26 March 2008

Privileges

Greetings from Luanshya!
Packing the Floor

Leveling the FloorLast week the youth discussed "On-The-Job Integrity" from Genesis 46-47.

Joseph had many opportunities to cut corners and compromise. His integrity was far too valuable to allow him that simple pleasure. All too often Christians of today do not see anything wrong with cutting corners, misappropriating their employers time and wasting talent. The young people were given a clear example of what it means to do the right thing, for the right reason, even when no one is watching. This Friday is the final lesson in the series on the life of Joseph. The week after that , we hope to show a film on Joseph from the "Greatest Heroes of the Bible" series.

Shining the FloorDiscipleship lessons continue. Sherry is currently working with Rachael Bulama from Nigeria. They have completed book one and are now going through book two which covers "The Spirit-Filled Life". Rachael's comment last week was that she is enjoying the lessons and looks forward to bringing this knowledge home and discipling women in her own local assembly.

Painting the UndercoatThe Sunday afternoon men's bible study just completed a study on Deborah and Barak. There was a lot of discussion about the fact that Barak would not step out and lead without Deborah being by his side. In a male oriented society like Zambia, this is a significant character fault (smile). I explained that a lot of the people that God used in His service were initially reluctant to serve. This coming week we will be looking at the life of Gideon-The Reluctant General.
Restroom Construction
There has been a lot of progress on the church plot. The restrooms have been built. The final touches should be done by the end of the week. Plumbing will begin next week. The initial undercoat of interior painting has been finished. Tomorrow, the second coat will be applied and on Friday the painting should be completed. We anticipate making the move in the next few weeks.

Yesterday we received the initial paperwork for our youngest ward at the Lighthouse Children's Home, regarding his application for high school. This year Andrew will sit his grade seven exams. Porch BeginsWe anticipate success and look forward to his continued growth academically, physically and spiritually.

It has been a busy week filled with challenges and blessings. We appreciate your continually prayer on our behalf.

In His service,
Patrick & Sherry

19 March 2008

"Handicapped"

Greetings from Luanshya!

Last Friday in Sherry's youth meeting, they talked about the Ultimate Family Reunion. For those of us who live thousands of miles away from family, visits become very special and are, sadly, all too rare. This is especially true as our children get older and grandchildren enter the picture. We do not get to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays or other holidays with our loved ones. When we are able to get together with them, those gatherings are extra special. Imagine the family reunion that Joseph had with his father after 20 years of separation-especially when Jacob thought his son was dead! Sharing this with the young people elicited a lively conversation.

We look forward to the day when we will have a family reunion with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ along with our friends and family members who have preceded us to heaven.

On Sunday we had a full schedule of activities. The men's Bible study continued as we looked at the life of Ehud, the left-handed assassin/judge.

The men were impressed by the clever plan that Ehud had devised to kill Eglon the King. They determined that one of the lessons learned from this study was that God could even use people who were "handicapped" by being left-handed. It is important to understand that culturally, in Africa, being left-handed is, indeed, a handicap. Eating with your left hand is entirely unacceptable. Handing something to another person with the left hand is considered an insult. They were pleased to note that God could use anyone in His service-even left-handed people.

Monday I began lecturing at the Bible Institute in Ndola. There are students from Zambia as well as Uganda and Tanzania. Students from Kenya were not able to attend due to the civil unrest in the country. Apparently, several of the students are actually from the trouble spots seen on the news. The students from Malawi were unable to come because their travel documents were not in order. Still, we have had a good series of lessons teaching four hours a day on New Testament Survey. The students range in age from 22 to nearly 50. The questions are almost constant as there are a lot of interesting philosophies being propagated in other parts of the continent.

The students have learned my favorite phrase-"The Bible says.". They have learned to preface their comments with that phrase and have discovered that biblical documentation is required. We are half-way through the week of this module and look forward to the final two days of the week. We are able to use some of the books that we have received from Everyday Publications in Canada as textbooks and resource material for the class. The students really do not have easy access to good books so these new additions to their personal libraries are nearly priceless to them. We appreciate those who have made that contribution possible.

As we continue to go through the week, there are so many other things that we could share, but space does not allow in one letter to express all that God has allowed us to do with the discipleship, Sunday School, Lighthouse Ministry, Correspondence work and on and on. Your support of our ministry makes all of this possible and we deeply appreciate those who have partnered with us in this work.

Together in His Service,
Patrick & Sherry

12 March 2008

Taking It Easy

Click for larger imageGreetings from Luanshya!

Today is a holiday in Zambia: Youth Day. We decided to take it easy. I slept in until 6:30, spent three hours at the Lighthouse Children's Home while Sherry prepared for discipleship with Rachael. This afternoon I will meet with Mr. Siwale for his discipleship lesson and moderate our evening Bible Study covering Paul's first missionary journey. We love "days off".

After Sherry's youth meeting on Friday, one of the young people remained after. He asked if he could bring his friends on a Sunday afternoon to talk about the importance of Bible study and how it applies to every day life. Click for larger imageOf course Sherry agreed. This young person is not allowed to attend Sunday morning services, his parents will not allow him, however he is a regular at the youth meeting and is growing tremendously. Please pray for him and for those to whom he is reaching out.

Sunday afternoon I am now moderating a men's Bible study. With the conflicts arising in several of the local churches, it has become apparent that we need to train the men-both new believers and older believers-just what it means to be a "man of God". This will also help to solidify the "band of brothers" in our local assembly of believers. The men have enthusiastically begun this study. Every one of them participated in the discussion from the book of Judges. Pray that this will be more than an exchange of ideas and continue to be a study from the Word of God which will be applied to their daily lives at home and in the local church.

Click for larger imageWe have significant progress on the church building. All the window frames and door frames have been installed. The ceiling is complete. The front porch has been done and we can see the light at the end of the very long tunnel on this project. The students from Mobile Mission Maintenance were so excited about nearing the completion of the ceiling that they actually worked an hour and a half overtime to complete that aspect of the days work.

Click on the pictures in this post to see larger images. We anticipate moving into the building during the month of April. Pray that the weather continues to hold so we can complete this endeavor.

Click for larger imageNext Monday I will begin my first week of lectures at Gospel Literature Outreach Bible Institute. The first course is a module on New Testament Survey. The students are coming from all over Zambia as well as Kenya and Uganda. It promises to be an exciting class and I will be able to utilize some of my Swahili. Please pray for the students and the professors.

We appreciate your prayers on our behalf.

In His Service,
Patrick & Sherry