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I wrote before and asked you to pray for me as I am learning to drive to our schools in the compounds of the city. On Friday I made it to 8 of our schools that are each located in a different compound of Lusaka!!! My friend (who moved here the same day I did) and I only got lost going to a couple of them where we ended up driving back and forth through some markets that were not where we were supposed to be. I'm pretty proud of us though for finding all the schools . . . and thankful for your prayers for guidance and protection! There's no way to truly show or explain what it's like to drive here, but I'll give you a glimpse of how we get to work some days. Lusaka is about 140 square miles. Sometimes I work in the Family Legacy office located on one of the main roads and sometimes I go to one or more of the 16 schools scattered throughout the compounds of the city. In the heart of the city there are major roads connected by roundabouts, but to get to most of our schools the roads are unmarked and there are a variety of turns that you just have to know by landmarks. The unmarked roads remind me of when I was learning to drive in Japan except not all the roads are paved and the drivers here are a bit more aggressive. We drive on the left side of the street here which for those who don't know means you also drive on the other side of the car and your turn signal/windshield wipers are on the opposite sides of the steering wheel. Here are a couple pictures from the drive to one of our schools. It was a rainy day on Friday which makes driving in the compounds a little trickier because of slick muddy roads and standing water. These pictures don't do justice to the true conditions of the muddy road we take to this particular school. There are many potholes and ruts to navigate around and drive across. Then we might have to drive through something like this. How do you know where to drive to get across all the standing water? You can wait for another car to pass through . . . if they make it, then drive where they did. If there aren't any other cars around look for tire tracks and go that way. That worked for us this time. We made it to the other side without getting stuck. Yea! After a few more sharp turns around buildings and cinder block walls, we made it to this LCA. Ready for more adventures in Zambia and lots of good things to come! How You Can Help
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“Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible.” -Corrie ten Boom My first morning in Zambia I woke up incredibly early. I opened my Bible and began reading the story of Esther. In chapter 2 it says "Mordecai had reared his cousin Hadassah, otherwise known as Esther, since she had no father or mother." Esther was blessed with a cousin who cared for her. Eventually Esther was among the young women who was chosen by the king to come to the palace, and through Mordecai's guidance and encouragement Esther not only became queen but pursued the opportunity to be used by God to save her people. Every time I enter one of our schools and greet a class or observe a lesson I wonder, "How many Esthers are sitting in this room?" The students at the Lifeway Christian Academies are orphaned and vulnerable children living in the compounds of Lusaka. Although they do not have ideal home situations, these kids have sponsors and loving teachers who care for and nurture them. Last week I observed a grade 3 class, and the teacher was handing out stickers to students as they participated in class. She handed one of the girls a butterfly sticker and said, "Here is a butterfly sticker. Today you are spreading your wings and soon you will fly. One day you may be a teacher or a doctor or the president!" Then the teacher had the class give the girl a clap for the wonderful things she could become. The girl's smile lit up the room. I'm so thankful to work with teachers like this one who believe in our students. I love knowing the possibilities God has for these children are not limited by how their lives began, just like He had an unbelievable plan for Esther. Please pray for our students as they walk through the gates of our schools every day-- that they will learn and be nurtured and be prepared for the future their Heavenly Father has put in front of them. When the next school year begins in January we will have an additional 3000 students attending our schools. I am so excited we'll be able to serve even more children. Please pray for the Family Legacy education office as we seek to hire enough qualified, loving teachers to fill all the open positions this creates. "Make us worthy, Lord,
to serve You and all the world's people who live and die in loneliness, hunger, poverty, and sickness. Give them through our hands this day their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give them peace and joy. Amen." -Norman Shawchuck and Reuben P. Job, "A Guide to Prayer for All God's People" Time to catch up! So much has happened in such a short amount of time! After travelling for nearly 2 days and spending a couple hours waiting at immigration in the Lusaka airport I started my new life in Zambia. Can't believe it's been over a week and a half already. I've been busy settling in, meeting new people, visiting schools, learning the Zambian way of driving, trying to figure out what street goes where, and just being amazed that I get to do this! Here are some highlights of my experiences so far. Fun Day Friday in the COntainers I spent my first Friday morning here working in the containers. The Lifeway Christian Academies have been blessed with textbook donations from people and organizations in the States. They arrive on shipping containers then have to be sorted and organized for distribution to each of our 17 schools. It is a huge task! It is a hot task! It is a dirty task! . . . but there is something I love about the containers. This week was not my first time doing container work in Zambia. Last summer I spent a couple of my days here doing the same thing, and