March 20, 2011

Dear Members of Twin Lakes Church Missions Board:

I have recently been selected to be a part of the short-term mission team traveling to Zambia which is scheduled for July 30th-August 13th, to join with AFNet in ministering to AIDS orphans. Although my name may not be familiar to many of you on the board, I have participated in two previous short-term missions trips with TLC; both trips were to Cambodia. The first trip in 2007 was led by Paul Spurlock and then the following year, I returned as part of a smaller group led by Steve Reed. I was the only TLC member on the second trip which was particularly meaningful as I was able to personally take two wheelchairs to Cambodia; one to a young, disabled boy whose family the team had met the year before. Several of the upcoming Zambia team members are people that I went to Cambodia with; including Norm Turner, leader of the team.

I mentioned to Norm Turner that I had concerns about going to Zambia for such a short time for the cost of the trip as there is a chance I may be paying for a large portion of it myself. I told him that I could go for a longer period of time if I could be of service. Long story short, I have been invited to leave July 19th and meet Lisa Poll of AFNet in Pretoria, South Africa and help out with various tasks for about a week and then drive the AFNet van with her from Pretoria, through Botswana to the orphan center in Zambia. We will meet the TLC team and work with them in Zambia. At this point, I have committed to also drive back to Pretoria with her which means I am committing to a minimum of three weeks!

I am very excited about the opportunity and honored to be able to spend so much time with Lisa; a woman that I feel had the “American Dream” and has given it all to follow the calling of God on her life! Since I will begin my trip in Pretoria, I am going to have the opportunity to see all the orphan centers, not just the Zambia center.

In summary, I am writing the board to see, if perhaps, there are any TLC missions funds available to defray the cost of my trip. As I said, I am willing to pay whatever God does not provide through other sources but I thought I would just make my request known. 
Additionally, I request your prayers for safety for Lisa and me as we travel and for the entire team as they travel and serve. I appreciate your consideration of me in this matter and I am available to answer any questions that you may have of me.

Warm regards, Pamela Endsley