Evangelism Blog

Serving at the Village of Hope in Zambia Africa

We experienced 3 “Mission Celebration” Sundays this year where the value of being world Christians was affirmed and enjoyed and on center stage so to speak, no less than 6 Sunday mornings when missionaries talked about what God has been doing in there spot in the world. I hope you have noticed the deliberate attempt to make global mission more visible to the whole body. We again sponsored a short term trip to Chile and to Zambia this year. When we sponsor a cross-cultural short term trip what I tell those who commit to going is that our stated purpose for these trips is, “A short term trip for a long term change.” I wanted to give you the opportunity to judge for yourself if we are hitting the mark with our stated purpose. Before our team left for the Village of Hope in Zambia I told them that I wanted each one to write a paragraph about what impacted them most during their time in Zambia so I could post them on our mission blog on our church web site. Here are a few examples from those who participated in that trip.

 

 

The morning before we left Village of Hope I was awakened by the lovely sounds of roosters, which was my natural alarm clock nearly every morning, but today was a bit earlier than usual. I quietly got ready and headed over to the main house(Kathleen and Ben's house). On my way there I saw Terrance trying to start the morning fire to heat water and cook breakfast. I turned around and went to see if I could help in any way. My job turned out to be the wind blocker. Once the first coals were lit and hot, he then started two more. My job then became "the fanner". I fanned the coals so they became hot enough to cook breakfast. Terrance was the first one up so he readily volunteered to help with the fires. It was not his turn it was actually David's turn but he was eager to help his roommate out. I then helped with washing pots and pans, as I watched the rest of the children in Cottage 3 do their daily chores. After the dishes were done, Mama Rose C.( the mama of cottage 3) insisted that I stay for tea and breakfast. Terrance thanked me for my help and he too demanded that I stay for breakfast because I helped start the fire that cooked it. After they served me breakfast, they were all washing their crocks and offered to wash my sandals too. I said thats okay but he persisted and basically took them off my feet and started scrubbing.

 It hits me everytime I think of this particular morning that I went to Zambia to serve, but the more I ponder I realize the children served me instead. Not only Terrance, but all the children love to work and help in any way possible. They always have a smile on their face while doing their chores and I never heard them complain. They are a constant reminder that I should serve others like the Lord served, with joy and love, and be a light unto the world.

 

 

Kelsey Lewien

 

Our time at the Village of Hope is finished. I thought I was leaving a world of comfort for a world of discomfort and struggle, but what I actually discovered was a much more comfortable, peaceful world where it is much less cluttered and much easier to hear from God. I was so amazed by how much I could feel God's love and joy in and through these

42 beautiful children!! I found children who were loving, obedient, faithful and seeking after the Lord! These are children without parents, but who can feel the Lord Father's love and the love of the Village of Hope staff, including the Mommas, Aunties, teachers, workers and all of their families. They seemed to overflow with love, which they shared willingly with us.

 

Some of the children who touched my heart: 1)Namakau - age 13 - came with 2 other children from another orphanage that closed - wants to be a nurse - shared her lunch (nshima with cabbage and meat) with me the very first time we met - likes to sew and is making a chetenge (skirt) for me out of material I purchased in Liteta (a village 7 kilometers

north of VOH),   2) Sharon - age 12 - had chicken pox while we were

visiting - likes to chochet - shared tea and "fritas" with Kelsey and me one of our last mornings (very special memory), 3)Terrence - age 10

- wants to be a pastor - wrote a letter for me to take home and give to my son after I shared about my family (very touching) , 4) Matilda - walks with a walker due to having spinal TB when she was young - worked with me on exercises - wrote letters filled with " I love you" and "God loves you" - was very excited to get new "crocs" at our shoe

distribution and   5)Sharpie - had broken his arm awhile ago and was

having trouble bending it so we worked on the motion - along with the rest of his house, shared a radio program with us on Wednesday evening which seemed to be a highlight of their week (a comedy spoken in Nenga) which they enjoyed immensely and we laughed because they laughed (a very special time).

 

Benedict and Kathleen are truly living out their faith day by day, not knowing what tomorrow will bring, but knowing that the Lord will provide as long as they seek Him and operate in the center of His Will.

Benedict says, "It is a manna walk". I have truly been inspired! The Lord has worked in my heart. I want to be open to whatever the Lord has for us. I will continue to pray for the Village of Hope and would like to be actively involved in their ministry. I will seek God to determine how that will be.

 

We have seen a beautiful part of God's creation. It seems so unfair that we have so much and they seem to have so little. Yet, who is happier? And who has more peace and joy? And who has more time to hear from God? I would truly say that they have so much that we are lacking!! My time in Africa has been amazing and I will pray that it will not leave me unchanged!! I hope that many more in the Calvary family are privileged to experience this blessing!!

