Andy & Wayne From Lifesong Visit Thunder Bay

We were excited to hear that Andy and Wayne from the Lifesong for Orphans head office in Illinois were coming to Thunder Bay for a weekend to meet with the 2010 and 2011 Zambia Workteams, and give a presentation at a chile supper following the Nu-Vision Annual General Meeting on Friday, April 15.

The previous evening, Thursday, April 14, Eleanor and Ray hosted Andy and Wayne at a potluck supper and invited the Zambia 2010 and 2011 Workteams to meet them and hear more about what's been happening recently at the Lifesong School for Orphans in Kitwe, Zambia. After dinner and a time of fellowship, Andy and Wayne gave a very informative presentation on all of the recent news from the school, with video and photos.

Andy (standing) and Wayne (seated, third from right) talk to teams about the work at Lifesong for Orphans in Zambia

They they told of how the school's garden plots were thriving, producing enough food not only for the two meals a day for all the 200+ children at the school, but also how the gardens provide employment for local people, and the produce is sold at a local market. The new extension housing four classrooms, including the computer lab, is constructed, and awaiting final touches such as painting, a possible project for our team's visit in July.

The team was so encouraged to hear of all the good news from the school, and excited to go in July to see for themselves, and know that they will be part of the good work being done there. You can read more about the story of Lifesong for Orphans on their web page.

Spaghetti Supper Success & A New Team Member

The Zambia Workteam 2011 held a well-attended Spaghetti Supper Fundraiser at the Rosslyn Village Community Centre on Sunday, March 27, 2011. It was a great success! Thanks to the assistance of the faithful volunteers of St. Mark's Anglican Church, the team was able to raise a further $1,350 for our projects at Lifesong School!

Showing Daphne how to prepare the spaghetti sauce.

Showing Tim, Jean and Moira how to prepare the salad.

Nancy greeting guests.

Tim and Doug serving spaghetti, salad and buns.

Ted looking after the Caring Hands jewelry table.

Moira and Daphne clearing tables.

Beverley serving the take-away meals.

In addition, we are happy to announce that we have a new team member. Dave, a retired City of Thunder Bay employee, decided to become our tenth team member. Welcome aboard, Dave!

Finally: A Team Photo!

Left to right: Ted, Jeanette, Moira, Beverley, Nancy, Doug, Jean, Daphne, Tim

Upcoming Spaghetti Supper Fundraiser

Our team's final fundraising effort will be a Spaghetti Supper, to be held at the Rosslyn Village Community Centre, 3405 Rosslyn Road (click here for a map), on Sunday, March 27th from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. Dine in and take out. Tickets are $8 for adults, $4 for children ages 6 to 12, and $1 for children under age 6, and can be purchased at the door. All proceeds will go towards our projects at the Lifesong School for Orphans.

Team-Building Begins & Updates From Lifesong School

Now that we have reached our fundraising goal, our team can now focus on getting to know one another, and prepare spiritually for our short-term mission. At the recommendation of Eleanor, who has led other teams, we have begun an eight-part study from the book Short-Term Missions Workbook: From Mission Tourists to Global Citizens, by Tim Dearborn, published by InterVarsity Press (more information here).

At our meeting on Monday, February 28th, we began our first session with "The God of Mission". We discussed our attitude toward the world, our understanding of God's involvement in it, and our place as participants in God's mission. It was a good opportunity to discuss our motives for going to Zambia with the team, and we all felt we got to know one another a little better. We also all agree that it is important to build team unity.

After our study session, we discussed a few logistical items. Doug has ordered more team t-shirts, which will be in in a few weeks. Being our "computer tech liaison" with Lifesong School, he is also planning to participate in a conference call with them to gather more information about what equipment is required for their computer lab. Rev. Nancy is nailing down a date for our Spaghetti Supper fundraiser at the Rosslyn Village Community Centre. She is also going to find out more information on the School's current curriculum, so that Jean may begin to plan a teacher workshop. Eleanor is arranging a dinner for our team and last year's team, probably sometime in March.

We have also received some more information on some possible building projects for our team during our time at Lifesong School in July. They include the following:

• gutters
• finishing two classroom walls
• finishing porch - posts and fascia boards
• painting two classrooms
• ceiling in two classrooms
• electrical fittings in two classrooms
• staining two classroom floors
• glass panes in windows of two classrooms
• doors in two classrooms
• painting windows in two classrooms

We expect that more information will be forthcoming in the months ahead. We are getting excited; only four months until our departure!


