Being Wise Builders

Today I was out teaching a group of about 15 or 20 church members some basic Biblical principles. We are going through a series on "foundations of Christianity". We have been going through this for a few weeks and sometimes you wonder if people are listening. Anyway, I was discussing the verse:

2 Timothy 2:19  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (KJV)

We were specifically going over "depart from iniquity" and how many "Christians" look like Christians but dont actually live like Christians. I spoke about how in Zambia many say they are Christian but hide charms in their homes for protections against evil spirits. As soon as the words came out of my mouth a woman started loudly saying something. I immediately thought I had said something offensive (cause that happens from time to time). However, I was pleasantly surprised. She said, "we dont have those charms in our homes anymore". She went on to explain that since the last time I taught from the Bible, everyone went home and cleaned house! Praise the LORD!

Most of our teaching is a springboard from Matthew 7 in which we are told about two people building a house. One person builds a proper foundation on a rock and the other builds their house on sand. The one that built on rock of course is considered wise, a person that hears, and does the words that are spoken. The other person is considered foolish, someone who hears but does not do. It is wonderful to see people make the decision to be "wise master builders".

Petauke Leadership Conference

Last week I had the opportunity to preach 7 times in 2 days to roughly 250 people at a leadership conference. For roughly 4 weeks before I had a low grade fever that had really sapped the strength out of me. The fever broke about 3 days before I was suppose to preach - thank you Lord! I worked to get my lessons ready and we made the 2 hour drive to the site. 

It was a great time around God's word. The theme to the conference was "foundations". Most church leaders know the "foundations" but it is always good to be reminded. It is always easy to attend a conference and agree with the teachings - the real challenge is to go home and apply the things learned. No matter whether American, African, or Asian I believe this is probably this biggest struggle in the church today. It has been my prayer now that these people that represent so many churches would be the true servant leaders and wise master builders God has called some of them to be.

road or river?

Our ministry took us to a bush church on Sunday. It hadnt rained all week so I thought the roads would be in good enough shape. However, Saturday night we did receive some pretty heavy rains. On the way to church we were in 4 wheel drive almost the entire time and still were sliding all over the road as if we were driving in blizzard conditions. There were even a few close calls between my vehicle and bicycles on the side of the road. We made it to church and had a great time... however, just about the time church finished up a new storm came through and dumped on us. I knew there was no way we could go back the same way we came.

I was told there was a different way we could use that was "better". In fact, the road was less soupy than before but pretty much was like driving in a river! Ministry during the rainy season certainly brings with it some real adventures!

Deaf Ministry of Chipata

We have our friend Jimmy Tsoukalas staying with us. We received him from the airport a few days back and have been busy ever since. Jimmy is a missionary to the deaf and wanted to visit Chipata with the idea of possibly coming to minister to the deaf community of the Eastern Province. It has been a great learning experience for me as I get to see first hand the needs of the Deaf community. 

Sunday we visited a small Deaf Church of about 25 - Jimmy had the opportunity of preaching and although there were some differences in signs, the people really enjoyed. The next day we met with the pastor. The pastor told us he was HIV positive. I was thankful that this pastor in spite of his sickness was continuing to minister. It can be easy to make excuses when we are sick but this man is continuing to run his race no matter the obstacles before him. Praise the LORD!

On Tuesday, we went to Magwero School of the Deaf. This is another opportunity as the school is one of the oldest schools for the deaf in Zambia. There are over 150+ kids that attend the school and one teacher said there were about 30 late for reporting likely because of lack of school fees. 

Please pray for Jimmy as he seeks to know God's will in all of this!

Deaf Church of Chipata

Jimmy Teaching

 

Road Risks

En route to Lusaka this afternoon we came across a major road accident roughly 10 km from the Luangwa bridge. I am not sure there is a time in recent memory we didnt see a wreck over this 550 km stretch. Today we came around a corner and noticed a line of vehicles which quickly indicated a recent accident had occurred. When we finally inched up near to the site of the collision, one large truck was standing erect while others were bent around it. We noticed an SUV inching its way under the erect truck trying to pass by... although it finally made it, it seemed a bit too risky for my liking. 

I surveyed our surroundings and decided it was safer to engage 4-wheel drive and bypass the whole thing off road than to go under a teetering truck. Thankfully we made it through unscratched. It again highlights the very real dangers of simply driving in Zambia. Please continue praying for us.