News from Zambia - 30 January 2019

Dear Partner in Service,

Greetings from Luanshya!

WOOT! WOOT! WOOT! Mail’s In!

In the mid-60’s The Addams Family’s mail arrival was announced with a whistle sounding and “Thing” delivering the mail.

We don’t have a whistle and we don’t have a dis-embodied hand delivering mail, but we were excited to have received mail in our box for the first time in over two months!

Mail has been delayed due – in part – to the fact that postal workers in Zambia have not been paid for four months. Please pray that the situation will be corrected soon before mail is delayed further or destroyed in frustration. We have Christmas cards, magazines and even photos of Colin and Erin’s wedding!

Included in the packed mailbox was a box for Sherry from Amazon with the lesson books for her ladies’ Bible study. She has been looking forward to these books for several months. Her plan was to use them for her January lessons, but she is very pleased to have them for March lessons.

Meanwhile, Sherry has been incredibly busy with some very special programs. Last Thursday she had a new class teaching people how to “colour” in their Bibles. This helps with Bible study because it encourages believers to look for specific areas of focus while reading. The ladies had a wonderful time. On Saturday she conducted a two-hour seminar “Teaching to Change Lives.” The class lasted four hours! The participants kept asking questions and time passed without anyone actually realising that the two hours became four!

Also… Classes have resumed at MMM VTC… My JEEP was repaired and is back in operation… I returned to Kangonga Chapel last week and was able to speak three times as planned earlier this month!

Your prayers and support keep us …

Together in His Service,

News From Zambia 9 January 2019

9 January 2019 

Greetings from Luanshya.

Happy New Year to you! 2018 ended with a bang with the wedding of Nancy to Alick Ndabandaba. Nancy is a former ward of our now closed Lighthouse Children's Home. They have gone to Lusaka where Alick is a high school teacher of math and science. Nancy is hoping to be selected in a high school in that area in order to avoid being separated from her new husband by the Ministry of Education. Please pray for them as they begin their new lives together.

School begins next Monday. Parents and students around the country are making preparations. In many cases this means that parents are looking for the best schools possible for their children. This often means children are separated from parents because boarding schools are generally the best option. Education is very expensive in relation to the average income and parents often sacrifice greatly for their children to have the best education. There is also a lot of pressure on the children to achieve good marks in order to avoid disappointing their parents or being placed in poor schools. Please pray for both parents and children as the new school year begins. In the English-speaking church there are at least two families who will be sending children away.

In Sherry's Women's Bible study, the ladies are opening up with each passing week and sharing more than the "surface" prayer requests and responses to class work. Pray for the continuing opportunities. This Thursday the lesson will be on the next phase of "Application" in Bible study – "A Transformed People". Having looked into the mirror of biblical truth, we see how messed up we really are. The Spirit of God then uses that wretched sight to provoke us to confession and repentance and we have a change of heart toward God. The Spirit then draws us toward a positive path of life and truth, and as we begin to walk that path, our attitudes and behaviours begin to change. Others are liable to see those changes and take note.

Classes at the Bible Institute also begin next week. Sherry and I will resume teaching two classes each. I will be teaching Basic Bible Doctrine and Biblical Discipleship. Sherry will be teaching the book of Romans and the book of Ephesians. We always look forward to the beginning of school. Both for the returning students and the new ones who will begin this year. We thank you for your prayers on behalf of this ministry as we empower young people to rightly divide the Word of truth.

As we begin this year, we continue to depend on your prayers.

In His Service,

Patrick & Sherry