Being a Servant

It was a nice way to finish out 2011 by teaching a small group of Christians. We spent about 3 hours this morning discussing being "a servant of the Lord". Of course Moses is the key figure in this study and presents so many examples of how to live our life as a true servant!

The heavy rains kept more from coming but it looks like we will make this a weekly teaching with the hopes of really deepening the spiritual roots of these leaders/Christians. Hopefully more will be able to attend in the future but for now we are content with those God is allowing us to minister too.

Christmas lunch

Savannah's mother came to Zambia to be with us for Christmas. On Sunday we were invited to a small church meeting in a school room. The service went very well and afterward the church provided us a wonderful Christmas meal including Nsima, rape, and bush chicken!
Although not what most of us expect for a Christmas meal, we had a great day celebrating the true purpose of the day!

Youth Meeting

I was asked to preach to a youth group on the subject of purity/temptation. We had a wonderful time as we opened God's word and learned from some failures made by others. We spoke on the decision to keep ourselves undefiled from the world and its expectations. I really believe the Lord spoke to some hearts with these teens! It is my prayer this group of young people would refuse the offer of the world and truly present their bodies a living sacrifice, Holy unto God!

Chanjala Baptist

We wanted to visit a "bush" church while my mother-in-law was in Zambia. It worked out great that bro Morgan invited me to his church just at the right time!

It took us around 45 minutes to arrive at the small church but most of the time was spent slowly navigating a muddy road.

Because of the rains, church was delayed by about an hour. Once it started we had roughly 30 in attendance. The pastor did a teaching from Deuteronomy concerning the 'fear of God'. Just so happened that I had prepared a message from 2 Timothy 1:7, "God has not given is the spirit of fear". Worked out wonderful. We had a handful respond to God's leading and even my wife was able to counsel a woman to be saved!! Praise the Lord. We left the church moments before the rains came and thankfully we missed out on a church wide bath ;-)

Missions Teaching

This last week I spent 4 days teaching a group of 15 pastors on the subject of "Missions". Many pastors in Zambia see Americans as missionaries but they dont see their churches as needing to or able to be a part of the Great Commission. We walked through many Scripture discussing the relevance for today and how God expects the church to truly function... every member a minister!

We had some great discussions concerning the point, the people, the purpose, and the plan of God's Mission. As always, it is hard to know if these men will own this teaching for themselves and really seek to move forward in this area. We continue to pray and equip as the Lord leads through all of this! 

One interesting discussion through all of this was on the subject of deliverance. Many churches in Zambia, whether Baptist or Pentecostal have "deliverance" services. The perception is that people hear the message and then come for counseling - once they come, the pastor "delivers" them from some demon or overbearing sin. Along with that discussion comes the talk about "Christians" being possessed and controlled by demons. Quite a passionate discussion by those involved. 

Nazareth Baptist

We visited a small church on the way out of town this last Sunday... Not really a town church and not really a bush church but somewhere in between.

We showed up "on time" which of course means no one else was there except the Pastor. It didn't take long for people to start trickling in but again re-emphasized how "starting time" really is more of a flexible value rather than a specific moment!

Eventually the church house was full. I taught the Sunday school as well as preached the main service. The Lord seemed to communicate His message to the people. The pastor felt the messages were right what the people needed! Praise the Lord.

Refreshing

We visited Gonda Baptist Church this last Sunday. The church is currently meeting in a school classroom. This is a pretty common way for churches to have a room without the major expense of building right away. Well, this little church feels ready to move out of the classroom (there is a rent they pay) and ready to stand on their own. 

After church in the classroom, the pastor took us over to the "new" church building. So far it is just a shell of burnt bricks along with the wood work for the roof. The church has raised the funds for 20 of the needed roofing sheets. They were changing their clothes and starting to put on the 20 sheets right then wanting to protect the church from the rains as best as possible.

