Keeping up with the events of each day has been very difficult. Our last day of ministry before we headed to Livingstone for three nights and two days at Victoria Falls (one of the world's 7 natural wonders) was truly eventful. The Medical & Outreach teams were able to conclude their day in Makenzie a little early after treating and meeting with all the people who came out to the clinic. I had been with the teams at the clinic during the afternoon after spending the morning running errands. The day was typical of our ministry: many lives were truly saved as people received treatment for malaria and other illnesses. There are more deaths in Africa from Malaria than AIDS. Many of those who came to the clinic also entrusted their lives to Jesus Christ for eternal life also and at about noon approximately 10 people were baptized.
That evening we had a celebration banquet with our Zambian brothers and sisters who worked with us to have an effective ministry. The celebration was heightened by some unpredictable circumstances. Kathy called me about 6:30 to let me know that the orphanage team had yet to leave for the hotel (the banquet was to begin at 7:00). After talking with Kathy, I took a quick shower. As I stepped out of the shower, my phone was ringing. Dripping water across my hotel-room floor, I answered to hear Kathy's tearful voice telling me someone had thrown a rock at their vehicle and that it had struck Lee Davis in the shoulder before bloodying Trina Davis' eye.
What a blessing to have a medical team ready to respond to such situations. Dr. Dan Urbine, Dr. Casey Rice and Greg Brown, P.A. were immediately ready to assess the situation. Fortunately, Trina suffered only a small cut and some bruising while Lee was left with a sore shoulder. The event was a great reminder that while Ndola is very safe (this was the first incident of this type in Oak Pointe's ten years of ministry in Zambia), we must be wary and cautious just as we would in a large city in the U.S. But we must also be wary and cautious spiritually. We must continue to trust God to protect us as we minister in Zambia this summer (our youth team goes in July) and in future years.
It could not have been more timely than to have reflected on 1 Peter 3:8-17 during our team devotional time that morning: " Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.
We could not control the behavior of one (or more) rock thrower(s) nor could we know their motivation. We don't know if we were targeted because of our ministry or if the act was completely random. Either way, we can control our response and our hope is that those who attacked our team members would realize their sin, repent and experience Christ's love. God bless you all for your prayers throughout this mission. I have no doubt that God has protected us from start to finish and your prayers have played no small part in this. I will write more concluding thoughts soon.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Home Sweet Home
This entry will be brief. We are home, safe and sound. We had a sweet reunion with our children at the airport! What a wonderful sight for jet-lagged eyes. We even expect our luggage to arrive home, safe and sound, soon. Our luggage traveled safely with us all the way until we arrived in the states. It is in United Airline's possession in Detroit and we may even receive it late tonight. If not, it will be here tomorrow.
Please, continue to pray for my ankle. The swelling has gone down significantly and it seems to be a response to the antibiotic, but I still need to get an ultrasound to rule out a blood clot. Pray I can get the ultrasound done tomorrow (Monday) because I have the day off and pray that it is negative. Kathy and I look forward to sleeping in our own bed tonight. I will write more tomorrow when my brain has had some sleep.
God bless you.
Please, continue to pray for my ankle. The swelling has gone down significantly and it seems to be a response to the antibiotic, but I still need to get an ultrasound to rule out a blood clot. Pray I can get the ultrasound done tomorrow (Monday) because I have the day off and pray that it is negative. Kathy and I look forward to sleeping in our own bed tonight. I will write more tomorrow when my brain has had some sleep.
God bless you.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Celebrations
Sunday was a day of celebration. I had the pleasure of preaching at a local church in Ndola. Singing with the people of Zambia is an experience almost worth the cost of the trip in itself. I am convinced that the Zambian people will have a significant role in leading the choir in heaven. What a celebration!
I preached from the text of John 6, examining the words of Jesus the day after he fed the 5000. He makes the will of God very clear in his conversation with the people: the will of God is to believe in Jesus. In this passage we see three types of people responding to his words: the crowd (who want Him to feed them again); the religious leaders (who fear losing their authority and influence); and the committed (who know Jesus has the words of eternal life). Which group do you belong to?
