Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that after 30+ hours of travel I have arrived safely in Dallas! It's going to be a crazy couple of days, but I have lots to post, so I'll probably do it in pieces, especially since I don't have a computer in my home any more! I promise to update soon!!
Most importantly, thank you for all of your prayers for safe travels. Now I just ask you to pray for the last group serving in Zambia this week, and of course for my kiddos - that they are safe and protected and remember that they are indeed loved.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
1st Week of Camp LIFE
WOW. God is at work here in a SERIOUS way. This week was amazing. I don't really know where to begin. To be honest, it wasn't at all what I expected (although I don't think I really knew what to expect, yet that statement somehow makes sense)
First off, we are staying in a really nice, safe compound. There are about 8 villas that have our group living in them. Mine has 4 rooms and had 10 girls staying in it. 1 full bathroom/shower room, 1 bathroom with a bath only, and 1 "powder room". We have a big family room and kitchen so we can all hang out and talk about the next day and pray for each other and our kiddos. Sunday we went to church, and it was AWESOME. They are just so full of the HolySpirit here and just really know how to worship and praise the Lord. It's contagious. After church they took us to the market area nearby, where I had lunch with my new friends and then wandered the market. Bought a couple of fun things (yea for Christmas shopping!) And then managed to get that short entry off before it was time to go. We had to be back to our village for a meeting and dinner. We met our partners, mine was Teza Nampasa. We hit it off well. She is also 26, and to be honest, I'm pretty sure she's much better off than most of the Zambian volunteers. Her father is a college professor in Botswana, and she had some nicer clothes and a really nice bag for her stuff. She works as a social worker, so I felt good about her ability to help me through some of the tougher things I was expecting to encounter with my kids.
Monday came and the Americans are all bused in from our village to the church where we hold Camp LIFE. When we get there, the Zambian evangilists, apostles and deacons (different roles for the volunteers) were already there singing in a big circle. We joined in and then one of them leads a prayer. Holy cow can they pray! I mean, the passion and emotion that they just pour out to the Lord is inspiring. And these people have NOTHING compared to me, yet they are just so grateful to their Father. It really is eye opening to my tendency to think that I have the things I do through my own work. This was kind of the ritual of the morning every day. Then we would go with our Zambian partners to discuss the plan and pray together until the kids arrived. But oh my gosh! Monday the arrival is SOOO much fun. The busses start coming in and the kids are screaming and cheering and singing at the top of their lungs. They are just so precious! They march off their busses and get into lines grouped by schools, and the Zambians sort them out by age groups. Then they start pairing up Counselors to the groups of kids. Teza and I stood there watching and the little ones were just so adorable, and we really wanted little girls. But I noticed this one group of big girls with a little tiny boy and I seemed to know they would be ours. But it was funny because I didn't realize it was even that group when we first got them, probably for at least an our. We got to our spot and Teza got names and then I had to go get materials for our name necklaces, and then it was time for the first assembly. During the necklace time a teacher came and took away one of my sweet girls, Mervis, but I didn't know why. She came back just before the assembly, and she had the tiny boy with her. He is her oldest sister's baby - he's only 4 but he looked 2 at the most. Gangya was his name and he is just the cutest little pumpkin. As we entered the auditorium, one of the deacons took him to join a group but when we got back to our spot after the assembly, there he was again. We had lunch and played a fun game of keep away that they play - but instead of keeping away from just 1 person you're on teams. Like basketball with no goals. That seemed to bond me quite a bit with the girls. From there we went back into the auditorium for another assembly, and sweet Gangya crawled onto my lap and feel asleep! When it was time to dance I laid him on the ground and he didn't wake up with over 800 kids singing and dancing...he slept right through it! The poor pumpkin must have been exhausted! We did decide to talk to Mervis at the end of the day though, because she was like 2 different people based on him being around. She is only 13 years old, but was practically a mother to this kid, and the light completely left her eyes and she was totally focused on his safety and not on learning or opening up to us whenever he was around. At the end of the day the girls were so sweet with their prayer requests - things like patience, and not being moody in the morning, and being nice to their care takers. And now, after the week is over, i realize what HORRIBLE things go on in their world, but they just take it in stride and have this simple view of what they need from the Lord.
Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty similar to each other. Assemblies on the different themes I mentioned in an earlier post. Then small group to discuss application of the sermon and to let the kids pronounce "In Christ I am loved!" "In Christ I am Accepted!!!" "In Christ I am Secure!" Which was amazing. Especially I am loved. We do one-on-ones with each of the girls too, to make sure that we get into their hearts and know about anything that is a chain for them to try to help set them free. One of my girls was just so shut down, and I just had this thought that I needed to ask her if she ever felt loved by a human. She just burst into tears and said no, that nobody loved her, and she had been trying to commit suicide for many months, and thought about it daily until camp. This was on Wednesday. She said that she had realized on Monday though that she was loved by God, and that our teaching made her realize she wanted to live. What an amazing blessing. A terrible thing happened on Tuesday morning. Theresa, one of my girls from Monday wasn't there, and it was because her Father was mad that she had come to camp LIFE and beat her. I really struggled with guilt over this because I couldn't help but feel like if I hadn't been there than she wouldn't have come to Camp and that beating could have been avoided. But then on Friday my girls told me that he beat her again, and this was just for no reason. They said her eye was really bad and there was blood all over her face. Please pray for her safety. And that despite her terrible father that she remembers the one day of Camp LIFE and the fact that no matter what he says to her, she is loved. By me, by Teza and by her heavenly Father. I have so many stories, but I think I'll save some of them and do some updates to this blog still after I return to the states, because otherwise this will be a novel!!
Thursday is totally different. It's shoe day! The kids arrive, and the Zambians line them all up outside and march them in by school, and we get to give the kids brand new socks and shoes. All the shoes are donated through Buckner (spelling??) in Dallas, through their Shoes for Orphans program. What an amazing blessing. These kids are sooo grateful. It was the first day that my girls all ate lunch without bare feet. They were so proud. We also give them t-shirts and bandanas. Then we went with them to their communities. Wow. I mean, it was like visiting a shooting of a Compassion International ad. My kids were from Luyando school which is in one of the poorest, darkest parts of Lusaka. They send us in with our kids, our Zambian partner, and since my partner was a woman, a male Deacon to stay with me at all times. We got in there and the kids are to share what they've been learning at camp. I was just bursting with pride for my girls and amazement at how the Lord can work through children. These kids were sooo proud to march up and tell people about being a child of God, and what it means to be loved, accepted, significant, secure, victorious and FREE! And people really listened. One man asked them how he could have Christ in his life, and he was saved by children! How awesome that is, to know that our kids are going back and changing other's lives in their communities. Judith, one of my sweet oldest girls, told me that when she went home on Monday night, at first her father was mad at her for going to Camp LIFE because he thought that we are devil worshippers. But then she went to her uncle who has been mistreating her, and told him she forgives him and loves him...to which her uncle responded by apologizing and telling her he loved her!! And then her father told her she HAD to come back because he realized what a good thing we are doing for her! SO SO AWESOME!
Anyway, after visiting their community I realized that I still don't really get it. I don't see them living there. I don't look at that, and see the little girls that I have come to love living in that desperate poverty. It'd just not connecting. My emotions have a sort of brick wall up. I cry at night during dinner while people give testimonies and are retelling these awful stories, but when my 13 year old girls tell me they are approached by strangers for sex on their way to the market every single days, or when Christine told me that her mother tells her she's not really hers and beats her and sends her to live on the streets for no reason, or when they tell me that their teachers beat them with a hose pipe TWENTY FIVE times when they do something "wrong", I just am in a sort of disconnected shock. No tears. I don't know what it is, but it's like I'm looking at it through a camera lens or something. I just am not connecting to their pain. Please pray for me that I can let go of the guild I feel for this. I don't know what's causing it, and I feel like worrying about my lack of emotion is sort of getting in the way of me serving the kids. Yesterday, when it was time to say goodbye, my girls were sobbing. Tears poured like rivers from their eyes and I just held them and told them I loved them and to know that I would be praying for them every day, and that they needed to pray and remember me and remember that when everything seems dark that I'm praying for them and that God loves them. Still, no tears. I cried after they left when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to help them any more. And that was a bit of a sweet release, but I still just feel mostly dead of emotion. It's so odd.
