school rooms

This last Sunday I was invited to preach at a church pretty deep in the bush. It is not uncommon for churches to meet in school rooms while they are just getting started and later build something on their own when they have matured a bit. When we arrived I was directed toward a mud walled grass roofed building that I didnt quite recognize. It had 3 small compartments which meant it was not a church. But the grass was missing on much of the roof which made me think it was not being used for anything. When I inquired, I was told it is a "community" school. I was a bit shocked this building was good for anything and at the lack of quality being afforded to the children of this community. I realize Zambia is not a developed nation and this is Africa but how does this ever pass as a SCHOOL! I have gotten use to low quality conditions but this is far below low - this is unacceptable.

Kangagwa Community School

A community school is a school that is set up by the people of the community and runs from grade 1 to grade 7. Normally the teachers come from within the community and are not trained or certified but just want to help. The rainy season will be here full on in less than 1 month. I cannot imagine this school will be of much use during those next 5 months. I am impressed that the community is at least trying and although I am a bit disturbed I am at least encouraged that people are trying to get the best education available to them despite the conditions they cannot control.

I did preach and we talked with the people for a while. They want us to come back on a regular basis to be teaching them Scripture. Because of the distance and roughness of terrain it will be unlikely if we can reach them more than a couple times a year but by the grace of God we will try.

Colossians

We have a Bible study for the ex-pats in the area that includes families from Canada, Mali, Zimbabwe, Italy, France, United States, and Malawi. We meet every couple weeks on Sunday afternoon and do a verse by verse study of the Bible. Currently we are working our way through the book of Colossians and although still in Chapter 1 after four weeks, we are learning much! 

One of the attending families has been with us for more than a year but is now moving back to France as their work in Zambia has come to an end. It is hard to say good bye to friends as we have learned together, prayed together, and lived together here in Chipata. Please pray for our friends as they transition back to life in Paris; that they may find a good Bible study and Bible focused church. 

Marie & Guillaume

All smiles

Wednesday's Bible study started off a bit slow. We arrived late. We heard of a few that were sick and wouldn't be able to come. There seemed to be a general lack of excitement. Only a handful were ready. However, at some point I looked up and realized there were now over 30 in attendance! I was quite shocked since we normally average between 18-22 for Bible study. 

We spent the first 35-40 minutes allowing people to recite the Scripture they had been practicing along with the books of the Bible. I was thrilled! This is when the Bible study really started to come to life. Many were really putting some effort into learning the required verses (5 different portions of Scripture) and Books. In all, we had 10 people that tried with 6 people completing all of the requirements. It was quite encouraging to the others that had not tried. After we finished teaching the lesson many people came to me wanting to know how they could earn their own Bible! I added a little bonus - for those that could recite all of Psalm 23, we gave them their own hymn book. Two men completed!!

I taught for about 45 minutes on the importance and authority of Scripture. We went from Old Testament to New Testament reading and discussing many portions of Scripture. It was great to see so many of the people able to keep up and excited to read God's word!

All smiles as they received their very own Bibles!

Psalm 149:3 Let them praise His name in dance

At our new church plant, I was pleasantly surprised to find two men that wanted to sing and dance a song unto the Lord. Over the last few weeks, we have been struggling to learn some new hymns/songs since this group is a very unchurched group. It was a real blessing to see these men put some effort into their expression of worship!

But his delight is in the law of the LORD

At our new church plant, I gave the people a challenge to memorize 5 different Scriptures and learn the Books of the Bible in order. In return, for each person that fulfilled this task, I would give them a free Bible in either English or ChiChewa. I was pleasantly surprised to find 8 different people give it a try this week - all 8 were able to recite their Bible verses without difficulty. 

We had a great time as the people were excited to recite what they had learned and show they had worked hard to learn their memory verses. A couple of people even went past the 5 memory verses required and recited 7 or 8! Praise the LORD. It was a real thrill to see people putting forth the effort to receive a Bible. 

We know their effort will not be in vain and for many of these people this is just the beginning steps of their Christian growth process!  Please pray for this group of people - many of the other 10 or 12 that didnt attempt to recite the verses was simply because they cannot read. Illiteracy is a real challenge when it comes to building a proper Biblical foundation.

Friendships remain

We were invited to a church that had finished their building project. To celebrate, the pastor invited other churches as well as an old friend of mine from Kafulafuta, Victor Lunda. Now that we are in Eastern Province, it has probably been more than 2 years since I have visited with the brethren from that area. Victor was a person that really helped me when I was first beginning in Zambia. He went with me to interpret as I would teach and preach, he helped me with culture, and he helped me to adjust. It was great to see him again and now hear him preach a wonderful message to God's people! Praise the LORD! It is amazing how Christ can bring people from all around the world together and give them lasting and quality relationships!