I meant to post this a while ago. It is my write-up for the Zambia presentation in Regina. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there - but I wanted to share something at it anyways.

(Sorry that everything I post these days has at least something to do with Zambia. It just has such a huge piece of my heart.)

Zambia Education Mission 2006
Jill Slywka

It is hard to sum up in a minute or two what exactly what my summer in Zambia was to me. There are just too many memories, stories, and lessons learned – not too mention pictures – to even begin to touch the surface of our 5 weeks there. And truthfully, even if you all looked at every single picture, and knew every detail about our time there, there would still be something missing, because you hadn’t been there to experience it all for yourself. Words and pictures just seem so inadequate when trying to describe something that impacted you so deeply. With that being said, I will do my best to briefly relay some of my thoughts and memories from Zambia.

Zambia is a beautiful country. The countryside is beautiful. There are breathtaking sights, such as Victoria Falls. And there are amazing African animals to view. But these things are not what make the country beautiful. It is the people that grab onto your heart, making your time there so meaningful, and making it so difficult to return back home afterwards. Their gratefulness, enthusiasm, friendliness, smiles, generosity, joy, and above all, faith, are so apparent in everything that they do. Despite having to deal with difficult life circumstances, they are quick to rejoice and thank God for his many blessings. And that is such a beautiful thing! Joy and hope continually radiate from their faces.

Very quickly, they grab hold of your heart. It is hard not to love these people! Jalle, a friend that we made in Zambia, who is there with the Peace Corps., said in an email to me: “Zambia and its incredibly generous and friendly people have a way of grabbing onto your heartstrings and making you feel like you are home”. And I did feel like I was at home. I was thousands of kilometres away from my “real” home, spoke a different language, and had a different colour of skin, yet I was truly at home this summer. That is the beautiful thing about being a part of God’s kingdom – no matter where we go in this world, we are always “home”, when we are with members of His family.

For me, one of the greatest parts was the kids that I got to spend my days with at VBS. I wish every one of you could see all their faces and hear their beautiful singing. They always came running to the bus to meet us, eager to participate in another fun day of VBS. They smiled, laughed, held our hands, sat with us, played with us – and through it all, they endeared themselves to us. Even though we couldn’t speak Tonga, and they couldn’t speak English, I was thankful for the time spent with these children. They showed me what true joy looks like, and their smiles continue to brighten my day, even now.

All in all, the summer was a wonderful experience. I am so thankful that I was able to return to a place that I love so much. And I am eagerly anticipating the time when I will be able to return once again!