Wednesday Study

Our guard Charles and I had our first time of bible study together today.  We have begun by doing a survey of the Old Testament and why the cross was necessary.  Today, we made it from Adam and Eve to Moses.  Charles had a bunch of questions about what we covered today and seems eager to learn.  Please continue to pray for our time together.

Quick Hits

Tonight, a few of our friends and I got together at another missionary's house to watch the NCAA Basketball Championship between Kansas and Memphis.  I hope I don't spoil it for you, but Kansas won!  Just in case you don't keep up with college basketball, the game was played on Monday.  We were on a 24 hour tape delay...

Please continue to pray for our vehicle.  The vehicle we have been borrowing needs to be returned by next weekend.  This means that we will be going back to being without a vehicle until ours makes it to Lusaka and is cleared through customs.

Another missionary, Luke Whitfield, and I have started a new ministry with a church plant across town.  Please pray for us.  I will be updating you soon as to the particulars, but we're both very excited about what God will have us involved in for the 1st year of our ministry.

We just wanted to take the opportunity to say again how much we appreciate each of you.  Thank you for caring about us and keeping up with us.

Saturday Outreach

This past Saturday, Luke Whitfield & I accompanied some of the members of Great Commission Baptist Church in community outreach. In one of the homes, there was a man named Mr. Myumbo. In our discussion, I asked him: “How does one get into heaven?” His response, which was typical of a lot of people (Americans included), was, if I pray, read the bible, and do good things, God will let me into heaven. Then I asked him, if that was true, then why did Jesus come? Why did he choose to put on human flesh, be whipped and spit on by those he came for, be beaten to a pulp and mocked, be forced to carry his own cross to the top of a hill to be hung on it. Why would he choose do that, if we already had the solution to getting into heaven?

We then talked about the Pharisees, who in Jesus’ time did all of these things. They new God’s word. They prayed unceasingly. They did things that were good. They were zealous in their religious pursuits. Yet the bible says that Jesus referred to them as a brood of vipers. When we got to this point, he asked something that not all people ever take time to ask. He said: “Why did Jesus come. Please tell me, I must know.” It was truly a sweet experience to be a part of. I was on the front row to seeing God open the eyes and ears of this man to His precious gospel.

For the next 45 minutes we talked about why Jesus came, how man is separated from God because of his sin, how there is no bridge of good works that can get us back to God, how that because God is holy there must be payment for sin, how instead of us paying for our own sin, he sent his Son to be that sacrifice, how God requires a blood payment of a pure and spotless lamb for sin, how Jesus was this spotless lamb and was nailed to the cross, fully satisfying God’s wrath against us because Christ fully obeyed God while here on earth, how when we repent of our sins and trust Christ with our lives, we are born again and are a new creation, how after we do this, God sees Christ in our place and forgives us based on our faith in His blood shed for us at Calvary and not based on our good works, how faith is not merely believing that Jesus existed and that He was God’s son, but that it is also a belief in Him with your whole life—trusting him with every aspect of your life no matter how dark or hidden, how when we place our faith in Him, we are sealed with His Holy Spirit and are placed into God’s hand never to be removed, how God even goes a step further and comes and resides in our hearts to help us in this life and gives us His Holy Spirit to teach us how to obey Him.

At the end of our time together, Mr. Myumbo reached a point where He wanted to experience God’s forgiveness and restoration. So, there, on his back porch, we prayed together. It was truly a humbling experience to be a part of something which the Bible says causes the heavens to rejoice!

Prayer Requests

I hope to blog about some of this stuff later, but felt it was necessary, in the meantime, to request your prayers for a few matters:

Charles and Dailes

For those of you who don’t know, we have two workers who help us around the house with security and cleaning. We’ve really enjoyed getting to know them both. Charles and I will be starting a Bible study on Wednesday mornings and Dailes is going through a devotional, which Kerri gave her. Would you please pray for these relationships?

Preaching on the 13th

Luke Whitfield and I have been working closely with a church plant in the Chilenje compound. The pastor there, Michael Kandella, has asked me to preach on the 13th of April. Yikes!!! I definitely could use your prayers on this one…

Adoption

There are two children (brother & sister) who live at the Bill and Bette Bryant center (the orphanage we’ve been visiting). Both Kerri and I feel a bond with these two and just want to investigate whether or not they can be adopted. We’ve been told that in Zambia, many children who are living in orphanages are not adoptable because they have family who haven’t signed off on them. Please pray for clarity in this situation.