afterward I was working at one of the schools the day the truck pulled in with the textbooks we had organized. It brought me so much joy to see how excited the kids were! (check out the video) When I walked outside the school, bunches of the students had already run to the truck when it stopped and just began grabbing boxes to carry inside. It was really fun to watch them. When was the last time I handed out textbooks and my students were THAT excited about it??? Maybe never. As I've visited the schools this week it makes me so happy to see the books in the students' hands as they learn to read. We are striving to provide our teachers and students with the resources and training they need to have the quality education they deserve. Container Video from Alicia on Vimeo. School Visits This week I've been able to visit several of the LCAs, meet the teachers, and observe lessons. The schools are located in compounds throughout Lusaka. The city is not built on a grid, and I feel completely lost 98% of the time as we drive from school to school!! Soon I will be driving on my own and let me tell you that I am envisioning myself in the near future sitting in my car in the middle of some compound at a complete loss as to which direction to drive (and there will likely be tears)! You all need to pray for me and my directionally challenged brain!!! As I traveled this week with Audrey, one of Family Legacy's Deputy Superintendents of Schools, I have loved observing the great things teachers and students are doing and getting a better understanding of the challenges they face. Please remember to pray for our teachers and students as they finish out this school year in the next few weeks. Also pray for us in the education office as we make preparations for the new school year that begins in January. LCA Student Highlights This week I had the opportunity to sit down with one of our head teachers and a few of our students in his school to talk about their experiences in our Lifeway Christian Academy there. The kids were so cute and this is what a few of them had to say: Grade 1 student He said math is his favorite subject where he learns "1,2,3,4,5,6." He said that his teacher explains things well and he can understand her. He told us that his mother has gone to heaven and his father died so he lives with his grandparents and many relatives. Before he was sponsored and started school he would spend his days just playing. He said he likes to come to school at the LCA because when he grows up he wants to have a business. He wants to build blocks because he thinks that will be a good construction business. He also explained that if he comes to school he can learn to count money. :) Grade 2 student She said she started school in the village but moved here. Now she is able to attend school. Her favorite part of school is learning about loving others. When asked about how her life has changed since coming to the LCA she said at home she would just go around and around but now she comes to school and concentrates. Grade 5 student When we went to one of the schools this story and thank you to Family Legacy written by one of the students was on display in the foyer. So that you know, K20,000 is about $4. There are 3 terms of school each year. I love being part of an organization and ministry that touches the lives of children like these! It doesn't feel like work; it's just loving people! Did you miss my October Newsletter? Find out what led me to move to Zambia and how you can participate in this ministry by clicking on the image below. Please send me a message if you would like to have your address added to my mailing list to have future newsletters mailed to you.
The biggest hugs you've ever felt. Eyes glimmering with hope. You can't help but smile when they smile, and anyone who walks through the gates to a Lifeway Christian Academy in Zambia will never quite be the same when they leave. They are places where lives are transformed. For 2 weeks I worked at the school, surrounded by a "wall fence." Outside the wall-- poverty, neglect, despair, hunger, disease, fear of the future. But inside those walls a whole different story develops. It's a story of redemption and hope. There's safety within those walls. Basic human needs are met there. Learning and opportunity are provided. It's a place where big dreams can begin to form. It's a place where love is the theme of the story and it is going to make all the difference for the children who are blessed to enter through the gate. Within the walls of this school a miracle is happening-- hope and faith are meeting action and service. As a result the people outside the walls of this school are going to see a community and nation transformed! I'm so thankful I got to participate in what happens inside that gate! "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 Anything by Jennie Allen is a book I absolutely love. For this summer there is an online Bible study that has been written to use along with the book. I would LOVE to do this Bible study with a group of my friends! I haven't used the Good Morning Girls studies before, but the way it works we can form a private Facebook group to share insights and encourage each other even if we live in different time zones or half way around the world. Click on the image below to find out more about Anything and this summer study. It is an 8 week study (June 3 - July 26). Each week you read 2-3 chapters of Anything, and 5 days a week there are Scripture readings. You reflect on the Bible verses using what the Good Morning Girls call S.O.A.P. (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer). You would need to buy or download a copy of Anything and sign up on the Good Morning Girls website to receive your free Bible study materials by e-mail. For step 4 (if I have friends interested in doing this together) I will register a group for us and create our Facebook private group. I am excited about this summer study. Enrollment ends June 2. Please send me a message to let me know if you would like to do this study together.
