Ok, so we've obviously done a ton in the past week, but I'll try and sum it up to the best of my ability :)
Day 10 (Saturday Jan 17)
-We listened to a presentation from a man named Dr. Sibalwa from the University of Zambia in Lusaka on Community Development. It was REALLY interesting. After that, I think I just did reading and classwork the rest of the day until we said goodbye to Papa J that night (Jeff Johnson).
Day 11 (Sunday Jan 18)
-Today I went to church at my new church home Shampande for the first time. It was awesome, just like Mochipapa. The worship and prayer here is so passionate. I love it! I'm not sure what happened today, but I probably did coursework and relaxed most of the time.
Day 12 (Monday Jan 19)
-This day was tough, but wonderful (which is most days honestly). We went to visit people who have HIV/AIDS. My group went to see Joyce and Edgar. Joyce was very quite and shy, but had a very beautiful smile. We believe she is suffering from depression because she lost a baby a few years ago and her family lives close to her, but not with her. Also her husband never comes to see her. Basically, he just takes care of the two children. Next was Edgar. Edgar has a faith that can move mountains and in my mind has. He has AIDS, lost his child, and his wife left him because he got sick. Many times one spouse when runaway when they find out the other is sick and/or has HIV/AIDS. Despite all his pain, suffering, and loss Edgar still loves God with all his heart. And when he was asked if there was anything we could do for him, he just said he wanted a Bible so that he could read God's Word. We didn't have any, but trust me it works out :) After all this, I think we had debriefing and then did more schoolwork.
Day 13 (Tuesday Jan 20)
-This is another Trust Assessment day. We travelled to the Pemba zone to do them. My group (Bratch, Leah, Melinda, Margie, and myself) went to Jembo. They were an older Trust that is doing well, but need some revitalization. Next we had lunch at the Pemba Wesleyan Bible College, where Mike and Cindy Helvie will be serving. It was a great and humbling place. The students bring their whole families to live on the campus while they learn, and they plant maize (what's used to make nshima) to help support themselves. After this, we headed back towards Choma, but stopped at another trust that I can't remember the name of. They were doing very well raising layers (chickens that lay eggs :). This day was even better than usual because there was a TON of flooding, and we got to ride in the land cruisers that have the air intake up high towards the roof so basically we could go through almost anything we came across. The water at times was almost up to the windows! I'll try to get a pic of it up soon.
Day 14 (Wednesday Jan 21)
-Today we just had class and I think we did coursework after that. O yea, but to start of the day we had devotion with the WHIZ staff.
On the way back from class though, I saw Edgar from Monday. He asked me if I remembered him, and I said yes. Then I asked him if he still needed a Bible, he said yes. So I went into our house and Audrey gave me her extra to give him :) As I was giving him the Bible, three guys walking by stopped and said they needed Bibles. So Brittany and I walked with one of them down to WHIZ to see if we could get them some. Moreen gave us three of the few they have, and we gave them to the man. He was very happy. Bibles here are a tremendous need!
Day 15 (Thursday Jan 22)
-Another amazing day... We all went to visit the village of Nakabanga. It was a rough ride, but fun ride as always. Today was different than most though because when we got to the village we were greated and had a ceremony/introduction type thing. Then we helped construct a piggery, and I played soccer with Ethan and the kids. Next we ate lunch. It consisted of NSHIMA, chicken, this cabbage and onion stuff, and goat. Of course, it was all great!
Now comes the hard part. We went to see a 7 yr old girl named Miriam who has tuberculosis and might have AIDS. She was so beautiful, but looked so sad. It broke my heart. I felt so helpless. We did give her and her mother supplies to make enough nshima for about a month or so :) After this, we said goodbye to Nakabanga and took off to see another family. This lady was named Win. She lost a baby, her husband died, and she was now struggling to support her two children. When asked if there was anything we could do, she said she needed food. And it just so happened we had brought a bunch of supplies to make nshima as a gift. So she was happy and we were too! Finally, we headed back to Choma. On the way, I talked to our bus drivers Kaumba and Kaunda. They're awesome! The assistant pastor of Shampande that works for WHIZ and just so happened to be with us today. His name's Francois, and he needed a Bible with a concordance to teach and preach from. So I gave him mine :) I'm still amazed at how thankful he was.
