Please feed the orphans

WOW ! What a joyful, life-changing experience!

Look at these lovely children.

Our hearts were touched by their persistent hopefulness and ability to be joyful in a world where struggling to survive is a daily routine.

What was really inspirational is how the kids love to sing, dance and praise the Lord for all His Blessings.

Although there are 95 orphans who need food, shoes, class fees and care, only a small fraction of the costs are covered by regular monthly donations. Volunteers cook daily meals for the children, three teachers tutor the children so they can stay in school and church members help with spiritual support.

Please look into your hearts and consider being a regular donor through AfnetAid - Santa Cruz Cares, Zambia Orphan Center.

For $35 a month, you can help a child survive in a world where FAITH and HOPE are the keys to daily peace.

Coming Home

We have survived our whirlwind of sightseeing activities at Victoria Falls and Chobe National Park. Many amazing sights and fun adventures. Norm, Lisa, Sam, and Rachel took a walk across the falls (with a guide)! We saw beautiful animals at Chobe - giraffe, many elephants, gazelles, a few zebra and (best of all) a pride of female lions and their cubs. We slept in tents in the park and after a suspenseful night we woke to a giraffe and two elephants right next to the camp.
Now we are in Lusaka preparing to return home. As I was listening to the beautiful singing in the church across the street a marching band suddenly emerged from the church and is going around the block! What a way to say goodbye to Africa!

Going Out with a Bang!

Today was our last day in Mansa and we enjoyed every minute with the children. After we entertained the children with our reprise of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (complete with costumes and dance moves), we had many activities for the kids to enjoy:

• Water balloon toss and water balloon slingshots and outdoor games (Lisa, Norm, John, Pam, and Tom)
• Dancing and singing with Terry Turner, Rob and Rachel (and the teenagers taught them some moves too)
• Crafts with Amy, Terry Townsend and Sam

We also finished distributing the last pair of shoes - Huuray! At lunch each child got a cookie and we had exactly enough for all 95! After lunch we distributed the goodie bags that we brought that had sunglasses, visors, bubble, a beach ball, soap and candy. You cannot imagine how excited all of the kids were (even the teenagers) to get toys that most US kids would turn up their noses at. They were jumping up and down and had smiles from ear to ear.

We quickly went from joy to sadness as we had to say goodbye to our new friends. Each of the team has connected with several of the kids on an individual basis and it was hard to say goodbye. I will miss their joyous spirits that are expressed in heartfelt song and dance, I will miss their shy smiles, I will miss their sincere gratitude for the smallest of kindnesses, I will miss the simplicity and purity of their faith, and I will miss the love and acceptance that they have given all of us.

Group Picture

Greeting to all from Mansa. I have tried attached some larger pictures in front of our Church away from home. No luck..connections are too slow for full size files. Great church service yesterday. More to come from Amy. I can tell you all is well and we are having as much fun as the kids are. Yesterday, we walked through the burbs of Mansa. We had a group of 60 kids following us on our walk. It was interesting how people were just going about their Sunday...Washing, bathing kids, cooking dinner or just talking with neighbors. They have so much joy with so little. We drove to a lake on Sunday and saw some kids by the roadside working playing on the brick they had loaded..



One of the event today was a tooth brushing clinic. I think they just liked spitting the toothpaste on the ground.

I sat down and was studying my Bemba phrases and got a better lesson from the 20 kids which surrounded me. It was so much fun. I read them a phrase in Bemba and asked them to translate to English. Their English was much better than my Bemba.

Heres a picture of Tom and I with our new friends..








Here's a picture of Rachel with one of the kids. Sorry for the randomness of the pictures but I am picking smaller pictures...







More to come... John signing off from Zambia!

News from Tom

From Tom Townsend

First opportunity to a computer on day seven.  Where to start?

Everything is so different.  I knew God was with us on the fourth plane trip when the plane emptied at Hrare, Zimbabwe.  Those left on the plane were obviously from all over the world.  Then the plane had a continual line of new faces from all over the world.  I was to find that about 80% were missionaries -> faces from Bhutan, Korea, China, the middle East, etc.  I knew now that we a few of those that the Lord had brought to be with our brothers and sisters of Africa.  Powerful witness!

On the evening of the forth day we arrived at Mansa, Zambia - our home here.  Though road weary, when you have fifty children screaming from joy to meet us, your heart comes alive in a way you will always remember.  Then to find that a year ago they had not guidance, teaching, holding, feeding (it goes on), and now had met the Lord and had smiles and radiated true joy in the simplest and purest form.

One of the boys, Alec, who attended the Children's Center had perished the day before.  Yes - from AIDS.  Immediately it was clear why we were here.  The children lead our team to the home of the grandmother.  She had taken in probably 12 other children and had all in her care.  Have you ever met a Saint?  The children began their beautiful singing before we arrived at the house.  As we arrived, chairs and couches were given to us.

