New Blog Address

Due to some issues with the blog we have relocated to a new address...

Click here to follow the team for the remainder of the trip.

We have arrived!

36 hours later and WE MADE IT! Thankful for no travel complications. The weather is beautiful and so are the people. The internet is not working but we should get it back within the next couple of days. Thanks for all the prayer and support! We hope to update you soon.

Successfully conquered the connecting flight to JFK and READY TO TAKE ON THE NEXT 14.5 hour FLIGHT! Let's go to Zambia!

T-MINUS 5 DAYS!

ONLY 5 MORE DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR ZAMBIA!

We hope to use this blog to keep you updated on what God is doing within our group and the people we interact with in Macha, Zambia. For more information on the sports ministry organization we are partnering with go to Push the Rock- Zambia. 

Please keep the Push the Rock- Zambia staff and our group in your prayers as we prepare for this incredible trip!

Monday, August 25th

Today was our first day of officially being African tourists and we soaked it up! We slept last night in the Jollyboys backpacking lodge in Livingstone, which is awesome. We've met a lot of cool people passing through here. With us not being around the Malaria Research Hospital in Macha, we don't get to enjoy the generator anymore and have experienced the daily power outage that most of Africa has. Last night, it was from 12am to 5pm, so most of us were roasting in our rooms. Other than that, we all had a pretty good nights sleep... Other than Ben. Poor guy was sick all night and most of today. (He's feeling much better now though, praise the Lord!) We had breakfast at the lodge and headed to the market to do some shopping.. We've all developed some new bargaining skills after this experience. :) After shopping, we went to lunch at a place called Food Palace, which had a lot of food similar to America. Very good! The big event came after lunch... Victoria Falls! Luckily Ben was feeling better after resting all morning and was able to join us to the falls. Pulling up to the falls was pretty exciting to say the least, we passed elephants on the drive there and baboons were all over the parking lot. (FYI baboons are NOT friendly and they will totally chase after you and try to steal your bags). It's safe to say I now have a slight fear of baboons after today. The Falls were amazing though. I don't even know how to describe the experience, besides the fact that we serve a mighty God who has blessed this world with such beauty and creativity. We had to walk through a lot of rocks and water to get to it, and actually had some elephants block our pathways. We hiked to Angels Pool, which is at the top of the falls,  and everyone enjoyed jumping in and relaxing in the water. While everyone was doing that, I took a few minutes to sneak away and enjoy some alone time on the rocks by the ledge of the Fall. After the craziness of this week, it was great to enjoy some time to soak up everything that has happened and just enjoy the silence of nature in that moment. I thought of how unworthy we are of the gifts God has given us. Victoria Falls is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. God created this magnificent piece of nature for us to enjoy because He loves us enough to do so. I truly cannot explain Victoria Falls and I don't even know if the pictures we all took will do it justice. It's definitely sights like this that make me realize how truly small and insignificant my problems are in life. God is so mighty, it's insane. After the Falls, we went to dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant and are now enjoying some down time at the lodge. We start our day bright and early at the safari, so as a disclaimer, this may be our last blog post due to lack of wifi in the middle of Chobe National Park. I think we're all super excited for this, I know I am! Thanks to everyone who has been following our blog posts, we've enjoyed keeping everyone updated. We're all very sad to be winding down our trip, but we will be home soon enough and have plenty of stories to tell!

With love,
Skylar Cohick

Well today was a sad day.. Our last day in Macha. We started off the day going to the local brethren in Christ church which was an awesome experience! It was neat to see how a church halfway across the world worships the lord! The songs they sang were breathtaking and I loved seeing how they love and serve our king. After church we ate our last meal with the Thuma family.. Makes me sad thinking about it as I have grown to love my time spent with them but they are doing awesome things for the kingdom here in Zambia and I am so thankful for my week spent with them and the people of Macha!  After lunch was the trek back to Livingston, which we have called tourist land. Since arriving we have checked into the hotel and enjoyed a dinner at a local restaurant. It's been nice to relax a little bit from the week and really enjoy time with each other. Each day we have grown closer and bonded and it's been awesome to see the difference in now and when we first all met each other! The next two days are for visiting Victoria falls and going on a safari. I am so so excited for both but I'm sad we won't see the smiles and friendly hellos from the people of Macha. That is something I will for sure miss.

Emma

Friday--Our last day with the kids

Today we woke up and ate breakfast at the usual time, 8:30.  However, something was different.  It was our last day working with the same kids we had been working with for the past few days.  I was nervous about our last day..knowing that we would have to say goodbye to the people who had become our family in such a short amount of time.  Memories were made, stories were shared, games were played that all brought us all together. Even though we were from two totally different worlds, something as simple as a soccer ball or the clapping of hands could bring us all together. We made our way to our usual field and played a bunch of different games ranging from soccer to simple hand clapping games. Everyone was exhausted but we relied on the strength and power of our Lord Jesus Christ.  After having a soccer shooting competition, two members of our group shared their testimonies.  I (Courtney) shared mine.  I shared a little bit about what God has done in my life throughout the past few years.  I told them I worry...all the time..but I told them that when I do this, I am making everything about myself.  I am trusting in only myself and not in the Lord. I shared that the Lord revealed this to me but I still must battle my sinful self everyday.  It was always be a fight, but it is the good fight.  I looked at this crowd of children and told them I loved them, they were my family, and I will never forget them.  I told them I longed deeply for each of them to come to know Jesus.  That is my greatest hope that Jesus would come and fill their hearts and that they would pursue a relationship with Him. Skylar then shared her testimony and the kids listened intently.  I looked around and couldn't help but feel the Holy Spirit..it was so evident that God was with us. I left that field continuing to look back.. I never wanted to forget those faces or that field where so much work was done for the glory of the Lord.

In the evening, we met up again with the kids in the rec center. We all played board games, painted nails, played soccer, and read books.  It was our last hoorah with the kids. I couldn't say goodbye..it would be too hard.  I left that rec center remembering all of their faces and not wanting to leave.

Pray for us as we continue to spread the aroma of Christ!! LOVE from Zambia!

Courtney