Holding On

Greetings from Luanshya!

Last Saturday was a phenomenal day. A young man named Leonard Bwalya has been working with youth in the Luanshya area for a number of years. The focus group for his ministry is the young people just out of high school who are preparing to enter college or the work force. This group is often the most vulnerable when it comes to issues of morality and Leonard has a burden for their spiritual well being. In the past the group has been meeting at his home in the back yard. As the group has grown, the need for a dry place to meet became evident. We have offered the use of the Resource Centre for this specific purpose. On Saturday there were 60 young people who gathered for a time of prayer and bible study for two hours. It is refreshing to see a young man with a burden to help teach and prepare other young adults. Please pray for Leonard in this growing work.

Sunday morning Nancy Chanda, Sherry's associate Sunday School teacher, taught her second lesson. She began by interviewing the Prophet Jeremiah about his calling as well as his writing of the scriptures as spoken by God. Due to the heavy rains the class was very small but Nancy's enthusiasm was undeterred. We are proud of her growth and interest in teaching the young ones.

Sunday afternoon I was asked to speak to a congregation I had never visited. The young leader is a frequent visitor to the Christian Resource Centre, accessing many of the study tools. He is trying to lead the flock away from many of the false teachings they had observed over the years in their various church experiences. He has grown tremendously and wishes to see this local group come to a saving knowledge of Christ and mature in their new life. He asked me to begin a series of lessons on "New Life In Christ". Many of these individuals have come from a variety of church backgrounds. Some are believers, others are not. I began with a definition of salvation and then went into God's purpose for our lives. Speaking to this group of people was very unusual in that they were both apprehensive because they were listening to a complete stranger and yet eager to learn from the Word of God. I made it clear that the Bible was our only authority and we were going to use the phrase "The Bible says" extensively. When I came to the area of security, I illustrated John 10:27-30 by holding onto a young man's arm. He held my arm and I held his. We were inseparable as long as we both held on. I told him to let go of my arm and sit down. As he began to move, he realized that he could not return to his seat because I was still holding on to him. I insisted that he leave and sit down, but he insisted that he could not as long as I remained connected to him. I explained that this is the way it is with God. Even in our moments of weakness when we might lose our grasp, once we become a child of God, He never lets go of us. The congregation was silent for several moments until they finally realized the truth of the scripture. After the service, one of the older believers came up to me and said, "I have lived in fear of losing my salvation for years. Today I discovered that I am His forever." What a thrill it is to show believers their freedom in Christ.

Last week we mentioned the problems of the flooding caused by torrential rains in Zambia. Sherry and I have been working on a project. I will be going down to Livingstone, in Southern Province, to oversee the distribution of relief materials for about 2,000 people which we ordered last week. Sherry will be remaining in Luanshya to coordinate and maintain communication with the partners in the United Kingdom. We have contacted a missionary working in the Livingstone area to help us obtain Bibles for each of the families affected by the flooding, in their mother tongue. Please pray for us as we endeavor to reach out to our "neighbors" and share the gospel in the process. The flooding in Zambia is nationwide and hundreds of families have lost everything. We are doing our bit in our part of the country and to the south. Please pray for those who have been affected by this emergency and for us as we endeavor to meet their needs both physical and spiritual.

In His service,

Patrick & Sherry