We consoled and prayed with the grandmother and sat to reflect and be with her.

Thereafter, it has been uplifted and a harmonious team.  The children with nothing do have a deep beauty in their smiles, handshakes and hugs.  This is the simple belief of children that inspires us. 

That must conclude for now.

Love,  Thomas Townsend reporting from Mansa, Zambia

Isubilo

Isubilo means hope in Bemba - and it is also appropriately part of the name of the orphan center. Hope is also what is being created within the kids that participate in the orphan program here in Mansa. By having adults to love them, teach them needed skills, promote their education, give them basic resources, they are being given hope.

There are two paid teachers that receive a very small stipend (Prosper & Delia) and several other volunteer teachers. These humble and selfless people are making a mighty impact on the lives of the 95 orphans. It has been an honor to get to know them. They have helped us so much when working with the kids and also to tell us the histories of many of the children. They have been our guides and translators.

On Friday the children put on a traditional song and dance show for us. Kids from age 4 to 18 danced for us in the traditional Zambian way - which was kind of like extreme Zumba. They are gifted with amazing rhythm and resonating melodic voices. (They sing ALL the time - it is beautiful). They even got each of the team up to dance (this video is now under lock and key). Then they gave each of us a name in Bemba. We were all touched.

On Saturday we did some work in the morning (translates into painting and more shopping for shoes for Amy & Lisa). In the afternoon we had some time on the shores of Lake Bangwelu at Samfya (2 hour drive each way) with the elders from the church that is affiliated with the orphan center. We enjoyed games (tug of war and volleyball) with the Zambians and some of us enjoyed the water. We also got the chance to do paddleboarding in dug out canoes. I defintely need some lessons!

This afternoon we are taking a walk out of town to see where some of the orphans live and attend school. Stay tuned for more of our continued adventures.....

Zambia on Sunday

Greetings from Mansa

Yesterday spent at Lake Bangwelu for R & R with the church elders. Amazing place. We paddled dugout canoes which was a sight to behold. Went to church in Mansa this morning. 3 hours of singing, dancing and the message. To my surprise, it went very quickly. The longest thing was a reception line where we met everyone in the church. Very cool. People were very welcoming. We will be back to the orphan center to work tomorrow morning. I believe I will be teaching teeth brushing...Hope my dental skills are up to snuff. This is an amazing place. I may be able to upload some photos...so stay tuned. Amy is providing more detail. We are going to try and find an internet cafe with wireless so we can upload some pictures if possible. They have lost the password to the wireless router so we will be searching for another option. Everything is very fluid here so we will see. Your support and prayers are of great help and warmly appreciated.

Warmest regards-

John

Joy and Tears in Mansa

Our projects here in Mansa are in full swing. While the days are long (7 a.m. to 8 p.m. or later) they are full with joy, laughter, tears, and an overwhelming sense of making a difference in the lives of these forgotten children.
Some of the things we have been doing include:
Crafts with the children: it is amazing that their attention is held with the simplest projects and they have an incredible attention to detail. The whole team has been working with the kids on their projects and it has been a great way to get to know them. Today we are doing a Noah's Ark story and rainbow craft.
Music: Rob, Rachel, and Sam have been our resident musicians to entertain the kids. Although we are really more impressed with the musical abilities of the kids. This morning all of the children have prepared a traditional music/dance show for us to watch. One of the older kids, Kasuba, is very musical and has really enjoyed practicing worship songs with Rob and Rachel.
Games: It has been interesting trying to organize games with the kids who often don't speak English. Terrt Townsend, Rob, Rachel, and I (Amy) were in tears of laughter trying to teach them Duck, Duck, Goose and Red Light Green Light without the aid of an interpreter. Lisa's idea of hitting a volleyball was much more easiliy figured out.
Painting: A good portion of the team have been involved in painting the orphan center inside (it was bare cement). It is about 2/3 done.
Shoes: We distributed the shoes yesterday and it was an amazing process. In groups of about 5 they came into one of the rooms at the orphan center and we "fit" them for shoes. We also distributed some clothes that had been donated from South Africa. The majority of these kids came in with shoes in tatters and left proudly with new black school shoes on their feet. As we didn't have all sizes some of the kids had to wait until we purchased them here locally. So Lisa, Pam, and I spent several hours at many different stores from ShopRite to a local "department store" (the term is used very loosely here) to the stalls at the market to find all the correct sizes. As John said - I will always find a way to shop no matter where I am.
Dinner for the workers: Terry Turner is organizing a dinner tonight for all of the teachers and volunteers at the center and the whole team is pitching in to help. This is quite a bit more labor intensive than it would be in the states where we would just go to Costco. The meat needs to be ordered in advance, the ShopRite is often out of basic items, and we are also working with limited space and supplies at the orphan center. We are hoping to have a very nice meal to show our appreciation to these hard working volunteers. We are even having a cake which is VERY special here.

