How To Live The Victorious Life

18th January 2006

Greetings from Luanshya! There is no way of knowing if this message will be going out tonight or any time this week. Zambia Telecommunications (ZAMTEL) cables in Luanshya are wet and the rains have been coming down consistently day in and day out. Internet access is intermittent at best and completely non-existent most of the day.

Last Sunday I preached the first half of a message on "How To Live The Victorious Life." I had not planned to preach only the first half but as I began to speak I began to illustrate some of the points. The response from the congregation allowed me to go deeper into the illustrations. We love storytelling and there was a lot of that in this message. Next week will be the conclusion with the "Seven Steps for a Victorious Life." Please pray for hearts to be prepared and lives changed in service to the King.

Sunday afternoon we made a number of visits to members of the church and their families who had been very, very ill. When somebody here has "a long illness" it generally refers to HIV-AIDS. While very few people will openly admit that they have this malady, there are those who have realized that the first step in treating the illness is to admit that they have it. Part of the problem is the stigma attached to the disease. Since 99.9% of those infected in Zambia have either been promiscuous or
is married to someone who is, the tendency is to judge an infected individual. That is not our job nor our right: and it is certainly not our responsibility. As we visited with our friends, we were able to encourage them to follow doctor's orders, eat well, rest and remember that we love them as brothers and sisters in Christ. This disease always ends with a funeral. We know it. We have realized it. We plan for it. But, we do not have to fear it. Please pray for our Christian brothers
and sisters as they deal with the ultimate consequence of their actions. God has forgiven them and He loves them. We do, too.

Mr. Phiri has spent several days in the Resource Centre over the last week. He saw the books in the front window concerning Mormonism. He is not a Mormon but he has had them come to his home. He knew there was "something wrong" with what they were saying but did not know exactly what it was. We visited for several minutes one afternoon and he has been coming in almost every day to read the book "Mormonism Unmasked." He said today that he felt more prepared to answer their false teachings
even though he has not yet finished the book. He thanked us for making the information available and said he was sharing it with some of his friends in church. It is difficult to understand how a religion that is so openly racist can make any kind of advance in a country where they claim the entire population is "cursed by God." Please pray for Mr. Phiri and for the others who are seeking the truth about this deadly cult.

Tomorrow, Thursday, is election day in the mining townships of Luanshya. There are nine candidates running for Member of Parliament, which is one seat. All week long there have been political rallies, bullhorns, banners and occasional altercations with the police. So far no one has been seriously hurt but the next 24 hours will be "interesting". In our English speaking church there are four parties represented, that we know of, and everyone is getting along just fine. In the rural areas that is
not always the case. Please pray for peace during the election process.

God has been very good to us. We appreciate your prayers on our behalf.

Together in His Service,
Patrick & Sherry