“You came, you stayed and it was good”
This was our third trip to Longezia mission base in Sinazongwe, Southern Zambia, but our first as team leaders. We had been invited by Theuns & Karin Engelbrecht to bring a children’s ministry team during the August school holidays.
The team had seven members; Neil, who had visited Longezia in 2007 as part of a construction team; Paula, a Connexions worker; Natalie, a primary school teacher; and Cressida & Andrew, who had just completed their first year at 6th Form college; and us two of course.
From our discussions with Theuns & Karin and our experiences during last years trip, we wanted to stay for at least two days in each area in order to build up relationships with the young people. As a team, we planned to deliver programs of singing, drama, bible teaching, testimony, craft activites, sports and games based around the themes of the hope, love and grace that are found in a personal relationship with God.
On 5th August we set off, and thanks to the teams fund raising efforts and a growing number of supporters, we filled all our extra weight allowance with baby clothes, blankets, stationery, sports equipment, craft materials and a bewildering array of bats, balls and bubble blowers.
One special request we had made in advance was for the use of the portable generator and an amplifier, the plan being to use an ipod to create a great atmosphere for worship and to introduce the children to another way of praising God.
After 30 hours travelling, and a day of orientation and preparation, we arrived in a dusty field with all our stuff, facing initially a group of about 30-40 children aged between 4 -14. The team set to, setting up our rainbow banner, talking to local helpers, starting a game of Frisbee with the children and setting up the generator and amp.
Then the music started, and the sound of “God is here” sounded out across the field. It was a special moment, and in that special moment I think the mission began. And from then on, it seemed to us that the mission was a series of very special moments strung together and through these “special moments” we felt God impacting our lives.
So what were the special moments for us? Too numerous to mention, but you know that won’t stop us! Maybe it was as we drove away in the truck at the end of the first day. We were all tired, as yet unused to the heat, and for some of us it had been a day of ’firsts’. The children, who had by now grown in number, followed the truck, chanting the same tongan phrase over and over. We asked pastor Fanwell what they were saying. It was “You came, you stayed and it was good”
Or maybe it was seeing the children’s faces, covered in glitter glue at the end of the first craft session, laughing and pointing at each other…
Was it the screams of excitement that greeted us as we arrived the next day? Was it standing in a field as the sun went down, surrounded by children who were singing Great Big God back to us, almost word perfect? Was it watching the complete chaos that ensued as over 100 children searched a field for 3 juggling balls – to illustrate God searching for us? Was it watching Bernard act out the part of the shepherd ( goatherd in our case) and not only the team follow him around the field, but all the children, followed by all the adults, until there he was, marching around the field, and everyone but the pastor was following on…
Maybe it was the children (and some mums) gathered under a church shelter, doing crafts on a tarpaulin on the floor…or helping 140 children to print their own T shirt, and then lay them really carefully on the dusty floor to dry in the sun… or was it working with children and youth for 3 days, and then getting the chance to pray with them personally as they stepped forward after the Jesus film?
Then there was our marvellous team! Every team member was willing and prepared to step out in faith even when under-confident – they just got stuck in! On the first day, I looked up from the crafts to see Natalie leading about 50 excited children in a conga around the field…that’s one way to keep them busy while they wait! Paula found herself ‘teaching’ a group of children to play baseball, having never played it herself…Andrew got stuck into teaching rugby to some of the young guys, who were so surprised by the shape of the rugby ball that they gave it back to Andrew , saying that they thought they might ‘break’ it! Neil found himself driving the team in the big truck to the villages, despite there being no signposts, and a distinct lack of roads… And Cressida, quite shy at the beginning of the trip, but on the last night, giving her testimony to over 300 people, and praying for people who came forward after the Jesus film.
These are some of our special moments, and I know that for the team members, some events, and some faces, will have been imprinted on their hearts. And that’s a good thing, because now we can remember in prayer the people we met, and the way God touched all of us during the mission trip.
For anyone who is reading this account and has any doubt in their mind about whether to take part in a mission trip, either as a leader or a team member, I would simply say “just do it!” Make yourself available to God and see where He sends you. God can use all of us to change lives, we just need to be available. If we stop looking at our circumstances – lack of money, scared of travel, no confidence, little faith, never done it before – and just present Him with our 5 loaves and 2 fishes, he will take that gift of availability and bless it to the people He has in mind. Don’t take our word for it – ask Him!!
Joy Neilson, Stalybridge, Ashton