This past month has been one of both grief and celebration. My father, Albert Coleman, slipped into eternity on 13 June – one day after my parents’ 66 th wedding anniversary. The funeral service was conducted at Calvary Baptist Church in Bellflower. We made a quick trip to California for the service, but we were only there for five days. It was a time for tears and a time to remember a life
well-lived for the Lord. My father’s legacy was demonstrated by the people who spoke during that service and by the hundreds of notes sent to us by people whose lives he touched. We deeply appreciate your prayers on our behalf!
As soon as we returned, we continued the work that God sent us here to do – and for which my father prayed for the past 35 years!
Last Sunday I was again teaching and preaching at the Kangonga Blind Centre Chapel. It is always a blessing to see this assembly gathered with the older adults (many of them blind or physically challenged) along with their families. One of the adults apologised for the noise of the children during the service. I assured them that I would rather have children making a bit of noise in the church than seeing a church that had no children present. During the service we were able to present a songbook in braille to one of the ladies!
Sherry told me just today that there are several new students at the Christian Resource Centre utilising the Bible correspondence courses. Last week I was able to present a certificate of completion to Mr Kaponda for completing his discipleship course. This is truly a blessing!
John Bwalya is assuming more of the leadership role in the English-speaking church in Luanshya as per our plan. There are several new families in the church. John is an excellent teacher, preacher and counsellor. I am still on site, but I am leaving more of the decision making up to John. Please pray for him as he continues to learn!
Sherry’s College & Career class didn’t meet while we were gone, but the classes resumed upon our return. They are studying ‘The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel. The young people get into the lessons and ask some very important questions which Sherry is able to answer from the Bible. Please continue to pray for this class.
There are a few challenges here. The postal strike continues causing mail to be delayed several months. (I received birthday cards today that were sent in the first week of May.) If you want to write to us, email is preferred because it is both faster and cheaper!
There is a schedule for power outages of up to 4-hours at a time, but outages are also becoming regular occurrences randomly through the week. (We had two this morning.) It not only affects our cooking at home, but the work at the Christian Resource Centre. The lack of lights is also contributing to the increased crime in Luanshya. One of the ladies at the church had her bicycle
stolen in the early evening before she brought it into the house for the night. The police are not capable to help much since forensic science is not very modern here. Even fingerprinting is not available.
A quick note – Andrew Silungwe has completed his first year in university in China studying mechanical engineering and robotics. He is earning great results, but finds learning Chinese to be a challenge! Please continue to pray for him as he is both far from home and working in a different culture.
As I said, this has been a very full month. God has comforted and blessed us with His grace. Thank you for being a part of this work!
Together in His Service,
Patrick & Sherry
