Collins Prayer Update

I had asked many of you to pray for Pastor Collins - he is a good friend to me and a long time pastor near to where I stay. He has been fighting some illness for the last many months with varying degrees of success. Last Sunday (12/13) he was hospitalized and needed immediate surgery. For the next couple days he really struggled and fought for his life. When I visited him on Tuesday, he was in a lot of pain, had shortness of breath, and was extremely weak. From what I now understand, he is doing much better - although still in the hospital, he is able to take nourishment and has gained much of his strength back. Praise the LORD - I believe our God has answered the prayers of His people. A very big "thank you" to all of you that stopped and prayed for a man you may have never met!

Malembeka Bible Church

December 13th I was invited by Pastor Gilbert to preach and visit his people. The pastor is doing a fine job trying to really build up his people in God's word. I preached a message from 2 Peter 3 concerning having "pure minds" and being reminded of true Christian focus. The Lord seemed to bless as one person came to the place of salvation and 6 others committed to make positive changes!

After the service, the pastor and I had some great fellowship over lunch. We discussed the ministry, the way forward, and Biblical application to our daily lives. Please be praying for Pastor Gilbert as he tries to focus his people and really reach his community for the gospel's sake.

Thanks to Encounter

A few years back a group of Youth from the States came to Zambia called the Encounter Revival Ministry. This team has the objective of reaching the youth and exhalting Christ in all they do. The result of that team coming from the States was the forming of the Zambian version. These Zambian youth do a wonderful job - they go to schools, hospitals, police stations, etc with the mindset of ministering. In a world where many youth are chasing after money and fame, there are still some that are seeking first the Kingdom of God!

I had asked the team if they would come to our Bible Institute graduation and sing a few songs. Of course they were more than willing to oblige. It was wonderful to have their leader (Leonard Bwalya) along with the team as part of our commencement ceremony. They added a wonderful touch and led many of us to a greater place of worship. A big thank you to the Encounter Revival Ministry team of Zambia!

Ladies Graduation

Every year, Mrs. Sarra works diligently to identify and then teach ladies from God's word. At the end of the year, if the women have met certain requierments, they receive a 1-year certificate that is received during the NSBI graduation ceremony. Although not "officially" a part of NSBI, we count it a great joy to see these women learning so much and applying it to their lives. Lorna has been so steadfast over the years teaching year-in and year-out new groups of ladies. In all, there were 7 women that graduated in 2009.
The concept originated when so many men were coming to the Bible Institute. While these men were at school, their wives often had to pick up extra work, take care of the children, keep the house, etc. The result was that the ladies were falling behind spiritually. Mrs. Sarra came up with the idea of teaching one-time a week at a convenient location for a few hours to help encourage and foster a greater spiritual walk for the whole family!

Deans of NSBI

North Star Bible Institute has its main campus at Kafulafuta. This is where most of our training is done and kind of the epicenter of it all. However, over the years we have realized there are many that would like to be trained but cannot reach our location. In order to meet this need, we have created a few sister campuses. My responsibility is primarily to the work here at Kafulafuta but I am also very involved in providing the necessary materials for these others satellite schools. Bro. White Katota and Bro. Barry Katonga have been laboring diligently for the last couple years to provide quality theological & ministry training. We praise the Lord for their efforts and fruit of their labor. I gave each man a few minutes to speak during the commencement ceremony and each used their time to honor the Lord and highlight how God is doing great things!

Rebuilding

These pictures are from the church I visited on Sunday. Although the church may look a little rough - they are actually in the building or should I say re-building stage. Last year a storm came through and wiped out the entire church. In just about 1 year, they have made some great progress. For the last many months they have met outside under a tree - this Sunday was the first they actually were able to meet inside the building! Praise the LORD!

I preached a message from 2 Peter 1:1-9 concerning the knowledge of God. The pastor (Andrew Mulenga) was greatly encouraged as the Holy Spirit really seemed to speak to the people and challenge them in some of the same areas he had been working on over the months.

Class of 2009

Before going to the graduation hall, we met at the church to pray together, rehearse the schedule of events, and just work out the kinks before we began the day. All of the 12 graduates were thrilled and could hardly contain themselves! Graduating a three year program is a significant accomplishment that is not taken lightly by these Zambian graduates! Some of their testimonies reference the struggles they endured getting to this point but how God showed Himself Faithful!!

A big thank you to Dr. Brado for sending over the graduation gowns/caps and to those that donated and helped get them here!

2009 Graduation Ceremony

This morning we had our 2009 NSBI graduation ceremony. My plan is to put some pictures and video together from the day over the next several days. We had a wonderful day of testimonies, devotions, songs, and overall rejoicing. There were  12 students that completed a 3 year course which includes a study of many books of the Bible, systematic & advanced theology, as well as courses in church history, homiletics, etc. Plus, there were 7 ladies that completed a 1 year course that Mrs. Sarra offered.
As a missionary, this is a real highlight! Knowing that many of these people are more highly equipped to minister, lead, and serve is a joyful experience.

