thank you

As I’m sitting here in the London Heathrow airport, about to board my second and final flight home to Southlake, I have realized that I need to extend my thanks to so many of you. I would not have made it this far over the past five years without the support of my family and friends. If you’re reading this right now, thank you for doing so. 

Thank you to those of you who have kept up with my travels and with what the Lord is doing in Zambia. I love getting to tell stories about God’s power and work in my life and in the lives of the kids on this side of the ocean. It is my prayer that my stories can be and have been an encouragement to you.

Thank you to those of you who have prayed for me during my time here. God has protected me well, sustained me, and refined me so much over the past few months. He has listened to your prayers and has answered prayers of protection and encouragement. I could not have made it without my spiritual support system lifting me up to the Lord.

Thank you to those of you who have financially supported me over the years as I’ve returned to Zambia - I can say with assurance that your dollars are extremely appreciated and have advanced the Kingdom overseas. Thank you for your generosity and your willingness to give to this ministry.

Thank you to those of you who have messaged, skyped, or emailed me. Being a world away from my friends and family for two and a half months is so difficult, but these messages and bits of communication got me through. It was always so encouraging to see that me being “out of sight, out of mind” was not the case for so many of you! Thank you for taking the time to reach out to me and keep me a part of your lives!

I am so blessed to have such a support system cheering for me back home. I have worked alongside plenty of people who do not have the same encouragement from their friends and family, and it makes it that much more of a blessing to have you all. To have loved ones genuinely interested and supportive of what I do in Zambia is so special, and again, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. You all have blessed me more than you know! 

By the time this is posted, I will be back home, safe and sound. What a summer it has been! Thank you again for praying me through the whole journey. 

Blessings,

Mariah

guest blog - Maliah according to C and M

Well the time has come- Auntie Maliah is leaving us here in Zambia! We are sitting in her room and she is all packed up and ready to go. We are so sad, but so thankful for the time she has spent with us here!! She’s a keeper, this one. We thought we would list off some of our favorite things about Mariah, for yalls enjoyment. Here it goes:

•       To start, she sleeps with this little brown pillow, that she has had to make a case for because it gets so dirty. Tonight is the first night all summer she is sleeping without it because she had to pack it. (tonight should be interesting)
•       She is really good at movie quoting…. I mean really good. It’s like she was in the actual movie herself.
•       She’s really good at mean mugging. Also, a professional stank facer and peace sign thrower. (take a look at her pics, hollaaaa)
•      Sometimes, she snores at night because she is so congested. Happens to the best of us I suppose.
•       When she eats stale loaded baked potato pringles, you will get the whole works in the toilet. I mean the Big D coming atcha live!!!
•       Now, don’t get us wrong. We LOVE Auntie Malaria. (her nickname for the summer, tack on some lice and there ya have it). Anyways, we really are so grateful for her leadership and sacrifices she has made this summer.
•       Mariah is in LOVE with these children. When she is around them, you can feel the Lord radiating from her heart. It is such a blessing!
•       Mariah also has wonderful leadership skills. If something needs to get done, she is your go-to-girl! Camp LIFE would NOT run without her here. (Example: we are currently watching her chase a butterfly out of our room, I mean who else would want to do this daunting task. “Get out, get out, wrong way” she says…  )
•       We love Mariah’s sense of humor. She never fails to make us smile if we have had a rough day. Her little quirks just make us love her even more!!
•       Mariah is very motivated in her faith. When she has down time, she spends time with the Lord or is giving me advice about my relationship problems.
•       She is easy to talk to. She gives good advice and loves people so well.

As her time here is coming to a close, our tears are flowing freely. I have gone through about 20 mini packs of tissues. Snot fest ladies and gents. (but seriously I really have, maybe not from crying but still..) Everyone send up some prayers for her as she makes the transition home, which can be a tough one at best. We love you Mariah!!! We miss you already!

Love,

Auntie Cayla and Auntie Mackenzie <3  

goodbyes

Well, Camp LIFE 2013 is officially over! It was an incredible last week - the American participants here are so generous and soft-hearted to what the Lord is doing here in Zambia. Friday was an amazing final day to end the summer with! We had our last big session, during which the summer staff got to dance on stage altogether, and we had the last Tree of Life Friday night surprise performance... which was a huge personal achievement and a very emotional night. 

