2013 Zambia Blog Update

We just finished our debrief for today, Tuesday April 23rd. We lead a day camp in Teta - a small village in the bush. We worked with 23 orphans that the little church takes care of. This is the same church that we put on the steel roof for in 2010.

The kids started out very distant, but by lunch time they were having a blast. Some very cool ministry happened today as the team worked together really well. Brandi is doing an amazing job directing the camp. Jack shared Christ today, Josh led games, and Tim and Nicole led worship and everybody had a part. It's amazing to see how God uses each person in their gifting.

It's a blast to see God at work. Tomorrow we take these kids to a local park with a waterfall. Then Thursday, our camp begins in Serenje.

- John Alford -

4/23/2013

Pictures from Zambia 2012

Please visit the following website to look at pictures from this year's trip! 


http://zambia2012.shutterfly.com/


Zambia 2012 Team

Zambia Update

Our team had a great day and an amazing night.

I had a chance to interview Chalwe, an orphan at the Hope Center.  He
was the initial student enrolled in the Back to School Program.  He
told me he wanted to go to school so he could get a job and support
his sister.   When his father died, they were split up and he has not
seen her in a while.   Pretty moving to see this 13 year old's eyes
well up with tears as he is sharing about his life.

And then tonight we had a devotional gathering with the pastors and
their wives.  Pastor Edwin of Teta church shared his testimony and
then one of our team shared as well.  What was supposed to be one
closing song turned into about 15 songs of loud, joyful praising as
the Zambian believers took turns leading a song.   Though there is
only about 30 of them...it sounded like 500.   What a privelidge to be
surrounded by Zambian believers singing praise to God in their native
language!

- Zambia Team -

Zambia Team Update

Yesterday, we began by joining the pastors and their wives for their morning devotion. Words cannot describe how amazing it is to pray with them and listen to them worship God. We then journeyed to Teta to do vacation Bible school with the children there.   As a craft, we did coloring sheets and made colorful crosses that they can hang as ornaments.  The orphans are so poor that these simple things captivate them.  Even the older children love to use crayons to color pictures.  Jack Archer shared the gospel complete with object lessons.


It was clearly evident they enjoyed the time that we spent with them, because a little girl tried to get on our bus to leave with us.  Our first day of VBS at the Hope Center was cut short, but the children still enjoyed playing games and doing introductions. God is definitely moving in the hearts of the children and our team.  
 

We interviewed one of the orphans and the details of his story broke our hearts. He shared about his parents dieing, about his abusive caretaker who would beat him, and how a grandfather finally came to his rescue and got him connected to the Hope Center.   Wish you could have seen his smile as he told about how much of a difference the Hope center has made in his life.  


It is so amazing to see the passion and love the Zambians have for Christ and it has been such an inspiration to us all!


Zambia Team

Zambia Team Update

This morning we attended a special church dedication service at Teta, which is where Brookside helped build the roof. It was such a rich blessing to be sung over by 200 Zambian believers!!


Up next on the trip is a visit to Kundalila Falls with the orphans. This waterfall is only about an hour away from Serenje but many of the children have never had the chance to visit this beautiful place!!


Continued prayer appreciated to be the hands and feet of Jesus this week...

2012 Zambia Team

Zambia 2012 Update

Traveling to Zambia is always quite eventful. After traveling over 20
hours, having very tight layovers, and losing four suitcases, we
arrived in Lusaka. We did lots of things during our first morning in
Zambia. We got our food and supplies, met the Fairview Baptist team,
and got our four lost bags. After a very productive and eventful
morning we drove to Serenje. We had dinner at the Mapontella, which is
where half of the team is staying. We also got unpacked and got to bed
at about 1am.

Our first day in Serenje was GREAT! There were 4 main events:

1. We met the caretakers (Godwin and Dorene) and we met the kids! The
kids welcomed us with several songs and we also got to play some games
with them! One of the most exciting moments was during duck duck
goose…Erin had an awesome wipeout! In her defense, it was because she
was having so much fun loving the kids. Some of the men played soccer
with the boys, while most of the women played with and hugged the
kids. Everyone on our team has their own unique gifts to offer…today
we were definitely blessed with Devin’s joy, Pam’s love, and Jen
Oliver’s compassion. All three were SO evident.

