Getting Acquainted, Getting Ready

During its first prep meeting, the GoTeam spent a fair amount of time getting to know one another, sharing the basics about themselves, their families, and their sense of why God has put them on this team.

Pastor Graig shared a PowerPoint slide show that showed images of the kinds of things the group will see together. It ended with a series of shots of previous GoTeams, helping this team see itself as part of a larger family of Zambia travelers living out the church's longterm relational commitment to the work in Sinazongwe. This is part of the reason even first-time travelers will be treated like old friends or even family, among our Zambian brothers and sisters in Christ. This year's team stands on the shoulders of teams from previous years.
Using a curriculum called "Round Trip", published by Christianity Today, the team began to anticipate some of the dynamics they may experience as they get ready for the trip and when they finally arrive in Africa. Assignments were handed out to be completed by the next meeting: an autobiographical sketch for our partners, health forms, readings, watching a documentary on AIDS.

The next meeting will occur on the heels of the 4th annual Walk4Water in downtown Lake Oswego, an event organized by WaterAfrica, which is a local non-profit that grew out of the Zambia Partnership. Focus of the meeting will be World Vision and cross-cultural training, as we will have Zambian Bwalya Melu with us, a staff member from World Vision US, in Federal Way.