Every Friday night, as a surprise, the summer staff would go down the hill from the Legacy Center to the Tree of Life to round up and prepare the kids for a performance for the Americans Friday night. After getting all 300+ children in a central location, we would load them up on buses and send them up the hill. This in itself is QUITE a feat - rounding up and holding the attention of a sea of kids while making sure they are all dressed and ready to go. Once at the Legacy Center, each summer staffer would take a group of kids to different spots surrounding the Legacy Center. We then would keep the kids as quiet as possible as we waited for the music to start (also a daunting task). Basically, the whole performance was that the kids would slowly march in to the music, filling the room from all directions to the song “Glory, Glory Hallelujah” by the London Community Gospel Choir. They were all decked out in beautiful chitenge costumes, held LED candles that lit up, and sang their little hearts out each time. 

As much of a hassle and hair-puller it was trying to get these kids up the “mountain” every Friday night, this performance almost always moved me to tears. Tears not only for the relief of the success of that night (and that it was over for the week), but also because we were all looking at HUNDREDS of redeemed orphan children, dressed to the nines and singing praises to the God who saved them. This night showed the most complete transformation of each of these kids. They went from dirty and unnoticed and neglected to being dressed beautifully, all eyes on them, loved and adored. And the most powerful part is that the room keeps filling and keeps filling. The shear number of children that are at the Tree of Life, safe from the homes they were removed from, is enough to bring me to tears. 

But last night was the most tearful night for me. I leave in 2 days, and I have to say goodbye to these precious kids. Over the past four years I’ve been on summer staff, this year especially, I have gotten to personally know the hearts and personalities and names of so many of these kids. I know who the rowdy ones are, I know who the “troublemakers” are, and I know who the sweet-natured, well-behaved ones are. And because I led the marching orders every Friday night, all of these kids know Auntie Maliah. Saying goodbye to these kids is the absolute worst part of my whole summer spent here. Hands down. And last night, I knew it wasn’t goodbye quite yet (that part comes today), but it was a sign that goodbye is coming. It was overwhelming for a few reasons - I knew that goodbyes were not far off, I was looking at my favorite kids in the world who looked beautiful and were so happy, and it already had been an emotional last day of camp. So anyway, tears were just free falling. 

After the performance, the song “Our God” by Chris Tomlin came on as all the Americans were hugging on the kids. All of the kids know this song from last year since it was the theme song for camp in 2012. So naturally, 50 or so of the kids ran up on stage and started singing, dancing, and pretending their candles were microphones. I was standing by the stage looking at my precious little rockstars when Queen, a 14-year old girl, pulls me up on stage and says “Auntie Maliah, let’s go! I was looking for you!” Before I know it, I’m up on stage, singing and dancing with the kids until the song ends. When it’s done, Queen looks at me and says, “Auntie Maliah, I’m going to miss you very much.” I pull her in for a hug and I’m back to tears. We both just hold each other and cry for a minute. Eventually, I walk her back out to the bus and tell her that it’s not goodbye just yet, but that I’ll see her one more time before I leave. 

Anyway, I’m not looking forward to my final goodbyes to these kids. It’s going to be a tear-fest led by Auntie Maliah here. Every one of these 300+ kids hold (and will forever hold) a special piece of my heart. I feel so humbled that God would bring me here to Zambia and let me love on these incredible, talented, smart, precious children not only this year, but for four years now. What a huge blessing it was to get to be God’s hands and feet and voice not only to these kids, but also to the ones that I got to love on that came through Camp LIFE this year. I don’t know how or why God picked me to come to Africa to love on these kids year after year, but I know I am an unworthy and undeserving vessel who is so grateful that He did. 

one week.

I am one week away from driving away from my hotel for the last time. 

I am one week away from stepping on a plane that will take me back overseas to Texas. 

I am one week away from not knowing the next time I will see my beloved kids here. 

I leave Zambia in one week. 7 days. My 63 days turned into 7 so quickly; my 9 weeks in Zambia turned into 1 in the blink of an eye. I am so torn and have so many mixed emotions about having to leave. 

