My Apologies to All

First of all, I extend my apologies to all of you who have been faithfully checking my blog for updates over the last month. Secondly, I extend my deepest gratitude to you all for your faithful prayers and willingness to keep checking for updates. I have been extremely busy and surrounded by spotty internet access that has hindered my ability to post. There is a deeper reason why I don’t think I have posted. I think that if I am forced to sit down and write a blog entry it is going to force me to sit and process what I have experienced this summer and to be completely honest, that frightens me. I have seen so much and had so little time as it is to process that the thought of thinking over the past 6 weeks of camp seems overwhelming and incredibly emotional. I have heard and seen so many stories similar to Grace’s, from my previous blog, that it would seem that I have gone numb. So many of the children that we are working with have stories so similar to hers and I think that if would have sit to process I may have been holed up in my room weeping for these kids but instead I chose to hide from it and not face the harsh reality that these kids face. Even as I write this now I find myself becoming uncomfortable and choked up as I think.
Since my last blog so much has happened as you can probably imagine. I finally had my own group of kids; 13 boys ranging in age from 10 to 14. Each one brought their own stories to camp. Some of them were Christians before camp, some weren’t. Some were beaten and most had lost one or more parent. I had the privilege of leading several of the boys to Christ with my partner whose name was Enoch. Two of he boys had been participating in Satanist practices although not off their choice. They were forced into it by witch doctors and other threatening to kill them if they did not practice in their sacrifices and other things of the sort. One of them was even demon possessed and again the Lord gave me the privilege of being one of 5 men who prayed and exorcised the demons from the boy. That was quite the event. His eyes were rolled back in his head and he kept going into convulsions. I would write more on this topic but I fear that many of you reading right now would not believe me and think I was crazy. I have too many stories to type on this entry. I bungee jumped at Victoria Falls and survived to write this blog.
The main reason I wanted to write was to let everyone know that I am OK and loving being here in Zambia. Thank you so much for all your contributions to my trip whether it was a financial donation or prayer. I could not have come here without either one of those things. I have 2 weeks remaining here and I promise you before I leave I will sit and process and write another response telling more of what I have experienced. Thanks again for your commitment and faith in me, it means more than the world to me to have your support.

You Would Never Know

Well, the first week of Camp LIFE has past and it was incredible!! 960 kids came to camp and were set free from the lies that the devil tells us about how we are hated and rejected but 960 kids are now pronouncing the name of the Lord and are now in Christ and Loved!! Yesterday, we gave the 5 community schools that came a bag of crayons, pencils, and each school received one soccer ball and you would have thought the kids were going to riot because they were so excited…over PENCILS!! It was so great to touch the lives of these kids. I was mainly in charge of the day to day running of camp and making sure that everything that was needed for the day got to camp, which is actually incredibly stressful but it is all worth it when you see kids who were sick healed, girls who were beaten left alone, and kids who were stone cold on Monday morning go home shouting praises to the Lord and ready to take on life on Friday afternoon.
Now on to the meat of this entry. There is a picture of a little girl at the top of this blog entry. Her name is Grace and she is a healthy 6 year old little girl who goes to a community school called Ibex Hill, which is one of the schools that came to camp. On the outside she looks “fat,” as the Zambians say for someone who looks well, and happy. She runs and plays with her friends at camp and laughs with them too. But look a little deeper into those eyes. They are looking at the camera almost hauntingly, as if they are hiding something. If you were to just look at her at a glance you would never know. Every night for the past year she has been getting beaten and sexually abused. Not by anyone in her family, though, because she lives with her grandmother who makes her do endless chores. She gets beaten and raped nightly! By who? Two 12 year old boys who come through her window and threaten to kill her. Did you catch that? TWO 12 YEAR OLDS!! They come into her room and hold a knife to her throat and then have their way with her. Take one more look at that picture now. Do you see the same little girl as before? The happy one? Or do you see something else? Do you see a girl who is in chains but not in a bondage of her own doing? Because that’s what I see when I see that little girl. I held that girl. I have seen her face and felt her tears. Now, take that same little girl and put her in your bedroom and with your last name. How does her story change? What is different in her life? She probably has a mom and a dad. She even has a nice free public education through the 12th grade and food on the table every night of the week. So tell me why it is different because she was born in Zambia? Can you? Can you read this without getting choked up because I have to fight back tears so I can finish writing it. Do you wish to know the kicker of the whole story or do you wish to stop and find something more comfortable to read on the web? The part of this whole story that gets me is her American counselor; 11 year old Savannah Head. Wait, an 11 year old girl from America is the one who had to hear her story and hold her and comfort her? Of all the Christians in the world, God chose to use an 11 year old girl, who had no idea what sexual abuse even was, to touch and change the life of that 6 year old little girl. Can he use You? Grace accepted Christ on Tuesday just minutes after telling Savannah her story. I know it was real because I watched her do it and do you know what? We prayed over her that day and that night, the boys came to her window to do what they always do and then, without warning, they left. They just left. What an amazing tale of perseverance and answered prayer and that is only one story of 960! After reading that do you wish that there was something you can do? Well, you can. The ministry I am with this summer is building a Children’s village for Grace and 299 other orphaned children in Zambia! They have started on two of the 25 orphan homes and there will be so much more to follow on their 130 acre plot of land where the Tree of Life Children’s Village will be one day. They need money, and lots of it, but just know that there is no such thing as a small donation. You can donate, you can even come and work Camp LIFE and touch a child with story like Grace. Check out your options at www.flmi.org for the summer of 2008 and check out the layout for the Tree of Life Children’s Village. You can make a difference in the story of thousands of Children like Grace.