Vehicle

Our vehicle, which we purchased from Japan, is now in port in Tanzania. Apparently, the clearing agents are holding up the process and haven’t gotten the vehicle off of the boat. We have someone waiting to transport it to Lusaka and clear it through customs, but the car has to be cleared from port before they can do anything.

Changes in Gracyn

Since we arrived in Zambia, Gracyn has changed quite a bit. She used to be this delicate little girl afraid of almost any kind of critter. Well, all of that has changed. She is now queen of the lizards and frogs. In fact, she routinely catches geckos and frogs and is even brave enough to hold biting chameleons. We just pray that she never sees a snake!

Sorry...

Our schedules have recently become quite hectic, which has affected our ability to update this site. So, we wanted to apologize. We will try to manage our time better so as to keep all of you up to date with what is going on here in Zambia and what God is teaching us.  We’ll be updating the site with a few new postings this evening.  We do value your support and treasure sharing our experiences with you.  ~Blessings

Meet Our Team

I know we have talked a lot about some of our team members, but we thought we would use this post to formally introduce you to the team. These are our family away from home. Starting from left to right:

Megan Bloemker (black shirt, 2nd from left): 

Megan is a single missionary who has been here 2 years. She is from Illinois. Currently she is working with community schools. She is our AskJeeves of Zambia. If there is something you need to know, no matter how trivial, she probably has the answer.

Luke & Elise Whitfield (far left and standing behind Megan): 

Many of you may or may not know, but Luke and I served a summer in Kenya with Teen Missions International back in 1995. Luke and Elise have four children (Macie, Emma, Payton & Marley).  Marley, their 6 week old, also has a Zambian name - Taziona, which means "We have seen it!"  They have been here a little over one year and are also from Illinois. Luke is a gifted evangelist.

Tim and Andrea Hilty (next couple from the left): 

Tim is our field director and oversees the C.R.O.S.S. project for Action Zambia. The C.R.O.S.S. Project is the HIV/AIDS ministry which stands for Churches Ready to Overcome Silence and Stigma. They are parents to two children, one adopted (Ireene) and one born just weeks ago (Ian). They have been here for two years.

Us: You know us already.

Steve and Stephanie Allen (to the right of us): 

Kerri and I met the Allens at orientation a little over a year ago. Steve is a gifted teacher and works on the Pastor Leadership and Development team. He is also a gifted writer. If you get a chance, check out his blog: www.AliveInAfrica.com. The Allens are about to be parents to 4 (Kamryn, Bradyn, Julia & ?). They will be traveling back to the States in June for the birth of their baby.

Tracey and Karen Singleton: 

Tracey and Karen arrived on the field a month before we did. Tracey was a senior pastor back in Illinois. He has also come to serve on the PLD team. He will be spearheading the development of a Bible Institute aimed at educating pastors here in Zambia. Tracey and Karen have 4 grown children back in the States. Their youngest is in college.  They are the only grandparents on our team!  

Glenn and Liese Ripley: 

The Ripley’s are our veteran couple. They opened the field for ACTION close to 7 years ago. Glenn heads up the Pastor Leadership and Development Team. Liese has a thriving women’s bible study. They are parents to 3 sons back in the States and 2 adopted children (Gift & Grace) here in Zambia.  We are constantly benefitting from the Ripley's knowledge and experience as Glenn is conducting our orientation classes and Liese our language classes.

Manyando – The Ripley’s dog:

The name is a Tonga word meaning “Trouble.” She wasn’t supposed to be in the picture, but snuck out of the gate at the last minute.

Graham and Sarah Melville: 

Graham and Sarah are our only non-US couple. They are originally from the U.K. but had been living in California before they came to Zambia. They are parents to two children (Phillip and Rachel). Graham & Sarah are the office gurus (not necessarily by choice). Graham also serves on the Pastor Leadership and Development Team helping to train Zambian pastors. The Melville’s have been here for 6 months.  We love it when Graham says, "I say..."

So, that's all of us!  Please pray for our team!

Prayer for Our Neighbors

This weekend, elections are being held in Zimbabwe. I don't know if it is a result of being closer to the situation, or not, but my heart has been burdened to pray for the people of this nation and to ask others to do the same.  I found a good article, which discusses some of the challenges that they face. Please be in prayer for our neighbors to the South.

