Living in a world plagued by HIV, early marriage, and children born out of wedlock brings shame, tragedy, confusion, and heartache. The next generation brings hope to Africa, but we must educate them in the word of God and the ways of God. A five day abstinence training called "Choose To Wait" was recently conducted with about 28 youth from Nsongwe village.

Mr. Timothy Mfula from Christ’s Hope International (CHI) organization conducted the training with 28 students ranging from age 16-19 years old from Nswonge village. The training was based on the Choose to Wait curriculum developed by CHI that teaches about the value that God places on each person and the value he places on sex because it has the power to create a human being. It also emphasizes the importance of abstinence and the gift of sex within the bonds of marriage. The students were taught the curriculum in addition to being taught how to create a lesson plan to teach the curriculum to others.
There were 10 new decisions for Christ during this training as well as 24 pledges to stay abstinent until marriage.

During the fourth day of the training, the gospel message was shared alongside his message about the value of each person. Many of the students were eager to hear about and came forward to receive Christ and prayer for things that were holding them back from taking a pledge of abstinence. It was so important that each student had a foundation of Christ to stand on through temptations and hardships that will come.

There was a boy named Boniface who came forward the first day of the training claiming that boys were more valuable than girls because they pay a dowry to get married. He claimed that the only reason for marriage was to bear children. As the training continued, Boniface started participating more and agreed with what was being taught. By the end of the training, Boniface made a decision to stay pure and his attitude towards women and marriage changed as shown through his comments about the training and his faithful attendance. He is the kind of youth who should be targeted with this curriculum as many have been taught the traditions of their forefathers rather than the truths of God.

This program will be continued by a few students who are ready to teach it to small groups of three or four people. They will do it through the “Youth of Fire” group in Nsongwe village and the local youth leaders of that group will help supervise those teaching the curriculum along with Erin Hartzell, community coordinator of the LIFE Project. They can do it in their schools, churches, or other groups where they feel this message should be spread.

Life Changing Experiences

"Nothing so clears the vision and lifts up the life, as a decision to move forward in what you know to be entirely the will of the Lord." John Paton, Missionary

Our last expedition was into the Simwatachela kingdom and was very memorable and powerful. We ministered to 2,881 people in total of which 1,037 received Christ and 169 were healed from various diseases, pains, and addictions.

There were two incredibly memorable moments I had while I was there. The first one was on the second day we were there. We started off with a small group doing a bible study and as the meeting went on, the crowd grew and the Holy Spirit started moving. People started sharing personal things about their life, things that we weren’t teaching that day. Men shared about destroying their tobacco and how they needed prayer for their alcohol addiction. Others came up desiring to destroy the power of witchcraft over their life and burn anything that the witch doctor had given them. Several married couples came up as well and shared how they desired to reconcile their marriages and start over with a foundation on Jesus Christ. Jesus had started changing the desires and hearts of the people by his Holy Spirit, not by our words.

The second moment was the last day that we had a group meeting. After teaching the group about how Jesus views us and how much he loves and adores us, we discussed humbling ourselves and having a servant’s heart towards our neighbors. Then we took turns washing one another’s feet. It touched my heart to watch the people wash one another’s feet, including headmen, as an act of service to one another. That day the heart of Jesus was grasped and put into action by the people of Simwatachela.

Our most recent classes included a shop class, 4X4 driving, ministry ethics, a medical course, third world diseases, and preaching. Our medical course was so interesting as we learned all about how to treat injuries in the bush until we can get to medical help. Then we got to practice it with scenarios where people wore make-up and pretended to be hurt. We had to figure out what was wrong with them and treat them. It was intense, but lots of fun!

We finish the rest of our classes this week and then we have a final project and one last expedition. It has gone by so fast, but I have learned so much and I look forward to applying my new skills as a staff member. Thank you to all the encouragement of friends, family, and financial partners. This ministry would not run without you!