2. Ketty shared with Chelsea a major prayer request. Her and Pastor
Navice’s 3-year-old granddaughter, Juanita, was severely burned last
week. Her burn is so severe that her skin burnt almost completely off
from her bellybutton down. The hospital couldn’t do anything, so she
is lying in Navice’s house in pain. Amy cut up some ibuprofen to make
it child-sized and explained how to correctly use it. Mike figured out
how to make sure the wound wouldn’t get infected. The two of them and
Marjorie went over to the house and treated the little girl as best
they could. Please pray for healing.

3. Brandi trained the rest of us for the camp. She has put SO much
work into Camp CHRISTOS and we are blessed to have her knowledge,
insight, and love on our team. We are all extremely excited to see her
planning in action with the kids. The Brookside and Fairview teams
prepared together for a skit, some games, and lots of other
activities. God is going to work in HUGE ways this week! Keep praying!

4. Pastor Navice shared his testimony. He has an amazing story about
how the Lord saved him from a life of drunkenness and anger. It was
great to listen and learn from him. His faith and joy in the Lord are
so encouraging, and what he shared was something many of us needed to
hear. It really is a delight to learn from our Zambian friends. They
have so much to teach us!

2012 Zambia Team
 

April Update

Please be praying for this spring's team as they serve in Zambia between April 23 - May 6!

The Brooksiders participating are...

Erin Achebach
Mark Adams
John Alford
Jack Archer
Carrie Bailey
Michael Bailey
Pam Bass
Susan Breese
Brandi Goeser
Jenny Hofer
Devin Holdorf
Amy Kieser
Mike Lempke
Jennifer Oliver
Chelsea Wax
Tim Wiebe


In addition to pastoral training and training of pastors wives, Brooksiders are joining members from Fairview Baptist Church in Lusaka, Zambia to give the children of the Hope Center a camp experience they will never forget. We're excited to launch a three day camp entitled 'Camp CHRISTos'! Be praying that the children are shown God's love throughout this camp experience and learn valuable lessons to strengthen their spiritual walk with Christ!

February Update

Please welcome Godwin and Doran Mwale as newly-hired staff at The Hope Center!! Godwin will be the business manager and oversee agriculture. Doran will oversee the work with the children and assist with agriculture. Also on staff is Joshua who assists with the agriculture and Chadrick who helps with facilities and agriculture.


Training for the upcoming trip begins Sunday, February 12. Please pray for this team's preparation and for God to draw His children even closer as the result of participating in this trip!

January Update

Applications for the Zambia 2012 trip are due January 29! Prayerfully consider partnering with fellow Brooksiders and our Zambian brothers and sisters to help equip pastors and extend care to the orphans at The Hope Center! This trip we're seeking to give the orphans at the Hope Center a camp experience that they will never forget!

Please scroll down to see pictures from the 2011 trip. Also, please feel free to ask questions to people who have gone on previous trips; they're more than willing to share about their experiences!

The Hope Center is currently in the process of hiring a new administrator. Please pray for the hiring process and that a strong candidate is selected who will be devoted to providing quality care for the orphans.

Please also pray for past Zambia trip member Chelsea Wax, who will be traveling with this April's team and stay for 3 months to complete an internship at The Hope Center for college graduation requirements!

November 2011 Update

Greetings,

If you’re not a follower of the Hope Center Facebook page, this post is just an update on current events and to inform you of prayer requests from our Zambian brothers and sisters.

Marjorie praises how God continues to grow the church community in Lusaka. Building expansion is still on the horizon. Join with them and pray for financial help and clear direction in this realm how best this expansion can glorify Him.

Students at the Hope Center recently received new supplies as part of the ‘Back to School’ program. Praise God for the generous gifts! May these supplies help equip these students for a successful upcoming school year!