A few hours later I met a man that is a Christian working for the peace corps in Zambia. We were talking about giving tithes and how to do that while he was working for Peace Corps. So, he said why not give some money to the roof project to help this little upstart church - reached in his pocket and gave the little that he had. 

I am not saying we all need to live this way but it was quite refreshing to meet a person that heard of a need and immediately responded. The roof will still not be complete but every little amount does help. Ultimately, I would like to see the members of the church reach deep, sacrifice, and give to the cause the Lord has put in front of them! 

Bob

We are having a Bible study twice a month with a group of ex-pats here in Chipata. The group is quite diverse including people from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mali, Malawi, Italy, France, and the USA. We have a few that are Catholics, some that are Pentecostal, some Baptist, some Lutherans, and some Presbyterian... even one that is a Catholic priest!

I have the pleasure of leading the Bible study as we go through the book of James. We have had some very interesting discussions and continue to see the Lord work in the hearts of us all. One of the more exciting subjects has been on the subject of "saving faith". I came up with a hypothetical situation in which one of the Bible study members hits the fictitious man named Bob with their vehicle. It is apparent to Bob that he is severely injured and will pass from life to death very soon. With this new knowledge he is quite concerned about what will happen. He has no history of religion and has put God out of his mind all of his life. However, with the realization that he will soon be dead, he is scared and wanting answers. 

So, what would you say to Bob knowing he has only a few moments to live before crossing over into eternity?

Divine Nature

Last Sunday I preached a message from 2 Peter 1:14 on the passage, "that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature". Quite a strong text to meditate upon thinking that we were once the natural man and now we are able to take on the divine nature through God's exceeding great and precious promises. The more I studied for the message the more I became impressed with our great God! 

The people seemed to receive the message well. It is always hard to judge if I am properly communicating God's word to a people in a different culture. I believe God's word is Truth and therefore has the great ability of crossing borders and cultures with ease. At the end, we saw more than 30 people respond to the invitation! We believe four people came and put their trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ while the others wanted to know and experience more of that divine nature. 

We continue to praise the Lord for the work He is doing in our lives and the people we are sent to minster. Please continue to pray for our opportunities and the large work of ministering to these people.

Munga Baptist Church

Confusion is something that irritates me. This last Sunday I visited a new church that is meeting in a school room...along side 4 other "churches". As the service moved forward the other churches were beating their drums, singing, dancing, and preaching as loud as they possibly could. All of this is quite distracting and I feel brings a bit of confusion to a place that is suppose to bring peace.

I preached a simple message from Colossians 2:10 - "ye are complete in him". It was one of those messages that "I felt" was just not reaching the ears of the listeners. I hated the competition and in my heart just wanted to keep preaching until these people understood the depth of this crucial text. At the end, I sat down and felt somewhat defeated. Glad I had a chance to open God's word but disappointed that I was competing with other "preachers". 

church in classroom

school room "pulpit"

attitude of prayer

Of course, oh me of little faith, the Lord blessed in spite of my poor attitude and many responded to the altar call. Over 10 came forward to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ truly wanting to be "complete in him" and another 7 or 8 came to ask God to help them with their daily walk of faith. In all, it was wonderful to see the Lord work. When will I learn to simply trust God to do great things!?

First chiChewa Message

This last Sunday I preached my first message in ChiChewa! Wow - what an experience. The message was only 15 or so minutes long but took me 2 weeks to get prepared. Even after 2 weeks I was still struggling! I have put a short clip of the message on the blog for your viewing pleasure. Please continue praying for us as we learn the language and attempt to communicate God's word in the heart language of these people!

Opportunity

I was invited by a friend to preach at his church - I didn't really know much about the church which sometimes makes it difficult to know what to expect. In my personal reading I continue to see the Lord trying to get His people to grow and take steps of faith but in many instances it is like the people just refuse.

I decided to preach a message that hopefully would encourage the church people to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ using the text from Luke 9:23. The Lord really seemed to speak to our hearts and many tears were shed during the service.

