Time to Say Goodbye

So much has happened since the last time one of us posted. If I ever have the privilege of coming back to Zambia, I will make sure to bring my own laptop! :P Anyway, I digress.

It is almost time for us to leave. I am sad because I may not ever see some of the amazing people I have met on this trip. The orphans and mamas have tugged on my heartstrings, and I pray that I will never forget my feelings for them. I will miss the EOH staff so much, and even my crazy fellow interns. (I mean "crazy" in a good way, btw.) I take comfort in the fact that God is in control, and He will watch over all of them.

Since my last post, we've met Kimberlee (an intern from years past), gone through the second Camp Hope in Lusaka with the short-term missionaries, our second Fellowship Day, said goodbye to Mama Harawa, the Lusaka MFH 1 and 2 orphans and mamas, stayed overnight in Chongwe and said goodbye to all of them, had a fantastic dinner and party with the EOH Zambian staff, and now we're preparing to say goodbye to the Lusaka MFH 3 and 4, and then dinner at Bob and Mary's house.

I never thought I'd cry because I felt sad about leaving someone. I've cried when someone has died, when I'm extremely frustrated, or teared up a bit at a sad movie. I think I've only cried a bit ONCE when I've missed someone, and even then I did not cry in public. After leaving the kids and mamas in Chongwe, I competely lost it and cried in public. I was already sad, but didn't start to feel the tears well up until I saw Maximillian (one of the boys in House 1) wiping away tears. Then I hugged little Doreen for the last time and told her that we loved her and will miss her very much. She looked at me, and seemed to frown the biggest frown I've ever seen on her face. She then waved goodbye to us, and I felt the first tear fall. As we drove away, I looked out the window to see another boy, Joshua, looking right at me then begin to cry. That broke my heart completely and the rest of my tears began to fall. More tears fell when I saw Megan and Kate crying as well. Needless to say, it was a very quiet ride back to Lusaka.

I began to pray to God quietly that I would never forget the feelings I felt at that moment. I never want to forget those precious children and mamas, nor forget how God took them away from horrible situations and placed them under the protection of Every Orphan's Hope. I began to think about the next time Brian and I could come back. Christmas time? We'll see how the Lord leads. :)

In Jesus' Love,
Andrea

Reflections

I am so very thankful that, despite my torn feelings from the previous day about being in the background, our first "Fellowship Day" went well! No doubt, I was tired by the end of the day from running around, giving directions, and making last-minute changes to the schedule, but I felt so blessed and encouraged.

My heart felt sincerly glad to see Teen Mania bond so well with their MFH partners. They were laughing together, encouraging each other throughout the games, and most everyone was smiling.

I pray now that the members of Teen Mania will bring the orphans' stories back to their home churches or fellowship groups and that people will be touched. I pray that these beautiful children will be sponsored so that they can continue growing and live their lives for Jesus.

Before I end this blog post, I would like to share something that really touched my heart. After all the Lusaka kids got back on the bus and left for home, I got a chance to spend some time with a few of the Chongwe kids. I was showing a few of the kids - Rebecca, Joshua, Kauya, Lister, Catherine, Samuel, and Justine ("e" is silent) - how to throw a frisbee. Kauya really got into it and was trying to improve his form every time he tossed the frisbee. Then Joshua got ahold of it and threw it quite hard to Justine, but it went way over his head and landed on Kauya's head. Kauya began to cry and he hid his face inside his sweatshirt. I walked over to him to make sure was ok, and held him as he sobbed quietly. I got a bit upset when Joshua just laughed and a few other boys seemed to be teasing Kauya for crying. I think that upset him more, so I guided him over to a log to sit.

I realize that Kauya's bump on the head wasn't serious at all, and it probably didn't hurt him that badly, but just knowing that he probably doesn't get comforted when he does get bumps or bruises or someone hurts his feelings made me so sad. I sat with him for about half an hour until I had to leave. He seemed to cheer up after a while, but it made me so sad to see him sad. He normally has such a sweet smile, and seeing the tears rolls down his cheeks made me want to take him in my arms and protect him there forever. I prayed quietly, as I sat with Kauya, and later Bianca, who came over looking quite sad herself. I prayed that these kids would know that Jesus does care about their hurts and sad feelings, and that they would cry out to him when they are in need of comfort. I began to sing "God is So Good" quietly, and Bianca joined in while Kauya leaned his head on me. It was such a precious moment that I will remember forever.

One other special moment happened right before we started playing frisbee. I was standing with Rebecca, watching some of the younger boys kick a soccerball around. I then noticed the clouds and I commented to Rebecca that it makes me think of heaven. Rebecca then began to sing a song about heaven. I don't know the name of the song, but right afterwards, I asked her what she thought heaven looks like. She thought a moment, smiled, and said, "BEAUTIFUL!!" The brightness in her eyes and her sincere smile just made my heart melt. I pray that these precious children will all sincerely find Jesus, so that we can all have a big ol' reunion in heaven one day.

In Jesus' Love,
Andrea