WCS seniors serve in Zambia

Spring break is a time for students and teachers to relax, get away, and take time to recuperate before getting started on the last quarter of the school year. Some people stay home and rest, and others go out of town to escape. But for still others, spring break is a time to give to others. The students of Westminster Christian High School did that this winter in the Dominican Republic, and in a similar fashion, my classmate Alex Howell and I headed to Samfya, Zambia to serve over the spring recess this year. 

We traveled with our youth group, Student Impact, through Willow Creek Community Church. Our team of eight high school students and four leaders took off on March 17 from O’Hare airport and connected to Washington DC before boarding a 19-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean to Johannesburg, South Africa. After another day of travel, we arrived in Samfya, Zambia, a small fishing province in the northern part of the nation. While we were there, our team’s main project was to re-construct the home of a woman in her eighties named Christine, whose house was in disrepair. Her thatched roof was leaky and full of homes, and she had no access to clean drinking water without walking a significant distance to the nearby basic school and carrying the water back herself. The Student Impact team and a group of local workers helped in the construction of her hut, in addition to adding a well with clean water for her use and a garden to help her generate income. Christine is the sole provider for her four grandchildren, as all ten of her children and her husband have all passed away, many of them from HIV/AIDS.

Our team also spent time bonding with the students at Samfya High School, running an after school program to help the local children learn English, and studying the Bible with the local youth. All of our activities were in partnership with Samfya Community Care Providers (SCCP), a small organization of 24 local churches coming together to serve their community in whatever way they can. Among many other things, SCCP offers micro loans to help the Samfyans generate their own income, assistance to students, and Home Based Care, which provides medicine for those affected with HIV/AIDS and other diseases and makes home visits to document progress and give aid whenever possible. Currently, Willow Creek Community Church is the sole sponsor of SCCP.

My visit to Samfya was life changing to me, and I know I will never be the same. If any of my peers reading this are contemplating going on a mission trip while they are in high school, I highly recommend it. God will take your world and turn it upside-down.

By: Katie Pluymert