In an Online Article from the Washington Post:

"What distinguishes this election from the previous ones is that we have 150,000% inflation. We have never had an atmosphere where people are so desperate. Even some of the security forces are openly refusing to salute Mugabe. Within the security forces themselves, there are divisions and fissures.

In eight years, Zimbabwe's once-prosperous economy has been destroyed, primarily through Mr. Mugabe's policy of seizing farms from 4,000 white farmers and distributing them to the elite of his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party.

Once the bread basket of southern Africa, Zimbabwe is now a basket case, with the world's highest inflation rate, unemployment at 80% and critical shortages of almost everything.

A loaf of bread costs Z$25-million, about half a farm worker's monthly salary. Basic supplies are so expensive and scarce that housewives are said to buy carved-off slivers of soap, and cooking oil is sold by the spoonful.

A quarter of the population has already fled the country (and cannot vote), while one in three families depends on remittances from relatives abroad. The UN's World Food Program says more than three million Zimbabweans cannot feed themselves.

'If Mugabe wins, you can expect a huge exodus of people into surrounding countries,' Mr. Shumba said. 'We may need international intervention to prevent a disaster.'"


To read the full article go to:
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=407192

Night Rider

I was driving home the other night and contemplating the roads here in Zambia. The roads during the day are quite difficult to navigate, but at night, they are chaotic. Not only do you have to be on the lookout for pot holes that can rip the suspension right out from underneath your car, you have to be on the lookout for Zambians walking & riding bikes on the sides of the road--often in the road. You also have to dodge oncoming traffic who is also trying to dodge potholes and walking/bike riding Zambians.

This particular night, the roads were much darker than normal--so much that it caught my attention. I was on one of the main roads, which by Zambian standards is well lit, but by American standards was not. This is an understatement, but I was having a hard time seeing the road. When I reached the roundabout near our house, I turned off of the main road onto one of the back roads. It was at this time that God revealed something to me about why Zambia was so dark at night. I had my headlights off. Just thought you would appreciate my moment of great revelation.

Laundry, Laundry Everywhere

The Roberts family, in order to avoid the Putsi Flies and in the absence of a dryer, have resorted to hanging laundry wherever we can find a spot!

  

Here in Zambia we have Putsi Flies which like to lay eggs on damp clothing.  The larvae will hatch when in contact with the warmth of your body and burrough into the skin.  You then develop what looks like a big zit, but when you squeeze it, out comes a worm!!  

Because of this, if you must hang your laundry out to dry (which we do because our dryer has been backordered for a month!) then it all has to be ironed to kill any putsi eggs.  It's very time consuming to have to iron everything you wash - including underwear - so we've resorted to hanging some of our laundry inside!  Those bars on the windows sure do come in handy!

Safari Monday

Monday was a Zambian holiday.  So, Kerri and I decided to take the kids to a Safari about 30 minutes from town.  The name of the place we went was Protea.  The kids really enjoyed the trip.  They got to crawl into the cage where they kept one of the male lions.  We were literally 2 feet away from a fully grown African lion.  Of course, there was a nice steel gate between us and the lion, but it truly was a memorable experience.  In fact, when the lion saw Maddie, he perked up a little as if he were about to get a snack.  Anyways, here are some of the pictures from our trip.

Easter Party Slideshow

On Easter Sunday, we had the privilege of assisting other ACTION missionaries in throwing an Easter party for two separate orphanages here in Zambia.  Take a look at this slide show of pictures taken at the party.  Click on the link below.  You will be taken to the Allen's website.  The video is at the bottom of the posting.

Click Here 

He Has Risen!

Happy Easter? No, Glorious Easter! This morning in church, we listened to Abusa Jaffett (Pastor Jaffet) preach on our risen Savior. Pastor Jaffett is the associate pastor of a small church in the Chilenje compound. In his sermon, the pastor said, “He has Risen. That is Fact!” I then went back and read Mark 16:9-13. Listen to the account of Christ’s resurrection: “When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene…She went and told those who had been with him and who were morning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.” These same men who had walked with Jesus, seen his miracles and experienced His love, did not believe that he had risen. And what was their reaction? Hopelessness. It says that they were morning and weeping.

I then started thinking about the disciples after they finally did believe that He had Risen, and after they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter who had denied Christ 3 times at the crucifixion, preached with boldness and eventually suffered a martyr’s death. In fact, 11 of the 12 disciples suffered death for refusing to deny their faith in the risen Christ.

