31 May 2006

Very Unusual Experiences

Greetings from Luanshya!

One of the young men we have been working with over the years, Augustine, came back to visit us this week. Two years ago he moved to Livingstone, hoping to find work. He has had some small success at that, but he misses being with us. He mentioned that if there was any possibility of finding work in Luanshya he would immediately move back. Unfortunately, that is not the situation we find ourselves in this small town. It was an encouragement to, specifically, as he sat in her office for 30 minutes sharing his desires and dreams. He returns to Livingstone next Wednesday. We will be providing him with a number of books for his growing personal library. Please continue to pray for Augustine as he continues preparing for his life and ministry.

Last Saturday we had a very unusual experience. We were about to show the film, "The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon". We had advertised it at the Christian Resource Centre and a couple of schools in town. Three young people came in to the chapel and sat in the back row just about the time the film was to start. One of the young people has come into the library to ask questions about what the Mormon church really teaches. Suddenly one of the young people that the Mormon church is grooming for leadership walked into the room and forcefully tried to drag these young people out. When I confronted him he said, "we are leaving". I escorted him to the door and said, "you are quite welcome to leave but you are not going to force anyone else to do what they do not want to do." Unfortunately, the young people he came to retrieve were embarrassed and left with him. There were still 30 people in the room who remained to watch the film. Some of them were amazed at the obvious fabrications of Joseph Smith's imagination. A couple of the visitors asked if we were going to show it again so they can bring their friends. We will, of course, at a later date and we will advertise it as the film the Mormon's do not want you to watch. Please continue to pray for the young people of Zambia. They are drawn to anything new and especially those things that come from America, even the cults.

Last Sunday was fantastic. I was out at the Kafubu Block church. They had their "harvest offering" at the conclusion of the service. Families were bringing in bags of corn, peanuts, sweet potatoes, beans and one man even brought in a bag of charcoal. All these things will be sold to help with their building program. As a special gift to me, they gave me some of the sweet potatoes, peanuts and the bag of charcoal as a form of thank you for coming out to them to preach the Word of God. It is very humbling when people who have so little generously give. We will use this gift to help others in our community.

There are so many facets to this ministry. We feel blessed to be used of God in this manner. The Christian Resource Centre will be hosting a series on "Equal Yet Different - The Biblical Perspective on Gender Issues". We would appreciate your prayers as we embark on this politically sensitive discussion.

In His Service,
Patrick & Sherry