Music That Floods the Soul

So I really wish that all of you could have come to church with us this morning because it was amazing and I wish that I had a picture or a video to put up with this post as well. Anyways, music in Zambia is as much a part of their culture as consumerism is to the U.S. and it is amazing to hear the singing and praises that they all raise to our father. Most of the singing at the church we went to was acapella and just amazing. The music just washes over you as you stand there and listen. Several of the songs we sang were in English and familiar but the African way of singing adds so much more depth to the songs. It is as if they are reaching down the deepest fiber of their beings to try and find words that can even remotely come close to describing their love and their thanks to God for everything that they, which consequently is not very much. We would sing and dance in church, sorry to the Baptists (Just kidding), and raise our hands and as we sang it just sounded what I envision Heaven sounding like one day. In America we are very big on our individual worship and worship how YOU can experience God YOURSELF but the feeling at this church was much more corporate and unified. People still closed their eyes and sang their worship to God but it was the entire group in agreement lifting up their praise as one spirit and one body which is what someday all believers, despite disagreements we have had here on Earth, in Heaven together for all eternity.
Now to shift gears a little bit, the first wave of Americans made it safely to Lusaka yesterday and we have been going like crazy to get all the houses set up. This afternoon all the Americans meet up with the Zambian workers and get paired up with their partners because…CAMP STARTS TOMORROW!!!! We went around to the first 5 schools that are coming and visited them to hype up the camp and it is going to be awesome. There are going to be 2 of the 5 schools that have never been through Camp LIFE before and many of the children from those schools have never heard the good news that we are bringing to them. Just be in prayer for guidance and wisdom to all the leaders, both Zambian and American, that they will be moved to teach these children what the Lord wants them know about their freedom in Christ and that there is indeed a hope for them. Thank you all for reading my blog and please remember to leave comments. Also, please pass on the link to this site to everyone you know that we may spread awareness of the situation of these orphans of Zambia.

Busy, Busy!!

So what to write what to write, it has been a busy few days! I would have written sooner but the internet where I am staying has been out for the past couple of days and I finally was able to get to the local internet café to write. Well, the second 40’ container finally arrived on site yesterday and we unloaded it just fine and everything made it safe and sound from Dallas, praise the Lord! I am really sore today because I think every box on that container weighed about 80lbs but now we have a full 10,000 shoes, shirts, and bandanas, to give to the kids over 8 weeks of camp! On the container yesterday were several backpacks, pencils, pens, and paper and today we organized about 40 backpacks each containing a binder filled with paper, a spiral notebook, 2 pens and 2 pencils and delivered them to 40 students at the school that Family Legacy had started this year and the students went crazy for the supplies! It was incredibly encouraging because it was our first interaction with any of the students so far since we arrived in Lusaka almost a week ago now. Now begins the task of unpacking all of the boxes and getting ready for camp. The first set of American volunteers arrived yesterday and are already down at Victoria Falls and the remaining 53 volunteers will arrive on Saturday. Sunday night we will get paired up with our Zambian volunteers and Monday begins Camp LIFE 2007! Just continue praying that we can get all of our work done and squared away before the first 900 kids arrive early Monday morning. Thank you so much for reading this blog and just remember to pray for the orphans here in Zambia. Bless God!!
P.S. I know the picture is blurry but I liked the boy holding up is backpack on truck.