Next week I"m going to request little boys. I want a totally different experience. Last week I didn't request anything because I just decided I would take whatever the Lord wanted for me and then ask for the opposite the following week. I'm really excited for the challenge, and excited to be able to give out more kisses and hugs, because my teenage girls weren't really into that until it was time to go, and I just feel like I came into this ready to give away so much love.
To anyone reading this, I would love for you to leave me some comments of encouragement or send me an email. I'll be able to check my email tomorrow and I'm feeling a bit lonely since most of my friends departed this morning. I"m sure I'll make new ones, but it would be nice to know that I have people thinking of me and praying for me and my kids!
Love and blessings to you all!
First off, we are staying in a really nice, safe compound. There are about 8 villas that have our group living in them. Mine has 4 rooms and had 10 girls staying in it. 1 full bathroom/shower room, 1 bathroom with a bath only, and 1 "powder room". We have a big family room and kitchen so we can all hang out and talk about the next day and pray for each other and our kiddos. Sunday we went to church, and it was AWESOME. They are just so full of the HolySpirit here and just really know how to worship and praise the Lord. It's contagious. After church they took us to the market area nearby, where I had lunch with my new friends and then wandered the market. Bought a couple of fun things (yea for Christmas shopping!) And then managed to get that short entry off before it was time to go. We had to be back to our village for a meeting and dinner. We met our partners, mine was Teza Nampasa. We hit it off well. She is also 26, and to be honest, I'm pretty sure she's much better off than most of the Zambian volunteers. Her father is a college professor in Botswana, and she had some nicer clothes and a really nice bag for her stuff. She works as a social worker, so I felt good about her ability to help me through some of the tougher things I was expecting to encounter with my kids.
Monday came and the Americans are all bused in from our village to the church where we hold Camp LIFE. When we get there, the Zambian evangilists, apostles and deacons (different roles for the volunteers) were already there singing in a big circle. We joined in and then one of them leads a prayer. Holy cow can they pray! I mean, the passion and emotion that they just pour out to the Lord is inspiring. And these people have NOTHING compared to me, yet they are just so grateful to their Father. It really is eye opening to my tendency to think that I have the things I do through my own work. This was kind of the ritual of the morning every day. Then we would go with our Zambian partners to discuss the plan and pray together until the kids arrived. But oh my gosh! Monday the arrival is SOOO much fun. The busses start coming in and the kids are screaming and cheering and singing at the top of their lungs. They are just so precious! They march off their busses and get into lines grouped by schools, and the Zambians sort them out by age groups. Then they start pairing up Counselors to the groups of kids. Teza and I stood there watching and the little ones were just so adorable, and we really wanted little girls. But I noticed this one group of big girls with a little tiny boy and I seemed to know they would be ours. But it was funny because I didn't realize it was even that group when we first got them, probably for at least an our. We got to our spot and Teza got names and then I had to go get materials for our name necklaces, and then it was time for the first assembly. During the necklace time a teacher came and took away one of my sweet girls, Mervis, but I didn't know why. She came back just before the assembly, and she had the tiny boy with her. He is her oldest sister's baby - he's only 4 but he looked 2 at the most. Gangya was his name and he is just the cutest little pumpkin. As we entered the auditorium, one of the deacons took him to join a group but when we got back to our spot after the assembly, there he was again. We had lunch and played a fun game of keep away that they play - but instead of keeping away from just 1 person you're on teams. Like basketball with no goals. That seemed to bond me quite a bit with the girls. From there we went back into the auditorium for another assembly, and sweet Gangya crawled onto my lap and feel asleep! When it was time to dance I laid him on the ground and he didn't wake up with over 800 kids singing and dancing...he slept right through it! The poor pumpkin must have been exhausted! We did decide to talk to Mervis at the end of the day though, because she was like 2 different people based on him being around. She is only 13 years old, but was practically a mother to this kid, and the light completely left her eyes and she was totally focused on his safety and not on learning or opening up to us whenever he was around. At the end of the day the girls were so sweet with their prayer requests - things like patience, and not being moody in the morning, and being nice to their care takers. And now, after the week is over, i realize what HORRIBLE things go on in their world, but they just take it in stride and have this simple view of what they need from the Lord.
Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty similar to each other. Assemblies on the different themes I mentioned in an earlier post. Then small group to discuss application of the sermon and to let the kids pronounce "In Christ I am loved!" "In Christ I am Accepted!!!" "In Christ I am Secure!" Which was amazing. Especially I am loved. We do one-on-ones with each of the girls too, to make sure that we get into their hearts and know about anything that is a chain for them to try to help set them free. One of my girls was just so shut down, and I just had this thought that I needed to ask her if she ever felt loved by a human. She just burst into tears and said no, that nobody loved her, and she had been trying to commit suicide for many months, and thought about it daily until camp. This was on Wednesday. She said that she had realized on Monday though that she was loved by God, and that our teaching made her realize she wanted to live. What an amazing blessing. A terrible thing happened on Tuesday morning. Theresa, one of my girls from Monday wasn't there, and it was because her Father was mad that she had come to camp LIFE and beat her. I really struggled with guilt over this because I couldn't help but feel like if I hadn't been there than she wouldn't have come to Camp and that beating could have been avoided. But then on Friday my girls told me that he beat her again, and this was just for no reason. They said her eye was really bad and there was blood all over her face. Please pray for her safety. And that despite her terrible father that she remembers the one day of Camp LIFE and the fact that no matter what he says to her, she is loved. By me, by Teza and by her heavenly Father. I have so many stories, but I think I'll save some of them and do some updates to this blog still after I return to the states, because otherwise this will be a novel!!
Thursday is totally different. It's shoe day! The kids arrive, and the Zambians line them all up outside and march them in by school, and we get to give the kids brand new socks and shoes. All the shoes are donated through Buckner (spelling??) in Dallas, through their Shoes for Orphans program. What an amazing blessing. These kids are sooo grateful. It was the first day that my girls all ate lunch without bare feet. They were so proud. We also give them t-shirts and bandanas. Then we went with them to their communities. Wow. I mean, it was like visiting a shooting of a Compassion International ad. My kids were from Luyando school which is in one of the poorest, darkest parts of Lusaka. They send us in with our kids, our Zambian partner, and since my partner was a woman, a male Deacon to stay with me at all times. We got in there and the kids are to share what they've been learning at camp. I was just bursting with pride for my girls and amazement at how the Lord can work through children. These kids were sooo proud to march up and tell people about being a child of God, and what it means to be loved, accepted, significant, secure, victorious and FREE! And people really listened. One man asked them how he could have Christ in his life, and he was saved by children! How awesome that is, to know that our kids are going back and changing other's lives in their communities. Judith, one of my sweet oldest girls, told me that when she went home on Monday night, at first her father was mad at her for going to Camp LIFE because he thought that we are devil worshippers. But then she went to her uncle who has been mistreating her, and told him she forgives him and loves him...to which her uncle responded by apologizing and telling her he loved her!! And then her father told her she HAD to come back because he realized what a good thing we are doing for her! SO SO AWESOME!
