Let me start at the beginning. One of the very first things I got to do in Zambia was meet a little girl, Eunice, and her family. This was a special moment for me because before I even left for my trip, I had been hearing testimonies and stories from the first half of the summer in Zambia. With over 3,000 children and 250 Americans having gone through Camp LIFE, I knew I was walking into the middle of a tremendously powerful year of Camp LIFE.
One of these stories was about Eunice. My dear friend and co-worker Katy met this sweet girl during the first week of Camp LIFE while she was greeting the children one morning. After introducing herself as Eunice, she told Katy that she was 10 years old and at camp for the very first time.
So far this must sound like a normal conversation between a child and a camp staff member - regardless of country. But here is what makes this story unique -- Eunice is only 32 pounds. Katy assumed she was meeting a young child only 6 years old. Instead she learned that she was talking to a child who was severely malnourished - possibly even struggling with a life-threatening illness.
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| Blaise at age 2 and 33 pounds; Eunice at age 10 and 32 pounds |
Also alarmed by sores on Eunice's body, Katy pulled this little girl to the side and asked our medical staff to examine her. They immediately felt she needed medical assistance from a local clinic. Within the next 2 weeks, it was discovered that Eunice was HIV positive and suffering from Tuberculosis. Her mother tested positive for HIV as well and was discovered to be suffering from heart disease. She has been so sick that she is unable to leave home much less work.
Eunice is the second of 4 children. Her older sister, Natasha, is 12 years old and desperately trying to provide for her struggling family. As you can imagine, they are painfully hungry and uncertain even of how to make it through one day.
Katy shared with me her concern for Eunice almost daily in the weeks prior to my trip to Zambia. We celebrated that Eunice was safely enrolled in our sponsorship program, receiving proper medications, and being fed proper foods to ensure she would begin to gain weight. Our team also secured a spot for Eunice in our next Tree of Life house to open.
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| Katy with Eunice and siblings singing their favorite Camp LIFE songs |
But, just days after I arrived in Zambia for the second half of our Camp LIFE program, we learned that Eunice's family was 3 months behind in rent and a day away from being evicted. With no money and no family in the Lusaka area, they would be forced to moved to the village - far outside of Family Legacy's service area and much too far away from the vital medical resources both Eunice and her mother need.
Within just a few hours, our team was able to put enough money together to pay the family's past due rent and enough to keep them there until Eunice can move into her new home at the Tree of Life. I was blessed to deliver this news to the family and spend the afternoon with them.
I was reminded in that moment of the important role of Camp LIFE. What seems like just a simple, short-term missions opportunity is really a gateway program allowing us to dramatically impact the lives of countless children. Not only because we speak the power of the gospel over their lives and see many of them receive hope, faith, and grace in a way they never understood possible; but also because Camp LIFE gives us a chance to get to know children who are days or months away from literal death. Without medication, proper nutrition, and a stable home, Eunice would not make it to her teenage years.
I wish that Eunice was unique - a rarity in Zambia. Unfortunately, she is one of so many children suffering from disease, illness, malnourishment, and extreme poverty. When YOU come to Camp LIFE, you get to know these kids and you have an opportunity to dramatically change the course of their lives here on earth and in eternity. God uses each of us to impact the Kingdom. I know he has a plan for Eunice - why else would he shine a light on her specifically? Please pray for her and the countless others waiting for God to rescue them from both economic and spiritual poverty.
Blessings,
Anne
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