I applied through Brad + Hailey
Devine SOMEWHERE DEVINE expeditions. The Devine’s have done a service
expedition annually for the last 4 years. Brad + Hailey are two of the most genuine,
kind, talented, serving + humble people I know. I'll forever be grateful for them and for this opportunity. Love them! Somewhere
Devine worked alongside with the I AM ZAMBIA organization. Heidi + Diane are
two of the most Christlike people I have ever met. They are changing the
country of Zambia, changing people’s lives one by one—mine included.
Pictures + Videos say a thousand
words. Maybe not to you, but I can’t help tear up looking at these 99% of the
time. Most of these (all of these haha I don’t have a talent in photo/video)
are not mine. I was surrounded by some of the most talented videographers +
photographers. If anybody is in need for any videos or pictures.
Please consider my new friends. (seriously just wishing I had their talent!!)
TY FRENCH --Tyson French
Happy Camper Films --Tyler + Allison Blair
Tell The Birds Zambia Vlog ---Cody + Breea Bringham
Africa Vlog part 1 Africa Vlog part 2 ---Parker Ferris + Aspyn Ovard
@anniesarahphotography ---Annie Parrish
@kariallyse ---Kari + Ross Pagotto
@ethanthresher ---Ethan Tresher
anddddd anyone else I may have forgot!
and for any of you who want to learn about I Am Zambia (which I hope is all of you)
I have been
home for almost a month anddd I still do not have the words to truly express
what I felt, what I saw, how much I fell in love with the people + how much
this trip forever changed my life. Plus, it gave me 44 new best friends. I’m
going to try to write some thoughts down. Bear with me. anddd if you don’t want to read, just go
watch the videos + enjoy the pics !!
I AM ZAMBIA
has a school out in the village with the kids, they have a technical school for
the teenage girls where they learn business/entrepreneurship skills in the city,
the girls from the technical school work at a bakery called “Bless Up Bakery” +
lastly, the main reason why we were there was to build a clinic out in the
village.
When we turned
on the dirt road headed to the school, kids came running. Literally running out of
the African Bushes. my heart. They came
+ came. Their smiles will forever be engraved in my mind. As happy as they
were to see us, I can tell you each + everyone of us on the trip were soooo
happy to see them. They would come up to the windows to hold your hand, they
would go to the back of the bus + help “push” it in. Once we got off the bus….
well it was as if we weren’t meeting for the first time, but simply a reunion.
They give the tightest hugs + have no fear to jump on your back. I miss carrying one on my hip, the other on my
back, with another one just holding my hand. We played ring-around-the-roseies,
soccer + their most favorite game---being thrown up in the air. That first day
+ everyday there I felt like I was in a dream, because in reality I was living
a dream I’ve always had.
There are a
lot of things that I will take from this trip, but one in particular that I
won’t take for granted is water. I got told the first day to walk .5 miles to
the well, pump a 50-gallon barrel of water, roll it back, dump it + repeat the
process. Not gunna lie, I thought it would be a piece of cake. WRONG. First you
have to find an old pop bottle to use as a funnel, put a rock (not to big, not
to small) underneath to prop it up just a little with the funnel to make it
work. Simple right? Haha Little did we know that if the water wasn’t already in
the well bed, it would take 15-20 min of just pumping to get it there. From there
it took us about 30-45 min to fill it up. How do you know when it is full? Well
the village kids informed us that we just bang on the side + listen to see if
is full or not. Haha I was so not prepared…carrying buckets of water to the
horse stalls is 10x easier! The well was right smack in between a village.
Seeing it first hand was beautiful. The kids simply laughed at us + thought we
sucked at pumping, because we did. They were so willing to jump right in when
we needed a breather. Honestly, they did it 10x faster than us. All of us
laughed + were so happy pumping water. I’m 100% confident non-of the kids I
know at home would have thought that was a ‘fun’ thing to do. I was amazed to
see women who had a baby strapped on the back simply pump up three buckets, put
one on their head, one in each hand + walk back to their home with grace. After
it was full, it was then time to roll it on back. The kids once again smoked
us. They would run while pushing it + us adults would look at each other + just
say HOW?? On the last service day, since I did the well before, I took a few
others from the group to show them how its done. A couple of the village boys
remembered me + oh how I miss their hugs, laughter + their smiles. Don’t
worry that day, the road was muddy which made it even more difficult to roll
them back yet still as fun!