Anyway, after visiting their community I realized that I still don't really get it. I don't see them living there. I don't look at that, and see the little girls that I have come to love living in that desperate poverty. It'd just not connecting. My emotions have a sort of brick wall up. I cry at night during dinner while people give testimonies and are retelling these awful stories, but when my 13 year old girls tell me they are approached by strangers for sex on their way to the market every single days, or when Christine told me that her mother tells her she's not really hers and beats her and sends her to live on the streets for no reason, or when they tell me that their teachers beat them with a hose pipe TWENTY FIVE times when they do something "wrong", I just am in a sort of disconnected shock. No tears. I don't know what it is, but it's like I'm looking at it through a camera lens or something. I just am not connecting to their pain. Please pray for me that I can let go of the guild I feel for this. I don't know what's causing it, and I feel like worrying about my lack of emotion is sort of getting in the way of me serving the kids. Yesterday, when it was time to say goodbye, my girls were sobbing. Tears poured like rivers from their eyes and I just held them and told them I loved them and to know that I would be praying for them every day, and that they needed to pray and remember me and remember that when everything seems dark that I'm praying for them and that God loves them. Still, no tears. I cried after they left when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to help them any more. And that was a bit of a sweet release, but I still just feel mostly dead of emotion. It's so odd.
Next week I"m going to request little boys. I want a totally different experience. Last week I didn't request anything because I just decided I would take whatever the Lord wanted for me and then ask for the opposite the following week. I'm really excited for the challenge, and excited to be able to give out more kisses and hugs, because my teenage girls weren't really into that until it was time to go, and I just feel like I came into this ready to give away so much love.
To anyone reading this, I would love for you to leave me some comments of encouragement or send me an email. I'll be able to check my email tomorrow and I'm feeling a bit lonely since most of my friends departed this morning. I"m sure I'll make new ones, but it would be nice to know that I have people thinking of me and praying for me and my kids!
Love and blessings to you all!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
1st Day tomorrow!
So i only have 5 minutes to get this done an then have to run for the bus back to our village. Arrived at camp, got my bags (yea clothes!) and met lots of nice people. We had our welcome briefing and I'm praying a lot at the moment...mainly because I'm just a little freaked out that I'm not ready to handle this. I know that's not God's intentions though, so I'm just praying for calm and preparedness of heart. Please do the same! I have to head back now to meet my Zambian partner for the week. Please pray for communication and cooperation and of course...Fun! I will post my next update on Saturday when we are next allowed back in town. Hugs and love to all!
Hil
Hil
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Safari!!!
Today was the all day safari! So much fun and so cool. We didn't see anything dangerous though, which we all decided would have made it seem a little more adventureous. oh well, guess i'll have to return to Africa someday!! I'm thinking I'd like to visit Cape Town.
Exciting things today mission wise. At the end of our full day, we had to cross the river back to Zambia (our safari was actually in Botswana) and there is just a small boat owned by the company, so the 26 of us had to split up. Only another company's boat had broken down, so some of their people jumped on ours and 3 of our peeps stayed on shore with the guides for a little extra time until the boat could come back. During that time, they asked the group why we were all there and got talking about the mission trip and about their religion. 2 of the guides were Christians and the other, "Lucky", wasn't. Then my friends asked if they could pray for them and they all gave prayer requests, but Lucky said to pray for whatever they wanted for him. And they told him they wanted him to know Jesus Christ and he thanked them. Then they all exchanged email addresses and the guides said they wanted to know more! God is working already through our group! Awesome things friends! :)
Here's to another gorgeous day in Africa!! Pray for warm weather (my pants are getting quite dirty!!)
Exciting things today mission wise. At the end of our full day, we had to cross the river back to Zambia (our safari was actually in Botswana) and there is just a small boat owned by the company, so the 26 of us had to split up. Only another company's boat had broken down, so some of their people jumped on ours and 3 of our peeps stayed on shore with the guides for a little extra time until the boat could come back. During that time, they asked the group why we were all there and got talking about the mission trip and about their religion. 2 of the guides were Christians and the other, "Lucky", wasn't. Then my friends asked if they could pray for them and they all gave prayer requests, but Lucky said to pray for whatever they wanted for him. And they told him they wanted him to know Jesus Christ and he thanked them. Then they all exchanged email addresses and the guides said they wanted to know more! God is working already through our group! Awesome things friends! :)
Here's to another gorgeous day in Africa!! Pray for warm weather (my pants are getting quite dirty!!)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Thankful for prayers about flexibility!
