dirty.

We do not do well with days of rest around here.

After a morning of "resting" around the house, that rest began to feel more like a prison sentence for a couple of lazy slobs.

We were itching to get out of the house and venture into the great outdoors.

We needed to get out. We needed to get a little dirty.

There are few adventures around here that involve nature.

We made a grand effort at going on a hike through a big cornfield behind our compound.

That "hike" ended up being a meet and greet because as surely as we stepped out of our gate we were met with person after person that we know.

We were invited into sitting rooms, asked many questions and even greeted by a girl whom we did not know but approached us saying, "Hey. You look like Sophie and Mary". It's true. We are.

The end of this tiring little excursion left us right back on our street for the best part of the day by far...our nieghbors.

For refreshment, for a moment of excitement, for a breath of fresh air....

To be adventurous, to get away, to get dirty...

We don't have to find an adventure like the ones at home, we just need to go next door and visit the nieghbors.

generations.

The longer I intern for GEMS, the more closely I connect to the purpose in their “Call to Africa”.

The more I catch the vision, come alongside the ministry, carry out the goal, and see the fruit, the more I understand the heart of God and the hearts of the women who have stayed with us for the past two weeks.

We have been working hard—training counselors, investing in CIT’s, teaching women, and reading to preschoolers. We do all of these things for one reason: to see girls around the world actively and enthusiastically expressing love for God and others—girls equipped, motivated, and passionately engaged in living out their faith. This is the vision of GEMS and the things I desire in my own life--a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ.


I walked behind these seven women who turned the dream of The Esther School into a reality as they hiked through the 25 acre property that it is being constructed upon. A dream they had for the kingdom was rising up out of the dust in Chongwe village right before their very eyes.

As I heard them talk of all this school would mean for girls, for families, for leaders, for churches, for the kingdom, I realized that these were all visions of the future, the ripples yet to come from this drop in the Zambian ocean. It dawned on me that I would one day see the fruit without them walking in front of me. They carried the vision this far, and eventually it will be handed down to the generation following behind.

GEMS is becoming a cause that I can truly stand behind, walk beside, and move forward with. It is becoming an investment that I can give my life to and give up everything for because I believe in the vision so strongly:

Teaching young girls to love God, love others, and love themselves.
To act justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God.