Later that afternoon, we celebrated with Living Hope International as they dedicated their land. They have 40 acres on which they will ultimately build a school, medical clinic, church and homes to house 100 orphans. It was a God-glorifying celebration. The chief of the Mushili tribe was present as he granted them land and helped them secure surrounding parcels from their neighbors. I am especially happy for Lee and Trina Davis to see this next step toward the accomplishing of their dream take place.
I apologize for the blog being out of order, but I needed to share this thought as it came to me. God bless you all.
I preached from the text of John 6, examining the words of Jesus the day after he fed the 5000. He makes the will of God very clear in his conversation with the people: the will of God is to believe in Jesus. In this passage we see three types of people responding to his words: the crowd (who want Him to feed them again); the religious leaders (who fear losing their authority and influence); and the committed (who know Jesus has the words of eternal life). Which group do you belong to?
Later that afternoon, we celebrated with Living Hope International as they dedicated their land. They have 40 acres on which they will ultimately build a school, medical clinic, church and homes to house 100 orphans. It was a God-glorifying celebration. The chief of the Mushili tribe was present as he granted them land and helped them secure surrounding parcels from their neighbors. I am especially happy for Lee and Trina Davis to see this next step toward the accomplishing of their dream take place.
I apologize for the blog being out of order, but I needed to share this thought as it came to me. God bless you all.
Time sure flies when...
Completing our time in Ndola is surpising. The time has certainly flown. We have had a great trip. We have been able to provide significant medical care to over a thousand people in just a short time. The medical care has extended beyond the clinic; we typically took one or two people to the hospital each day and helped them financially as well to manage the costs of food and public transport once they were at the hospital. We have also seen hundreds of people place their faith in Jesus Christ for eternity. Approximately 70% of the people of Zambia live in poverty. Being able to help them today as well as for eternity has brought us great joy.
Kathy and I had the joy of meeting Innocent, a beautiful 11 month-old boy that we sponsor through Living Hope International. Kathy has had the privilege of working with the children at the Living Hope International home, while I have spent the majority of my time at the clinic sites in the villages where we served. It was my pleasure to make several trips in the “jambulance” taking patients to the hospital. I literally carried two of the patients into the hospital with I.V.’s already in place.
My greatest joy was watching our team operate with unity and humility. I have felt many emotions here that will forever change me (Kathy as well), but to see the members of my team function in ways that utilized their strengths for the glory of God has been inspiring.
If you have not heard through the electronic grapevine, my ankle has been swollen for about a week. I did not injure it, so the Dr. (it is good to be on a mission with a medical team) has determined that it is either a skin infection (cellulitis) or a blood clot. There is no ultrasound machine (necessary to diagnose a blood clot) in Ndola so we are treating it for both. I have been taking bactrim to treat the infection possibility and today I begin giving myself injections of lovanox twice daily to treat the blood clot possibility. Please pray for healing.
Tomorrow we leave at 5 a.m. to take a bus 10-12 hours to Livingstone. Livingstone is the home of Victoria Falls. We will enjoy two days of rest, team debriefing and the beauty of God’s creation before heading for home on Saturday.
Kathy and I had the joy of meeting Innocent, a beautiful 11 month-old boy that we sponsor through Living Hope International. Kathy has had the privilege of working with the children at the Living Hope International home, while I have spent the majority of my time at the clinic sites in the villages where we served. It was my pleasure to make several trips in the “jambulance” taking patients to the hospital. I literally carried two of the patients into the hospital with I.V.’s already in place.
My greatest joy was watching our team operate with unity and humility. I have felt many emotions here that will forever change me (Kathy as well), but to see the members of my team function in ways that utilized their strengths for the glory of God has been inspiring.
