Greetings from Luanshya!
Several years ago I was asked what are the two most frustrating aspects about living in a 3rd world country. My answer was two-fold, transportation and communication. God has blessed us with reliable vehicles that allow us to travel on the less than perfect rural paths with only minor problems like a muffler falling off or a tire being torn to shreds by the sharp edges of a pothole. We have learned to take these things in stride and simply prepare for the repairs.
Communication is another issue altogether. The situation is greatly improved since 21 years ago when I first set foot on the African continent. Back in those days it was not unusual for a First Class Airmail letter to take six to eight weeks to arrive at its final destination. Answers were also six to eight weeks in arriving. Telephone calls in and out of Zaire were incredibly expensive (US$10 per minute) when the phones worked. Back in those days, we often traveled the four hours into Zambia to make a phone call for "only US$6 per minute". We have slowly become more accustomed to faster mail service, working telephones and more recently e-mail. It is probably a sign of the times that we are now frustrated when an e-mail letter takes two hours to upload but we are happy to announce that Zamnet has worked with us
to improve service. For the first time in six months Sherry is actually typing this letter on her own computer since she can now send it via e-mail from the office. We're catching up!
The work continues.
We are very pleased that we have been able to have an outreach to the youth. Not only are they attending the youth meeting on Friday, but they are coming into the Resource Centre to read and
study the things of the Lord. Their questions are often very pointed as they live situations that would frighten the average American teen. Please remember to pray for the various ministries that include our younger members of society in Zambia.
We have begun the next phase of the building of the sanctuary for the English speaking work. Sand, stone and cement has been delivered. Workers will begin the forming of the concrete slab next week. At the Kafubu Block chapel, the pillars are being reinforced to support the new metal roof which will be completed, Lord willing, by the end of August. We will take pictures of the two projects and they will be posted on our website for viewing. We will keep you updated on the building progress.
God has been good to us and has blessed us in many ways. This includes, of course, the many friends and partners that we have who join us in prayer over this ministry.
In His Service,
Patrick & Sherry
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This is a regular (almost) update of the multi-faceted ministry of Patrick and Sherry Coleman who serve the Lord in Zambia, Africa.
About Us
Patrick was born and raised in the Los Angeles area of California. He moved to Lubumbashi, Zaire, (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1985. In 1991 he was evacuated from Lubumbashi because of civil unrest. Patrick based his family in Luanshya, Zambia.
Sherry was born and raised in a Jewish home in New Jersey. She came to know the Lord as her Messiah and personal Saviour when she was 17. She came to Zambia in 1990 to administrate a correspondence Bible school. She also taught in area schools and in churches.
They met and were married on August 1, 1997.
Today both Patrick and Sherry Coleman serve the Lord together in Zambia. Their ministry responsibilities have grown. They own and operate the Lighthouse Children's Home with six AIDS orphans, they have opened their personal library to the public in Luanshya through the Christian Resource Centre, Sherry still has a correspondence Bible school and Patrick still works with local church leaders as well as serving in leadership at Fellowship Chapel in Luanshya.
Note from the Web Guy
Greetings from the Web presence of the Coleman Ministry. Please check the archives for any posts you may have missed.
This is the Colemans' oldest son, who is responsible for this website. My father refers to himself as "Technologically Reclined". Despite my best efforts to make posting to this site as easy and quick as possible, he insists on using the worst method available and occasionally forgetting to notify me for more than a year.As a result, sometimes posts get added in the background. They do not hit the front page, which only shows the latest update I have received, reformatted, and republished. As of this writing, I have a dozen posts to put up and back-date, and more coming in. I estimate that I will finish this effort by late July. Maybe not this year, but it will be a July.
So please, peruse the archives.