http://www.i58volunteers.org/ en Copyright 2008 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:25:59 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss It is Sunday night, and by now we have each reached home and, no doubt, had some joyful reunions with you all, who we have deeply missed during our two week trip. When Eric and I left Rhode Island, the grass around our house was dead and we had to wear jackets outside. Now, it is a rich green everywhere, and even some daffodils are blooming in our yard. It is absolutely beautiful here. We came home yesterday morning and found wonderful "welcome home" surprises on our coffee table from our Sherpa Family: a beautiful Indian patterned card, an album containing all of the blog postings and comments, a bottle of wine and pack of Red Bull (guess which one Eric snatched immediately? :-) ) Thank you SO very much! We love you and missed you, and we can't wait to see you tomorrow... Part of my mind and heart is still back in India. This was such an amazing trip, and one that was drenched in God's grace. Looking back at the amount of miles we covered, the things we were able to see, the safety, health, laughter and friendships we enjoyed - it is nothing short of a miracle. We were planning to see 7 or 8 orphanages; we visited 11 orphanages, 3 slums and a leper colony. We had no travel issues - no lost luggage, no flat tires, no accidents and no scheduling problems. Most of all, we come home with tons of information about the children, orphanages and pastors, having conducted countless interviews and taken hundreds of pictures. And we have memories in our hearts that will never disappear. I am so thankful for each child I met, for each hand I got to hold, and each smile exchanged. Here are some moments, both joyful and heart-breaking, that I pray will always stay with me: The laughter of a 2 year old village boy as he sat on my lap outside the church in Anantapur Praying together with a mother for her blind 5 year old son in Rajumundry Shaking the fingerless hands of a man living with leprosy in Faridabad Having a 14 year old orphan girl ask me to take her to America at O. Palouse's house Hugging Veer and Belssy good-bye in Beawar The singing of the children at Abraham's orphanage in Delhi, who sang the following song: I have a maker, He formed my heart. Before even time began My life was in his hands. He knows my name, He knows my every thought, He sees each tear that falls And hears me when I call. I have a father, He calls me his own. He'll never leave me No matter where I go. He knows my name, He knows my every thought, He sees each tear that falls And hears me when I call. I am so grateful for all of your love, support and encouragement. Eric and I could really feel your prayers during the trip. Whether or not you ever step foot in India (and I hope that you do), I hope that the orphans' and pastors' stories have stolen a piece of your heart. Who better to lose it to? :-) God Bless, Allison http://www.i58volunteers.org/a_safe_return.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/a_safe_return.php Allison Stockton Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:25:59 -0500 Yesterday was by far the hardest day of the trip for me. Lack of sleep, a mild concussion and a hotel room that should have been condemned were beating down my spirit. It was hard to smile. We arrived at the Church last night totally drained... we were all worn out. I had nothing left to give until we sat down and were swarmed by all of the smiling little faces. Children truly are a gift from God aren't they? As I got up and began to play with the children there for the service I felt a renewal of spirit, it was like I was being recharged. I forgot all about my throbbing headache and began to take pictures. "One more photo please!!" rang out over and over and over.... they love the camera. It was just what I needed. This morning I woke early and watched the sun rise from the roof of the hotel. It was quiet and as I was praying a monkey decided to join me. He just came right over and checked me out. I am getting used to the stares so it didn't bother me. I gave him an orange. :) We are off to Bangalore for our flight back to Delhi. We will see all of you very soon. Herb http://www.i58volunteers.org/renewing_of_the_spirit.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/renewing_of_the_spirit.php Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:23:29 -0500 We have had a busy couple of days. On Monday, we took a 16 hour train ride from Rajumundry to Anantapur, arriving at our hotel at 6 am on Tuesday. After resting for a few hours, we went to Pastor O. Palouse's home for a great breakfast. Then we went to his orphanage, which now has 7 children. Six of the boys were there for us to play with, while Mary, the only girl, was back at the house to help prepare lunch and dinner for us with the Pastor's wife, mother and grandmother. We noticed right away that there were no toys on hand for us to play with, just one flat soccer ball. So, Mike, Herb and the pastors headed out for some sports equipment while Mat and I came up with some silly games. The boys now know how to limbo, play musical chairs, and (of course) play slaps. When the rest of the team returned, there were soccer balls everywhere and a cricket game began. Adam also played some indoor badmitton with Pardesh for at least an hour. I have had so much fun with the kids over the past days... The girls I've met have been teaching me Indian dance moves, we've been spinning til we're dizzy in the yard, they've been braiding my hair and pinning in flowers, playing Simon Says and collapsing on the grass in laughter. It's been a blast. So, at O. Palouse's orphanage, I found myself looking out for the little girls again. And then there they were, on their knees peeking into the orphanage hall where the guys were playing with the boys with their faces and fingers pressed against the entryway steps and stoop. They were the extended family of the orphanage's watchman, and lived in the run down "house" adjacent to the orphan hall. This was just what I needed! I spent the rest of my time on the front porch with these 13 people, 6 of which were little girls ages 1 to 6. I got to paint their tiny fingernails pink. Their hands were so small that only 2 light touches of the brush covered their entire nail. It was so sweet to sit with each of them, and then to watch them move into the shade afterwards, with their fingers spread wide apart, and sit still for the polish to dry. It was fun to see their mothers pushing the babies toward me and to have them help hold the little ones still. It was very special to hold the girls' little hands, see the dirt caked under their nails, and see their smiles as they felt they were becoming more beautiful with each brush stroke. I'll never forget it. :-) Now we are going to check out of the hotel, have breakfast at O. Palouse's home again (our 4th meal there - excellent food!), and ride 4 hours or so to Bangalore, where at 4:30 this afternoon we catch a flight to Delhi . Tomorrow we are visiting our last orphanage in Delhi before boarding the plane back to the States. This was not a planned stop, but will be amazing, I'm sure. It is an orphanage with 130 children run, almost single-handedly, by a woman named Anita. We will blog more tomorrow! We love you, miss you and can't wait to see you next week! Oh, also today is Mike Clowe's birthday! Send him an email or post a Comment - he is turning 22!!! Love, Allison http://www.i58volunteers.org/little_fingers_big_smiles.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/little_fingers_big_smiles.php Allison Stockton Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:06:06 -0500 Today was the last day we had our guardian angel Emmanuel with us. He was such a blessing, he strengthened us with his laughter and dedication to the ministry here. He approached the request to guide us with a servant's heart and worked non stop to make us as comfortable as possible. We just prayed over him and sent him back to his village outside of Vijawada with many new memories and well wishes. I know that I will see him again and when I do I look forward to seeing the growth in his orphanage and Church. We are in Antanpur, a very small, poor city in the SE part of the AP. The entire area suffers from a huge water shortage and the heat is stifling. My watch read 108 while I was playing cricket with the orphans today. Yes, 108 degrees. Mike and I went with the pastors this morning and bought badmitton rackets, birdies, soccer balls, cricket bats and balls and an indoor board game called Carams for the boys in this orphanage..... they had absolutely NOTHING prior. They loved the carams game and flocked to it quickly...it warmed the heart to see having fun. My prayer prior to coming was that I would have the strength to hold nothing back but would pour myself completely out on these people and as we slowly wind our way back to Delhi I feel I am almost there. I am emotionally drained but in a strange way full of new strength. I really could stay. Part of me wants to. Until tomorrow, Herb http://www.i58volunteers.org/sad_goodbyes_to_new_friends.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/sad_goodbyes_to_new_friends.php Herb Jones Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:09:19 -0500 Hello all. After a 14 hour train ride, we are all safe in Anantpur to visit our last orphanage before we head back to Delhi. So just as a quick entry, I thought I would list several quotes by various team members that have kept our spirits up and laughter loud: 1. "How far? Just five minutes." 2. "tii...This is India." 3. "Yee Haw...hooh doggy" (from our Indian tour guide) 4. "Emanuel, you just took a dirt nap" 5. "Can I have my cipro back" 6. "But I don't want to put a cork in it" 7. "Have you seen the chickens around here?" 8. "What movie?" 9. "Is that pee?" 10. "Is that pee, again?!" 11. "I shaved so you didn't think I was a terrorist." 12. "What big city do you live near in Ohio?" "Columbus." (thinking) "What NFL city do you live near?" More quotes to come, which all will be explained in our post trip out-takes. Sincerely, Spicy Spice http://www.i58volunteers.org/hilarious_quotes_from_the_trip.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/hilarious_quotes_from_the_trip.php Adam Lapp Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:10:33 -0500 This morning we are in Vydjawada, Adrah Pradesh. By 9:30 am it was already scorching. We took a short bus ride into the heart of the nearby slums, unloaded from our bright purple AC Coach bus and stood in the alley not knowing what to expect. Our new guide, Emmanuel, led us briskly up and down sets of uneven concrete stairs, through very narrow walkways, around broken water pumps and under dangling electrical wires to a small, dark 6x6 room which turned out to be the home of 5 children. We all piled into the space, ducking our heads under the spinning ceiling fan. Emmanuel introduced the kids to us and asked us to pray for them. Two of the girls (ages 4 and 6) had just lost their mother to AIDS. A picture of her hangs on the wall. Their father, also HIV positive, works all day in construction, so they are mostly alone. Then Emmanuel dropped the news that these sisters, too, have HIV. They are the prettiest, sweetest girls. We got on our knees, they put their hands together and squinted shut their eyes, and we prayed. It was the only thing we could do and the most important thing we could do, all at the same time. When we climbed out of that room, we wiggled our way through more of the slums (to the residents' great surprise) to the very edge of the riverbed, where there is a small orphanage for about 25 children. The "river" is completely dry. Children were using the land to play cricket. It is also about a 50 foot descent to climb down from the slum's edge. Separating the river from the slums is a landslide of trash that doubles as the community bathroom. We were quickly surrounded by at least 50 dirty and curious children. They seemed fascinated by Mike, Mat and Adam. The group following me showed off their English skills in a little pointing game -- naming the colors of their shirts, the surrounding animals (dog, water buffalo, bird, eagle). It had to be over 100 degrees and we were all looking like we came straight out of the shower. The pastor of the orphanage showed us the 15x15 foot foundation where he dreams of building his church for this forgotten community. After spending a little time with the kids near the riverbed's edge, we climbed back up into the slum to an 8x10 patio. We introduced ourselves to the smiling children, prayed for them, and sang "Amazing Grace" in the middle of swarming flies and the stench of raw sewage. Then, in a matter of minutes, we were back on our purple AC Coach bus and in the heart of city traffic, all wondering what had just happened. This trip has been a birrage of surreal experiences, and we will not come back the same. Our hearts are broken for these people, but I pray that each scar we are experiencing builds up our faith. I just keep thinking that we have so much to learn about how to love each other. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel 4+ more hours today by bus. Please pray that we continue to be a unified and effective team, and that we can bring joy into these undesireable and unloved places. Megan, thank you so much for your letter to me that you sent with Eric. It really touched my heart. I love you, I hope you are feeling well, and can't wait to see you on the 26th! We hope to write again very soon. Love, Allison http://www.i58volunteers.org/the_aids_children.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/the_aids_children.php Allison Stockton Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:46:56 -0500 this trip has been so hard on me. alot of growing, that came at no small ease. the things ive seen. how people live in this. this certianly has been no vacation. tomorrow we see the pastor that i have been trying to support to 2 years now. well, more like a situation that i have been wondering and praying about for two years. man what a day. i want to say hi to my class and a very special hi to my student matthew, i miss him greatly. 