If you have not heard through the electronic grapevine, my ankle has been swollen for about a week. I did not injure it, so the Dr. (it is good to be on a mission with a medical team) has determined that it is either a skin infection (cellulitis) or a blood clot. There is no ultrasound machine (necessary to diagnose a blood clot) in Ndola so we are treating it for both. I have been taking bactrim to treat the infection possibility and today I begin giving myself injections of lovanox twice daily to treat the blood clot possibility. Please pray for healing.
Tomorrow we leave at 5 a.m. to take a bus 10-12 hours to Livingstone. Livingstone is the home of Victoria Falls. We will enjoy two days of rest, team debriefing and the beauty of God’s creation before heading for home on Saturday.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Joyful Tears
Shedding more tears than I ever imagined. Feeling more joy than I ever imagined. The emotions overwhelm and drive me to pray. It is difficult to describe all the feelings. In three days at the medical clinic, we have treated about 500 patients medically and spiritually, over 200 of these people have professed faith in Christ and we had the honor of baptizing 12 in a nearby stream (about a mile walk away).
We see illnesses at the clinic that you almost never see in the U.S. The need for basics (clean water and proper nutrition) create and exacerbate illnesses that should be easily remedied. I cried as we prayed for the boy who had to have the infection under the skin on his leg lanced and debreeded. We had no anesthetic to help him and he screamed while 4 people held him still so the doctor could cut out the infection. I grinned from ear to ear as we baptized 12 new brothers and sisters in Christ in the village of Buluba. We spent our first three days of ministry in Buluba and today we moved to Kanyala.
The needs here are tremendous and they overwhelm all of the members of the team in different ways, but the love of God compels and inspires us to do what is before us, loving those we can by providing medical care, spiritual care and complete care to those who have no parents.
Kathy and the rest of the orphanage team had an indescribable day as they went into villages and brought 8 new children to the orphanage yesterday. She described it as feeling like she was able to be the hands of Jesus as the team loved “the least of these”. She and the team felt incredible joy as they began the work of providing a home of love and nurture for these children. A home in which they will receive good education, good food, good care and the knowledge of Jesus. She and the team also felt the overwhelming sadness of taking children from their villages and homes, but these children's families are excited for the care the children will receive. They also felt the sadness of being unable to take care of all the children who need it. While in Buluba, I learned there are over 200 orphans in that village alone. Villages are overrun with children without parents and whether they have parents or not they still live in poverty.
A team of college students from the U.S. joined us today in Kanyala and will be with us the next two days as well. It is good to have additional help and a joy to minister together. We are tired, but it is the good kind of tired that comes after pouring yourself out physically, spiritually and emotionally. A few people have not felt too great lately. Pray for the health of our team and pray they will get good rest tonight and in the coming nights.
We see illnesses at the clinic that you almost never see in the U.S. The need for basics (clean water and proper nutrition) create and exacerbate illnesses that should be easily remedied. I cried as we prayed for the boy who had to have the infection under the skin on his leg lanced and debreeded. We had no anesthetic to help him and he screamed while 4 people held him still so the doctor could cut out the infection. I grinned from ear to ear as we baptized 12 new brothers and sisters in Christ in the village of Buluba. We spent our first three days of ministry in Buluba and today we moved to Kanyala.
The needs here are tremendous and they overwhelm all of the members of the team in different ways, but the love of God compels and inspires us to do what is before us, loving those we can by providing medical care, spiritual care and complete care to those who have no parents.
Kathy and the rest of the orphanage team had an indescribable day as they went into villages and brought 8 new children to the orphanage yesterday. She described it as feeling like she was able to be the hands of Jesus as the team loved “the least of these”. She and the team felt incredible joy as they began the work of providing a home of love and nurture for these children. A home in which they will receive good education, good food, good care and the knowledge of Jesus. She and the team also felt the overwhelming sadness of taking children from their villages and homes, but these children's families are excited for the care the children will receive. They also felt the sadness of being unable to take care of all the children who need it. While in Buluba, I learned there are over 200 orphans in that village alone. Villages are overrun with children without parents and whether they have parents or not they still live in poverty.
