Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am back in the U.S. for a short time and I’m preparing myself for the next stage in Zambia. The Lord is continually faithful despite hardships I experience and see in others’ lives.
In one of my last blogs, I talked of a man named Meshach whom I met on the street while he begged me to buy him some food. One day I was in town on my way to the hospice so I had brought a devotional about Christians living with HIV/AIDS. I saw him in town and he started asking me for food again so I bought some basic necessities for him and gave the devotional to him. I told him to read it for encouragement and I invited him to church once again. He said he would come and return it to me then. He confided in me that he sometimes just wanted to end everything to end the suffering. This broke my heart and I said I wish I could stop the suffering for him, but there is always hope in the Lord and to ask Jesus to reveal himself to him.
Since that time, he has been coming to church regularly, making relationships at church, and finding encouragement in the devotional. I do not yet know if he has accepted the Lord as his personal Savior, but I am praying for that. He has received help from a local ministry that I hope can help sustain him physically. Please pray for his physical and spiritual needs.
I also continued visiting the hospice which was another hard, but rewarding thing. So many of the people who we had seen the last time we were there had died. It was so heart breaking to know they went so fast, but we had hope after knowing most of them knew Jesus. The day we came back two people accepted the Lord and it seemed the desire was great. I continue to pray that they grow in the faith even if they only have a short time left. I get so excited knowing that someday I will see them in heaven and remember that incredible day when the angels rejoiced. Those who became Christians are Beauty and Mr. Kangoma. The others are Judy (has a problem with her legs and pain in her head), Maureen (a strong Christian who has TB and a swollen body), Kennedy (the 14-year-old with celebral palsy), Mr. Munganja (who accepted the Lord last time we went), Mr. Muleyndema (a new patient), and one small child who was sleeping. Please pray.
The last month I was in Zambia I also went into several different villages with Overland Missions (the new org.) to find out more about what they are doing and see if it is the right place for me. They are doing a great job with their LIFE project which I will be a part of. They have 18 preschools and we visited a few of them so that the coordinator could do evaluations of the schools. They were cute little mud buildings with such creative toys made from local materials. I was so impressed at the learning materials available to a preschool in the bush! We also sat down with the headman of many of the villages in the area to get the statistics of the vulnerable populations in the surrounding villages. I talked with him for awhile about what he sees as the problem and what solution he thinks is best for his villages. There has been so much dependence on outsiders in this area so it is going to be a hard job to break that and empower these people to use the resources they have. I am excited to take on the challenge with the help of my team and God. I have pasted my support letter below to explain a little more about overland missions and how you can help me and pray for me.
I had a great thanksgiving in Zambia with other American missionaries and a great Christmas and New Years here with my family and friends. It is good to be home for a bit, but I continue to look forward to going back to Zambia in the new year and embark on a new project and the advanced missions training I will take part in. I return the first week of February. Happy New Year!
Ladies, you are invited to a Cookie Lee Jewelry Party Fundraiser at my old house on wednesday, Jan. 13th from 6-8:30pm. Contact me for more info. Ladies and gentleman, you are invited to a fundraiser movie night, place TBA, but mark your calendars for Sat. Jan. 16th.
Here is a copy of my support letter:
Dear friends,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Recently, I was invited to serve in an organization that works in rural villages spreading the gospel and providing resources for vulnerable populations to become self-sustainable.
Overland Missions is a ministry founded by Philip and Sharon Smethurst that is
committed to reaching the most neglected and remote people of the world with the
Gospel and empowering the third world church by raising up strong indigenous leaders.
Overland Missions believes that no location is too remote and no distance too far to travel for the sake of the Gospel.
The Lord opened the door for me at this organization to use my skills as a social worker to serve the orphans, widows, and vulnerable children in the villages and to teach the local workers the skills necessary to continue the work Overland Missions starts. The project I will be working with is called the LIFE project and is considered the humanitarian arm of Overland Missions. The LIFE Project serves as a way to make a difference in the massive problem of HIV/AIDS. LIFE embraces the methods of the tribal forefathers to provide care within the village structure. In each village the community joins forces: schoolteachers working with social workers to make sure that those that are vulnerable no longer have to live without hope. Also, a strategic system is put in place in each village that ensures that orphans, widows and vulnerable people get the care that they need. They use a holistic approach as a way to provide change, from medical assistance, to HIV/AIDS education, to providing food.
So far, 18 preschools have been started in the villages where there were previously no preschools available. These schools will be a key component in making healthcare, especially immunizations, more available to the people in the villages through other volunteer health workers. The schools will also be helpful for my position to more easily identify children in need. An example of this is a little girl who had fallen into a fire when she was a baby and was so badly burned that her arm was fused to her body. Overland Missions identified her and was able to take her for three separate surgeries to separate her arm from her body. She is now very happy to be back home and is recovering well.
In order to fully prepare for my position as the community coordinator, I must go through Advanced Missions Training, a three month training designed to train missionaries to work in rural areas. This includes theology training, ethics, culture, preaching, wilderness first responder, third world diseases, diesel mechanics, welding, 4x4 driving, GPS Navigation, Leadership, fundraising, and a survival course.
In order to do this training, I need to finish my personal support raising. Like many other missionary organizations, I have the responsibility to develop a team of financial partners who provide the necessary finance for this ministry. I have been praying and thinking of key individuals throughout my life who have had a heart for reaching people for Christ. I am going to these friends and asking them to pray about partnering with me to continue on the mission field. I want to ask you to pray about joining my support team. I need to raise $1300 a month by April 15th of 2010 or $5000 total, as well as monthly support of at least $700 a month.
Would you consider joining my team for $50-$200 or more per month or with a one-time gift of $100-$1000 or more? I have no idea what you might be able to do, but it would be a tremendous honor to have you investing in and partnering with me and my ministry. Whatever God leads you to do, please know that I love and appreciate you. May God bless you.
In Christ,
Erin Hartzell
P.S. Thank you for your prayers and consideration! If you are interested in donating, you have the option of either sending a check payable to Overland Missions to:
Erin Hartzell
c/o Overland Missions
P.O. Box 566
Cape Canaveral, FL 32920 USA
Or you may email the following credit card form to give online (I can email it to you). 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.
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. You will receive confirmation of the qualifying donation and 501(c)3 status directly. Also, by checking with your employer about a corporate matching gift program, your donation could go even further.
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