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(Posted by Frank)
Hello Friends,
Tanya finally was able to get some good bandwidth, so sent a bunch of pictures. She asked that I create a slideshow for the bog so you could see what has been happening over the past number of weeks. (it may take a moment to load)
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Meet the Luwizhis-Missionaries to Grippis Farm
Dear Heroes,
We are so pleased to announce that we have received our 501C3 status as a registered non-profit organization. All of your donations are tax deductible - and this status is retroactive to February of 2008 when we first applied. While our application was pending we were able to issue tax receipts for your donations. Now you can be sure that all you have donated is tax deductible and all that you will donate in the future will be as well. This may encourage you to donate to support our projects in Zambia. Below is one of the needs that we currently have. May God guide you as you reflect on it.
Vincent Luwizhi is the director of GHI's projects in Zambia. Vincent is a full time missionary for GHI who relies on donations to support his family while doing his ministry in Grippis Farm. He is a godly man with a gentle spirit who is committed to seeing Grippis transformed by the power of God as he shares the biblical world view with the villagers. He is also excited about bringing economic improvement to their personal lives by introducing income generation projects. He is heading up the oversight of the Mango Grove Community School, the small animal husbandry training center, the new building construction, the income generating projects of tailoring, gardening and others. I was happy to get to spend time with him and his family while in Zambia. Vincent is a Zimbabwean with a theological degree from Liberty University, and is an ordained pastor. He is also a highly trained community development specialist who has lifted African communities out of poverty and dependency in 5 other African nations. We are so amazed and blessed that he responded to God's call to do the same for Grippis Farm.
He did an amazing job of coordinating everything when the mission team was there - he had everything incredibly organized - he had made all of the preparations so the team could do their work on the building. He had organized the architect to do the plans, the foreman to oversee the work, did all the legwork to get the supplies in place, the workers ready, and kept positive relationships with the community while they were clearing the land and preparing it for the construction. He did all of the up front work with the well drilling company and followed up afterwards to make sure that it was well done and in working condition. He is a hard working, dedicated, efficient man with a very positive, optimistic and faith-filled attitude. He is servant leader, even tempered, and always keeps himself in the background, quietly making things happen (He is pictured above with Mr. Sachika looking over the architect's drawings for the school and with the workers from the village at the construction site.)
His wife Samantha is an American who is by training a special education teacher. However she is a full time mom right now to their two girls, Madison, 4 years old, and Olivia, 1 year old. Madison is a precocious, warm, outgoing little girl who overflows with energy and a zest for life. She has a tender heart for the children of Grippis. The family has a slideshow of the Grippis children on their family camera. She sits and watches it and tears run down her face. "I just think it is so beautiful," she says. She loves to help with the rabbits, the ducks, the goats and chickens in the training center. She is friends with all and involved in whatever is going on. Olivia is an adorable toddler who is still trying to keep her balance so she can walk. She smiles almost all the time, is cutting teeth, is easy going and just as delighted with crawling after the ducks and chickens as Madison.
This God-sent family has embraced the children and teachers of the Mango Grove Community School, and have been accepted with open arms by the Grippis Community. They have already earned great respect from all whose lives they touch. They are currently living on faith - they have received only a fraction of what they need to pay their monthly expenses. If God nudges you to support them, please donate through the website, or by check to P.O. Box 10, Mint Spring, Virginia, 24463, and mark Vincent on the Memo line.
Or, if you feel nudged to go and volunteer to help Vincent administer the projects in Grippis for a short term mission assignment of 6-8 weeks, he is asking for help.
God bless you for your obedience and generosity,
Tanya
Sharing The Gospel With Zambia's Chiefs
Many Tears, Few Words
When we are working on public relations materials together for our family business, my son David often says to me, "Mom - too many words." Today, I am at a loss for words- something profound has happened. I can only give you a timeline and weep, as I have for the past 7 hours.
