A Trip of a Lifetime
Two weeks ago Arise Africa had the opportunity to fly over four Zambian staff members to the USA. With the financial help of Park Cities Presbyterian Church our crew got to come over here to participate with PCPC at their Vacation Bible School. Words cannot express the generosity and love that PCPC showed us throughout the visit.
Sammy Joe, Kochelani, Solomon, and Megan were the lucky ones to make the trip. Megan chaperoned and made sure the guys got here since they had never been on an airplane and they had a 21 hour layover in Dubai!
We were so encouraged and excited to work with PCPC at VBS all week. The theme was “Go Wild” this year and it was about missions. They used our staff to teach kids about missions and Africa. Our guys spent everyday teaching kids in America the songs that our kids in Africa sing. They spoke about how the Lord is working in Zambia and caring for kids. They taught kids here what kids in Africa eat or the games they play.
And they worked so hard with the VBS staff. It was an absolute blast and a great partnership.
After the week of VBS was over we got to have a mini reunion with so many previous mission trippers:
Then we decided to have a bit of fun and expose the guys to as much as possible!
The guys got to go tubing at the lake, shoot a gun at the ranch, eat every type of food possible (BBQ, seafood, and Velvet Taco were the hits), visit Six Flags and ride roller coasters, go to the movies, go to a Lecrae Concert (that was a 6.5 hour car drive away!) learn to swim better, have backyard BBQ’s with neighbors, go to a Rangers vs. Dodgers game, visit the aquarium, look inside a police car at all the gadgets, shop at Wal Mart (three times), ride in a convertible, shop on Amazon prime, and many more experiences.
After spending two weeks in America our Zambians came up with a list of the
20 most Interesting/Crazy things they experienced in America:
1. The drive thru at the bank and the tube you put money in
2. The pedi bikes (rickshaws) at the Rangers vs. Dodgers game and that fact that Americans think where they park is “far” from the stadium and they actually pay for someone to bike them there
3. The portions of food
4. The “drink mixer” at Pei Wei
5. The fact that you have the choice of Pulp, some pulp, or no pulp, in your orange juice
6. Americans refrigerate their eggs
7. The driving on the right side of the road
8. Nobody walks anywhere
9. Amazon Prime and the postal system delivers things to your doorstep so fast. And nobody takes the package off your porch.
10. Roller coasters
11. Blowing up tannerite at the ranch
12. The jet skis… they go so fast and you have no breaks
13. BBQ ribs are so tasty and cooked for hours and hours
14. America’s drum sticks are very different than Zambia’s
15. the HOV lanes and highways that have very very tall ramps
16. The police cars and the technology in them. You can’t bribe them either.
17. Plastic money (credit cards) and the visa gift cards seem odd and fake.
18. There are some candles that are not real but look real and turn on with a remote control.
19. Water dispensers for the dogs have water barrels that are upside down but somehow the water doesn’t pour out.
20. The mechanical bulls
We were so blessed by this trip. The guys were amazing and taught so many things to kids and adults here in the USA. Thank you everyone who helped pay for this trip and helped us host the crew while here!
– Alissa