them or stray. It was tough – these women were crying out for help. I just pray that God meet them I that place and pierce their husbands hearts and restore marriages.

We start the teachers conference this week. We expect over 150 teachers from all over the country coming to this 4 day event. This has grown from 75 last year and 46 the year before. The theme is Pressing On Phil 3:14

I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Trying to reach for the highest goal. Aiming high. We have many materials to share with them including notebooks, slate boards, calculators, rulers, staplers that have all been donated by people back home. We will be running centers and I will run one on technology. Now you might be thinking, why technology? They don’t have access, right? And the answer is yes and no. currently they don’t have access, but I believe that God has favor in this- His- vision and on the village grounds there will be a computer facility for accessing the internet and software. Information technology is becoming a major player for the countries of Africa. They are realizing that if they can build an infrastructure that can support the needs of IT, it may be the future of their economy. My hope is to give them a cursory understanding of the internet and how it can be used for simple research that can assist them with the lessons. I will be able to show them the internet using the technology I purchased for my own accessed before I left. I Pray that this center would be successful.

I ask that you, my reader, pray for the conference to be a success. That these volunteer educators who will walk 2.5 hours one way to make it to this event be blessed and transformed for they are responsible for the education of the children who will one day lead.

making progress

I write to you as the power just went out. Apparently they have daily rolling blackouts to conserve electricity. So I am on battery power from the laptop and hope I will be able to post before it goes out.

 

we arrived in lusaka over 36 hours ago. today we went to the property to see how far along they have gotten with the construction efforts.  it was amazing – there was a fully erected house on the same foundation where we were building the block last year.  there were also two additional foundations laid and the framing of the house was done.  the construction team was working on the roofing when we arrived.  upon entry, i was greeted by some familiar faces. jimmy, john and charles were still a part of the team as was tembo.  gone was mr. perry who had some difficulty with the transition to compressed earth block from cinderblock and cement. sometimes you just can’t teach an ole dog new tricks….

we are gonna work on a septic system and some finishing work tomorrow.

 

 

the missionary team was excited to see the progress. some of the team members are returning after 2 years when we only had land and some members are returning after 4 years when we didn’t have property but felt God was leading us to this vision to defend the fatherless.  as team leader – and a seasoned vet after 3 consecutive summers here – i was really excited for the team.  to me, it was if i was returning to my summer home – to them i know it made them feel immediately that they are in a special place and a special time.

 

my wife is in charge of the vacation bible school this year and it starts tomorrow.  i am so thankful for God’s work in her.  she has been an amazing warrior for the ministry taking on coordination of not only the vbs, but also the church yard sale.  i am thankful that God has put her in my life and i am able to witness her growth.

 

while progress is being made on the village, we still have some things that need to be done. the constructed houses still require plumbing and electricity which can prove to be an issue as we will need to find a local worker and materials (power poles) to connect up to a transformer less than a kilometer away.   we have had some trouble with materials ‘walking away’ from the site.  while we have security on site, i am sure that if a thief needs it bad enough, they will find a way to get it.  it is somewhat difficult to manage the construction when we do not have a primary stakeholder available in the country 24/7.  we are hoping and praying that God will make way for those people to head back to zambia. we feel that with someone on site, we can establish a better accountability model and more effective and efficient project management.

 

i just wanna start providing homes to some of these kids.  michael devine, a missionary for breath of heaven children’s ministries always emphasizes the difference in value of time in our two differing cultures.  we (americans) operate on a business week with calendared 30 (maybe 15) minute time grids… filling in slots as we go about our busy days. in zambia , time doesn’t have those limitations.  they can take a couple hours to hard boil an egg.  i just pray God is gonna move mightily and make some things happen that will make the process even smoother.

 

But I know God is in control.  God shared with me Psalm 107 verse 35 -38:

 

He turns a desert into a pool of water,
dry land into springs of water.
He causes the hungry to settle there,
and they establish a city where they can live.
They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.

He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;

 

He takes the land that we presented and He can turn it in to a refreshing spring for these orphans.  He will draw them close and those who do hunger – not just for food, but for love and righteousness.  In Him and through Him, they will reap a fruitful harvest.  If it is in Him and through Him that these things take place, than no weapon formed against Him will prosper.

 

The light just turned on – in my head and in the compound. Lucky for me on both accounts.

 

 

 

 

 

third watch

its 3am the morning right now. in about 12 hours i return to continue the work in lusaka, zambia in africa for a third year in a row. some things are different - i am married now. some things remain the same, like this energy for the vision that God has put in my and my wife's heart. i really can't explain it. this year has been hectic. on top of working 60 hrs a week, I am this year's mission team leader. there were times where i felt like throwing in the towel. but God doesn't not put anything in front of us that we can handle.

i am anxious. more so than i have been in past trips. possible the new leadership role? i dunno. i think it might be that I am going with a feeling of major expectation. the Lord has shown me amazing things in past trips. i saw my sister delivered and people healed, confirmation and a mighty outpouring. but at a recent team meeting, someone praying for us shared that while we may have seen some amazing things, the floodgates will open this year. that just psyches me up! i can't wait to see Him move.

i am hoping to be more web 2.0 ish this trip. i have brought some goods that will allow me to do some video and an unlocked aircard that will allow me to remain connected 24/7. i hope to show you who is reading this right now what i am doing out there instead of just telling you about it.

some of you have sponsored me to be here on this trip. I thank God for you...in essence you are here with me. for my family and friends that are in support of my activities out here, I thank you. without your emotional and spiritual support, i would be incomplete.

i plan to try and be more active on the blog this go around. i would love to hear comments from you.

all for now. better get some sleep or i am not going to be a happy camper in the morning. stay tuned.

Last Day

here we are two weeks later. we have seen God do many miraculous things in all of us. He has fallen afresh on me and rededicated my life to this ministry. i am so happy that God had another call for me in Zambia. it is easily to get lost in the daily grind and great to know that there is more to this life.

today we will be finishing up at the property and having one last dinner for the first part of the team. Most of the first team will be leaving quite early tomorrow for London. While we will be leaving this place, another team from Mosaic, a church in the greater los angeles area will be doing some photojournalism activities on the ministry. May God be with them on their travels.

i will surely miss my Zambian brothers and sisters, but will continue to keep them in my heart. it is not a good bye, but a see ya later - i am sure of it.

Distribution of the Gifts

The Lord is awesome. We had a time of worship and prayer last night and God was moving his mighty hand. I started to become weary of our efforts as it seemed like small obstacles kept forming to slow down production. In general, things move at a much slower pace here than in the states.

I spoke about it last week in Chaisa, but now I was feeling it. This made me feel bad as I was trying to encourage my fellow team members and the Chaisa assembly on weariness, but I was now struggling with it. But the Lord is amazing. I felt like I needed to pray for the team and our efforts and in doing so I was overcome with emotion. My sister came to my side and the rest of the team followed. Andy shared a Word. It was Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. It was from Galatians 6:9 - the same verse I shared one Sunday ago with the Chaisa assembly. I trembled in fear as I felt the Lord talking to me. Now the Lord has spoken to me before, but for some reason this was different. i felt like the Lord took everyone out of the room and spoke directly to me. Reaffirming the Word He shared with me already. I feel renewed and revitalized to do His work.

I know He is just. Our desires are to see this village save orphans. We hunger and thirst after the heart of the Defender of the Fatherless.