Long overdue update

My apologies for such a long span between posts. To be honest, though, there hasn't been too much to update since the last post.

To start off, we are well on our way to meeting our fundraising goal. As of today, we've raised just over $10,000! Once Thrivent matching funds come in, we'll have over $12,000 meaning that we need under $2,000 to fully meet our fundraising needs. I can't tell you how awesome this is! Leah and I have been absolutely overwhelmed by everyone's generous support. Thank you all who have contributed financially and in other ways. Please know there is still plenty of time to donate if you haven't yet. Help us meet our goal!

If you've caught the news lately, you probably noticed things are going great in southern Africa. In Zimbabwe, the election struggle continues. I looks like the presidential run-off election will be held on June 27, just about a week before we get to Zambia. Let's hope things go smoothly and the outcome is good for the people of Zimbabwe. In South Africa, a wave of violence has erupted amidst xenophobic fears in the slums around Jo'burg and Cape Town. The violence was so bad that the military was called out to stop the fighting. It looks as if things have settled down in the past few days, but please join us in praying for calm and peace in the region before we leave.

That's all the news for now. Updates will be sparse until we leave for Africa on July 3. Please keep Leah and I in your prayers as we begin our final preparations for this journey.

Thanks!
Zac

Our first bad news...

So when we started this project, we knew there would be bumps along the way...here's the story of our first "bump".

We are lucky enough to have nearly our entire flight itinerary on one ticket. From Fargo to Chicago to London to Johannesburg is all on United or its partner airlines. From Jo'burg, though, we need to catch a local flight to Livingstone. We found a great deal on Nationwide Airlines in South Africa that fit perfectly into our plan. Since we weren't quite sure what day we'd be heading out of Livingstone on the way home, we only booked a one-way ticket (by the way, this is foreshadowing for all your literature buffs).

The other day, I was going to book our return ticket from Livingstone to Jo'burg. I went to Nationwide's website and found a precarious message. In short, it tells customers that due to high fuel costs and low ticket sales caused by poor consumer confidence after an engine fell off during a flight last year, the airline was immediately ceasing all operations. Gulp! It failed, however, to mention anything about a refund for costumers...YIKES! So in short, it appears that Leah and I are out about $400 bucks for those tickets and need to buy new tickets. Not only are those tickets more expensive, but it will get us to Livingstone one day later than planned meaning will have to find lodging in Jo'burg for a night.

The good news in all this is plentiful, still. We thankfully only have to eat the cost of a one-way ticket, and there are still seats on the only other flight that flies into Livingstone the dates we need. Also, it was better to find this out in early May than in early July when we were stuck in South Africa.

Let's hope that this is as bad as the bumps get on this journey...

zac

Speaking at Faith

Leah and I will speak about the trip this weekend at Faith Lutheran. The church is located at 127 2nd Ave. E in West Fargo, and worship is at 5:30 on Saturday or 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday morning. The church will also take a special offering next weekend (May 3 and 4) to help in our fundraising . Yippee!!!

BIG news!

I got a great birthday present today. Thanks to the help of Vicki Schmidt, our trip to Africa will receive financial support from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Because of Vicki, Thrivent will support us with matching funds for all of our fundraising efforts. Generously, Thrivent will match 20% of everything raised up to a sum of $2,500. For example, if you donate $100, Thrivent will donate $20 on top of that. If we raise $10,000 total, Thrivent will match that with $2,000. WOW! Thank you so much Thrivent and Vicki Schmidt. This is incredible!

Zac

Thank you and other thoughts

Thank you
Lately I find myself watching the clock inch towards 1:00 p.m. No, I'm not taking a time-sensitive prescription medication or on a crazy diet; I certainly haven't developed a love for daytime drama. One o'clock, rather, is the time the mail typically arrives at my home. For me, this afternoon hour is marked with excitement and humility.

As you know, I'm fully in the midst of my fundraising efforts to head to Africa on a volunteer trip this summer. When I wander towards the mailbox at the end of my street in the early afternoon, I am anxiously awaiting more results from my fundraising letters sent out over a week ago now. Swinging open the metal door of the mailbox, I sift through the water bill, piles of useless coupons, Time magazine, and yet another special offer for an American Express card until I find the small white envelope addressed to "African Impact '08".

After making the short walk back home, I clumsily rip into the envelope always thinking one of these days I need to invest in a letter open. Upon reviewing the generous gift inside, I'm struck with the dual emotions of excitement and humility. The first emotion, I suppose, it not hard to understand. To use an April-appropriate comparison, it's like getting an IRS refund check every day of the week! Humility, though, is an equally strong response to the donations I've received. Asking for money from friends and family is a difficult task for most, and I'm no exception. Sorting through the checks, I'm taken aback as I see $50, $100, $200, even $300 being given to me to use for my trip to Africa. One cannot help but reflect on his blessings in an instance like this. How lucky I am to have people in my life who support me this way! Nonetheless, it remains an unenviable task to ask for and later receive financial gifts like this. I wish I could cut a check to the volunteer agency in Africa, punch in my credit card number on the airline's website, and withdraw some cash from the ATM and be done with it all. That, however, is not my reality. So, I am struck with a great sense of humility as checks keep coming in the mail and words of encouragement keep coming my way. Perhaps it's the proud prairie culture I've grown up in that guides my response in this matter, but whatever has shaped this part of my personality, I'm truly humbled by all of your support.