Advanced Missions Training

Advanced Mission Training has started and is going…It has been such an adventure already. The very first week we departed for the village for our first expedition where we spent a week ministering. We spent one day ministering in a few village churches and encouraging the Christians there and then we started off to the next village very much in the bush. On the way there our huge truck decided to sink in the mud so that one side of the truck was completely leaning. It really looked like it was going to tip over! It was crazy. So, after trying to pull it out with another car we tried a tractor, but when the Zambian pastor driving it started pulling, the tractor went up on two wheels and the pastor fell off the back of it! Then they couldn’t get it to shut off. It was so crazy and a little scary, but God was faithful to keep us safe. After one more whole day, the base sent another truck that pulled us out and we were on our merry way.  Look at more pics on facebook.

In the village, we ministered to families and saw over 300 people give their lives to the Lord. We also saw people delivered from demons and one little girl was healed of her deafness! They stood behind her and whispered and she repeated exactly what they said! Another day we talked to about 200 kids and about half of them gave their lives to Christ. We also visited an orphanage in the middle of the bush that these missionaries started and we were told the children were scared by demonic spirits. We told them the story of Gideon and prayed for them and they started sleeping in their own rooms again which was so huge. The next night we went there they laid hands on their "moms" and prayed for them. It was so cute and so powerful! I felt I needed to share how precious this 16-year-old was to Jesus and how he desired to heal her wounds the way he healed mine and she burst out crying. I knew that was from the Lord because they really don't show emotion in their culture. We also played a lot of soccer with the people and won at least one of the games.  It was a powerful expedition.

It has also been powerful being here and learning so much in our classes. We started with bush cooking and GPS navigation. We learned to cook over a fire in the bush and I killed a chicken and took off the feathers and everything! I never thought I would do that, but I knew that I would have to do it someday so I might as well do it now.  It was so nasty when the blood spurted all over my foot though! Our GPS class is so helpful to get to villages that have never been reached and connect coordinates together with google earth to find villages that are unreached all over the planet!

The other classes we have done are a culture class and teaching by Mike Petzer, a pastor out of Arizona who teaches the scriptures in context and about true salvation. He talked a great deal about God’s completed work and how we have to believe we are now perfect in Christ. He died for us because of our sin nature, but so often we are told it is our sin that made Him have to die for us. He died for that too, but our sin nature is what kept us from Him. He died for the whole world and took away all of their sins already so what is it that keeps some from knowing Him then? Unbelief! Incredible. When we continue to live out of our old nature, we are living out of character. We are no longer that nature. We have been cleansed completely and it is no longer about being cleansed of our sin, but about renewing our mind to believe who we truly are in Jesus, “the righteousness of God”. Amazing! Pretty great stuff. We had his teaching for six days and it truly changed my life and my mindset. His grace is so sufficient for us.

As we continue our training this week, we are starting a Come Back Alive Survival Course and another Bible class. I look forward to all the things we are going to learn and the challenges we will face. I am so grateful for the prayers of my faithful friends and supporters. Please continue to pray for unity of our team, endurance to finish the course, a closer relationship with Jesus so that I can share the gospel effectively, and financial provision. I am still asking for monthly supporters as I will be staying as a staff member and it will only be possible through your help in order to keep this work going. Thanks!

Humbled

As I start this blog, I keep thinking how I am humbled each and every day I am here. In the last month or so, I have started going into the villages with another staff member from Overland Missions to do staff evaluations in the preschools, attend teacher trainings, and start assessments for the project we want to start with the vulnerable populations in the villages. I have also met with several members of Social Welfare to discuss how we can come alongside the projects they are already doing so that they will be self-sustainable. Each day that I visit the village, I am once again humbled at the difficult lifestyle lived each and every day by the people there. Recently, I attended a teacher training where I met one teacher named George, a 69-year-old man who walks six hours each way to where the truck picks up the teachers to attend the training. I was told that one day he walked to whole way because he missed the truck. He has such a passion for teaching children even at his age and is always excited to participate in the training. He is also excited to hear the word of God that is preached before each training. I am humbled by people like George who have such a desire for God and desire to see change in the next generation. He inspires me and gives me a renewed joy for the work I am doing.

