Rise up and build

Friday morning Savannah and I will be leaving early. We are traveling to Mpika to teach and preach a couple day seminary entitled "rise up and build". Pastor Kanyama is a dynamic preacher that is really trying to bring his flock to the next level. Please pray for us - it will be an 8 hour drive. This will be Savannah's first long trip out of the mission for this type of thing. I will be teaching / preaching on three different occassions. Savannah is hoping to have some time with the ladies as well. We are praying to be used of God to edify the saints and introduce any lost to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Bethsaida Bible Baptist Church

Compared with last week - going to church this week was a walk in the park. Church was not scheduled to start until 11:00. We arrived around 10:30 so Savannah could help with the Sunday school children.
While Savannah worked with the children, I spent some time trying to encourage the pastor and get a burden for his work and vision for his people. He felt the church was growing and moving forward but there were problems with fornication and lack of giving. Obviously both of these issues are major problems. Over the years we have taught much on giving with very little success. Please pray the Lord does a work in these churches...
I preached a message from Isaiah 59 on judgment and truth. The people took hold of the message. Of course, it is easy to say "amen" during the service, what really matters is what happens after the service. Please pray for Esther - she came forward and confessed some sin asking for us to specifically hold her up in prayer that she would do what is right.

Lusaka Deaf School

Savannah and I visited Lusaka a few days back and met with a friend. He is an Ethiopian man that is now a missionary to the deaf in Lusaka. He (Yohannes) and his wife (Kidist) have been serving in Zambia for many years. Yohannes is heading up a school for the deaf in Lusaka with at least 60-70 kids in attendance. This effort really is a new initiative and as far as we can tell - the Lord is blessing! The recent grade 7 exams resulted in 100% student graduation - this is something not seen in most government/private schools!! Praise the LORD!!

Yohannes is also pastoring a large deaf church with about 250 in attendance each week. He has trained many deaf pastors that are now pastoring their own churches throughout Lusaka. Savannah and I truly feel blessed to know this man and his family! I am asking you to please pray for this family and their ministry:
1. They would like to develop a computer lab and need computer equipment
2. They need more financial resources to help with food, books, teachers for the children
3. They need our continued encouragement and love as they spend and are spent for the cause of Christ!

Mpatomato Youth Conference

It was a privilege to preach at a youth conference in one of the local mining towns over the weekend. The theme of the conference was "obedience". I selected 1 Samuel 15 - better to obey than sacrifice. We talked about some of the things God wanted us to be obedient in. Later, bro. Dick taught the boys and his wife taught the ladies. It was a wonderful time. Later I was told a total of 44 youths made a commitment to Christ!!

Chishitu Bible Baptist

I was scheduled to travel to Kitwe west area for a long time. When Sunday arrived, I was not really looking forward to the 3 hour drive just to get to the church. We were planning on leaving around 8 am - which would get us there in plenty of time. I became a bit nervous when the man leading us arrived at my door at 6:30 am suggesting we get an early start! Sure enough - he was right. After driving for 3 hours we found the church just a mere 5 kilometers on the other side of a bridge. The problem - the bridge was gone!! We spent the next 1.5 hours driving around the bridge and coming through the back way....
Praise the LORD - although quite late for the service, the people greeted us with excitment. We sang, prayed, and got into the word of the Lord. God seemed to bless and the people went away edified and challenged.
In all - we were gone for about 12 hours. The road was terrible and by the time we got home our bodies felt jolted from one side to the other. Part of me does not want to visit that area for a long time but another part really enjoys reaching people that need our help. Please pray for the pastor - Pastor Godfrey. He is doing a fine job but admitted they are in an area heavy with witchcraft and drunkards... great combination.