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Zambia 2006 Vacation
As I passed thru London (Seeing Kevin Nah in his new apartment
along with Pastor Kevin Singleton on his way to South Africa),
I met with one of our ENCM ministers (Ashley Dunbar) who was
returning from Zambia. She helped plant a church with the associate
pastor (Pastor Joseph Simaubi) in the city and asked that I spend
some time with him, the campus students, and his congregation. My friends
worked during the day so I used the daytime to spend with the Pastor
and his leaders. And so started the vacation...
I had no idea what that would entail, but below is an excerpt of an
email I sent to my friends at work about what happened from the Thursday
I arrived to the following Wednesday:
...I've been pretty busy - showing some Africans how to use a computer,
how good administration can enhance your organization, teaching them
how to design things in Microsoft Word, how to type, how to build
win-win relationships with local businesses, how to get excited about
a vision, how to motivate people, the list goes on and on...Their
nation is changing and beginning to embrace technology. Their currency
increased in value about 30% at the beginning of the year. It's made
a difference.
My over all goal was to equip some of these guys to do things after
I leave, and put the relationships in place with local business to
help them. Today I have to solidfy those relationships. It's no good
them relying on me, and I think I've come up with a working system
so they will be able to do things themselves in their church.
On Thursday Pastor Joseph took me to see Operation Mercy, a work
his church does in the Shanty Towns. He finds families in need with
the assistance of a ground administrator and distributes goods to help
them. He keeps a strict accounting of what family recieves what goods
and also logs his activities in a case file style book that the family
maintains which has entries from different organizations including World
Vision. We saw a child who was born premature, a man with cancer,
and some other cases.
I also ended up
the surprise guest speaker that night (as in it was a surprise to me)
at their first campus meeting at UNZA (University of Zambia). I thought
it would be an informal party but it was pretty much the real deal.
I did not have any thing prepared but I spoke a little about purpose
and what happens when you find your purpose. (and thus I joined Lynette
Lewis and Jeff McCall as international speakers...got my
scout badge that night...)
They also did a
Q&A (talk about thinking on your feet) and asked me all kinds of
questions from my experience as a babysitter (I spoke about loving your
children, rewarding positive behavior), to how to come alongside teenagers
(mentorship), to how to deal with temptation on campus (setting your
boundaries ahead of time, finding strength in each other, encouraging
each other every day, etc).
Anotherwards I was really patchworking things when I was standing up
there...Kinda like one of those testimony-sermons that you're never
quite sure ever really started or ended.
I finished on Friday
with a meeting with Rev. John Jere and his wife as he shared
his vision for the continent - to bring orphanages and schools everywhere
he goes! Changing the nation, one orphan at a time!.
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Photos - pick a
page from below!
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