Thank you to everyone who has kept me in your prayers as several of them were answered. First of all, I received my work permit which allows me to be in the country for two years. This can be a complicated and long process, but it was quite simple and short for me. It was also sent straight to my city instead of having to pick it up in the capital city. This is also rare so the glory is given to God once more. I also recently moved to a place that is more secure. I am sharing a room with another Zambian girl who has been such a blessing to me. I’ll be moving next week to live on the Overland base for the missions training I am taking part in, but I will keep my place in town and my roommate so that I will have a place to stay when the training ends. This was a huge answer to prayer as well. I have also recently purchased a Toyota Rav4 to use in the villages which will make my work much easier and I will be able to assist social welfare to reach remote areas as well. My work will be on hold for the next three months as I attend the training, but I intend to become a full-time staff member in August when the roads will be completely dry. I am so grateful for transportation to use in areas that are difficult to access without a vehicle.

I have also been quite busy at my church recently as I have joined the praise team, shared a message with the youths, attended a youth camp, and I am in the process of organizing a trainer to come and teach leaders how to teach a curriculum called “Choose To Wait”, an abstinence program designed to show youth their worth in Christ and the beauty of sex in marriage. I also attended a missionary ladies’ retreat. We had so much fun as ladies and shared with one another what it looks like to love well. We also washed each other’s feet as an act of service and love to one another. It was a beautiful moment.

I am looking forward to next week when I will start Advanced Missions Training with Overland Missions. There are so many things I will learn that will be so beneficial to my ministry. I am really excited about it, but it will also feel like I’m leaving “home” again because I will be moving from town where my church is and many friends, to the base in the village where I will have a new family of missionaries. After the training I will need to raise monthly support in order to be a full-time staff member. This means I will need people to commit to donating monthly support starting in August. If you are interested, please email me at erinnhartzell@yahoo.com and I can give you further details. I want to challenge you to consider even $10 or $20 a month which is very doable and can really help when many people commit to such amounts. Thank you all for your support emotionally, financially, and prayerfully.

Prayer Requests:
-Car to work properly for the work I’m doing
-Advanced Missions Training: For our team to work together in unity, learn from the Lord, and minister well.
-Villages: For people to respond to the Gospel and turn from witchcraft, idolatry, and other strongholds.
-Unity and connectedness among the Overland team
-Finances for monthly support to stay as a staff member
-Wisdom in the best ways to start a project for the vulnerable populations

Peace in the Midst of Need

Overwhelming need…This is what I am faced with everyday when I leave my house. Whether it is a child begging for food on the street, “Madam I’m very hungry. I haven’t eaten in 3 days.” Or a dear friend struggling to pay school fees for their child or someone in the village with no shoes. It is overwhelming and unrelenting. Think of a time when a homeless person has approached you and asked for money and the uncomfortable feeling you may have had of whether or not to give it to this person. That feeling plagues me several times a day. I cry out to the Lord, “God, what do you want me to do? How can I ignore these people, but how on earth can I possibly give to everyone?” I hear His still, small voice, “My dear child, I am the ultimate provider and don’t think for one second I have forgotten them. I have not. Justice will come and there will be no more suffering.” There have been so many people who have been crippled from “hand-outs” and they learn the behavior as a means of survival. But what can we do? It’s not every person that we can take by the hand and teach them to fish, but we can take a few and those few will learn to also take a few and then we can reach the multitude.

I think of a song by Tim Hughes which says:
When hope is lost, I’ll call you Savior
When pain surrounds, I’ll call you Healer,
When silence falls, you’ll be the song within my heart.
I will praise you, I will praise you,
Though the tears fall, still I will sing to you.
I will praise you, Jesus praise you,
Through the suffering still I will sing to you.

