Go To Team
These are the people we call when we need to get things done. They have been involved in different ways over the years and when something needs done... these are the first people to answer the call.
John Payne
I am the middle of 3 children, and grew up in Roanoke, Virginia. I was baptized in 1998 at Edgewood Christian Church and served as a part time youth minister there from 2002-2004. Upon completing a master of public policy degree at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles in 2006, God sent me into the field of HIV/AIDS prevention at the place it was first discovered- University of California Los Angeles. It was there I received my calling to this ministry, which I followed further by serving in the US Peace Corps and subsequently as a consultant to the government of Botswana from 2007-2009. I first met the LRPI team in May 2008 when I attended Duane Crumb’s HIVHope seminar in Mufulira, then joined their February 2009 mission trip. I was privileged to work for LRPI full time in Zambia in 2010 and started full-time in Zambia again in 2012. I love the sense of family that pervades our ministry, and how those we serve have returned their gratitude by strengthening our faith and welcoming us in their lives and hearts.
Jami Ward Porter
I’m 32 years old and have been with LRPI since its inception in 2004. I am by profession an Engineer and enjoy working with teams of people to design and build amazing things. I grew up in a small town in Texas – Memphis, TX. There my family had a cotton farm and raised cattle. I have an identical twin sister, Jeni – who certainly takes the prize! I am newly married to one of the most amazing men in this world, Matt C. Porter, who also is involved with LRPI. I was one of the founding members of LRPI and was with Tannen VanZwieten and Jim VanZwieten in 2004 when Dr. Thinus van Dyk suggested forming an educational program on HIV/AIDS. I was with the first team in 2005 that embarked on LRPI’s maiden voyage. G’d has certainly called me to help teach – it has been amazing to work on each trip and see the messages He gives to his people. I’ve been blessed with opportunities in other areas of my life that have given me the tools to teach – education is very much a realized need in Zambia – it has been an honor to use those skills to reach out and help people. The thing I love most about the LRPI mission is the kids! There is nothing quite like seeing their eyes light up when they’ve understood something.
Drew VanZwieten
I am a high school student and the youngest of seven children. I am a POC (point of contact) for Pius, a newlywed Christian man who runs a Zambian STS Club. After hearing LRPI stories for years, I decided that I wanted to help. In 2009, I went for the first time. While there we planted moringa, worked on the irrigation system, painted Grace's Place and played with orphans. On the second trip, I helped with moringa presentations in Tanzania, built moringa drying trays in Zambia and again spent time with the orphans. After my second trip, I decided to become more involved with LRPI from the United States. Working with the people behind LRPI is what I like most about it.
Matt Porter
My name is Matt Porter; I’m a 26 year old Christian mechanical engineer with a passion for spending time with family and friends. As long as I can remember, I have had the desire to help people who were less fortunate than I was, but I never really had a singular vision that I could use to satisfy this desire. In 2005, I met a friend from work who spent her free time and two weeks out of every year doing HIV/AIDS education in Zambia with LRPI. I could see that she had a love for the people that drove her to make a profound difference in their lives. The educational aspect of LRPI appealed to me because I didn’t yet associate it with missionary work, but their members made it perfectly clear that LRPI was all about fulfilling the Great Commission. Since joining LRPI I have formed a great deal of meaningful relationships with both the LRPI members and the Zambian students. God will use my work in the manner he sees fit, but it is these relationships that I cherish the most about my time serving in LRPI. There is nothing quite like seeing a group that is so very different come together to fulfill a common purpose as a single body.
Jill Hanson
Hi! My name is Jill Hansen, and I have been blessed to have been involved with LRPI since 2007. I have a degree in Exercise Science and am currently pursuing my Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology. I got involved with LRPI in college, after hearing Dan Wolf share about his time in Africa. I had no idea where Zambia was and had never even considered going to Africa, let alone on an HIV/AIDS education trip, but God had other plans. My first trip in 2007 had a profound and indelible effect on my spiritual life, and I have since been involved in LRPI in any capacity that I can. I love the passion that our team brings to share God’s hope with as many of our precious African brothers and sisters as possible, as well as their willingness to expand beyond HIV education to reach that goal in whatever capacity God sees fit. I have had a firsthand look at God’s work in people’s lives as a result of this ministry and am honored to be able to partner with it as the ministry grows and transforms into what God has planned.
Dan Wolf
I live in Columbia, SC with my wife Carrie and work as the director of youth ministries at an Anglican Church. I became involved in LRPI through God's sovereignty using a connection with Tannen's family and a desire from an early age to help with the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. Ever since I starting working there, I have loved the people and their culture. I love how God continues to show himself present among the suffering. I also very much enjoy teaching the young men, especially when you see the topic click and bear fruit in their lives.
Megan Sheridan
I am an aerospace systems engineer with penchants for reading, volunteering, and the occasional attempt at physical fitness. I am an Air Force brat who has lived in 7 states and 1 foreign country, and I now represent the west coast contingent of LRPI. Tannen recruited me into LRPI while we interned together at the Air Force Research Labs, impressing me with her never-ending drive to help people halfway across the world. What I love about LRPI is our desire to empower people, to teach them how to help themselves, to give teenage girls the self-esteem to protect their own bodies, to work with people who want to help their own communities. Because we return to the same towns each year, we're able to see the progress of the orphanage, the increased awareness of kids at the local schools, and continuing commitment of both our Zambian and American volunteers. Working with LRPI has stretched me in a few directions I never expected to go, from speaking in front of hundreds of kids, to learning and teaching about sex and HIV, to singing in public (the songs are just so catchy!). It's been a lot of work, at times frightening, heart breaking, and altogether awe inspiring, and I'd recommend it to anyone who thinks that maybe they hear the call.
Angie Nicol
My husband, Brad, and I live in Plain City, Ohio where I currently stay home with our five young sons, Eli, Grant, Troy, and Ryan. My state-side involvement with LRPI has gradually grown from prayers and projects for the short term mission trips to Zambia to a more consistent and involved role of supporting the ongoing work being completed in Zambia year-round. I feel blessed to be part of an organization that is truly a body of believers using their different talents, interest, abilities, and means to accomplish one goal; sharing the love of Christ.
Joseph Simumba, Chairperson
I am 44 years old, married, and have 5 children. I am a full christian, belonging to Pentecostal Holiness Church in Butondo, Mufulira, where I currently live. I am both a human rights activist and a social worker that has worked in an International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) for more than 20 years. Also, I have attended training for various capacities such as Peace Building, Problem Solving for Better Health, Budget Tracking, Resource Mobilization, and HIV and AIDS campaigns. I got involved in LRPI/STS after I was introduced by Pastor Osward Malama. Having the background in NGO’s, I was able to expose new ways of interacting with other international and national organizations that are working for similar causes and installing good values in the upcoming generations. I enjoy this ministries God centered principle, which makes me proud to stand up and talk to people. I also enjoy the teamwork that is involved, and seeing others speaking their mind and reaching out to help bring an end to the spreading of HIV.
Glenis Chanda
Glenis is not married, resides in
Mufulira, and facilitates the club at her church, Faith Tabernacle Church of God
in Mufulira. She completed her trial period in June alongside her churchmate
Idah. She is a teacher by profession.
Glenis Chanda
Glenis is not married, resides in
Mufulira, and facilitates the club at her church, Faith Tabernacle Church of God
in Mufulira. She completed her trial period in June alongside her churchmate
Idah. She is a teacher by profession.