Magwero School of Deaf - painted!

Seems like it took much longer than we expected but our school block is finally completed with a fresh coat of paint! There are so many that contributed to the financing and actual work of getting this project done. Amazing how we can accomplish great things when we all work together and do our part. Praise the Lord!

We continue to have projects in the future for this school as we would like to see the 150+ deaf students have the best environment and resources available to prepare them for their future. As of now, we are kind of on hold until the Lord directs us and provides for us. 

Thank you for praying and helping out. Although this project doesn't end with a village coming to the knowledge of Jesus Christ or a new church starting or many being baptized, it does remind me of something Jesus said in Matthew 25:40,  "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Pretty sure this small project was still quite honoring to our Lord Jesus. 

Glass update

More progress at Magwero school. The window frames have been painted and the glass installed! We are currently working to finish the undercoat and then hope to start adding some color by the end of the week. It is all starting to come together and look real nice! Praise the Lord for the people that have given and continue to give and pray for this project and especially these children!

impressed

At the end of the conference on Sunday there were a group of people waiting to jump in the back of my pick-up truck... of course, they always squeeze more in than seems possible but somehow I am getting use to it! I asked where they wanted to be dropped and they said something about the tar-mac. So, off we went. It is a 10k ride just to the tar-mac so I could see why they wanted a ride. Once at the junction I made the mistake of thinking that is where they lived. I was wrong. We continued down the tar-mac road for probably another 15km before a portion of them jumped out. I was surprised to see a solid handful still remaining and needing to go further. Again, I assumed it would be just down the road. Wrong again. We drove for probably another 15-20 km before this last group was dropped off. That was about 2pm. In all, that last group would have walked 35-40 km (25miles) to get home and likely would not have reached home until VERY late.

Yes, I realize another vehicle might have picked them on the way home and greatly expedited their journey but that is not a guarantee. Talk about making a sacrifice. Impressed. Now I know why they were singing the whole way home! 

a coming together

I was invited to preach at a conference over the weekend in the bush about 60-65 km out of Chipata. A new church had been started back in May and the churches in the area wanted to come encourage the new believers and help it get off the ground! The theme of the conference was "insurance of the believer" but I am pretty sure they meant eternal security of the believer. I preached a short message from Ephesian 2:1-10. Although it was the last day of the conference, and people tend to be the most tired and thinking about getting home, the Lord was still able to work in the hearts of the people. We saw 10 or 12 come forward to be counseled. I was able to open the Scripture to one young man that said he struggled with lust and drunkenness and wanted to have victory over sin. We went through the Scriptures and he came to realize the need to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior!

It was a good day! I preached in the open air under a pretty hot sun. Was quite drained after it was all over but there is just something special about being tired from doing the work of the Lord that feels good. Had to hurry home to get prepared for our afternoon Bible study; wow! Busy day of teaching and preaching. It is the highlight of the week spending so much time in God's word, around God's people, and seeing God's Spirit work among all of us! 

opportunity

Last week, I arrived to my usual location about 30 km outside of town to teach. Usually we have 5-10 people that regularly attend. However, as we were preparing to begin, a line of about 8 or 9 woman came walking out of the bush. Apparently they were walking to a different church for a weekend long conference but were lost. After they explained where they were walking and we told them it was still a 3 hour journey, they decided to just stay. 

All during the teaching these 'new' woman were amazed at what was being taught. I was later told the woman wished they had someone to teach them and the leadership of their church was not providing such teaching. This always amazes me. The lessons I am teaching are very basic and fundamental. Each week I leave amazed at how slow we move and how little we actually cover over a 2 hour period. Yet, these people are getting it and starting to grow and takes steps of maturity. 

At the end, the line of woman began to head back off into the bush the same way they came. I asked where they were going and they said, "home, we have been fed more in these 2 hours than we would have all weekend at the conference." I was glad to know they felt spiritually satisfied with the nourishment of God's word yet I couldn't help but feel a little sad that there is really no one to help them grow and mature in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We took the opportunity to teach and feel like we did our part in God's plan to help in their spiritual growth.

weak Christians and demons

This was written on the chalk board at the front of the church we visited today. In case you cant quite read it, 

"Welcome to Baptist Church Fellowship of Zambia. We don't have any choice to receive any weak members who want to join us. Don't worry about if we pray for a person who have an demon in his or her heart". 

Not exactly sure the intended purpose of the writing but it does seem apparent these people know what a weak Christian is and that demons are a common part of life for them.

Easy answer but more difficult to apply

On Friday I was teaching a group of leaders. The teaching was going fine until I started to talk about spiritual disciplines in the life of the believer. After some time the group told me it is essential for a Christian to always be praying. Great! I was quite pleased with this answer. However, I wanted to test my students so I asked the question... How often should we pray? Of course, they gave me the bread and butter answer, "without ceasing". So - I took it a step further and asked a student how many minutes he had prayed so far today (5 pm). He responded with a total of 10 minutes. I continued with the next spiritual discipline of reading Scripture, daily. They all agreed it is necessary and essential. So I again asked how many chapters they had read that day so far. Three of the people admitted they had not read anything and one man said he read just 2 chapters. They told me they had been busy preparing for the meeting... So I asked how many had the time to eat lunch before coming! They all raised their hand...interesting.

This is a group of people that are leading the church but like so many of us they struggle with the basics. If only we would take serious the words of Jesus, to "seek first the kingdom of God".