It is always wonderful to see God speak to the hearts of people. It is our prayer these people will truly grow and take those steps of faith that will make them true followers of Christ! What about you - are you a faithful follower or a fake follower? This was not a church we would normally go to but the Lord gave opportunity and I believe was glorified through it!

Christian Maturity

I preached this last week on Christian Maturity. The message seemed well received and many came forward for counseling. However, upon examination of those coming foward I was a bit shocked. Many came not having any knowledge of the Gospel. I dont mean they were not saved but rather I mean they had no understanding of the purpose of Christ, the death, burial, resurrection, etc.

I reeled a bit from this realization that in today's churches many are members of church but certainly not part of the true body of Christ. Many pastors speak week after week supposedly opening the Scirpture and yet few are actually receiving it.

I happen to be reading from Jeremiah in my personal daily reading. Of course, Jeremiah rebukes pastors on multiple occassions for the lack of understanding and for leading the people incorrectly. We have many churches today without a pastor that is truly hearing from God and equipping the people for Chrisitian Maturity and Ministry. My hope as a missionary is to somehow help these leaders to bring the Truth back to their people and feed them sufficiently.

Make the cut

Sunday we went to preach and minster to Jericho Baptist. The church invited us and seemed quite excited we were there. I was surprised at the size of the church building compared to the number that showed up. It is not common for Zambians to build for more than they need. We later found out the local Nyau would sometimes come during church service beating their drums to scare off the people. Currently only around 30-40 of the churches total membership of 110 is making it to church.

Anyway, we preached and saw more than 20 come for counseling and eventually make professions of faith in Christ. It certainly was an exciting time. During the preaching I noticed many of the little children were wearing charms around their necks. After the service I asked the Pastor if I could speak with all the women of the church... I then began a discussion of why Christian women were putting charms around the necks of their children. Finally a couple decided to speak up and said it was because they were afraid... afraid that their children would get sick. Apparently they have been deceived into believing that if a mother doesnt get a charm for the child from the witchdoctor the child would likely get sick and die. So, even the Christian women were doing it. I then quoted some Scriptures trying to encourage them to trust in God and no longer fear the power of darkness.

By the end of our conversation I was thinking they were ready to take that next step of faith. I asked them to come and we would cut the charms off the children's neck. Immediately all the women began shaking their heads and talking among themselves. It was apparent this was too big of a step. We left the church wondering what would happen to a people that make professions of faith in Christ but still willingly bring witchcraft into their homes and churches??? It breaks our hearts to see these people trapped in the power of darkness - please pray our Lord would truly set them free!

This prayer may change everything...

A fews years back it occured to me that every group of believers that assembles together is and has the responsibility of being a true Church. Some would make the argument that the Great Commission is the primary goal of every local church. However, so many churches in Zambia still see themselves as the mission field and have very little desire to "go" and plant new churches.

So, this last Sunday I preached and tried to encourage the people to get involved in the Great Command to "Go"! I used the text from Matthew 9:36-38 where Jesus speaks of seeing the multitudes, having compassion because they wander with no hope, a harvest field, too few laborers, and the need to pray. The response was good as more than 20 came forward to pray and ask the Lord to make them workers in the harvest fields of this world! If only the church was truly "the house of prayer" and the people were truly "ambassadors for Christ"...maybe, just maybe, we could get that harvest in!

New Jim Baptist Church

Normally we travel into the "bush" to preach and teach...however, this Sunday we went to a church in a nearby compound within Chipata. The church is less than 2 years old but has attendance of over 100 on a regular basis. The pastor is one of my students at the Bible school and seems to be really applying a lot of what he is learning. It was great to have the whole family with me this week! Often I am unable to bring the whole family because of distance and conditions (some places are just not conducive to an 18 month old).