MULI BWANJI!!!!

Just in case you didn’t know that is Nyanja for “How are you?” I finally got my bag today and got my chord to connect my camera to my computer so here is picture of the builing of the first of 25 homes for orphans on the land for the Tree of Life Childrens Villiage! What a great day today. Today was the new summer volunteer orientation for the new, and old, Zambian employees. We went over everything that they needed to know to be effective counselors at Camp LIFE this summer. We went over the theme for the week, which will be discussed a little further down, the songs, and everything else. It was so encouraging to see the 120 Zambians there together getting ready for camp. We sang and prayed, studied and laughed together for 6 hours! Music and dancing are such a part of African culture and it is a blast to sing and dance with them because they are so enthusiastic and energetic and the fervor with which they prey is unmatched. Someone will be in front of the entire group and ask everyone to pray with them and everyone actually prays with them. Everyone begins praying out load and the rooms begins to fill up with prayers to our God and it is one of the most powerful things I have ever heard. Somehow the mass chaos of everyone shouting their prayers at the same time to our God is a beautiful noise the Creator and sounds like an amazing song of worship.
Anyways, to the theme of the week; bondage breaking! We focus on 5 lies that the devil and society has been telling these orphans their entire lives. These five are; you (the child) are hated, rejected, lost, worthless, and defeated. These children have been hated and rejected from their societies just because they are orphans. Even the children who have not lost parents have been sent away by their parents from the outer provinces to stay with aunts and uncles in the city because they were sick or just unwilling to care for them anymore. I am not sure what hurts worse, watching your parents die or having your parents tell you that they no longer want you. To the society to which these kids belong they are lost entirely and most of them are just waiting to die and thus are treated as insignificant and are therefore defeated. Now for the good news. IN CHRIST WE ARE FREE!!!!! Throughout the week we break these chains and teach these kids the truth about who they really are in Christ. In Christ they are Loved. In Christ they are Accepted. In Christ they are Secure. In Christ they are Significant. In Christ they are Victorious! We will be teaching these kids the truth about who they are in the kingdom of God and by the end of the week they will leave FREE after being bound by so many lies. Please be praying for these kids and that they may see the truth about who they are in Christ and that the devil may be bound from these children and that he would not be able to whisper his lies to them throughout the next week and that they may be freed by the power of the spirit!

Live From Zambia

Wow!! It is hard to believe that I finally made it to Zambia! 40 hours of traveling and I am here safe and sound. Only one problem, both of my bags have not arrived yet. The next chance for them to make it here is Saturday morning so just be praying that they make it here quickly so I can get the supplies that I need. We arrived at 6am local time, 11pm Dallas time, to a beautiful African sunrise that we could see out of our window on the plane. It just felt like another reminder from god that he indeed the creator and in control. After coming back to the housing village awe opted out of a much needed nap for the chance to go to the land where FLMI is going to be building their children’s village. They have broken ground on the first of 25 houses where 12 kids will live full time with 2 house parents. As soon as I receive my bags with my cables I will post pictures of the foundation and the land. It is really exciting to see the progress and to see things happening so quickly! The house should be done be mid-July. One of the 2 40’ containers that FLMI sent over arrived today and tomorrow we begin unloading and organizing everything for Camp Life to begin. It is so exciting to see what God is doing over here. Thanks for reading my blog. Also, remember to leave me messages on here. I will write again soon.
Allan

36 Hours and Counting!

So, I am sitting here looking at all the stuff that I have to get packed and pondering this summer. When I signed up for this trip it seemed so far away that it almost didn’t feel real but now that I am leaving in a couple days it seems so surreal. There were so many steps between signing up and leaving that had to happen for this trip to actually take place; the countless emails asking shamelessly for money, the fundraising parties, the prayer, and now the packing. There are so many of you that have helped bring this to pass and I just wanted to say thank you. Words cannot express the gratitude in my heart for each and every one of you no matter how small or great the contribution. One of the main things that I have learned throughout this process is that there is no such thing as a small contribution. Every little bit counts and makes a huge impact. I only ask now for continued prayer, not only for myself but for each and every person that I will come in contact with between now and August 10th. I will be posting updates on here but there will also be specific prayer requests. Please Feel free to leave me messages on here, I know that that would be very encouraging to me.
I want to shift gears a little now and write about the camp I am working at this summer. The theme for Camp Life this year is “freedom in Christ!” We are working with kids who have lost parents to the AIDs epidemic and many of the kids have AIDs themselves. None of them chose their state of life but nevertheless they must now make the best of their situation. These children, and even some in their upper teens, have been lied to their entire life. They have been told that they are cursed and not worthy to live. They have been abused physically, verbally, and emotionally . There is a term in psychology called self-fulfilling prophecy where a statement, once made, actually causes itself to become true. This is exactly what happens with these kids. They have been lied to so long that now these lies have become the truth. Please pray that we can break these lies and teach them about the truth of their worth as children of God!

