We are very excited to be able to offer the opportunity to send a team of people to Zambia from the 24 July to 8 August 2010 with Mission Direct. In 2008, Michelle Harrison spent 5 weeks in Zambia with Mission Direct as part of the staff team, and Emily Marshall is currently there as part of this years’ staff team. You can read all about what she has been doing and get a flavour of what we will be involved with by reading her monthly updates. We have just received a link to a video created by one of the teams which went to Zambia this summer - this gives you a glimpse of what it  might be like and you can see if you can spot Emily! Click here to go to the video.

 

We have partnered with Mission Direct many times over the last few years and their heart is to equip the local church to mobilise people to go on short term trips and enable them to join in with what God is doing around the world. They have an excellent track record of organising trips, partnering with projects and churches in the countries that they visit and of looking after their teams.

 

Mission Direct has allowed us to ‘reserve’ a trip for any people from Wharfedale Vineyard and their friends/family who would like to go. If you look on their website this trip is listed as being full in order to reserve it for us. We would love it if you would join us in this adventure!

 

Trip Dates: 24 July – 8 August 2010

Trip cost: £1495 per person (this includes, flights, accommodations, all transport and food within Zambia)

Additional details of the trip can be found at the bottom of the page.

Absolutely not. Money (or the lack of it) should not stop you from coming. We have lots of ideas of ways to generate support for and awareness of the trip. These range from selling some things that you no longer need, to working an extra paid shift, to helping out at some of the best parties that Wharfedale has ever seen!  From these ideas we hope to raise funds for the trip to enable people to experience God at work in the lives of other people in other places.

Again no this could be your first time abroad and in fact it would be great if you came with us. The trip is pretty much for anyone who wants to bless and serve the people they meet and who is willing to join in with what God is already up to in Zambia.

 

We are hoping to have an idea of who might be interested in the trip by the end of October, and to have definite names by December. Please do pray about it and contact us before then if you are interested or have any queries and would like to find out more. If you would like to go on the trip then you will need to complete an application form and put down a £100 deposit (payable to Mission Direct). The form and deposit should be returned to Matt & Anne Button c/o the Vineyard Centre. Once your place is confirmed, a further £500 will be needed as soon as possible so that your plane ticket can be bought. The balance of the trip is due 12 weeks before travelling.

 

In order to get the £100 deposit and the £500 thereafter we will be organising some group fundraising events. The sooner we know who is going the sooner we can start fundraising!

 

In Zambia we will be living in cottages which have access over bumpy ground and there is the option of work on building sites during the day. Therefore, if you have significant mobility issues, or would like to take children under the age of 7 please do talk to us and we can work together to see how we can make the trip work for you. As with all our events, anyone under 18’s need their parents consent and if their parents are not going on the trip they will need to appoint guardians to act loco parentis.

 

However, as with everything –all of these considerations depend on the individuals and families involved. Some 7 year olds have more experience of these trips than many adults. Therefore, please do chat to Matt & Anne Button if you would like to go but have any concerns relating to these practical considerations.

 

Mission Direct have links with the Evangelical Church of Zambia (ECZ). Zambia was previously the British Colony of Northern Rhodesia. Zambia is a relatively stable and peaceful country. The weather in July and August is usually very comfortable, dry and sunny up to 25 deg C during the day. About 75% of the country are Christian.

As a result of HIV/AIDS and the economic situation there are many orphans and children at risk, without family provision of food, shelter, health care or education. It is these most vulnerable that we are seeking to help. We are planning to work with the Evangelical Church in Zambia (ECZ) one of the three mainstream Christian churches in Zambia, to help improve the facilities at a school they are running for kids from the shanty town of Kaunda Square. They have been running the school for almost 8 years now. The school is operating in a converted residential house, squeezing in over 100 pupils.

 

Last year the council temporarily closed the school because they were not happy with the size of the school buildings, lack of space and poor facilities. The children had nowhere else to go to school and it was re-opened, but they have been unable to enroll any more orphans or other vulnerable children, because of the lack of space and facilities. We plan to build one or two more classrooms, toilets and improve the school to accommodate more children from the shanty community it serves. We will help with lifting and carrying materials, wheel barrowing, bricklaying, sawing, nailing, painting, cleaning and clearing up behind the professional builders we will be working alongside. Some volunteers, of course, may prefer to play with the children who will gather round as soon as we arrive and love us to play music and games and have fun with them.

 

Other Partners

We will also work with ECZ and other Christian partners on a number of holistic projects. These will include programmes to help vulnerable people and children at risk, clinics providing medical care, food for those living in slums, health education teaching basic hygiene and health care. We will visit a “child dump centre” where babies and young children who have no one to look after them are literally “dumped”.

 

Mission Direct help you try and “get under the skin” of the local culture, listen to the traditional rhythmic music, watch the energetic dancing and maybe even join in! We will enjoy the many local dishes and exotic fruits, which taste much better straight from the tree than from the supermarket. We will also attend a local church service, where you may have an opportunity to give a testimony or even preach! At the other extreme we will spend the last couple of days down on the border with Zimbabwe looking at the Victoria Falls, one of the greatest natural “wonders of the world” and going on Safari in one of the wonderful game parks. We will also visit markets, which sell clothes, jewellery, paintings, carvings and as many “African” presents as you can possibly carry home!