In early October I had the opportunity to go back to Zambia, the second trip over there for me in 2023. However, this was my first visit after Wallace and Bertha asked Nicole and I to partner with them and help to see their dream come to fruition.
What an amazing, and humbling, experience! The Zambian people are joy filled in the midst of intense poverty that’s hard to put into words. In the US, we have material blessings but are generally lacking joy. I’m continually reminded: where does my joy come from? It comes from JESUS, and not my worldly possessions – because those things will die, but Jesus is eternal!!
I arrived on Sunday morning at 8:30, and Wallace drove me straight to church to preach. I had just gotten off a 14 hour flight, then an 8 hour layover and another 7 hour flight. I’m not a preacher, and in true Zambian fashion Wallace told me about 2 weeks before I left that I would be preaching! “Wallace, how long do you want the message to be?” About 30-40 minutes, Tom. OK, great…I’ve got two weeks to prep. Everything turned out great, and I feel so blessed to have that opportunity! The way they worship is so different than what we experience. Literally everyone singing, dancing, breaking into solos…for hours! It’s the most amazing and beautiful worship, as we are all worshiping the same God.
Since I didn’t get in until Sunday, Wallace moved the feeding that normally happens on Saturday to Sunday. So after church, and spending time at the Mwale’s home, we went out to the DHOA land for the feeding. There were about 200 children and widowed women and disabled people that showed up. For most of these people, we don’t know how often they can eat or what they are eating. But we know when they show up for a feeding, they are getting a very full and nutritious meal. It’s normally sausage – think ring bologna (and they get a large portion), or two pieces of chicken, nshima (their national dish, similar to mashed potatoes), coleslaw or some other vegetable, water, and a treat (icee). Nshima is very filling and takes up a huge part of the plate. The Gospel gets preached and great fellowship is had. It’s a lot of work, every Saturday! But what a blessing to the local village people. It’s not uncommon for some of the people to walk 2-3 miles one way just to get there!
I was physically exhausted on Sunday, but felt strong in spirit. Wallace and I stayed up late on Sunday, just sitting on the porch of the “Waukee” House at DHOA – staring into the dark African sky, listening to nature, and talking about dreams. What an amazing experience! I slept like a rock that night (dripping in sweat!) We woke up and went to meet with a group in Lusaka called ACE Zambia. We are partnering with them. They provide adoption services to local Christian Zambian couples who want to adopt. They also offer business and job training and placement to widowed women with children, helping to teach them how to sustain themselves and live out their God-given potential. What an awesome group and one that we have a lot of synergy with! After meeting with ACE Zambia, we came back to the land and did a complete walk throughout the entire property and every structure. We listed everything that needs to get done to get each structure to 100% completion, and what new structures need to be built and where they should be built. This took the balance of the day, as there are 30 acres.
On Tuesday, we met with James Mambo from Agrihope. Agrihope is another non profit that we are partnering with. They teach a method of farming called Farming God’s Way – the basic premise is that God has given us all that we need to sustain ourselves. There is no need to depend on gov’t for handouts. They teach farmers how to grow crops with everything they currently have, and to create a surplus that they can take to the market. We will be using this method of farming at DHOA, and also will point farmers that we come across to Agrihope.
We then went to the local market to buy supplies to deliver to elderly and disabled people in the bush. We bought each of them a bag of corn meal (to make Nshima), cooking oil, salt and sugar, and detergent. We drove to each person’s home, weaving our way around rough roads. It took a long time, but it was incredibly sobering. One of our first visits was to a man in his mid 70’s, wandering around looking for wild radish. It was dark, he was barefoot,and he was several miles from his mud hut home. When we drove up on him, Wallace told him we had some supplies for him – he dropped to his knees in thanksgiving as he was desperate. Wallace encouraged the man to only drop to his knees for God as God is our Provider! We embraced him in a hug and drive him home.
Another elderly woman, when we came to her home and delivered supplies, broke into song. Wallace interpreted for me: “when I have a complaint, whom can I complain to who will listen. I will complain to God, He will hear me.” It was an experience I will never forget! Praise the Lord for this woman's humility and great faith in our Lord.
Wednesday would be my last full day. In the morning, we went out to a couple of the people we missed from the afternoon before with supplies. After this, Wallace and I went into Lusaka and went out to eat with Bertha. We spent the afternoon at the Mwales house relaxing and I said my good-byes to his family. It was a short but sweet trip, and we accomplished much!
Wallace and I spent time dreaming big under the stars. Wallace loves to spread the Gospel and disciple others in the Word. He foresees a large Discipleship Hall where he can hold church, weekly Bible studies, fellowship meals, and support groups. He greatly desires a primary and secondary school that is easily accessible to the community. Eventually, he dreams of a clinic that would provide vaccines and wellness checks for children in the area, and much needed healthcare for the community.
We have some very grand plans for DHOA, and we rely on generous donors like you to make this happen. God bless all of you, and thank you for your continued support!
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