First ZAMBIA TRIP Blog: Prayers for our Time in Africa...

Dear Friends and Family…

In a couple  hours we will be heading out over the Atlantic Ocean on our way to Zambia (with a stop in London)…I wanted to send you a quick thank you and provide you with some more information and prayer requests for our trip…your generosity and support of our work in Africa and this particular trip has been absolutely wonderful and incredibly encouraging to our team and me personally…I deeply feel like I am going on behalf of you to meet some amazing Zambian folks and to discover what God continues to do and what still needs to be done in the midst of the many economic and health and faith challenges present in southern Africa…we will enter into a new relationship with Jubilee Ministries as we engage God’s vision to change the world and to use people like you and me to do more than we can imagine we can do as we see and feel what Jesus cares about in our world…we will also see students in a schoolhouse learning and growing as they seek to create an incredible future for themselves and the next generation of Zambians…we will play soccer matches and hold clinics for children along with netball games as we use sports to help bring change in a community…we will participate in worship and dance and music and discussions as we celebrate and talk about life and faith in America and Zambia with other students…and we will get to work and share and teach God’s Word alongside and get to know and become brothers and sisters with those on the frontlines of God’s Work in the African church…and we excited to distribute life-giving bed nets that can continue to help respond to one of the most challenging epidemics in our world…we will be traveling all over Zambia and we will be involved in many, many projects and conversations with the Jubilee and World Vision Zambia staffs God is using to meet the needs of so many impacted by poverty and disease in this generation…Our team is absolutely thrilled God has given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to us…I expect God to change the lives of 14 students and adults and to break my own heart all over again as I am going to see how He wants me to continue to be His advocate for the people and the church in this nation in Africa…

We will covet your prayers as we are gone…here are ten specific prayer needs you can pray for us over the next 2 weeks:

1.        Safety and health in our travels to and back from and around Zambia over the next fourteen days

2.        A good working out of schedule and administrative details as we attempt to see and be part of many different experiences in a short time period

3.        Ability to connect with and love and learn from our Zambian brothers and sisters

4.        The continued impact of the Kakolo Village schoolhouse which is being used by hundreds and hundreds of students in grades K-9

5.        The use of soccer matches and clinics as an outreach tool for evangelism in a couple different Zambian communities

6.        A deep sense of community and growth in our team as we seek to discuss and mull over the experiences and resulting questions we will encounter

7.        A fresh vision for future projects and personal involvement in the work being done in Zambia and other nations in Africa and around the world

8.        A greater love for Christ and a heart that beats and cares and loves the poor and oppressed and sick people in our world as we encounter poverty and disease

9.        Opportunities to pray for/with and encourage believers and churches in Zambia as we work together and learn from each other in church services, training events, and bible studies

10.     Ability to write and video and receive stories and new ideas that we can then take and use as powerful resources in being advocates and leaders when we return home

We can’t wait to return and give you the story of our trip along with some photos and videos we will have taken…once again, thank you for being part of God’s grand vision in Zambia…your overwhelming generosity and partnership is truly a remarkable blessing in my life and the life of this team of folks…We thank God for your friendship, gifts of love, and your prayers…

Together in His Work for the 2012 CU Zambia Team, CHIP

p.s. We hope to regularly blog at this site while in Zambia...as we have internet access!