A team of college students from the U.S. joined us today in Kanyala and will be with us the next two days as well. It is good to have additional help and a joy to minister together. We are tired, but it is the good kind of tired that comes after pouring yourself out physically, spiritually and emotionally. A few people have not felt too great lately. Pray for the health of our team and pray they will get good rest tonight and in the coming nights.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Fish heads... Baked Beans... Inspiring Worship
A bottle of water in Johannesburg: 7 Rand; Fish heads for supper: 10,000 Kwacha; 1 pizza and two Cokes in Lusaka: 56000 Kwacha; 10 minutes on the internet: 5000 Kwacha; Worshiping Christ with brothers and sisters in Zambia: priceless.
(Rand is South African currency; Kwacha is Zambian currency)
Arriving safely with all of our baggage is a rare experience that we were blessed to enjoy. Thank you for all your prayers so far. Now, you can praise God for answering them while continuing to pray as we prepare to begin serving the Zambians tomorrow.
We arrived in Lusaka, Zambia last night at about 9:00 and made it to our hotel (really a youth hostel) by about 10:00. After a dinner of fish heads, rice, steamed vegetables and some other mystery meat we were able to get our first good sleep in a few days. Placing my head on a pillow was a welcome event after 6 total hours sleep in over 81 hours. The same is true this evening as I head for bed, shortly.
Breakfast this morning was pretty normal apart from the cold baked beans on the plate next to my fried eggs. I love baked beans, cold or warm. Worshiping at the Royal Family Church in Lusaka was a blessing: the singing from this group of 75 people was beautiful, harmonious and inspiring. After a pizza lunch (Lusaka is the capital and you can find most anything you want or need there), we drove 4 hours (making really good time) north to Ndola. We headed straight to the orphanage which we will be working at. The orphanage is operated by Living Hope International (LHI), a non-profit founded by members of our church. See www.livinghopeinternational.org for more info. We met the orphans and the house parents. Crying as Kathy and I held little Innocent (an 11 month-old that we sponsor), we prayed for him. Two other team-members had a tearful meeting with Raphael (a teen-ager they have sponsored for years). There is a strange combination of joy and futility in these moments because of the help and hope we are able to provide for these desperate children. Such joy to deliver the love of Christ as best we can, but such futility that we can deliver it to so few when Zambia has millions of orphaned children.
I wish, I had more time and energy, but I will stop now. Pray for us as ministry begins tomorrow. The medical team will be procuring medications and setting up the clinic. The orphanage team will begin Bible study with the orphans. The outreach team will be sharing Christ in the community surrounding the medical clinic site. Pastor Paul Jenkinson will be providing education/training to approximately 150 pastors. I will be at the medical clinic site and anywhere else I am needed tomorrow.
Oh, yeah and just for you Lindsey: Hot Pockets!
(Rand is South African currency; Kwacha is Zambian currency)
Arriving safely with all of our baggage is a rare experience that we were blessed to enjoy. Thank you for all your prayers so far. Now, you can praise God for answering them while continuing to pray as we prepare to begin serving the Zambians tomorrow.
We arrived in Lusaka, Zambia last night at about 9:00 and made it to our hotel (really a youth hostel) by about 10:00. After a dinner of fish heads, rice, steamed vegetables and some other mystery meat we were able to get our first good sleep in a few days. Placing my head on a pillow was a welcome event after 6 total hours sleep in over 81 hours. The same is true this evening as I head for bed, shortly.