In preparing for the message I came across Mark 11:22 where Jesus simply says, "Have faith in God". So - that became the theme of the message. I pulled out some things from Hebrews 11 and other various texts and preached on:

• Saving Faith
• Living Faith
• Mature Faith

The message seemed to be well received! As soon as the hymn began people started coming forward for counsel and prayer. In all, more than 15 from this small church were meeting with God!

The Church is situated on the hillside overlooking Chipata. There was a wonderful breeze making the temps very nice and the view was just mesmerizing - praise the Lord!

New Jerusalem Baptist

I was asked to preach on what the Bible says about idols/traditions for a bush church of about 120 people. Interestingly, as one of the major Chewa ceremonies were taking place where Nyau dance and ancestral worship is promoted, I was preaching from 2 Corinthians 6 explaining to the people that Christians are suppose to come out from among these practices. At one point I asked the church about Nyau - nobody would even acknowledge they know about it because it is taboo to even talk about them. Again, we see the power of darkness and the fear that grips the hearts and minds of these people - even some Christian people! Oh that God would remove that spirit of fear and truly replace it with power, love, and a sound mind!

At the end of the service we saw 8 or 9 come forward to be counseled. After some time, three wanted to know more about becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, one had demons, and others were just looking for counsel. We rejoice that God is still working in the hearts of people here in Zambia!

Before lunch, I was asked to pray for 9 infants/children that were brought by their mothers to be dedicated. We spent about 30 minutes as I went from person to person praying for God's hand of wisdom and protection upon the child as well as the parents to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Please pray for one little girl (Sarah) that is 6 months old but only weighing 8 or 9 lbs. Not sure why she is not developing properly but I know her mother would love for you to be praying.

Kulamba Ceremony

This weekend will bring a traditional Chewa celebration of sorts to the Eastern Province of Zambia. The Chewa people are spread out over 3 countries including Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia. Together they will unite this weekend to pay homage to their paramount chief and carry on many traditions of the Chewa people. Since I am fairly new to this area I dont know what to personally expect from this ceremony. There are many rich traditions the Zambian people have that should continue to be celebrated. However, there are also some traditions that should be eliminated. I am praying this ceremony will be filled with only God honoring traditions.

On a side note, a pastor asked me to come and preach this weekend to his bush church on the subject of "idolatry"...?

Masupe Baptist

Spent the day at Masupe Baptist Church. This is a small bush church with no pastor - which seems to be a reoccurring theme. It again highlighted the need for real pastoral training in areas where churches are already established but no legitimate training is available.

I taught from Luke 6 about the theme of giving and Damon taught from Matthew 13 about the sower and the seed. There were 8 professions of faith and a few more that came forward for counseling.

We then spent the time advising the church on finding a pastor and what the necessary qualifications are. By the end, the church had selected and voted on a faithful man and I was privileged to pray for his new ministry and responsibility.

Foundations

I have spent the last 4 days teaching a group of men on the subject of Biblical Hermeneutics. Proper interpretation of Scripture is something so many of us lack. It was good to review some basic principles with these men to help them better come to the right Biblical conclusions.

We discussed many different Scriptures over the 4 days of teaching. Of course, we all come to the Scripture with our own pre-conceived ideas that sometimes can hamper our true understanding. We had some intense discussions but using some basic guidelines we were able to make proper conclusions.

Because so many have rushed to evangelize but have poorly discipled and trained - many Zambian pastors are ill-equipped to lead their sheep. I pray for these men to truly "study to shew themselves approved unto God". If we can all become men of God's Word and put to practice the things that are important to God - I believe it wont take long to reach the whole of Zambia! May the foundations be strong and the church move forward for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Kasenga "Baptist Church"

I was asked to come and preach at a "church" in the bush this last week. The church has been without a pastor for 5 years and as far as I could tell they were not very interested in following God's direction for churches. This church is situated in an area where the village head man does not favor Christianity and the local Nyau has a lot of control over the people. In all - the culture/world has impacted the church more than the church has impacted the culture/world.