Day 16 (Friday Jan 23)
-Today we had class, worked over at the construction site for a few hours and then fellowshipped with the WHIZ staff. We played volleyball and soccer. Next we did coursework. Also today was sort of the birth of our concrete idea about Bibles, and we spent most of the day talking about it.
*Basically, the people here need Bibles!
So, we (the Team Leader group- Brandon, Nick, Audrey, Charlotte, and myself) are planning to have a Bible offering at IWU and College Wesleyan (maybe College Wes could incorporate this into their Mission week in early Feb). There are tons of Bibles in America that we have, but don't use. So why not send them where they're needed and will be used? We need a few dollars with each Bible so that we can buy Tonga Bibles once the English ones get here (they speak English and Tonga here). Our plan on how to get them shipped is ask each person who is coming here for a trip from the church or school to donate one of there two allowed 50 lb bags of luggage. They can fill one bag with Bibles and bring them over. The short term teams coming between now and December are... professors from school in February (Bill Millard, Steve Conrad, Karen Hoffman, Rob Dawson), May-Term medical student group, World Impact team, College Wesleyan group, and next Fall's semester abroad here. That's a lot of Bibles that people could bring here!
Day 17 (Saturday Jan 24)
-Today so far, I've been to town and typed this. In town I bought a chitenge to have my lil sis Shemiah a dress made for her birthday :) I miss her soooo much! I think the rest of today will be spent doing classwork and maybe a little relaxing.
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About Me
- Elijah Elkins
- Marion, IN, United States
- I am a junior at Indiana Wesleyan University, and I am going to Change the World through Missions as soon as I get out of college. I have a true passion for God and the people of AFRICA. Also, I will be living in Zambia for a semester next year. And if it is God's will, I will be going to live in Africa for at least awhile after college to work in Missions.
7 comments:
WOW! your week sounds amazing! I'm glad that you are touching so many peoples lives in the way that God has intended you to! I am most definitely praying for Africa and for the gathering and transportation of Bibles. I hope you have another great week! I again look forward to reading about it! -Melinda
I think that the bible idea is a good one and will hopefully change many lives. I'm really glad you're meeting so many new people and befriending each one. I'm sure you will come back a new and more loving, (which is hardly possible)bub (ha). So what exactly was the deal with the internet anyway? I remember you telling me about their power situation but i was just wondering if it was something unrelated to that. I'm sure Shemiah will love whatever dress you bring back for her. We can probably get you some numbers to go by for the size. Love ya -Mas
Thanks to ya both :) But, specifically to you mas... The internet connection is kinda fragile a storm or too many ppl on at one time can overload and stop it. This is the first time I've had access to it since yesterday morning and sometimes we won't have it for 2-3 days at a time. ha O well, I'm cool wit it cause THAT'S AFRICA ;) Love ya buddy. We can use skype just so you kno, so either you guys can get a webcam for your computer or you can just use sharon's. It should be all set-up for skype. I'll be accessible usually in your morning times to afternoon if I'm on :)
Ok we'll see if we can get it to work and SLick was wonderin if you need us to get our church to donate some bibles? We could possibly ship them to the short term mission people or straight over to you. with our love -Mas
Thanks for the updates bro. We are following them and praying accordingly. Let me know the best way for us (fbc h'ville) to help with the Bible shortage!
Love ya, tt
Hey we just made a skype account but we need to get a web cam. what are your suggestions? I looked on Ebay and there are a ton of different types and above all different prices (ha) and i wasn't sure if we needed to get a specific one or not so we need some help with that. Also, when we do get a webcam hooked up and we're ready to go, how do we talk to you? And when i go to add you in as a contact should i put your email in, your username or what? Ok thanks :)
-The Skype noob, -Mas
ha, ok mas... my skype username is just elijah.elkins and just send me an e-mail and we can plan a time :)
you could help with the Bible thing by seeing if they'll give money. We only have a limited amount of space to have Bibles get here safely, but the almost bigger need is Tonga Bibles that we have to buy here. I think we can get them for about $8 a piece. The people here are hungry for the word of God, but some can't read English. So this goes to you Mas and Tim. I think we'll get as many Bibles as we can ship from the school, but we definitely could use $. I hate saying that, but I don't know what else people could do. Thanks for your interest and hopeful partnership. I love all you guys :)
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