Southbury, Connecticut, is a sleepy New England village known for its bald eagles and high school field hockey championships. Ndola, Zambia, is a sprawling industrial hub in southern Africa’s copper belt.

What could the two communities separated by 7,000 miles and striking cultural differences have in common?

For Debbie Mulcahey, the answer began with a simple “mistake” that turned into a string of divine appointments only God could orchestrate.

On one summer day, Debbie received an odd-looking blue envelope in the mail. Her first thought was that some organization was asking for a donation. The Zambia address caught her attention and her curiosity won out.

When she opened the envelope, she was surprised to find a note from the family that received her Operation Christmas Child shoe box gift that year.

“I hadn’t put a note in my shoe box gift the previous year, so it never crossed my mind that it would be a letter from a recipient in Africa,” she said. “But when I started to read the letter, I was able to piece together what had happened.”

The letter came from Peter Chikoseleshi, pastor of Bread of Life Church in Ndola, whose three-year-old daughter had received Debbie’s shoe box. She and the little girl shared the same name!

Also enclosed in the envelope was the check she had written to Samaritan’s Purse in October. The check had never cleared, and 10 months later Debbie understood why. Through an oversight, the check had not been removed at the Operation Christmas Child processing center before her box was shipped overseas.

The Zambian pastor returned the check to the name and address that was listed, along with a thank you letter containing an e-mail address and photographs of his family.

“My children received your gifts and they are very much grateful,” he wrote. “Deborah is a twin. I have three children. Barnabas is the first-born. He’s 7 years and the twins Deborah and Natasha are 3 ½ years. We are also keeping two orphans and my niece. Martha is my wife. My congregation’s name is Bread of Life Church. We also have a community school for orphans and vulnerable children.”

“The OCC program has helped many churches to grow,” the letter continued. “Thank you so much for your support. We would be very much grateful if you would become our partners in prayer. Pray for our family, church, and our community. We love you and we pray for you.”

Debbie Mulcahey stood in the living room of her Connecticut home, utterly amazed. She sent an e-mail message to Zambia that evening.

“I began corresponding with Pastor Peter and an incredible bond began to form,” she said.

Debbie with Pastor Peter and his wifeThe pastor told her about his church’s ministry, and Debbie caught the vision for Southbury Baptist and Bread of Life to become sister churches.

“After all, we are all His children, all living to serve and glorify the same God,” she said. “My desire was to see us have life in Christ together, to be intricately linked.”

When they heard that the orphans in Peter’s church needed money in order to attend school, members of Debbie’s congregation responded by “adopting” each child’s school fees. There was such an outpouring of support that extra money was sent for the purchase of school supplies.

Debbie and her church also assisted the pastor’s family with funds to buy windows for their home, a much-needed deterrent for the mosquitoes that had infected the twins with malaria and necessitated hospitalization. The 60-member congregation collected $350 that Sunday to send to the family.

Four months after receiving the pastor’s first letter, Debbie knew God wanted her to go to Africa. It was a major test of faith.

“I used to say, ‘God, I will do anything you want and go anywhere you want me to go, but please don’t ever send me to Africa!’” she recalled with a hearty laugh. “Now I was begging God to please let me go to Africa. He is such a changer of hearts, including mine!”

That December, Debbie asked her church to join her in prayer for confirmation from the Lord. If the trip was meant to be, she had no doubt that He would provide a way. She just had no idea how.

The answer came two months later when Pastor Peter wrote to tell Debbie that the trip to Zambia was all set. A medical mission team from Tennessee was coming to Kitwe, located 30 minutes from Ndola. One of the team leaders was Peter’s spiritual mentor who had led him to the Lord years ago.

“Who would think God would use this means to get me to Africa? I’m not even a medical person!” said Debbie, whose only connection to the medical field is her job at an insurance company. “Joyfully, I began preparing for the long journey.”

Impressed by her resolve, Debbie’s boss gave her time off and money for airfare. The two churches in Southbury and Ndola provided the prayers.

The big day came in June when she departed for the 3 ½ week trip. During her first full day in the country, Debbie met Pastor Peter and his family, including little Deborah who had received her shoe box gift. It was a special thrill to speak at his church that Sunday morning.

The Lord had other blessings in store for Debbie. At the medical clinic, the mission team treated more than 2,000 people in eight days. Seeing the overwhelming needs seared Debbie’s heart, particularly the victims of HIV/AIDS.

“On the weekends, Peter took me into many homes of AIDS victims where my heart was broken over and over again,” she said. “In the first home I met a man dying of AIDS who was being cared for by his young orphaned nephew. Something of the sweetness of little Geoffrey touched me deeply that day. When the uncle passed away on the last day of our clinic, I couldn’t stop thinking of what would become of Geoffrey.”

Debbie wanted to do something for AIDS-affected families in Zambia. Shortly after her return to the United States, she found out about a Prescription for Hope conference through contact with a Samaritan’s Purse staff member in North Carolina. The conference was scheduled for August— in Ndola.

Less than two months later, Debbie was on a plane heading back to Zambia!

“Now not only did I have the excitement of seeing what God could do through one Operation Christmas Child shoe box,” Debbie said, “but I also witnessed firsthand the Prescription for Hope message of HIV/AIDS education, hope, and compassionate care that dozens of pastors carried back to their churches and communities.”

Debbie participated in a feeding program for 100 orphans during her last day in Zambia. She helped provide the youngsters with nshima, a local staple food, and chicken. Much to her surprise, some of the children had never tasted chicken.

More than a year later, Zambia and Pastor Peter’s family remain close to her heart.

“They truly are my family now, not just some people who live thousands of miles away,” she said. “They have added such a dimension to my life.”

Debbie, who serves as a church relations volunteer in Connecticut, continues to marvel at the way God used her shoe box—and the misdirected check— to build connections with believers on the other side of the world.

Recently, Debbie received an e-mail from a church in her region, asking what could be done for someone whose shoe box check had not cleared since last November.

Debbie said she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Start packing your suitcase,” she replied, “and prepare for God’s greatest adventure!”

IT'S NOT TOO LATE

Samaritan's Purse , Zambia , Operation Christmas Child , ‘They Truly are My Family Now’