14 hour overnight train ride tomorrow. do you think they will have a queen size bunk for me? my guess is no. how to communicate what i see over here to you over there. no way, none. the need is great, not for use but for the poeple to trust god so he can work. end of transmition......................... http://www.i58volunteers.org/week_two.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/week_two.php Mat Bunnell Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:39:18 -0500 more in the ordinary course of my week?' Around 9am, we visited an orphan slum in a place called Vijaywada. There is a large river that flows through the center of the city. Every August, the rains come and the river swells up and overflows displacing tens of thousands for about a month. Then the waters recede and the people go back and start all over again. It occured to me at that moment that the place we were standing in would soon be underwater. We were standing in the church. As we were ducking under the small thatched roofs, members of our team asked questions about the daily lives of the people. There are no jobs, no food, no medicine, really no anything. We asked what the main source of income was for the people in the slums. It is prostitution. It is also the reason why 50-75% of children are HIV infected. After coming to India several times, I have grown used to the poverty, but nothing prepared me for what I saw. Two weeks ago, and right up until the day we left for India, I was not sure why I was going, or even if I should. It really made no logical sense. I couldn't have picked a worse time to be gone and everything pointed to my staying at home. To be truthful, I hadn't any good answers throughout the first part of the trip...until this morning. God turned me on to something in our meeting this morning. I came to love on a few kids and see what I could do to help in a two week trip. No matter how many times I come here, I forget how much I benefit from the simple act of obeying. It helps me to clear my mind, reset my priorities, and catch a glimpse of what God is doing in this world. It pulls me kicking and screaming out of my little world and into His kingdom. When this happens, it is easy to hone in on what God was trying to say to me all along. In one of those moments of clarity, it is easy to see how I was created to live a life of 'adventure' in the midst of the emails, phone calls, meetings and conversations. In the middle of the mundane, daily life, I want to experience what I experience here. Things that are truly amazing and things that are obtainable in our every day lives. I hope to be able to keep a hold of how close to God I feel at this moment. Thanks to everyone who has emailed me over the past couple of weeks. I am truly blessed to have such great family, friends and co-workers. It may not seem like it, but your words are encouraging in a time when we need it most.]]> http://www.i58volunteers.org/something_i_learned_today.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/something_i_learned_today.php Eric Stockton Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:35:30 -0500 Hello to everyone out there reading about our trip. So far, it has been only what I can describe as a life-changing experience. Several hours before we boarded our airplane (SpiceJet Airlines, are you kidding me), we were absolutely honored to hand out report cards to the children of Pastor Veer's school. Just the publicity of us, Americans, being there will help him to build his school into what he envisions...a 1,000 children. As we left, an 11 year old boy named Sagar began tearing up. He stood somberly against a post an cried as we said our good-byes. Whereas the other children were in great spirits, although they too did not want to see us go, Sagar was the only child crying. He had played David in the "David and Goliath" skit and several of us had grown attached to him. He simply had a look in his face that you knew he would grow up to be a great servant to God. So Herb and I (he too had become attached) went over to console Sagar. I said to him, "Don't cry Sagar, we will be back again," then proceeded to give him a huge bear hug. This is what India does to you. It opens your heart to where you don't think about loving on somebody, you just do it. And because of this, I will be back. There is so much more to say about the last two days, so I hope my fellow bloggers will cover me. We are leaving Vijayawada today and heading 4 hours north to Rajamundry (I think I spelled that right, even though spell checker underlined it). The trip is winding down and we have a lot of travel in front of us, but somehow, I believe many of us are feeling increasingly refreshed and ready for what lies in front of us. I'm not sure how accessible the internet will be in the next couple of days, but I hope to make at least one more post. Sincerely, Adam P.S. In honor of SpiceJet Airlines, we have all now acquired "spicy" nicknames: - Herb: Papa Spice - Mike: Bunny Spice - Matt: Biggy Spice - Adam: Spicy Spice - Allison: La femme de la Spice - Eric: Hair gel Spice http://www.i58volunteers.org/tearing_up.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/tearing_up.php Adam Lapp Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:31:37 -0500 sorry everyone, I lost my password and have not been able to post here but I have been posting at www.missyandherb.com. Luckily our IT team flew in from half way around the world and helped me out. Thanks Cliff. we are healthy, in good spirits and slowly winding our way through India. We have travelled many, many miles through sun parched deserts, through mountains and now into more lush but hot climates in the southeast state of AP. Yesterday was incredible... we had the fortune of attending Church services at our guide, Emmanuel's Church. We were the guests of honor as the children sang songs, performed dance routines and warmed our hearts with their smiles and laughter. All the hope and joy that they have floats above the tremendous poverty in a way that touches you in a very deep place. They might have "rats running in their stomach" but God is walking in their spirits in a mighty way. After Church we visited Emmanuel's father's place which was about an hour outside of Vijawada in a very rural community. His orphanage supports 25 children and we played cricket, badmitton and a board game called Carams with them. They treated us so well, serving us coconut water and fanning us anytime we sat down. I love this part of our days... they are such a blessing. It is hard knowing that when we leave, they will share a very small amount of rice and crawl through the entrance of the small thatched huts that they sleep in each night. We are praying for funding to build them a true shelter, someplace safe and strong. This morning I had the pleasure of rising early and having a quiet devotion with our guide, Emmanuel. During this time we prayed and read and I interviewed him so that I could tell his story to all of you. And what a story it is.... one of despair but more than anything amazing faith that is the wellspring of hope for many people. In 2005, at a pastor's conference in Kota, Emmanuel was kidnapped by Hindu Extremists. They tried to force him to bow down at a temple and say the names of their idol gods. He refused. They then beat him relentlessly, cracking his skull and injuring his ribs. They held him hostage for 12 hours before the police "rescued" him. The police, also hindu's, did not provide medical assistance and held him for another 12 hours. Finally, fellow pastors picked him up and brought him to a hospital. He was treated and released after 24 hours and returned, with tremendous will, to tell his story at the pastor's conference. I came here looking for perspective, I am leaving with more than I bargained for. God is blessing our work here and I pray that everyone reading this shares our short notes with as many friends as possible. That is all I ask.... tell others. Working remotely has its advantages but I really miss out on the relationship aspect of working in our home office. I have really enjoyed getting to know my teammates and I feel I will always have a special bond with not only our Pastor/guides, but also with Mike Clowe and Adam Lapp. Seeing these two with the children warms my heart. Both will make wonderful husbands and fathers one day :) For those of you that know me, you probably wonder how I am handling being away from Hannah and Missy. My wife is so wonderful to me...I am so blessed. She has sent me many, many emails and pictures of my little girl and I even printed one of them off and kept it with me. It only lasted 20 hours: I was showing a new mother in one of the rural villages my baby and she asked to have the picture of little Hannah. How could I resist that? I hope her little shining face and big smile brings them some measure of joy for many days. We were the first Americans to ever visit that particular village so I imagine Hannah will be popular :) Jimmy Ellis!! Thank you so much you big lug.... your letter made me cry and laugh at the same time, all while I was trying to read it out loud. I just read it again this morning and it was again, a shot in the arm. Jeanne, thank you very much for your kind words as well, they mean more than you could know. I have a great picture for you as well ;) We will post again and thank ALL of you for your prayers and support. It is not wasted, I promise and together we can make a difference in the lives of these children. God Bless You, Herb http://www.i58volunteers.org/ubergeeks_to_the_rescue.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/ubergeeks_to_the_rescue.php Herb Jones Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:26:45 -0500 That was pretty much all I heard the last two days :) Two days ago, we went to visit a Pastor in a village that I can neither spell nor pronounce... Adam or Herb have it written down. We were the first American's to visit their village. The kids were amazing. As soon as they figured out I had a camera they swarmed around calling out "One Please!" and pointing to themselves. Whenever I would try to take a picture of one, they would all crowd around him - usually until I couldn't see the original kid anymore! Lets just say I didn't get any rest :) The village itself was very poor - its about what you would think of when you think of thatched huts. Very beautiful and very poor. We spent that night and last light in Vijayawada and visited Pastor Emmanuel (Veer's hilarious replacements as our translator) and his fathers' churches yesterday. It being sunday they were having church services, so of course we went to them. Herb even got to get up and deliver a short message (well it would have been short except for the translating). It was a lot of fun to sing praise with them. The kids at both of these churches apparently had friends at the last orphanage, because as soon as I brought out my camera cries of "One Please!" went up again. This morning we went to visit a slum. This slum is situated on the river and actually floods about 7 feet every year during the rainy season. During this time its inhabitants have to relocate to bus stations and other areas. This area was very difficult. There were many many more kids than adults. It turns out that the main form of income in that area is from prostitution. Because of this many of the adults have HIV and die early, leaving the kids, most of whom also have HIV, to fend for themselves. We met a small family of 5 (4 kids and their father). The father works as a bicycle mechanic and the oldest daughter (about 6) works as a dishwasher in one of the bigger houses. Their house was about 5 feet hight - we stooping to go inside (not that we all fit). Two of the kids in their family had HIV as did the father. Its heart breaking to see them. This afternoon we are going to anantapur to visit O'Palush. I'll write a again when I get a chance. Thanks to everyone who keeps up with us. It helps to know there are people back home reading. Mike http://www.i58volunteers.org/one_please_one_please.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/one_please_one_please.php Mike Clowe Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:20:24 -0500 Hi Everyone, We are at the Jaipur Airport about to board a plane to Hyderabad, and we just wanted to send out a quick update. This morning we said good-bye to Veer, Belssy and their 10 kids after a little media stint at Veer's school. We all got to pass out report cards to his kids. A journalist was there, and supposedly our pictures will be in the local Beawar paper tomorrow. Whatever we can do to help promote enrollment! :-) It was a rough good-bye, and a few of the boys were in tears (the orphans, not Mike and Eric - haha). It's amazing how attached you can become in such a short time. The bonds formed during playtime, and especially prayer time, definitely overcome any language barriers. We are all excited to see them again on future trips, and to see the fruit of their own ministries in 15-20 years. I have to hurry so we can check our bags... Tomorrow holds a visit to two more orphanages, and we are really excited! A few of us have been sick during the past 2 days, but seem to be better now. Thank you again for all of your prayers and Comments. They mean more than you know. :-) Love, Allison http://www.i58volunteers.org/.