Our dear friend, Nyawa, joyfully reported that the orchard it doing well – supplying a variety of fruits like bananas and guavas to help meet the nutritional needs of the staff and children. Pray for continued growth in the area of agriculture at the Hope Center!

Check out new pictures on the Hope Center Facebook page. Not a follower? Search Hope Center Care & EM.

Prayerfully consider joining a team of Brooksiders to the Hope Center! More information available at the following website:

http://www.brookside.net/templates/System/details.asp?id=42904&PID=721708

The proposed dates are April 16 - 29, 2012.

pics of our ministry

Islam is beginning to make in-roads in sub-sahara Africa.

This mosque was recently built in Lusaka.

There are plans for 35 more in the city!

The Multi-Purpose building

that Brookside was able to pay for in 2008.

In Lusaka, we were able to make hospital visits

to a children's cancer ward with Fairview Baptist Church.

We prayed with the families and gave them booklets about Jesus.

At the Hope Center,

the orphans are able to get

at least one good meal a day

At the end of the week,

we gave the children a folder

with all of the weeks programming in it -

including a pic of themselves with us. They loved it!

A rousing game of duck-duck goose.

A good sign of these children's progress

and health is that they now love to play!

Kids showing off their "salvation-friendship" bracelets.

Brookside was able to give each

of the 60 orphans of the HCC Serenje

and 130 orphans of their extension ministry

a blanket to keep warm as they head into their winter season.

Gift to Fairview Baptist

This was the first time a Go Team has had the opportunity to spend a couple days doing ministry in the capital city with Fairview Baptist Church with Pastor Jonathon. Jonathon is on the board of the Hope Center and pastors a young, growing and strategic church in Lusaka.

The church is working on an agreement to construct a building on the denomination's land. This land is strategically located on the city's most important road - the "Great East Road" and is only a couple blocks away from the main shopping area in the city.

The denomination has a couple office buildings on the property but has some vacant land (see the pics). The wall borders the Great East Road. Once the wall is taken down, the church will have direct access and visibility to street.

Brookside was able to gift $1000 to seed the church's building fund.

Pastor Training

(Tim Wiebe)

This is my fourth trip to Zambia, and my time here continues to be a joy. During our time in Serenje, I spent most of the week training thirteen Zambian pastors. We have been in partnership with the Hope Center for enough time that this is our second group of pastors to train; our first class of pastors graduated last Fall. I am encouraged by the leaders God is raising up to guide, shepherd, and teach His church in Zambia. The men I spent time with in the pastor training had a clear thirst for God’s Word, a heart for ministry, and were men of great character. We had seven hours each day together to work through the following classes: Genesis, The Gospel of John, and a Theology of Salvation. The pastors ask great questions that further show their desire to better understand the Bible and minister in a faithful and relevant way within Zambia.

We were also able to spend a few of our evenings in Serenje mingling with the pastors socially, and I was so thankful for the opportunity to see them interact, and chat with them more myself, in that more informal setting as well. The pastors are so grateful for the training and some resources we provide to further equip them to adequately handle God’s Word, and I know they would appreciate your continued prayers for their daily task of serving God’s church in Zambia.

Sunday 3-27

What a great trip! It's Sunday night 3-27 and we leave in the morning. We are having some problem with the internet so we hope to have our final post with pics on Tuesday afternoon when we arrive in Omaha! Check back then!

We Have Arrived!

Mulishani from Serenje, Zambia! This is Amy Kieser writing for the team. We arrived safely in Lusaka (the capital city) late Thursday night. Friday morning was spent shopping for supplies and making a trip to the airport to retrieve our lone lost duffel bag. (Those of you who have traveled to Zambia before know that losing only one is actually pretty good!) We made the six hour trek to Serenje via the Hope Center van, with John Alford providing capable (if a bit nerve wracking, at times) chauffeur duties. Our friend, Marjorie Milambo made the trip with us, and we have delighted in knowing her better and been blessed by her warmth and presence. She fits in so well with the team that we have made her an honorary “Brooksider.” We arrived after 9 pm (Zambia time) exhausted but excited for what lay ahead.

