Zambia

As closures are announced in an effort to head off the coronavirus, children aren't just missing out on school.

“I find it interesting: the different (cultures) and how we can all work together,” Ivy said. “We can live together and show that God is real. [He’s] not just in one culture, nor does God do things [one particular] way.”

"Since my childhood, I have been anxious about missing out. I remember not wanting to sleep whenever I heard the adults chatting in the night. I wanted to be part of it all. Later on, in high school, I said “yes” to every event and outing, which ended up crashing so many times. I couldn’t choose. I wanted to be there to celebrate all the fun moments but also share all the tears in the low moments," says Ivy.

"However, this lifestyle of being afraid of missing out could not continue when I joined missions. I have had to learn how to let go when I miss out on opportunities to create precious memories with family and friends in my home country."

“Dong! Dong! Dong! That is the sound I imagine of how the boy jumping around during kid’s ministry in the photo grew into a big strong man,” says Ivy. “…You never know what is happening in the lives you are touching right now, but God finds people to carry on all parts of His work. No missionary can claim to have done all the work themselves and everyone should rejoice together with the great work of God at the end.”

Realising the need for biblical role models, OM partnered with a local church to send a couple, Kelvin and Florence, to Crocodile Island as missionaries.

A single mother finds hope through a Self Help Group and is sharing the good news.

“I knew before I came to Africa that I would face the issue of poverty cycles, but I didn’t know there would be poverty cycles in ministries as well. I was so emotional about my friend’s situation that I wanted to do something. In Chinese, we call this feeling ‘turning over the table.' Chinese are usually reserved people so turning over the table means that someone could not hold back the emotion any more,” explains Ivy. “They have to do something to express what they are feeling.”

From doing their lessons on the ground to learning at desks in classrooms, the students at Makwati Community School have come a long way.

With the fishing season going poorly in Kapembwa, Zambia, the people want to know why, and to find the answers, they’ve called in a witch doctor. 

The Good News II School in Mpulungu, Zambia, decided to offer HIV testing to the students to encourage the children and their guardians to know their status as well as break down some of the stigma surrounding a positive status.