11:00 am- Chief Chipepo from Siavonga arrives for a meeting that he initiated with me and my friend Dorothy Phiri, who arranged for our visit to his chiefdom to give out glasses. He thanks us for the wonderful service to his people.
11:30 He says "At 16 hours I invite you, Tanya, to come to our Chief's conference at Mulungushi Conference Center to give whatever word the Lord gives you to give to the Chiefs.
11:45 He leaves. I begin weeping. Stunned. Humbled. No words can capture…
12:30 I arrive at Heroes Farm and put my towel on the wood floor of my bedroom. I lie prostrate on it, weeping. Unable to comprehend what God is doing. As I weep, God speaks. Bit by bit what his message is to the chiefs enters my mind.
3:00 I leave Heroes Farm with a message in my heart and spirit, driving to Mulungushi Center
3:40 I drive in the gates - Impala are roaming on the grass across the street from the mall where I always go to the internet cafe. A fountain shoots water under lines of palm trees and manicured lawns. A huge metal sculpture stands at the entrance of the Conference Center. I park my old Pajero in the lot, and feeling somewhat conspicuous as the only white person on the premises with men in suits and women dressed in formal African attire, I walk into the beautiful building.
3:45 Dorothy Phiri arrives to accompany me. She phones the chief and asks which building we should be in. We walk to the right building.
4:00 Chief Chipepo greets us warmly and invites us into the VIP lounge. He pulls a small table in front of our chairs in order to serve us. He instructs the wait staff to bring us tea and a plate of finger food.
4:05 We hear the National Constitutional Committee voting on the new constitution being put into place. Inside the doors next to us are the parliament and the chiefs who are writing the new constitution.
4:10 The Chiefs are on break, and start arriving in our room - each one greets us personally with a handshake. We get on our knees for each one and shake their hands and greet them as "Your Royal Highness". They are warm and welcoming. They get snacks and tea and are seated in the large black leather chairs that are positioned in a U shape in the room. Chief Chipepo opens the meeting by saying that Tanya has brought a medical team to check eyes and give out eyeglasses to his chiefdom, and that she is willing to do that for any other chief who is needing that service. (I am surprised to hear that I am - I am just listening to God's plans unfold in the moment)
4:15 The Chairperson opens the meeting and introduces me.
4:16 I kneel before them on both knees and address them "Your Royal Highnesses, I am a simple woman. I am of no importance. I am humbled and honored to be in the presence of great men and women here.” I proceed to explain that I believe that God has shown me that they are great in the physical realm because they have royal blood flowing in their veins and royal cells that make up their bodies. But even better than that, that God has called them to be great in the spiritual realm as well. There is a holy purpose for their lives. I told the story of Moses, whom God called to set people free from physical slavery. I said that God is calling them to set people free from spiritual slavery. Moses had no weapons, but God accomplished what he did through Moses. He is calling them to be Moses to their people by taking a stand before the evil spirit saying "Let my people go". They also have no weapons, but Jesus said that He was anointed to set the captives free. If you do not know how to access his spirit, he tells us in 2 Chronicles that if we humble ourselves before him, seek him, and give up our wicked ways, he will answer us from heaven and heal our land. I said that if they do not know how to seek the spirit of Jesus, it is by being still, and inviting him to be their Lord, their ruler. Just as they are rulers of their people, and their people carry their chief's name on their identity cards, Jesus wants us to carry his name, and to submit to him as ruler. If we follow his instructions, he will come and set the people free from slavery - slavery to greed, to lust, to the love of money, to anger, etc. I ended by asking them - are you willing to accept God's invitation to be Moses to your people? To see Jesus set them free from spiritual slavery?
4:25 Chief Chipepo invited them to share their contact information with me if they were interested in medical/eye teams coming to serve their people.
