HIZ Weekend Outreach

I'm sorry that I didn't post on the blog yesterday. The power went off in the morning and was off until 1:30 in the afternoon. At that point I was helping a Zambian apply online for a visa and was tied up until late afternoon. The power went off again at 7:00 and was off until 9:30. David left for the weekend, so I went to stay with Meagan and Louisa who do not have internet service at their house. The good news is the power has been on all day today--a first for this week.

Shawn Daggett and David took a group of eight HIZ students on an outreach Saturday and Sunday. All the students wanted to go, but since space was limited, the missions majors and some of the missions minors were the ones who went on this trip. The others will get their chance eventually! Five Zambians joined the 10 Americans, so a total of 15 headed out Saturday afternoon in the Harding Land Cruiser and our vehicle.

The purpose of the trip was to follow up on medical mission contacts in the area around Maamba, about 100 kilometers away from Namwianga. David had estimated that the trip would take about three hours, but in typical Zambian style it was five hours from the time they left here until they arrived. David and two George Benson Christian College female students cooked supper, and then the community gathered for a preaching service late that night. The HIZ group camped inside the church building, which David described as having a dirt floor, holes in the roof, and a hobbled rooster destined to be Sunday's lunch.

Sunday morning the group split up into three teams and visited three different congregations. There were three baptisms at one congregation, one at another, and six responses for prayers at the third. The Harding students taught the children's classes and gave the homilies for the Lord's Supper.

They arrived back at Namwianga around 6:00 this evening, tired, dusty, and brimming with stories of the adventure.