Transitions: A Soft Landing

After a joyous reunion, many tender goodbyes, a few travel days, and some rough airport sleeps, I made it to the base in Zambia on the 18th!! We spent a night in the capital waiting for our teammate to arrive after all of his travel difficulties (thank you to all who were praying!!) and then drove 6 hours to the YWAM base in Mkushi. Life has been busy out here, I have a SIM card but service is unpredictable and power is still not always accessible or reliable as we’re way out in the bush. It really is beautiful and quite peaceful out here!

The first two weeks have been incredible. Most of our class times have been in the classroom with staff and guest speakers teaching about the person and work of Jesus, how to properly interpret scripture, evangelism, and intercession. The other class times are practical lessons out in the bush… learning how nature works together and relating that to discipleship and the body of Christ, hearing God’s voice in a local game park (at one point we were dropped off one by one and I saw Zebras up close!!). We’ve also been learning different games we can play to teach kids different things about God when we go to do ministry. I’ve never been in a classroom quite like this, it’s been incredible!

Thursdays and Sundays are ministry days. Last week Thursday we went to a school in an orphanage where we helped in their garden and spent time playing with the kids. We also worshipped with them and shared a gospel message. The following Sunday, we went to a local school where one of my classmates and I shared our testimonies in front of about 600-700 students. This past Thursday, we went to a different school to play games with kids and share a gospel message. We saw a group of women had gathered off to the side, so a few of us went over to minister to them. With nothing prepared for the women, someone shared a message as the Lord led and the other woman in my class translated as I shared my testimony with them. We could see how God was deeply moving in their hearts through the message and testimony. Multiple women gave their lives to Christ right there! We spent time praying for them individually afterward, getting to know them and their stories, encouraging them and praying for healing for physical sicknesses as well. We’re making plans to go back to meet with the women again on one of our off days in the weeks to come.

I’m recovering very well after the surgery, too. I’ve been able to play volleyball with my teammates and even started running again!! Thanks all for praying for my healing process. Other ways you could be praying for us is for a continued bond to grow in the team. It’s surprising how quickly and naturally we’ve all connected and I’m very excited to see what God has in store for that. Please also be praying for our Thursday and Sunday ministries to be fruitful. As we are learning how to hear God’s voice, please pray that we’d be tender and responsive to His leading so that we can most effectively reach the people we encounter. I’ve personally been praying for opportunities to follow up with those we serve, Lord willing. Please join me in that, too!