wow.

We're back!!! How can I even begin to sum up what an amazing trip we had to Zambia, Africa? Absolutely impossible! but I will do my best to give you the highlights.

I've mentioned it before but my husband and I went with an organization called Family Legacy and participated as camp councilors for 12 orphaned/vulnerable kids for 1 week at their CampLIFE program. I had an awesome group of girls between the ages of 10 and 15 years old and throughout the week we really got attached to each other. Most of their stories are so sad. Most live with a grandma or aunt, which at first glance doesn't sound so bad but in their culture everyone is in survival mode and they don't have those close family bonds that we do. They are often treated as an unwanted burden. With the unemployment rate near 80% in Zambia, it's hard for these kind of families to afford to send their kids to school. Four out of my 12 girls are not currently in school. One of those girls has never, ever been to school and she is 15 years old! It is absolutely heartbreaking. These kids desperately need hope! A big reason we go is to share with them the Gospel and the true hope that Jesus offers. However it is also an opportunity for us to find sponsors for each of them because that is what will help them get a good education. That's what I love about Family Legacy, they really want to help these kids to help themselves when they grow up by focusing on education.

These are my group of girls that I had the whole week:

Two of them said they were 9 and 10 years old but I think they were more like 7 and 9.

One day we spent out in the communities (the compounds) where our group of kids were from sharing the Gospel and serving others by cleaning their houses.

We did laundry at one house.

Here is one of the schools that Family Legacy operates. It is lightyears better than the community or government schools (you can see more here). That's hubby ready to learn his lessons. :)

This is a super cool little 2 minute video that shows the importance of education in Africa. It was actually a commercial (not associated with Family Legacy) that was made to be aired during the world cup last year.

This is one of the most awesome mission trips I have ever been on. We actually forged personal relationships with these kids and it was amazing getting to know their stories. I believe God put us on this earth to help each other whether they live across the street or across the world. If a difference was made in only one of my kids life on this trip then that is awesome. It starts with one kid at a time.

Zambia was an absolutely beautiful country and the people were even more so. I would love to go back and do it again next summer.

Thanks for reading and thank you to those who supported me to go in the first place!