These are just the physical things that we have been doing - there is so much more to say about how we have all been in tears at one point or another as we have been touched by these children on an individual basis - how we have seen such kindness and joy in the face of unbelievable adversity - how the church workers are so giving of their time to train the kids. Our experiences have definitely pulled us out of our self-absorbed American attitudes.

On the Ground in Zambia

Greetings to all... What an amazing trip this has been thus far. We are in Mansa Zambia at the Orpahn Daycare center till nexy Wed. Painting, building, patching holes...new shelves and most importantly, interacting these wonderful children. The shoes we have distributed, the crafts we have worked on with them and so many other interactions have touched each of our souls individually in such a way, it's hard to explain.

We have named this project, unofficially...Extreme Home Makeover - Zambia. Tom T said to me, the makeover is actually happening more to us than we know.

What a onderful group of people with whom to work. Amy is posting many details so pleas read her posts. Pictures will be hard as connection sppeds are very slow.

Never-the less...thank to all of you who have remembered us in your prayers and please also pray for the children and staff at the orphan center.

We will be cooking dinner tonight for Pastor Henry and some of the elders of the church. This will be an adventure no doubt.

Warmly in Him.

John

Meeting the Orphans of Mansa

The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind of activity and emotion. Upon our arrival we were greeted with the angelic and rhythmic voices of about 30 of the kids singing to us. It brought tears to many of us.

Today we spent time introducing ourselves and getting to know the kids by having them make fun and colorful name tags as well as playing a dancing name game (courtesy of Rob). Both the younger children and teenagers joined in all the activities and were so happy to have our attention. They are a bit shy of using their English, yet their smiles speak volumes to us.

The day was marred with some sadness as one of boys in the orphan program died yesterday from maternal acquired AIDS. We walked processional style with the older children through the streets of Mansa to the home of the boys grandmother where many people were gathered to pay their respects. The children went inside and sang to the family gathered there mourning. We were brought seats of honor to sit outside the house and had the opportunity to pray with his grandmother (who is raising 6 of her grandchildren). All of the team members were deeply moved.

Tomorrow we have more actvities planned with the children and the painting project begins. We are all exhausted but excited to be with the children again tomorrow.

We Have Arrived

Three planes and two bus rides and over 24 hours later the Zambia Team has made it to our first destination- Lusaka. All team members and luggage are intact! Tomorrow at 6 am we begin our 10 hour journey to Mansa.
More to come.....

On the way to Addis Ababa

I'm sitting in Dulles Airport, Washington having my last Starbucks Mocha for the next two weeks. Ethiopia is our next destination and then on to Zambia. Most of us were able to get a little shut eye on the flight from San Francisco. Now for the long 13 hour hop to the other side of the world. Final call...all the goats and camels are now loaded..now for us :))
Cous Cous for lunch I think...

Theme Song

I was driving into work this morning with thoughts of Zambia filling my mind and heart and I heard the song Take Me Into The Beautiful by Cloverton on the radio. My eyes immediately filled with tears as I realized in just a few days God will be taking our team into the "beautiful" of the Zambian people - some for the first time and some that are going back again.

I think this could be our theme song. (click link to hear the song)

Take Me Into The Beautiful

Take me into the beautiful, won't You take me back again

With a love unexplainable, come fill up this dry land

Let it open our eyes to see a world we've never seen

Let it open our hearts up to see You inside of us

You're here inside of me

Take me into the beautiful where the rivers flow

Where the love that never ends

Oh I wanna go to the beautiful

Take me into the beautiful where the faces glow

Where the lights that never dim

Oh I wanna go to the beautiful

Come on and take me again

Ready.....Set.......

Are  you ready.?......are you set.?......

Contact information while we are in Zambia

Contact information while we are in Zambia

Lisa's cell in SA - from USA dial 011 for international call then 27 83 431 2959 (may have to contact their cell provider to allow it)

Johan's cell 011 27 82 754 2728 (good emergency contact)

Pastor Henry +260 977 255 881 or + 260 965 255 881 (contact number while we are in Zambia)

Physical address in Zambia:

Apostolic Church of Zambia Glory Centre, Pastor Henry Mumba

2 streets behind Amoco Bakery (sorry, it's a dirt road with no name!)

Mansa, Zambia

Mail address:  ACZ Glory Centre, PO box 710171, Mansa, Zambia

We are waiting for you...

We are so excited you are coming - we can't wait to meet you!
Love, the orphans of Mansa