Hannah
Life post Zambia has kind of been a whirlwind. I came home and was hit with many hard things. I know it is spiritual warfare. There have been many tears and walking through hard situations with people, but I know the Lord hold’s me in His mighty hands. Among the tears, there are been moments of pure bliss. Almost four days after I arrived back in Texas, I headed to Oklahoma to help out at a camp a church I worked for was putting on. At this camp, I had 11th grade girls in my cabin, 15 in my small group. I got to witness many lives being changed, and three of the 11th grade girls come to know Christ as Lord and Savior of their life. I also got to be a part of a dear friend’s wedding. It was interesting to me how life and death intersect each day without us even realizing it. A wedding is to be one of the happiest days of your life, and I was overjoyed for my friend and to share with her in that day. On that same day there was a funeral, I am sure there were many funerals and many people weddings, but this was the funeral of my grandmother. It was a bittersweet day as I longed to be there for my family. I so badly wanted to just to squeeze and hold my mama tightly but I couldn’t because I was not there. Every part of my wanted to whisper in her ear, “it is going to be okay because the Lord is with you Mom.” I do not believe my grandmother knew the Lord. But it was a quick reminder to me that life is short and as Christ followers, 
Paige
Monday marked six weeks since arriving back from Zambia. That is so crazy to me. It really feels like we were just saying goodbye. I think I am still realizing all that I learned, and really, what the Lord is still teaching me. During our month in Zambia, I fell in love. With a family, a people, a country...with my Savior. I will forever be grateful for those weeks in Zambia. Not because I was in the place that had been only a prayer in my heart for so long, not because of the rugged beauty of the land or the warmth of the people, but because the Lord breathed new life into my dry and searching heart. For the past year, I have struggled greatly in my walk with the Lord and the Gospel has felt empty. Those things didn't disappear in going to Zambia, but the Lord renewed my heart and I left with such a desire to know Him more, to know Him deeper. To truly live each day washed in His mercies and standing on grace, to live for His glory. I think the Lord taught me much about the power of the Gospel and of the Cross. About His power. How He can truly transform lives for His glory. I saw that in the lives of the sweet brothers and sisters we served with- my team, the Ks, the believers there in Isoka- their passion for the Gospel is only the result of a heart transformed by Jesus.
I think if I were just to sum up those weeks, I would sing one of the songs we sang frequently while in Zambia, "There's No One Like Jesus." The words of this song talk about searching everywhere and finding that there is none like Jesus. And it is this truth that the Lord wrote across my heart. There is none like Him. He is truly enough. We are saved for a purpose, I am HIS, but it's nothing of my own doing. When we first arrived in Zambia I felt so inadequate and really questioned why I had come. I just thought, I can't share with these people...my story is so ordinary and I can't even relate to them at all. But the Lord was faithful even in my questioning and fear and showed me that our stories are powerful ONLY because of Jesus, because God drags us to Himself, and it is nothing of our own doing. I absolutely loved Africa and everything about our time there, but really that's not what I want to remember. I want to remember that the Lord spoke to me there. That my heart was touched and He spoke so clearly. The red Zambian dirt that stained our feet is nothing in comparison to His blood that stains my heart. And that's what I want to remember..not just remember but live in.
Look for reflections from other team members in the coming days.
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