4:30 The Chiefteness seated next to me spoke up "I am so encouraged and lifted up by the message we have heard today. Yesterday - in those chambers - we were called savages who ruled over savages. Today, we have heard that we are a chosen people to lead our people to holiness. I am so thankful, so touched, so uplifted by this message. I want to thank our visitor for speaking God's words to us”.
4:35 Chiefs went back to the Constitutional session with members of parliament. My Zambian friend, Dorothy Phiri whispers to me - you don't even know how extremely difficult it is to see these chiefs. It is so unbelievably rare to get an audience with just one of them.
4:40 I drove across the street to the internet cafe, weeping once again to tell you this tale.
I think I did have some words - is that ok this time David?
Tanya
Dear Heroes,
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
By Carolyn Snell
About a year ago I received a nudge from God to participate in a mission trip to Zambia Africa with the organization We’re All Gods Children. This particular mission trip was to entail vision screening and then provide eyeglasses to the poor.
But AFRICA I asked God and myself?! Never in my wildest imagination would I have ever conceived the idea of going to AFRICA! I mean that country seemed so far away; so remote, and so very primitive!
However, after meeting with Carol Fanelli and viewing her DVD on a trip to Kenya, my heart was touched. The pictures of those poor people proudly wearing their new glasses that sometimes were too small, too big, or even for the opposite sex, stirred something inside of me that I cannot explain. Being an optician, I see people with new glasses everyday – but this was different. Here in the States, we get to choose our eyeglasses. The term is even different, it is eyewear. The choice is based on fashion, name brand, color, and perhaps purpose of use. Most Americans have several pairs of glasses! But these people are different. Even in still photos, one could sense the hearts of the people in Kenya, their gratitude, and their humbleness. Although they were poor, they were a proud people.
But AFRICA? I came up with lots of excuses not to go. But God had a plan for me. He wanted me to go and go I would. I realized it wasn’t about me; instead it was about being obedient to God whom I love.
So off I go to bless the people of Zambia and Grippis Farm with my skill to fit eyeglasses. Little did I know it would be quite the opposite! I was blessed beyond description by the people of Zambia. Not only was God going to do a work through me, but he was going to do a work in me!
The first thing I noticed when we arrived in Zambia was the smell. The smell wasn’t of lush green fields with lots of fragrant flowers, but instead the smell was of burning brush and of a very impoverished place. Certainly not like some tropical place I would have chosen. But God did not give me a choice did he?
Since it was dark when we arrived, I was not prepared for the actual sight of this place! Not only was the smell unpleasant, the image was worse. It was of poverty, sickness, disease; hopelessness. The roads were mainly dirt with lots of potholes and trash strewn along both sides. There were people everywhere walking to their destinations, without ever having hope of owning a car.
The next day, we walk to Grippis Farm. This is the place that God has placed upon the heart of Tanya and the hearts of the people of Greenmonte Fellowship in the small town of Stuarts Draft, VA. This walk from Heros Farm to Grippis Farm brought to my mind a walk that perhaps Mother Theresa would have walked. In fact, as I witnessed Tanya walking through this little village she so loves, in my spirit Tanya is Mother Theresa!
We were all devastated by the sights we saw walking through this village. The poorest of the poor were living here. Children running around in the dirt, no shoes, filthy rags they wore for clothes, and the dirtiest little faces I think I have ever seen. The women were working hard to do their daily tasks, with a child upon their backs. I didn’t see many men until we came upon the “tavern”. There they were - drinking to drown out the desperation and hopelessness of the living conditions their families were in. I cried tears of sorrow for these people. “Oh thank you God, for allowing me to participate in this mission trip that will in some small way bless these people” I prayed.
Once we arrived at the school, the teachers and the children had a surprise for us. They had worked so hard on songs to sing and a skit to perform for us. Despite the visual aspects of poverty, these children of Grippis Farm portrayed an inner beauty that could not be denied nor contained. The inner beauty of these people burst forth with so much vivacious energy, that we were completely overcome with joy!