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/.php Allison Stockton Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:00:27 -0500 It sure feels like we have been here a lot longer than the 6 days it actually has been. Yesterday we visited Veer's orphanage and school. He has 8 orphans and a school with 180 students. We brought the kids crickets bats and soccer balls. Of course after bringing all these toys we just had to play with them. Yep I played my first game of cricket! Once you play it, its really not as incomprehensible as it seems. Veer's group of orphans are all boys. It was heart warming the way they swarmed (and I do mean swarmed) over the toys we brought. After we played with them for a while, they sang some songs for us and we did a couple of skits. After the skits we prayed for them and veer. Right before we left all the orphans gathered around and prayed for us. There is nothing quite like having 8 orphans praying aloud simultaneously in hindi for you. You can't tell what they are saying, but i think that just adds to it. Today we are going to Veer's school to hand out report cards to his kids. Its kind of a little publicity stunt for the school. As i said Veer has 180 kids enrolled at his school right now,. He has been praying for 1000 enrollments this year. Hopefully we can help (in our small way) to make that happen. He says that with 1000 enrollments he could easily support 20 orphans and his family without any uotside help. Then this afternoon we are driving back to Jaipur where we will be boarding a plane for Hyedrbad. It was 110 degrees in the sun yesterday. I can only imagine how hot it will be further south! Thanks for you thoughts and prayers. Mike http://www.i58volunteers.org/how_long_have_we_been_here_again.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/how_long_have_we_been_here_again.php Mike Clowe Mike Clowe Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:21:33 -0500 ...we prayed for small school children. In the 90 degree sun, the roof soaked up the heat and they only had access to a fan for one hour per day. That's the little amount of electricity the "slums" of Delhi are allotted. Unlike the first orphanage we went to yesterday, whose children seemed happy and quite full of joy, these particular school children seemed eerily quiet. It must have been purely a result of where they lived and in what conditions. Although the first orphanage was in a very desolate part of Delhi, with sewage running in open air on the side of the street, this school was in an area that I would have a hard time imagining if you told me to think of what a slum looked like. In a place like that and with children like these, we did what we felt our hearts to do...we laid hands on them and prayed. Each one of them stood up straight and placed their small hands together and we prayed for God's grace to be on them and for God's love to affect their lives as they grow up. Then after our good-byes and much waving of hands, we walked down the steps carefully ducking our heads under the high voltage power line that hung over the top of the staircase. Even with all of the poverty we witnessed today, I am grateful and utterly optimistic for the pastor in charge of this school and also the leper colony, Joseph. He had a bright demeanor and an even brighter vision for what he could do. It was a vision that stretched far and would impact very many, but for some reason, I had complete faith that he could do it. He is going to need a lot of help, from both God and us back home. Well, it's getting late here so I am going to retire to my room. I just want to ask for anybody reading this to lift us up in their prayers. Eric has warned us that it is only going to get more difficult and exhausting (physically and emotionally) in the preceding days. Thanks for all of your support thus far...the personal letters were an immense blessing. Adam http://www.i58volunteers.org/under_a_hot_tin_roof.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/under_a_hot_tin_roof.php Adam Lapp Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:10:05 -0500 I'm not sure what day of the week it is anymore, so I will just number them... We've been posting our blogs from the business center of a neighboring hotel. Right outside the door in the lobby I can see a copper elephant god statue that is draped with flowered leis and illuminated by a single candle. (It definitely one-ups the Sherpa manequin :-) ) This morning we rode 2 hours by bus to Fadirabad where we toured a leper colony of about 900 people. Not everyone there has leprosy; many are family members of lepers that are shunned by society just by association. All of the leper colony buildings are painted Pepto Bismol pink so there is no wondering where the "zone" begins and ends. Joseph, the pastor we visited today, is doing significant ministry in this community, which has to be self-sustaining. We saw the small doctor's office, poultry farm (which is currently empty due to the bird flu), school (there are 300 children living there and just 2 teachers), and meeting hall. We also saw the loom mill where the lepers spin their wool and make beautiful "blankets" (they are more the thickness of table cloths). We basically bought out all of their blankets - our small gesture of support - and we will give these out during the rest of our trip. You might think this is not the best idea in the middle of a 90+ degree springtime, but these items are used as carpets to cover the cement floors in the orphanages, and also as bedding for the children. We were able to sit down with the lepers in the meeting hall and hear about their need for a new water system. They barely have running water now, and people will surely die of dehydration if this huge problem is not fixed before summer. We are bringing back all the facts we have and their proposal. After touring the leper colony, Joseph brought us into the slums where he runs a school in a room no bigger than a bedroom for about 100 kids. And yes, he pays rent for this space in the middle of a slum... It was shocking to walk through it. There were naked children in the alleys, flies swarming everywhere, random starving dogs, goats and other unidentifiable rodents scattered around. I can't believe his heart for this dark place. He has a goal to start even 2 more schools in this area. Joseph himself was raised until age 5 in a leper colony (his dad had leprosy) before he was taken into an Emmanuel orphanage. I have to hurry up as my minutes are getting used up... the last thing we did with Joseph was visit a plot of land where he hopes to one day have his own orphanage for 50-60 children. He has a great vision for this land and community; God drew him to the location, and he does not yet even know whether it is up for sale. He is praying for 5-6 million rupies (maybe $125,000?) so that he can get the broker and purchase the land. A normal reaction might be to think that he is off his rocker to think this is possible, but I58 Projects has seen and prayed over empty plots of land that now house buildings, thriving children, and growing churches. Joseph's faith reminds me of something Veer, our friend/pastor/guide said yesterday over breakfast: "If you tell someone your vision and they do not laugh out loud, you are not dreaming big enough." Veer himself has a vision to see his school in Beawar serve 1,000 children next year. As of today, he has signed up 11 students. I can't wait to see Veer's school and orphanage tomorrow. We are leaving at 6 in the morning and it will take us until about 9 at night to get there by bus. We are stopping at an orphanage in Jaipur along the way. Please continue to pray for us. Thank you for all of the Comments you have posted, and we are so privileged to be here to share the funds you have helped raise with these amazing children! Love, Allison http://www.i58volunteers.org/third_night_in_delhi.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/third_night_in_delhi.php Allison Stockton Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:45:14 -0500 We went to a leper colony today. Its part of Pastor Joseph's ministry. I don't think I've ever seen so many people absolutlely struggling to live. They barely had running water. Like women would stand for half an hour at a dripping faucet to fill a bucket with water. To solve their water problem they need to frill a deeper well, it would be guaranteed for the next 10 years. All it would take is 100,000 rupees or ~2,500 dollars. Its amazing how much of a differnce this (relatively) small amount of money would make to them. Anyway they support themselves by making sheets and cloth. I bought a couple sheets from them. Beautiful stuff :). As a team I think we bought 105 sheets. We figure we can give them out to the orphangages as we travel around. There was the most beautiful little girl there. I think the hardest thing I saw was this older lady with leprosy taking care of a perfect beautiful little girl. On the way back Joseph took us by some of the slums he ministers at. One set of slums run along this narrow track of land that follows a drainage ditch for sewage. The only way the people could wash their clothes was in the sewage water. We walked through another slum and visited a free scholol Joseph had there. As we left they rang the bell and about 50 kids started to pile into this tiny room. As we were walking out there was a man with a mongoose doing tricks. It was a little disconcerting to be more interesting to the local kids than the talented mongoose :) Well I'm off to dinner. Tomorrow we are driving to Biawar to visit Veer's orphange. Mike http://www.i58volunteers.org/a_hard_day.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/a_hard_day.php Mike Clowe Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:32:15 -0500 There is so much to tell already, and it is only our first day... For all of the obstacles we faced to get here, we've had a miraculously smooth trip this far. Nobody missed their plane, everyone got their luggage (an India trip first, I think). Some of the things I've seen out the bus window so far: -a man walking his 3 foot tall monkey on a leash -a four-year-old holding the hand of a three-year-old and running, unsupervised, down the median of a four-lane highway -the 16 foot barbed wire fence surrounding the opposition party compound -a husband driving a scooter with his wife side-saddled behind him holding their newborn We are definitely tired, but feeling well. We went to our first orphanage today in Delhi and had an amazing time playing with the 21 kids. Their newest addition is a baby named Asha (meaning Hope). They got her from the hospital 3 months ago when she was 3 days old. Her young mother wanted to give her up for adoption to a Christian orphanage. She is beautiful, and Abraham and Grace (the director and his wife) enjoyed showing her off. I think Herb held her the most. :-) While washing dishes I also met Oba, a 24 year old girl who works at the orphanage. She went to bible college and now "wants to help the poor children." Only later in talking with her did I find out that she lost both of her parents in a train crash when she was 16, and grew up in an orphanage herself. Four years ago, Eric met her with the I58 team when they visited Kota. She's praying for her passport so she can spend 6 months in Georgia... it's a small world! Mat and I had a chance to sit in on an English class for the kids taught by Joy, a University of Michigan grad who has spent 8 months teaching here in Delhi. She said that in the last month, she has lost 3 friends to motorcycle accidents. She also wanted to know who won the Rosebowl, if anyone had won the primaries yet, and whether the US was really entering a recession (in which case, should she pull all of her money out of the bank?). The children sang a dozen songs for us, and were full of "pep" as my Pappy would say. They danced around, used wide hand motions and shouted at the top of their lungs. Yesterday, many of the kids visited the dentist and had teeth pulled. Others are missing their two front teeth... You should have seen their faces of concentration when trying to deliver the line, "Satan has zero power!" over and over, but they didn't let it slow them down! :-) Thankfully, we were able to bless this orphanage by purchasing 4-6 months of food and toiletries for them. Mike got to pick out all of this, which included around 1 1/2 tons of rice. Herb also made his own trip around town to collect baby food for little Asha. When the food arrived and was piled inside the orphanage gate, someone pulled me aside and said, "You don't know how much this means to us. We pray every Sunday that somehow food would be found for the kids, even that it would be brought by total strangers. Lately it has been extremely tight, and this is such a great relief." There are even more stories to tell, but the randomness of those above kind of describe how it has been so far... hit by every different emotion...sensory overload at its best. But this group's been great - we're laughing a lot and are off to a good start. Mat fits right in, too. Keep checking back with us, and thanks for your prayers! Tomorrow we head off to a leper colony three hours away... Much Love, Allison http://www.i58volunteers.org/a_blessed_and_busy_first_day.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/a_blessed_and_busy_first_day.php Allison Stockton Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:34:12 -0500 the masive appriciation of orphanages when you can buy them 6 months food supply in one visit. the kids that want to touch and smile at you. the massive protection that god has given. pray that we do not forget how much we need him. what will tomorrow bring? how will He use us? http://www.i58volunteers.org/alive_and_well.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/alive_and_well.php Mat Bunnell Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:30:59 -0500 And no one is sick yet! We had a wonderful time at the Asha House in Delhi. I can't get over how energetic and happy the kids were. I guess kids are basically the same where ever you go. At one point, one of the little girls got very sad during one of the prayer sessions. She missed her family terribly. As soon as the other kids saw something was wrong they swarmed around her and told her all sorts of wonderful things. Within an hour she was back on her feet with a smile on her face. It was amazing to me how the kids cared for their adopted brothers and sisters. There were two other, longer term groups working there when we showed up. It was cool to hear them talk about their experiences and how they ended up here. No one's story is boring :) Yelp... I'm off - More later if we get a chance. http://www.i58volunteers.org/the_end_of_day_1.