Between August of 1996 and June of 1998, 26 wonderful, beautiful, godly young men from Kalinglinga, Zambia came to the States. They were the members of Zambian Acapella Boys Choir, the younger version of Zambian Acapella. Most of these 26 boys were cousins or brothers of each other, and all had grown up together. Our church was their first stop. We 'hosted' Jeff and Yona, who were 18 and 11 at the time.
Well, we didn't just 'host' these boys for long. Mom, Dad, David and I fell in love with them. By the end of the weekend, we were all hanging all over each other, goofing around, and acting like normal siblings.
God blessed us with countless opportunities to have Jeff and Yona in our home over the next 20 months. Also, two other boys, Kelvin and Fred, also became brothers to David and me when the mom of their host family started suffering from severe migraines. I have so many fun memories to share about our time with those 4, but it's several posts' worth, so they can wait.
Sadly, the boys had to leave the country in a not so nice way. Happily, FBC of Colleyville picked up where ZABC's sponsors left off, and built a school in Kalinglinga so the guys, and their siblings and neighbors, could finish their secondary education.
In my naive, barely 13 year old mind, I made a HUGE promise to one of the guys. I told Felix that I would come to Zambia some day to teach. We were standing in the middle of DFW international terminal (pre-9/11 days, folks), all crying, all of the boys' 'moms' trying to stuff extra vitamins and medicines in their carry-ons. and I just said I'd come.
Fast forward 12 years. I've never forgotten my promise. I've been teaching for 3 years. I'm married. I have no idea how receptive the local teachers of Chifundo would be to me showing up for a couple of weeks, or even a month, of the summer (their winter) to help. I haven't seen most of the boys since the left, though a few are back in the States. However, thanks to Facebook, I'm in touch with many of them. Some times, the internet is such a blessing! For nearly a year, I've been tossing around the thought of going for a piece of my summer vacation so I can keep my promise. I don't want to take over the classroom, I just want to be the hands and feet of the body of Christ, and help around the school and the town however I can be most useful. Honestly, I have no idea what that would look like. I ran my hair-brained idea past a couple of the guys. If email could be more expressive, I'm sure they were jumping up and down at the thought! They said to get in touch with the wonderful lady from FBCC whose family is in charge of the American end of things that happen at Chifundo.
That conversation happened months ago. All Fall, that actual action of sending the inquiry email has haunted me. This week, the Lord, in all His might, got in my face, and more or less said the following:
"Young lady, if you do not obey me, My trust in your faithfulness to me is going to be shaken. I need you to be obedient to the desires I've placed in your heart. This doesn't mean your answer will be yes, but it does mean that I need to find you faithful."
Whoa! Big wake up call! Yes, Lord, I hear You, loud and clear!
Yesterday, I sent the scariest email of my life. While I haven't received a response yet, I have complete peace. I know that I've been obedient in what God wants of me (at least up to this point), and I know that being told 'no' is going to be ok with me, even though there is tons and tons of anxious anticipation that the ball might have just begun rolling for me to have the journey of a lifetime back to the arms of my brothers (and their growing families!) that I love so dearly and ache for so terribly.
Lord, I praise You for Your commands and Your patience, and I beg that Your will be done.
The last photo of the 8 of us ever taken. June 1998.
Well, we didn't just 'host' these boys for long. Mom, Dad, David and I fell in love with them. By the end of the weekend, we were all hanging all over each other, goofing around, and acting like normal siblings.
God blessed us with countless opportunities to have Jeff and Yona in our home over the next 20 months. Also, two other boys, Kelvin and Fred, also became brothers to David and me when the mom of their host family started suffering from severe migraines. I have so many fun memories to share about our time with those 4, but it's several posts' worth, so they can wait.
All 26 boys, their director, the director's daughter, David, and me at a church somewhere in Dallas, cir 1997.
In my naive, barely 13 year old mind, I made a HUGE promise to one of the guys. I told Felix that I would come to Zambia some day to teach. We were standing in the middle of DFW international terminal (pre-9/11 days, folks), all crying, all of the boys' 'moms' trying to stuff extra vitamins and medicines in their carry-ons. and I just said I'd come.
Fast forward 12 years. I've never forgotten my promise. I've been teaching for 3 years. I'm married. I have no idea how receptive the local teachers of Chifundo would be to me showing up for a couple of weeks, or even a month, of the summer (their winter) to help. I haven't seen most of the boys since the left, though a few are back in the States. However, thanks to Facebook, I'm in touch with many of them. Some times, the internet is such a blessing! For nearly a year, I've been tossing around the thought of going for a piece of my summer vacation so I can keep my promise. I don't want to take over the classroom, I just want to be the hands and feet of the body of Christ, and help around the school and the town however I can be most useful. Honestly, I have no idea what that would look like. I ran my hair-brained idea past a couple of the guys. If email could be more expressive, I'm sure they were jumping up and down at the thought! They said to get in touch with the wonderful lady from FBCC whose family is in charge of the American end of things that happen at Chifundo.
That conversation happened months ago. All Fall, that actual action of sending the inquiry email has haunted me. This week, the Lord, in all His might, got in my face, and more or less said the following:
"Young lady, if you do not obey me, My trust in your faithfulness to me is going to be shaken. I need you to be obedient to the desires I've placed in your heart. This doesn't mean your answer will be yes, but it does mean that I need to find you faithful."
Whoa! Big wake up call! Yes, Lord, I hear You, loud and clear!
Yesterday, I sent the scariest email of my life. While I haven't received a response yet, I have complete peace. I know that I've been obedient in what God wants of me (at least up to this point), and I know that being told 'no' is going to be ok with me, even though there is tons and tons of anxious anticipation that the ball might have just begun rolling for me to have the journey of a lifetime back to the arms of my brothers (and their growing families!) that I love so dearly and ache for so terribly.
Lord, I praise You for Your commands and Your patience, and I beg that Your will be done.
The last photo of the 8 of us ever taken. June 1998.
Dad, Jeff, Mom, David, Yona, me, Kelvin, and Fred
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