I am really looking forward to my 5th visit to Zambia with the building team this year, leaving on Sunday 20th May – we are actually being picked up by taxi from The Forge at midday so we will be able to enjoy the service first.

I am always pleased to get to the departure day as by this time the planning has been going on since the previous September – the trip is usually the easy bit!

Our team this year includes Luke, Dan and Peter (veterans!) and first-timers Nigel and Bill and also includes our much travelled and much loved senior leader Steve who I know will add an extra dimension to the team.

I have high hopes for a first class trip.  We have a programme planned but as usual expect the unexpected and know that the experience will be life changing.

On Sunday 27th May we will be visiting the Church and friends in Mwaiseni where we have worked over the last 3 years and also where our dear friend Paul Hart is so highly respected, loved and remembered.  We will hopefully have an opportunity to place a small memorial to Paul in the building which he helped to construct in 2010 and 2011.  This will, understandably, be an emotional time for us as a team and also for friends at the Church.

Phil Smith

Phil Smith in Zambia

I was shaking as I changed into my shorts, the cold wind blowing off the sea and biting into my frozen body.  “It’s freezing!” My Wife shouted, barely audible in the wind – she stood there in a winter coat and trousers.  “It’ll be alright once I get going.” I answered in short shallow breaths. 

It was Sunday 15^th April 2012, at 9 o’clock in the morning and I was getting ready for a run across North Norfolk.  Six months earlier I had signed up to go on a trip to Zambia with The Forge Church (in partnership with Hands at Work), helping some of the poorest people in the world by building schools and visiting orphans, widows and vulnerable people.  To raise money for the trip, I wanted to do something that would reflect the struggles people in Zambia face everyday.  I wanted to challenge myself in a way that would push me to my limits – to run over 50 miles across the North Norfolk coast.  Now as I stood shaking in the freezing wind, the enormity of the challenge suddenly became clear. 

My brother Wesley agreed to cycle with me and carry all the food and supplies.  With my running pack on his back we were off with 52.4 miles to go. 

The first 10 miles were across sand and grass, with no shelter from the horrendous head wind that came in from the sea.  All was going well until we took a wrong turn and came across a river.  We had two choices, either wade through the freezing waist-deep water or run back for half a mile and re-join the route.  We chose to run back. 

After 10 miles the route stretched inland a little so we had some shelter from the wind, and by 4 hours and 20 mins we had reached 26 miles marking the half way point.  After a quick pit stop to re-fuel, we carried on. 

26 miles covered...26 miles to go

36 miles in and I started to get a pain in my hip which made it painful to run.  The roads got hillier the further we went and seemed to go on forever.  Gritting my teeth as exhaustion set in, I carried on until mile 45 when Wesley got a puncture.  As if my prayers had been answered I saw my wife and kids up ahead.  They took my brother’s bike and supplies and we ran the last bit together. 

By mile 46 the pain had so gotten bad that I couldn’t walk or run very well.  So just sort of ‘jobbled’ along, counting down the miles to go.

At mile 50 we phoned for ibuprofen as the pain in my hip had reduced our speed to a crawl.  Leanne came to the rescue and ‘ordered’ me to get in the car – which I did (my hip was in too much pain to argue) – and she drove me to a pub for a quick pint.

All in all, I covered 50.73 miles in 10 hours, 29 minutes and 57 seconds.  I couldn’t walk when I got out of the car but it had been worth it!  I raised over £500 for the trip to Zambia.

Luke Allard

I am always amazed at the wonders of the human body, the way we develop in the comfort and safety of the womb, the way we are born, the way we grow and adapt to our life here on Earth.  The body is an amazing mass of separate organs all working together, unified for the purpose to allow us to live, to prosper, and to survive.

When Paul writes to the Church in Corinth, he reminds us of the importance of the unity of the body in 1 Corinthians 12.  Furthermore, he tells us that “the way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.”  (1 Corinthians 12: 25-26).

Paul goes on to tell us that we are Christ’s body – that’s who we are! 

I was reminded of this recently when listening to a song by Casting Crowns – “If we are the body.” 

I love this song and it always reminds me that as a Church we need to reach out with arms to those in need, we need to heal with hands, we need to teach with words, we need to get up and use our feet to get going, to show love – to show his love – to those we meet and speak to. 

That is why I am so excited about going to Zambia again this year, to do what we can and reach out to the orphans and the vulnerable in Africa.

