Just a good day

Today was just a good day! We had classes in the morning at the Bible Institute - after a long week and many different trials, today just seemed relaxing. Good to get back to teaching/preaching - it just feels right! After class, we grabbed a few of the students and headed to Mulowfwa area to spend some time telling some people about the love of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ - we split into 3 groups and ended up after 2 hours with about 6 people getting saved and many others were encouraged... it was just a good day! Hallelujah!

Kapupula BBC

This church is in the midst of starting all over --- the old pastor left the church and so the people fell away. The new pastor (Elvis) - a graduate of the Bible Institute - has been there since December and is working hard to bring back the old members, evangelize and baptize, and teach doctrine. Elvis has brought the church from 7 members to 28 in just a couple months - this last Sunday we had 5 visitors come. During the invitation, 4 came forward to receive Christ as Saviour. Praise the LORD!

Please pray for this little church - the church structure is made from mud and will only last 1 year before needing to be constructed again. Elvis would like to build a new church from the much stronger burnt brick - in order for this to happen, the whole church will need to get involved. It is my prayer that these people will truly have a "mind to work".

At the same time the physical work moves forward - please pray that spiritual growth would move forward as well. Many of the members are local farmers or do piece work for larger farms. It is easy to see this church truly blossom and grow rapidly but for this to happen and last long term, it needs to be a church rooted and grounded on the Scripture!

Ibenga Central BBC

It was just about a 25 minute ride to church this last Sunday - this church is located near the Ibenga catholic hospital. It is a small town that is expanding. The church is being build right in the middle of town - it has a great location although there are about 15 other churches surrounding it.

Preached a message on Thomas - spoke of his early zeal, desire to follow the Lord, question about the right way to go, and later on his unbelief. The church was packed (70 adults). We had about 7 people come forward, 1 got saved, and the rest needed to deal with some things. In all - it was a great morning/afternoon. Spent some time afterwards talking with the pastor and trying to see the way forward.

If you look at the pictures - you will notice a church inside of a church. Ibenga Central BBC is in the middle of a building project - their original church is just a grass roof with mud brick walls. The outside church - which will allow for almost double the people, has burnt brick and hopefully metal roofing sheets. The pastor is hoping the church will be finished by the end of the month; however, he is still looking for the resources for the roof.

Mabasela BBC

Visited a church near to the mission this last Sunday. Seems like over the last few weeks - we have done a lot of travel. It was nice to stay local.

This church has been around for a while. Although the service didn't start on-time, once it did start, the place was packed! The service began with the children group singing a couple songs - and I must admit, children's voices usually put chills up my spine - but these kids really could harmonize and sounded quite beautiful.

The adults did a few choruses and dance songs - and finally it was my time to preach. The people were very attentive and after the service there was quite a buzz about the message. It is my prayer they will continue to think on the Scripture and all God's word to penetrate their life.

After the service I asked to speak with the leadership of the church. The deacons all came over and we spoke for a while about the church building project, and some different things - finally I asked - "so, where's the pastor?" Appears the pastor has gone missing - or should I say, is at his home - but just does not feel like coming to church anymore. Hmmm.... I counseled the leaders on some steps forward but feel the best thing to do is pray.

It's pouring

Although we Zambia is now in the dry season, the phrase, "when it rains, it pours" seems to apply to our vehicle situation. I wish I could blame someone else or even believe this is just part of life - but when things happen with such order, it does make me wonder a bit.

Red vehicle - by far the nicest vehicle we have. Last week, came home from preaching a church service and could not get the radiator blower to stop, then the horn started blowing (by itself), then the lights came on (by itself). Hmmmm... we found out later - rats had eaten through some of the wires.
Blue vehicle - a nice reliable vehicle. Since the red truck was down, figured I could use this vehicle to get some things done. Ha! I ventured into town and before we moved very far - realized me clutch peddle was not coming back up! You guessed - bye, bye - clutch!
White vehicle - on the way to tow the blue vehicle - I switched vehicles to finish running my errands. Everything seemed great until we came out of the grocery store. We spent 45 minutes trying to get the vehicle started - by then, the sun had gone down and it was now pitch black! Turns out - whatever we did to get the vehicle running caused all the electronics to fail. So - now I was forced to drive the 20 miles home in the pitch black --- and of course, we were pulled over by the police... oh, um - yea, it was actually the in-charge for the whole district. He was not impressed - but did give us an escort back to the mission.

I am planning on going out today - although I am now wondering what excitement will venture upon us!! Thanks for praying - in all things, give thanks!!

Mpongwe Bible Baptist Church

Visited a new church plant this last Sunday - they are running around 100 but I found only about 65 in attendance. The pastor is an excited and zealous man. The deacons are responsible and excited about God doing a great work in this area. Currently the church is meeting in a school room they rent each Sunday. They do have hopes of building their own church but because of finances, that plan is a long way off.
This Sunday was one of those days in which it was tough to get moving. For some reason - I was just in a funk. I arrived at church and just didn't feel comfortable. However, after some singing and dancing - we got to preach. It was a wonderful day. There are just some times in which the Spirit of God moves in a service - I am not sure it mattered a bit what I actually was preaching on - the Lord was just in control! We gave an invitation at the end - 5 or 6 people came forward and 1 man received Christ as Saviour! It was a real thrill.
On the way home - as is customary, I picked up a person in need of a ride on our mission road. We dropped off one man - and now it was just him and I in the vehicle. He said to me, "missionary, may I ask you a question?" I assumed he was looking for a job or wanting something physical. However, he said to me, "what do I need to do to be born again?" Hallelujah! What a day!! We talked for some time - but there was a bit of a language barrier and so when we got back to the mission - one of our bible students was able to talk with him more - and eventually lead him to the Saviour as well!! Praise the LORD!

Shimibanga Baptist Church

Most churches I visit seem to be struggling along - week by week, not completely sure of how to best serve the Lord or what that even means. However, this last Sunday I visited Shimibanga Baptist Church. There is just something sweet about this church. From the leadership to the newest members, there is just a real excitement about the Lord.

Pastor Pule has delegated responsibility to some of his men allowing the service to run smoothly. After speaking with some other men after the service, it is clear - these people love the word of God and know what they are trying to accomplish. When I asked the question, "how can I help" - instead of this pastor pulling out his wish list of wants, he asked for prayer and possibly a few more Bibles. It was a sweet sound to my ear. Although the church is in need of plaster, paint, pews, doors, and some other items --- those items were not mentioned. The pastor has the church members contributing to slowly purchase these items. Jesus said, "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." It is my belief that the more a person invests into the things of God - the more they have ownership of it. I believe this church proves that point. Praise the LORD!