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/the_end_of_day_1.php Mike Clowe Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:21:49 -0500 I just received a text message from Eric asking me to let everyone know that they have arrived safely!!! They will update us once they get some rest. http://www.i58volunteers.org/safe_arrival.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/safe_arrival.php India - Spring Team 08 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:54:53 -0500 Finally! After a month's delay and what felt like a million obstacles, we take off for India tomorrow. Coming from four different states, we will meet face-to-face as a team for the first time at an airport gate in Newark, NJ. But not to worry, we will have 14 1/2 hours on our flight to Delhi to bond. :-) Thank you again to all of you for your prayer and financial support. We are so excited, and cannot wait to meet these children, who will no doubt bless our hearts more than we could ever bless them! Check back again soon... http://www.i58volunteers.org/up_up_and_away.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/up_up_and_away.php Allison Stockton Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:25:48 -0500 well its extremely soon now. i can look back for the past 2 years and see all that has brought me to this point. still alot to do before i fly. more then!!! http://www.i58volunteers.org/5_days.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/5_days.php Mat Bunnell Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:40:07 -0500 gosh its surreal. never been anywhere outside the u s of a. i talked to a indian ssa today and she mentioned how things are 180 degrees diferrent. i feel burnt out now, how will i feel then? i gatta make sure i take a day of bedside baptistism before i go. still have two thirds of my funds yet to raise. its one of those things where your running from dought untill you hit the finish line. then you turn and see dought walking away and ask yourself why you ever thought that wimp could beat you. how is jesus done over there? how do the y love him over there? how do they interpret scripture? we'll see! http://www.i58volunteers.org/almost_three_weeks_left.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/almost_three_weeks_left.php Mat Bunnell Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:59:45 -0500 Dear Friends and Family, Welcome to the blog for the I58 Projects March 2008 India Team! I'm excited to say that in one month I will be going back to India for the second time! God has drawn together six people from four different states (FL, NC, OH, RI) for this two week mission trip, and I hope that you will use this site to meet us and follow us along our journey. The next few weeks of preparation will be crucial as we each get our visas, immunizations, and funds collected. Please pray that we are wise in our planning and that our resources would stretch to cover all our needs. Please pray that we would be in good health leading up to the trip. Mostly, please pray that our hearts, and those of the orphans, pastors, teachers and orphanage directors that we will be meeting, would be prepared for our brief time together, and that we would make a lasting impact on each other to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ! Check back for more messages from this new volunteer team. We love you and couldn't do this without your support! In Him, Allison http://www.i58volunteers.org/one_month_and_counting.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/one_month_and_counting.php Allison Stockton Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:42:59 -0500 Hey everyone, In typical Dave fashion, I have delayed getting this final trip summary out by at least a couple of weeks. This time I have a good excuse though. Possibly the best excuse ever. I was busy getting engaged. Sarah said yes! (I was pretty sure she would, but it was awful nice to hear it anyway.) I know the next question that will come from all the women reading this: "How did you do it?" And so, to avoid answering that individually to a hundred different emails, I will give the pre-emptive answer here. We went down to a spot on the St. Johns River in San Marco. It is a place near Sarah's house and we have had a number of special moments there…first "I love yous" etc. I have to insert some background info here. On our third (I think) date, I brought a notebook and pen and our date was sitting in a coffee shop and writing silly stories together. She would write a line and then I would write a line. You get the idea. We have done this a number of times since and always had a pretty good time at it. So we brought the notebook and started writing a story…which I was deviously steering into a story about us. Eventually the story progressed to the point where I wrote: "and then he asked her." She did not know what to write for the next line since that hadn't happened yet. Then I handed her the pen and the ring was on it. (Insert a collective AWWW here.) I got down on a knee and asked her. She said yes. It was awesome. But when you read this, it sounds really suave…but in actuality it was kind of awkward and dorky…and very consistent with me…given that I am most often awkward and dorky. See, when I handed her the pen with the ring on it, she didn't actually see the ring. So, I had to get her attention, grab her hand and show it to her. Then, after she said yes, I tried to take the ring off the pen, and I was shaking so badly that it took me at least twenty seconds to get the ring off the pen and onto her finger. It was great…and perfectly "us" which you can take to mean really sweet, but kind of dorky. I have stopped trying to run from that. Anyway, we are getting married and are both very, very happy about it. Now, back to the Zambia stuff. First off, moving to Zambia is still a go. Except now it will be that we are moving instead of I am moving. (I really like the sound of that a lot better.) We are looking to get married toward the end of January and move toward the end of next summer. The timing of the move is still very much up in the air and will depend largely on how long it takes to get ready to go. We are trusting God to give us more direction as to the "when" questions in all of this. As far as the last bit of my time in South Africa that you all haven't heard about, I can say that it was really good. I attended the Pan African Vineyard's 25th anniversary conference and it was great. While at the conference I got to sit down and discuss our future plans (Sarah and myself) with the leaders of the Vineyard in Zambia (There are 3 area pastoral coordinators (APCs) that oversee 36 Vineyard churches in Zambia. These are the guys I was meeting with and they are all indigenous leaders.). From the time I spent at a few of their churches when I was in Zambia, and from much prayer and the many conversations I've had with Sarah, I told the three APCs that we wanted to come and serve them wherever they needed us most. They felt that we would be a good fit with what they are trying to do in their churches and said they would welcome us there. We discussed a lot of possible things we could do, but decided that we would begin working on training their leaders about HIV and also doing leadership development training on a variety of topics. We'll be visiting a lot of different churches to do this and will get to see many parts of Zambia that we haven't been to yet. Sarah and I are really excited about the way this is taking shape. We are getting to start small and will have a chance to really learn a lot about the country and the culture before we settle into one place or undertake a big project. We also like the idea of serving the local people as they do their ministry more than trying to get them to help us start ours. God did some major work in my heart to get me out of the "let's start a big…outreach, orphanage, church, or whatever" mentality and get me into the idea of serving the local churches and jumping onto their program. The main purpose of taking this trip was to find out what to do next. And in that respect, it was a huge success. We know what to do to get started. We know who we are going to be working with. We know how to begin preparing. So, thank you, to each of you that made this trip possible. Everything that needed to happen, did. We would ask all of you to continue in prayer with us; we need God's guidance in all of the next steps in our life together. Thanks a bunch, Dave & Sarah http://www.i58volunteers.org/zambia_south_africa_and_wedding_bells.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/zambia_south_africa_and_wedding_bells.php Dave Lashbrook Wed, 24 Oct 2007 12:14:42 -0500 Well Everyone, This is the last blog entry that will come from an African computer (for a while anyway). Tomorrow I get on a plane at 830am and begin a 36 hour commute back home. I am totally ready to be back home. The trip has been a complete success. Just about everything that I hoped would happen while I was here, has. I will post another blog and fill in the details of what I mean by that after I get home. For now, please pray for safe travel (particularly no noisy kids kicking the back of my seat for 36 hours--in this case the prayers should be for their safety). Anyway, I can't wait to see you all and share with you what is coming next. Thanks again to all of you who participated in this through prayers, giving, and encouragement. See you in a minute, dave http://www.i58volunteers.org/one_more_day.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/one_more_day.php Dave Lashbrook Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:33:47 -0500 Well gang, I am nearing the end of my journey. I am looking forward to coming home, which will be on the 19th of this month. For the last week, I have been in Jeffreys Bay. Due to a few schedule changes, I had some free time in between coming back here and going to the Vineyard Conference (which starts next week). So, I took off and spent a week in Jeffreys Bay. To all of you non-surfing types, J Bay is home to one of the worlds best surf spots. Needless to say, I was in heaven. It is kind of cool when God just gives you opportunities like that. Tomorrow morning, I leave to head to the Vineyard Conference for all of the Vineyard churches in Africa. I am expecting it to be amazing. Something else that is cool is that it worked out for Dr Thinus to come to the conference with me as well. I am excited that he will get to see a little more of what the Vineyard is all about. After the conference ends, I will head back up to Centurion with Dr T (Centurion is near Johannesburg) and then fly to Lusaka and then fly home, via Lilongwe, Malawi; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Rome; Washington DC, then good old Jacksonville. Please pray for me this week as I will be talking with some of the Zambian pastors about working alongside their churches in the future. Thanks a bunch and I can't wait to see you all. Love ya, dave http://www.i58volunteers.org/almost_home.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/almost_home.php Dave Lashbrook Sat, 08 Sep 2007 07:39:40 -0500 Hello there everyone, I am writing this blog from the safety and comfort of the New Life Vineyard office in Capetown, South Africa. I wasn't planning on being here until next week, but my travel plans shifted suddenly. Over the last couple of weeks, I was visiting some of the Vineyard churches around Zambia with two guys from South Africa and was also scheduled to go into the Congo with them briefly. Last Saturday, they got some tragic news that a man from their fellowship here in Capetown had been killed in a motorcycle accident. So, we cancelled the rest of the stops on our tour and headed back here for the memorial service, which was yesterday. Please pray for the family and friends of Paul Murfet. I want to give you all a quick update on what has been going on over the last couple weeks. Two Saturdays ago, I met John Fischer and Carl Schmidt in Lusaka. They are both leaders of this Vineyard church in Capetown, and have also been heading up the outreach, church planting, and leadership development for the Vineyard churches in Southern Africa. The time I have spent with them has been very productive in terms of just learning a lot. I have found that all of the things that I love about being a part of the Vineyard in Jax Beach are things that they are committed to building into the Vineyards throughout Southern Africa. I am really excited to go to the pan African Vineyard Conference in a couple of weeks. While I was in Zambia with John and Carl, we visited a number of the Vineyard Churches there. It was really cool meeting the pastors and the people. We spent a few days in Lusaka, a few days in Kitwe, and a few days in Kasempa. Kasempa was interesting. It was the furthest from civilization that I have been since coming here. It was a small town about 3 hours from the nearest real city (Solwezi-which for the record is a real hotspot for witchcraft). They still had electricity and such, but there wasn't a gas station or a proper grocery store. There was a little town market with a bunch of little shops, but the store owners have to go to Solwezi to buy all their stuff, so everything is really expensive, at least by Zambian standards. While we were there, we had a conference for the 5 Vineyard Churches in the area. Probably around 200 people attended. (This has very little to do with the story, but the head pastor in that area is an avid hunter and has said that he will take me sometime. I found that quite exciting.) During the conference John and Carl and I all did the teaching on the theme of maturing as a Christian. It was a profitable time of ministry. After that was over, we hit the road headed for South Africa. Leaving Zambia, we crossed into Namibia and there was an immediate difference in the condition of everything. As soon as we left the border post, it was like, "You ARE now in Kansas, toto." It was almost instantly very first world. You can even tell by looking at a gas station. It isn't run down and dirty and all that. Namibia was for quite a long time (and still kind of is) an extension of South Africa. During the drive, I saw a giraffe, a couple of orycx (a type of antelope, not orcs all you LOR nerds) some springbok and countless warthogs, known as pumbas (turns out the lion king guys did their homework). As we got into the southern part of the country it began looking a lot like the american west does through Arizona and into California. It was a very beautiful drive. Once we crossed into South Africa, it became even more beautiful as we were driving right through an amazing stretch of mountains with expansive farms in between. There were also the beginnings of a wildflower bloom in the valleys that is famous around the world. It wasn't in full swing yet, but you could see patches of yellow and lavender and orange wildflowers starting to pop up in the fields of the valleys. It was like each scene was better than the next. The final stretch before reaching Capetown was perhaps the most amazing. You come through this narrow pass in the mountains and this immense valley opens up in front of you. It stretches out for probably fifty or more miles (that you can see) and the entire valley is broken up into giant farms. The fields are different colors of green or yellow or clay depending on what is planted in them and how far along it is in the growth process. The squares of the different fields made the whole valley look like a giant quilt. It was quite stupid of me not to buy a camera before I came here. Honestly, what was I thinking? Anyway, you will just have to take my word for it until next time. Since arriving here, I have been hanging out with John and his family. They let me tag along to a couple of family functions. That is watching rugby and having a braii (that is afrikaans for bbq). These guys like meat. Today for lunch I had a steak, some sausage, and some pork. That should cover all the basic food groups. Bonos and Sticky Fingers got nothing on this. I think if I lived here permanently I might develop heart disease before I turn 35. It is really good eating though. John and his family have made me feel extremely welcome too. Today church was good. The message really never happened as worship time just flowed and flowed on and God began to move. I love the Vineyard. I am looking forward to seeing where I fit with the church(es) in Zambia. That about sums up the last couple weeks for me. At least it hits the highlights for you. Please continue to keep me in prayer as I am still trying discover more of the specifics of what I am supposed to be doing here. It is starting to take shape, but there are still plenty of questions. The answers seem to be coming along at just the right time though. God is pretty good at that. Love you all, dave http://www.i58volunteers.org/no_i_am_not_dead_or_missing_in_the_congo.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/no_i_am_not_dead_or_missing_in_the_congo.php Dave Lashbrook Sun, 26 Aug 2007 15:38:16 -0500 Home From Africa Today, for the first time in three and a half weeks (give or take a few days), I drank a Starbucks coffee. I know that doesn't sound especially fascinating, but when one really loves coffee, and one isn't able to have it consistently, or even at all, for a sustained period of time, one becomes excited about the prospect of drinking a real cup. Not this instant crap, which is what has been keeping me going for the past three weeks. That, and God. Today I am back in the states. For those of you who were unaware, I have been in Zambia since the beginning of July. It's been nearly a month, and I still cannot believe that it's over. It went by much faster than I expected. I am sitting in my own living room, in my green computer chair, and I am viewing MySpace pages, and I am reading and responding to emails, and it still doesn't seem like I'm really home. Kind of surreal. I still have not had a shower since leaving Mufulira at 11:00 pm on Thursday evening (Jacksonville time). Coming home, I've been feeling so many different things. One of the big things is the rising dread of returning to the first world, with bills, and jobs, and possible jobs, and a very acute lack of money (I'm sensing a...money theme). For different reasons, some of which I will keep to myself, I have felt anxiety and worry. I spent a decent amount of time writing in my journal on the way home about that. And praying, also. I feel much better about the things I was anxious about. One of the things I tend to do...in life...is get ahead of myself. I'm so anxious to know the plan, to know what is ahead. I want all the details, and I worry about details that haven't been given to me, which is so pointless. I mean, worrying about things that have not and may not happen. I do that a lot. It's never a good idea. I've also thought a lot about Africa. I cannot possibly describe what that land is like in a way that will do it justice. I think it is what you might imagine it would be. It was kind of like I imagined. There were villages, actual villages, with actual clay and thatch huts. The huts were all packed together, with tiny paths beat out by feet. In fact, throughout the town we stayed in, Mufulira, we saw those paths. They were everywhere. Walking is a main form of transportation. It reminded me of an ant farm. I had one of those once as a kid. At first, it was a wall of sand. But then, slowly, little tunnels were built, one at a time. Finally, just before I let the ants go, the entire wall was an intersecting maze of criss-crossed tunnels. That's what these paths were like. I thought that I would be scared in Zambia, that my personal safety was at stake, that I would encounter the kind of violence that you see in the media. When people here in the states think of Africa, they think of AK47's and tribal conflicts, and child soldiers, and a general atmosphere of violence. I know, because when I told people where I was going before I went, they all furrowed their brows in worry. But Zambia isn't really like that at all. I saw absolutely no violence while I was there. I didn't feel threatened while in the market or taking a walk. On the contrary, everyone that we met and talked with seemed extremely grateful that we were there; grateful for what we were doing with the orphans, grateful for the HIV/AIDS education that we provided. It was interesting...in Zambia, everyone is tuned into HIV. You see signs of it everywhere: in the national newspaper, in comic strips; on the news. People are aware of it, people are terrified of it, and still, so many people seemed fairly ignorant about it. We spent everyday playing with kids. Just...playing with them. Giving them attention, giving them the kind of love that they ought to be receiving from an adult anyway. We had a routine: arrive at 10 hours; play, play, play; sing songs; have a dance party (really, just a bunch of kids dancing for other kids); talk about God; do an art project; play some more. I think the bulk of our ministry was in time spent with the kids. Not necessarily giving them a sermon, but holding them, holding their hands, playing games, communicating as well as we could, and smiling. I think that those things can do an amazing amount of good for an orphan whose never really known the love or care of an adult. We were also able to pay school fees for those who needed it through the month of December. For those children, we bought uniforms and school shoes. For everyone, we bought some new shirts, a new pair of flip flops, and some of the kids also received some lace-up shoes. Everyone got a goody bag with treats inside. I was very glad to be able to provide for some of the material needs of the children while we were there. Coming back, I realized that I felt love for the land and the people in Zambia. Real love. I'm not sure what my future holds as far as Zambia or Africa is concerned, but I do know that I'd like to go back. I definitely would like to go back. As I mentioned earlier, I have not yet had a shower. My body has put up with the filth for long enough. My pores are screaming, "What are you doing to us? We are greasy, and we are only becoming more greasy as you type!" Not really, because they can't talk...but that's what they would say if they could. So, I really need to go. I hope that I've given you a little bit of something of Africa. Something of what it's like to be there, something of what it meant to me. Something...enough...to maybe want to go yourself someday. ---Sarah http://www.i58volunteers.org/home_from_zambia_written_july_28.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/home_from_zambia_written_july_28.php Sarah Cope Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:30:56 -0500 dave ]]> http://www.i58volunteers.org/hello_friends_and_family_from_dave.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/hello_friends_and_family_from_dave.php Dave Lashbrook Wed, 08 Aug 2007 08:29:49 -0500 http://www.scgvision.org]]> http://www.i58volunteers.org/shaji_george_shares_his_vision_via_new_website.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/shaji_george_shares_his_vision_via_new_website.php Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:54:12 -0500 Hey everybody, My life has been pretty quiet, not to mention a touch on the lonely side, the last couple of days. (Somebody please buy Sarah a plane ticket back here.) Just kidding...kind of. Being able to rest has been good though. It was very much needed after going like a madman with the team for the last three weeks. Today I went to Murundu. I hitched a ride in one of the huge mine dumptrucks. Kind of fun. I went out to the edge of Mufulira by the road that goes to Murundu and some guys started hollering to come over and wait for transport with them. I did and it turned out that they know Dr. T, as soon as I said Agape, they said, "oh, Thinus." Anyway, they flagged down the dumptruck for me and then hit me up for some kwachas...which I gave them. I was walking into Murundu, after getting off the truck, and as I turned the corner to Joseph's street, I was greeted by one of the little ones from our VBS. I don't know his name, but he said, "Hallo Dave," and promptly grabbed my hand and held it the rest of the way to Joseph's. It is nice to feel welcome. Kids tend to do that better than adults, no matter what part of the world you are in. The purpose of my visit was to check out a little more of the chicken farming venture that I am getting into. The more I see and find out about this, the better I like it. I think it shows promise of being able to almost totally support the orphanage that Joseph and Hilda are building. Please pray for the birth and growth of that business as it will very directly effect how about 60 kids are living and eating. In addition to seeing the farming operation, I also got to see the piece of property that Joseph bought as the future location of his orphanage. It is 25 hectares (I don't know the exact conversion, but it is a huge piece of property) and it is located on the edge of Murundu and actually has frontage on the main highway. It seems like a pretty perfect scenario. Please also pray that God would provide the funds for building the houses for the kids on this land. He will need about $15,000 to build two homes that would allow him to take in about 50 children. Within that first $15,000 a very large part of the expense is in getting a well and a pump and having electricity run to the property. So, after the first two houses, each subsequent structure should be only cost around $4000. Once everything is built, the idea is to use the remaining land to farm. With that land, they should be able to produce enough to feed the kids and cover nearly, if not all, of the costs of running the orphanage. Another prayer request is that God would show me if this is a project that I am supposed to be significantly involved in. Right now, my involvement there is minimal, but it looks like it might be a good place to consider getting more involved. Today was fun. Tomorrow I will be leaving Mufulira for Ndola to spend some time with the Vineyard church there. That should be fun too. I will talk to you all later. dave http://www.i58volunteers.org/all_by_my_self_i_am_going_to_use_celine_dion_songs_to_title_all_my_blogs.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/all_by_my_self_i_am_going_to_use_celine_dion_songs_to_title_all_my_blogs.php Dave Lashbrook Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:27:30 -0500 Well, everyone is gone. The team left Lusaka yesterday. Dr. T is driving to South Africa. And I am back in Mufulira alone and very quiet. I did finally retrieve my guitar though. After dropping the team at the airport, I took public transport from Lusaka back up here. It should have taken about 5.5-6 hrs for the trip, but it wound up taking more than 7.5 due to road construction and the fact (which I discovered about 5hrs into the journey) that this particular bus company had many accidents last year and a bunch of people died and the government shut them down for a while and they just got their license back, so all their drivers only drive at about 45mph now. Yesterday, we left the house for Lusaka at 4am and I didn't get back until after midnight last night. Today has been a good rest. One thing about the ride back that was really cool was that right after I got on the bus, Pastor Joseph got on the same bus. Pastor Joseph is the guy that has been feeding the orphans in Murundu and hosting us there. He had ridden down to Lusaka with us, but had been off all day taking care of some other business and came to the bus station and got on my very same bus. That was nice of God to organize a travel buddy for me. We had a really good talk on the way back. We spent most of the time discussing a chicken farming venture that I am going to invest a couple hundred bucks in. Joseph and his wife have been raising some chickens and using the money from that to feed the kids. As we spoke, I shared some ideas for growing the business. Joseph was liking the ideas, so I think I am going to be a partner in a small Zambian chicken farm. That will be a new one for me. My portion of the proceeds (assuming there are some) will go towards other ministry here. This past week was real interesting. I had a pretty solid run in with Malaria. Actually, I can't say that, my illness was brief. Thanks for all of you who were praying for me. I feel totally fine now. Tuesday I started feeling like I was getting the flu or something. I was still well enough to go through our VBS program and then go shopping for more stuff that we were going to be giving the kids. By Tuesday night, I felt pretty horrible. Then, at about 5am I woke up very feverish, freezing cold and my whole body was aching terribly. It was miserable. Dr. T was already up and he got me another blanket. When I told him all my symptoms, he said it was almost certainly malaria. Later that morning, he got me some medicine called fancidar (not sure if I'm spelling that right). Fancidar is some quinine super-cocktail that blasts malaria out of your system quickly (if you take it early enough). I took the medicine probably around 10am. The fever and aches and all that got worse and worse and this peaked around 230pm, then the fever broke and it was like I was immediately a human again. I still didn't feel good, but the difference was night and day, and it happened so quickly. Thursday I still spent a good bit of time in bed but by the afternoon, I was pretty much over it. 48 hour malaria is pretty reasonable. Thank God for quick healing and quinine. Because I was ill, the others took care of handing out all the clothes and shoes and treats we bought for the kids. Hats of to the team for handling all of that. I know it was a pain. The kids always are pretty rowdy when you are handing stuff out. Here is a brief rundown on what you all at home gave the kids at Murundu. 