This is what so many Zambian do and this is also my desire…

Recently, I have been doing a bible study on Esther with some other missionaries and one thing that has stuck out to me is that we need to learn to be empathetic towards people in their situations. Lend an ear, not just a quick fix to stop your uncomfortable feelings. Esther wanted a quick fix when Mordecai was mourning by giving him clothes to change into, but Mordecai demanded that she listen and understand the cry of his heart and Esther had to step into a very uncomfortable situation, but ultimately she was stepping into the destiny that God had called her to. I like to think that I am making that step and it is very uncomfortable and scary. So many unknowns, loss of hope, and feelings of isolation, but yet I have a God that is ALWAYS with me. Always…

Just last week, four boys were arrested by my house. They were suspected to be stealing in the neighborhood. They were so young (18 or so) and yet had come to the point of desperation already. The police here don’t typically have cars so people are forced to “arrest” people themselves and take them to the police station. The boys were whipped with a hose to make sure they didn’t run and were put into the car. Even though they had done wrong, I felt it was so unnecessary to whip them. There is no “innocent before proven guilty”. Here it is “guilty before proven innocent”.

I have started to see more of what the LIFE Project is doing and understand the organization better. I have applied for my work permit and I’m praying it is processed in a few weeks so that I can buy a car and start visiting villages and assessing needs. Recently, I have been busy school shopping with a few sponsored children and making sure their fees are paid. Imagine your child being sent home from school until they pay, missing important lessons, and feeling ostracized. This is what happens here when parents fail to pay their children’s school fees. Free education is a huge privilege.

Prayer Requests:
-A new place to live with more people around since I have failed to find a roommate.
-Continued Financial Need (I am currently still in need of about $700 for the training I will do in May and monthly donors-I need $700 a month-who can commit to any amount, even $10-$20 a month, so that I can stay as a full-time staff member)
-Sponsored children to continue to have their needs met
-God-inspired project for the vulnerable populations in the villages
-A connectedness among my team members
-Strength to face the need and resources to care for those in need

Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement and financial support! It is greatly appreciated!

Checks can be made payable to Overland Missions and sent to:

Erin Hartzell
c/o Overland Missions
P.O. Box 566
Cape Canaveral, FL 32920 USA

Please make sure to note on a separate piece of paper that your money is allocated for Erin Hartzell. Do not write my name on the check.

Or I can send you a credit card form to give online. Paypal is also an option and payments can be made to office@overlandmissions.com though there is a processing fee for Paypal and credit cards that will be deducted from the monies I receive.

Peace in the Midst of Need

Overwhelming need…This is what I am faced with everyday when I leave my house. Whether it is a child begging for food on the street, “Madam I’m very hungry. I haven’t eaten in 3 days.” Or a dear friend struggling to pay school fees for their child or someone in the village with no shoes. It is overwhelming and unrelenting. Think of a time when a homeless person has approached you and asked for money and the uncomfortable feeling you may have had of whether or not to give it to this person. That feeling plagues me several times a day. I cry out to the Lord, “God, what do you want me to do? How can I ignore these people, but how on earth can I possibly give to everyone?” I hear His still, small voice, “My dear child, I am the ultimate provider and don’t think for one second I have forgotten them. I have not. Justice will come and there will be no more suffering.” There have been so many people who have been crippled from “hand-outs” and they learn the behavior as a means of survival. But what can we do? It’s not every person that we can take by the hand and teach them to fish, but we can take a few and those few will learn to also take a few and then we can reach the multitude.

I think of a song by Tim Hughes which says:
When hope is lost, I’ll call you Savior
When pain surrounds, I’ll call you Healer,
When silence falls, you’ll be the song within my heart.
I will praise you, I will praise you,
Though the tears fall, still I will sing to you.
I will praise you, Jesus praise you,
Through the suffering still I will sing to you.