Disturbing Differences

I watched the Movie "Hotel Rwanda" a couple days ago and it is one of the few movies I have ever cried at. Watching the mass genocide in Rwanda in 1994 made me feel sick and embarrassed to be white. There is a scene in the movie where all the White tourists were allowed to leave the country while the poorer black natives of Rwanda recieved no help from the western nations (the cause of the Genocide in the first place). One particular quote stuck out to me. Joaquin Phoenix played a minor role as a journalist sent to cover the Genocide. He left to go film some of what was going on and returned with disturbing footage of people being slaughtered solely because of their label, Tutsi. He approached the story's protagonist, Paul, who just thanked him for filming people being killed saying that people will watch that and come in with flying colors to save the people of Rwanda. Phoenix looks at Paul and says, "I think if people see this footage, they'll say Oh, my God, that's horrible. And then they'll go on eating their dinners." How often do I do this when I have a chance to help someone who needs so much more than I do?
Just a few statistics comparing Zambia to America. Zambia has a population of about 11 million (UN, 2005) with a life expectancy of about 38 years for men and 37 years for women (UN), . Amercia on the otherhand has a population of 293,027,571 (July 2004) and a life expectancy of about 77 and a half years. What makes us so much more deserving of 40+ more years of life? So often we see poor people and go on "eating our dinners" saying thats terrible. We are fighting things such as Cancer and Heart Disease here. Why? Because we have the medicine to prevent and treat viruses such as mumps, the flu, polio, menengitis and other viruses that are no longer a concern. We have this medication and the ability to stop diseases like this but dont help countries who need it. People in Zambia are simply waiting to die. They dont have the medications to help get rid of what we think of harmless diseases. There is even a treatment for AIDs that many of the Millions of people with that killer disease cant get because of the lack of money. When did money become a prerequisite for life? Since when did the wealthy white man become more of a person than those starving out of our immediate view? I plead with you to find a way to help! If you dont know how, leave a post asking and I will help you help those less fortunate. We have the resources to do so much if we just would do it. If every American gave $1 a year to help the poor, here and worldwide, the is almost $300 million dollars a year!! $4 a year raises almost $1.2 billion a year!! That money can do an unbelievable ammount, not just in America, but everywhere. it only costs $60,000 to build a house in a childrens village in Zambia for 12 orphans to have a home and a full time Mom and Dad living in the home with them. Please help, we can do it.

HOW GREAT THOU ART!!

How great thou art!! I have never really sat to think about what these words mean until this morning in church. Last night I threw a party to raise money for my trip and invited everyone I could possibly think of here at Mizzou expecting to raise maybe 5 or $600. Last night at about 8pm it began to snow and the roads were starting to get slick and I was really starting to get worried about people even being able to come but I have been told that the Lord provides and as of last night, I can truly tell you that he does!! About 30 people or so braved the snow to come and hang out and together we raised over $1400!!! These people that came over were college students! I have never seen such an act of generosity in my entire life and I and truly blessed to be able to call these people my briends. I have also received a donation from my Grandmothers bible study of about $275 which, for those of you playing along at home, gets me up to more than $5700 in donations thus far with the ultimate goal of $6500!! The provision of our God are unmatched. To all of you who came, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Words cannot express how much your generosity meant to me and to the Children of Zambia. Back to the song “How Great Thou Art.” This morning, the worship leader spoke of an aging man in Jamaica on his trip with several students from Mizzou over Christmas break. The man was blind and wanted to sing, so someone came over and played his guitar to the tune of “How Great Thou Art” as the man sang and as he came to the chorus all he could speak through his tears were the words “How great thou art!” I feel as if the song writer was searching for words of more meaning as he yearned to express how incredible God truly is but all he can say is “How great thou art!” This morning as it finally hit me how much money was donated last night the only words I could utter as I got choked up, sat down, and cried were, “How great thou art!” God is truly great and those words have so much power and strength and sometimes that is all we can say when we as humans, as finite beings, get a just a glimpse of God’s infinite greatness. Because of the generosity of these college students, 56 kids get to come camp this summer and get love and get a chance for us to reveal the love and hope we have in Christ. Thanks again to all who have donated, those kids need it so badly and you have given something that they have never had before, Love.

