Zambian Presidential Election

(1 Tim 2:1-3) I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; {2} For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. {3} For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

Today is a National Presidential Election day - all offices and stores are closed so that people have the ability to vote. Please pray for righteousness to be voted in (Prov 14:34) and for this nation to be led by a man that is full of wisdom and understanding (Deut 4:6).

Kalima BBC

Visited a church 3 hours from the mission - was my first visit to this church. We traveled through a thickly forested area called the Lamba Tree Plantation. As we drove down a very narrow logging road and didn't see many villages it did cross my mind that we were lost... after about 20 kilometers of seeing nothing but thick trees the road opened into a village and a very humble church. The members were all there waiting for us and came to the vehicle singing and dancing to welcome us!

Because the area was so isolated and I was not confident in the Biblical instruction they had been receiving - I decided to preach a message on the supremacy of Christ from 1 Cor 15. I couldnt think of any other subject so critical in the conversion of the lost and even in the development of the believer. The church seemed to embrace the message as we discussed the folly of witchcraft, charms, cleansings, tradition, culture, and sins such as fornication, drunkenness, and stealing. The invitation was given and a few did respond as many others rejoiced and were encouraged! Praise the LORD.

sorry no pictures - left the house early and forgot the camera...

Chilimulilo Bible Baptist Chuch

Spent a few hours this last Sunday at a very small church - although small, these people were zealous and excited to worship and learn God's word. I preached a message from 1 Thes 4 - in which Paul tells us the authority we follow is that of Jesus Christ - amazing how easy it is to forget such a simple truth. The chapter goes on to challenge us to live a sanctified life in the will of God - striving for holiness, abounding in Christian maturity, and truly applying the word of God to our life. The end of the chapter speaks of a hope - not just some passing hope, but a hope that revolutionizes our life - a hope of the soon return of Christ! It really was enjoyable to preach this message challenging the believers to do more under the authority of Christ as we recognize the brevity of this life. Had three women come forward to receive Christ as their Saviour!

Hallelujah!! This stuff never gets old!!

Pray for this church as they are in the midst of a building project. Their current building is about ready to fall down - simply made of mud bricks and a grass roof. Just a few meters away they have started construction of a much more permanent church building. They are having problems getting cement and the roofing supplies needed. The rains are just about here making timing a very difficult thing - please pray for it to all come together in a way that honors the Lord Jesus Christ and builds our faith!

Mutaba BBC

This last Sunday, one of the other missionaries asked if I could fill in for him - little did I know it was a church 1.5 hours away! Although the trip was longer than expected - the people were thrilled we came to visit with them. The church is currently without a pastor although they do have a visiting pastor that comes twice per month to encourage and challenge the people.

Please pray for this little church - they are in real need of a pastor. The attendance was about 45 on Sunday with another 20-30 missing because of some government issues. The members that did come had their bibles, were taking notes, and were quire responsive to the message. Please take the time to ask the God of ALL creation to send forth more labourers into His harvest... truly, the harvest is plenteous and the labourers are few! These people are primed and ready to grow in grace and truth...

Nigeria Response

The following is a letter I just received from a man in Nigeria. He read a tract I AM put together entitled "how to get to heaven from Africa!" For those of you that hand out tracts - keep it up - you just never know how the Lord will use those pamphlets!

"Dear Brethren in the Lord,
The grace peace and love of Christ be with you and your wonderful ministries. We all thank you for the great work you are doing to the glory of God and also for publishing powerful booklets and leaflet. Someone passed it unto us and we made a cell at school and read it again. After many months, 149 of us were convinced. Right now we all have surrendered our whole lives to Christ by accepting him as our only Lord and Saviour.

We all want to make a close walk with the Lord and all this require departing from sin, telling others about the Lord Jesus and reading our bibles. But we don’t all have Bibles to read God's word.

Brethren we need your help. Please send to use 150 Bibles that contain the Old and New Testament, booklets and leaflets in one package."

Please pray - I will be contacting this man to open the channels of communication and see where God will lead us - would be exciting if we can help our fellow Christians in Nigeria to be rooted and grounded in the Truth!

Matt 9:36 He was moved with compassion

Every Wednesday I take my students to a different location within our community to simply serve - what this means is that we work for free! The purpose of this activity is to cement in all of our minds the need to serve others without expecting anything in return. (Matt 20:28)

Yesterday we spent the morning at the Chibote leper colony. Leprosy has caused irreversible physical damage to the people - many are walking with crutches because of deformed feet, many have deformities with their hands. When we first approach the colony the reality of these deformities hits us all. We exit our vehicles - pray and begin to do our work. Yesterday work consisted of some gardening, slashing, weeding, and even an attempt at getting an old water pump to work again. After just a few hours, we were freely conversing with the people, witnessing, sharing Scripture, loving, and actually enjoying serving others! Praise the LORD!

These people were brought to this secluded leper colony because of their deformities. However, God has not taken His eyes off of this people just because of their physical appearance. In an attempt at serving our community - I think we all learned a valuable lesson - although man looks on the outward appearance, God looks on the inward.... these people were created for God's pleasure (Rev 4:11) just like any other person - and with God, there is no respecter of person! My prayer is that we all stop looking with our physical eyes and start serving Christ through His eyes!

Overcome

(1 John 2:14) ... I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

We just recently sent one of our Bible Institute trained men (Michael Kanyama) to the Eastern Province to preach at a conference. Michael is a great preacher and has a solid understanding of the Scripture. The trip to Chipata is about 11-12 hours long by bus - when the bus stopped over in Lusaka - Michael went to get something to eat... when he returned, his Bible, his clothes, and all of his money had been stolen. Obviously not a good start to the conference for the preacher!

Amazing how these things can either fix our hearts even more on doing right and serving the Lord or push us away from God. For Michael, although disappointed - he did not let the devil get the victory. He arrived in Chipata - preached for 3 days and saw 42 people confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in their heart that God hath raised Him from the dead!

Musangashi BBC

Visited a small church on Sunday - actually, it was really not small a couple month ago but because of some problems many of the members have scattered. Without going into all the dirt - the old pastor was chased out of town and the church was without pastoral leadership for some couple months. A new pastor just started this last week - he has his work cut out for him. Please pray for Andrew Mulenga - he is the new pastor, has just moved to the area, will need to get his farm up soon before the rains come, has malaria, and is in need of a larger house! Will be fun to see how the Lord blesses through all of this!

Preached a message from Eph 4 & 5 - it was a message designed at spiritual maturity. Had many positive responses - I continue to pray for these people to be rooted and grounded in truth!