December Marriage Seminar

This week at Kafulafuta we had the second marriage seminar of 2009. The idea was to have one early in the year and a second at the end of the year to act as bookends. We tried to emphasize over 2009 that a strong family can help create a strong church. Zambia certainly is a different culture than my American upbringing, but Biblical principles cross all cultures and are able to produce healthy, quality families. There were not as many at this marriage seminar due to heavy rains and the need to cultivate fields but those that were able to come were blessed and went home excited to build their family and marriage. Please be praying for both the husbands and the wives to do their part in serving each other and training up their children. A healthy family is not something that just happens but something that takes steps each day.

back and forth...

Friday we (Michael and I) are heading back to Zambia. We will be leaving out of New Orleans, to DC, then to Jburg, and finally to Ndola - Zambia. The trip will take 2 fulls days after lay overs and actual flight time. We are suppose to arrive Sunday early afternoon in Zambia! Please be praying for our flight and that all our luggage arrives with us and intact. We will cover close to 10,000 miles!

We have our North Start Bible Institute graduation on December 5th and our marriage seminar the previous week at Kafulafuta. There will be a lot to get done for the beginning of the 2010 Institute school year. Please be praying God would bring more students that are serious about learning His word in order that they would be used to evangelize, disciple, plant churches, and ultimately glorify Christ! It is such a blessing to serve our great God and Saviour!!

time well spent

Over the last 7 weeks that we have been in the States, Savannah and I have very much enjoyed meeting so many of God's finest people. It is amazing how quickly a permanent bond can form when people have the Lord as a common denominator. Certainly we are not in one place very long but we both feel as if we have made many lasting relationships.We were able to encourage many to take a step of faith and truly pray to the Lord of the harvest that they personally would be used to bring forth fruit that remains. Many commitments were made and we even saw one person fully commit their life to the mission field!! 


Over all, we preached and presented the ministry of Zambia in 16 different churches. We traveled approximately 4,000 miles. We have been quite busy trying to encourage God's people to be busy about God's work. I will be heading back to Zambia for a few weeks but am hopeful that in 2010 Savannah and I will be able to visit more churches in order to renew relationships and seek churches that will pray and partner with us to bring in the harvest in the Eastern Province of Zambia. 


Savannah and I want to give thanks for all the people along this 7 week journey that have truly blessed us, refreshed us, and encouraged us to continue our walk of faith. Although there were some struggles over those 4,000+ miles, we were able to see the hand of God and His provision so much in our lives. We thank our Lord for His grace and mercy and for His people that have been so mightly used!

Barn Fire

Yesterday afternoon there was a barn fire at the location where I grew up as a child/youth. We thank the Lord no one was hurt and that most of the items in the barn had been removed months ago. Although the barn no longer had any tangible items there were many memories stored there. As a young boy I remember building forts in the hay, swinging from side to side on a large roap, shooting hoops, fixing cars, motorcycles, and everything else... My father taught me how to change the oil and replace a muffler in that barn. The more I think about that barn, the more wonderful stories and experiences come to mind. However, the reality is that the barn did not provide the experiences and great memories. All those great memories came from having a great family and many great friends to experience life with. I am thankful for that barn but realize now that a barn is just a structure... great family and great friends is what produces wonderful and lasting memories. Now I praise the Lord for more than a barn - but thank Him for surrounding me with people worth making memories with!

Maternity Ward

GCMS has been running a small clinic for the last many years. Although small, we have done our best to make sure medicine is stocked and equipment is maintained. It appears these efforts have been noticed. Through the efforts of Lorna Sarra (clinic administrator) the Zambian government has selected our clinic to be exanded. The work is currently under way for a maternity ward extension. We are quite excited to be upgrading our clinic so quality health care may be administered to more Zambians!

nice wheels!

Just recently we were blessed to have the resources to purchase a small 15 passenger used mini-bus for our Bible Institute. Previously we took our students on evangelism and for community service in the back of a flat bed truck. The truck only had seats for 2 people! Although it worked, the students would arrive normally coated with dirt from the roads. This new tool allows us to more effectively reach people with the gospel! We just continue to rejoice in seeing our Lord provide! It is wonderful to see God answer the prayers of His people and provide in such an exciting manner!