I swept
cinderblock dust out of the clinic, I painted walls + the ceiling in the school, I helped (tried) to mix cement, moved rocks + so much more. I even
pulled out nails of old boards for like 1.5 hours. Over there, they sale the
nails one-by-one + the straighter they are the better they sale. Haha Oh how I
said a few choice words at those dang nails, but yet again I was so happy doing
something so simple. SOMEWHERE DEVINE 2018 made benches (thank you HAROLD) for
the women who walk up to 5+ miles, these benches allow them to rest their feet
before their journey home. We also left our handprints on the wall of the
school, if only those kids could know the ‘handprint’ they left on my heart.
One day we had
that sacred privilege (yes scared) to visit the Mother Treasa orphanage/care
center for men + women. We also visited the House of Moses orphanage. As I am
simply typing the name of these two places, tears are filling up in my eyes. No
pictures were taken that day, but the one below of us in front. Imagine walking into a cement
building, flies everywhere (literally), hearing the simple cries of babies,
turning the corner + melting as you see the little ones look up at you and
stretch out their arms to be held. I picked up a little girl in particular at
Mother Treasa, to let her back down in her crib was the most heart wrenching
thing I have done. When I picked her up she clanged to me. she had the strongest, firmest grip. I held +
held on to her. She wouldn’t go to anyone else. At both of the orphanages the
kids get fed once a day. My sweet sis who I was holding didn’t want to eat. Yet
with tears streaming down my cheeks + praying with all I had, I wanted this little
one to eat, because reality was if she didn’t eat then, she would wait a whole
day. House of Moses we found out that the kids are only allowed to stay there
until they are 5 years old. 5 YEARS OLD. Whattt. Zambia government requires
those who are wanting to adopt (both husband + wife) have to live in Zambia for
6 months. If they are not adopted or if their family doesn’t come back for them
(they try + work really hard to have the kids go back to their parents) the
kids are simply put on the street. Which means black market, sex trafficking + well hopefully survival. Finding this out the second day, made me hug
all the little kids in the compound or village that much tighter. When we got
to House of Moses, a baby was left on the door step the day before. Just left. Holding onto
those newborns was once again a sacred experience, I wanted them to know they
are strong, that they are loved + that they can do anything they set their mind
to. The 1-year old kiddos…man their laughter still ring in my ears + I pray
that it always will. But once again we got there when it was time to eat. Each
of them had to feed themselves. They sat on the ground, immediately started
nurturing themselves as they rocked back-and-forth. Sometimes I wish I didn’t
have an education in the medical + psychology field. For a child to have to
nurture themselves…all I can say, is to my mom, thank you. In
Mother Treasa we got to meet with the women who were dying of aids. We sang
songs + danced with them. Again, tears couldn’t be held back + I couldn’t tell
you if they were happy or sad, but I’m sure they were both. As we walked out of
the women’s side unto the men’s, there was a lady who “didn’t feel good”
cuddled up in a ball on a bed. I held her hand + simply didn’t have words, but
just prayed she would feel a little bit of relief, a little bit of comfort +
more importantly a whole lot of love. The men at Mother Treasa, just kept
saying “hello, you’re so beautiful”. I was touched by their genuine compliments
+ even bigger hearts.
These sayings were every where in Zambia. For those who I met who have nothing yet know that "God is Able" + "Better Days, Needs Never End"--isn't it powerful?