Breakfast this morning was pretty normal apart from the cold baked beans on the plate next to my fried eggs. I love baked beans, cold or warm. Worshiping at the Royal Family Church in Lusaka was a blessing: the singing from this group of 75 people was beautiful, harmonious and inspiring. After a pizza lunch (Lusaka is the capital and you can find most anything you want or need there), we drove 4 hours (making really good time) north to Ndola. We headed straight to the orphanage which we will be working at. The orphanage is operated by Living Hope International (LHI), a non-profit founded by members of our church. See www.livinghopeinternational.org for more info. We met the orphans and the house parents. Crying as Kathy and I held little Innocent (an 11 month-old that we sponsor), we prayed for him. Two other team-members had a tearful meeting with Raphael (a teen-ager they have sponsored for years). There is a strange combination of joy and futility in these moments because of the help and hope we are able to provide for these desperate children. Such joy to deliver the love of Christ as best we can, but such futility that we can deliver it to so few when Zambia has millions of orphaned children.
I wish, I had more time and energy, but I will stop now. Pray for us as ministry begins tomorrow. The medical team will be procuring medications and setting up the clinic. The orphanage team will begin Bible study with the orphans. The outreach team will be sharing Christ in the community surrounding the medical clinic site. Pastor Paul Jenkinson will be providing education/training to approximately 150 pastors. I will be at the medical clinic site and anywhere else I am needed tomorrow.
Oh, yeah and just for you Lindsey: Hot Pockets!
Friday, June 12, 2009
I Love God, He's So Funny!
Currently in Washington D.C. at Northwest Club with one of our team members who flies forever for work. Good to know the right people. Free Wi-fi! We will be boarding for Johannesburg, South Africa in about 30 minutes. That's the big one: 15 hour flight. Travel has gone well so far, a couple little glitches that were rectified quickly. Keep praying that our baggage is flying with us. Enjoyed lunch with a few of my teammates. During the conversation, Sue Castelli quipped, "I love God, He's so funny!" referring to His penchant for working in ways that we don't expect or understand. We look forward to seeing what "funny" ways God works on this trip. I am doing well for having 4 hours sleep in the last 58 hours. Kathy has spoken with our children and they are doing famously, should be thoroughly spoiled by the time we return. Time to get back to the gate, God bless you.
Should be sleeping
Making sure I am prepared as the team leader and that our home is ready for those who are coming to care for our 4 precious children while we are away has kept Kathy and I up way too late. We will be at the church in about 2 hours so I am not sure if we will get any sleep or not. That's okay, there is always time for sleep tomorrow or the day after that. Well, eventually we will sleep. Part of the reason we are still up is today was spent on the kids. I had to work, but Kathy took the little gigglers to the Henry Ford Museum then they stopped by my office (only 5 minutes away). This evening was spent at Red Robin and Build a Bear celebrating Emily's third birthday which arrives Monday, the 15th while we're away. She was very excited to build her stuffed sheep. I made a last minute purchase (neck pillow, for sleeping on plane!) at Brookstone which was next door to Build a Bear. We are going to dearly miss Megan, Cole, Kaleigh and Emily. Please pray for them as well as us. Megan (10 yrs. old) was having a difficult time and worried about our safety. She is sweet, smart and excited for us, but also sad about being apart. Please also be praying for Dr. Dan Urbine and his wife Jennie. Dan is the Medical Team Leader. They are also trusting God as they leave young children behind: Anna, Zach & Madelyn. Hard to believe we are heading to the airport in a couple of hours. Will keep you posted.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Adventure is Beginning
This trip always brings great blessings, but they are not without their challenges. We are already experiencing our first airline challenge: instead of flying out of Detroit at 10:15 a.m. which requires the team arriving at the church at 6:00 a.m. (early, but not too bad). We will be flying out of Detroit at 8:09 a.m. which means arriving at the church at 4:00 a.m. (too early and too bad). Our flight was switched because the original flight is full and United won't be able to accommodate our baggage on a full plane (something doesn't seem fair) so we are flying west to Chicago and then east to D.C. because we will be on larger planes and our baggage should not be a problem (pray for our baggage). I mean it, pray for our baggage.