Hello all! Most of you should know that I paid extra to go on a couple days voyage to see Victoria Falls prior to the start of camp next week. Last week I had great adventures in London and Spain, and I made the journey to Africa starting on Monday evening and ending late last night.
I made it safely to Victoria Falls, but unfortunately, without my luggage! That's right...I'm in a place where you are constantly soaked by waterfall spray or sweating from the hot sun during the day, or freezing at night, with only 2 shirts, 1 pair of shorts, and a thin sweatsuit type thing that I wore to travel in! boooo! But I suppose this is part of why I prayed for flexibility in the first place! Anyway, my sweet roomate shared her sweatshirt with me (of course, I now will have an Aggies shirt on for all of my Vic Falls pics!) and then today one of the girls needed to go to town to get her passport stamped b/c of something that was messed up when she went through the airport, so I caught a ride with her and our taxi driver escorted us to the Immigration office, and then to the Pep store where I bought another shirt and a pair of long pants. Now I have enough to wear while I rinse out my stuff and let it dry. But I'm still praying my stuff at least shows up so that it is waiting for me when we return to Lusaka. Man...after wearing the same clothes every day in Pamplona, this is just becoming a running theme for me!! Maybe I don't need to move quite so much to London afterall! :)
Anyhow, the crew that is here at the falls are all really fun and sweet. The resort is gorgeous...there are zebras and giraffes and monkeys on the actual grounds! I haven't seen any yet but some of the crew has. This morning I went to breakfast with about 7 of the peeps, and the breakfast at this resort is AWESOME! (and most importantly, included!) Then we headed for the Falls, which are literally less than a 10 minute easy walk from our resort! WOW! I wish i could post pics, but the internet here is too slow. so that will have to come later. But it's crazy. We walked around a corner, and I was amazed by what I saw at first. But then we kept walking...and it keeps going...and going and going and going! There is just so much water! I truly don't understand where it all comes from...the Zambesi river is big and all, but still, it's just sooo much water! Really gives you an appreciation for God's creation. We paid for ponchos and hiked all the way to the mid-point that you can get to. That's where you can watch the bridge where people bungi jump. It's awesome looking, to watch, but I just do not get the appeal of paying money to jump off a bridge and have your body jerked around. No thank you. I'll just be happy to watch and take pics! But the walk is crazy because it's truly like it's pouring rain. But it's just mist from a water fall that is quite a distance from you! totally bizarre. On the walk back I spotted an elephant across the river! It was too far away to get any good pics...kinda looks like a funny shaped rock. But when it moved it's trunk we could tell what it was!
After the Falls I went home and changed into flipflops and then that was when I caught the girls going into town. We got back just in time for our trip to the Zambesi River Queen. It was a big river boat with food and drinks, and we cruised way up the river during sunset. Got some really pretty pictures! We saw hippos and an elephant!
After that we went to dinner and I just had a great time getting to know everyone. I've heard some amazing stories from people and am just so excited for next week. I'm really praying hard that I will not be reserved and that I will just turn myself over to the work of the Lord so that these kids can be loved and can understand the love that comes through believing in Christ!
Tomorrow we are off on a safari. As always, please pray for the orphans that I will be teaching next week and for my continued preparation to serve them in the way the Lord has planned! And of course, for safety through this adventure. And if you have some extra time, maybe that we would see all of the Big 5?! :) Doesn't hurt to ask, right?
I am loving it here and am getting more excited every day for my time with the orphans. Thanks again to all of you for making this a reality!
