PICTURES and Zambia Project Book

Here's a couple more pics from our trip!  We are loving our new Zambia national team soccer jerseys and here's after our soccer match in Kakolo Village with all the kids!

If you'd like to find out more about the story behind this long term work in Zambia and order a copy of the book I released recently called the Zambia Project you can go to: www.zambiaprojectbook.com

I'd love for you all to engage the story more as we return with these stories from ZAMBIA...

AFRICA TRIP BLOG #13: A Sunday Morning Worship Experience at Victoria Falls…

We got up early (pretty much a staple on this trip…who has time to sleep when you want to take in all Africa has to offer?) and headed to see one of the SEVEN NATURAL WONDERS OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD…every Zambian you meet wants you to go and see the Falls…it is such a point of pride as a people…and when you step down a couple steps and see this massive wall of over water that extends over 2 miles across Zambia and Zimbabwe crashing down almost 400 feet you just stand in amazement and awe…it simply is like nothing you have ever or will ever see again…

We hiked down and crossed a bridge to see the falls from another point of view while spray from the mist literally drenched us hundreds of feet away from the actual falls…we saw the ridiculous bridge across the falls running from one country to another where one could bungee jump from a platform 400 feet above the Zambezi River (I told everyone we didn’t have time!) And we even walked up above the falls and took pictures just a few yards from where it all heads down…

On a Sunday morning this was a worship experience like no other…I sat on a rock for a moment and thought about missionary doctor and explorer David Livingstone first coming upon this place and the privilege I now have to revel in double rainbows over the falls, the immense sound of the power of rushing water, and the chance to share these moments with my Zambia team as we wrap up our time in this beautiful country…Victoria Falls displays the glory and the power and the majesty of our Creator God…and we reveled in that reality this morning in a quiet spot of remarkable beauty on this earth…

And then we got one final African experience as we went into the Livingstone Market and purchase items from Zambia to bring back home to you all…we even had some students become very efficient and effective barterers as they went back and forth with the African salesmen they met!  We hope these things will help connect you in some way to this place that has grabbed our hearts…

Tonight we had our final debrief time as a team on our Zambia trip…each of us shared memories, highlights, the moments and experiences that affected us and impacted us most deeply over the last 11 days in Africa…we also talked about what we sensed God is moving us to do in response to this trip when we return to the States…and we closed our time by praying for each other and chose to pray all at the same time, just as our friends in Zambia regularly do as the passionately and personally life their praises and requests to God…

It was truly a rich time, full of incredible reflections, ideas, and even deep questions…things were shared about the incredible people we met and the relationships that were developed, the moments of personal suffering we entered into with children and families, the vision and vitality of the African church, the joy in seeing how God is already so much on the move and at work here in Zambia, the prayers that were answered while we were here of African friends, and all the things that we were taught and that came alive as we saw them in the lives of women and children and men whose faith transformed ours in ways we couldn’t have predicted or imagined…

Zambia has been a place of joy and laughter, sorrow and suffering, soccer and more soccer, dancing and eating, hope and life, and even sickness and death for all of us…and we are not who we were when we left Grand Rapids two weeks ago…and we are so hopeful that we will become who God has called us to be in light of our privilege to come to the other side of the world as servants of Jesus…

We come home wanting to sponsor children, to build clinics in places where none exist, to provide bed nets for thousands of families, to pray daily for those we now call friends, to provide supplies for those who care for the least, to make a high school education become a dream realized, to share stories through our photos and words, to even come back to Africa for a much longer time, and perhaps most of all, to invite and inspire our family and friends and our CU campus to enter into this story together with us as we live life in full view of all we have seen and heard from the voices of our African brothers and sisters and our God…

