Dear Friends, Family, and All,

The trip to Zambia back in August 2010 was life changing! So many great things took place on this trip that I simply cannot share everything in this blurb, but I wanted to hit on some of the main things that we did out there. I traveled with Cory Heimann, a good friend from college who I have worked with before on video projects. He documented the trip and we will eventually have some short videos of the trip put together to bear witness to what God did there. God used my Catholic rap music to start this trip, as locals found my music online and contacted me about it. My music became more of an excuse to speak to the young people about Christ there. The impact of secular American rap music is not hard to see in Zambia, so having an American who does rap come to the country brought great excitement to them. What changed many things was that what I was sharing was unabashedly about the Catholic faith, and that caused a lot of commotion there. This was a new concept and many were inspired by the collision of two separate worlds for them: the Catholic culture and secular music culture. During my time there I spoke at several parishes and youth organizations to youth and young adults, speaking on topics from drugs and sexuality to Confession and using your gifts for God. Each place we visited I gave the local catechists materials to teach the Catholic faith from, enabling them to reach thousands more with the teachings of the Church. I was interviewed on more than 6 radio stations (and 1 national TV station) about doing music for God and why being Catholic is exciting. Radio is a bigger deal in Zambia, as radio is a primary source for entertainment, politics, inspiration and many other things. Each place asked me to say a message to all the young people listening, which is remarkable since they were mostly non-religious radio stations. It was a great way to evangelize to the masses. Another huge part of the trip was visiting hospices to serve the sick and the poor. Some were dying of AIDS, others homeless etc. It was truly a moving experience to sing for them, as I had my guitar with me on the trip. We learned a phrase that we sang to them in their local language, Nyanja: matima wanga osalema, mulungu ah na iwe “don’t let your heart grow tired, for God is with you”. It was beautiful to see the face of Jesus in these people, and seeing their faces light up as we sung to them in their native tongue was an unforgettable experience. We also visited a Mother Teresa orphanage near the capitol city of Lusaka. Seeing the Missionaries of Charity and the love they had for the orphans was truly a blessing that connected me with Mother Teresa in a new way. We played music for the older children, but when we went further in to the nursery it was a different ministry. The 1-3 year olds wanted little to do with music: they wanted a human embrace. As I held a 1 year old little girl who took a good grip on my shoulder to study my face, I realized what it meant for a child who does not have a mother or father to simply be held. It’s how she received the love of God, and it was through her that I received the love of God. The Church is indeed alive in Africa! It was amazing to behold Catholicism penetrating every part of society. Churches are booming, vocations to the religious life are thriving and the church choirs pierce the clouds with the celebration of the Liturgies. There are many other things that God has done through this trip, and many I will not know about until I’m in Heaven, but it was truly an experience that has changed my life forever! Through speaking to their young people, being interviewed with great questions about what I do with my life, and having the opportunity to spread the Gospel, I fell in love with youth ministry all over again. During the live radio interviews a few asked about my job and what the best part of it is. It's seeing teens get it: seeing them connect with Christ and realize how I'm taking part in a 2000 year tradition of passing down the Catholic faith. Knowing that the good I do in life is more than just making a change in the world and leaving a legacy, but having a direct participation in connecting a soul with It's creator, which will last forever! Intense to think about, but quite the motivation when I am tired and things are not all going my way. The words of Pope Paul VI keep things in perspective.
Thank You and God Bless,

Aaron Hostetter (Zealous)

"Not to preach the Gospel would be my undoing, for Christ himself sent me as his apostle and witness. The more remote, the more difficult the assignment, the more my love of God spurs me on. I am bound to proclaim that Jesus is Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of him we come to know the God we cannot see”  ~From a homily by Pope Paul VI