"I have come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10
FINALLY! The day was finally here for me to meet my 10 girls! I was giddy with excitement, and it wasn't from the ice cold shower I had, either. (Actually, I did have about 1 minute of scalding hot water before it turned ice cold, but hey, "this is Africa" - what do I expect?)
But you know what? God sure has a sense of humor. After all this waiting, we didn't get to meet our kids right away on Monday morning. No, the ministry felt it was important (and they were right!) for us to go tour the city and see some of these compounds and slums that our children were coming from. The tour guide for my bus was a man by the name of Clay Hughey, a staff member with Family Legacy.
Admitedly, I am an observer of people. I try not to be judgemental, really I do. But I can't help but form evaluations on people based on what I observe. The old saying "actions speak louder than words" is true, and after spending part of my week as an eye-witness to the great Clay Hughey, I must say that I hold nothing but high respect and deep regard for this man and his family. They don't just spend the summers doing CAMP LIFE in Zambia. No, they live there full time. You see, I had "known" Clay's name over the years. I have done countless tickets for him. It wasn't his wealth of knowledge about Zambia, and it wasn't his rather quick wit. No, what impressed me about Clay was his compassion and wisdom in helping make key decisions for the ministry to catapult the welfare of the orphan child. Did you catch that? It wasn't to catapult the ministry. God is using Clay in an incredible way, and Amber and I were blessed to have him as our tour guide for the morning. Props to God, and props to Clay for allowing himself to be used in such a mighty way!
As we entered a compound called Chaisa, I could hear a few gasps from some who were perhaps on their first ever mission trip. Sites like this are not easily forgotten. For me, It reminded me a lot of the barrios in Barranquilla, Colombia -- with one exception. Although the homes seemed similar in structure, the number of small children walking around alone was alarming. On top of that, as Clay gave us the facts on the orphan situation, the number of people that live in the homes is probably twice as many as what I have seen in Colombia. As we learned, it's not uncommon for 12 people to live in a two room shack. We even drove through an area that had recently flooded, but prior to that, the homes were made of plastic garbage bags. Forget the "rooms" - there were no "rooms."
One major component of reaching the orphan children of Zambia and changing the cycle of poverty is through education, and Family Legacy is now the largest private provider of education in the entire country. They call their schools Lifeway Christian Academies, and we were able to tour the LCA in the compound of Chaisa. This particular school has an incredible God-story behind it. You see, in that very spot in Chaisa, there once stood a bar that until Family Legacy purchased the property, housed a brothel. However, the owner of the bar passed away, and his family couldn't agree on what should be done with the property, so the courts ordered it to be sold. Family Legacy was in the right place at the right time. It was God's time. Clay told us about how he went to view the property the first time, and he showed us the rooms that once housed a mattress and a woman, "open and ready for business.' Today, this same property is not only providing a sound education for orphans, it's also teaching them that Jesus is THE WAY, the one and only way!
After the tour of the city and the compounds, it was time. It was finally time to meet the 10 girls that God had entrusted to me for the week. I had butterflies in my stomach, the same kind you get when you go on a first date. (Yes, it's been a long time since I had a "first date" but I still remember what they feel like - that's a feeling you never forget!)
The moment was here, and as I met each girl, I put my hand on their shoulder, their back, their head. I looked them in the eyes and told them I loved them. I told them I didn't know their name or even what they looked like before that day, but I had been praying for them for months. The emotions I felt were unexpected. With a few, I swelled up with tears as I told them these words. I felt an immediate love for them. With a few others, I silently prayed, "I hope I can learn to love this girl, but God, she just looks so unloveable!" Yes, that's the human in me being completely honest. Some of these girls were dirty. Very dirty. Some really didn't smell good, either. And as I walked down the row and gave a personal greeting to each girl, I remembered what Greer asked us to pray, "Lord, let me love this child the way You love them." And somehow God's peace started to take over that anxiety and pressure on me to love them. I didn't have to do anything. God would do it. And He did. He did that and so much more.
Ten precious girls, all lined up from shortest to tallest. Each adorned with a beaded necklace with their name on it - necklaces they had made before I arrived at CAMP LIFE. The first was Memory. Yes, that was her name, and it wasn't very hard to remember, either! Next was Nephie. I learned later that Nephie used the letter "I" instead of the letter "L" by mistake when she made her necklace, and then on top of that, she spelled her name wrong. In actuality, her name was Nephel, but when she made her necklace, it came out "Nephie." She looked like a Nephie, and from that point on, with her permission, that was her name. "Nephie" fit her well, too. The next little girl I met was Ireen. As I met each girl, I tried to make mental notes about them so I could remember their names. I was planning on taking pictures of each one and then studying their faces (and necklaces) that night. Ireen's eyelashes were long and mangled with dirt and grime. That was my reminder. Eye-reen. Then Edina. When I met Edina, I wondered what her story was. I could barely get a smile out of her. She was going to be a tough nut to crack, for sure. Or so I thought. Stella (tight braids, angled to the left). Agness (Scar over her left eye). Jane (Tight braids straight back). Esther (Big eyes, shy). Felistus (Big gap in her teeth). And then finally Catherine, Catherine with a beautiful,contagious smile and a matching scar on her forehead, just like I have. :) (What can I say? I'm visual!)
These were the 10 girls God had entrusted to me to pour myself into for a week of CAMP LIFE, and somehow I knew that by the end of the week, CAMP LIFE would be a reality for them. In our orientation, Greer told us that some of our kids would literally be like "the walking dead." He told us some would come to CAMP LIFE without life or purpose. I was trusting God that none of them would ever be "walking dead" again!