We preached straight knowing the only solution or true help we could provide is for the Spirit of God to take His Word and really work in the hearts and minds of the people. We had more than 10 people saved that afternoon and even a couple came forward to pray that recognized they have strayed from God's original path for their life.

After the service we met with some of the main people from the church about them having no pastor. I gave them some advice and told them what the Scripture says about the qualifications of a pastor. They seem to want a pastor but many of the men in that area follow culture and Nyau more than the ways of Christ. We really need to see God defeat their fears and bring forth spiritual victory!

An intersting note about this gathering was the amount of people that seem to regularly attend. For a church with no teaching pastor, no clear direction, no presence of God, and no separation from the world - between 100-150 regularly come?? But... why?

Nyau

A couple weeks ago we were preaching in the bush. After we finished at the church, we were driving down a trail and came across two Nyau. This was a first time for me. One was close to 9 or 10 ft tall and the other more like 5 to 6 ft in height. They both had masks over their faces and rags that covered all their body so there was nothing visible. (the picture to the right is an image from Wikipedia and not the exact image I saw).

After speaking to some people about this I found out they are part of a "secret" group that communicates with the dead and prays to the spirits. Only men are allowed to be a part of this group and most villagers flee when they see the Nyau coming. Much of what is said about this group is associated with witchcraft, charms, fear, and evil works. They often are able to control whole villages through fear and intimidation and even though so much progress has been made in Zambia - this group is still a very real force in the spiritual realm.

In my opinion, many of us dont consider spiritual warfare much. We dont think of a real battle that is taking place. Therefore, many of us dont fight a spiritual fight. This following verse tells us that we dont "wrestle" against flesh and blood (things seen) BUT that we do wrestle (among other things) against spiritual wickedness.

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Sonrise Baptist Church

I was invited to preach the closing day of a 4 day conference. A new church had just been planted and some of the surrounding churches got together to give this new church a boost. The new church (Sonrise Baptist) is small but starting strong. The new pastor has a real zeal for God's word and for teaching his people the right way!

It was a glorious day - although the church doesnt have a proper building, we made the best of things and God brought forth fruit. At the invitation, we had more than 30 adults come asking Jesus Christ to be Lord and Saviour. Praise the LORD! On top of that, we had another 40-50 adults come and grab hold the altar of God asking Him for an increase of faith, unity, and protection!

After the service, I was again called upon to pray for some new babies from these churches. It was like a child dedication service - although this was not something I had planned out, it was still an amazing privilege to individually pray for each of the 34 children and mother's that came.

We returned home exhausted from preaching in the sun all day but thrilled at what God continues to do here in Zambia! Please pray for this new church and these new Christians.

Church

Preached again at Danny Bweupe's church on the subject of "Church". Seems like sometimes Christians just do church but don't really know what church is suppose to be according to the Scripture. The message was more like a teaching than a preaching but I felt the people just needed to understand their responsibility and commitment they have made. Going through different Scripture we talked about:

• The power of the church
• The people of the church
• The purpose of the church
• The priorities of the church

It is always my goal for these New Testament churches to be established on the foundation of God's word. The more opportunities we have to teach and preach I believe the more opportunity God has to work in the hearts and minds of His people!Please continue praying for these people to take their responsibility as the "church" even more seriously that we will all make a greater impact on this world for the glory of the Son of God! (as you can see, our daughter enjoys meeting everyone at church!)

Chadiza Survey

Last week we took a survey trip to Chadiza district. Chadiza is a small town roughly 60 kilometers from Chipata. There are already some churches established in this area. Our purpose for going was to go beyond the town into the outlying bush areas surrounding Chadiza and see the spiritual situation.

We began to drive out of Chadiza town and spent the next many hours going over some very rough terrain. In all, we traveled almost 200 kilometers stopping to pass out tracts in markets, talking to locals about the spiritual needs and seeing the likelihood of starting our church planting efforts in this area. This area is likely inaccessible during the rainy season since many bridges were broken and we were forced to cross dry river beds. It was no problem this time of year but come December or January - I am pretty sure our vehicle couldn't make the trip. It again showcased the need to reach these difficult areas with the gospel while there is still time.

