At times today our team could have split the skies with hymns of praise; at other times with weeping.   Indeed, we had much of both.

But how do you put a day like that on paper or a blog post?

The film Zambia’s Gift to the World will carry many of the images and stories that so moved us today.  Here are just a few of the individuals who opened their hearts to us in interviews today:

Thoko, now 18.  An orphan.  Tears covered her face as she shared the loneliness and heartache of facing the world without parents.  But, like sunrise blazing through rain, she lit up as she shared how she loves to comfort and encourage her fellow orphans by singing to them.  We asked if she’d be willing to sing one of the songs, and her strong, sweet voice rose into the morning air.  Hear what we heard: Thoko Sings.

Angness, 15.  At 2, her mother died and her father ran away.  When her grandparents died, a string of relatives housed her but provided little love or care.  When she hired herself out as a maid, she was told by the husband, “You are nothing but an orphan and will never be anything.”  Last year, though, a vibrant widow named Margaret took her in.  When we asked Agness how she’d describe love, she expressed, “Love is like a strong hug from Margaret.”   Later, when I asked Margaret later why she’d taken Agness into her own home, she explained, “That is just the kind of love that God has given to us.”

Precious, 33.   Her husband struggled with serious seizures and died two years ago, leaving her their four children and a 10’ X 10’ cement block-and-tin house.  They eke an existence from a small vegetable garden and odd jobs.  A tub of onions were the only food visible in the house.  But Precious also serves as a deaconess at their nearby church, leading the compassion ministry.   “Sometimes I am weary, but God gives me great strength,” she expressed.  “He has comforted me and I desire to comfort others.”