Busy, busy

Pardon the juvenile reference, but does anyone remember the Veggie Tales episode where they portray the story of the Good Samaritan. In the episode, Larry gets robbed and shoved in a hole in the ground. Then two high standing citizens walk by, see his distress, then keep going, claiming that they are "busy, busy, dreadfully busy; we'd like to help but we can't".

I realized today how much I relate to these characters. I thrive on busyness. Too often I take on more that I should because it makes me feel accomplished and important. Whether it's a job or leadership position or friendship, I constantly want to be doing. It doesn't help that I struggle to let go of things. I like routine, and I often hang on to relationships or jobs far longer than I should. I want to stay in touch with every single person that I've ever met. I want to continue to invest in the lives of those that I've mentored years after that role has finished. I take on jobs left and right without being willing to let go of old ones. Lately the faults of such habits have become more than evident.

For one, they, in part, lead me to desire my own plans rather than God's. Earlier this summer, God closed the door for me to return to South Africa and opened a door for me to go to Zambia. I fought Him every step of the way, but still His plan prevailed. I was afraid that by going to Zambia, I would be closing the door on South Africa, not something that I was ready to do.

I've realized the faults of these habits as I spend my summer jumping from one responsibility to the other, leaving myself stretched to the limit and drained (and summer's only halfway through). I've lost the excitement for the things I once loved, replacing it with frustrations of trying to take care of all the details, losing the quality I was once able to invest.

I've seen it hurt my relationships. Wanting to maintain all of my friendships and wanting to please everyone, during my "down time", my schedule is jammed packed with getting together with friends, often rushing away from one conversation to arrive ten minutes late for the next. I've turned my friends into another appointment on my calendar, and for this I'm sorry. I haven't been able to simply relax and soak up their company, to be fully involved with who I'm with without checking my watch to ensure I'm not late for the next meeting. That simply isn't fair to my friends; it doesn't show the love that I have for them, doesn't express how much I cherish them.

So I'm left praying for discernment. I'm left praying that God will lead and guide me for His name sake. I'm left praying that He will give me a spirit of willingness to follow where He leads. I'm left praying that He will give me the grace and wisdom to let go of responsibilities that I need to be finished with that I may fully participate in what He has planned for me. I'm left praying that He will free me of distractions, that He will rid me of anything that is not of Him and is of me. I'm left praying for forgiveness and mercy and grace. I'm left in the loving embrace of my Savior and Papa. I'm left surrendering (for the umpteenth time) my plans for His. I'm left trusting Him wholly, obeying Him wholly. I'm leaving this busyness behind that I may fully soak up God's plan for my life.

Snapshots: Zambia in 5 minutes

Here's a video that I made for those who supported my time in Zambia. It's a quick glimpse of my time there and will allow you to see more pictures as well as a few video clips of my kiddos. :-)

Snapshots: Namwianga

So, I've been putting off posting about this part of my time in Zambia because I struggle to find words that accurately describe it. This is where I left my heart.

Namwianga is a mission's organization that has three parts (at least those are all the parts that I know of): a clinic, an orphanage for older children called Eric's house, and an "orphanage" for younger children (preschool and below) called The Haven. The Haven is where I spent my time.

I say "orphanage" when referring to The Haven because a lot of the kids aren't actually orphans. Many have a parent or some sort of relative that is still alive but simply cannot take care of the child. Usually this is because the mother has died so the family has nothing to fed the child or because the child is sick and the family cannot take care of him/her. The Haven's mission is to reunite children with their families or villages once their families can take care of them and once the children are healthy and strong. Those without living relatives move across the street to Eric's house once they reach elementary age.

The Haven is divided into three buildings. The first building is for infants. I spent a good amount of time rocking these little ones and simply gazing into their beautiful eyes. The second building is for toddlers. I didn't get to spent much time in this building, mainly because I went into the other two buildings first and couldn't tear myself away from those kids. The third building was originally build to be a hospice for children who are chronically ill, especially those with HIV and TB. But praise the LORD! Thanks to medical treatment, these children are living rather than dying! These are the kids who really stole my heart; I wish my suitcase was large enough to carry all of them home with me (and then put my kiddos from Haven 1 and 2 in my carry-ons ;-)). I spent a good chunk of my time at Namwianga simply loving on these little ones; I loved finding different ways to make them smile. Tehe. Yup, these are my babies.

Ok, words are failing me now. Time to bring in the pictures. :-)


Sam Mary


Dow Cintia


Dorsi and Kim Denis

Christine

Bright and Junior

Elaine Hamilton
Miller Jana

Snapshots: Mission of Love

Mission of Love is one of the organizations that I got to serve with while in Zambia. It's mission statement is "serving to equip the local church and village community to better care for the needs of widows and orphans in the love and power of Christ. Psalm 68:5-6a".





It's run by an amazing couple, Jako and Amber. Jako is from South Africa and Amber is from America; the story of how they met is pretty sweet. They also have a sweet little boy, Jakob, who's 6 months old. Secretly, I'm fairly certain that I'm at least part South African. Of all the adults that I worked with in Zambia, I was most comfortable around Jako. He even managed to tickle me! Haha. I don't remember the last time someone legitamently tickled me. It's kind of a big deal. ;-) He made it extremely clear that I was a blessing, not a burden.

They intentionally keep their orphanage small to give it more of that family feel. Right now there are nine kids living in it. All of these children are from the community and all, well, except Genesis (more on her just now) are double orphans (meaning both parents have died) and have no living relative to take care of them. They are cared for by four aunties from the community, two who work full time and two who work part time.



