5/19 Update from Elizabeth - HIV Education Program

Hi, family and friends!!!

Today was AMAZING!!! We went to Pamodzi Girls High School to run a "Fun Day" for all the students at the various high schools we have worked this week. It was wonderful to be able to invite the students from both Pamodzi and Kantashi to come and have fun with us today. A bunch of students showed up! We ran a dance workshop and outside games (soccer, team-building games, etc.). I was blessed to be able to work on the dance side with Jeremy (yeah!), Carol, Tannen, Kristin and Jessica. The dance workshop was really neat! Together we invented a really cool hip-hop piece which they loved. We then handed out 4 different colored streamers and explained the representation of each color (red = blood of Christ, blue = living water, white = holiness, gold = heaven). They then approached the Lord in worshipful dance, which was beautiful to watch unfold. After a time or two, they seemed to get the idea behind the dance and become a little more God-focused and less streamer-focused! :) We then worked on expression and dancing out our emotions. There was also Scriptural teaching in between each segment of the workshop, and I pray that the girls received it. I believe that God really showed up, and blessed the girls and let them have a few hours of uninterrupted fun! My heart about burst watching these girls dance with the streamers, which my team helped put together the week before we came to Africa (special thanks to Dave, Chris, Gary, and my whole family in Jax)!!! Stef, Dan and Jill facilitated all the outside games and did a great job. The guys and girls alike had a really fun time. Stef, Dan and Jill were also able to incorporate some lessons on teamwork through the various games. Only a few injuries occurred, and judging by the amount of sweaty, smiling students, it seemed like it was a huge success!!!

After lunch, several of us went back out to Murundu village. We were able to visit with Pastor Joseph and his wife, Hilda, and get an idea how much property the Murundu Orphan Foundation really has. It was incredible! They are already an officially recognized non-profit organization, and have in their possession quite a few hectares of land and lots of buildings (of which several are in very good condition!). It would not take much to renovate these buildings in order to expand the orphanage that Pastor Joseph already runs. It was really neat to tromp through the bush to look over the property, and brainstorm over what God could do in the future with some hard work, willing hands and passionate hearts! More on this in our prayer requests section down below!

We then toured the actual village, which literally is just that. I had not yet been there and so saw everything for the very first time! The huts were made of mud with thatched roofs. How I wish I could send you a photo! I took oodles. People were cooking over open fires, while chickens, goats, and ducks ran around everywhere. The tiny huts had only a thin cloth for a door. Children were running around in rags or were half naked, some with distended bellies. That's what makes the Moringa tree project so beautiful - that we can "be the change" towards the horrors of malnutrition. There are so many things we can do to help. Unfortunately, I want to do it all NOW - realizing, of course, that programs and projects take time to develop. :) I was reading my quiet time last night from Psalm 68. Little did I know, the Lord was preparing my heart for today! It says in verses 5-6, "A father to the fatherless and a judge and protector of the widows is God in His holy habitation. God places the solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell..."

PRAYER REQUESTS...we cannot do anything without your support!
1. Please pray for Murundu Orphan Foundation project. We have a lot of great ideas, but of course want to see what God has in mind. Opportunities abound and we would love to find out what areas YOU can get involved too! :)
2. Along those same lines, please lift up the people of the Murundu village. They have so many needs, and are literally "neighbors" to Mufalira. How can we be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to these people?
3. Please lift up Carol's health. She thinks that she might have strep, and we would like you to pray for her total healing. We have made a connection with a very kind doctor here, so she has plenty of medication but doesn't feel any better yet!
4. Stef injured herself playing soccer with the students today. Her toe received a pretty deep gash, so please pray for her healing as well (no infection!).
5. In general, please pray for the entire team as we process the conclusion of our first full week in Zambia. God has already done some remarkable things in and through each one of us. Please pray for strength and spiritual encouragement as we continue to pour ourselves out in ministry day after day. It has been an incredible journey!

Thank you and good night!
Elizabeth