For now, I'll end this thought with a simple thank you for everything.

Other thoughts
*You've heard by now the news out of Zimbabwe regarding its recent national elections. It appears that after decades of dictatorial rule by Robert Mugabe, an opposition party has emerged victorious in both parliamentary and presidential elections. As any good dictator would do, though, Mugabe continues to impose his atrocious rule on Zimbabwe as his ruling party has been instrumental in delaying the release of official voting numbers throughout the country. Under any reasonable measure, Mugabe has destroyed his nation and its people since rising to power decades ago. As the United States fears possible recession, we ought to realize that Mugabe has presided over 100,000% inflation (that's not a typing error) in Zimbabwe. While I know virtually nothing about the opposition party in Zimbabwe, it appears the country has reached the "anybody but Mugabe" stage in its political evolution. It appears official results might be coming this week, so stay tuned. If you want to follow this story, I've found the BBC has the best continuing coverage. Let's hope and pray that Zimbabwe resolves this election dispute without the terrible violence seen in Kenya.

*This time last year, I would have only paid slight attention to an election in Zimbabwe. Now, however, I'm following it with almost as much zeal as I do Barack vs. Hillary vs. McCain. It's an understatement to say I have a personal interest now. Let me provide a quick geographic comparison regarding my travels this summer: Livingstone, the town I'll be staying in during my volunteer stay, is in extreme southern Zambia. Zambia is bordered on the south by Zimbabwe. If Livingstone where Fargo, then Zimbabwe would be Moorhead. I'm literally that close to this international story.

*To make matters worse, it looks like Mugabe's party might delay a possible run-off election for three months. Hmm....April to May (1), May to June (2), June to July (3). Here I thought I'd be missing out on politics while in Africa. It just turns out I'll be dealing with a whole other set of candidates where the stakes appear to be much, much higher.

*I've been trying to network with others involved with African Impact via facebook and other online resources. I stumbled across a couple of young women who travelled to Zambia last summer and came home to the UK not wanting to simply leave Africa behind. Instead, the women are organizing fundraisers to continue the work they started in Zambia. Check out their efforts here. You might want to view some of their videos to get a better idea of what I'll be doing in Livingstone myself. I couldn't help but chuckle (more in the ironic sense than joyful laughter) at their assessment of healthcare in Zambia: After witnessing long lines of folks being turned away in rural clinics outside Livingstone, the girls asked why this was happening. The clinic staff explained to them that these patients did not have the money to afford a doctor's visit that day. The girls were outraged. They commented that in the UK, they take for granted the ability to seek medical care regardless of one's ability to pay. How could anyone ever be turned away because they lacked money? It struck me that, at least in this one sense, the health care system in the United States is closer to that in Zambia than in England. Perhaps it's time we address this problem...

Until next time,

Zac

Fundraising letters sent out

On March 26, we began sending fundraising letters to our family and friends who we hope will support us financially in this adventure. It's certainly not an easy task to ask for money, but we realize it's the only way we can make this dream happen.

To those of you who've received a letter, thank you for considering making a donation. As money starts trickling in, please know we humbled by your encouragement and grateful for your support.

This blog, as you'll notice, is equipped to support online donations through the secure site PayPal. If you prefer this method, feel free to click on the yellow button on the left of the screen.

We also welcome you to check back often. We'll use the blog to explain some of our hopes for this volunteer journey and more about our motivations for stepping out of our comfort zones this summer. We are told to expect some internet availability in Zambia and will update our blog during our time in Africa, too.

Again, thank you for your support.

Until next time,

Zac

Online donations now being accepted

We are now able to accept secure online donations through PayPal on this website. All contributions will be directly deposited into an accounted named "African Impact 08" at State Bank and Trust in West Fargo.

Donating using PayPal is safe and easy. To begin, click on the large gold button labeled "Donate" in the upper right portion of the screen. Next, you can enter any amount that you'd like to donate. If you already have a PayPal account, you can log-in at this point. If you are new to PayPal, it's quick and easy to sign-up online. Just folllow the "continue" link under the heading "Don't have a PayPal account?" You will then be asked to enter personal information and can enter your credit card info at this time. As an added bonus, you'll now have a PayPal account that you can use anytime for other online donations or purchases at stores and places like ebay.

Of course, if online donating isn't appealing to you, feel free to mail in donations to:

African Impact 08
1136 Westport Beach Way
Unit E
West Fargo, ND 58078

Be sure to make out checks to African Impact 08. Thanks!

Zac