A Wonderful Beginning

It’s been almost a year since we’ve been in Zambia so it’s been such a joy to return. We were warmly welcomed at the airport on Saturday by Percy and Muyunda Muleba and enjoyed a reunion with the Fawlty Towers Lodge staff who’ve become our friends. We were then joined on our seven hour drive to Lusaka on Sunday by Percy’s dear friend, Kongwa, whom we’ve had the pleasure of knowing over the past several years.

We had the joy on Monday to spend a couple of hours over lunch with our friend, the Rev. Sevatt Kabaghe, the former General Secretary of the Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP). It was so good to see him again, catch up on his family news, and hear about his new pastoral call. He has an amazing heart for evangelism and discipleship and it’s a privilege to know him.

As some of you might remember, Abby’s ordination by CCAP had been scheduled for last August. With that on everyone’s mind, we had the pleasure of meeting with the new CCAP leadership team and their wives Monday night to discuss where to go from here in that regard. It was a delightful evening as we shared a dinner filled with family stories and laughter before we had an official meeting. In short, the ordination is still on and will now be held during our late spring trip next year which honors both their schedule and ours.

By the way, CCAP graciously offered to send a representative team to the States to ordain Abby sooner, but after discussing this option we all agreed that it would be more appropriate to hold Abby’s ordination on Zambian soil among a broader gathering of CCAP pastors and members. Of course, you’d be welcome to fly over and join us!

We also discussed what it might look like if Starlink was installed at CCAP’s Chasefu Theological College, which is located in an historic yet very remote location in Zambia, and we all agreed it would be crucial to adding value to the excellent training there. Percy then unexpectedly announced that his ministry, BWTC, would like to donate the equipment if CCAP could handle the monthly subscription. They were thrilled with this arrangement. Imagine the possibilities for on-line training!

Finally, we discussed pursuing a formal relationship between CCAP and our denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), something Doug had looked into before our trip. The CCAP leaders are very much interested in that possibility so we look forward to connecting with the EPC’s Fraternal Relations Committee to discuss this when we return.

Tuesday evening, we had the joy of having dinner with Titus and Kahilu Njamba, our former students and the parents of Douglas (Dougie) who is named after Doug. Some of you might remember that amazing story from six years ago. While it was wonderful to see them and to hear about Titus’ progress towards his Bachelors of Theology degree, it was bittersweet because Kahilu is fighting cancer and undergoing chemo which is why they were in Lusaka. Please add them to your prayer because it’s been and continues to be a difficult struggle.

Wednesday morning, we enjoyed breakfast with our student, Dan Mayeya, who is the Director of BWTC Africa. It was great to see him again. He then joined us for the drive to Mumbwa later that morning.

Mumbwa is where we are now writing this and where we are teaching Phase IV to our amazing students. What a terrific reunion it’s been! Abby’s teaching “Psalms: The Prayerbook of the Bible” and Doug is teaching “Church Planting.” We’ve had a great first two days of training on Thursday and Friday. On Sunday, Abby preached in Bishop Bishop’s church (not a typo). As always, it was a joy to worship and the music was just great. It is such a privilege to encourage and add value to these faithful leaders and their churches.

All in all, it has been a very encouraging start for us!

Please continue to remember us in your prayers, along with Kahilu and Titus, and never forget that where we go you go because of your amazing support and encouragement!