08 December 2009

Taking the Opportunity

Greetings From Luanshya!

We have both electricity and Internet access today so we are endeavouring to send this update today rather than tomorrow because, well, we never seem to have both electricity and Internet access on the day we want to communicate with you.

School is out for the end of the 2009 school term. Exams are finished and our three grade nine students from the Lighthouse Children's Home all assure us that they passed with excellent marks. We will know for sure in a few weeks when the final results are released. Until then there is no shortage of "pins and needles" at the Home. While we are waiting everyone is involved in gardening and cleaning up the place which was overlooked while intensive studies were underway. Dickson has begun to broaden his activities to include Karate training at the sports club in town. He has promised us to practice only at the club and not with the other children at the Home. Johnnie and Shadreck are helping with the landscaping at the church and Nancy is lending a hand with Sherry at the Christian Resource Centre and staying involved with the Red Cross Society at school even during the break. Andrew won an award at school for his proficiency in computers and is currently excited about raising three Guinea Pigs. It is very refreshing to see the children following their various interests. It is also good to see them interact with each other like a family. Please remember to pray for the exam grading.

A few weeks ago while going to the Kafubu Block Bible study I noticed smoke coming from the fuse box in my 10-year-old Kia Sportage. I stopped and removed the remnants of a fuse that had literally melted the lower section of the box then limped back home. Last Wednesday and Sunday I returned to Kafubu Block to teach and preach. They were pleased to see me and I was pleased to be able to go back. It was frustrating to have to wait so long for the vehicle, but at least it able to be repaired in Zambia. Some of the parts had to be ordered from Korea so the wait (and cost) was unavoidable. The believers at the church told me that they had continued in their Wednesday afternoon studies, but they had over an hour of questions about the judgments of God. They "apologised" for the questions and said: "The more we know the more we want to know." I assured them that they apology was not necessary and I was VERY pleased to help them find their answers from the Word of God. Thanks to a few gifts from friends in the States we will be able to improve on their seating situation shortly. The benches they have are pretty shaky. We will send pictures of the new benches when we have them.

As we mentioned earlier, school is out for the next 5 weeks so the Christian Resource Centre is busy every day with young people coming in to study, read and utilise the recreation centre. Sherry's youth class has increased to the point where more tables and chairs had to be brought into the conference hall. This is a good "problem" as more youngsters are being exposed to the truths of God's Word. Last Friday her study topic was God's Peace (Phil 4:4-9). This week they will study the "Sovereignty of God: What it means and what does He do?" While these seem to be pretty heavy subjects, Sherry has a way bringing these subjects to a level where the young people not only understand, but begin to discuss them among themselves.

On Saturday I will be travelling to Zambia's second-largest city, Kitwe (one hour north of Luanshya), for an all-day Youth Conference. The theme of the conference is: "Remaining steadfast in a changing world". They have asked me to talk about how the youth have been caught in a really fast paced changing world and the misconceptions about the way of living the world portrays. They said in their invitation: "The fact of the matter is that we are living in this world, the big question our theme is asking is how can Christian youth remain true to God's word in this seemingly 'we do not need God' world." There will be young people from all over the Kitwe District so the assembly is expected to be large. It promises to be an exciting day.

Our efforts here are made possible by the faithful prayers and support of our partners. We sincerely appreciate your part in keeping us...

Together in His Service,
Patrick & Sherry