After we returned, we loaded up the van and headed out toward Twalpia to go shopping at the roadside stalls for gifts for family and friends.  After loading up, we headed out to lunch in town and met up with Kirk.  When we got down we all headed out to Kubushi to check out how the drilling for the Mb was going.  When we arrived, the drill was already down about 13 meters and had already struck some water.  Usually normal well depth is 50-100 meters depending on what’s underground.  It looks like it’s going to be another 2-3 days of drilling and getting the well ready for the next team who will lay the concrete platform and install the hand pump. 

The people of this community are thrilled to be getting a well, but the reality is that it’s only a drop in the bucket compared to what they really need.  Tomorrow we head for home and I am really going to miss this place…All the wonderful friends we have made, the friendly people of Ndola, and the friends and family of Seeds of Hope.

On our way we take a detour down to the Lobuto River, where we find that the sewage plant spills out and mixes with the river downstream where everyone gathers to get their water and do their laundry.  We are blown away by the amount of people who have come from such a distance to use this polluted water source.  Our hearts are broken over the plight of these precious people.  We came upon a woman walking with a stick, whose leg was grosslyswollen and whose face has a huge open sore that is eating through her cheek.  Denise laid hands on her and prayed for God’s mercy and his healing power to come upon her.

We made our way back up the dirt road to Kubushi, where we met the drill team and the drill rig.  We found a perfect place to drill, and as the crew backs up to position to drilling platform, we start attracting a large crowd of curious people.  A vast amount of children, as the afternoon goes on Maureen and Kirk have a brew of kids singing songs and dancing…It’s definitely a party!  The locals are stunned to find out that the bore hole well is free and for everyone in the community to use.  This well will be the first put in Kubushi, a community of over 60,000 people whose only other water source is the river and some piped in water in certain parts. 

I have a dream, that when I get home I can raise money for 20 wells for Kubushi which will go a long way to helping prevent disease and break the cycle of hopelessness and lift up the name of Jesus.  WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP???

Today we are back again at the Mapalo Vineyard. Early on in our trip Francis, the Vineyard pastor had asked me to speak. A few weeks before our trip while I was on a pray walk at home I was asking the Lord, Is there something you want to the say to the church in Zambia? I thought I heard the Lord whisper in my ear, “I have two gifts I want to bless the church with.” I knew right away what it was, and that’swhat my message was all about. The two gifts are the “Power of the Holy Spirit and the Love of the Father.” In Ephesians 3:14-21 Paul is praying for the church to live in thier full inheritance as chrildren of God…which includes the two gifts I mentioned above.

Everything went well and we had a powerful time of prayer at the end. I love the simplicity and the beauty of the church here. It’s such a sweet experience, the beauty of the voices, the colors of their clothes, the smiles of their faces and their obvious joy in spite of their poverty and circumstances.

When we arrived there was already a big crowd milling about.  The team from Seeds of Hope and Vineyard are frantically trying to get the sound system, screen, and projector set up.  There was a local band called “Soul Winners” who whipped up the crowd.  As soon as it was dark the film rolled as the sea of faces looked on.  After the Crucifixion we stopped the movie and I had a chance to share, with somebody interpreting in Bemba, the good news of the Father’s love and we had a bunch of people raise their hands and pray with me to receive Christ.  What a night!

From there we went to the community of Kabushi (means Little Goad) where we were searching out sites for the bore hole well that we have sponsored at Mountainbrook Church.  Kabushi is a large community/compound that is like most that surround Ndola: poverty, unemployment, disease, few schools, and lack of water.  The water that they do have has a fish-like odor.  We went to the community council person’s home.  He was gracious to us and anxious for us to help.  We have a new vineyard church plant here but haven’t done any wells, biosand filters, or anything else as of yet.  Tomorrow night we are going back to show the “Jesus Film” and invite people to come to Christ and to pray for the sick. 

After visiting three different locations, the story is the same: very limited access to water, some forced to walk a long distance, others being extorted for K5000 per month (or $1) to get water from a neighbors house when they have broke the city’s water line to get water for themselves.  We make friends quickly and my heart goes out to the people.  They need many more bore hole wells and hygiene and sanitation training here as well. 

