Muleshani,
We are on our way home now, right now on a layover in Johannesburg, South Africa, getting ready to board a 19 hour flight back to Washington DC. I am a little exhausted but at least clean - nice showers here! We had a God-driven team - Paul with a get it done with a little bit of humor kindness, Patty with a gentle touch and a smile, Mary Ann always willing to listen and care, and Dr. Kelly with a caring heart all using the gifts God has given us to try to care for our neighbors across the sea.
See you all soon with a heart a little more enriched.
Lesa omepale,
Mike

Here is Patricia in white,. She is pastor Andrew's wife, a nurse, a teacher, a mom of 6, and an amazing spirit who holds this clinic down in Mpatamato. Here she is with this 84 year old woman and her caregiver, one of the older people I saw in Zambia.
We saw many many people in this clinic, the sickest on our trip - hopefully we helped alleviate just a little of their suffering, God willing.

Here is Pastor Andrew. He is a gentle God-driven spirit who has done remarkable things in this poor area of Mpatamato. Andrew and his wife, Patricia, a dynamo of a woman who is a nurse and raised 6 kids, started the Mpatamato project around 1997, and now they have a great job training program for orphans, teaching them auto mechanics, sewing, cooking, and hospitality, along with a home based care program following about 1500 HIV/AIDs clients in their homes, including 89 homes where kids are caring for kids, 14-18 yr olds caring for younger siblings. He also is a pastor and tries to get other churches in the area working together for the area. They also run a clinic, and that is where we worked for the last 2 days, seeing a lot of their sick home-based care clients and supplying meds here. God has led Pastor Andrew on an amazing journey, and after receiving a book from someone in Global Connections on "If Jesus was Mayor" he ran for mayor of Luanshya and won. We got to visit him in his mayor suite, the coolest place in town, with antelope skulls on the wall, and proudly showed us his mayor medallion. He is trying to use God power in government - prayers needed!

Muleshani, we have been in Ndola just North of the capital, another 8 hour very hot van ride Wed to get here. It is in the 90's hear and sweltering, but we are staying at a great lodge called Kapps lodge with showers and air conditioners! During the day we drive to a city just West of here called Luanshya, a copper mine city, and go to a suburb called Mpatamato - this is a very impoverished area especially lately with one of the coppermines closing - lots of young men roaming the streets and the sex trade is large here. This has one of the highest HIV rates in the world. We spent the last 2 days in a clinic set up by a community center called Mpatamato. Here, if you can see this older woman's neck, traditional healers are big here and do lots of "tattooing" or cutting to relieve evil spirits. But in this case just created a keloid, and very large painful scar, which unfortunately little can be done for. There is still lots of evil spirit talk especially in the older folks and rural areas.

FRANCES

Another major success. Many of you have read in the past about Frances. He was the eldest of 22 children being cared for by his aunt, who was one of the first Samfyans I met 3 years ago. He was also one of the first orphans sponsored by SCCP to go to college. Well, he finished teacher's college this past spring and was waiting patiently for a teaching job from the government, who despite the fact they only have 1/3 of the teachers they need for their schools, still do not have enough funds to hire the new ones they train. He FINALLY got a job and will be starting next month in a small village about 1 hour away from his home in Samfya. He is still looking on somehow in the future furthering his education to become a doctor though. Pray for him and his family!

SUCCESS STORIES

Hey gang, this is Gilgal. I saw her for the first time at her home one year ago. She was recovering at that time with her recent illness with AIDS. She is a widow with 4 kids. At that time she was just given a microloan of $30 for a kitchen farm she was so proud of, making $100 that first year. This past May I saw her again, stronger and making it on her own. This time she is bright and exuberant and healthy. She got a second loan of $100 which she put in to knitting clothes, one of which she is wearing brilliantly. God is great!

This is one of SCCPs home based clients on the left with his home based care volunteer. Early in the year he was quite sick with HIV but with SCCPs support and meds for his illness he got stronger and back to work. With a microloan of $30 and some teaching, he was able to build this great kitchen garden, which fed him and his family and made about $100 for himself. With continued success, he will be in line for a second loan of $100 next year to start another project. SCCP takes on 100 new clients a year with Willow and Bright Hope's support. We were able to train 24 great volunteers this trip how to recognize when clients were really sick and needed attention and also how to check on compliance with the meds. Lots of great things are happening in Samfya!!!

Bupe

Muleshani,
This is Bupe and her mom. Bupe was born 2 yrs ago with bad congental defects - spina bifida causing a bulge on the bottom of her spine and paralysis of her legs, along with deformities of her leg bones. Through God's ability to connect people, we ran into a group called Cure international - a group of American Orthopedic Surgeons and Neurosurgeons who try to fix congenital defects in far off lands like Zambia. Through a meeting at Willow Creek we found out they just opened a new hospital in the capital of Zambia this past year, and with a little fund-raising, we were able to hook up Bupe with Cure, Zambia. 2 wks prior to our visit, she had just had her surgery on her spine and leg and was doing great by the time of our visit, ready to try to get home. With a little work, the hope is to get her walking!

We have been working hard in the Bible School Clinic and home visits for the last 5 days. THis is Prosper in the red shirt - he has HIV and has been with the home program for 1 yr, unfortunately he has not been doing well for the last month, he may have TB. He was brought in from a home visit by our nurse Paul with bad dehydration, diarrhea - we pumped him with IV fluids and got him eating and taking new antibiotics and he felt much better. STill so much work to be done here.
Lesa omepale

This is Chanda - her husband just died at the same week that she was told she has HIV, along with her 18 month old, Prosper. She has 6 other children that she now has to try to feed on her own, but she is sick now and cannot find food. Her son here was extremely lethargic, not taking her breast milk, which has dried up anyway because of her illness. She is going to the local hospital next week to check her CD4 count, but it will be hard to feed her. SCCP is trying to help people like Chanda - there are too many stories like this though.

Samfyan Eves

During the day we work hard in the clinic or hut calls, but in the evening we have relaxed well African style. Last night we had a dinner under this full moon on this bluff overlooking this gorgeous lake. Mark and Carmen are some of God's awesome people. They made this lovely dinner for us with an awesome dessert with Zambian tea and we stayed out there for hours laughing, telling stories, and singing. Paul was able to use Carmen's guitar and remembered lots of songs from the 70's including Mark's favorite, John Denver. Some of us even saw this bright shooting star that fell out of the sky. Believe it or not, not a lot of bugs out these nights - it is the end of the dry season.
I just got back from hut calls - saw some of the poorest people I have seen since coming, many without any way to get food, many sick with HIV and unfortunately because of how the government hospital runs things here - running out of meds alot which will mean they will only get sicker and the HIV will get stronger here. We will be working on ways to prevent it, including working with Heather, a young Willow Creek volunteer right out of college who will be here for the next year. Despite how much we put into this place, so, so much more needs to be done.
Will try to keep you posted as I can - internet access is sketchy out here.
Lesa omepale (God Bless) Mike

Hey gang, we arrived in Samfya Tuesday night and started working the next day. Been seeing and doing alot. After a 9hr drive through the only paved road from West to East of Zambia, we have arrived safely on the shores of beautiful Lake Bangwuela. We have been working in the Bible clinic we set up last year, seeing 15 people a piece each 1/2 day. Mary Ann and Patty have been very busy teaching massage and exercises to 5 bright Zambians who have been practicing on the many locals with back, neck pain. We are going on hut calls daily with the local volunteers to visit the very sick, and stopping in at the local hospital, pictured below, just to see how things are going. Still so much to do here.