And be reminded that we are not only one body at the Forge Community Church, not only one body as a Church in England, not even one body as a Church in Zambia, but one body throughout the world.  Sometimes it takes using our feet to get going to be reminded of the enormity of God’s world, and the amazing love of his family – the unified body that we all belong to. 

Let’s get going.

Luke Allard

My first experience of Zambia was in 2008 on the Forge Healthcare team alongside members of Zion Church from Halesowen.  My enduring memory of that trip is not only the wonderful work we saw being undertaken by Hands at Work in the poorest areas but of the great kindness and generosity we, as strangers, were shown by the communities we visited and how they were able to show this in such a genuine and real way despite their great poverty.  But more than that I was completely blown away by the strongest faith in God I had ever encountered, that in these poorest of places, with families and communities living every day in the greatest of need, their faith was unshakeable, certain, 100% strong and trusting in God, that He would provide.  

I was always sure I would go back to Zambia again and did so with the Healthcare Team in July this year.  This time was different as I had my 2008 trip as something to go on so it was less of the unknown and more of the “what will be different, I wonder?”  I found the same kindness, the same unshakeable faith but LOTS had changed!   It was so evident that Hands at Work are successfully mobilising communities and lives are being changed.  Communities I first saw in 2008 are being transformed.  People we met back in 2008 were now able to tell us stories of how their own communities are reaching out to help their own orphans, how teams of Home Based Carers are working tirelessly to make a difference. 

But I think my highlight of this year’s trip was seeing Hands at Work’s Arise and Build programme at work.  We arrived at midday at a community, where we were going to do a de-worming programme and health promotion, to be greeted by a long line of young children patiently queuing up with their plates at the ready.  This wasn’t what we were expecting to see at all and on enquiring, we were very excited to hear that this was the result of an international church’s involvement in the Arise and Build programme.  Through this support, these children now have access to food, education and basic healthcare, something we take for granted, but which will undoubtedly radically change their lives.  

I’m privileged to have been on the Healthcare team twice and am really really excited that the Forge are now part of the Arise and Build programme, supporting and partnering a very poor rural community called Maposa.  I’ve been to Maposa and encountered a lovely community of people. 

To me, our Zambia link is all about making a difference.  That may be by going on a trip but we, at home in the UK, can now make a difference as well.  We can make a continuing difference in the lives of the most vulnerable children in Maposa.  

How exciting is that!!

Wendy Hill

Speak to anyone who’s ever been to Zambia on one of our Mission trips and they will tell you of the amazing people they meet.  The amazing child who has been bringing up his family by himself, the amazing school girl who walks 3 hours to get to school and 3 hours to get home again, the faith-filled lives and tireless servitude of the Home Based Carers who volunteer to look after the sick and the orphans.  Time and time again a little bit of Africa enriches the lives of the volunteers who are willing give up their time to make a difference. 

There are 3 mission trips to Zambia next year, the Building Team, the Community Action Team, and the Children’s Team.  If you are thinking of going on these amazing trips, please take the time to watch a recent interview with George Synman (Founder of Hands at Work) who speaks openly about his experiences of Africa and why it is so important that we give a little of our time to this vital cause.

Sharon remained on the fringes and just watched for almost six days.

While we were inside creating or learning she stood just outside the door. While on the games field she sat under a tree and observed. No amount of smiles or kind words would bring her any closer.

Then on the last day of our camp things changed. We were painting childrens faces. One by one they emerged and Sharon was smiling as batman, clowns and monsters walked by.

With the last of the children painted I started to pack the brushes away when I felt a hand slide into mine. Flowers is what she wanted and so I spent the next 10 minutes laughing with her as I painted. 5 minutes later she was in the centre of one of the childrens groups being prayed for.  At last!

Hands at work is based around relationship and, as we all know, real relationships take time to build.  For us to really get to know and understand how we can make a difference in Zambia we need to understand that it will take time, and everything in Africa seems to take a lot longer than in the UK.  The Forge is committed to getting to know the people in Zambia and taking the time to do that.

It’s great to be able to build a school roof or fund a borehole, but the real changes will come when we take the time to know these people and really understand their situation. Changes not just here in Zambia, but changes in us.

Sam

I love Zambia. I love the country and the people. I have so many good friends here, even if I do only get to see them once a year.
That, I think, is the one thing that has changed my whole outlook on The Forge mission trips to Zambia above all else. The people here have moved from an image on a screen to become part of my life.

