Unity
Posted by: Erin Kambenja on January 20, 2012 | Staff Blog
A group of villagers sit in a small, dark hut surrounding a woman lying on a dirty mattress, stretching out their hands to her while they pray for her. She cannot move or talk on her own. Her cheeks are sunken and she can barely keep her eyes open. Pelekela is the young woman sick with AIDS and TB. The bible study group that I have been leading with people from different churches has unified and is reaching out to one other in prayer. We recently learned about praying and confessing in faith and they did not hesitate to put the teaching into action as we went to pray for a woman in the village who is very sick right after the study ended.
One of the women in the bible study shared that she was very encouraged because "We never knew how to talk to God, but now we know better how to talk to him and that he hears us". The same women also gave a testimony of how her leg is now healed after the group prayed for her. She was not able to walk, but she is able to now. I praise God for the way he is moving in the hearts and lives of each person in the group. It is amazing to see him use me, a servant with my own doubts, faults, and heartaches to share the word of God with a group of people in a rural area that could have easily been forgotten.
About Erin Kambenja
Job Title: LIFE Community Coordinator/Social Worker
Location: Livingstone, Zambia
Spouse: Watson Kambenja
Bio:
Erin grew up in South Lake Tahoe, California. God put a passion for missions and Africa in her heart from the beginning of her relationship with him. She studied social work in college and received a BSW and an MSW in order to use it on the mission field.
She first traveled to Africa in 2005 on a short-term mission trip and after finishing her Bachelor’s degree, returned to Africa to live in Zambia for a year. She worked with another organization organizing a child sponsorship program and volunteering in the community of Livingstone. After returning to the U.S. for one year to complete her MSW, she came back to Zambia and worked with a small orphanage which eventually led her to the Overland Missions and the LIFE Project where a social worker was needed. Erin has been volunteering with the LIFE Project since 2010. She attended AMT in May 2010 and is now very happy to be part of the staff.
She is married to Watson, a Zambian nurse, and they are very excited to spend their life in Zambia serving those in need of hope.
