Walk a Mile [in this case a Kilometer] in their Shoes….

It’s been said, that you really cannot understand a person, until you “walk a mile in their shoes.” And really it is very difficult to understand a person and their life circumstances, if you haven’t first “tried out their shoes…” So, this summer we are giving you an opportunity to “try on” some orphan’s shoes – not literally, but figuratively – through a walk that raises funds for Mufulira Grace Community School. Please consider sponsoring Tim, Debbe or Amanda as we walk to raise money for the school. The funds raised will be put towards maintenance on current classrooms and building new classrooms for Mufulira Grace Community School which is a school for orphans and vulnerable children in Mufulira, Zambia. On May 22, 2010 we will walk 20 kilometers from Kafironda to Grace Church of Muflira. Lord willing, Amanda will also be walking with us for her school [if all of her travels go smoothly from the USA to Zambia]. The Provincial Minister of Ndola is coming to start the walk with us and the First Lady of Zambia was also invited to walk for the cause of Zambia’s children. You can walk for these children too, by sponsoring one of us [Tim, Deb or Amanda] at a dollar per kilometer or $10 a kilometer or a lump sum of whatever the Lord lays on your heart to give towards raising money for expanding the school. You never know, how your gift – no matter what the size – will impact the lives of these children. Your gift can leave an imprint in the lives of these children. If you are interested in supporting this project please send any monies labeled "Grace Community School - Mufulira" to Grace Ministries International C/O Jim Molenkamp PO Box. 9405 Grand Rapids, Michigan 49509. We will post on the blog how many kilometers we were able to walk so you can send your pledges in. Thank you, Tim, Debbe and Amanda Meier

Daughters

We just recently had Melissa, our oldest daughter visit us here in Mufulira. Her time here, was way too short! But we enjoyed her presence in our lives, as she helped us with so many things, including finances! We were also able to take a short break while she was here and relax a little. Real life happens, though and she had to return to the US to continue working as the manager of Tea Gschwendner in Chicago. I was so very sad that she had to leave! But, Amanda, our youngest daughter will be landing in Zambia two weeks from today to spend the summer with us! Amanda will be an added bonus to our summer and a great help with several teams that are coming out to visit us. At the end of the summer, our middle daughter Elizabeth, will stop in Zambia after a missions trip to Ethiopia. So, we will be able to spend time with each girl, and I am so delighted that they all want to come visit us and spend time with us here in Zambia. It means so much to me that I get to spend time with the girls. Please pray for each of them individually as they try to navigate life on their own apart from us. Pray for Melissa as she works full time at Tea Gschwendner, for Elizabeth as she studies in graduate school to get her Masters in Counseling and for Amanda as she studies in college for her BA in Communications. Thank you so much! Debbe Meier