They are no longer just some of the millions of people in Africa facing a life of poverty. They are Reuben, a disabled teenage boy who lives in a tiny two room house with his mother and two sisters. They are Sylvia, a volunteer teacher who gives up her time to help others while making clothes to earn a living. They are Ruth who looks after her three orphaned grandchildren along with several other children who have been abandoned.

 
They are our family and friends and they are in need. I can only pray that the little support we are able to give them over this couple of weeks makes some sort of difference to their lives.

Sam

I’m sure it can’t be a year since the kids team left for Zambia, but here we are again about to go back.  There are 9 of us on the team this year – Sam Walker, Becky Thompson, John Watterson, Lizzi Ralling, Mel Rowe, Sharon Wallis, Sarah Dobson, Emma Marsh and Dan Marsh.  As before, we will be organising 2 camps for children over two weeks for children affected by poverty and illness.  Around 40 children will be with us each week along with teachers from the community schools they attend.  We run a holiday club type program, but with much more focus on self esteem and the fact they are special and loved by us, and God.  We also spend time talking about healthcare and hygiene.

Tuso was one of the children who came to the camp last year.  He was wearing shoes that were several sizes too small for him, but it was when he took them off that I was really shocked.  Tuso’s heels had cracks which were deeper than I thought could be possible.  Wearing tight shoes had squashed his toes together and forced his toenails to grow inwards and upwards.  On top of this he had a fungal infection.  I was amazed that he was able to walk at all.  We did the best we could with creams, nail files and scissors and bandaged it.

The next day we decided to look at it again.  Tuso’s smile, as the bandage was peeled back, was something I will never forget.  The improvement was massive.  Again, I was shocked.  It took so little to change this situation, and yet Tuso was not able to access this treatment.

I have said to teams, several times, as one person you may not be able to change the world, but you can change the world for one person.

Please take some time to pray for the team and the children, like Tuso, that they will meet over the next couple of weeks.

Sadly this could be the hardest post I’ve had to write about Zambia. It’s the one post that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been asked – more than once. Life is busy.

I’ve been back for 2 weeks now, but it could have been 2 months. Life carries on. Meetings. Sales. Strategy. Growth. Finance. Spreadsheets. Travel. Just like it was before Zambia.

As I suspected, my biggest challenge isn’t culture shock, it is the one I’m still carrying around every day, literally, ‘Don’t waste this experience’. That would be so easy now, so very very easy.

You see – I can reconcile with myself spending on one meal what could sponsor and feed a child for almost a year in Zambia. I can drop back into the convincing arguments of ‘my time is too valuable’, ‘buy a new one, it’s not worth getting it fixed’. I can justify iPhones, Macs, iPads and the latest technology. The easy option is to roll with it and carry on. Life is like a railway track. It wants me to conform, tow the line, go with the herd, no sharp corners or unexpected u-turns.

But things have changed. I know that this is not good enough. I said it in a blog post while I was out there – this attitude is second best – and I’m not happy with that.

So here’s what I’ve done…

I’ve not stopped learning. I’m reading just about everything published online about Zambia, African technology, education and health. I’m ploughing on through my Africa book, which is just outstanding, and I’ve built a spreadsheet of every idea I’ve had since coming back as I’ve had them. (I may even share it later)

I know that in there somewhere is the kernel of an idea of what ‘best’ means for the Westmancotts. It’ll need some nurturing to mature, I’m not expecting the answer overnight.

I’ve become so aware of the model of a man that I’m painting, whether or not I like it. I want to be the model of what I want my son to be, not what I am. What if Solomon grows up thinking that a successful man starts, grows and sells a business, making enough money along the way to retire early? What if that’s it?

We only get one chance to make a first impression, but when it comes to our kids that impression outlives our short existence here.

I’ve just read a book on becoming an elder, it describes the process of planting a walnut tree, a selfless investment, one that won’t fruit in your own lifetime.

Maybe the kernel of an idea is a walnut, maybe God is challenging me to stop thinking I can solve Africa, and to think more about people, lives, relationships and hope. Things that will outlive the mortal me. Maybe it’s not about me at all, maybe it’s all about Solomon, Martha and Jemima.

I want to go back, and I want to take the family, I’m not quite sure why yet, but we’ll never know unless we do it.

If you meet me, there’s an open invitation to challenge me on what I’m doing to not waste this. I want to be held accountable!

This is not the end…

OLIVER

Oliver – one of the members of the healthcare trip has been updating his blog during the trip – find out what they are up to here… (http://oliverwestmancott.wordpress.com/)

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