Then there's baby Genesis. She came the second week that I was at Mission of Love. When we got her, she was 4 days old and barely weighed 4 pounds. She was born 1..5- 2 months premature. Her mother is severely schizophrenic, has syphilis, and is HIV positive. Her father is unknown. Genesis is truly a miracle baby. I can't tell you the excitement that I felt once she started to eat, started to whimper. Signs of life. :-) This little one will always hold a piece of my heart.






Two other people need to be mentioned in this post: Nate and Melanie. They are both college students from the States serving at Mission of Love for the summer. Nate served her last year as well.






While at Mission of Love, I helped with a lot of daily responsibilities: helping make food (not my forte), washing dishes, helping organize and label books for the community library that they're creating, looking after Jakob and Genesis, sorting donations, cleaning, and the like. Every night, I got to accompany Melanie down to the orphanage to help with the Bible story and English lesson that we had planned that afternoon. I also got to help her plan for the Sunday school lesson at church. It was good to be teaching again. :-)

Snapshots: Victoria Falls

According to Wikipedia: The Victoria Falls are some of the most famous, considered by some to be among the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.^[1] David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European recorded to view the Victoria Falls - which he did from what is now known as 'Livingstone Island' in Zambia, the only land accessible in the middle of the falls.^[2]. David Livingstone gave the falls the name 'Victoria Falls' in honour of his Queen, but the indigenous name of 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' - literally meaning the 'Smoke that Thunders' - is also well known. The World Heritage List recognises both names.^[3] While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This claim is based on a width of 1,708 metres (5,604 ft)^[4] and height of 108 meters (360 ft), forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world. The falls' maximum flow rate compares well with that of other major waterfalls








According to Sharon: Proof that we serve an amazing and creative God! Victoria Falls was more beautiful than words can describe. My favorite part was the hike down to the Boiling Pot. Basically, at the bottom of the falls, there is a pool of water where the water collects, swirls around, and bubbles, looking like a boiling pot. So cool! And the landscape down to it looked surreal. Ok, words are failing me. Maybe pictures will help, though pictures don't do it justice.

Snapshots:home life

I'm quickly realizing how vague I've been in regard to my time in Zambia. In the following series of posts, I hope to change that. Here's a glimpse of life at home. During the majority of my stay in Zambia, I was graced by the hospitality of the Murphy family. These precious little encouraged me daily. Each morning after my meeting with Rob and Gretchen, I was greeted by "good mornings" by these cuties. After a long day at the Haven, I'd return to giggles and grins, and usually some goofiness. No matter how tired I was, I always found energy to read a book with Shimirah or to play the "horsey game" with Isaiah and Katriya. Of course, there were always tickles for Christianna and Acacia as well. Gotta love these little ones. :-)

And I so appreciate their parents, Rob and Christa. I don't know two harder working people. They were gracious enough to open their home to me and did all that they could to make my time in Zambia smooth and comfortable. I'm grateful for their flexibility and encouragement.

Last but not least, "Auntie" Gretchen was my roommate for the month. She became my go-to person and appreciated companion during much of the time. She's commited to staying in Zambia for the next year.

The Murphy family is commited to staying in Zambia for the three years. For more information about them and their ministry, check out http://africaschild.info/blog/ Please pray for them as they continue to serve in Zambia.

Other common faces in Kalomo were those of the DeYoung family. Peter and Megan are in the process of two little precious little ones for Zambia, and are spending the summer in Zambia to fulfill the fostering period required (well, Megan's staying at least; Peter's stateside working and will return in August) with their three girls, Amy, Sophie, and Abby. Please pray for them throughout the adoption process. Pray especially for Megan as she handles the stresses of living in a far land while going through the ups and downs of adoption and taking care of her girls. That's a lot on her plate!

While in Zambia, I had the privilege of celebrating Isaiah's birthday. Christa did an incredible job put together a car party for him completely with games, balloons, and several impressive looking cakes. Here's a few snapshots from the big day.


Playing red light green light











Isaiah getting some tips from his dad in the car racing game











The kids each got their own cake to decorate.

Zambia Lessons

I hope to write a more detailed post about Zambia once my jet leg has passed. In the meantime, here are a few Zambia lessons from the past month.


-My God is bigger
-I'm independent (and proud) to a fault
-I need to own up to my mistakes
-It's ok to make mistakes
-I still have a lot of healing to do from South Africa
-I need to trust my instincts more
-Too often I let fear hold me back
-God hasn't given me a spirit of fear or timidity, but of power, love, and self-control
-I don't like being spoken for
-I don't speak up for myself enough
-I can be quite ambivalent
-I need to speak the truth in love. Always
-G0d has a sense of humor
-I'm extremely comfortable with South Africans. Maybe more so than with Americans
--Trying to take a pill while drinking from a drinking fountain is a bad idea
God loves these kids more than I do, more than I could even imagine
--Taking time for myself is good and needed
-It's good to take time to learn
-God's plan is best. Always
-My value is found in Whose I am, not in what I do
-Teaching toddlers that pinching noses creates a "beep! beep!" sound may result in nose bleeds. Several of them.
-God holds these precious little ones in His hands
-God will protect me. Always
-I don't like olives
-God is greater than any obstacle that I'll ever face
-Take risks
-LOVE RECKLESSLY
-I'm a blessing not a burden
-I'm making a difference
-Love is powerful
-I'm not about the short term
-Inch wide and a mile deep
-God is more than able
-It's important to speak truth to kids at every age
-Little things make big differences
-I like routine
-Trust God. Always.
-Bush roads are better than roller coasters
-God will never leave or forsake these little ones
-Greasy foods and I don't get along
-Vegetarian lasagna is still one of my favorites
-God is gracious and patient
-I'm too concerned with what others think of me
-We serve an incredible Creator
-The easy way is rarely the best way
-Doodling relaxes me
-Bartering can be fun

Yeah, I'd say I've learned a thing or two in the last month. :-)