24 October 2007

Independence

Greetings from Luanshya.

Happy Independence Day! Today is Zambia's 43rd anniversary of their independence from Great Britain. The celebrations are not as grand as those that occur in the United States. We do not have giant firework displays and people are not into picnics, but there was a bit of a ceremony in the middle of town and a band played as they walked around town centre. Of course, all the businesses are closed so not much was accomplished on that front, but we are still having our midweek Bible study and we will look at the 3rd chapter of 1 John.

Earlier this week a young man named Potiphar (yes, his real name) came into the Christian Resource Centre and said he had a problem with confusion when he prayed. We slipped into the other room and chatted for about forty five minutes. His father is a church leader in one of the cult groups in town and Potiphar has been thoroughly indoctrinated with their teaching. My goal is not to spend the time blasting his denomination but to introduce him to what the Bible says about salvation. Obviously, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the first step in an effective prayer life. Potiphar began to realize that being good is not a step toward eternal life. Trying to please God does not bring us any closer to heaven. The first step is believing that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father and receiving Him as Lord and Saviour. He has a lot to think about for the next day or so and promised to see me on Thursday afternoon. Please pray for this young man as he seeks to know the reality of salvation.

The bricklaying crew for the Fellowship Chapel building has reached the 10 foot mark (3 metres). They have returned to campus so that the next group of students can come next week, Lord willing, to begin the roof. Tomorrow I will buy the timber and nails for the trusses. We need to have everything on site by Monday in order to avoid delays. We did receive a wakeup call yesterday when the skies opened and we had an hour long thunder storm. The streets were flooded and the temperature dropped to a comfortable 85 degrees. Nevertheless, with the rain comes the humidity factor for the two hours after the rainstorm, it was pretty miserable. Such is the month of October. We are excited about the progress of the building. Please pray that it continues.

The youth group began their series of lesson on The Names of Jesus. This past Friday they looked at three of these: Almighty, Author & Finisher and Beloved. A brief discussion as well as questions arose as to how each name impacted the believer and the practical application to our lives. Continue to pray for the young people, especially those who are in the midst of their year end exams.

We appreciate your prayers on our behalf. We know that it is a vital part of everything we do in Zambia.

In His Service,
Patrick & Sherry