We will continue our study session with Part Two: "Learning to Delight in Differences" at our next meeting, which will take place on Monday, March 21st at 6:00 pm at the Nu-Vision Office, 1171 Oliver Road.

There are still three spots left on our team if anyone is interested in joining us; please call Rev. Nancy at 939-1103 if you would like more information.

Welcome to Two New Team Members, and Other News

We are thrilled that, in the last month, we've had two more people join our team, bringing us to nine people going to Zambia in July 2011. Our team is as follows:

• Rev. Nancy, an Anglican priest with the Parish of West Thunder Bay
• Ted, who works for the Ministry of Natural Resources
• Jean, Ted's wife, who is a high school teacher
• Doug, a computer technician with the public school board
• Jeanette, Doug's wife, who is an administrative assistant (and does this blog)
• Daphne, a university student
• Moira, Daphne's sister, a high school student
• Beverley, a nurse who works in northern communities, who is also studying at the university
• Tim, our newest member, also a university student

At our most recent meeting, Rev. Nancy was thrilled to tell us that, thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the people who attended our Dinner & Fundraiser in January, we have now met our fundraising goal of $15,000! The Team is so pleased and thankful for all the support of our friends, family and colleagues.

Because we have now met our goal, we decided to cancel our plans to have a Coffee House on March 25th, as it is proving difficult for everyone on the team to synchronize our schedules, between jobs, classes and other commitments. We have decided that our final fundraising venture will be a Spaghetti Supper, either in March or May. Stay tuned for further information!

 We are going to begin our study series on preparation for short-term missions at our next meeting, at the Nu-Vision Office at 1171 Oliver Road on Monday, February 28th at 6:00 pm.

There are still three spots left on our team if anyone is interested in joining us; please call Rev. Nancy at 939-1103 if you would like more information.

Dinner & Fundraiser with Dr. Janice Stein a Huge Success!

On Thursday, January 27, Nu-Vision's Zambia Workteam 2011 hosted a Dinner & Fundraiser at the Travelodge Hotel Airlane, with special guest speaker, Dr. Janice Stein.

Over 250 people attended the event, which was a major fundraiser for our team's projects. Our goal is to raise $15,000 for the work we will be doing at Lifesong School in Kitwe, Zambia in July 2011. We have already raised several thousand dollars through our TBSO Balcony Fundraiser earlier in January, and other initiatives such as a "dress-down day" at the Lakehead Public School Board Office, and private donations.

The evening began with guests arriving to be seated at their assigned table with a table host and sponsor, who paid $200 for the meals for the 10 people at their table. The idea was to invite people who might consider donating to our projects at the end of the evening. Almost every space at the 27 tables were filled, making the total in attendance over 250 people! We were so pleased to see our event so well attended.

Rev. Nancy, our team leader, led the evening with a welcome, grace, and introduction of our special guest speaker, Dr. Janice Stein, University of Toronto professor and Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs, and frequent guest on TVOntario's program, "The Agenda". Dr. Stein spoke for about 20 minutes on the topic of "Africa on the Brink". She told of promising signs in Africa of economic development, saying that, in 2011 and beyond, Zambia will likely be one of world's top 10 growing economies. Rather than focusing on the troubles of Africa, such as the alarming rate of HIV/AIDS infection, corrupt government and poverty, we can take hope that working alongside Africans to help improve the education and health care systems will enable Africa to become self-sufficient. Dr. Stein's talk was informative and engaging, and we greatly appreciated her generosity in taking time out in her busy weekend schedule in Thunder Bay to address our group and guests at our fundraiser.

A buffet dinner was served next, with salad, pasta with meatballs, bread, veggies and dip, and squares and cakes for dessert. During dinner, people were encouraged to come up with a question at their table to ask Dr. Stein, and she very graciously answered them after dinner. Len Anderson, Chair of Nu-Vision Ministry Canada, then thanked the group for coming, and gave a brief history of Nu-Vision Ministry Canada. He also presented Dr. Stein with a thank-you gift and honorarium.

The Zambia Workteam 2011 then did a presentation with a PowerPoint slideshow, introducing the team, outlining what the 2010 team did at Lifesong School, and then told of what we hoped to accomplish at the School in July. Rev. Nancy, Doug and Daphne did a fantastic job, and people came up to them afterward and said how much they enjoyed it.

People then had an opportunity to make a donation to the Zambia Projects 2011. The next day, after a preliminary count, we are thrilled to say that our Fundraiser greatly exceeded our expectations, raising over $10,000 for Zambia! The team is over the moon, and we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all of our friends, family and colleagues for making this event such a resounding success!