a blogged version of snail mail
I will be sending these letters out, but wanted to post a copy of it on my blog, so that everyone could read it:
WE'RE GOING TO ZAMBIA!!!
Dear Friends & Family,
In January our team of 12 will be leaving for Zambia, Africa. We will be working in a place called Luanshya, which is 45 minutes south of Ndola. Our team will work with an organzation called "Hands at Work".
The Republic of Zambia is a large country at the heart of sub-equitorial Africa. More than a quarter of it's 11-12 million people live in two urban areas near the center--in the capital Lusaka and in the industrial towns of the Copperbelt. The rest of Zambia is very sparsely populated, particularly the west and the northeast, and the majority of people make thier living as subsistence farmers.
In four decades of independance, Zambia has found peace but not prosperity. Today it is one of the poorest and least developed nations on the earth. Around two-thirds of the population lives on less than a dollar a day.
Zambia's problems have since the mid 1980's been compounded by on of the world's most devastating HIV and AIDS epidemics. The statistics alone are shoking:
-One in every six adults is living with HIV
-98,000 people died of AIDS in 2005
-Life expectancy at birth has fallen below 40 yrs.
-710,000 children are AIDS orphans
"Hands at Work" is an organization working with orphans and those suffering with HIV/AIDS. We will be staying with a man named Pastor Jacob and his wife. They head up "Hands at Work" in Zambia and are looking forward to having our team there.
We will be spending lots of time in local schools, building relationships with the kids through games, music and dance, stories and arts and crafts. Many of the children have HIV or AIDS themselves, and/or have lost family and friends to the disease. We will be blessed to have an opportunity to bring the love of Christ to them in this way.
We will also have opportunities to go on home visits with the medical teams. These teams go out to the villages and care for those who are dying of AIDS. The teams help them with basic care and medication, as well ministering to them with prayer and encouragement.
We want to include you in the work God has prepared for us in Zambia. During this time, prayer is essential and we would ask you to remember us as often as you can. The other need we have is financial. Each student must raise $3,150 by December 15th to go on this outreach. We want to encourage you to pray about your involvement, and ask you to join with us in sharing the love of Jesus with the people of Zambia.
Please send all support to:
YWAM SEATTLE
5029 ROOSEVELT WAY NE
SUITE 100
SEATTLE, WA 98105
Love, Team ZAMBIA 2007
PS...as soon as someone emails me the picture of our team... I will have that up here too.
.LOVE TO YOU ALL.
posted by Amanda @ 2:55 PM
2 Comments:
WE will be sure to get our housegroup praying for you and your team and your outreach. I just received something from International Justice Mission and they where talking about Zambia and the work they have done there. We are excited for you and your team, and will be praying for you Chrissy and Ben, and maybe you could send me the names of the students that are going with you and we can pray for each one specifically. Love you, Mom
freakin awesome!
did i already tell you that my "history of western africa" professor is from malawi? and, i once knew the location of every african country on a map by memory?
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