Hello again, everyone!

I hope you all had wonderful holidays and enjoyed some time with family this Christmas. 

I thought it was time to devote a full blog on our missions trip to Africa that is coming up this April.

We will be spending around 2 and a half weeks in Zambia, Africa. We will be involved in SO many areas of ministry that I won't possibly be able to list them all but I will give you some of the main areas so you can have an idea of what I will be doing there. We will be involved with orphanages, leper colonies, blind and deaf schools, high schools, villages, a pastor's conference, a widow's community a soccer ministry, and the African Encounter team. The African Encounter team came about after the U.S.'s first trip to Zambia. A pastor in Africa told Ardy, "I want to do what you do." And he did. He started the African team which basically does exactly what we do but on a little smaller scale because travel there isn't as simple as it is for us. The African team travels to local villages and has services at churches in those villages. Each year that the U.S. Encounter team travels to Zambia we make sure to bring some curriculum and teaching basics in order to teach to them so they can further teach the children and adults there. Along with teaching curriculum we will also learn a few songs that we will teach to them. Years ago the African team tought the U.S. team one of their favorite songs... Ta Kwaba. In Africa it is used as a "introduction" to a service, kind of like a prelude. The team walks into the church singing this song, which has basically 30 verses, and everyone joins in. We sing a little shorter of a version but every time the American team has sung their own song all the way in Africa, the African's get so excited. They can't believe we learned a song in their language. Ta Kwaba is one of my personal favorites on the team and we sing it at least 3 times at every church. The part that I am looking forward to the most is probably going to the orphanages. I cannot wait to love on the kids there. Along with the excitement for that, I am also really looking forward to distributing all of the supplies that we bring to the locals. Churches that we  have been traveling to have donated many things for our trip. The ladies at one of the churches even made more than a hundred dresses for us to distribute throughout the little girls that we meet. By the time we are ready to go to Zambia we will have tons and tons of medical supplies, clothes, tothbrushes and toothpaste, soccer balls, school supplies, and genral necessities for the African's. Along with our own suitcase for the trip each team member will be bringing along another 50 pound suitcase jam-packed with these supplies. After we empty out the suitcases over there we will give the empty suitcases to the pastor's. 

Since this is my very first missions trip I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store and to experience all of this for the first time. This missions trip will cost a total of $3,500 along with sending money for souveniers. I have seen God provide in unexpected and miraculous ways so I am trusting Him to provide the finances necessary for me to go on this trip.  If you are interested in supporting me and this year of ministry or the missions trip specifically you can go to www.encounterrevival.org to the section labeled "give" and you can specifically choose a team member and the amount you want to give, then you can either give online or send your gift to the team's headquarters with the name of the team member you wish to support.  Please pray with me for the Lord to burden the hearts of people to give so that I am able to go on this missions trip. Also, pray  for wisdom as you decide whether to give in this area or not. Thank you for your unending love and prayers for me as I am on this adventure. I would not be here without you all. Please continue to pray as I get ready for Zambia and travel with the team for our second half of the year. 

God bless,

Anna