Please be praying for God's specific direction as we continue to seek His face in our church planting efforts. As you can imagine, planting churches in these type of areas is no easy task but certainly one that is very worthwhile!

House Church

Spent some time trying to encourage a small house church here in Chipata this last Sunday. The leader has a real zeal to reach the people in his neighborhood and grow them in Christian maturity.

We dont spend a lot of time working with men in the town area but we did want to try and help this young work to get established. We rejoice in what God is doing!!

Lead me down a plain path

Today we drove 65 kilometers out of town then headed down a dirt road for another 45 kilometers. The dirt road had recently been graded and was in decent shape for about 65% of it - after that, things slowed down and got a bit rougher!

I was able to see an area in which there are very few churches and no Independent Baptist churches. I did speak with 1 pastor that had a small church next to a local basic school. He was pleading with me to come back to train him further and plant more churches in the area. From his perspective, the people there were not faithful and didn't follow the ways of Christ. Because this is the time of harvest many people have money - of course, when people have money you will find out what is important to them. This Pastor felt beer drinking was of high importance for many living in the bush area and unfortunately for many members of the church.

I feel this is an area that is still very new ground and hardly touched by Biblical Christianity. Although the drive is long it seems worth it to bring God's word to these people. Please be praying for God's clear direction as we continue to seek to see through His eyes!

survey west of chipata

Went out today again surveying different areas that are in need of churches, training, etc. We spent the entire day on the western side of Chipata... just a point of clarity, although only 45 minutes from home, we were very much in the "deep bush" as pointed out by the man that led me.

We visited 3 different places that supposedly had a church presence. In all cases, there was no actual pastor for the church. Maybe even more disturbing is finding out the men running the churches have no Bibles, no discipleship, and no training. How can these churches really be making an impact when the Scripture is not the center of everything?

The picture below shows a "preaching point". This is a spot where people gather every week to hear a message, pray, sing, etc. It is not officially a church yet but from what I was told there are already 25 people gathering there. Notice there are no walls, no roof, no anything but a few bricks for people to sit on in the open air with the sun beating down on them the whole time.

Please be praying for us - each time I go on one of these survey trips I see a need for sound Biblical teaching at a local church level more and more. We can plant a church in every village but if those churches aren't really focused on Christ and have the Scripture as their authority - we have accomplished very little.

June Survey

Wednesday morning I spent a few hours with a Baptist friend touring areas in the bush. The purpose of the trip was to meet some of the pastors of the local rural churches as well as see the need in areas that are still without a church... It was an interesting day!

We went to one area where there was a church but the building was destroyed and the effect seemed to scatter the sheep as well. Another area we found a pastor of 12 years with more than 120 members but very little spiritual growth/maturity. Another area found us a zealous preacher that has been faithful over the last 8 years. During our travels, we met a group of school children that thought we were 'satanists' and ran from us. Obviously this goes to show there is still a strong believe in witchcraft and the power of Satan in these rural areas.

Our desire to reach the rural (bush) areas of Zambia was highlighted during this brief trip. Although there are some churches spattered in the rural landscape, many have very little knowledge of the True and Living God. Animistic beliefs, Satanism, and confusion continues to hold many of these people in fear. Although considered a Christian nation, there are still so many living in complete darkness.

Please PRAY!

Graduating Class Chipata

I was asked to be the guest of honor and guest preacher for the 2nd graduating class from a Baptist bible school. The school teaches 9 module courses over a 3 year span. Many of the students are mature and already involved in a local ministry. I was invited to teach one of their modules this last year and got to better know the desire of these people to serve the Lord!