On one hand, I am so excited to finally get to hug my family again and see their faces. I can’t wait to see my friends and laugh with them and hear about their lives this summer. I am so looking forward to the LONG overdue Chick-Fil-A breakfast that has my name on it. I also am so ready to say goodbye to the dirt that, even after showering, still finds a way to get under my skin and in my lungs. There are so many things that I can’t wait to have back in my life, and there are so many things I can’t wait to kiss goodbye! However, my heart’s deepest joy comes from loving these kids. It is hard to explain, but I have never experienced a fulfillment like what I feel in this capacity, in this country. I could ramble on and on about how it is so close to God’s heart to love the orphan or what it feels like to do so, but to make a long story short, I’m dreading leaving it. Even more so, I’m dreading saying goodbye to my Tree of Life kids. All 360 of them (yes, the Tree of Life has that many kids now!). This year, I have made many new friends and become closer to older friends, I have had to discipline them and gotten to encourage them. I have seen them for three days each week this summer and gotten to hug and kiss them on a regular basis. For some of these kids, I have gotten to watch them learn and grow and change for the past 4 or 5 summers. When I leave, the sweet familiarity of seeing their faces and loving on them every other day will be instantly taken away, ripped out from beneath my feet. Ugh even typing this out is making me so upset that it’s coming so soon. I feel so blessed to have gotten more time with these kids than most others, but it will make our parting so much more painful. So like I said, I am so torn. I have so much to look forward to in getting on that plane next Monday morning, but I know how much I am leaving behind me. 

We begin our week of “lasts” tomorrow. We have our last Monday morning rostering, our last Tuesday rotation set, our last Thursday community day, and our last Friday of chaos from beginning to end. I am praying that this week would be our smoothest.. our 7th time to do everything should be the smoothest, but sometimes that just isn’t the way it goes. My prayer is that I would go all out on my last week, taking advantage of every opportunity since I won’t have any more this year! I am praying for God to use this week to teach me even more than I’ve already learned and to reveal answers to questions I have asked Him. This is going to be a great week.. difficult and emotional, but great. And I know it is going to be gone in the blink of an eye. 

So, with that said, I’ll see you soon, America. 

update: on the home stretch

Well, I don’t really know what this post is going to look like, so I guess I’ll just start by updating the world on how Camp LIFE 2013 is currently doing and what I’ve been up to since my last post!

We celebrated the Fourth of July last week... Zambia style! It was the best Fourth of July I’ve had in Zambia so far (I’ve been here 3 of the past 4 years for it)! With full time staff, summer staff, and other participants, there were around 40 of us here for the holiday. We grilled up like, 4 kinds of meat, had potato salad, sang America the Beautiful, and even had our own personal fireworks show! It was such a fun way to welcome in the second half of camp!

The second half summer staff arrived exactly a week ago (got to celebrate the Fourth with them) and they have been AMAZING! We are only three days into the second half of camp, but they have already proven themselves to be extremely willing, humble, hardworking people. A highlight of the week (so far) was an impromptu worship session with most of the summer staff. After dinner, we all gathered around a guitar and got to share worship, scripture, and prayers together. Despite knowing most of these people for only a few days, it was the most raw example of genuine community that I have felt since I arrived in Zambia... it really was so refreshing to my soul and it was exactly what I needed. So, thank you, Jesus, for the beautiful hearts that you’ve given to these brothers and sisters that I get to serve alongside. 

We are approaching the end of week 5 here.. CRAZY! I cannot begin to try to tell you where my time in Zambia has gone so fast, but it has been slipping through my fingers. In a blink, I have been transported from walking through the security check in the DFW airport to this moment in time, 6 and a half weeks later. God has been subtly working in my heart and teaching me things here and there, showing me how to continually submit my attitude and heart to Him. My prayer this week is that God would soften my heart again to this ministry and these people and these kids. I have been convicted lately that I am simply going through the motions because this role has become so second nature to me. But I don’t want to just go through the motions. I want to be set on fire again for Jesus and for the freedom that His death is bringing to the kids here. I want God to reignite the passion that He has put in my heart for this nation and for the glory of His name here. I have two more weeks left, and I want them to be full of the Holy Spirit moving in me and through me. I don’t want to become complacent, nor do I want to be unmoved by what God is doing here. 

I am missing you dearly, family and friends! Be praying for me as I’m on the home stretch here, that I would be all in and not burned out in my final two weeks. Pray that I would continue to appreciate beautiful transformations that are happening every day and not become desensitized to them. I am praying for you, loved ones! 

28 days

I have 28 days left here in Zambia. In exactly four weeks from today,  I will be boarding a plane that will take me back to the other side of the world. The time has flown by (no pun intended) and I can't believe the two months I had so long anticipated are already halfway up. The five weeks that I've experienced so far have been nothing short of challenging, surprising, and fulfilling. There have been a number of bumps along the way, but those bumps have only increased the glory of our God in the end.

