Lord, Bring Your Joy!

During my second week of teaching in Zambia, I was at the Chawama Legacy Academy teaching grade 2.  This week was a breath of fresh air compared to my previous week.  The classroom was full of precious kids who were so excited to learn.  There was one child, however that would daily come late and who never smiled, named Gertrude.  She seemed disinterested in learning, often was a distraction to others, and a name that I had to say multiple times to redirect onto what we were doing.  Many of the kids would hang on me during the breaks but she didn’t seem to want much to do with me while I was there. 

On Thursday, I was walking the morning class out to get their lunch and I walked around to the opposite side of the building from where they receive their food.  Gertrude followed me and in passing in a soft voice said, “my dad died.”  “Excuse me, what did you say?” Again Gertrude repeated it with her head turned away from me, “my dad died.”  I stopped her and was trying to get her to talk to me, but quickly the language barrier was preventing our conversation.  We were standing right by the field workers office (the field workers, check on these children and follow up on any home issue that might arise), and so I pulled her out to help me with translating and knew that she would know more of Gertrude’s story.  Gertrude’s father had been sick for a while and had passed away a couple of months prior to my time there.  She is the youngest of 5 children and desperately misses her father.  Her mom is not working but her oldest brother does small jobs and tries to help the family when he can although he doesn’t live with them.  

Complete Sadness 

As I was looking this little girl in the face, I was asking the Lord what to even say to that other than I am so sorry!  I felt that He was impressing on my heart to share with her that when I was there in January, I lost my grandmother.  She kept her head down, but I lifted her chin and was trying to get her to look at me in the eyes.  Through the tears pouring down my face, I told her that right after I got to Zambia in January, that my mom called me to tell me that my grandmother had passed away.  I shared with her how I know it isn’t the same as losing a parent, but how hard it was to not be with my family when it all happened, but that the Lord took care of me.  We talked about how even though things are so very hard right now, God sees her right where she is at, He loves her more than anyone can imagine, and that He will take care of her and her family.  I prayed over her that the Lord would fill her with joy amidst the pain and that she would see and feel His hand daily in her life as we cried together.   As I left her that day, my heart was so heavy for Gertrude, but I had to trust that God was going to continue moving in her life.

Friday, was the day to say good-bye to that room full of kids. We had fun playing word games, reading stories, and giving lots of hugs.  The best part of the whole day was the continual smile on Gertrude’s face that I hadn’t seen all week!  She was a completely different child and I know that it wasn’t anything that I did but what God was doing in her.  As much as I would have done anything for my grandmother to pass away when I was at home, the Lord knew what He was doing.  If it was all for that moment for me to share my story with Gertrude it was all worth it.  Life is hard for these children in Zambia, but it becomes even harder when you lose a parent or both of them.  This is something that I will never understand, and it isn’t my place to understand it.  What I do understand on a whole new level since January is that when we feel like we can’t do what is set before us, God carries us through each moment and we are able to continue on.  Not that we aren’t still sad and shed tears, but we have a God that can bring a peace and joy over us that this world cannot understand.  Lord, fill your peace and love in the hearts of all of your children, young and old, no matter where they are!   

Filled with JOY!

Precious Faces

These faces make my heart so happy!!!

I was at Target yesterday and needed some folders to start the year so back to the school supplies I went.  There were so many eager faces buying their school supplies (one of which was one of my students last year and I loved getting to see him and his family).  I remember going with my mom and picking out my supplies growing up and I loved getting all of the new crayons, folders, pencils, and anything else I might need.  As I was looking around, it reminded me of how blessed we are to be able to go and purchase what we need.  When we were teaching  in Zambia, we took new supplies with us into the classroom to use and the kids (and teachers) were so excited!!! 

