21 May 2008

Birthday

NOTE FROM THE WEB SERF: Due to some minor problems, posts back into April were not showing up. Please check the Previous Posts on the lower right for back issues you may have missed.

Greetings from Luanshya!

My father says that birthday's are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live. My wife says she's afraid to put candles on the birthday cake for fear of burning down the house. Quite frankly, it's nice to have survived yet another year and look forward to many, many more.

This birthday started off in the emergency room of the local hospital. About

11 o'clock last night we received a phone call from one of church members whose son had ingested poison in an attempt to take his life. I went to the hospital and found the doctors and nurses working feverishly to keep the boy alive. His blood pressure and pulse rate dropped dangerously low on several occasions and medication was administered. Every time his pulse dropped his mother cried and blamed herself. After several hours of heart-wrenching close calls, the doctor stabilized the young man and was able to comfort the mother with at least the knowledge that her son would live. This morning he opened his eyes and recognized both his mother and me. We prayed and will continue to pray that this crisis will bring the lad to his senses. The economic situation in Zambia sometimes leads people to do foolish things.

Please pray for Rita and her son, Sydney, as they seek hope, answers and worth through Jesus Christ.

Over the past week we hosted two high school youth exchange students from abroad. One was from Canada and the other from the United States. They needed an "escape" from the daily routine and we offered a haven of rest.

There were a number of opportunities to speak with each about spiritual issues. At one point the girls asked Sherry why she believed the Bible and how its relevancy affected daily life. The soaked in the information and went away thoughtful. Please pray for the girls as they ponder these truths for daily living. We will maintain contact with them even after they leave Zambia in a few months time.

Yesterday we had five more visitors. These were all from Australia. There were a lot of questions about what we do and why we do it. We were able to share with them our motivation in serving the Lord both at home in the States before we came to Africa to the present time. We trust that as they continue their journey across the continent, they will think about matters of eternal value.

We use every opportunity to share with visitors as they pass through. Pray that the seed sown takes root.

We appreciate you and your prayers on our behalf.

In His Service,

Patrick & Sherry