Friday, June 5

Welcome to my Zambia Journey blog! I am heading to Lusaka, Zambia on July 10, 2009 to work for two weeks as a Camp Hope bible school teacher with orphans in the village of Chongwe, Zambia, near the city of Lusaka.

As I prepare for my short-term mission trip, I have been busy raising $4200 to fund the trip, most of that cost being airfare, and the rest going to room and board, supplies and the needs of the mission itself. Every Orphan's Hope www.everyorphan.org is the organization I am going with. My sister and niece have both been working with EOH for several years now, and my niece Jessica is currently on her second mission trip in Zambia. She is there for two months this summer and her comments may be read on her blog at www.showerstravels.blogspot.com

I welcome you prayers, and many of you reading this have already supported me financially. Thank you so much for participating with me in mission this summer. It's still five weeks until I fly to Africa, and this spring has held some huge personal challenges for me, as my dad recovers from open heart surgery (he lives two doors down from my family). We are glad to see him recovering and pray for his full recovery. In the meantime, I am sticking close to home and planning carefully for his meals and transportation needs while I am gone in July.

There is a great deal of planning that goes into a trip of this magnitude. I have been busy for months raising money to fund the trip. I had to apply for a visa to Zambia, which I now have; and I have yet to get my immunizations and malaria meds for the journey. My sister, Evelyn Showers, designed and sent all the crafts for our camps in Zambia last month. My niece Jessica is busy as a mission intern meeting children and making home visits in Zambia, trying to make connections with children in need and help them find sponsors, churches, help and hope.

Thank you for being a part of this important mission.
Ellen.