What changed? Why did these scared 12 who were initially in hiding because of their associations with Jesus turn into the bold 12? Because He had Risen. There is no other explanation. What I was reminded of is that without the resurrection, there is hopelessness, but with it there is Faith. Without the resurrection there is mourning, but with it there is Joy. Without the resurrection there is fear, but with it there is boldness.

That then got me thinking about my own walk with the Lord. What if the fact that He has Risen was at the forefront of my thoughts? What if it guided my every action? I must confess, a lot of my days are not lived in the reality that He has Risen. But what if they were? Wouldn’t I look different? Would I not approach life differently, with a joy that surpasses comprehension and a boldness that is willing to lay everything down for the sake of the gospel? These are just some of the things that God has had me thinking about as we celebrate our first Easter in Zambia.

May you be encouraged this day that the grave is empty and He has Risen.

Quick Posts (03/23/08)

Morning visit to the orphanage:
Being that tomorrow will be Easter, we thought it would be a good idea to do a small devotional with the orphans at the Bill and Bette Bryant Center. The children and I rehearsed the story of David and Goliath and then performed in front of the orphans. Since most of the children only speak Nyanja, the house mother, Eva, translated while Kerri read the story. They all seemed to enjoy the reenactment. After David and Goliath, we read the Easter story.

Afternoon Birthday Celebrations:
Today, we celebrated Caleb and Maddie’s birthdays. Caleb is now 7 years old and Maddie will be 1 next Sunday. Kerri baked a couple of cakes and invited some of our fellow missionary friends and their children over to play. It’s hard to believe just how fast children grow up. It seems like yesterday that Caleb was just a baby.







Evening Outreach:
This evening, Steve Allen invited me to go with him to Kanyama. There was a local church that was showing the Passion of the Christ video for outreach. Steve and I were there mainly to help setup and provide the projector and movie. A small miracle happened while we were there. The DVD player we were using had no remote and we were unable to turn on the subtitles for the DVD, Being that the movie was in Aramaic, the people attending probably wouldn’t be able to fully keep up with what was going on. After about 30 minutes, someone arrived with another DVD, but this one also had no remote. The neat thing is that when we turned it on, it defaulted to English subtitles and voiceovers. The event went really well. There were about 300-400 in attendance. One of the pastors gave a gospel presentation after the video to which several people responded.

Bill & Betty Bryant Center (03/15/08)

This morning, we went as a family back to the orphanage. We took balloons and coloring books. This time most of the children remembered us. Lydia was one of the first into the room and ran over to greet me. As the children came into the room, we began blowing up balloons. Caleb and Gracyn handed me balloons while I tried to blow them up as quickly as possible. Kerri went over to the table in the living room and broke out the coloring books. As the children got a balloon, they would then head over to the table to color. It was fun watching these children who have nothing light up when we brought them something as simple as coloring books and balloons. It was also fun watching our children interact and minister to these orphans. Gracyn really enjoyed playing with some of the younger children. She had a few little boys who she was chasing around and tickling and they loved it. They just kept giggling. And Caleb was Mr. Helpful. He would fetch new balloons when the children popped the ones that we first gave them. He also got involved in a game of chase outside with some of the older children. Seeing our children involved in ministry was truly a blessing and one in which we probably experienced too little of back in the States.

One of our fellow missionaries and friends here recently expressed a similar sentiment about his children being involved in ministry. I thought it would be good to highlight his thoughts from his blog, as they are some of the same thoughts that God has been bringing to my heart and mind. In his blog, he wrote:

“This got me wondering about how strategic we are in preparing our kids to serve and minister when they get older. We have soccer and horseback riding and music class and this club and that club which are great. But, I just wonder how will they learn how to love the poor and serve the hurting and minister to the world if it isn't a priority of our family growing up. If all they have ever known was serving the poor, being uncomfortable and watching God work through them, I think they would be adequately prepared to live out Ephesians 2:10! I was challenged by this because I think sometimes I try to entertain my children and give them opportunities when I should be not only giving them lots of opportunities to serve but also showing them how to do it as I serve right alongside them. (www.aliveinafrica.com)”

Next week, we will be going back to begin to teach the children some of the stories from the Bible. Caleb and Gracyn will be acting the stories out while we hope to get one of the house mothers to translate for us into Nyanja. Please pray for us. Pray that our children would come to a fuller understanding of the gospel as we minister to these orphans and pray that we would clearly communicate the love of Christ to these children. Pray also for our interaction with the house help and social worker. Pray that we would be able an example of Christ to them as well.

