Emmanuel is proud to support the missionary work of Rachel VanGent who serves in Zambia, Africa as a head teacher at The Esther School.  Their mission is:

to provide a holistic, Christian education  that develops the passion and skills students need to become servant leaders in the Kingdom of God.

 

 

 

In June 2017 a group of Emmanuel staff and members visited the school to help run a camp for the students.  Another group will be returning to help the school in March of this year.

 

This post is the second of a series of stories we will share about the June 2017 trip. Perhaps in these words and pictures you will find yourself considering a call to join us in the upcoming March trip.  If finances are a barrier, some assistance may be available. For more information please email hello@emmanuelto.org to get connected, or talk with Dan VanGent or Carol O’Keefe directly. Additionally, we will be collecting gently used shoes and clothing to bring on the trip so please start looking though your closets!

 
Check out the other posts in the series:

“Why Go to Zambia” by Debbie Barber
“Why I am going to Zambia” by Danny Chulack
“God Has Given Me a Love For Africa” by Carol O’Keefe

 

Exploring “Purpose” in Zambia by Kate Paules

 

Prior to the summer of 2017, I had never been out of the country before.

 

Prior to the summer of 2017, the idea of going on a mission trip was completely out of the question. I had just graduated college and was getting ready to start student teaching. 

 

I have been working with children for ten years and have taught students with a wide range of abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds. I was working for MOPS at the time when one of our wonderful volunteers (Tina VanGent) invited me to go visit the Esther School where her daughter Rachel worked in Zambia, Africa.

 

I remember being shocked but flattered to have been invited, scared because I had never left my family for so long, excited because of the aspect of adventure, and nervous because I felt like I wasn’t “religious enough” to go on a mission trip.

 

I agreed to attend an informational meeting and met the amazing people that would be going with me on this journey. After learning more about the camp that we would be helping run and the history of the Esther School, I was hooked.

 

A few months later I was on my first double-decker plane on the way to Africa.

 

I was in charge of the arts and crafts rotation of the Esther School’s winter camp, which was structured like a traditional VBS or Camp Joy week. I had about 45 minutes to teach students grades K-5 how to complete a particular craft that was related to the Bible story of the day.

 

I remember setting up the classroom every day thinking, “This craft is going to be too difficult for the younger kids.” “I should have brought safety scissors, the adult scissors will be too heavy.” “Can these kids tie knots?” “Do these students have the attention span to complete this lesson on time?”

 

I completely underestimated the students that I would be working with.

 

Lessons were completed on time and with great detail. Adult scissors were wielded by the six-year-olds professionally. Every single day I was blown away by the joy that the students had cutting and gluing and coloring. 

 

 

One of my most memorable moments was on the last day of camp.

 

I was teaching students how to turn old T-shirts into bags, which required students to cut the bottom of the shirt into multiple fringes and tie the front and back fringes together. I was worried that some students would take too long tying the knots and not finish one time. Suddenly, I noticed one child tying knots with lighting speed with a huge grin on his face. This was odd because this student was usually shy and did not always participate. One of the Zambian teachers caught me staring and explained:

His family weaves baskets for a living. He has grown up tying knots and making things like this. It is something he knows how to do, and he’s proud of it.

 

This is the purpose of teaching. This is the purpose of mission trips. Helping people (in this case students) find what they are good at, and utilizing it to better the community. 

 

I took that philosophy with me on the rest of the trip and I enjoyed picking out what each student (and adult) enjoyed doing and how they used it to better the Esther School as a whole.

 

Craig let the students play with his guitar that he brought and Debbie told Bible stories with simple props which the students loved. I know they loved the stories because I could hear them laughing and yelling in delight from next door. 

 

We even had a few nurses come on our trip. Cathi Bird was especially supportive of me during this trip and her agreeing to look out for me calmed my parent’s nerves considerably.

 

Looking back on the trip, it is amazing to compare what the Esther School provides for its students.

 

The classroom that I was assigned had tables and chairs and other rooms had academic posters and bookshelves like you would see in a classroom in the U.S. On Sunday I attended church in the school’s library where a father of one of the students gave a sermon. The library was also used for a meeting place for staff and where students would meet before and after camp to sing worship songs. 

 

One of my favorite parts of the trip was learning new worship songs from the students. Every song had its own dance and every student participated. 

 

My hope is to visit the Esther School again next time there is a summer trip.

 

I sponsor a student from the Esther School now and I am looking forward to hearing how the school has grown once the March group has returned.