Full Life

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have LIFE, and have it TO THE FULL.”

John 10:10 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.  I think so often we humans believe that God wants to take control of our lives and make them more boring.  Take away all our fun.  Refuse to let us have the things our hearts dream about.  But if I have learned anything about God over the past few years of my life, it’s this: God is a WAY better storyteller than I am.  Every dream or plan I've had for my life has been NOTHING compared to the perfect plan He had all along.  And that’s the beauty about John 10:10.  Jesus wants desperately for us to understand that God doesn't want to take away our joy in life…that’s Satan!  God wants us to experience the BEST life possible.  The most beautiful, full, adventurous life.  And no matter what we might think, our versions of life don’t live up to that.  Our versions are really what Satan wants for us…mediocre half-lives that we settle for when we hold on too tightly to our own plans.  But when we let go and surrender our lives to God’s plan, we get the BEST. 

I share all this because it’s something God has been reminding me of again and again over these past few months.  At the beginning of 2016, Chris and I had a plan.  We envisioned ourselves interning with a different ministry here in Zambia.  We started the process, prayed through all the details, and truly believed that’s where we’d end up.  But then it all fell through.  Because God had a different plan. He wanted us at Abba’s Heart.  Working with street kids.  If I’m being totally honest, Chris and I felt God calling us to work with street kids back in 2015, but we let fear hold us back.  We knew street kid ministry would be WAY harder than anything we’d ever done before.  We didn’t know if we were ready for it.  We didn’t know if we were truly hearing God’s voice.  And so we pursued a different path.  But God loved us enough to NOT let us run away.  So here we are.  Right where He wanted us all along.

It’s only been two weeks, and I can honestly say that we are SO grateful God doesn’t settle for our plans.  We are grateful for a loving Father who always knows what’s best for us.  Always knows the things that will bring us the greatest fulfillment.  Chris and I have spent the past two weeks building relationships with 10 incredible young men whom God has rescued from life on the streets.  Some of them have been off the streets for several years and one boy just moved in three weeks ago.  I’ll admit that I expected these boys to be cold, bitter and hard to connect with.  Instead, I have discovered that they are some of the sweetest, funniest boys I’ve ever met.  If God had allowed our plans to go through, we would’ve missed the opportunity to invest in their lives.  And THAT’S what God means when He says He wants to give us life to the full.  He wanted me to feel the incredible awe of watching my husband write a worship song with boys who used to have no hope.  He wanted us to see their dedication to memorizing 40 Bible verses that they were given at youth camp.  He wanted me to see the joy in a 20-year-old’s face when I told him he spelled the word “sit” correctly.  Most of all, God wanted us to understand that even if street kid ministry is hard, it is BEYOND worth it when you see how He can transform a life. Satan wanted to rob us of these life-changing experiences.  But God fought for us to have life to the full…and we are forever grateful that He did.

Yes, we know things won’t always be so wonderful.  We know there will be disappointments and challenges along the way.  We know there will be moments of feeling exhausted, defeated and ineffective.  But we also know that God has called us here.  And because He called us here, we know that we will experience more joy and more grace in this place than we would anywhere else.  We are grateful for a God who loves us enough to highjack our plans so He can give us the BEST.

Thank you for joining us on this adventure! 

And so it begins...

Happy New Year to all our friends and family around the world!  We hope that your 2017 has started off with lots of joy.  For the Zimbas, 2017 has been quite a whirlwind already.  We rang in the New Year during an all-night prayer/worship meeting with our church family and the next day we were packing up for our big move.  On Monday, we left our home in Luanshya and made the transition to Kitwe (technically, we are staying outside of Kitwe in a town called Garneton), where we will be serving with a ministry called Abba’s Heart.  We were so grateful for many family and friends who helped us with the moving process and made it pretty quick and painless!  It was definitely hard to say goodbye to Luanshya, but we are so excited to see what this new stage of life looks like.

We are thankful to have had this whole week to simply settle in and adjust to our new life here. The property where we are staying is filled with a few missionaries, local staff and the residential part of Abba’s Heart’s ministry.  There are 10 boys currently living on site with two house parents, and we have been blessed to start forming relationships with them this week.  We’ve shared lots of meals together and spent quite a few hours playing different board games.  We loved getting to join them for a weekly Bible study on Wednesday.  All the boys just came back from a month-long camp/missions trip where they were given 40 Bible verses to memorize.  They spent the evening going around the circle, each one sharing their favorite verse and what it means to them.  It was such an encouragement to hear a bit of their hearts and marvel at all God is doing in their lives!  But I think the highlight of the week was Chris’ first music class with the boys on Saturday afternoon.  They were a bit hesitant in the beginning while they did some singing exercises, but when Chris began introducing the keyboard, the boys were desperate for his attention.  They were totally engaged and anxiously waited for their turn to practice with him one-on-one.  They even continued practicing long after we left for the evening!  Chris is so excited to form a worship band and even start recording some songs with the boys in the future. 

The new school year in Zambia won’t start until January 16, so until then we will continue settling in and doing a lot of preparation.  We still have a lot to learn about schedules and what our roles will look like, but we are thankful for the time to do it.  Please just pray that we continue building connections with the boys during this time before the hectic school year begins.  Please pray that we are able to align our heart and visions with the rest of the team and that God binds us all together.  And please pray that we have open ears and clear eyes to see all that He wants to do in and through us during our time here.

As we are looking towards this new year of ministry, we wanted to share one more major prayer request with all of you.  We have prayed for a long time that God would increase our monthly sponsorships, but that has never really happened.  Our minimum monthly budget for being in Zambia is $1,500.  We have only ever had sponsors to cover about $700 a month.  On paper, we never should have survived this long, but God has ALWAYS provided in one way or another.  Being in a new town and situation brings with it new and unexpected expenses and we really need a consistent flow of support.  We have shared this burden with a few close prayer partners, and God miraculously prompted one of them to suggest a matching campaign.  They have graciously offered that any new monthly sponsors who sign up in 2017 will be matched, up to $400.  If we can just get $400 worth of new sponsors and add it to the $400 matching grant, we would reach our monthly goal of $1,500!

Asking for help is very difficult.  We like to be the ones giving to others, not the ones in need.  But God is teaching us to let others experience the joy of giving.  Already this year, He has blown us away by the generosity of people who barely know us!  We have learned that most people WANT to give, but sometimes they think that the only way to help missionaries is by writing huge checks with lots of zeros.  That is so NOT true.  We can honestly say that we are praying for people who would be willing to give just $10 or $20 each month.  Would we say no if you offered more?  Of course not!  But we want as many people to be involved in this ministry as possible, and if that means you can only give $10 a month, that’s HUGE to us.  We are thankful for ANY amount that people are willing to sacrifice so that we can continue this ministry!

We are so grateful for the life that God has called us to and the team He has put around us to make it all possible.  We never would have made it this far without amazing people like you who have prayed, encouraged and given sacrificially along the way!  As we continue in this new year, would you please consider joining our team of monthly supporters?  You can do it for any amount and there are no expectations for the length of time you commit to.  Just send us an email at thezimbas@gmail.com and we'll tell you how to get involved!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragement!  We are completely humbled and an in awe of how God has used you all in our lives.