22 have their school fees paid through December, got a new school uniform, and a pair of school shoes and a pair of flip flops. The kids not in school (about another 34 that are too young) got a new shirt or two, a pair of shoes, and a pair of flip flops. All of them got a bag of treats. Also, we were able to cover the cost of feeding the children daily during the three weeks of our program. It is a drop in the bucket as there are more than 1000 orphans in just this little village, but to these 56 kids it is huge. The other part of what you sent over is that they all heard the gospel and all the ones who wanted a hug or piggy back ride or to be spun around (or all of the above over and over) got their wish. Later, dave ps. Just one final thought. One of the most annoying parts of this trip for the whole team was anytime that we were handing anything out--like coloring pages or crayons or candy. The kids would freak out and push and punch each other and the little ones would get knocked down and start to cry. Then you would see another kid with 5 pages behind is back and his hand out again. It really sucked, every time. It was hard to keep a good attitude. Each day, everyone would get theirs, we always had enough. Didn't they remember yesterday when they all got one. Didn't they understand when we said to sit there and wait that we were going to make sure they were taken care of. It was real frustrating. Wonder if God ever feels like that with me? http://www.i58volunteers.org/their_off.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/their_off.php Dave Lashbrook Sat, 28 Jul 2007 11:52:44 -0500 Hello Jacksonville! It is very late on Tuesday night, the last week of our trip. I cannot believe that the end is so near...everything has gone by so fast. It seems like yesterday when I was writing the first blog of the trip, and now I am writing one of the last. We will be back in Jacksonville this Saturday afternoon. Today was our last day with the kids in Murundu. It went like most of the other days. We could see the crowd of children gathered and waiting for us as we drove our van into the village. They were all grinning and hopping and clapping their hands...it's really quite a reception. We definitely know that they've been waiting for us. Lately, our team has gotten a little worn out. We've been going non-stop for about two and a half weeks. During the first week, most of us ran around with the kids,and played games, and kicked balls as soon as we arrived. A few of us are still doing that, but myself and some of the others have taken to holding the kids, sitting with them, letting them play with our hair. It's quality time spent, but it's a lot easier on the body when you're tired. I really enjoy this part of our day. We have very little to actually say to each other because of the language barrier, but you find ways to communicate. There's one small girl (she's about six) named Colvier. I've taught her how to say, "I love you" in sign language. I've tried to translate it into Bemba so that she knows what we're saying...I'm actually not sure that she does, but she has a pretty good time when sign it to each other. Today we reviewed the Gospel story and prayed the salvation prayer with the kids. We did that last week, as well, but there have been so many new kids this week that we decided to do it again. I expected that all the kids would want to pray the prayer, and they did. After that, we explained to the children that we wanted to pray for them. So we had them raise their hands if they wanted prayer while we walked around. I really enjoyed this time. I sort of expected it to be a madhouse, with a riot of kids wanting prayer because it's another way to get attention from us. But it wasn't like that at all. In fact, they were very quiet, for the most part, and when we prayed for them and laid hands on them, they covered their eyes and bowed their heads. It seemed to me that our time spent praying for them really meant something to them...it wasn't a joke. It's amazing to feel the Holy Spirit at work, and to be a part of something eternal that's being done. I feel incredibly blessed that God has allowed me to be a part of the time spent in prayer with the kids today. In fact, I feel blessed to have been able to come on this trip. This was a short-term trip, and after we leave on Friday, we're gone. Those kids will stay, and they will continue living the way that they were living before we arrived. We have been able to provide for some of their material needs while we've been here, and that's awesome. I'm glad that some of those needs are being met. But even if that wasn't the case, even if all we were able to do was spend a little bit of time with them, it would have been good. These kids, they're so hungry for attention. They climb all over us when we arrive, and they don't let go. To be able to give them the kind of love from an adult that they ought to be receiving anyway, even if it's only for a short while, has been good. They need that. And I thank God that I've been able to do that for a child...to help her know that she is special, that she is worth something, and to do that just by holding her. All right, it is very late now. Good night to everyone in Jacksonville...we will all see you very soon! Sarah http://www.i58volunteers.org/winding_down.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/winding_down.php Sarah Cope Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:24:25 -0500 Hey Yall, Just wanted to give you all an update on what has been going on for us the last couple of days. We spent the weekend in Ndola, a town about an hour and a half south of where we are staying. Ndola is a bigger city and some of the areas there are really nice. We stayed in a bed and breakfast place that was in a neighborhood that looked like it could have been suburban Anytown, USA (except for all the potholes in the road). It was really nice there though. We spent Saturday in a community named "Overspill." It was named that because they ran out of houses and had to build more. Zambians often aren't really creative with naming things, but they sure are accurate. Anyway, we were there all day and had our Stop the Spread meeting under a little tent while Dr. Thinus had a meeting with a bunch of pastors inside the church. The location of all this was on top of a hill and looking out off it, you could see into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Which of course did not look any different from Zambia, but it is one of those things that is cool for some reason even though I couldn't really say why. Our meeting was attended by about 15 youths from the church and one town drunkard who was fairly disruptive at several points during the meeting but what can you expect from someone that is wasted at 10am. Chris took that guy under his wing and wound up praying with him and giving him his flip flops. Good stuff. I was proud. STS recently hired a Zambian guy named Henry to be the full time coordinator of the program. Henry basically ran the meeting and we provided a little assistance. Sarah put together some short skits and the team did a great job performing them. It was a good day all around. Sunday, we got to visit a Vineyard church in Ndola. This was actually my first time to a Vineyard in Africa and it was absolutely amazing. It just felt like home. I have not felt that in any of the other churches I have been to. Everybody on the team said the same thing. The worship was amazing and the pastors (they have 3 on staff) were all really great. Sam did an awesome job sharing his testimony. He is becoming more and more of a public speaker...even though he would deny it to the end. I got to preach and it just felt real good. I have a love/hate relationship with preaching. I hate the stress of preparing it and wondering if you are getting ready to speak the word of God or if you are just about to run your own mouth so you can listen to the sound of your own voice for a while. I hate having expectations (my own) of what a successful message sounds like or what the results of it should be. I also hate the question of whether I am doing this for God or so that people will think I am a good person. But, I love doing it nonetheless. I love knowing that I can make a difference. I love knowing that God can speak through me. I love knowing that at times, he has spoken through me. I hate falling into the trap of thinking that it is me that is making the difference in peoples lives, and not God. I hate my tendency to be results driven with it, but I really do love it. It is definitely a niche for me. On top of having a really good experience on Sunday, I am going to be spending the next couple of weeks after the team leaves, in Ndola, working with that church. I am really looking forward to it. I will keep you all posted. The next couple days, we will be wrapping up our VBS with the kids at Murundu. We bought a bunch of clothes and shoes and will be giving that stuff out on Wednesday afternoon. That should be fun. Please pray for us. We are all really tired and several of us don't feel well. It is nothing too serious at the moment, we are just run down. We need a little boost to make it through the next couple of days. Talk to you later, dave http://www.i58volunteers.org/the_weekend.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/the_weekend.php Dave Lashbrook Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:32:25 -0500 God is good all the time. We are the bad ones, and that is why that statement at times may not seem true. Here in Zambia, we pick up orphans all day. They sneeze on their hand and then come running up to you, expecting you to hold it. I just smile and look up to God and laugh, after the initial cringe. Orphan snot appears to be on a whole new level compared to people snot. It just grosses me out more, but you laugh and play and sing songs all day. They are great (the kids), if you are tired and sick and lazy. You can pick one up, for many are quite small, and just hold them. There is something very special about holding a young orphan in your arms and praying for them. Love is felt there. It is a special kind of Love, which I wish I perceived more. I am very tired. But I suppose if I had just got done hiking ten miles through a desert. I would be much more tired than I am now, so that makes me think I am really not that tired now. My head hurts a little, but that too is a passing frivolity. (Thought- If I assume that pains to the body are of minor notice, does that mean I count pleasures to the body of a similar minor notice. New Thought- Are pleasures to the body of any real concern. Certainly severe pains to the body are of need; they let us know something is wrong. Something needs to be corrected, made right, so we can go on living the way we should. Now pleasures, are they opposites of pains? Entirely different than a warning notice of some necessary correction? Are they then a notice of something done correct. A sort of message that says, “Hey Chris, you are doing everything right. This is why you are experiencing this, Keep at it.” A beautiful sunrise, a delightful meal (after a long hard days work might I add), sensual enjoyment. Are these gifts for behaving correctly? I don’t know.) Where was I? Oh, yes. Writing about how tired I was. I’m o.k. I suppose because I’ve never really endured real suffering, physically, that I call this physical suffering. For is not our greatest moment of pain used, or which should be used, to measure our current status? It should be. Or it helps me. Whenever I am tired of running, I think to how in lifeguard training they made me run far beyond what I thought I was capable of running. This experience of immense pain was groundbreaking distances for me, so whenever I now run, it is a piece of cake compared to that lifeguard running experience at Huguenot Park. However, as that memory is becoming more faded, I am becoming less concerned with how it felt then, and more concerned with how I feel now. It is good to be pressed to your limits and then beyond, in order to know you can do it right now. You have already overcome that thought, that doubt, Can I really make it? Once you know you can really make it. You can run the race with ease, even though you are still suffering. The ease on your mind is indescribably important when you are facing tough situations. It allows you to do it with peace. You get used to the suffering where it does not bother you anymore, and in time the suffering seems to decrease and greater enjoyment is found in the midst. I can compare knowing, without any hint of doubt, that you can make it with trusting Jesus Christ. When you are really trusting Him, not just a little bit or a lot, but with all of your heart and not depending on your own understanding, I find I am able to have great peace inside of me. Now, if you trusted God 100% there would be no room for doubt. No room for error. There would be no uncertainties and absolutely no worries. This would be wonderful to live like this. No worries about tomorrow. For tomorrow will work itself out because God is taking care of it. Now I do not mean being lazy, oh course you work as hard as you can. But seek the Lord in all you do and He will direct your paths. Now, if we all really trusted God, 100%, we would have great eternal peace because there would be no anxieties within us. :) Wouldn’t that be nice? Well that is the way God intended us to go through life. Trusting Him. Really trusting Him. Not just saying we do, but really trusting Him and having no doubts in the back of our minds because we know God has got it. Well, I have tasted that from time to time and would like to Live my life like that. I think it all starts with fearing the LORD, and that starts with gaining wisdom, and that starts with reading Proverbs everyday like a good little boy and growing up to be Christ like. A Christian. A real Christian. Not a lazy, insecure, doubting, feeble Christian. (I direct all of these comments on me, please do not feel that I am projecting this to the outside world, though I do believe there are similarities here and there and I am not alone in this.) Trusting in the power of God. Not thinking we are like God and can do his job. Believing that He will take care us, and that He will really do it. That is neat. That is how I want to Live. I’m working on it. Are you?? God’s so cool. Infinite He is. Endless topics of conversation and endless areas of Life. All is well in God’s hands. I am very glad to be there once again. Is escape possible?? I won’t get into that. Goodnight. I Love Y’all. Take care, Chris http://www.i58volunteers.org/thoughts_from_chris.