Passionate is definitely not the word I expected there. As I was reading in Psalms this morning at first glance I thought the verse said patiently. That gave me pause because patience is a tough thing for me. Wait Patiently. I looked again to take it in and realized in this version the verse actually says PASSIONATELY. Now that takes waiting to a different level. That word feels like an even higher calling than waiting patiently. Patiently means not trying to rush God or hurry through the situation or be anxious about what will happen. To be passionate means to be fully immersed-- to be fully in the moment even while you wait. Wow. That's a lot to live up to!
The weeks tick off and only a few remain until the movers come to pack up all my possessions and my life will take off in an unknown direction. I have a summer full of exciting things planned, and even though I look forward to every part, in the back of my mind I know that August will come. It's hard not to think about it, to feel anxious. August--for more than a decade I would board a plane and head back to my overseas home to start a new school year. This August I don't know what I will be doing. I have faith that God has a plan but the waiting to know it is not easy. I e-mailed a friend just this week telling her how I am trying to not worry about it, that I'm working on being patient. Maybe I have had the wrong perspective. Perhaps my focus should not be on patience but on passion in the moment, right here in my spot on this path. Living passionately while I wait is not going to be easy for me. I pray though that I will learn to live like that! I'm jumping over a cliff of faith. There's no timidly teetering at the edge. I am taking the plunge and giving up my familiar and comfortable life. After 12 years of teaching and living overseas I'm moving back to, well, I don't know exactly yet. I just know that when the opportunity came up I prayed about it and knew it was time to leave and do something new. I'm choosing faith rather than holding onto what I've known. If I let myself think about it too long I want to cling to what I have rather than jump from the ledge and see what happens. It's scary to give up a job that is more than just a place to work but also a lifestyle, but I am excited about whatever is about to happen. There is a certain thrill that comes with jumping off cliffs. There was a day years ago after spending weeks doing mission work in Fiji when friends we had made took us to some waterfalls. I have so many memories of that day. We had to climb to get to the top and had reached a point that was steep. They told me that there was another way around but "you, you need to be tough" and use these roots to pull yourself up and over. I remember wondering if I even wanted to be tough when there was an easier way around! Sometimes though the easy way isn't the best way. I had to trust the people who were leading me. I got up and over . . . then there was the ledge. To our right falling from higher ground was a beautiful waterfall and below us was a pool of water. One by one friends jumped off the cliff yelling and laughing. Then there was me standing at the top doing a lot of self-talking to even get near the edge. I'm afraid of heights.---- You have to do this, It's not THAT far down. (Seriously when I look at this picture now it REALLY doesn't appear that far down!) What if I don't jump out far enough and hit the rocks?---- Just jump as far as you can! I can't do this.---- Look. Your friends are all doing it. Just do it! This is scary. Fear of not doing it right and getting hurt could have held me back that day. At some point I just pushed back doubt, moved toward the ledge, and jumped. The freefall, the splash, the cool and refreshing water taking me under, resurfacing to the sounds of laughter, and being a participant in the fun was worth it. There's a thrill in jumping once you let go. I had to let go of a lot of things to make this decision to leave my job and move into an unknown future. The path to this point wasn't easy, and everything in my life is about to change in a major way. This summer I'll be starting a new life where my fears of the unknown will meet my faith that God has a plan and it will be worth it.