I began thinking about all the sweet faces that will be entering my classroom this year and how they will be bringing their supplies with them to start the year.  It made me think about a conversation that Teacher  Dorothy and I had about some things she won't allow at the school some of which are razorblades (pencil sharpeners) or scissors.  I didn’t understand why and when she explained to me that the students aren’t allowed to have these school supplies because of the high percentage of students with HIV.  That is one thing that I don’t ever have to think about here.  The worst that happens here is that at least one child tries to cut their hair so we have to have the conversation of what we can cut and not cut at school.  I don’t have to think about the fact that 1/3 of my class is infected with a vicious disease that knows no boundaries.  Five of the sweet babies in my classroom at Kabanana are HIV positive, two are sisters and the others have siblings but none of their siblings have it.  Dorothy said that there is no reason those kids should have been born with HIV.  In Zambia when you are pregnant, "if" you go to the clinic, they automatically test you and if you are positive they put you on medication so your baby doesn't contract the disease.  Sadly, many women don't or won't go until they are ready to deliver, and therefore, the innocent are infected with this vicious disease! 



How can you not fall in love with these faces??

The next day after our conversation when I got in the classroom and looked into those beautiful eyes of the 5 kids in my room with HIV, my heart broke into a million pieces.  I had to fight the tears back so hard as they were singing and dancing with so much happiness.  Looking at those beautiful, loving, and precious kids I know that other than a complete miracle (which can totally happen) their precious lives are going to be cut short here on earth.  Most of those sweet faces don't even know they are sick!  God has filled them with so much joy and love despite their situation.  Even though these children have been dealt this, I know God is and will continue to use them in a mighty way to impact His kingdom until He is ready to bring them to their eternal home.   The future of Zambia is being changed, one child at a time.   

On a side note, as many of you will be shopping for school supplies before school starts and are looking at the wonderful “sale prices” of the supplies, if any of you want to pick up a few extras, I would love to collect them and take them to Family Legacy to ship over on the next container they send.  These are the supplies they are always in need of:

Pencils, crayons, blue pens, red pens, construction paper, dry erase markers, composition notebooks, notecards, pencil bags, and block erasers.

Chimwemwe: Joy

I was talking to one of my very dear friends yesterday and in conversation she was telling me how God has placed the word Joy in her path over and over.  She is someone that I respect and admire so much for her spirit of love, faithfulness, hope, and joy as they all radiate out of her.  Often times, God uses her to speak into my life and I was reflecting on our conversation and how God calls all of us to choose Joy even when it is hard. 

 As I am preparing to go back to Zambia, I thought about when I was there in 2008 (my second time to be at CampLife), and my Zambian partner gave me a Zambian name~ Chimwemwe~ which means Joy.  I pray that I can exhibit the joy behind that Zambian name.  As I think about the circumstances that the Zambian children and their families face daily,  I see how so many of them choose to have joy in Christ, because if you look at what they have (physically and emotionally) there isn’t much to be joyful about.  We have such a loving God that is faithful, compassionate, merciful, and wants His Joy to pour out of His children.  The past three times that I have been to Zambia, I have seen how God is working to fill them with His love and joy.  Satan wants to take away everything and at times does, but he cannot take away their JOY.  Praise the Lord that He will so abundantly fill those who know Him with joy and love.  

“Then Ezra told them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.  And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold” Nehemiah 8:10 

I see how blessed I am in my life, and my prayer is that God’s joy will truly shine through my life.  I think of how gracefully Jesus gave his life for us when he could have easily taken another path, but what a sacrifice of love He freely gives.   So many times I can allow Satan to use the little things to steal my joy.  Something as simple as a flat tire, or burning dinner, but instead of losing my joy, I need to be thankful that I have a vehicle to get me from place to place and thankful that I have food to put on the table.  I know there are many times when I don't and this is an area that I need to work on in myself.

Please pray with me for God’s Joy to abundantly fill the children’s hearts as well as mine.  I will have more specific requests leading up to my departure for Zambia, but the biggest one right now is that Satan would not be able to become a stumbling block to the preparation that God is going to do in the hearts of the kids. 

“Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth; Sing forth the honor and glory of His name; make His praise glorious!  Say to God, How awesome and fearfully glorious are Your works!  Through the greatness of Your power shall Your enemies submit themselves to you with feigned and reluctant obedience.”  Psalm 66:1-3