Please continue praying as we look to purchase a second vehicle that will act as an ambulance for our clinic. Our current ambulance vehicle is in need of replacement. We have most of the money we need for this second vehicle it is now just a matter of finding a good used vehicle!

he that ploweth should plow in hope

Some time ago we received a tractor from some people in the States. However, at the time there were no attachments available. Thankfully, earlier this year we received just what was needed. We have some property that we are hoping to farm to really help supplement our conferences with maize and vegetables. None of us are really farmers so please be praying for God's wisdom and guidance in all of this. We are trying to "plow in hope"!! Thank you to all those that pray, give, and send us supplies and such things to help the people and keep this ministry moving forward.

Kalima - Sunday School Conference

We took the 3 hour drive over some pretty rough roads to get to Kalima Bible Baptist Church. Since Savannah gets tired easily because of her pregnancy, we decided she should stay back for this one. I later told her, this church was 25 km past the middle of no where! It always amazes me people actually inhabit such places... but, praise the LORD - we have established some churches!

Although a long day, we had a wonderful service. 4 churches gathered at Kalima for a 3 day Sunday School conference. In total, there were 202 people. I was told 11 adults and 51 children were saved over the three previous days. On Sunday, we had another 2 adults plus 8 more children get saved! It is truly wonderful to see the power of God continue to work even in the most hard to reach areas!

Please pray for Pastor Paul as he has only been the pastor for 1 year and has a large task of discipling these new believers as well as leading the rest of the flock forward!

Zambian Police Donation

When I first arrived in Zambia, many government offices in Zambia would be without any typewriter or computer. Things were very much done by writing a letter using ink. Today there is some change. Occasionally when visiting an office you will see a typewriter or maybe even a computer.

Over the last couple years we have established a very good working relationship with the Masaiti Police. Mr. Magawa (Officer in Charge) has become a personal friend of mine. Some time ago he requested if possible we could provide a computer for the police to be using. Today we were able to make his request come true! I AM was able to ship a couple computers on the last container dontated by church members from the States. Although not the primary role of a missionary, these type of donations go a long way to help build relationships that sometimes the Lord uses to open doors for evangelism, bible studies, and maybe even new church plants.

We were able to give the desktop, the monitor, & 2 flash drives. We were hoping to come up with a printer but that will need to wait until some time in the future.

Visit to the palace

While my mother was here we decided to take her to the Royal Palace to visit the senior chief. Sure many thoughts run through your mind on what a chief in Zambia looks like but honestly the chief and his family are quite normal.
Upon arrival, we found the senior chief had been called away on business. Thankfully, we were able to spend some time with his wife. She is a wonderful woman that loves the Lord. There are some people that are helping the chief build a new home. We took a brief tour of the home and found it to be very nice! Savannah asked if we could get the same plans and I build one for her... no problem ;-)
Just to note, the man standing next to the chief that looks like a guard, well - he is a guard!

Kangololo Baptist Church

There are some times when traveling two hours to church is not so bad - for instance, this last Sunday we went pretty far into the bush to a church called Kangololo. It has only been in existence for a couple years. The church itself was planted by a Zambian pastor - he asked me a few months ago to come, visit, and really encourage the people. I was not excited about going just because the road was in awful shape.
To my surprise - the road had been repaired! After driving two hours, it is nice to be "fresh" and ready to preach. Although have the road in good condition was great, having 1 person get saved and three repent, was truly the wonderful part of the day. Praise the LORD!
Church is not exactly in good shape. After the rains this year, the walls fell down and the church was forced to erect a very humble grass and branch church. They saved up some money, burnt some bricks, and began plans for a more permanent structure. Well, the man they hired to do the brick work stole the money and the bricks they were working on fell apart. Guess there are some days that are just better than others...

blessings from down South!

We sometimes get boxes of nice things from our friends and family in the States. Recently, we had some people come and bring a wonderful treat... which has made my wife quite happy - GRITS!

Although as a pure Northerner, I was not quite as excited to receive the grits as my wife, but knowing it has made her happy is good enough for me.

Thank you!!

Nakonde School

It was a long trip (12 hour drive) but well worth it... the purpose of all our travels was to set up a school to teach kindergarten through 3rd grade as well as offer English as a second language for high school students. Ultimately, the idea is that through better education these kids will better comprehend God's word. Of course, through the study of God's word many of these kids will ultimately know, serve, and worship Christ!
Please be praying for Pastor Robert - he is now in charge of all this and will have his hands full until things smooth out a bit. Also, a great big thanks to Bro. Jon for having the vision to start this as well as bringing the necessary tools and equipment. Praise the LORD!

Mishikishi

On the way to Nakonde we stopped at a church that is working on a building project. If you look closely at the pictures you will see the entire one side of the church wall had fallen out --- guess you could say it is Zambian air conditioning! Actually, the church is building a new church just a few meters away with stronger bricks and a better roof. We were quite excited to find the members have already raised much of the needed money and should complete the structure before the rainy season! Praise the LORD!!
The other picture shows Savannah with a family that we are friends with and are close to our hearts.