 

Kay Hren

 

We spent a lot of time in Zambia sorting through boxes of clothing and shoes that had been sent from the United States for the children of the Village.  I was grateful that people in the U.S. recognized the need and were willing to ship boxes to Zambia.  But I was equally appalled at the condition of much of the clothing...torn, badly stained, etc.  It caused me to think about my own attitude toward "those children in Africa" and wondered if I'd ever considered my worn-out hand-offs "good enough" for them.  I spent much time considering if we, as wealthy privileged Americans, actually believe that all of God's children are equally valuable.  As I considered that question, I was spending time with one of the girls from the Villages of Hope.  She eyed my wrist watch with admiration, touching it gently and saying that she had been given a watch earlier that she had been excited to receive.  It had been given by an American group, but had broken the first day that she wore it.  It saddened me that, again, Americans had not given their best. 

 

The thought has remained with me since returning home.  It has caused me to check my own attitude toward giving.  If I am willing to give, then I should be willing to give my best!

 

Jane Soerens

 

I had a lot of fun on my mission trip to Africa. My favorite part was playing with the kids at the Villages of Hope. God really showed me how powerful He is and how He brought these kids to this orphanage. I am glad God helps us to go on this mission trip. I hope to go back some day and see the kids and how they have grown. I think this is the best experience I have ever had.

While I was there, God showed me that:

.         Before, I always wanted more. I don't want so much anymore.

.         I can make friends quickly.

.         It's okay to make mistakes and people will forgive you.

.         God's love is amazing and so HUGE!

.         God made beautiful animals.

.         Kids love making ankle bracelets.

.         The kids at the orphanage really love God.

.         The kids at the orphanage are good at cooking.

.         Some kids just like having people around.

.         Put others before yourself.

.         No one is perfect.

.         I really can get attached to people and it is always hard to say

goodbye.

.         God is always watching over us and taking care of us.

 

Lily Ann Van Ye

 

The Village of Hope Zambia is a beautiful place because there is an amazing sense of joy and unity and purpose.

I had a very touching encouter on our first evening visit to one of the houses where the orphans live.  Jane and I came to house 4, which was the nearest to where we were sleeping.  We played UNO with the children, interupted by two brief power outages. But the touching incident was how Joyce, sitting next to me, chose to play the UNO game.  We were sitting together on a long bench so it was quite easy for me to see her cards.  Here is what I found amazing:  Joyce repeatedly refused to lay down any cards that would cause me to draw cards.  Instead she chose to keep them and draw cards for herself rather than causing a penalty draw for me.  I was so touched.  Even though we did not know each other well, honoring a new "uncle" was much more important to Joyce than winning the game.  And, as a fitting example of God blessing unselfishness, Joyce won the UNO game anyway.

 

My trip to Village of Hope Zambia  also provided an answer to prayer.  As I look forward to a post-corporate life I have been praying for God to provide opportunities to use my experience as a researcher and inventor to meet vital needs for people in developing countries.  I expressed this desire to Benedict via email. When I arrived he already had an important and challenging problem for me to work on.  He challenged me to find a way to utilize the very prevalent elephant grass as a composite material that could be used as an alternative to charcoal, which  now used for all of the cooking.  Benedict is very concerned about the extent of deforestation because of the heavy use of charcoal.  So I now have a project to research and generate ideas.  Hopefully I will develop some potential solutions that I can tested by returning to Zambia to run experiments, perhaps including some of the older children in a real-life science project. 

 

Dave Soerens

 

We spent a lot of time in Zambia sorting through boxes of clothing and shoes that had been sent from the United States for the children of the Village.  I was grateful that people in the U.S. recognized the need and were willing to ship boxes to Zambia.  But I was equally appalled at the condition of much of the clothing...torn, badly stained, etc.  It caused me to think about my own attitude toward "those children in Africa" and wondered if I'd ever considered my worn-out hand-offs "good enough" for them.  I spent much time considering if we, as wealthy privileged Americans, actually believe that all of God's children are equally valuable.  As I considered that question, I was spending time with one of the girls from the Villages of Hope.  She eyed my wrist watch with admiration, touching it gently and saying that she had been given a watch earlier that she had been excited to receive.  It had been given by an American group, but had broken the first day that she wore it.  It saddened me that, again, Americans had not given their best. 

 The thought has remained with me since returning home.  It has caused me to check my own attitude toward giving.  If I am willing to give, then I should be willing to give my best!

Jane Soerens

 

Being on the mission trip to the VOH and spending time with the kids really strengthened my faith in that these kids had to have a lot of faith to get through their day. I realized that I need that kind of faith to get through my day even though my special needs are different. They were willing to leave whatever came up, in God's hands. When they found out that I couldn't walk, they asked if they could pray for me. They asked God to help me with my legs and that they would get better.   This even strengthened my faith. Also, they loved to serve. They always wanted to help me, push me around, even when I ran out of things for them to do -- they still wanted to do something to help!

 

Parker Van Ye