Cynthia, the wife to one of the FLMI staffers, has taken on the role of "summer mama" during my time here. Since January, her blog has consisted of the Joy Dare, or an ongoing list of different "joys" that she writes about. Although I don't regularly blog apart from my time here, and I can't commit to taking on the full Joy Dare, this post will consist of a few joys, people, and things that I am thankful for this far during my first 5 weeks here.

10. Viber
Viber is a free app for the iPhone, iPad, etc... that you can use to text or call family internationally for free. I have gotten to talk to my family and friends back home more than ever before because of this app! It really has allowed me to communicate with my loved ones so much more than in the past while I'm here!

9. Zambia's Winter Months
Although Texas is undergoing another 100 degree summer, Zambia is experiencing their winter months. This is one of the best perks of spending two months in Zambia - not only am I avoiding the hottest time of year in Texas, but the Zambian winter weather is a 70's and 80's during the day, 40's and 50's at night. Absolutely perfect.

8. Bekah Taylor
Bekah was on summer staff with me for the first half and she was an absolute God-send. She was one of the best roommates I could have asked for and the Lord used her so much in my life first half! Bekah helped keep me grounded when my stress was getting the best of me, and she always had an encouraging word for me! Thankful for her friendship and sorely missing her as she's back in the states!

7. Sugar Bush
I probably talked about Sugar Bush last year, but this is the absolute cutest little place in all of Lusaka. Sugar Bush is this open-air cafe complete with a playground, garden, horses and boutique. It has a super-relaxed vibe and the food is absolutely delicious. We got to go there on Sunday for brunch, and it was such a nice, relaxing way to start break week!

6. Lice Shampoo
Yes, I am so very thankful for lice shampoo. Lice in Africa is quite an experience.. not one that I want to relive. That's all.

5. My Camera
My camera has been such a blessing. I love love love photos and getting to relive memories, so being able to capture those memories through a good camera has made it all possible. Thank you Jesus for photography.

4. My First Half Summer Staff
I love these crazy people. My first half summer staff was made up of wonderful, hard-working, orphan-loving people, and they all helped make the first half of Camp LIFE 2013 a success. There are some incredibly generous, genuine hearts among these people, and it was a blessing to get to serve the orphan alongside them.

















3. Lifeway Christian Academies
Family Legacy began building schools in the compounds that we work with so that our sponsored kids could begin to receive a quality education. These schools are called Lifeway Christian Academies. The education team that lives over here full time is phenomenal and has done a great job choosing teachers that love Jesus and love these kids. These schools really have done an incredible job in educating our kiddos over here. It is amazing to see the difference at camp.. our LCA students have incredible English skills even after just one year of attending school there. Our students have some of the highest marks in the entire nation on national standardized tests. It is beautiful to watch an orphan's untapped potential become discovered and inspired. These kids are going to change Zambia one day, and I have been blessed to get to watch the beginning stages of this transformation.

2. My Dad
What a stinker. My dad has been coming to Zambia as long as I have. This was his fifth year to do Camp LIFE, and he is more passionate about these kids than ever. Experiencing Zambia with my dad has been one of the biggest blessings I could have ever asked for; it has brought us closer and this has always been something we've shared together. Furthermore, my dad is a different person here. There is something about sticking my dad in Zambia around thousands of orphans that changes who he is and how he acts. I am so thankful that God saw it fit to put Zambia in my relationship with my dad. It has truly bettered our relationship and it is something that we will share together forever.

















1. Random (not so random) Slum Kids
I love going out into the communities without a group to evangelize with. I get to meet the most precious kids on the streets that aren't a part of the week of Camp LIFE. On community day, we drop our Americans off at a central location, tell them to go and evangelize with their groups for a couple of hours, and meet back at the location for lunch. I stay behind for safety purposes and to get lunch ready. Without fail, there are ALWAYS random kids that have nothing to do that day (or any other day) and congregate around that location because there is a muzungu (white person) there. I get to love on these kids and hug them and play soccer with them while I wait on the Americans to return. I don't know anything about these kids or how much love they actually receive at home, I don't know their stories, but I know that God puts them there at arms length to be loved on for a reason. It is the purest joy I have ever felt when I get to love these kids freely and without inhibition. So thank you, God, for hand-picking the compound kiddos that I come into contact with.