Please be patient with us we come home…we are still in many ways trying to process all that has happened and our level of emotional and physical exhaustion might be a little high than normal…we might even be somewhat upset at some pieces of American culture and life that we didn’t mind before because of the lack of resources we have seen available here…we’ll come around but it might take a little time as we re-enter life in the States…and as we try to live differently don’t be afraid to ask us why and try to hear the details of our experiences and thinking…we really can’t wait to share our lives and our stories with you all…and we’d love it if you would pray for us as we come home and try to figure out what God wants us to do as His advocates and agents of change on behalf of the people of Zambia in the communities we have been in over these last days…

I closed tonight by reading Jesus’s mission statement of words in his first public ministry address in Luke 14:18-19…

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, 
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
¹⁹     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

This final verse is referencing the amazing idea God established in the Year of Jubilee in the nations of Israel’s calendar every 50 years…a time where debts were forgiven, plenty of food was available for all who needed it, broken lives were healed, and God’s favor and presence was tangible, especially for those who were poor and suffering in the previous years…that’s what our partner on this trip, Jubilee Ministries, is really all about…and we can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives helping God’s favor, this remarkable concept of Jubilee, break forth in Grand Rapids, in our homes and hometowns, in our churches, in our world, in a very special place called Zambia in a massive continent called Africa…may God use us and continue to change us for this purpose…

For the Zambia team one last time,

CHIP

p.s. we are spending the night here in London and hope to arrive back at Chicago O’Hare mid-afternoon on Tuesday…the plan is to try and get back to CU by 8 pm on Tuesday night if our travel times all fit together well…can’t wait to see you all!

AFRICA TRIP BLOG #12: Going on an African Safari…

After another big drive we arrived in Livingstone at the southern tip of Zambia…this is a place where every Zambian wants you to go if you come to their country…

We were picked up by a big safari truck at our hotel and headed out to a game park just outside town…and over the next couple hours we entered the WILD KINGDOM…we saw as we drove through the park monkees, babboons, giraffes, elephants, water buffalo, zebras, all kinds of birds, warthogs, wildebeasts, impala, and even got within a few feet of a very rare white rhino under the watchful eyes of our guides and Zambia wildlife officers…and then capped it off by watching the sun set over the Zambezi River flow toward the massive waterfall that has put this place on the world’s map…it’s like being on the set of the LION KING here in Zambia…

We loved hearing the incredible details about each animal from our guide and had a blast taking photos and finding animals hiding in the bush as a team…what a privilege to revel in the creative genius of our God…

We enjoyed a fun dinner at a local pub and watched the Champions League Final soccer match with the African people who love the game so much…tomorrow we head out to see the remarkable Victoria Falls as the sun comes up and visit a local market to gather some more Zambian stuff before heading back to Lusaka where we will fly out on Monday morning…I will hopefully post one more time from our London hotel on Monday night before we fly back to Chicago on Tuesday…

Know that we have felt your prayers all thru these last days…God has met us here in a truly remarkable way…and we covet your prayers for safety as we travel much in the next three days heading home…we can’t wait to see you all!

For all the Zambia team on a beautiful starry Saturday night in Africa,

CHIP

AFRICA TRIP BLOG #11: Seeing the impact of malaria…

After a very early ride down from Ndola to the capital city of Lusaka we spent the day with staff members from World Vision Zambia…World Vision is the largest Christian NGO in the world and impact millions of lives in Zambia…we drove out to a very rural village community where we met once again some remarkable people who care for children and families in need in this community where life is challenging and access to education and health care and income is so, so limited…

We asked them specifically in a group of a dozen or so who has had or had an immediate family member struggle with malaria…they just laughed as each of them put their hand up immediately…it is the #1 taker of life in sub-Saharan Africa and obviously a huge concern for those who live in this part of the world…

And then we visited some families who lived in rural homes, where you felt like you were in the Africa you grew up thinking about…and unfortunately these were families that had been touched deeply by malaria…one father and mother told us their story of how their 15 month old little boy named Alex suddenly spiked a fever and because they live about a 10 mile walk from the nearest health clinic it was a huge undertaking to get their child to receive medical care…and as a flood of a river they needed to cross delayed them, it was too late to get the medications to save their child.  As they ended talking to us with telling us that he had passed away from a mosquito bite, we couldn’t talk as we sat in the dirt outside their hut.  Finally Catherine told them how sorry we were and I asked if we could pray for them, a prayer for comfort only our God can somehow provide…