We met the Hope Children’s Center orphans on Friday. A few of the orphans were unable to come, as there is currently an outbreak of measles in the region. (This would be prayer request number one.) We had the opportunity to introduce ourselves, play with the children, figure their shirt sizes, and take their pictures so that you all can see their beautiful faces. After that, the team made its traditional trip to Kundalilla Falls, a nearby and very beautiful waterfall. (Zambia has a number of falls, and they are all at the peak of their force, as the rainy season is just winding down.)

Today (Sunday) was truly a red letter day. We had the opportunity to worship with two churches. First we visited Teta, the church on which Brooksiders put a new roof last summer. We also gave each of the 23 orphans 50 kilograms of corn, a bag of dried fish, and a warm blanket for the coming winter. As Navice Kalunga said in each of the services, the children need not fear the cold this winter because they have a warm blanket. Next we journeyed to Kamena where we made the same distribution to 107 orphans. Along with the 68 orphans in Serenje, the Hope Children’s Center is serving nearly 200 orphans in this region of Zambia. Please be in prayer for these precious children. We also worshipped in song and prayed for the orphans at both churches. There is no way to describe worship in these churches. Believe me when I tell you it is majestically ineffable.

The gratitude expressed by these churches was both humbling and gratifying. God is working in a mighty way in Zambia, and Brookside is privileged to be a part of it. This work is very close to the heart of God. (Check out James 1:27 as one of many examples.) What a joy to know that our church is part of something so near and dear to the heart of God!

Finally, please pray for us as a team. We have bonded well and are looking forward to our week of ministry to the pastors, their wives, as well as to the orphans. Pray that we will be the hands and feet of Jesus this week, and that we will convey Jesus’ love for everyone to whom we minister.

Highlights from today:
- Hearing “Bringing in the Sheaves” sung in Bemba by the congregation at Kamena. That is a hymn I remember singing in my childhood church. (Amy)
- Learning to juggle. (Chelsea)
- Playing Frisbee with the children. (Luke)
- Talking to Savior (the pastor at Kamena) and hearing how he gave his life to Christ and how God called him into ministry. (Jack)
- Experiencing my first African meal (nshima!) and holding a ten day old baby. (Carrie)
- NSHIMA! And spending time with Navice in the truck to and from the churches. (Tim)
- Touring the house of Pastor Henry at Teta, and riding in the back of the truck with new Zambian friends to and from the churches. (Nathan)
- Giving the children blankets. (Marjorie)
- Watching the orphans at Kamena receive their food and blanket, and knowing Brookside is able to provide that for the kids. (John)

The church at Teta with its new roof!

Hope Center children playing a rousing game of Duck Duck Chicken!

The team and friends in front of Kamena church!

Navice preaching at Kamena. All the children you see are orphans.

The Hope Children's Center orphans.

A little girl at Kamena sitting on her corn while holding her blanket and fish.

We've discovered that Nathan is something of a "kid magnet!"

Back in the Good Ole' USA

After an all night flight from Jo'burg, the team had an 11 hour layover in Washington, DC. As much as we miss our Zambian brothers and sister and the children, we praise God and thank Him for bringing back to American soil safely. Families and friends, thank you ALL for your prayers.....we'll be home soon.

Posted by Barbara Ihle

Look at the results of our final ministry day (Wednesday). The orphans were THRILLED!

I can honestly say this trip has not been what I thought it would be. I didn’t expect our flight to be delayed, cancelled, and rerouted. I didn’t expect to feel the fatigue and frustration that comes from not being able to sleep on a plane. I didn’t anticipate our bags being lost and not having half my clothes for 5 days. And I certainly wasn’t prepared to see the extent of the extreme poverty in Zambia.

