Audrey’s Story
My dear ZSF friends, you need to know that your generous donations are making an incredible difference in so many lives, and the people who are blessed by them are extremely grateful! While I was in Zambia, visiting schools and communities who need our help, I was the recipient of the deepest expressions of gratitude! I often felt unworthy to receive their thanks, since it was not ME who built safe classrooms for their students, or provided water access through a bore hole, or a dormitory to allow students to escape the dangers of incredibly long distances to travel to school. I was just one of the lucky representatives who was present that day. At the official ceremony to hand over the 5 buildings ZSF provided this year, I was moved to tears when the Mungwi District DEBS official, and her associates, reverently bowed before us in a traditional Bemba expression of gratitude reserved for royalty! I wondered how I might possibly recreate that special feeling in the hearts of those who truly deserve to receive it. Please know that your contributions are incredibly valuable to those who face the abundant challenges in these poor school districts every day, yet maintain hope and forward motion thanks to the help they receive from Zambia Scholarship Fund! I felt so honored to be a part of this impactful organization!
Twenty-four years ago, when I first heard Peggy describe her experiences in creating this inspired program, I was moved by the Spirit to help her vision succeed. My husband and I began donating what we could. Once, we reached a time in our lives when we felt we could use that money for our growing family instead, the Lord provided an increase in our income – we knew He wanted us to continue helping this cause! Then, when Peggy introduced the idea of me traveling to Zambia many years ago, my mind raced with reasons why it just wouldn’t be possible for me; but, she believed it could happen, and the Lord again provided the way! I will forever cherish my experiences there! Not only were my eyes opened to the overwhelming needs of their school system (especially now that tuition-free secondary school has led to severe overcrowding & teacher shortages that the district leaders don’t have the funds to solve), but I also made personal connections with the very talented Zambian Board members and others we met in the villages. Tobias, Ivy, Monica, Evans, Joseph, Sue, Kelvin, Christopher, and Pastor Francis are the Cream of the Crop! Our contributions are brilliantly coordinated, with those who are the beneficiaries held accountable for their responsible use, both for individual scholarships or grants, and for the infrastructure projects. That’s the impressive reputation the Zambia Board members have developed for ZSF! They took such good care of us, too – feeding us in their homes (I ate roasted caterpillars!!), sharing their stories, translating between Bemba and English for us, and even camping with us in the remote villages each weekend! My heart is more deeply bonded to Beloved Zambia & its kind people than I ever expected!