Love and blessings,
Hil
I made it safely to Victoria Falls, but unfortunately, without my luggage! That's right...I'm in a place where you are constantly soaked by waterfall spray or sweating from the hot sun during the day, or freezing at night, with only 2 shirts, 1 pair of shorts, and a thin sweatsuit type thing that I wore to travel in! boooo! But I suppose this is part of why I prayed for flexibility in the first place! Anyway, my sweet roomate shared her sweatshirt with me (of course, I now will have an Aggies shirt on for all of my Vic Falls pics!) and then today one of the girls needed to go to town to get her passport stamped b/c of something that was messed up when she went through the airport, so I caught a ride with her and our taxi driver escorted us to the Immigration office, and then to the Pep store where I bought another shirt and a pair of long pants. Now I have enough to wear while I rinse out my stuff and let it dry. But I'm still praying my stuff at least shows up so that it is waiting for me when we return to Lusaka. Man...after wearing the same clothes every day in Pamplona, this is just becoming a running theme for me!! Maybe I don't need to move quite so much to London afterall! :)
Anyhow, the crew that is here at the falls are all really fun and sweet. The resort is gorgeous...there are zebras and giraffes and monkeys on the actual grounds! I haven't seen any yet but some of the crew has. This morning I went to breakfast with about 7 of the peeps, and the breakfast at this resort is AWESOME! (and most importantly, included!) Then we headed for the Falls, which are literally less than a 10 minute easy walk from our resort! WOW! I wish i could post pics, but the internet here is too slow. so that will have to come later. But it's crazy. We walked around a corner, and I was amazed by what I saw at first. But then we kept walking...and it keeps going...and going and going and going! There is just so much water! I truly don't understand where it all comes from...the Zambesi river is big and all, but still, it's just sooo much water! Really gives you an appreciation for God's creation. We paid for ponchos and hiked all the way to the mid-point that you can get to. That's where you can watch the bridge where people bungi jump. It's awesome looking, to watch, but I just do not get the appeal of paying money to jump off a bridge and have your body jerked around. No thank you. I'll just be happy to watch and take pics! But the walk is crazy because it's truly like it's pouring rain. But it's just mist from a water fall that is quite a distance from you! totally bizarre. On the walk back I spotted an elephant across the river! It was too far away to get any good pics...kinda looks like a funny shaped rock. But when it moved it's trunk we could tell what it was!
After the Falls I went home and changed into flipflops and then that was when I caught the girls going into town. We got back just in time for our trip to the Zambesi River Queen. It was a big river boat with food and drinks, and we cruised way up the river during sunset. Got some really pretty pictures! We saw hippos and an elephant!
After that we went to dinner and I just had a great time getting to know everyone. I've heard some amazing stories from people and am just so excited for next week. I'm really praying hard that I will not be reserved and that I will just turn myself over to the work of the Lord so that these kids can be loved and can understand the love that comes through believing in Christ!
Tomorrow we are off on a safari. As always, please pray for the orphans that I will be teaching next week and for my continued preparation to serve them in the way the Lord has planned! And of course, for safety through this adventure. And if you have some extra time, maybe that we would see all of the Big 5?! :) Doesn't hurt to ask, right?
I am loving it here and am getting more excited every day for my time with the orphans. Thanks again to all of you for making this a reality!
Love and blessings,
Hil
Monday, July 2, 2007
safe and sound on the ground
I made it to London. Flight was uneventful which is very nice. I'll be off traveling for the next couple of days, but will update prior to departure for Zambia!
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Ready to roll
Well, we're all here in the airport ready to go, but unfortunately the storms in Dallas are holding us up. It's a great group of week 5 people just hanging out, you can tell everyone is excited! I arrive in London at 7:20am London time, and will be traveling through the 9th, when I'll meet up with the people going to Camp for week 6 to fly from London to Africa! I am so excited and can hardly wait to get there and have this experience that God has sent my way. I'll update from London! Thanks for your prayers and support!
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