User:Mwambapeter

Family legacy camp life The dream that everyone would want, once they know it exist. The dream of being part of the multitude that celebrates the whole day with smiles on their faces. Camp life is a great deal in family legacy. I will narrate just a few about camp life,as it is, I can't explain everything because there is a lot of things that I might have not experienced while in this camp that other came across with. Nevertheless,I will explain two experience of being in this camp; on the first hand as a kid and on the other hand as an intern.

Jesus care community school was my schooling place when I did first heard about camp life. I don't know how but I knew that the family legacy had a connection with the Jesus care community school. This connection is the one that made me have access to attend camp life. I got registered as one of the kids who would attend camp life that year. It was 2011 and the theme was "seek first the kingdom of God"(Matthew 6:32). Camp life in the family legacy lasts for (7) seven weeks, but every week there is a different group of kids and ambassadors who attends camp. It is a short experience but unfortunately, it is unforgettable. Once you have this experience, I am sure even your yet to be born children will hear about it. You can't stand keeping the experience just by yourself.

I don't come from a well to do family, so everything to me was either fair or bad but when I got into camp the first day of June on Monday I changed my thoughts. I was a bit anxious to meet whites although I knew that I couldn't speak English at all.

When I entered camp life I found a lot of people mixed up. They were a few whites and a multitude of blacks, both adults and young ones. I was in suspense because all those whites seemed to be very busy preparing us for something, so I knew definitely that something was coming but I didn't know what? or who it was? In a short while, more whites came and immediately we were assigned in groups. Each group had about 10-13 kids, two Zambian teachers and one ambassador. My group received a male ambassador whose name was Erik Popplewell. He was tall and handsome. Although I didn't know what was going to happen next, at least I was excited seeing a white guy close just next to me and very interested to hear about me and know me. He got translated to every word we said in vernacular.

We would have time for small group section and big group as well. In small group section the ambassador would share the word of God with the group, and we would go to play football with a different group. No one was in boredom because the whole camp was busy by this time.

In big section, everyone is just high and low. Everyone is just up and down. Uncle Griar Kendell would preach just for a short while but it is always a powerful message. There would be camp life songs played and everyone would dance to the fullest but even when six songs have been played, you would still read on peoples faces that they still want to dance,at least a little or a little more.

It was on Thursday that the feeling of parting ways started hurting. The feeling that I will never see him again. I thought about the love he showed me in the previous few days, then the last thing left in me was to go with him back to America. We had time to eat enough food the whole week in camp, or different from the way I would eat at home. We did different activities in camp until suddenly it was Friday.

The last day at camp was different from all the other days. It was unique because everyone ascended on the mountain of Tree of Life. It was also on this last day that we received the family legacy gifts. Everyone was excited when they received the gifts,but I was not excited and the ambassador noticed. I knew it was my last day of being with him. I lost it by this time, I didn't know how to behave. Before I could gather myself together, I was taken to the car park where the buses would pick us up from. The ambassador asked me to dance of which I did just to make him happy as he stood with a camera in front of me. Suddenly all the groups came together but to my surprise,all the people who were dancing by this time were only ambassadors and Zambian teachers. I looked around and then I realized that the other few kids were having the same mood as mine. I asked him to take me but he said "Peter! God has blessed you here in Zambia and I am blessed in the united state of America,so I can't take you because you need to make a difference here in Zambia". Upon hearing these words the tears in my eyes appeared but I want to act smart and not drop them. He saw me almost crying but didn't make me notice myself that I was about to cry. There was dust on the mountain because of people who were dancing but everything was silent around me. I hugged the ambassador many times but still I was not satisfied. I fought within myself to keep back the tears until I could hold them no more. I just had to burst out and cried,and most whites came and hugged me. Erik popplewell prayed for me but I couldn't stop. I even became worse when I heard the name of the bus from my place called to take us. I thought he would take me with him but unfortunately,he even escorted me towards the bus. I looked around and observed that most kids were crying, but the agony for me was when I saw other ambassadors crying too,this is when I discovered that we both didn't want camp to end like that. I was pushed in one of the buses and I sat in front so that I could just look at Erik. The buses started moving and the distance started become wider and wider until I could see him no more. I just had to tell myself that he was gone and that we will never meet again. I knew God from camp life that year 2011. I reached home and cried for about a week every night until I fell asleep. What I never forget is that I felt loved that year and I knew I was important in Christ kingdom.

My experience as an intern in 2017 is so great, but the first is the one that made me to reach here. I got sponsored by Erik,he came in 2012 with his mother and reached my place.I passed up to secondary Education and did scholars program at African Christian university for a year in 2016. By this time I am used to speak English or chat with whites.

As an intern we went on the same mountain where we did our last day of camp life in 2011. I saw all the places where I hanged around with Erik Popplewell. The first week I was positioned as an apostle,so we received the kids but the shocking thing was that the first group had a kid who was my name sake. All these experiences just reminds me of Erik Popplewell. The unbelievable thing is that the family legacy still play the songs that we played in 2011, and people are dancing like the songs where new.

BY PETER MWAMBA