It's Official!

Hi everyone!

My name is Dallas, and I'm a fifth grade teacher in Georgia. On this blog, I'm going to be writing about my journey to become a Sister of Zambia! Read on to find out more about what this means.

Our church has a group of women called the Sisters of Zambia who travel yearly to Africa to volunteer in a children's orphanage called the House of Moses. The House of Moses is located in Lusaka, Zambia's capital (and its largest city).  In the past in Zambia, like in many other African nations, if a mother with an infant died and did not have family to care for the baby, the baby would typically die a few days after the mother. Adoption was not an option for babies in this circumstance. However, the House of Moses, which has been recognized by the UN as a model for best practices, has been created to care for these precious infants in the hopes of finding them loving forever homes.

This year at our church's World Missions Conference, we got to hear about the latest trip to Lusaka and the children at the House of Moses. I felt God tugging at my heart and soul as I heard the stories about these sweet babies, and I felt my heart break when I learned about the burials our Sisters witnessed during their stay at the orphanage. When the Sisters said that they wanted teachers on the next trip, I knew God was calling me to Zambia.

We just had our first meeting, and it's official - I'm going to Zambia! I've never left the United States, so I've got to get a passport and a visa. I've got to get shots, take some pills, and learn about exchanging US money for the currency in Zambia. I've got to get over my fear of flying and prepare myself for a 70 degree winter! Right now, the big issue ahead of me is fundraising! I've got to raise around $3,500 - $4,000 for the trip. I'll blog more about that later.

I hope to write about all the aspects of our journey to Zambia, and I plan to post lots of pictures and stories during and after the trip. I'm so excited that God has called me to be a part of this! If you are a reader of this blog, I ask you to pray for me as I begin this journey and during my trip (May-June of 2013).

Thanks for reading!

Blessings in Christ,
Dallas
SOZ-in-Training

*Click here to read more about the House of Moses.