Team of Ten Tapped

This year's GoTeam for Zambia has been selected and has already begun preparing for the July visit to the southern Africa nation. Left to right above you can see: Dick Rapp, Alan Shiffer (of World Vision), Katie Chandler, R.B. Brandvold, Cathy Rote, Christopher Sheffield, Pam Fogg, Pastor Graig Flach, Youth Director Kathleen Fast and Mark Scarlett. The team has an even mix of 5 first-time Zambia travelers and 5 returnees.

The Zambia Partnership came into being in 2003, as Lake Grove answered the call to respond to the AIDS pandemic with the love of Christ. Working under the umbrella of World Vision with its expertise in transformational development, Lake Grove has partnered with villages and the local World Vision staff in a remote region called Sinazongwe, located in the Southern Province of Zambia, on Lake Kariba. The people group there is known as the "Valley Tonga".

Tasks for this year's team will include marking the end of our most recent community partnership, the Siabbeula Food Security Project, visiting 2 schools with which Lake Grove has had significant contact, and also visiting a number of sponsored children. In addition, discussions will take place about the remaining time of our commitment in Sinazongwe - the program is currently scheduled to end in 2015. Join us in prayer as we seek a plan for being good partners in these last 4 years, rounding of the development in a way that ensures sustainability and glorifies God.

Next, the team begins its regimen of monthly preparation meetings, preparing them to hit the ground running by informing them about Zambia, AIDS, World Vision, and cross cultural issues.

The team is undergirded in prayer. There is a "SendTeam" of 10 prayer warriors, one assigned for each of the GoTeam members. In addition, the team members pray for another team member each week, rotating to another team member week-to-week. Finally, each team member has friends and family supporting them in prayer. You, too, can be an extended member of this team by offering your own prayers on their behalf. Thank you and - God bless you (Lesa akuleleke, in Tonga)!