What began on January 20th as a typical day for the staff and students of the Esther School (Zambia) ended with a significant blow (literally) to the school. Late in the afternoon on that day, an extremely vicious storm damaged several buildings on campus blowing the roof off the preschool building and almost entirely collapsing one wall. Classes were not in session and a staff meeting had just wrapped up. We give thanks to God that no one was injured either at school or in the village. In the weeks following the storm, the school, which operates Preschool, Kindergarten and Grade One classes as well as a library, began to rebuild. Despite this setback, with the support of GEMS clubs from all over North America as well as support of many local organizations, the Esther School has been able to continue to provide education for orphaned and under resourced children in Zambia.
So why tell this story? Throughout January, our GEMS girls have been focusing on what it means to serve God wholeheartedly - tying into our theme verse from John 3:30 - "He [God] must become greater; I must become less". The girls were challenged to think of ways in which they could help serve the Esther School in their time of need. The girls set a monetary goal for themselves and a deadline of February 19th for raising the funds for the damaged school. They raised the funds individually through bottle drives, doing extra chores, donating some of their own personal birthday/allowance money and some of the girls took the initiative and held a bake sale at the Covenant Kids Daycare. The GEMS girls were very enthusiastic about being able to help the children in Zambia and it’s been a blessing to see them in action.
Serving God can take many forms - clearing the dinner table, doing homework or cleaning our rooms. And while we don't always do these things with the right attitude in our hearts - we often do them halfheartedly – by serving God wholeheartedly, God becomes greater, greater than any storm that might otherwise distract us from doing God’s work in the world.
For more information and pictures visit the Esther School website at www.estherschool.org.