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Before you all head over, I would like you all to answer a few questions for me as well as your reading audience, I'm sure they're just as curious. What are you goals for your time over there? What expectations do you all have? What, if any, are your anxieties about this trip? What do you think you are looking forward to most? - Meghan
Monica: Hello everyone! My goals for my time over there is to have a life changing experience and have a cultural exchange while having fun and learning all that I can. The only expectation I have is... actually I don't have any. I am planning on going on this trip with an open mind and heart, going with the flow, and soaking as much up as I can. My only anxiety is that my family won't be there. The thing I am looking forward to most is meeting and interacting with the youth.
Evan: Hi, I am Evan. I am the youngest member in our group. My goals in Zambia are, Make friends, teach the children as much as I can on reading, writing, and preparing kids for adulthood. My one major goal is to make a difference in a child's life. I want to help a child learn to be successful in life and help them teach others what I taught him/her. My expectations are that I will be in awe at how difficult their lives are but how they manage to stay hopeful. I am mostly looking foward to changing zambians lives in a good way.
Sarah: Hey there, I'm SO excited for this trip to Zambia! Seriously, I get butterflies every time I think about it, and I'm really looking forward to this awesome adventure with such neat people. I cannot wait for the opportunity to to witness a culture different from my own, and to learn from the Zambians, who do not have the seemingly endless resources that we are blessed with. Most of all, I aim to make a difference and a positive influence in the communities I will be visiting. I not only want to provide helpful resources and supplies, but also I am looking forward to make some new friends! I am trying not to have any expectations, because I know plan A will probably not work out and that is okay! We will learn to bless and release all our struggles to Him- God will find a way to do His work, I know it. I think I am most anxious about the transportation, I have never traveled out of the country, let alone halfway across the world to Africa! But I trust our group, we have awesome people and it already feels like family, so I wouldn't be too worried Monica 😊 I am super duper excited to meet some Zambian teenagers! and for everthing I have heard about the masses over there, they have a lot to live up to. And the music will be incredible! Woo hoo!
Mike: This is such a great group to be traveling with. We have all known each other for many years. Our families have grown together over those years and shared school, church, sports, theater, and many other activities. In the 10 months since Artie, through his Eagle Scout project and OLP's Crossroads Youth Group, got us all working on this big goal I have been inspired, but not surprised, by how well we have all pulled together to make this happen. I’m really looking forward to traveling together, laughing together, and sharing this incredible experience. I know we can do whatever is asked of us in Zambia. My biggest anxiety is getting everything done at work and at home so I can leave it all behind for nearly 3 ½ weeks. What am I most looking forward to - leaving it all behind for nearly 3 ½ weeks! As far as expectations, I’m with Monica - I am open to whatever our experience will be. With so much in-country support I think it will be easier to let go and let it happen.
' 'Sandy and Meghan thanks for providing that in-country support. Any plan, A, B, or C, is fine by me - just point me in a direction and let me know what you hope to happen. We'll see what turns out. My goals are simply to have an incredible experience with a great group of people, the ones I already know and the ones I will have the pleasure to meet along the way. Our parish and now our Conifer community have a strong and growing bond with Zambia. I hope to make that bond just a little bit stronger through this experience.
' 'As one final comment for now, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous community support we have had to make this happen - our families and friends in Conifer and across the country; our OLP parish family; our local schools; Artie and the Scouts who got this all started; the Conifer Rotary Club; the Conifer community at-large, but in particular Conifer Family Medicine for supporting our endless chocolate sales and huge garage sale; and my co-workers at The Children’s Hospital for their tremendous generosity towards this effort. Without all this backing none of this would have been possible. You made it happen with literally
1 TON of donated and purchased supplies (Sandy and Meghan I hope you're ready - we're working on the airlines) and additional contributions of time, money, and talent. Follow us on this journey. We will post our experiences every chance we get.
Sean: My goals for our trip are basically to be able to get to know some of the Zambians through giving them all of the supplies that we have collected and teaching them whatever I can but especially showing them how to juggle. As far as expectations I am trying my hardest to not have any expectations and to keep an open mind in order not to be suprised or not ready for what I will face. There are only a few things that I am really nervous about. One thing is the fact that some of our luggage may be lost because I know how much of a hassle it is to get it back. I am also really nervous about bungee jumping even though I still really want to. Honestly I have no large concerns only minor ones. On this trip I am mostly looking forward to teaching kids to juggle because it is the major thing that I think I specialize in and can teach the best. I also think it is a great way to connect with the kids in a way I can't while doing a lot of other things
Stephen: I have always loved traveling, mostly because I really like learning about different cultures and people who look and act and think differently from me. This is one of the main reasons I am so excited to go to Zambia. I want to learn as much as possible about Zambian culture, and I hope to be able to share some of my culture with the Zambians I meet. That being said, I know that parts of this trip will probably be hard on all of us. I expect that I will have a difficult time coming
Katie Joe: Evan summarized most of my sentiments precisely. My only other goal is to learn as much as I can about the people and their lives, cultures, music, and yes, the geology of Zambia. My expectation is that my family and I will be enlightened not only of our bags of donations, but by all that we encounter and learn. My only anxieties center around trip preps and getting the family organized to actually go (and that the Wickhams all get better!). I'm looking forward to all of it. I really want to see a giraffe.
