Greetings from Luanshya, Zambia.
The rains continue to come, but so do the blessings of serving here. This past week we have had several visits from across the spectrum of the Zambian society.
Bro Lumayi asked me to speak at a new congregation which is meeting in a school situated in one of the largest townships around Luanshya. The name of the school is “Twatemwa” – “We are loved” and the new assembly of believers will be using that in the name of the church when it is ultimately organised. Bro Lumayi was instrumental in starting another church several years ago and it is wonderful to see Zambian leaders accepting the responsibility to reach their own communities for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what we have been teaching for over 20 years! It has to start with dedicated local believers!
Within a few days came a visit from Bro Lukonsolo who came on behalf of one of the oldest churches in the Copperbelt Province in a place called Twapia. He said the church was in need of some specific teaching on three particular topics. There is some “discussion” about certain issues that were brought up recently and he had “heard from Bro Katandula” (The man with whom I started two churches in the Luanshya District) that they could rely on me to present answers from the Bible. Please pray for me as I spend a few days teaching and preaching in this rural setting.
Yesterday we had a visit from Mr Mukoshi, a “traditional judge” who works in villages as an itinerate magistrate. He hears cases on a very local level involving village disputes and conflicts. He comes into the Christian Resource Centre periodically to get answers from the Bible for his cases. His current study is on the blessings of God for peacemakers in the home. He said there is a great concern for “human rights” and many of these assumed “rights” by one individual seem to overstep the “rights” of another. Sherry made the comment that the Bible does not speak of “human rights” and the only “right” we have to go to Heaven is through the acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah and Saviour according to John 14:6. Mr Mukoshi said that was exactly what he needed and he left to return to “court.”
We are often amazed at the opportunity God gives to us to share His truth in Zambia. We serve the young and elderly, the new and the established, the urban and the rural almost every week. We asked God to “expand our territory” when He brought us together over 11 years ago. Sherry said to me when she was in the process of accepting my proposal for marriage – a simple “yes” would not suffice – that if we could not do more as a couple than we were as individuals, then we should not be married because God did not send us all the way around the globe to cut our ministries in half. Our ministry continues to grow. We are presented with open doors that are new outreaches for the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you for your support and prayers as we continue…
Together in His Service,
Patrick & Sherry