The graduation went well as I preached on the theme, "carrying the torch". I used the text from 1 Peter 4 to encourage the graduates to glorify God through our Lord Jesus Christ in all that they do... Not just talking about faith but truly walking by faith!

2 Timothy 1

Recently preached a message from 2 Timothy 1:7 - we are told not to have the "spirit of fear". I spoke on how so many fear things like death, poverty, famine, witchcraft, etc. After the service we discussed with the pastor and he revealed even more how the average Zambian Christian has deep rooted fears in all areas discussed.

God has not give us the spirit of fear but He has given us the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Praise the LORD we can trade in our "fear spirit" for the spirit of God's presence that truly allows us to glorify His Son, overcome our own self, and make an everlasting impact in this world. Please pray for the Lord's work here in Zambia - it seems difficult for many in Zambia (and around the world) to truly put traditional/cultural fears behind them and wholly embrace the ways and words of Christ. It is quite difficult for the average person living in an animistic culture to simply come out of it and find completeness in Christ.

Some of us are still working on the "sound mind" piece... but hey, one day at a time! ;-)

Big Cats

We recently visited the South Luangwa Valley to see some great wildlife. We got to see a male lion and his ladies just kind of taking it easy and enjoying the afternoon. Sure is wonderful to see God's creation!

Night Time Leopard

I really enjoy viewing wild Game in their natural surrounding. We recently were able to capture some good video of a Leopard at night! This is actually a very rare find. Although not on this video, a hyena came up to challenge the leopard. Exciting stuff!

Ephesians 5:1

This last Sunday I preached from the first few verses of Ephesians 5. The message was about "walking with God". So many say they are Christians but so few actually walk with God. The pastor felt the message was very appropriate and just what his people needed. Praise the Lord for those that make that decision to truly walk with our Lord.

(The above photo doesn't have anything to do with the message. Just thought it was a great photo from after church.)

Our BIG airport

Although Chipata is the provincial capital of the Eastern Province it is still not a real big place. The above is a picture of the only plane (twin engine 12 person) that flies into our city!!

Great Service

Today the message was quite simple. We talked about the harvest fields and the need to go out and bring the harvest in. Before a person is able to see the need for the (spiritual) harvest we talked about their personal need to know the Savior. We combined with a second church today - even though the message was simple, God did a great work. We had 15 come to Christ and commit their lives to His will!! Praise the Lord!

End

We finished our pastor teaching on Thursday. Of course, I felt the need to give a short quiz to reinforce the teaching and challenge the men. After a short review, I feel they did mostly well! The men want me to come back and really seem hungry to learn more of God's word!!

Pastor teaching

This week I am teaching 14 pastors from around Chipata on the subject of personal spiritual development. We have spent much time discussing the role of the Scriptures and now have begun discussing the role of prayer in the life of the believer. Each morning I am teaching these men for 2 hours! I am so thankful for the time as we open God's word and discuss relevant issues.

He is Risen

Resurrection Sunday found the Pestke house with the flu bug making its way around. Thankfully it does not seem to be a bad case but it did mean I was going solo to church Sunday morning.

After not getting much sleep the night before, I didnt feel all to adequate when it came time to preach. Of course, the Lord reminded me that the preaching of His Word is not a work of man but a work of God. It was apparent the Spirit was moving in all the hearts of the people in attendance. After the service, people were still a buzz about the message.

I did something different this year - I went through each of the gospels and gave a brief synopsis of the resurrection story and told the major emphasis to each account. By the time we finished with John, we all were over powered by the realization that the resurrection of Christ is not just a doctrine to understand, but a message that transforms us and that should propel us to action. Praise the LORD!

language

As many of you know, we are studying the tribal Bantu language called ChiChewa. We are only a couple months into our study. We are amazed at how much of the culture we are learning just through studying the language. In some areas of the language there are abstract thoughts instead of distinct details but in other areas it almost appears to be a redundant amount of detail to emphasize the point. Very interesting.

