Zambia team head to Wangibisha.

The original plan was to leave yesterday so that’s what we wrote in the report, but the medicine took longer to get than expected.

July 5th Report

Greetings Friends and Family!

We arrived safely at the TMI base in Wangabisha! Yesterday (7/4), we woke up early to load the bus and truck to head into the bush. As we waited for the bus engine to start, the team watched a beautiful African sunrise and sang worship songs together!

Once the bags and vehicles were ready, we embarked on our four-hour drive. The team enjoyed a snack as we bounced up and down along a dusty dirt road. Everything here is dusty, especially the roadside vegetation that is orange with sediment.

The beautiful TMI base gave us a warm welcome! The many staff kids chased the bus and have loved playing games with all the team members. Although the base here is quite large with several buildings, fields, and massive termite mounds, our camp is rustic. We are sleeping in tents we brought and using thatched-walled squatty-potties.

After a delicious dinner composed of another variation of stew, we spent time having girls’ and boys’ Bible studies. It is awesome to see all the ways that God is working in us to make us more like Him! Despite not having the American comforts, we have been inspired by the incredible beauty of God’s creation here in Zambia. Indeed, we ended yesterday by gazing at more of the shimmering stars than most of us have seen in a long time!

Today (7/5), we got the privilege of attending the local Sunday service. Even though the brick church building was small, the Christians were fervent in worship and prayer in true African style. The team gave their full presentation for the first time to the congregation and did very well! The team leader, Mr. Trey, preached the sermon. Upon returning to camp, we had a slow afternoon to recover from the exhausting travel and organize ourselves for our first medical and eyeglass clinic tomorrow morning. The day ended with our regular evening team devotions and a special treat of popcorn that was popped over our fire!

We would appreciate continued prayer for wisdom and safety as we minister to many physical needs in the coming days. Additionally, please pray that God would open hearts in miraculous ways to the truth of the gospel and that his Holy Spirit would be on everything here for His glory.

7/6 Status Update

Today, the team had our first clinic operating out of one of the classroom buildings at the TMI base. Everyone did an excellent job staying organized, adapting to unexpected problems, and caring for others’ needs! We welcomed, treated, and prayed for 44 medical and 13 eyeglass patients.

Here is an outline of what everyone primarily helped with: Maddie and Enoh greeted and registered patients. Luke, Hope, Ruth, and Will identified symptoms and causes and shared the gospel. Levi, Hannah, Abi, and Ben diagnosed which reading glasses were needed. Ms. Ellie and Piper manned the pharmacy to hand out the appropriate medication and glasses. Meanwhile, Sophia, Audrie, Jesse and Kenna played with the many kids that came with their parents who needed medical care and Bethel and Rebekah helped prepare the meals.

We are headed back to the Wangibisha base so we won’t have service again for several days until we come out of that area. It is about 45 minutes away to any possible service.