Emily's trip to Zambia
Emily can receive email in Zambia (although internet access is irregular) and i'm sure that she would love to be kept up to date with what is happening in England. We will send her through any comments or prayers left below so that she knows the community she has gone out from is thinking of and praying for her. - Matt & Anne Button
Part 5:
Well another week has passed and I've been so busy. The farm is such a lively place. Anyone who goes to Zambia next year with MD will have the chance to visit! This week flew by! I've been teaching some of the boys on the mornings and then doing a nursery/pre school for the small children on the farm.It's so much fun. In the afternoons I've been doing my own thing or going off with Mr Banda to do jobs!
Last weekend we went to a fancy dress ball to raise money for the farm and some of the other orphanages in Lusaka. It was a great night! The money raised will cover Christmas at the farm. The MacDonalds have all the families of the boys that live with them over for a christmas meal and then also lots of the boys that are still on the street.
Don and Christine are realy amazing people. They're having a lot of trouble with an ex-boy who is making up stories and trying to bring them down. The work that they are doing is so admirable. One of their main principles is that the boys shouldn't grow up without knowing God. So many of the boys have been neglected for so many years and as a result feel unlovable. Don and Christine show them that love and teach them that God always loves them no matter what anybody says to them or whatever happens. What has astounded me so much is their continued enthusiasm.They get up everyday and keep loving these boys and holding it together when things are so clearly difficult.
 The stories of how the boys got to the farm are so sad and bring tears to my eyes just thinking about them. Seeing them now, they are so different. I've been so privleged to build really close relationships with some of the boys and I've been truly blessed by them. One boy called Wisdom wouldn't speak to me at all when I arrived and now he comes to say hello and play around. It is so lovely. People in Zambia think street kids are horrible trouble makers who should be sweot away where no one can see them. In Lusaka they miostly stay at a place called Sowetto Market. The police moved them here from a big shopping mall called Manda Hill because they didn't "look right" It is so sad that a government can treat it's future generation of leaders with such little care and disrespect.
The boys have such amazing qualities, ok they can be annoying and badly behaved at times, but so can any other child, so why should these kids be treated differently? One boy called Norman always comes to help me with the washing up because he thinks it's not right for me to do it on my own. I just think they're all amazing and I will definitely be coming back.
This week coming I am running the school on my own as the other teacher, Abi, has gone on holiday to visit a village called Petauke. It's quite a daunting task, so I'd value your prayers!
I went back to my old house in Chamba Valley to visit some friends on Friday. One of the ladies that cooked for us had had a baby girl. I went and bought some baby stuff for her, it was nothing much bit they were so grateful. I got to hold their beautiful little girl, Esther. I just really pray that God will protect her as the babies are so vulnerable out here, to maleria and now as it's rainy season, cholera.
I've come to my last week in Zambia now, wow! 5 and a half months have flown by. I was just checking my facebook mail and had a message from my lovely housegroup leader Birgit. She had a verse for me.... 'So let us not become tired of doing good;for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest.' Gal 6;9 That was exactly what I needed. Altrhough it is my last week I intend to throw myself into it like it was my first.
I will realy miss the farm and they family, but God has put Zambia in my heart and I know he will bring me back again soon.
Just on a final funny note! One boy, asked me to marry him! Sadly I had to decline and now everytime I ask him if he is ok, he says "no, you refused me so I am sad!" It can't have bothered him that much as he still comes and gives me hugs and asks for help with his homework!
I look forward to seeing you all in weeks!
Emily xxxxx
Part 4:
Well, Team 5 have left now and my time at Chamba Valley has come to an end. I'm now staying at a place called Old MacDonald's Farm. It's a big house with.... you guessed it, a farm! There are 28 boys living here as well as Don and Christine and their family.
Most of the boys here lived on the street. They had a horrible life but now they are part of a big family. I really love it here, there's always something to do!
I've been working with a girl called Abi. On a morning we teach the boys who aren't ready for school, then we teach the little children that live on the farm. It's great fun and really rewarding, especially as 3 of the boys are now ready to go back to school. Today we took them uniform shopping and they were so excited.
Don and Christine are just amazing, they're facing and have faced so many problems from various sources and they could have quite easily said "that's it!" but they don't, they just keep going and trusting in God, which I think is just amazing.
On a lighter note, I have had a pig named after me! They named one after my friend James and thought it unfair to deny me the chance of having one named after me!!
I'm returning to England in a couple of weeks. It's a little earlier than planned, but I'm ready for coming home. I'll send a couple of weekly updates now as so much happens here every day that I'd forget if I waited another few weeks!
I look forward to seeing you all at church soon!
Thank you to everyone that has supported me whilst I've been away, financially and through prayer. I couldn't have done it without you!
Em xx
Part 3:
Hello everyone!
Another month has passed and it only feels like yesterday I was writing my last letter back to you all. The time really is flying by, it's crazy! I go to MacDonald's Farm next month! Then it will be time to come home, which I can say I am very much looking forward to. I'm enjoying every second, almost every second should I say, of my time out here, but I can't wait to come back to sunny England! Although I'm not looking forward to the weather! It will be the hottest time if year in Zambia when I leave and the coldest in the UK! Not nice! I will be telling dad to bring me a coat and scarf to the airport!