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/thoughts_from_chris.php Chris Reeves Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:30:26 -0500 Hello everyone, Just a quick note tonight to let you know what is going on. Tomorrow we will head to a town (Ndola) about an hour and a half south of where we are staying. We will be there Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we will be doing a youth rally geared towards HIV prevention. This is tied into a lot of the work I have been doing here the past couple of years, but it is not something that we as a team have prepared for at all. The opportunity just got handed to us and so we are doing our best to roll along with it. The team has been really great about being willing to jump in even with next to no notice. They all rock and have been doing a great job this whole time. Sunday, we will be visiting the Vineyard church in Ndola. They are a church of a couple hundred...and I will be preaching. I don't think I have preached in front of that many people before. Should be fun. Then, in the afternoon, we will be repeating our HIV prevention rally for the Vineyard's youth group. Anyway, you won't hear much from us for the next couple of days and we won't be answering the phone either. Please pray for us as we travel and also as we try to jump in and do a good job with some ministry stuff that we aren't really prepared for. Love you all. --dave http://www.i58volunteers.org/off_for_the_weekend_still_working_just_somewhere_else.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/off_for_the_weekend_still_working_just_somewhere_else.php Dave Lashbrook Fri, 20 Jul 2007 15:38:51 -0500 I wrote a poem the other day. Before it was over the wind blew it away. I was not sad because the paper was gone. For if you listen, my heart still beats this song. Thum duddle le dum dum. Thum duddle le dum dum. The ants go marching one by one. Hoorah!! Hoorah!! The ants go marching one by one. Hoorah!! Hoorah!! They carry the people over the hill. Who knows what happens? Nobody will. And the ants go marching on. Dun nuh nuh. The ants go marching three by three. Hoorah!! Hoorah!! The ants go marching three by three. Hoorah!! Hoorah!! The birds can no longer see the sea. The ants have carried it away to me. And the ants go marching in on. Dun dun da. And the ants go marching four by four. HooRah!! Hoorah!! The ants go marching four by four. Hoorah!! Hoorah!! And over the hill once again. The splendour and thrills not known to men. And the ants go marching on. Dun da dun! Oh how silly the rainbows are when the get together and drink their tea. My, My, my mother always said. Africa is great. My sanity, more or less, but the trip is going on quite nicely. I never know what to write when I get on to these silly things, so I wrote what first came to mind. Undoubtedly, I have been graced by the Muse. But I can not brag. NO! For I have done nothing to earn this. It is a free gift from up above for the world around me. No need to thank me. Thank Heaven for the wonderful things of your life. That is where they come from. Not your silly toiling and excessive hard work, but from God above. If only we stopped to believe this, we might enjoy life a bit more. We might be a bit more successful at enjoying Life. However, if you do do a quite successful duty with your daily duties. My apologies. I simply reflected my own feelings on to the whole of humanity, and I realise that their might be several of you out there who will read this and quite possibly be offended because your daily living exceeds my jeering and therefore are not inclined to these words I say; so, if that is you. I’m sorry. My comments are only intended to those with likemindedness, so beware unless the pigeon lays an egg. And out pops a rhinoceros!! I’m losing it. It’s late. Excuses excuses cloud my brain. Perhaps I will see the correct road when the fog is gone. Or can the only escape come from when we stumble upon the correct trail and are then lifted above this pending danger?? I don’t know. I do know we have a guide who will help us to the right direction, whether we see it or not. One day all things will be made clear. Do we have to die first?? And here I find a new dilemma. I wanted to add a note at the bottom which said -Dave, if you post this please do not spell check any changes. Now. If I wrote this entirely for myself. Which at times I thought I did, quite proudly, for I often fear what people think of myself. Now, if you were to speelcheck it and put forth a similar but different display than I produced, Why should I care? for I am writing for myself and not for the sake of others. With this I leave it. I have written my blog. I have spelled out delightful tid bits of my own mind. And I have shared it with the world, or a much smaller section which matters much more to me. I am finished. Goodnight. http://www.i58volunteers.org/how_could_you_title_this_blog.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/how_could_you_title_this_blog.php Chris Reeves Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:40:29 -0500 Hello Everyone, I would like to quickly give you all a description of Murundu Village and fill you in on a couple of statistics that I found very interesting. Murundu is a collection of small, one room houses. On average I would guess that they are about 150-200 sq ft. That is one room that is 10'X20' and there could easily be 7-10 people living in one of them and sleeping on the dirt floor. The homes are constructed from bricks made from clay right there in the village, and the mortar is also mixed right there as well. The roof is either thatched or made from corrugated steel. The cost of building one of these is less than $75 for materials. Once built, one of these homes should last about 20 years before the bricks break down. Few of the homes have electricity and almost none have their own plumbing. Bush toilets are pretty standard and are made by digging a hole and surrounding it with a wall made by tying bunches of reeds together. (Our girls are not real big fans of the bush toilet...and for that matter, neither are our guys.) There is a good public water supply, but there is a small charge (literally pennies) for that water, so many of the locals get water from shallow wells that are tainted from all of the aforementioned bush toilets. Murundu is home to about 20,000 people. 50 people in the village have formal employment. Yes, that is correct. The remaining 19,950 survive through subsistence farming and selling charcoal. They make the charcoal by cutting down trees and burning them partially, then putting the fire out, cutting it up and carrying bundles of it in to town on their backs or on a bicycle. There is pretty serious deforestation in populated areas as a result of this. Whatever approach they take to earning a little money, all of them are just barely getting by. Many cannot afford to send their kids to school. The public school fees for elementary school for a year are about $17 and the school uniforms cost $9-$15. There is a school in Murundu that is not government sponsored that was started by the community about 9 years ago. I visited there today. There are 514 students and 5 teachers. None of the teachers is paid a salary. Two of the teachers live in Mufulira (about 5 miles away) and they pay their own transportation to and from Murundu each day to work for free. The school was started by the community so that they could eliminate the requirement of uniforms and reduce the costs to parents. Many of the kids attending there are barefoot and their clothes are really torn up. The up side is that just recently they administered the Zambian 7th grade standardized exam and 100% of their students passed it. Today, there were only three teachers for the 514 students because the two in Mufulira did not have the $1 to pay for transportation. The guy we have been working with here, Pastor Joseph has 56 orphans that he is currently feeding. Today, I went with him and paid the school fees for 21 orphans. Thanks to all of you who made it possible for that to happen. I was also able to give some money to the community school to help with supplies and transportation costs for the teachers. Tomorrow we will be purchasing material for Joseph's wife to uniforms for the kids. We should be able to cover school expenses for all of Pastor Joseph's kids through December. One of the things that has surprised me is that almost all of these kids has somewhere to stay at night. (By the way, in Murundu, population 20,000 there are between 3000 and 4000 orphans.) I asked Joseph on our first day there how many of the kids were sleeping on the streets and he said there were 3 that he knew of and had taken in. They were all teenagers. One of the really cool things about African culture is that there is a sharing mentality and most of the kids are at least given a roof to sleep under. Now, I should tell you that they may be sleeping on a dirt floor with no blanket, but so are most of the people living in Murundu. While I was running around and doing that stuff, the team had their hands full with the kids playing games and sharing the gospel with them. When I got back, we went and had lunch and after lunch had hygiene 101 with a bunch of the orphans. The first lesson was bathing and the use of soap. The second lesson was first aid for cuts. Basically that consisted of telling the kids not to shove a handful of dirt in a wound to make it stop bleeding (a common practice). Last, how to make a toothbrush from the branch of a type of tree that grows in the area. Pastor Joseph did the last bit, because I have no idea how to do that. Following the lessons, we had bath time for anyone who wanted one. Sarah and Kelly took the girls into the house and helped them and us guys stayed outside and had quite a wild time. We had a 10 gallon bucket, a washcloth, four bars of soap, and suddenly a bunch of naked Africans. The kids were overjoyed at the whole procedure and made the most of it. Our intention was to kind of just facilitate the thing, but their intention was for us to fully administer the bath...which we did, with the exception of insisting that certain areas were not going to be washed by us. They were really dirty and I have no idea how long it had been since their last contact with water, let alone soap. Washing their feet was really sad. Their skin was so dry and cracked that the only thing I can compare it to is an elephant's skin. It is the product of walking around in clay and dirt with no shoes on and never bathing. They were thrilled at the attention and being clean. I can't imagine being 3 or 4 and not having someone to do that stuff for me. One of the boys came back for a second bath right after he dried off from the first one. Another little one, after his bath, took his clothes and put his socks and shoes on and that was it. After a little while he surrendered and added the pants and shirt. Tomorrow we are going to give them their very own soap. That is all for now. It is late and I should get to bed. Keep us in your prayers. It is hard to know where to start sometimes when the problems are so big and overwhelming, but just about that time, one of the little guys grabs your hand and motions for you to pick him up and you have to realize that whatever it is you were trying to do, it isn't nearly as important as you thought. So, you grab his hands and spin him around until you both fall down and then five others jump in the mix and for just a few minutes, no one is thinking about whose parents are dead or which one of the kids might have HIV or where dinner will come from and the laughter is pure and sincere and begins to grow real good things in everyone's soul. Sendemenipo (goodnight), dave http://www.i58volunteers.org/murundu.