More importantly though, I didn’t expect to be welcomed by a group of children singing beautiful music as we stepped out of our van. I was surprised as I was almost trampled when the children and adults crowded me to see a picture of themselves on the camera as they giggled and squealed. I didn’t expect to see the joy and laughter from children playing with a huge ball of duct tape. I didn’t expect my heart to melt when a little child would tug at my skirt and reach her arms upward. I didn’t expect the joy I would feel as I slipped a dirty, dusty foot into a brand new shoe. I didn’t expect to wash dishes with a homemade scrubber and water from a hose outside or to use a homemade broom made out of tree bark. I didn’t expect to jump in icy cold water which took my breath away or to eat nshima, rape, and the neighborhood chicken. And I didn’t expect to feel such a special bond with my brothers and sisters in Christ half-way around the world. But most of all, I didn’t expect to feel so blessed when I was suppose to be the one blessing!

Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”
At the beginning of this year, it wasn’t my plan to be in Africa, but now I’m here. Pastor Navice told us last night that we are not here by accident; we are part of God’s plan.
Yesterday’s verse in VBS was Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
The Lord is teaching me and I am still learning that His plan is best and that even if it’s not what I was expecting, it’s still very good!!

- Shari Holmes

Monday and Tuesday were filled with VBS programs for the orphans at HCC. The team put together a creative and exciting group of activities and crafts for the kids to learn biblical truths and stories. The children loved the high energy skits, bubble machine, super soakers, and personal love and attention.

We were blessed as they sang for us and recited dramatic poetry. Many of them have dramatically changed from our time here 2 years ago. Navice commented how at the beginning, the kids could only eat a very small amount of food. But now, they are much healthier and can really put away the enshima (corn staple), greens, and beans. It’s been thrilling to see their faces, as we give them brightly colored sandals. Most of them only have one pair of shoes for school, and they get quickly worn out.

It’s hard to believe that we only have one day of ministry left in Serenje. Praise God for answered prayer, health, and the joy of serving!

Sunday Update

We began the morning with breakfast prepared by the guys and a devotional led by Chris. He wrote this poem at Kundalila Falls yesterday, he entitled it:

The Kundalila Falls ~ Chris Ihle

In the pounding water, I listen for your voice,
In the clear pools, I look for your face.
The mist off the water refreshes my soul,
As I wait for you LORD.

What are the words you want me to hear?
What the sights you want me to see?
The mist off the water refreshes my soul,
As I wait for you LORD.

My ears are eager for your voice,
My eyes await the splendor of your beauty.
The mist off the water refreshes my soul,
As I wait for you LORD.

A pounding voice never do I hear,
Nor a vision in the pool do I see.
Yet the mist off the water continues to refresh my soul,
As I wait for you LORD.

Then I realize it was not in the pounding water,
Nor the cool clear pools,
But you were in the mist refreshing my soul.


It was amazing that only a few days ago when we visited Teta, there was just a building without a roof. By Sunday, we were all together, Zambians and Americans, worshiping in a beautiful space with a new roof. It was a humbling experience. Pastor Navice called both Dan and Aaron out to share messages with the congregation. Both messages brought tears to the team. At one point, when Dan was sharing a scripture verse from Revelation 7:9-11, he had to stop and pause as he became a bit emotional as the very thing (the Nations worshiping together) was happening in our presence.

The shoe distribution after the service went well except that we needed more of the larger sizes. It was heart wrenching for us to not have the appropriate sizes for the older children and have them do without today until we can purchase the correct shoe sizes tomorrow. We arrived at Kamena church at the end of their worship after our time in Teta. With Pastor Navice’s assistance, we all greeted and prayed for the church. We had another shoe distribution for the orphans there, nearly ninety in number. Again, we needed more of the larger shoe sizes. We will remedy tomorrow, Monday. The generosity, hospitality and gratitude of the Zambian people humbles me to the core. They have so little, and yet to “bless their church” they said, we were given a meal of nshima, rape (a green vegetable similar to kale) and chicken before we returned to Serenje.

The team is in good spirits and VBS begins tomorrow for the orphans at HCC. I believe the construction team will be beginning construction on the playground equipment, helping Joshua, HCC’s caretaker, lay brick on his house or both. Please keep the team and Zambian people in prayer....the need is great here in the rural and extreme rural.

Posted by Barbara Ihle