What can I say about the last few weeks? They have been amazing, as usual, but with a few unexpected turns and challenges along the way. When I was getting pretty annoyed and finding it really difficult I flicked through my journal and found that I'd written down a picture that Alex Holt had had for me some time before I came. He saw me as a brick...yes a brick that you build houses with! I was puzzled when he first told me! He then moved on to say that the brick was being worn down and shaped by the water, similar to God taking me and smoothing off the edges and making me into the person he wants me to be. I really think that is what is happening to me now. I'm being pushed right out of my comfort zones and God is really changing me. He keeps throwing challenges at me, but I know that I can handle them. I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who is praying for me whilst I'm here, it's been so good to know that people are thinking of me.
With the last team, so much has gone on, it's been the busiest 2 weeks of my time here. I had been asked to assist in running a holiday club for some of the local children. I sat down with the Sunday school teachers and said “Ok, I am here to help, to facilitate, not run the whole show. I would like you to plan the club and I will get you the necessary materials and the volunteers to make it happen.” To which they replied “Oh yes Emily, that is fine!”
Two days before Holiday Club is due to start I pulled them together to run through the program, only to find that they had done nothing and I was expected to run the whole thing and at two days notice! I wanted to cry, there was so much to do! Somehow, I managed to pull it off and ran a fairly successful, relatively stress free holiday club! I now know that I do not want to do that ever again, in my life!!
The building project is coming on very well. We are still running quite short of the funds but we are doing what we can to have two of the four rooms completed by the end of team 5.
One of my favourite visits has to be to Fountain of Hope, the street boys centre. The boys are amazing. They have come from such a horrible place and to see them as normal boys is just fantastic. I really believe they can change, many people in Zambia just dismiss them and say there is no hope for them, but I have seen first hand that they really can and do change. There are 3 boys that I have gotten to know quite well and every time I see them, they make me smile, no matter how I was feeling before I got there. There is Kennedy and Wadia, they are very small, but say they are 14! I don't know of is is true, but I don't think that matters. Kennedy is so sweet, he was given a football shirt that one of the team donated and he wears it so proudly. Wadia is just adorable, he always runs to give ma a hug and loves to dance! I don't but I play along as it makes him so happy. Finally there is a boy called Francis. He really is amazing. A lady in the first team left her bible behind for him, so I went to give it to him when I next saw him. He was so sad and just seemed to be in a permanent place of despair and hopelessness. Over the last two months I have witnessed a real change in him. He is a much happier boy, he has new clothes, and a new happiness in his face. I really believe that God is working in his life and would really value your prayers for Francis.
I've just had a few days off, stayed at a backpackers in Livingstone called Jolly Boys. Sadly I was ill the whole time, but it was a nice break nonetheless. This middle week between teams always flies by, so it was great to have some time to myself. Thank you all again for the books! I'm about half way through the pile you sent me!
That's all for now, I have lots to do... finding a way to exterminate mosquitoes is high on my priority list as they appear to have become immune to my current bug spray! I have never been bitten so many times!
Missing you all lots! I hope the first week back at church goes well after your summer break! Thinking of you all!
Em xx
Part 2:
I really can’t believe how the time is flying. I’m already a third of the way through my time in Zambia. The last month and a half has been amazing, but incredibly challenging. I’ve been out of my comfort zone more times than I can count but it has been amazing. Team 1 were amazing and worked like troopers, but sadly all their hard work was covered up as they did the foundations! Whilst with Team 1 I saw some pretty difficult things that I’d hope not to see again, but sadly they occur regularly in Africa. I visited a man called Benson; he was terribly ill but couldn’t afford the transport to the clinic so he was staying at home in complete agony. How sad is that? In the UK we don’t think twice about jumping into the car to go down to A&E or calling an ambulance if the car is unavailable. I paid for him to go to the clinic but sadly he passed away a week later.
I also visited a family that lived in a house that was not much bigger than the store cupboard at the VC. They didn’t have water every day because they couldn’t afford it. It only costs 10p a day for them to have enough water. That really struck me; in the UK you could pick up 10p on the street everyday but here in Africa people go without water because they can’t afford 10p.
Team 1 went home and I went and spent a few days at MacDonalds farm. It was a great experience and I now know then names of about 15 of the 30 boys living there.
Team 2 arrived at the beginning of August and left just yesterday. They were another amazing team and I’ve made some friends for life. It’s been challenging though as I have had to assert my authority a few times, a little more than I would like, but in the end it all went well. I look after all things related to Kiine School as one of my duties and that has been particularly challenging. Things don’t happen how you want them to and never when you want them to, so I would value your prayers about that.