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/murundu.php Dave Lashbrook Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:14:12 -0500 Monday, July 16, 2007 Today was a very good day. It went perfect in fact, flawless. I love so much to spend time with those kids. They just play and play and they’re all smiles. Today it was my turn to teach the little ones. I had to teach them about Jesus today. Now I went into this thinking “ oh man this will be a cinch” but oh how I was wrong. Imagine trying to teach a bunch little kids who don’t speak English. Now imagine teaching something as complicated as Jesus in 15 to 20 sentences with no big words. It proved to be a little harder than I thought. But it turned The thing I’ve focused the most on this trip is being love to those kids. I want to embody the gospel and be what love should be for these kids. The lord has blessed me so much and has filled me love and joy and now I pour that out on these children. I doubt that these kids will remember what we talked about this week but what they will remember is how a bunch of crazy white people came and loved the heck out of them. That is my mission. I think I should tell you about a little boy named John. John is about 6 and he is one of the most beautiful little boys I have ever seen. His smile is infectious and those little eyes just warm my soul. John clings to me, he like a little monkey and he even climbs me like a tree. This kid John makes me so happy but at the same time very sad. You see he and his brother live with their aunt, their parents have both died. John deserves everything; he is innocent yet he is trapped in absolute poverty. Its times like these that I ask God, why. I’ll never understand why such a beautiful person must suffer like John does. All I can do is trust God and carry on doing what I’m here to do. So I’m going to love the snot out of that little boy and trust him to God. http://www.i58volunteers.org/day_6_really_day_8_but_we_skipped_a_couple.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/day_6_really_day_8_but_we_skipped_a_couple.php Michael Bell Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:44:16 -0500 Hi to everyone! The kids today were very good- it is always good when we see them. Today we got a chicken from Pastor Joseph. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to kill and cook the chicken. We named her Henrietta. We walked around the market today while we were waiting for Dave and Dr. T to finish up the STS leadership training for the day. While we were at the market, we saw the group of Americans we planned to have dinner with the night before. It did not work out last night, so we had them over for dinner tonight. We had steak (from a butcher where they sawed the meat off of the leg!), sausage, salad with bannanas, and mashed potatoes. Friday afternoon, Dave and I helped out a kid who is about 3 years old who had a nasty cut on his hand and a few on his face. We cleaned the cuts and bandaged the one on his hand. He cried from the sting of the alcohol. I felt heart broken because no one had did anything for his cuts. 3 hours later another kid was playing football and he cut his foot about 3 times and blood was going down his feet. Sam and I cleaned it up with alcohol and water and put a bandage on it. We cuts a pinky from the glove and put it on his toe over the bandage. When I think about what God thinks of this, I know he is happy we are spending time with His children and saying yes to what he wants us to do and not saying no. Please pray for us...for all seven of us to have a nice experience in Africa for the last 2 weeks and for the children to have food, water, and new clothes, new shoes, and a relationship with Jesus. Thank you for supporting us while we are in Africa. love, Joseph http://www.i58volunteers.org/day_5.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/day_5.php Joseph McIlroy Sun, 15 Jul 2007 02:53:48 -0500 Dave just informed me that today was Friday the 13th, so it should go without saying that today was an interesting day. To kick off the day, we were without running water; vaguely familar to our present situation. We spent the morning in Murundu with the orphans and village children, which once again was exhausting and wonderful. These kids are simply beautiful and each time one of them comes and holds my hand, I swear my heart sinks deeper and deeper into this land. At 1:00 PM we were to be in Kitwe to meet with the STS club at Chibote girls high school (where Dave, Chris, and I spent the majority of our time last year), but a lovely immigration officer at a police checkpoint just outside of Mufulira delayed us with demand after demand for documentation. After turning over our passports, visas, invitation letters and sitting in the sun for a frustrating two hours, we were finally released to go to Kitwe. It was awesome to see some familiar faces at Chibote. Then we were off to the Ndola airport to pick up the elusive missing luggage. We spent about 3 hours sitting in the parking lot (maybe more), while Dave and Dr. T searched for luggage that had arrived, had not yet arrived, was lost, was misplaced, went missing, and then finally was found all within an airport the size of a jumbo jet. In the end we recovered two of the missing bags but we are still missing Dave's guitar. But happily Michael finally has some clean clothes of his own to wear(and there was much rejoicing). I'm truly blessed to be back in Zambia. In the run-up to this trip, I had my doubts about what exactly we would be doing and what we might be able to accomplish here. I've heard the whispers of these questions here, but I know better from my past experiences in India. I know that more than anything we are able to tell these kids, more than how cool our program might be, the most important thing is simply loving on these beautiful kids. We get to vessels of God's love and there’s nothing better or more important than that. Please pray that day after day we might be re-energized, re-focused, and re-motivated; so we can continue to be poured out for these kids, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Once again its past midnight here and we get to sleep in to 6:30 before starting all over again, so good night. Lesa Alumbwe (Praise the Lord) ~ Sam http://www.i58volunteers.org/day_4_friday_the_13th_lives_up_to_its_reputation.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/day_4_friday_the_13th_lives_up_to_its_reputation.php Sam Stafford Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:23:59 -0500 Hello Friends and family! Thank you again SO much for all of your prayers, encouragement & support. I hope and pray you all are doing well. We are doing very well here. Thank You, God!! When we arrived only 3 of our bags did not come in, which is less than what could have happened, considering all of our flight changes, etc. It looks like we will have those 3 back tomorrow (Dave's guitar, Michael's personal bag, & a team bag)...but we still have to collect it, so we'll let you know when it gets here! =) Well, it is 11:09 pm here and I'm quite tired and we have a busy day ahead of us for tomorrow, so I'm sorry to say, but I will have to make this short. (For those of you who know me, know that this is a good thing as I am quite detailed and could types and talk forever once i get started!) So..today - we officially started our VBS program with the the orphans we are here to love on. The lesson today was on how God created everything and that we are made in God's image/likeness. We had mirrors for the kids to see themselves as made in God's image and to draw self portraits. Some of the drawings were really good! They all wanted to show us "muzungus" (white people - originally meant to be amazed, or amazement thing) their picture and wanted to hear us say, "Bweeno" (good, vbery nice). 2 things really stood out to me. 1.) This one really pulled on Sarah's heart as well - a little girl today was really sad. The older girls were pushing her out of the way a lot and she would just start crying. At one point I noticed her crying and holding up a broken flip flop. So I fixed it and didn't think too much about it. Sarah also noticed her crying at another point and it was because of the shoe. She pointed out that these were her only pair of shoes and were even too big for her. This shoe had been fixed before with wire. Most of the other kids do not even have shoes. 2.) During the three-legged race, there was a girl who came to me and wanted me to tie the rope around she and another girl. They were about 6-8 years old. She had a baby tied with cloth to her back, so I offered to take the baby so she could play, but the baby started crying, probably b/c i'm white...another baby did that earlier to all of us. This just got to me. This YOUNG child was missing out on being a kid herself because of her responsibilities to hold her baby sister (I'm assuming). These both go along with what I was thinking about yesterday as I held a 5/6 year-old in my lap for a long time, praying protection and other things over her. I came back and started thinking alot about how the Lord is a God of justice (Isaiah 30:18) and how what I'm seeing and can only imagine about the other moments of these children's lives does not quite compare to what I understand God's justice to be. I found a verse that intrigued me: Proverbs 28:5: Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully." Then what is going on? Are people not seeking the Lord enough, or are we not responding to the understanding He is giving us? These are just a few things I am thinking and praying about. I could go on, but it is late and i've already gone on long enough! So much for making it short! But overall, the past few days have been really good. God is so good and loves these kids and each one of us so much. It sounds trite, but it is SO true! I'm feeling at home with all of the farting and the farting jokes that is going on due to 5 guys and only 2 girls on the team....a little too at home in those regards! We've had quite a bit of laughter, which is an answer to prayers! I love Dr. T., too! He's quite entertaining and I love listening to his stories and wisdom. Well, we love and appreciate all of you so much. I feel like I can feel your prayers all through out the day! Thank you! -Kelly http://www.i58volunteers.org/day_3.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/day_3.php Kelly Curtler Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:35:10 -0500 Hello Mates. The times in Africa are very good. We have yet to catch Malaria so what is there to complain about. Jesus is working already. A young man who is in a state of financial depression has been rewarded with a year’s worth of tuition. He is a good man, and a travelling actor, or once was when he was back in school. Now he spends his days washing cars in order to raise enough money to go back to school. His prayers have been answered. Thank the LORD. God is awesome. I’ve said that so much, but rarely do I ever believe it in America. Perhaps it is because we are here to serve the LORD, maybe it is the land itself, I don’t know. However, I do know that you can see God here. See him at work in such a way that you wish, you pray, that life, your life, in America would be like this. You can feel his presence when you breathe in the air. It is quite mystical. I am very glad for it. Tomorrow we “officially” begin the program. It has been a bit bumpy for our schedule, but this is Africa and schedules are more like guidelines here, :) Praise God for that. Here you must let God work, or no work will get done. You depend on Him, He shows up. Lives get changed and everyone praises God. A good way to live. I wonder if out stay was more permanent basis if things would change, as far as us depending on God. I would hope not. It is hard to say though. I have not lived here for a long time. In America we say this but, for me, it is really more of an idea than a reality. Here, you must!, or just nothing will happen. In America ‘things’ happen, but not much of lasting value is done. Only in the hands of God do people change., Oh yes, the escape of material possessions and cares is just freeing!! Completely wonderful. You should try it some time. Bloody well good for your soul. Ah, I guess this is what I’m trying to get at. Being in Africa is good for my soul. Wonderfully freeing, absolutely astonishing. Why? Why? might you ask. I presume it is because we are in the presence of the LORD, which is so rarely lived in America. We wake to be with God. We spend our days literally serving God. We come home and we worship God. Our day is spent being edified and comforted by the LORD Almighty. Wow. That is a good Life. For me, in Africa, intentions become a reality and my heart comes alive. I Love God, He is very cool. Everyone is well. Morale seems to be high. All are eager to see God work. I can’t wait for tomorrow. And Sam won’t stop tickling me! But I forgive him. It makes me smile. http://www.i58volunteers.org/day_2.php http://www.i58volunteers.org/day_2.php Chris Reeves Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:32:11 -0500 Hey Everyone, I am writing this from Dr. Thinus's house in Mufulira, Zambia. It is now 6:10 local time, which is about six hours ahead of Jacksonville time. Our travel to Zambia went fairly smoothly. We arrived at the Jax airport at about 4:30am on Sunday and our flight took off at 6:20. After that, time lost all relevance. By the time that we reached Dr. Thinus's house, I had stopped even wondering what time it was. Today, our first day here, is no different. I think it's interesting how, when one is taken from one's daily life, abstract concepts like time suddenly lose importance. I've been in this position before -- not caring about time. I like it. It's refreshing to measure the day with events rather than hours. We were planning to get started in Murundu right away. Today was to be the first day of our Gospel presentation. However, after our long trip and getting home very late last night, we modified the plan a bit. We decided to catch up on our rest today and begin tomorrow instead. This turned out to be a good thing because it gave us a chance to see the village this afternoon, find out where we'd be holding our two weeks of ministry, meet some of the kids, and also find out what some of their immediate material needs are. Seeing the village for the first time was a little difficult. I've been to third world nations before, and you sort of get used to the kinds of