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!