We are in Africa! We arrives this morning shortly before 7 am (most folks slept fairly decently on the overnight flight from London) and were greeted by a hug Welcome to Zambia sing as we walked from our plane across the tarmac onto Zambian soli...we went thru customs, gathered our bags, and then checked into our hotel...after a shower we headed off to learn about the Rapids program, a US funded program from President Bush's AIDS Emergency Relief Plan (american dollars providing HIV/AIDS relief here in Zambia) that World Vision Zambia provides support and leadership for...they have trained over 12,000 caregivers throughout Zambia who care for orphans and those dealing first-hand with this disease...they use items like the caregiver kits each WA student built earlier this school year...this program is actually led by two Americans, including a WV friend from MN! (fun to see him in Zambia!) We also had the chance to see some other Chicago friends who have started a program called World Bicycle Relief that has distributed over 24,000 bikes to people in Zambia who are caring for the sick and who need them to get to jobs and provide transportation to and from medical clinics in each part of Zambia...we will see these bikes at use in our clinic up in the Zamtan region this weekend...CNN was filming a story on the work Rapids is doing here today in Zambia...
After lunch we had our first soccer match...it was against a group of player who meet together as part of a group called God our Help youth program...we played a full soccer match and evidently we needed a little bit more help as we fell in our first match 6-5 this afternoon...they also wore Chicago Bears Super Bowl Champions shirts the NFL provided after the Bears lost to the Colts this past winter...evidently it thru us off a bit...we wore red jerseys from three area local high schools, Timothy Christian, Marmion Academy, and Marist HS...it was a high scoring affair and the Zambian team featured outstanding speed and a tremendous sweeper in the back...the WA group battled thru jet lag and had a blast playing the game they love in a land where they love this game...
Former WA hockey player Tommy O'Connell and former WA basketball player Matt Jones scored twice each and the oldest player on the field (he played for Bethel College in the 1980's) found that you can find new life in Africa as former WA boys coach Chip Huber added the final tally...keeper Ryan Seager stood strong under tremendous pressure from the Zambian attack...the team presented each of the GOH team a jersey and New Testament after the game...Matt Jones shared with the players that they give us hope even as we have sought to bring hope to this nation and people and prayed for them after the match...there is always an amazing connection with your opponent as you play in Zambia...we love how soccer connects us together in this world!
Many of the girls played Red Rover and met other girls and boys on the sideline...many of the children were orphans in this program and some of the soccer players were the heads of orphan headed househlods...giving them our leftover pizza from lunch bring a different feeling in this setting...
We are thrilled to be connected once again with our hosts from World Vision Zambia...they are reaching 4 million of the 11 million people in Zambia in some way thru their interventions and programs...over 1 million children are orphans in Zambia and we get the privilege of playing with, educating, providing food, medicine, and water, and sharing with them about Jesus and his love as we support their work here...we are overjoyed to be able to meet and give love to some of these individual kids this week...
We are off to dinner and then a time of team review of the day before crashing and getting a much needed full night of sleep...we are off to the Kapaluwe ADP tomorrow just west of Lusaka...you can pray for physical strength and health, the right questions to be asked, and for us to each find a story of a life here in Zambia that can become our story as we invite others into awareness and response when we return...
God is at work here and we are encouraging that work and helping to support His work over the next week...
We miss you and pray you are well in Chicago!
For the Zambia Team (now 28 strong as Trent has joined us!!) CHIP
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