I cannot properly put into words the emotions I had during the eye clinics. I work in the field of Optometry. I know how important eyeglasses are. I know how important medical care for the eyes is. I know how debilitating a fully developed cataract is to a person. And I also know how easily some of these conditions are to make better. It was absolutely heartbreaking to witness a man, woman, and/or child have a cataract (or two) that was so dense it looked like white marbles where an eye should be! We saw many that had lost vision due to an injury or some genetic disease. Without the means to pay, these people could not seek medical care for their eyes! It all seemed so senseless to me. But God was using the sights and the smells to soften my heart that had in some ways had become hard. After being in Grippis Farm, Chikumbuso, and being in Chief Chipepo’s village for a day, my heart was especially heavy. On the four hour ride to the Chief’s village on the second day, I cried and I cried. My heart was screaming out to God “The Injustice of it all! Where, my God is the justice in this?” At some point in this period of mourning, I knew it was the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart and my soul. I began to look at things from a different angle. I began to see the good in the bad.
My experience in Zambia wasn’t all “gloom and doom”. There was a great deal of laughter among the team. Although we were strangers to one another we shared a common thread that bound us together forming a lifetime of memories and friendships. Laughter and joy was also prevalent whenever we interacted with the Zambian people. Their laughter and was contagious to say the least.
Some special people I met that brought me such joy and inspiration were David at Heroes Farm, Issac at Heros Farm, 13 year old Kennedy at the orphanage Chikumbuso, and a fine young man at Chief Chipepo’s village.
David made me laugh and laugh. He was always threatening to leave me somewhere! We bantered back and forth the whole time we were there, but we loved each other. Isaac always had a smile on his face and he has such a sweet spirit about him. He truly serves the Lord with his whole heart.
Little Kennedy translated for Miriam and me the entire day with such enthusiasm and joy. He has the biggest and brightest smile on his precious face. He loves school, speaks three languages, and wants to be a lawyer when he grows up. I pray that God will make a way for this beautiful child.
And then there was the special young man. He translated two days for Miriam and me at Chief Chipepo’s village. He is eighteen years old, an only child, and just graduated from high school. He still lives with his parents in a hut with no electricity or running water. He wants to go to college in the field of electrical engineering but has no money. He needs a sponsor to fund his college tuition. My heart went out to him Even though I never lived in poverty such as him, I grew up poor. I know what it is like to want to go to college, but have no means to do so. I pray for him as well.
One of the greatest things about this mission trip was our team members. God sure knows how to place people together to work together for good! We had the best! I was so blessed to have Linda as my buddy. She and I grew so close in those two weeks, we were even thinking alike! And then there was my girl Lindsay. She was ALWAYS looking out for me. Being scatterbrained like I am, I misplaced something every single day I was there. She would continuously look behind me to make sure I didn’t leave something behind. Thank you Lindsay!
And of course there is Tanya. I was and continue to be in constant awe of this very special lady. She serves God and the people of Grippis Farm with such tenacity, endurance, and total love! She totally amazes me. God has used this tiny petite woman to move mountains for His honor and glory!
God has been showing me areas in my life that needed changing. I kept denying this one particular area. Justifying it in any way I could possibly find. I had just about convinced myself that it never really existed. But God wasn’t through with me yet! On the plane ride to Zambia, I met a gentleman who is a native of Zambia, but travels to the States on business. He works for a major bank; therefore travels back and forth. I asked him if he liked the United States. His response was yes in some ways however he noticed that Americans are individualistic; the Zambian people are relational. Americans are selfish, self-centered, and very much about themselves. The Zambian people share what they have with one another no matter how small. Time is not important to the Zambians; time is everything to the Americans. During my two weeks in Zambia, I was reminded of this over and over again. “I know, I know, I say to God. I hear you!” I learned early on in life to depend on myself. I became very independent and self sufficient. I had to. By relying on “self”, I became self-centered and selfish. This is the very thing God has been and continues to speak to me about. “WOW” and “OUCH” at the same time! Sometimes we have to keep going around and around that mountain before we learn those lessons huh?