Our last stop was at Arising Life Ministries where the gal, who is a graduated of Northrise University, has started the Mushili Counselling and Guidance Center for Children.  She has gone into the community from house to house and gathered a large group of orphans, kids whose parents have died and are living with relatives, and some kids who have been abused.  At the center she is feeding them a meal, for many the only  nutrition they will get that day, teaching them the Bible, and basic reading and writing skills.  The plan is to teach them job skills and help them continue in their education as well.  After talking to her (her name is Joyce) we are all moved by her passion for Jesus and for the children in her community.  We all gathered around Joyce and prayed for her and blessed her…It was a sweet Holy Spirit moment.  We are planning on going back Monday with school supplies and whatever kids stuff we can get our hands on.  Her mission statement is, “Empowering orphans and vulnerable children, women and the youth, through counselling and guidance for spiritual, intellectual, economical, and social growth.”  I love her heart.  There are so many hidden heroes of the faith who are doing so much with so little.

P.S. There’s a good chance we will drill our Mountainbrook well here at her children’s center.

biosand team builds the filters from molds designed by one the guys here.  We all helped load up one of the big flatbed trucks with the biosand filters, bags of sand, and 3 sizes of rock that go into each filter.

Heading into Mapalo I was blown away again by the level of poverty.  We are greeted by smiling faces as we go deep into the community to the are where the filters are to be installed.  One of the great things to know is that every family home that gets a free filter has gone through both the hygiene and sanitation training offered by Seeds of Hope.  I love the Seeds of Hope Mission statement which is on every truck…”Helping to transform lives of the communities through holistic community development, enabling them to reverse the downward spiral of poverty and provide hope for the future.”

We are actually taking one of the big drilling trucks today so we can haul all of our stuff to St. Anthony’s.  Our team stopped along the way and bought a bunch of diapers and boxes of laundry detergent to take with us.  We arrived at about 2pm and spent a precious afternoon with the kids and we made a great connection with Maureen, the director of the orphanage.  Several of the kids have cerebral palsy and can’t really move.  They love to have someone touch them and really light up and smile when we hold them and stroke their arms.  The power of touch and a little bit of love is so precious to them.

Zambia is such a land of contrasts.  Extreme poverty, 80% unemployment, 39-year average longevity…yet an incredible beauty filled with beautiful people.

Me with the kids!

Every Monday through Friday in front of the SHIP house (where we are staying) the day starts at 7:45am with a time of corporate devotions.  All of the SHIP staff are there: the drilling team, pump repair team, sanitation and hygiene team, biosand filter team, and all of the office staff.  It is a beautiful time of worship in Bemba along with time in the Bible with someone teaching and a time of prayer.  What a great way to start the day!

After devotions, we jumped into the sea train to unload and sort through tons of boxes of shoes, soccer equipment, school supplies, and clothes.  After a full morning of unpacking, repacking, and sorting, we headed to connect with an orphanage we are hoping to build a working relationship with.  Our driver, a 24-year-old named Nimrod, takes us a few kilometers past a huge open-air market and through the gates into St. Anthony’s Village.

After introducing ourselves to one of the directors, she warmly welcomed us and showed us around.  To our surprise, St. Anthony’s is not only an orphanage but also a community for the aged and dying.  As we approached the children’s area, we were overwhelmed as a cloud of kids came and gathered around us, wanting someone to hold them, hug them, and just love on them!  There are children in wheel chairs, mentally challenged kids, and kids with cerebral palsy.  They have about 125 beds from newborns whose mothers had HIV/AIDS and died at childbirth or soon after (up to age 8).  There policy is that they don’t turn any child away.  The woman who runs the kids area is named Maureen, and she is amazing!  She knows almost every kid by name and what their story is:  “this one is HIV positive…this one’s mother died at childbirth…the mother of these abandoned twins was a street wanderer.”

We went back the next day to spend the afternoon and bring them diapers (both cloth and disposable) for the infants and laundry detergent.  We have boxes of shoes, clothes, soccer stuff, and linens, too.  When we were in an area for the physically handicapped kids, I started to feel a bit repulsed and asked Jesus for help.  He reminded me of Matthew 25 where Jesus said, “When you do this to the least of these, you do it unto me.”  All of a sudden the room took on a whole new perspective.  I have been asking Jesus to change my heart and help me reflect Him.  I know I’m in process!… I need a lot of transformation.

They really do know how to do church here.. they start at 10am and end at 1:00. All the worship is in “Bimba” and very powerful and beautiful. The style is call and response and all they have is a couple of  drums and a guitar and a dozen incrediable singers. I stood and just enjoyed Gods presence…We are off to lunch