Greetings from Luanshya!
Several of our Lighthouse Children have recently enrolled in the Source
of Light Bible Correspondence School. Within a day of starting the
program themselves they have been inviting their friends at school to
enrol. They are using the SOL courses as an evangelistic tool to get
their friends interested in knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. The
Lighthouse Ministry was not on our agenda when we came to Africa but we
have seen God use this ministry in so very many ways to reach out into
our community. We are so thankful for those who remember our children.
Sherry's College and Career class is growing leaps and bounds. She
really didn't know how many would attend during the Friday evening time
slot. This past week she had more students than handouts prepared. A
couple of the young people actually showed up two hours early simply to
take advantage of the Youth Centre behind the chapel. Last week they
talked about Moses and "learning to let go". This weeks' study is on
Jonah "Regression of Pride". Please pray for this new and exciting
ministry.
Last Sunday morning I was in Buntungwa. My first meeting with that new
congregation 22 months ago was under mango trees and we had five or six
adults and a few children. Last Sunday there were 97 in the service and
several others were at a funeral for a child of one of the church
members. Working in a village ministry is very different from working in
town. As I looked around the room, I noticed that the people were the
poorest of the poor. One little girl was concentrating very hard on
tying her shoelaces. The shoes themselves were so badly worn that it
took a moment for me to realize that the backs were completely torn out.
Nevertheless, she was happy that she had shoes on her feet, which made
walking in the mud during the rainy season a lot easier on her feet.
Please pray for brother Chomba as he leads this young congregation. This
morning we provided several hundred tracts in Bemba. Their plan is to
give one tract to every house in their township and invite people to
attend services.
The month of January was not spectacular at the Correspondence School as
many students were out of town visiting family in the villages as well
as seeking their exam results from other schools. However, 72 courses
were corrected while 83 were distributed, 9 certificates of completion
were awarded and 15 new students were enrolled. The month of February
has already been busy with new enrolees and those who were out of town
have returned and are now retrieving marked lessons. Several of the new
enrolees are those participating in Sherry's College and Career class.
I spent the last couple of days working on my office. Moisture from the
rains has been seeping through the concrete walls and several of my
books were getting water damaged. I've panelled all four walls of the
office. This is made even more challenging by the fact that there is not
one square corner in our house and the "panelling" is actually
particleboard with a paper veneer. Nevertheless, I have finished the
office except for the final trim which I will do this weekend.
Hopefully, this will stop any further damage to the books-and it makes
my office look like an office. There is something about the "look of
wood" that makes an office look like an office.
We have had a great week. We have seen God bless in many ways. Thank you
for remembering us in your prayers.
In His Service,
Patrick & Sherry