The most special of all nights we had together was the night the teachers from Grippis Farms, the school officials, and government officials came to share dinner with us Zambian style! After dinner, the sharing began. Not only did the teachers share, but the officials as well; one testimony after another. The fun part of the evening was everyone singing and dancing with one another totally without culture barriers. But the absolute best part was the worship and the prayer. Those teachers sang to our Lord Jesus Christ with such passion and love it penetrated their very souls! When the time came to pray I know without a doubt the Holy Spirit filled that room and every single person in there! I have NEVER experienced anything so beautiful, so heart throbbing, or so intense in my life. We all cried out to God in out own voices, in our own way, and in our own language. What a harmonious symphony that must have sounded like to God and his angels in heaven above.
I’ll end with this last thought. I went to Zambia thinking I was going to bless those people and perhaps in some small way I did, BUT I was the one blessed beyond description. We think of the Zambian people as being poor. And they are in many, many ways and yet we are too. They are poor in material things yes. The sicknesses and death is overwhelming. But they are so rich in ways that are much more important. They have a love, a faith and a trust in the Living God that penetrates every single tiny fiber of their being! They are in constant worship and prayer to our heavenly father. They have a complete and total dependence on God (not themselves); they simply have to.
So, I ask myself - WHO is poor? The answer is in the mirror!
I came away from Zambia with a new perspective. I now have a deep love and respect for those people – those BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE.
Carolyn Snell
Chris Beverage
Dear Heroes,
Chris Beverage shares his experience on his mission to Zambia below:
I am safely back in the US and already miss Africa. What an amazing experience it was. To witness God's presence in a place of such poverty is something I can't describe. The people there are so gracious and humble and joyous, it made me feel as though it's us that are lacking. Most of the families in this community have several people living in a 2-4 room mud hut. They are the poorest of the poor but have the most wonderful spirit.
While we were there we began construction on the first building of a school for the community. With the financial help of Grassroots Hereos International in Stuarts Draft, the school is being built for children in the community that cannot afford to go to school otherwise. Each morning we went to the construction site and there were 10-15 members of the community already there volunteering to help. When we left, the building was to the point of putting on the roof. Not too bad for 2 weeks with no tools except for 4 shovels and some masonry tools.
There was a second team that provided vision screenings for the community as well as other poor areas of Zambia. Over the two weeks they gave out over 1,100 pairs of eyeglasses. Again, these people would never be able to afford glasses otherwise.
I want to thank each of you for your prayers and support. It was an experience that will forever change how I view many things. For every one of us that went, God gave us so much more than what we gave the people of Zambia.
Chris Beverage
Julie Burkholder's Mission to Zambia
Dear Heroes,
Julie Burkholder came to Zambia to explore a call to missions she has had in her heart since she was about 8 years old. She turned 17 on the night she arrived! Photos of her below show her praying with a woman from Girppis and making friends with the kids. She shares her experiences in her note below the photos. Her Mom adds a note also.
Dear Miss Tanya,
I told you that you would hear my thoughts on the trip once I processed them. So here is the best I can work out for now. Arriving at Heroes Farm Monday night was wonderful. Over time, that house became like a home away from home because of the people that were in it. I really enjoyed David's character, attitude, and perspective nature. I loved the simplicity of the house itself. There wasn't much there beyond what was needed (in an American viewpoint), but that allowed us to be focused on the mission instead of wishing to get back to whatever luxury we had left at the house. As far as the living style at Heroes, I found it to be just about like we live at home just a little plainer.