Purpose

As I think about this summer I feel that it is necessary for me to tell you what exactly I will be doing with Family Legacy when I am in Zambia. Family Legacy is a ministry that is set up to help kids in Zambia who have lost one or both parents to the AIDs virus. Every summer they put on what the call Camp Life for these children. They started about 5 years ago and helped about 50 orphans. This year, 300 American workers are going to team up with as many Zambian workers to help serve over 8000 children!!! That is incredible!! Last year, 180 Americans helped 5000 kids. There are 8 weeks of camp and a new group of kids will come every week. Every day of the camp the kids are bussed in from their neighborhoods to the location of the camps. Many of these kids grow up with Uncles or friends if they are lucky but most of them are abused and neglected. The world tells these kids that they are worthless because their parents died of AIDs. The theme for this year is "The truth will set you free" letting them know the truth in Christ of who they are and breaking their thoughts that they are worthless. For this week, they come to camp where they are showered with love for a week. We love on them, teach them, and show them that they are indeed worth something and that while they may not have parents here on earth, they have a Father in Heaven who loves them and wants to know them. These kids are lucky to eat two or three times a week and this week at camp they get food every day! Once they leave the camp, Family Legacy is not done taking care of them. They have full time Zambian workers that go out to all the places that come to this camp and keep encouraging these kids to grow up and make a difference in their community and the impact is far greater than what i can write on this page.
Another vision of FLMI (Family Legacy Missions International) is their Tree of Life Childrens Village. There will be 25 homes with 12 orphans in each and a house mother and father. There will be a clinic where they can get treatment for any illness including AIDs treatments. They will get schooling up through the 12th grade (most are lucky to get to the 6th or 7th) with a Bible College and convention center type set up where they will be able to host Camp Life very soon. There will be cabins for the American volunteers and a private school where the very wealthy people in Zambia can send their children and the money made from that school will fund the ENRTIRE VILLAGE!!!!! How awesome is that?!! And that is not all; there is a plan for 12 of these villages nation wide! That will serve 3600 orphans at a time with a vision to teach these kids the skills they need to eventually leave the village and enter the real world and change the entire nation. It costs $60,000 for a house in this village and if any of you would like to donate to that fund please email me. adt4g9@mizzou.edu. Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully there will be many more to follow.
Allan

First One!!!

Hello all and welcome to my blog where I plan to document my entire trip from now, raising money for my trip, until my return in August. Please forward this blog to everyone and anyone you can think of. Well, I am new to this bloging thing but God is so great and it is the best way I can think of to inform everyone of how great he truly is. There is a link to Famliy Legacy Missions in the "About Me" section of my profile.
Since I realized that it was God's will for me to spend my summer with the orphans of Zambia I have been able to raise about $3700 without even spending much effort on fundraising at all! I have recieved several donations from people I dont even know; thanks to everyone who has forwarded my letter. I work as a waiter right now and at work last night I told all my tables about my trip and raised $45 just from telling people about it and now even more people know about what Family Legacy is doing in Zambia. On Saturday, January 20th I am hosting a party to try and raise money so if anyone would like to donate, the 20th is a great day to do it.
When I was sitting in church yesterday morning I was praying and asked God for a good verse and opened right up to Proverbs 21:13; "He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered." This is a humbling verse when you think of how much money we have in America that we spend on Starbucks or other things that we really just dont need. I fear that in the U.S. we often shut our ear to the poor and it wont be good whenever we cry out and no one will be there to hear us. Please, do not turn your ear from the poor. I am not saying that we all have to go to Zambia whenever we have so much need here that we need to take care of too. Thanks for reading my blog and check in often as I plan to update this whenever i get a chance and especially tune in on May 22nd through August 11th when I will be writing in from Zambia. If you would like to donate to my trip just make a check out to Family Legacy Missions with my name, Allan Thompson, in the Memo line. The address is;
Family Legacy Missions International
5005 W. Royal Lane Suite 252
Irving, Texas 75063
(972) 620-2020
Thank you for your time.

In Christ,
Allan