I then asked if the rest of the their six children now had bed nets to sleep under, treated bed nets that can prevent this disease from entering a child’s body…and when they replied that they now had one, it wasn’t the answer we wanted to hear…and in that moment we knew exactly why we are already planning our Night of Nets events this fall at CU as a soccer community…and why we believe especially after this trip that we will and must do far more than we have done before to provide nets for families like the one we met in the name of our Jesus who loves to bring healing…we know first-hand now why prevention of malaria is so, so important…and why we believe God has laid this vision on our hearts and now has put it right in front of our eyes to see how we can partner with our friends at World Vision to change the lives of thousands of families…

You can check out our website from last year at www.cunightofnets.com

We enjoyed a great Zambian meal at our authentic guest lodge in Lusaka…and tomorrow we head south to Livingstone to do some of the remarkable sightseeing we have the privilege of doing in this country!

We are on the home stretch…and already we are awaiting our chance to share our stories with you when we return…

For all the Zambia team,

CHIP

AFRICA TRIP BLOG #10: A Day in Kakolo Village…

In 2004, I first came to Africa.  And I first went to a little village filled with thatch-roofed huts, lots of children in tattered clothes, a dusty soccer field, and an HIV infection rate close to the highest of any place in the world.  It was viewed as a very difficult place to grow up as a Zambian because of its lack of educational facilities and limited access to any clean water and health care for its inhabitants.  But a Zambian friend who worked for World Vision took me on a walk that would ultimately change my life.  We walked through the village and he talked to me about a first-class school, a modern health care facility, new clean water wells, support for local churches, and a brand new soccer pitch.  I remember he said to me, “Chip, don’t you think God could do it?!”

Today, we drove down that same dirt road to that same village…and all the things Fordson and I dreamed about 8 years ago God has now seen fit to bring to life through the passion and investment of a group of students from Wheaton Academy where I previously worked.  We drove into Kakolo Village to see the nicest school buildings we have seen in Zambia so far where over 1300 students in grades 1-9 now attend classes every day.  It might be the only school in Zambia where the US flag and the Zambian flag fly right next to each other outside the school. 

We were welcomed with a beautiful song sung by the children saying thank you for building Kakolo School and they danced with an African flair while students banged on the water jugs to provide the background music.  The headmaster of the school insisted we join in on the dancing.  We toured the classrooms, saw a new medical clinic where babies are delivered healthy and free from the HIV virus, and checked out the well provided by some students and teachers raising funds through climbing Mt Ranier in Washington.  And we were able to give them school supplies, books to start a library, and soccer equipment through donations from the CU community and a first grade class in Chicago.

And of course, we had to play a soccer match on this new field that was given as a thnk you gift from the community to me as a surprise a few years ago.  We even pulled off a comeback win 2-1 behind a winning goal from Josh Feenstra, our resident African in the group!  We are pretty proud that we went 3-0 on our Zambia soccer tour!  Taking pictures surround by hundreds of kids around the Chip Huber marker on the side of the field was a trip highlight for me. 

In many ways, this was a day filled with joy and laughter after some seeing some very tough things in Zambia over the past week.  Going to Kakolo Village gave us all a visual picture of the Kingdom change that can happen in a community when God’s people see a need, enter into a relationship, and invite others to join them in caring for the needs of the poor in big ways.  It’s pretty emotional and overwhelming for me to return to this place and be greeted so warmly by so many good friends and a community that is now moving forward in new ways.  There’s a tangible sense of hope in this hidden spot in Zambia…and it’s a hope that believes that God is still at work in Kakolo Village and still invites us to get involved in so many other places in our world today. 