Day by Day (by Day by Day)

Many of our friends back in the States have asked us what does your typical day/week look like. Well, this post is meant to describe just that…

Since arriving, the AZ team has been really good about giving us time to settle in. Everyone has pitched in and helped us with many things, from buying furniture, to transportation to and from various meetings, to simply praying for us and for that we are extremely thankful. We thought that once we got here, we would immediately be ready to plug into ministry, but we’ve had to learn to adjust to a non-western, non-task oriented way of thinking. In my mind, we had a checklist: arrive here, move into our home, buy a car, adjust to the culture and then begin ministry—and do this all within 2 weeks. That’s an acceptable amount of time don’t you think? (Maybe in the U.S.) In reality, it was more like arrive here, be broken of our dependence upon things other than God, slowly move into our home, wait on our vehicle to clear customs & wish buying a car wasn’t so difficult, realize just how much of a learning curve there is for this Zambian culture, and fall at the feet of God for help in learning how to live here. And this only took 5 weeks. 

So what about ministry? We have tried to get involved when and where we can (weekly visits to the Bryant Center orphanage, evangelism and outreach downtown, etc…), but there are a few other things that are vying for our attention in these first few months. Currently we are going through a 2-month orientation and language training program. We are meeting three times a week and studying the language on our own 7 days a week. I am also helping out at the office. The AZ office is trying to prepare for an audit and is in the process of switching accounting software. This means the entire fiscal year for 2007 must be reentered and reconciled. Because of my experience in business and accounting systems, I am now assisting the director of operations with this process. Kerri has resumed home-schooling the children, which takes up most of her mornings and early afternoons. This Thursday, she will be singing with two of our other missionaries in an Easter program. And next week she will begin attending a ladies bible study out at the Ministry Center. This study is lead by Liese Ripley and is attended by many Zambian women in the Kasupe community. All-in-all, we have a pretty busy schedule.

Please be in prayer for us. This Friday, after team prayer and worship, we are having a meeting with the field director. We will be discussing our ministry here in Zambia and how we can best assist the team. Our desire is to help the team the best that we can with the gifts and abilities that God has given us. So, please pray for wisdom and vision.

Celebrating 1 Month (03/12/08)

Well, we’ve now been in Zambia for a month, but it feels like much longer. A lot has happened over the last 30+ days and God has taught us a lot in just this short period of time (our kids included). We thought this would be a good time to summarize some of the things we’ve learned, seen, missed & enjoyed.

Things we have learned: 

• In Africa, things take time. Plan on getting one task done in a day instead of four or five.
  
• Our knowledge of the culture and language is small
  
• How to say various greetings and phrases in Nyanja.
  
• How to eat Nshima
  
• How to drive on the left side of the road while shifting gears with the left hand.
  
• Living without a TV—what a blessing!!!
  

Things We Have Seen: 

• Our children change from not wanting to come here to thanking God in prayer for bringing us here.
  
• Suffering: Families who have lost their homes to excessive amounts of rain this year, a son who lost his mother in a robbery and now lives with his aunt and uncle, various everyday people who are struggling to make ends meet. 
  
• Critters: A chameleon, a snake, Rats, Extremely Large Snails, Geckos, Spiders (large and small), frogs. Our daughter has gone from crying in fear at the site of such things to trying to catch them all (Spiders, Snakes & Rats excluded of course).
  

Things we have missed: 

• Our friends and family. We miss being able to goof off with our buddies and hanging out with our parents whenever we want.
  
• A Vehicle to drive. Even though our van was one of the worst vehicles we ever owned, it did work. Here, we’re walking or taking minibuses everywhere.
  
• Dining out—Zaxby’s, Grecian Gardens, Chili’s, San Jose, etc…
  
• Our Dryer (Still don’t have one)
  
• A Dishwasher, our hands are getting tired and skin is drying out from the bleach.
  

Things we have enjoyed: 

• Family Time (Devotions, Games, Playing outside). This has been a welcome change.
• Learning the language and culture—though we don’t know a lot, it has been fun learning the little we have learned.
  
• Building relationships with Zambians—very friendly people who are relationship focused.
  
• Building relationships with other missionaries. We’ve been blessed with a good group of believers who have treated us like family.
  