Our tongue has been twisted many times as some words are actually full English sentences. A recent word measured a full 18 letters....ugh! This is becoming a real challenge.

At the end of each lesson, there is a Chewa Proverb. This proverb also give great insight into the thinking of the Chewa mind... As an example:
Mau a akuli akoma akagonera (Elder's words become useful after you have slept on them)
Msonkha-msonkha unang'amba thumba (collecting too many things will tear the pocket)

PRAY for US!!

house church

Today we had church at a small house church that recently has started up. Although there were not many in attendance, God's word was faithfully declared and I believe all that heard were encouraged and challenged! We continue to look to our Great God to move in the hearts of people as more and more of these works are started throughout the region.!

really?

Recently had a conversation with an older man here in Chipata. He confessed to be a Roman Catholic and from all accounts seems to have his head on straight. He then went on to tell me "traditional" stories of people with the legs of men and the body of a crocodile or even a lion (literally).

We went on to talk about my wife and daughter being back in the States and how long the trip from Zambia to the State is. He then informed me of how he has heard of some Zambians that are able to transport from Zambia to South Africa in just a few moments.

This is common for many Zambians. A belief in Christian principles and a belief in Zambian tradition is often mixed together.

got milk?

This Sunday I preached at a small Baptist Church on the subject of Christian maturity. I used the text from 1 Corinthians 3 in which Paul desicribes those that are immature as drinking milk and those that are mature as eating meat. Having a little baby in the house really helps make this illustration work out in my own mind. Babies will only drink milk and have to be weaned off the milk in order to mature and grow up normally. Even in the church, members must be weaned off the spiritual milk and learn to truly walk by faith pleasing the Lord. We dont expect a little baby to be a baby all of its life and nor should expect a Christian to behave like a child forever.

Pathetic

We have a 4 month old puppy. She is growing quickly. Unfortunately today she got under the tire of my pick up. We thought she had a broken leg but turns out she is pretty tough and just needed some stitches. Always some sort of drama going on....

Central Baptist

We are still in the process of finding out which Baptist churches in the Chipata area need our assistance and which ones are mature enough to stand without us.

The church we visited Sunday is doing well in some areas but seems a bit weak in solid biblical preaching. Many of the members don't have Bibles.

Please pray for wisdom as we seek to edify the current churches and reach deeper into the rural areas.

Enjoying Church

We were at a bush church this Sunday with the whole family. Analiese really enjoys visiting with new families and especially other children. It thrills us to see her enjoy church even if she doesn't really get what is going on.

I was able to use some of the chewa we are learning during the service. Even though I must sound like a 1st grader, the people are really appreciating the effort we are making. We continue to study this language with the hope that someday we will be speaking God's word in the heart language of these people!

Our newest challenge

We have officially started taking "formal" chichewa lessons. For the last many weeks we have tried to learn just using books and talking to some people. Although we did learn it was too easy to not learn. The Lord directed us to a German man that has lived in Zambia for 59 years. He agreed to teach us from a simple book but did caution us that his learning style is a bit "old fashioned". Of course that means we are in for a lot of memorization!!

We had lesson 1 (of 47) this morning. He gave us probably 15 words and 10 phrases to memorize plus 15 exercises to complete by tomorrow morning. At least he doesn't expect much from us :-)

they will come...

We visited Nmoro Baptist Church this last Sunday. This church is located a good 20 kilometers out of town and with the bridge being out we made use of the 4 wheel drive to get there. Normally the church starts around 9:00am - however, when we arrived and waited we realized nobody was coming this morning. We were notified of a funeral in a nearby village. Zambian tradition pretty much requires that everyone attends the funeral...which can last 3 or 4 full days. We waited another hour just in cast someone decided to come and then I started to preach to the pastor and my wife. After a few minutes, some people started coming in and we probably ended with 15 or 20 in attendance. I am thankful we didnt just leave because of poor attendance. We had 4 come for prayer and counsel! We rejoice in being a part of what God is doing.