I was excited and blessed to take our team to this place that means so much to me and in many ways is my legacy of faith in this world.  I have some great new pictures to put up in my office when I get home.  And my new dream and our prayer together is that we would be open to God’s Spirit that is still on the move as we begin to wrap up our time in Africa…there are so many more Kakolo Villages out there praying that God would answer their prayers through His people…

Tomorrow we head off to Lusaka to spend some time with World Vision and get a first-hand look at the issue of malaria in Zambia as we look at growing our current Night of Nets program that raises funds to provide treated bed nets for families in sub-Saharan Africa…

For all the Zambia team,

CHIP

AFRICA TRIP BLOG #9: Our Last Day with Jubilee Ministries…

After Coach Bell shared a devotion on the CU soccer motto KOPION taken from I Corinthians 15:58 to start the morning, each of our team members shared a reflection they had written about how their life had been transformed over the last week as we learned from and served alongside our friends at Jubilee and the church leaders and members we have gotten to know here in Zambia…I loved hearing how our students were able to encourage those doing Kingdom work here in Africa in such meaningful and heartfelt ways…and Jubilee Center even put together a really well done video of our day with the people of the community featuring interviews and footage with each person on our team…it will be fun to spread it when we get home!

Our last ministry activity with Jubilee involved participating in a feeding program for children sponsored by another church in Chifube…each of the children we serve a meal to was either HIV positive, suffering from TB, or significantly malnourished…this meal is often one of the only times for many of them to eat well during the week…these children looked even a bit more needy than some others we have played with this week, and it is always fascinating to watch a very young child here in Zambia eat every last bit of chicken off the bone and every last clump of shima on a big plate as you think about what preschool and elementary school kids in the States would do when given that same plate…hunger is such a major need that truly affects body, mind, and spirit…Jesus’ actions in providing food in the Gospels truly take on a new reality here in a place where long term food security is such a major issue for many…

We ended the day taking a walk through a local market and shopping area as some bought authentic Zambia clothing while others finally found the sought after Zambia National Team soccer jerseys…and we even had a chance to support another community development project focusing on HIV education in buying some jewelry made by local Zambian women…

We took the staff from Jubilee Ministries out to dinner to say thank you and laughed and laughed and laughed with our new friends as we enjoyed good Indian food together (I know, who would have thought that one here in Zambia?) in a typical 2 hour African meal…

Tomorrow we head up to see the village community that I was involved in serving for 6 years before I came to CU…it will be fun to show this team a real life example of what can happen when a passionate group of students steps out in faith with Zambian Christians to seek to change the lives of a community and its children forever…it’s a day I’ve been looking forward to for a long time…and can’t wait to take my friends and have them meet my old friends in Zambia…

Off to bed after one incredible 7 day stretch here in NDOLA,   Chip

AFRICA TRIP BLOG #8: HIV up close…and those who are Jesus to those suffering

I knew that today’s visits in the Mapolo community would be unlike anything most of us have experienced before.  When you walk into the small, dark room of a mud wall structure and sit next to someone who is suffering and dying from a horrible disease, you are not sure what to do or say…

Today we went out in pairs to visit those who are being given care by the church as they are infected with the HIV/AIDS virus…There were older people and people in the prime of their lives that we visited…children who are suffering because of the impact of  a disease on those who should be taking care of them…it is always painful to see people suffering and to hear their stories of struggle just to live another day…

We listened to them talk about their families and tell the story of how their life has changed because of their illness…and we delivered some food supplies to help them get some of what they need to try and get better…and we read Scripture reminding them and us that we cannot be separated from the love of Christ and that our God is indeed near to the brokenhearted…and we laid hands on our new African friends and prayed for God to heal and to comfort and to meet their needs in a miraculous way…

But we also got to meet some new friends who are the heroes of the faith in my mind…they are men and women in the African church who serve as caregivers to the very least in our world…they come and visit them, pray with them, bathe them, help them get to the clinic to get their ARV medicines, and bring them the food they need to attempt to recover…