Sunday, we
went to a local LDS church. How comforting it was for me to truly once again
confirm my testimony that the church is the same where ever you go in the
world. Even if the bishop randomly says over the pulpit “and now Somewhere
Devine will sing our congregational hymn.” Hahah we killed it. Did I mention
that everyone there loves singing + dancing. Their voices are top notch + their
dance moves seriously out of this world. After church we had the amazing
opportunity to walk alongside girls from the technical school. They took us to
their homes, welcomed us in + for me I have never felt more as if I was walking
with the savior. As we were walking (didn't matter which day, but particularly this one), I couldn't help but notice the little foot prints in the dirt. I miss seeing those foot prints. There homes : well imagine a home the size of a king size bed that’s it. Some of
them had a couch, some had a few dishes. Most of the girls who we walked with made the only income for their families. You asked them what they did for a
job, most of the girls replied I work at the bakery. At the bakery these girls
make $0.70. That’s it. Their rent is $40.00 a month. You do the math, it
doesn’t add up. Most of them, if not all were behind + knew they would be
kicked out on the streets soon. They were already living on the streets. So to think where they would go, it just doesn't make sense. There
was a minimum of 6-8 people living in these ‘homes’. Many of the kids had one if
not both parents pass away from aids, or shortly will have them pass. I saw
kids covered in flies, when I say covered, we were shooing them away
constantly. I saw them have nothing, yet offer me simply everything they had. Once
you were welcome in, you simply became part of their family. The girls of those technical school are going
to change the world. They recited poems to us + sang us songs. Their poems were
EMPOWERING. “I AM POWERFUL. I AM BRIGHT. I AM A WOMEN AND I KNOW WHATS RIGHT. I
AM A CYCLE BREAKER.” Aren’t we all cycle breakers in some way? When I first
went on this trip I had a really bad taste in my mouth about social media…yet
without social media, I wouldn’t have learned about this trip + because of
social media this trip happened. The way we look at life or handle life can
have an influence for the good or bad. We choose. We choose what cycle our life
will be. We ended the night with a dance party, how I got into the middle
having a solo I still don’t know, but I like to think I killed it. haha I will
forever be grateful for every single person I met, because of them I was
changed.
People have
asked me what was the number one thing I learned on my trip. I learned a lot +
over these last few weeks I have narrowed it down to one word. LOVE. The night
I got my acceptance letter is a night I’ll never forget. After answering
multiple phone calls, sending a million exciting texts + regaining my composure….
for about two minutes I had nothing, but silence in my car. The silence was
soon broken by the overflowing love my heart felt for people who I have never
met before. Love for the individuals I’d be taking the trip with, love for the
people in Africa + overall just love for my Heavenly Father for blessing me
with this opportunity. I learned more fully + gained a greater understanding
what unconditional love is. Unconditional love is welcoming people into your
home, into your life. It’s offering them a few corn kernels in the dirt to make
you popcorn. (because that is literally all you have) It’s knowing someone, somewhere,
even if it’s the man upstairs is praying for you. It’s seeing little kids rub
their bellies as they watch you eat + you not being able to finish your food,
so you bag food and you run over + hug the child. It’s sitting with a woman who
has an infected finger + we try are very best with VERY limited supplies to help
her squeeze out the infection. It’s laughing + joking with people who you didn’t
know before the trip yet, you're best friends now. It’s simply serving with everything
you have, praying you are making a difference + feeling your heart grow-an-grow.
And when the girls sing “although, you’ve come very far away, we shall never
forget you”, its holding on to every memory, conversation, lesson etc. you
gained from this trip.
As I landed + met with Diane (everybody but 6
of us stayed in the airport we missed the memo haha) she told us be ready to be
‘changed’. Changed I was. Truly everyone that went was. My dear friend Allison
wrote on her Instagram a quote she found about traveling, that I loved + it
just sums it up.
“Travel isn’t always easy. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you – it SHOULD change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, you take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
Hopefully, I did leave something good behind. But
no matter what, I know I took many things away with me. (insert crying tear emoji + heart emoji times a million)
I mean in Africa it is only fitting to go to a safari + do some other fun outrageous things. I walked a cheetah, zip-lined, did a swing + bungee. Those who know me, know I don't really cry.... but um I bawled right before bungee. Literally felt like I was dying. haha I'm glad I did it, but will never do it again! haha Victoria Falls was a 5 minute walk from our resort in Livingstone....BREATH-TAKING!
stilllll not a cat person haha
a month old baby elephant--I died. anddd my spirit animal (giraffe) seriously is the coolest.
does this not look like a rescue mission ?? haha it sure felt like one !!
Did I bawl my eyes out right before bungee? Yes, yes I did. Will I ever do it again? No, no I will not.
On the way to
Africa…. I had a few pit stops! Seattle, I will be back. Grey’s Anatomy in real
life for 6 hours was clearlllyyy not enough time. Dubai you were awesome, but
wayyy to freaking hot, you about killed me. literally. Would I do the whole trip over again even the 16 hour flight....yes.
For all you who made it to the end, thank you. Any takers on who wants to come with me on my next adventure ?? :)
