13 July 2011
Greetings from Luanshya!
This past week Sherry lost one of her Bible Correspondence students to pneumonia. He was 33 years old and leaves a wife and four children - ages 1 to 13 years. He has been travelling around Zambia spraying houses for mosquitos. Nathaniel, the 13-year-old son, is in Sherry's youth class so she was talking to him. Another member of the class, Obed, lost his father several years ago and he has been helping Nathaniel through these past few days. Death is something that all too many Zambian children see up close and personally. Please pray for Nathaniel and the family at this time.
Because we open the Christian Resource Centre to everybody, we occasionally have church leaders coming and asking questions that are unusual. This past week a pastor from a Pentecostal church came in and wanted to know what the Bible said about "unforgiveness." (Even my spell check does not like that word.) Sherry said that the Bible talks about forgiveness, but not unforgiveness. She used the example when the disciples asked the Lord Jesus Christ how many times they should forgive someone and He answered "70 times 7." She then took him to the "Lord's Prayer" and explained that we should forgive those who hurt us as the Lord forgives us for hurting Him. He went away with excitement because he had a positive message of forgiveness as opposed to the frustrating feeling of anger, bitterness and self-indulgance.
This afternoon I was visiting the site of a prospective church in Mukolwe - a village area about 15 miles from us. We visited a school with the possibility of using one of the classrooms. When I drove onto the property I noticed an old well. I asked the principal of the school about the well and he explained that if was a shallow well with very poor water. I asked him if I could help him source a decent well and hand pump - something we have done at several schools in the area - and he was very excited. After we talked "water" we talked classroom. He said it would be "no problem" and since he lived next to the school he would attend our first service on 24 July - even though he is a Jehovah's Witness. We have found that physical water is often the first step in providing spiritual water. Please pray for this new outreach!
Sherry's youth class will be studying Romans 7 this Friday. She will be talking about the "Portrait of a Struggling Christian." She will talk about Nathaniel's situation and other trials of the youth in Zambia. They struggle with the same challenges of youth all over the world, but have the added issues of death of parents and siblings. This past week a 16-year-old girl died from complications due to AIDS. The family is in shock, of course, because girls that young are not often diagnosed with AIDS. The family suspects abuse by another family member, but they cannot follow up on the investigation without the daughter. All too often teenagers have no place to turn when they need to talk. Sherry has become a sounding board and aunt to literally dozens of young people over the years. Please pray for "our kids" as they grow both physically and spiritually.
We are able to do what we do because you remember to pray for us. Thank you!
In His Service,
Patrick & Sherry
Patrick & Sherry Coleman
P O Box 90010
Luanshya
Zambia
Off: 260 212 512539
Res: 260 212 510033
Cell: 260 966 780113