In just a few short months I'll be packing my bags and getting ready to board a plane to Zambia. I can't wait! I'm looking forward to visiting the school I worked at last year and working with a new teacher and class this summer. Please pray for me as I continue to prepare for this ministry, raise funds for the trip, and gather supplies. Please also pray for the other volunteer teachers, the Zambian teachers, and the students whose lives are touched and changed for the better every day by Family Legacy and the LCA schools. Want to see what this trip is about? Check out the video below. They shot part of this video last summer while I was there so I'm in it a couple times :) Willing to help financially support my Teach ONE trip? My trip has to be completely paid for by the beginning of April. I would appreciate your financial support. You can make a tax deductible donation at http://donate.familylegacy.com/aliciahilton or send a check to Family Legacy Missions International, 5005 W. Royal Lane Suite 252, Irving, TX 75063 and include "Alicia" and "Teach ONE Trip 2013" on the memo. Zambia Teach ONE 2012 from Alicia Hilton on Vimeo. Interested in getting involved? Find out more about Family Legacy child sponsorship through Father's Heart or the Teach ONE summer trips by clicking on the links. There are also summer camp opportunities. I would love to take all my friends with me! There's something everyone can do!
"You are the God who sees me." I came across the phrase this morning as I was reading. I didn't remember the story and had to look it up. I read Genesis 16 about how Hagar ran from Sarai and Abraham's home. An angel came to her and asked what she was doing there and told her to go back because God had a plan. Verse 13 says, "She answered God by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, 'You're the God who sees me! Yes! He saw me; and then I saw Him.'"
The God who sees me. He sees my brokenness, my pain, my shame, my fear, those dark places, those things that make me want to run like Hagar did. He comes to me and sees me. I am not invisible to Him no matter how unworthy. He comes and extends mercy and grace. Grace. It's a word I've come across countless times this week. Needing grace is humbling. It means I'm less than perfect. I don't like my imperfection. I wish I could hide my flaws but so often they lay bare. My defenses go up because of my pride and fear, but when I focus on "the God who sees me" He can usher in the grace, His response to my shortcomings. When I was home at Christmas I found this book on sale-- in the bargain section at Mardel where I could spend hours! I was surprised to see them there because I had been looking for a copy in the regular book section for a while and never saw one. Anyway I bought a few copies. I gave 1 away at Christmas, kept one for myself, and sent the rest to friends. In the book Jen Hatmaker tells about her experiences while trying to remove the excess from her life. The first couple chapters made me laugh, and I enjoyed reading them. Then I got to chapter 3. As soon as I started reading it I sat the book down and let myself get busy to avoid reading any more for as long as I could. I didn't want to read it because I didn't want to take the chance of getting convicted about my love for my things. I can find a lot of things to do when I want to avoid something, but last weekend as I was heading to the beach with my friends I knew I would want to lay and read which meant I had to take the book with the dreaded chapter waiting for me to pick up where I left off. I read about how Jen sat in her pile of clothes thinking about how much they meant to her. I completely understand. I'm emotionally attached to my clothes. I'm pretty sure it's not healthy- haha. When I see them though I think about the fun of buying them, the travelling I've done in them, the evenings out with friends in them. I love the memories associated with them. I've thought many times of donating them but something held me back. Now I'm left contemplating-- do I love people as much as I love these things? The third time He said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” |
Why Anything?"Anything is a prayer of surrender that will spark something. A prayer that will move us to stop chasing things that just make us feel happy and start living a life that matters. A life that is surrendered, reckless, and courageous." ~Jennie Allen, Anything. In November of 2013 I moved to Zambia as a full-time missionary with Family Legacy Missions International. Everyone within the organization raises their own support to keep overhead costs at a minimum so donations to the ministry can go directly to the needs and programs for the orphans and vulnerable children we serve. I trust in God's faithfulness to provide monthly and one-time financial supporters for the work I do here for the education of thousands of children from the slum compounds of Lusaka. If you would like to support me, donations are tax deductible and can be made at www.familylegacy.com/alicia
"God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before Him. When I cleaned up my act, He gave me a fresh start. Indeed, I've kept alert to God's ways; I haven't taken God for granted. Every day I review the way He works, I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to His eyes." 2 Samuel 22:25
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