This is what so many Zambian do and this is also my desire…

Recently, I have been doing a bible study on Esther with some other missionaries and one thing that has stuck out to me is that we need to learn to be empathetic towards people in their situations. Lend an ear, not just a quick fix to stop your uncomfortable feelings. Esther wanted a quick fix when Mordecai was mourning by giving him clothes to change into, but Mordecai demanded that she listen and understand the cry of his heart and Esther had to step into a very uncomfortable situation, but ultimately she was stepping into the destiny that God had called her to. I like to think that I am making that step and it is very uncomfortable and scary. So many unknowns, loss of hope, and feelings of isolation, but yet I have a God that is ALWAYS with me. Always…

Just last week, four boys were arrested by my house. They were suspected to be stealing in the neighborhood. They were so young (18 or so) and yet had come to the point of desperation already. The police here don’t typically have cars so people are forced to “arrest” people themselves and take them to the police station. The boys were whipped with a hose to make sure they didn’t run and were put into the car. Even though they had done wrong, I felt it was so unnecessary to whip them. There is no “innocent before proven guilty”. Here it is “guilty before proven innocent”.

I have started to see more of what the LIFE Project is doing and understand the organization better. I have applied for my work permit and I’m praying it is processed in a few weeks so that I can buy a car and start visiting villages and assessing needs. Recently, I have been busy school shopping with a few sponsored children and making sure their fees are paid. Imagine your child being sent home from school until they pay, missing important lessons, and feeling ostracized. This is what happens here when parents fail to pay their children’s school fees. Free education is a huge privilege.

Prayer Requests:
-A new place to live with more people around since I have failed to find a roommate.
-Continued Financial Need (I am currently still in need of about $700 for the training I will do in May and monthly donors-I need $700 a month-who can commit to any amount, even $10-$20 a month, so that I can stay as a full-time staff member)
-Sponsored children to continue to have their needs met
-God-inspired project for the vulnerable populations in the villages
-A connectedness among my team members
-Strength to face the need and resources to care for those in need

Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement and financial support! It is greatly appreciated!

Checks can be made payable to Overland Missions and sent to:

Erin Hartzell
c/o Overland Missions
P.O. Box 566
Cape Canaveral, FL 32920 USA

Please make sure to note on a separate piece of paper that your money is allocated for Erin Hartzell. Do not write my name on the check.

Or I can send you a credit card form to give online. Paypal is also an option and payments can be made to office@overlandmissions.com though there is a processing fee for Paypal and credit cards that will be deducted from the monies I receive.

Fundraisers

There are a few fundraisers that I am doing if you want to help support me for the work I am doing in Zambia....

1. Cookie Lee Jewelry
If you are interested in ordering any Cookie Lee jewelry from their new line, please see the catalog at www.cookielee.biz/amielarson, then click on view catalog. Send the page number, item number and brief description with the price to Amie Larson (consultant) at lars.all4@gte.net and she will add sales tax and shipping then you can send her a check or you can charge it. I get 50% of all sales

2. Photo prints for Zambia
If you are interested in ordering great photography prints for a very cheap price, please click on this link http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=256865564498&index=1 or if you don't have a facebook page, I can send it to you. I get 100% of all sales and you get a great photo!

3. My mom is selling calendars and small prints with her photos for $10. Contact me if you are interested: erinnhartzell@yahoo.com

4. Baja Fresh Fundraiser in Southern California
Eat at Baja Fresh on Harbor and Adams in Costa Mesa, Ca on February 12th, 13th, or 14th or order takeout or gift cards and I will receive 20% of the profits. Consider treating the office with lunch. You must bring a flyer so email me if you need one and I will send it to you. erinnhartzell@yahoo.com

5. Give monthly or a one-time donation
Even $10 a month adds up if 10 people give it. Consider the impact you can make with a small amount given up from not eating out for one day. The details for donations are in the blog entry below (at the end). They are tax-deductible.

I appreciate all the prayers I can get as well for safety, provision, guidance, hearts changed, boldness, and a listening ear to the Lord.

God bless you.