Grippis was wonderful. I loved seeing the people that you keep talking about and the places that show the improvement in their lives. I'm excited by the vision and excitement that is sweeping the village as more and more people are getting the idea that they don't have to stay in the same situation forever. The children are precious and the teachers are so inspiring, I had no chance to be depressed. All I could do was praise God for where he had brought this community and where He was leading them. I know there are still lots of huge obstacles to overcome, but if God has brought them this far in this short amount of time, how much farther will he take them in the years ahead, just like you said at the well dedication day.
About Chief Chipepo's village, it was so Godish the way everything worked out. The smallest amount of people were in that village, but we got to do two chief's and you got to talk to almost all of them!
I think that was all the major observations about Zambia. It is a lot easier to understand the Bible now. The way Jesus did His ministry makes so much more sense as does the way the Israelites lived in the OT. It also makes sense why God sent Jesus to be in the "third-world culture," because that is what most of the world lives in, if He had sent Him to a "First-world culture," most people wouldn't understand the Bible. I hope to go again sometime so I can learn to know the people more instead of just the situation. Julie.
Julie’s Mom, Marilyn who accompanied Julie to Zambia adds these observations as well, “Our time in Zambia was even more precious as I watched Julie's call to missions was affirmed, knowing that I will one day be releasing her to follow that call to places and persons to which we were ministering. She willing returned home, but her heart was left there in a totally different way then mine. We came to love the people and desire to see their hearts following the Lord.”
Marilyn
Saving Lives in Zambia
Dear Heroes,
I am always so blessed to be able to help those who are in very serious need in Grippis with the funds that you are providing. This trip I encountered some very serious medical situations which were quickly becoming life threatening. The first day I was at Grippis, Lillian, showed me her finger. It looked to me like there was some of it actually missing. She said she had not injured it, that it just started swelling and then it turned into what you see in the photo. She had gone to the local clinic and had already received 10 injections, but the finger was not improving. I was able to take her to a surgeon in downtown Lusaka where they x-rayed it and then opened it up and cleaned out the infection. It took three trips downtown to get it all taken care of. The nurse told me if we hadn’t intervened it would have soon developed gangrene. Lillian sent me a message through Vincent that now her finger is better. Lillian is able to go back to work now. She got a job as a maid in the nearest community to Grippis. (She earns $45/month) She has built a small mud brick house for herself and her 6 children – she recently separated from her abusive husband to make a better life for herself and her children. She is more confident and joyful than I have ever seen her. She is going to the new church plant in Grippis, and is the song leader there. Her relationship with God has given her new hope and faith that God will take care of her. (She is pictured praying during the church service we attended at Grippis where Pastor Elias of Harvest Church is leading the new church plant which meets at Mango Grove School.)
Another person you helped was this little boy who came to the eye clinic in Chief Chipepo’s Chiefdom in Siavonga. (Pictured in pink) He was beaten with a stick that had broken his eyeball open. The local doctor put gauze on the eyeball, but couldn’t do anything else to help him. He needed to have the eye removed and an artificial eye put in. His family had no way to pay for the surgery. He had been living with his eye ruptured for almost a year. He is 9 years old. We were able to pay for his eye surgery. With your donated funds. I don’t have contact information for the mother, but she was so grateful for the help that we offered, and I hope to be able to follow up with someone after he has his surgery. He is pictured getting his good eye checked at the vision clinic.
One of my dearest friends in Grippis is Josephine Phiri. She has a heart of gold, and her family is an amazing bastion of God’s love and light in Grippis. She, her husband Fred and her adult son Abel took the tailoring class, and are all anxious to resume classes when we are able to fund those again. She just had her eighth child, Emmanuel. Following the birth she had surgery. About a week after surgery she developed pain in the area of the surgery, and then got a fever. When I saw her she had a raging fever, was chilling and in severe pain. I took her to a good clinic in Lusaka where she received medications to fight infection and help with the pain and fever. I paid for that with your donations. By the time I left Zambia she was feeling better, and had had a check up with the doctor who adjusted some of her meds. Thanks to you she is in good health again.
Rich Blessings,
Tanya Brenneman
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