From it’s inception Doxa Deo School in Pretoria had very close ties with FCE. With them we have learnt so much of God’s heart for this generation. Over the years we have built a strong relationship with the staff of the Kalungu base in Northern Zambia. Brian and Barbara Sinoy as well as George and Karen Paul have become household names in our school.
Like every other year since 2006 26 learners and 9 adults prepared themselves and  packing the vehicles for our annual visit to Kalungu during the July school holidays. Some of them have really trusted the Lord for the money to go and many sponors had to be approached for the things we wanted to bless the staff and community of Kalungu with. And God was faithful!
Why do we opt for the long and stranious  journey in a Overlander truck. Surely there must be easier ways to get there? Every year we see how people overcome their dependence on their comfortable “private” lifestyle with ipods and cellphones from day one and are forced to share their lives with each other in a in a very limited space.
During the 5 days at Kalungu we were able to put up a fence for their goat kraal (160 meters completed and for the remaining 150 meters we could finish planting the poles and pulled the steel wires for the diamond  mesh to be attached). For most of us this was a first experience of physical labor with pliers, koevoete and drills.

We could also build 4 canals for the expansion of the earthworm project, complete with a shade roof. When we released the earthworms into the well prepared canals even the washing of cow dung was all worth the effort!

At the local public school we were confronted with old dilapidated buildings and up to 100 learners in a class room, that is now those whose classes were not under a tree somewhere! Here we experienced how God multiplied the paint so that we could complete painting their classrooms outside and inside after every drop was finished!
 The highlight for the community was the soccer and netball matches between us and them. This year we could draw after receiving a hiding last year!   

For all of us the highlight was dividing into groups of two and three to visit different vil lages, eating what they ate, washing up where they were washing up and s l eeping in their huts. For some of us the sharing of the little room without windows with a chicken family was unforgettable.

On Sunday we divided into groups to visit 4 different churches in the community. We had the privilege of worshipping with them, praying for them and eating with them. To preach to a church with an interpreter was really a first.

We were going to bless the people of Kalungu. Did we mean something to them? I really do not know. But I can tell you what those people have taught us! They taught us that poor people can still have joy! We have learnt that we can trust the Lord much more than what we are used to. We have also learnt that we will survive with much less than what we were convinced was needed.

During the time at Kalungu and also on our way back, the Lord was ministering in and through us as a group to deal with hurts in our past, and to value our friendships and most of all to re assess our role in our families back home.
We have returned so much stronger in the Lord, with so much gratitude for our families and what they are providing for us and having friends that we trust much more.

We cannot wait to experience what the Lord has planned for Doxa Deo@Kalungu in 2011.