Hello everyone, like the tittle of this posts says, we are all home after 31 hours of traveling from Lusaka, Zambia to Philadelphia.  We arrived in the evening on Saturday, and really, I’m just starting to feel normal this morning (Tuesday, July 3rd).  Thanks for bearing with me regarding these updates.  I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to access the internet in Zambia.  I was going there expecting it to be slow, but I thought I could at least find one or two locations that would allow me to upload pictures – sadly enough this proved to be to much for their systems, and despite lots of attempts, I couldn’t get anything up.

Anyway, regarding the trip, it was a great blessing for all that were involved.  The church there in Ndola were greatly encouraged by our team, and by the results of the various ministries that they had set up for us during our time there.  By the last couple of days, our team from CC Philly, and the church there in Ndola really grew close, and I know that friendships have been formed that will last for a long time.  Not only is it safe to say that the church was blessed, but I think our group of 22 may have been blessed even more.  For many of them, this was their first time in Zambia, and for quite a few, this was their first time out of the United States! Culture shock set in, but after being there a couple of days I got to see first hand the Lord speak to them, give them His heart for the lost there in Ndola, fill them with His love, and Holy Spirit, and use them in great ways.  Many Zambians gave their hearts to Christ, and we pray now that they will get connected with pastor Ackson, and his wonderful church there in Ndola.

As we are back now in the States, the challenge will be to not forget the things the Lord showed us, but rather to act upon them, and to continue to live them out.  We must remember the things that we’ve seen (both good and bad), the people we met, the smells we smelled, the hardships we had faced, the unity that we gained, and the Lord that we saw work wonders in our midst.  Lord willing the work in Ndola will continue with or without our team going there each year, but  I pray that the Lord would continue to see fit that we have the privilege to work side by side with our brothers and sisters there for a long time!

I think for the next couple of posts I’m going to have some of the Sr. High students write about the trip, and the things that the Lord showed them during their time in Zambia. So stayed connected as I get that set up as well as add some more pictures and videos of the trip to the site.

Blessings,

Carlos