Matt: This for me is an opportunity to share with people who have a completely different life perspective. I have no doubt it will be life changing, as have my previous experiences living and traveling oversees. This is a fantastic group of people we will be traveling with. Simply fantastic, and I look forward to sharing this experience with them. As for expectations, I have but one: to hopefully build some relationships with our Zambian hosts that will last a lifetime and beyond. We are more fortunate than we know, and perhaps through this trip we can improve the lifes of a few. That is my hope. We would not be going but for 1) my son Artie, who started all this first with an Eagle Project and then grew it because his heart, mind and ambition know no limits, 2) the teammembers who through tireless effort have managed the fundraising and logistics, and put a full head of steam on this adventure, 3) our friends and community who have rallied behind us, for their donations, and for buying our butterbraids, chocolates, birdhouses, and every other silly thing we were selling to raise money, and 4) all the organizations who donated footbags (over 150 bags and counting) so we can share our love of hacky sack. Thank you all.
Andy: First off, I am so excited for this trip. My goals for this trip is mainly to establish relationships with the children over in Zambia. I expect to have many if not all day that are filled with things and activities. I am not really looking forward to riding on an airplane for a total of 24 hours. Or riding in a packed van down a dusty dirt road for hours on end. The thing that I am most looking forward to is meeting all of the Zambians and experiencing their culture. I am also looking forward to hacky-sacking with the Zambians.
Artie: Zambia: A journey created from a journey of its own. Primarily, I would like to extend an extraordinary amounto of gratitude to everyone in the group. You are all a tremendous and incredible group of individuals, and I know that without your countless hours of hard work, support, volunteerism, sacrifice, and skepticism; this trip would never have been possible. I would also like to thank everyone outside of the traveling group for their support and prayers as well...I am beyond grateful. Anyway, my goals while over in Zambia are to develop life-long relationships that will forever shape my life, as well as experience something entirely new accompanied by an open mind and heart. In addition, I am very excited to experience the distribution of the materials first-hand (as a portion of the materials were generated as part of my Eagle Scout Project), and witness the impacts that communities can have on eachother...even on a global scale. As of right now, I hold little expectations, not to the quality of the journey, but more to the standards and anxieties of the trip. I know that with an open heart and mind, and a gentle attitude, I can and will have the greatest experience of my life. According to Sandy, I (and Steven) should apparently also expect to be courted by several young women...hence my anxieties: commitment and bungee jumping. Lastly, I am most excited for the cultural interaction that is sure to take place. Helping is a portion of the trip, but I feel that the greatest memories will be develoed through the times that we will share together...as one big hacky-sacking family. Again, I would like to thank everyone for their months of commitment and dedication to a long-held dream, and I look forward to ending this segment of my life (High School) and starting anew (College and beyond) with quite the journey of a lifetime.
Dave: I am 52 years old, having grown up on a farm in a small town in rural Nebraska. My greatest travels have taken me to Mexico and several places in the Caribbean. I converted to Catholicism in 2000, and have been active in the confirmation program since then. Having missed out on growing up in the church, I am now serving as alter server as well. I enjoy being a part of the celebration of the Eucharist. I look forward to immersing myself into a culture so different from what I am accustomed to. I look forward to celebrating mass with a group of people who celebrate it with the hope and joy it was meant to have. I look forward to the music, and dance, and the international community we will be with. I look forward to seeing Africa, the birthplace of humanity, the country and all the magnificent animals which still roam there (while they still roam there). I look forward for a break from my job, and the daily paperwork, and phone calls, and management issues associated with it.
Anna: Hey! I cannot begin to even try and imagine that in 7 short days, this group will be making the long trip to the other half of the world. I am going into this trip with an open mind. No expectations to meet, the only thing i hope to accomplish on this trip is to walk away from this experience knowing i experienced/learned something that others cannot even dream about. I hope to make friends in zambia that I, as well as others in the group, will keep in touch with, I hope to come away from this trip with a greater appreciation for everything i have taken for granted, and i hope to leave zambia and know that i made a difference, no matter how small, whether it is with a family, or a friend, or just picking up a local community. I am expecting nothing short of the best time of my life. And although, i am slightly embarrassed to admit this, my only real anxiety/phobia regarding this trip, is that i am going to forget my bug spray!
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sandy
non-member comment
getting ready
Hi all, Monica, Evan and Sarah, great first entries. A number of the friars now have this website so they too will be checking in during the next 10 days to see what you are all up to. Trust that they are working hard to make your stay and your missions memorable for you. See you all really soon