ANTS!

Greetings from Luanshya!

ANTS! Man-eating ants! Early morning phone calls are usually a bad sign. 99% of the phone calls we receive before 6 a.m. are either bad news or somebody on the other side of the Atlantic forgot to look at the clock and subtract 6 to 10 hours.

Sunday morning we received a phone call at 4:30 a.m. On the phone was the housefather for the Lighthouse Children's Home frantically asking if we had any diesel because four of the walls at the Home were covered with impashi (flesh eating ants). We had about a gallon remaining from the previous attack and we have not had time to buy any more. The fuel station does not open until 6 a.m., at the earliest, so we had to wait. After arriving at the Home, at 6:15, the trails of ants heading into the boys bedroom, the kitchen and along the wall. We worked for several hours spraying the trails and killing the hundreds of thousands of hungry insects.

You may be wondering why we take the time to mention this. Every year, about this time, the red ants begin to attack houses all over this part of Africa.

They usually come in the cool of the night, when people are sleeping and can cover a body without waking the victim. There is some signal given and all the ants bite at once. Hence, putting the person into shock and the individual dies-thus another soul lost. Please continue to pray for the Children's Home as we remain vigilant in our look out for anything-physical or spiritual--that may harm them.

The building of the sanctuary of Fellowship Chapel has begun. Unfortunately, stuff happens. The construction was really moving along until the students heard that one of their teachers had passed away over the weekend. The foreman and all four students returned to the campus Monday morning and we hope to see them again shortly. There have been many enquiries about the church and what we believe at the new venue. We have been able to pass out gospel tracts and personal invitations to those who pass by. Please pray for the construction as well as for the family of the teacher who was promoted to glory.

This past Friday Sherry met with the youth and they discussed "The Final Judgment-The Great White Throne". The young people were enthralled with what would be occurring during that period. The time of the final rebellion of Satan and his followers was an eye-opener to many as well as the fact that the Lord Himself would deal with this final battle and destroy one and all with fire. The ensuing judgment of all unbelievers at God's throne was a shock, particularly when they began to discuss who would be there and how God would know all through the Book of Life. This coming Friday the final lesson in the series will be: "The New Heaven and the New Earth". Thank you for praying for the young people.

On a personal note, Colin is experiencing something new in his life: cold weather. He has not been around temperatures requiring a coat for a long time. His body is not acclimated to North American temperatures, even if he is in Monterey, California.

Thanks again for your prayers as we remain.

In His Service,
Patrick & Sherry