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!

Kutuba Bible Baptist Church

Had an interesting church service today - drove about 2 hours to a little church where a second church had gathered for a small conference. I was asked to come and close out the conference on Sunday morning. When we arrived, I noticed food being prepared and almost ready to be eaten. Since it was only 9:45 am, I did think this a bit strange. After we greeted everyone - I finally received an explanation - many of the people in attendance had a long walk (10 km) to get home and so they were planning on eating "lunch" before the service so they could just head out as soon as the service was over...

I must admit - eating before the service made me feel a bit groggy. Preaching on a full stomach was not a good idea. Thankfully there is a God in heaven that is active in the lives of His people. Even in my food stupor the Lord brought forth a great message that invigorated and challenged the members! Such a small little church - but I was reminded how our God delights in exceeding expectations and doing the impossible. My prayer - this little bush church would grow and mature to the point where they can reach around the world with the gospel --- sounds crazy? No, sounds impossible - perfect!!

North West Province Conference

Just returned from a conference in Mwinilunga - located in the north west province of Zambia. Many of the people from this area of the nation are unable to attend our conference at Kafulafuta because the distance is too great and the cost of transport too expensive. This year - I took four other people with me to preach & teach for 4 days. The Lord truly blessed as some were saved, some were baptized, but mostly the believers seemed to accept the challenge to be "labourers together with God"!

This trip was especially wonderful for me since my mother was able to partake. She arrived a couple weeks ago and has been busy about the Lord's business serving at the mission in many different capacities. However, while in Mwinilunga she was able to do some teaching and really encourage and challenge the ladies of the area. Of course, they loved her and asked her to come back for 3-4 days of intense ladies study... praise the LORD!