Bill and Betty Bryant Center (03/08/08)

This morning, Kerri, the kids & I took a taxi to a nearby orphanage—The Bill & Betty Bryant Center. This particular orphanage is home to toddlers anywhere from1 to 5 years old. The house, which is about 1100 square feet, is a little over a mile from our house. It’s tucked in a small community kind of off the beaten path. It has a living room, kitchen, a room for schooling, and two bedrooms—one for the boys and one for the girls—each filled with bunk beds. When we got there, the housemother, Grace, invited us in. 

When we walked into the living room, the house seemed rather quiet. I don’t know where the children were at the time, but a few minutes later, all 11 children funneled in to greet us and the noise level picked up. When they came into the room, most of them were shy and initially tended to keep their distance by staying on the other side of the room. But there was one brave little girl named Lydia, who made her way across the room. In fact, it didn’t take long for her to muster the courage to climb up into my lap. She was such a cute and quiet little girl. She just sat there in my lap as we spoke to the housemother about all of the children and the orphanage in general. 

As we were talking the other children began to warm up to us being there. Caleb and Gracyn took some of them outside to play with a soccer ball. Once the other kids saw them playing, they all poured out into the driveway to join in, all but Lydia who wouldn’t let me put her down. Kerri and I sat for a few more minutes talking with the housemother and then we joined the fun outside. As the time passed, it was neat to see how each of the children started warming up to Caleb and Gracyn. And it was neat to watch how Caleb and Gracyn reacted to the children. 

After a little more time of playing, it was time for the children of the Bryant Center to eat lunch and it was time for us to leave. So, we said our goodbyes and headed out. We plan on visiting again next Saturday.

Date Night (03/08/08)

Kerri and I had a date night tonight. Date nights in Zambia are a little different than those in the U.S. Whereas in the U.S. you have many choices of where to go and what to do, here, we only have one—Arcades. Arcades is a shopping center about a mile from our house. There, you can watch a movie or go bowling. Since we didn’t feel like having too much of a southern date night, we chose the movies instead of bowling. 

The theater here is comparable to ones in the U.S. except in cost. For the two of us to get tickets it cost 23,000 kwacha—about $6.00. What’s funny is that our cokes and popcorn cost almost just as much—20,000 kwacha. And while everything else is so slow in getting to Africa, apparently the movies are not. So, no, we didn’t go and watch the sneak preview to the Goonies or ET.  We watched a new release. After the movie was over, Kerri and I both commented to each other on how weird it is to have such a westernized experience and then step back outside into Africa.

A special thanks to the Allens who watched our kids and let us borrow their car. We couldn’t have had date night without them.

City Market Evangelism (03/04/08)

This morning, Luke Whitfield, a fellow missionary, invited me to go with him into Soweto to do some street evangelism. Soweto is a part of downtown Lusaka, where the city market is located. It is not common for Mzungus (White People) to be anywhere in or around Soweto. In fact, as we were walking through one of the congested streets, one Zambian man made the comment “Mzungus in Soweto,” because he was so surprised to see us. There were street vendors on top of street vendors selling anything from electronics, to live chickens, to kapenta (dried out fish minnows). There was enough trash, mud and other debris on the ground that you had to watch each step so you didn’t trip. But there also were so many people that you couldn’t look down for too long or you would run into them. The smell was also rather putrid because of all the rotten trash on the streets coupled with the fly infested meats being sold out in the open. 

The scene kind of reminded me of our own standing before God apart from His Son Jesus. His Word says that we are dead in our transgressions and sins. There is nothing good inside of us. Our hearts are like this rotten atmosphere in Soweto. We are without hope and without God. 

As we walked through the alleyways and busy aisles we eventually came to a row of street shops that was a little more out in the open than the rest of the aisles. At this point, something rather interesting happened. Luke was talking with another gentleman, when a man named Kaela Musonda, approached me. He said to me “You have a message which I must hear.” I was kind of caught off guard, but more than happy to share with him the message of Hope. After talking, he shared with me his desire to want to begin a relationship with God through repentance and faith in Christ. Please pray for Kaela. Pray that his profession would be authentic and that the seed that was scattered was on good soil. Pray that he will find a local church to plug into and be fed by God’s word. Pray also for Luke and me. We will be going back to Soweto every Tuesday & Thursday in hopes of sharing the gospel & building relationships with some of these guys that we are meeting. Pray concerning the spiritual warfare we know will come our way as a result of proclaiming His gospel in this area of Lusaka. Pray that God would also raise up some Zambian nationals to join us in this ministry.