I went out with the amazing lady named Grace who started this caregiver program in this community about 10 years ago as the AIDS pandemic ravaged this part of Zambia…she herself had taken care of her sister until she died of AIDS before deciding God was calling her and the church to do something for those who were often stigmatized and shunned by families and friends and fellow believers alike…and she now oversees 21 churches and over 300 volunteers who care for people who are not cared for by anyone else…

Grace has visited hundreds, if not thousands of sick people in this community, walking mile after mile to literally be the hands and feet of Jesus of some of the most forgotten people on the planet…it isn’t easy for her, as she shared with me how discouraged she feels when people she gets close to have passed away when she comes for the next visit…

But God is using Grace…and she has so many stories of change and hope and God’s matchless grace being poured out through her into the lives of others…as we were walking back to her church from visiting a dying AIDS patient, she said to me out of the blue sometimes she thinks God is telling her to write a book…I couldn’t help but laugh and say “Oh Grace, that sounds like a great idea to me!”  And I pulled out of my backpack a copy of my book and gave it to her telling her that I had just finished writing a book about people like her here in Zambia…and if I can write one, than surely she can with all she has experienced…we laughed and she asked if I could be her editor…only in God’s story…

And even in the midst of perhaps the most heart-wrenching circumstances God is present…visiting a home in Zambia headed by a child taking care of other children because their parents have died from AIDS is beyond our scope of understanding…today Mark and Catherine Bell visited an orphan-headed household where 15 year old Bernard was taking care of his 13 and 10 year old brothers Nelson and David because their parents have passed away…the boys go to the market by foot each day to try to find an odd job to make a few coins to get some food…they are now the extreme poor in our world, living on less than an average of 50 cents per day…and their only safety net, their only resource and help is the church…

And somehow, in a way only God could arrange, a couple from Rockford, MI was the answer to these three boys’ nightly prayers that somehow they could find the money to pay the fees to go to school…Mark and I walked over to the teacher at the schoolhouse nearby and he asked if he could pay their fees for a whole year…it cost 42000 kwacha, or just over $8 per boy…and about $25 from a family that loves soccer in the States changed the lives of 3 boys who love soccer and are dependent on the mercy of God for life every day in Mapolo, Zambia…and I know that heaven rejoices in answered prayers like these…

After a silent bus ride back for lunch we spent some time later that afternoon talking and praying with Zambian students who are peers to the CU students on this trip as we talked about the challenges each of us is facing in living out one’s faith in our various cultures in Grand Rapids and in Ndola…it was beautiful to hear 14 different pairs of prayers from Zambian and American Christian partners being lifted to heaven with hope for tomorrow and a passion to see revival break out among their generations…

Tonight’s debrief time was long and full of anger, sorrow, questions, and finally deep resolve…we have seen and gotten to know people suffering in ways unimaginable to us and held children who simply wouldn’t let go for as long as we would let them hang on…and in the midst of our own grief and concern for the needs we now know exist, we ended tonight with a call to do something…I actually have on a shirt tonight that simply says, “You have one life…do something.”

The over whelming consensus is that this trip cannot be an emotional exercise where our hearts are broken and we fall in love with Africa and its people…it must be an experience that leads us to action, that leads us to being a voice for those who have no voice, and that leads us to courageously invite others to join us in writing a new story in our lives and the lives of our brothers and sisters in sub-Saharan Africa…

Already there are ideas flowing on how to tell the story, how to invite others to partner with us as we care for the needs of widows and orphans as Scripture defines in James as “true religion” for each of us who follow Jesus…your prayers for us to have our view of God’s people and this world blown apart has already and will continue to be answered…and now we invite you to begin to give us creativity and courage to work and dream together on how to engage our families, our churches, our campus with the needs present and opportunities available to transform lives here in Africa…

We spend our last full day with our friends at Jubilee Ministries tomorrow as we share our trip reflections with them and feed children and do a bit more house building before we move to the next phase of our journey in Zambia…

We can’t wait to see you one week from tonight…for all the Zambia team,   CHIP