“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
Here is the big post...
I have had many people ask me "Why" questions. Such as "Why do you want to do this?" "Why Zambia?" "Why missions?"
Jesus said : "Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me’
“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me." Matthew 25
First and foremost, I feel called by God to do this. I have had a burning desire to be in mission for an extended period of time for about 8 months now. I have seen God's hand throughout my entire planning process and I know that God is going to bless my time in Zambia. I will have the opportunity to feed and clothe a precious child of God. I have done many mission trips in the past that have been a week, but being in Zambia for an extended period of time will allow me to get to know the people and minister to them better. I hope that I become a better pastor someday because of my experience in Zambia.
I choose Zambia because I have a great passion for community, faith, pastoral care, and health development. I will be the first missionary in Zambia at this Orphanage. I love love love children and teens. I cant imagine growing up without parents so I hope that I can help these children. I have been studying HIV/AIDS in school, I work as youth director, and I love missions and community development so this seemed like the perfect fit!
General Information about what I will be doing:
I am flying out of Atlanta on June 1 and returning home August 1. I will be working and living in a rural village in Zambia in an Orphanage. There are 35 children whose parents have died from AIDS. I will be a "house mom" and pastor while I am there. I will be leading Bible studies for the children, cooking, helping them with their English, and general chores. I will also be connecting with local churches and helping to provide leadership. I am taking a leave of absence from my job and will be returning in August. I really really really hate to leave my job for two months because I love it. My mission organization is the General Board of Global Ministries. http://new.gbgm-umc.org/about/us/mv/
If you could like to make financial donations to my trip to Zambia you can send them to :
McKendree UMC
1570 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
In the check you need to write "Ashley Fitzpatrick and Zambia Orphanage"
If you have extra Bible, school supplies, or medical supplies that you are willing to donate, I will be accepting any donations to take to Africa with me. Please contact me via email at ashleysfitzpatrick@gmail.com and we can arrange a pick up. I would love to take a Bible and give it to a child in Zambia from one of my friends in the USA. You are more than welcome to write messages in the Bibles if you like.
"Whenever you see darkness, there is extraordinary opportunity for the light to burn brighter."
Bono
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