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