(I didn't realize until Tuesday or Wednesday that the settings somehow got changed on my camera, causing every picture from the first two days of CAMP LIFE to be terrible. But, hey, at least I have "grainy" pictures that look like they were taken with a 100 year old camera! ...and most importantly, I have memories! I just wish I could share those memories more vividly!)
After we all tried to get to know each other a little, it was time for BIG GROUP session. This is where we all go to the Legacy Center, sing and dance (and for me, look like a fool while singing and dancing), listen to "Uncle Greer" teach, and then watch a skit that closely models the horrific life that some of these orphan children live on a daily basis. Since I had older girls, my group was positioned in the very back of the room. "Uncle Greer" taught from Romans 10 about having the power of God in your life. "You must hear the Word of God; you must understand the Word of God; you must believe in your heart; and you must speak the Word of God." Four simple and direct points with hand motions to help them remember. Up until that week, I had only known the "business Greer", but I must say I definitely like the "Uncle Greer" a lot, too! It was so cool to see the other side of the founder of the ministry, the one that loves and cares so much for these children!
After the skit and one more song, it was time for "small group." During small group, I felt very strongly that I should share the Gospel again to be sure they all understood what it meant to accept Christ. I shared my testimony and how my mom had shown me how to become a Christian when I was a small child. I shared Scripture verses with them and just spoke from my heart. Talking about the Lord truly is one of my favorite things to do, and if you know me, just like in this blog, I can go on and on! (Hey, I like to share details! It's the details that make you feel a part of the story, right?)
Anyway, after I was sure that I had explained everything as best I could, I asked the girls if they would like to pray and ask God to come into their lives, forgive them of their sins, and commit their life to Him. Then my Zambian partner Magdalene took over and led some of the girls in a prayer. I started to get goosebumps when I heard them pray. It truly was child-like faith, and as they prayed, I asked God to let this be real in their lives.
Timing is everything, you know, and apparently, I'm not very good at it. Just as the girls were finishing up their prayer, the music came on and announcements started being made about it being time to go home. "The Wheels on the Bus" song blared, and commotion began, There I was, going from a mountain-top high to a super-low emotional moment. You see, one of the things I am so cautious about when it comes to children and salvation is making sure they understand. My heart dropped that there was no immediate follow-up with those that prayed a few moments earlier. I didn't even know WHO prayed that prayer! I didn't know anything. Then God quickly reminded me that He had it all under control - every word I said, the timing, and every prayer that was uttered. I didn't need to know. (More on that in future blogs!)
All 10 of my girls and 10 of Amber's girls were from the same compound - Chainda. As we waited for their bus to arrive, Memory clung to me as if she was my own child and I'd known and loved her my whole life. I grabbed my camera and snapped a picture,
Although she's looking right at the camera, I don't think she had any idea I even took a picture. She was just holding on to me and rocking back and forth. Little Memory. Cute as a bug, and there were times during the week that she had the entire group crying because of the funny things that came out of that little mouth. To say she was a spitfire is an understatement!
As I have mentioned before, Zambia has more oprhans per capita than any other country in the world. Over 1 million. Like me, you might ask "why"? Well, with Monday's CAMP LIFE in the books, we were about to find out one of the biggest reasons. We rode the bus back to the hotel for dinner and our team meeting, then we were told that all "first timers" to CAMP LIFE needed to stay after dinner and watch a documentary film by Sorious Samura. It was called "Living with AIDS," and it was filmed there in Zambia.
HIV/AIDS truly is epidemic in Zambia. Many of the children who live at the ministry's Tree of Life Village are HIV positive. The average lifespan in Zambia is only 38 years old, and people are both reproducing and dying en mass. There is such a stigma with the disease that many will refuse to be tested, or if they do get tested, they will not tell their family, for fear of being eternally shunned.
The documentary focuses much on so called "safe sex" but even more so, it really uncovers why the disease is still claiming so many lives and leaving so many orphans. (The documentary is almost an hour long, but the video embedded here is about 11 minutes long. If you have time to watch even those 11 minutes, you'll get a good understanding of the situation. If you can find the entire documentary somewhere, I would encourage you to watch the whole thing.)
The documentary also shed new light for me on just what children experience there in Zambia. Think about it. Most live in a one or two room home with anywhere from 6 to 8 to 12 or even more living there. The children grow up being exposed to sex from the time they are babies. There is no privacy, and there is nothing done behind closed doors. Urges are acted upon with whatever warm body, willing or unwilling, that is available. And the disease spreads. And the children lose their moms. And they lose their dads. And many of them are left with nothing. Nothing but the disease themselves, passed on from childbirth.
Daunting is not the word to describe the reality of the situation. Haunting is a more accurate description. Amber had terrible nightmares that night. She dreamed that she went to CAMP LIFE the next day and some of her girls had passed away, leaving Amber to carry the bodies in her backpack all day. I don't say that to be grotesque or macabe. The situation is just that dark. The film did the job intended - it brought the reality of the situation in Zambia, the reality of the "life" these children face on a daily basis to the forefront of my understanding.
John 10:10 says that Jesus came so we will have life - LIFE ABUNDANT. That's what CAMP LIFE is all about, so the "walking dead" can find new life in Christ. Some of my girls had done just that on Monday during small group time - they had made a decision to start living the abundant life in Christ!
Truly, it was an emotionally packed day. As Boulder and I layed down, I asked the Lord again to give me His heart for my girls. How I wanted them each to know what it means to truly experience an abundant life in Christ, regardless of their lack of earthly riches. I knew He would be faithful. He always is. Besides, it's called CAMP LIFE for a reason.
---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com