'God has been Good' to Enumclaw Group's Mission Trip to Africa

Remembers that seemed to be grazing all over the Plateau just a few months ago?

This past July 23, the fundraising effort that made those adorable cows possible was able to see a group of 14 from off on a plane to Africa by way of Dubai to, among many other tasks, help construct a sanitary toilet facility at a Zambian school, sponsor a pastor leadership conference in the Zambian capital of Lusaka and in general visit with, teach as well as learn from and befriend fellow Christians in this country on the other side of the world.

Fred Davis, who recently retired as pastor of Calvary Presbyterian, is leading the group and has been documenting the trip via his blog www.twoextrashots.blogspot.com as well as on his public Facebook page.

We've been following Davis and the group online and know that they have wrapped up their first week assisting in repairs and the construction of a toilet building at a school in Lusaka called Healing Place overseen by John and Thenny Mpanga. Davis wrote of arriving at Healing Place last Thursday, July 26, and some of the trials the local people faced:

When we arrived at Healing Place School. the first person I saw was busa (Pastor) John and his wife Thenny After warm hugs and tears of joy, they began to show us around the property that is known as Healing Place. The two most obvious features (besides the excited children) were the completed classroom building and the water tower that supports the 3.000 litre water tank. Underneath the tank was a phalanx of blue water barrels waiting to be filled to serve a local family's water needs. ... We soon found out that our first task would be to pull the300 feet of pipe out of the well and make repairs to the pump. That is another story all together. After a great deal of debate about how to fix it, and a welcome ceremony by the students that included poetry, songs and dance, the pump was fixed. Just in time to realize that a government enforced rolling blackout had turned of power to the area and so water could not be drawn until power was restored.

On Saturday, July 28, Davis describes an "example of God astounding us and reminding us that we can make plans but it is the Lord who directs our steps" when an influential woman toured Healing Place and donated benches for the children to sit on during lessons as well as promised to help employ five graduates from the school.

Monday, July 30 marked the beginning of a two-day leadership conference that Davis helped to teach. Describing the local church leaders in attendance:

Some of those men and women travelled over 350 kilometers (200 miles) and many of them walked from other locations in Lusaka just to be there. They were so hungry for fellowship and encouragement and training. They, like the teachers at Healing Place often serve their congregations sacrificially with no pay. I was honored to be among them and humbled that they felt I had something to teach them. I felt they have taught me more and I will always be grateful...

According to Davis' writings, the group also visited another school called Village Steps/Kabanana School directed by Paul Bwalya. Describing the scene, he wrote:

70 children attend there and nearly all of them are orphans; either single or double orphans. Most weren't wearing shoes and many of them are being taken care of by guardians who cannot afford to feed them more than a small portion of nsima (pronounced shee-ma). It is a filling dish made from corn meal and is the mainstay of the local economy. The school could teach many more if they had additional space. It occupies a small house in a densely populated area. The children are taught in two small classrooms which were originally intended to serve as sleeping quarters. Teacher Paul and hiswife sleep in one of the small back rooms. Like every home in Kabanana there is no running water or bathroom facilities. All cooking is done on charcoal braziers or on small electric hot plates. We learned that a lawyer helped them use this facility free of charge and there is a small addition already started. Of particular note we saw Falidah - a young girl who several of the team have supported with scholarship money. She is a double orphan whose life was filled with despair but with this sponsorship, she has been able to go on the high school and is finishing her studies. It was quite a tearful moment to be reunited with her.

There is much need here, wrote Davis, who reflected in his July 30 entry that those who want to share in the action of helping need not be overwhelmed. "All we can do is one small part at a time - one changed life; one student sponsored; one orphan fed; one community provided with a school and a well.... In the large scope it may not seem like much, but here it means everything."

Al Bwalya's school, Davis wrote the group passed out green bags to the guardians and parents. "They were overcome with elation and gratitude - dancing; ululating (the African way of expressing joy) and tears. What a moment. I wish you all could have been there to see it. Thank you for helping make it possible by your prayers and support."

There have been lighter moments as well, as Davis laughed at himself in his July 30 entry that he had brushed his teeth with athletes food medication rather than toothpaste.

His most recent entry is dated from Tuesday, July 31 and wrapping up in Lusaka, Davis wrote that indeed 'God has been good' because "though a few have been wrestling respiratory ailments, sore muscles, stiff backs and shoulders, we have been protected and blessed. ... there will always be a part of us that remains in Zambia."

The group was headed to Livingstone and Victoria Falls before arriving in Johannesburg and then visiting preschools and and AIDS hospice as well as ministering in a township called Finetown.

They are headed back to Seattle on August 9. Until then, you can follow the group's journey at www.twoextrashots.blogspot.com.