Paperwork and Prayer
Taking a reasonably large group around the world to serve is never as easy to do as one wishes, especially when the nation you are heading to is underdeveloped and unpredictable regarding laws, regulations and paperwork. Just yesterday, we were told the medical professionals on our team need a letter of good standing with the state. We have already sent everything requested: applications, licenses, letters of good standing with hospitals, etc. Please pray that it is determined we have sent enough for our doctors to be licensed in Zambia. If our doctors are not licensed, we will not be able to run the medical clinics.
Monday, June 8, 2009
4 Days and Counting
Zambia is a landlocked nation in sub-Saharan Africa. It is slightly larger than Texas with about 12.9 million people. The nation has been ravaged by HIV-AIDS. Nearly one million children have lost at least one parent to AIDS. Life expectancy at birth is officially listed at 51.2 years, but the CIA World Factbook lists it at 38 years. Nearly half of the population is under 15 years of age and only 2% is over 65 years old. For more info you can visit https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ZA.html
It is difficult to wrap my head around the fact that we are finally going. I have been so consumed with managing the details that have been directly in front of me that I haven't felt the excitement about going that I now feel. With the reality that we leave in less than 4 days. I am truly excited!
I must at this point thank God for enabling us to take this trip. In the fall, I agreed to lead this trip. It was not without fear or reservation. I have a decent amount of missions experience, but I had not been to Zambia before and going can be daunting enough, but leading the trip created no small amount of anxiety. The anxiety was accepted and the opportunity was taken because it was apparent to me that God wanted me to trust Him. He gave me a chance to act in faith, trusting him to supply everything necessary to make this a successful trip. "Everything necessary" always comes in a variety a forms for trips like this because success is not measured in goods produced, but in lives changed. 19 of those lives are the members of our team. Thousands of other lives will be changed as well from those who have invested in this trip monetarily, emotionally, relationally and spiritually to those we will serve in Zambia to those Zambians who will serve with us. It will be my pleasure to relate some stories of those changed lives in the coming days.
God has put together a wonderful team: 7 married couples and 5 individuals (3 singles, 2 marrieds traveling without their spouses). That 7 married couples could share this experience is incredible. The most difficult decision Kathy and I made regarding this trip was to both go because that meant leaving our 4 kids behind. God has made it abundantly clear that He wants us both to go and our children will be in the best hands while we are gone.
I hope to make these blogs interesting and worth your time so that you may be able to vicariously know what God is doing in Zambia: in our lives and in the Zambians. Depending on the internet speed in Zambia, I will upload some photos as we go.
For now, praise God with us for His faithfulness in getting us this far and pray that he enables us to work out final details: purchase of medications, doctors' licensing, packing and finding good time with family/friends before we leave.
God bless you,
Jamie
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Zambia: 6 Days and Counting
Figuring out this blog thing so the Oak Pointe Team can keep you up to date on our Zambia happenings. We are less than 6 days from flying out of Detroit and making our way around this globe to Ndola, Zambia. Preparations have gone well up to this point.
The Zambian government has become incredibly strict regarding bringing medication into the country. Personally, it is recommended that you bring nothing that is not prescribed and properly labeled so our medical team will be purchasing the medications for the medical clinics in Zambia. We have purchased some of the meds in-country in the past years, but this will be the first time we buy all of our medications in Zambia.
I look forward to keeping you up to date on our trip and I hope to have guest writers from the team to provide multiple perspectives. God bless you. Pray our final preparations go well and that we don't miss any details as we get set to head to the airport.
The Zambian government has become incredibly strict regarding bringing medication into the country. Personally, it is recommended that you bring nothing that is not prescribed and properly labeled so our medical team will be purchasing the medications for the medical clinics in Zambia. We have purchased some of the meds in-country in the past years, but this will be the first time we buy all of our medications in Zambia.
I look forward to keeping you up to date on our trip and I hope to have guest writers from the team to provide multiple perspectives. God bless you. Pray our final preparations go well and that we don't miss any details as we get set to head to the airport.
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