We took Team 2 to a compound called Kamanga to show the Jesus Film. It was amazing; there were about 1000 people there. I shared my testimony in between one of the reels of film, it was incredibly scary, but it was worth it. We prayed for a lot of people and it was fantastic. One incident really stuck out to me though. There was a really drunk man who wouldn’t leave me alone while I was trying to pray for people. It was incredibly annoying but eventually he turned round and said “Please pray for me because I drink too much beer!” I thought wow, I was ready to tell him to leave but he just changed and I prayed for him.
We visited the market place again to see the street kids, but I had a pretty bad experience which shook me up quite a bit. I had my phone in my pocket and one of the boys, a know trouble causer came and asked me for money, I told him I didn’t have any so he decided to try and take my phone from me. He stuck his hand in my pocket and tried to take it. I held him off but he was high as a kite and twice my size. Fortunately, Vasco an outreach worker with us managed to get him off me but I was quite scared. I held it together because it would have looked bad on me as a staff member if I hadn’t but it was still pretty scary. Again I’d value prayers of protection for when I go back again as this boy will undoubtedly be there and so will many more dangers. God has kept me safe so far though, so I’m not too worried!
That’s about all for now! I’m just on a coach on my way back to Lusaka for a week off before Team 3 arrives on Sunday. The Victoria Falls are amazing and I’ve loved going to see them with each team!
Finally, just a few last prayer requests; I am receiving my A-Level results on 20th August. I’m a little worried about them, so if you could pray for me that would be fantastic. Also please pray that God provides the funding for our project as we are not reaching the required target yet. And, actually finally, please just pray for our staff teams health and for them in general. They are all amazing people and they’re doing an amazing job. There is James, Geoff, Carol, Emmanuel and Chika! J
Thank you!
Missing you all!
Emily xx
Part 1:
I arrived safely in Zambia after a long flight! Where we are staying is only a short journey from the airport. I’m staying on a compound run by the Evangelical Church in Zambia (ECZ) My house is nice although it has a few holes in it and Emmanuel has told some horrible stories about snakes coming in...And even coming in through the bath taps! Consequently I am petrified of taps and refuse to go in any cupboards that are not sealed off! I admit...I am a complete wuss when it comes to beasties!
When I arrived in my house I found a guitar and a book of music on my bed! My initial reaction was eek! I’ve led worship a few times now and it was the scariest experience of my life and I do not envy any of the worship leaders at all! I’m hoping very much that there will be people in each team that want to lead worship as I am noooot good!
This last week has been ridiculously busy and I’ve taken in a lot of information . We visited the House of Moses and Bill and Bette’s. These are effectively Christian run orphanages for children aged 0 – 7 years. It was difficult leaving them crying, but we had to move on. Unfortunately there is nowhere near enough staff to give the children the attention that they need.
Later in the week we visited a lady called Dorothy, she is a commendable women. She is the head teacher of a school, the pastor of a church (along with her husband) and she also does many home visits and cell groups within the different compounds of Lusaka. We spent the day visiting her school, which was nice, but again difficult because they needed so much help. We did a couple of home visits and gave some gifts to some very grateful families. It was amazing listening to them tell their stories and seeing how happy they were even though they had so little. When we finished visiting we went to Dorothy’s house. While we were there I had this feeling that I should offer to pray for her, but I was a bit nervous and wasn’t sure if I had the guts to do it. Also being the youngest staff member, I felt a little like it wasn’t my place but then I was thinking about Wharfedale and what I’d learnt. T4:12...so I didn’t have the excuse of being too young. That just left my own fears, so I kept thinking... then I remembered a quote from John Wimber. “I spell faith R-I-S-K” Then I decided that I should do it, so I took the risk, piped up and said let’s pray and so I did!
Whilst you were at Revive I spent Sunday with the MacDonald’s. This is the family that I will be staying with from October til December! They’re lovely, they have 29 street boys living in dormitories on their land and they are almost self-sufficient as they “Farm God’s Way” There’ll be a lot more to tell about them in October.
On Sunday we went to a church called Fountain of Hope. It was made of wooden planks and bits of sacking as walls! It was absolutely amazing though, the way they worshipped with such enthusiasm. The pastor gave an interesting talk about the “Global Credit Crunch” He started it by telling us that the President of Zambia was at a press conference on live TV and a Baboon peed on him! The whole church thought it was hilarious! In a couple of weeks we are having a parish dinner with everyone from the church.
This Sunday coming is when the first team arrives, so this week is majorly busy just checking that all their rooms are ready and sorted. It looks to be a good first team although there will undoubtedly be a number of hiccups so prayer that it goes smoothly would be most welcome!
Today (July1st) we went to visit the street children. It was quite intimidating as there were so many of them and at times felt quite in my own with them! I also had to politely tell a boy that we wouldn't be getting married! I was no longer his favourite person!
That’s pretty much it for now! Oh and If you want to send me any books to read that would also be good! I’m getting through my books quickly and can’t afford to keep buying new ones!
Oh and please pray that there are no snakes coming into my house or everyone will hate me as I will scream!
I’m missing TWV... but I have all my cards here with me..so I have a little bit of you all with me!
Much Love
Emily xxx | 
