Happy Monday, friends. Mom and I have been in Africa for the past few weeks, and it is so nice to be back here on the blog with you. I was there for two weeks, and Mom was there for three. We wrote and scheduled a bunch of blog posts before we left, but we haven’t been around to respond to your comments and do the little tweaks that are needed on a daily basis.
Although this post is not a trip recap, we want to let you know what we were up to over there. If you have been reading our blog for a while, then you know that each year our family picks a third world country and finds a needy organization in that country that needs some help. (My parents have been doing these trips for 16 years, and this was my sixth one.) Then we organize a working vacation for about 15 friends.
This year our project was in Lusaka, Zambia. We were put in contact with a Baptist church there that is building a school. They were in desperate need of money and man power, and our group was able to help with both. If everything goes well, the school will open next January. (If any of you are Baptists and have a church that would like to partner with a church in Zambia, let us know. They are in need of a sponsor/partner.)
We spent one week in Lusaka. One evening the former first lady of Zambia hosted our group in her home for dinner. She wanted to thank us for our service.
When we were finished volunteering, we headed to Livingston, Zambia and spent a week there. One day we took a side trip to Botswana for a fantastic safari.
During that week, we also went to Zimbabwe to check in on Victoria Falls.
Then I cam home, and my parents and two of their friends flew to Namibia where they stayed for a week. My parents went quad-biking on some sand dunes one day.
And a few days later, they were hiking among the tallest sand dunes in the world.
All in all, it was an amazing trip. Each time we do one of these working vacations, we say that will be a tough one to top, and this trip was truly a tough one to top. My parents have picked Bali for next year’s project, in case you are wondering. We plan to do three more posts about our trip. We want to break it down into the countries we visited and give you some more information about the volunteering we did while there.
God bless you all for the work you do every year. Our son spent 2 years in the Peace Corps. serving in Niger, Chad and Senegal. He was a health care extension in Niger, trained over 200 people in Chad to eradicate guinea worm for the Carter Foundation and rewrote an outdated medical manual in Senegal. The work our volunteers do is invaluable. Thank you. <3
Deena,
We couldn’t agree more and I am sure you son had a wonderful time and did great work. We both have been to Senegal a few years ago on a bike trip and it was a wonderful country.
Cheers
Thank you for sharing your working vacations in countries that have a need. Our daughter will be traveling with a teen group and adult group on her first “helping hand vacation”. Her father and I are so proud of her work toward this goal.
Donna,
Your daughter will have a wonderful time, and I have a feeling she will want to do more of these helping vacations.
Cheers
Welcome back! Sounds like a fantastic trip…looking forward to hearing all about it! 😉
Donnamae,
Thanks, we had a great time and can’t wait to share more.
Cheers
Welcome home! Can’t wait to hear about your adventures.
What an amazing trip. Helping people and getting exposed to new countries/cultures. I took a Mission trip to Mexico when I was in high school and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had in my entire life. It was life changing for me. Its so nice to see people helping others out especially when it comes to helping them build a school where they can get education and better their lives. God bless you guys for doing this!
Jennifer,
That is so cool you took a mission trip to Mexico. I am glad it was such a rewarding experience for you. We always feel education is the one thing no one can take away from you so we loved the mission of helping to build a school.
Cheers
I have always admired your trips of charitable work!….Glad you had a beautiful and successful trip.
Thanks Shirley,
It was a wonderful trip and always a little hard to get back into the groove of things once back home. We look forward to sharing more.
Cheers