New and Old Friends!

Our Mongu students were great!

It's amazing how the Lord connects Christians to one another. In 2014, we met Joanna Hatton, a member of Centre Presbyterian Church in Mooresville, NC, who grew up on the mission field in Zambia. She enthusiastically connected Percy and us to a friend of hers in Mongu, Zambia, Yuyi "Blessing" Collins Mundia, a young Vineyard pastor. Percy followed through and got to know Pastor Yuyi who asked us to come train his church leaders. So, from Nangweshi it was off to Mongu...

July 28: Percy had arranged with a fellow lodger in Nangweshi to drive us to Mongu. He suggested a two hour short-cut over dirt roads to Senanga from where we could jump on a good paved road for the last hour or so to Mongu. Sounded good to us , so we climbed in to his nice Ford Ranger extended cap pickup truck and off we went.

The short-cut from Nangweshi to Mongu included this ferry crossing.

It was a beautiful drive, highlighted by a short ferry crossing. The vast plains that flood during the rainy season were dry and the vistas along the way were just beautiful. We arrived at our lodge in Mongu a bit dusty, but glad we had taken the short-cut. And, our lodge had flush toilets. What more could we want? LOL!

We ran into a small traffic jam on the road from Nangweshi to Mongu.

That afternoon, we met Yuyi's parents and several of his siblings, delightful people who warmly welcomed us to Mongu. Yuyi's mother looked stragely familiar when we met her and we were amazed to discover that her eldest daughter, Beatrice, was one of our "3 Weeks Intensive Training" students in Sesheke in 2014! Small world!

July 29-30: We spent Saturday training Pastor Yuyi's young leaders, about 15 or so in all, who were excited and responsive. Our class was joined by two of our former students, Live School graduates Bosco and Moses, who have been planting a new church in Mongu. This is Bosco's second church plant since he completed Live school. His first church, deep in the bush, is thriving and he's left it in the hands of capable elders while he launches this new church. Moses recently lost his wife to cancer and had joined Bosco for a couple of months to encourage him and get, as he put it, some refreshment after his wife's long and difficult battle.

Our classroom was at the partially finished Vineyard worship center.

Percy's wife, Muyunda, joined us on Saturday, as well, after a long drive from Mwandi. It was good to see her and fun to have her with us for the weekend.

On Sunday, Abby led Pastor Yuyi's Bible study before worship, then headed to Bosco's church to preach! I stayed and preached at the Vineyard church. Then, following a lovely lunch, I taught a final seminar. Abby had returned by then as had Bosco, Moses and several of their leaders. It was a great day.

Students worked together during break-out sessions.

July 31: We met for several hours with Bosco and Moses to discuss the future of training in Western Province, Zambia and our future plans for training in Angola. Percy and the local Inyambo Mission Center (IMC) board have asked Bosco to head up training efforts on the ground in Western Province while Percy (and we) turn our attention to Angola next year. With the help of three great experienced leaders, Pastors Yamba, Sikute and Lewis, we are confident in Bosco's leadership.

Moses is an Angolan refugee who is about to return to Angola this fall after a seventeen year absence. He was a student in our 2014 Sesheke class. During his wife's struggle with cancer, he had finally been able to connect with his family after all these years who thought he had been killed in the civil war. He will be one of our connectors in Angola as we look to the future there.

Four young and gifted Zambian leaders, Percy, Yuyi, Moses & Bosco

That evening, we had dinner with Pastor Yuyi and his wife, Mercy to hear more about their work and get to know them better. They're a lovely couple and their heart for mission and church planting was evident.

August 1: We traveled to Livingstone, a long, bumpy and exhausting eight hour drive using three different cabs. We arrived at our beloved Fawlty Towers ready for a good night's sleep and a day or two of rest. Sadly, as we drove in to Livingstone, Abby came down with stomach flu.

Please pray for Pastor Yuyi and his family and the Vineyard churches in the Mongus area, and for Bosco and Moses as they plant their new church!

"More than we can ask or imagine" Ephesians 3:20

Our Nangweshi, Zambia students!

July 24: Pastor Moses Yamba, Percy and we traveled from Sesheke to Nangweshi, a trip of about 3.5 hours, the last hour over a very rough gravel and sand road. The vehicle was extremely cramped so we arrived tired to our very spartan lodge. Spartan, but clean, and staffed by two lovely women who would, along with two women from the ECZ church, give us four star service in our one star accommodation. At $6/night who could complain? Small rooms with strips of loose linoleum over the concrete floors. Concrete outhouses. Concrete bath houses with tables and basins. An outdoor kitchen using an open fire with an outdoor washing and separate laundry area. A solar panel for our single bulb at night. Nangweshi has yet to be electrified, although the poles are in the ground. No one knows when it will happen.

Our lodge in Nangweshi

We rested until late afternoon when host-pastors Titus and Martin arrived to welcome us. What great guys! After our visit, we sat down to a fresh bream, nshima, gravy and greens dinner. The fish was fantastic, having been caught that day from the nearby Zambezi River, and we fell asleep wondering what the morning's training would bring.

Sunrise in Nangweshi

July 25-27: Expectations are funny things. Set them too high and you'll likely be disappointed. Set them too low and the shock might jolt you. For two years, Pastor Yamba had told us that Nangweshi was hungry for the Word. He had finally convinced us to come.

We had asked for fifteen students from at least three churches. Pastor Titus had assured us there would be more. There were. We had definitely set our expectations too low!

our students were focused and attentive, to say the least.

The first morning we arrived to about 15-20 students. By the time we began praise and worship, we were at about 35. As the training began, our class stood at 56. Seven churches were represented and all the students were hungry and attentive and delightful!

Abby enjoyed teaching on Day 2.

The second day our numbers had grown to 75 students. Breakout sessions into small groups definitely took some organizing. LOL!

After an afternoon rest, we returned to the church to visit with the students, many of whom had traveled for the class and were eating at the church, although staying with families in the village. Pastor Titus, Percy and I then walked to town about 3/4 mile away to xerox the portion of our training manual we were using so folks could get a copy. I couldn't believe there was a xerox machine in this bush village, but, sure enough, a very professional young woman copied our manual on a small multi-function printer to the rumble of a small Honda generator. Nothing to it!

As we walked back to the church, Percy ran into an old high school friend he hadn't seen since graduation. They had a joyous reunion. How cool is that? Then, when we returned to the church, we found Abby giving simple bracelets to the kids, making new friends and then dancing with the women. In other words, doing what Abby does so well!

By day three, our numbers had grown to 100! Pastor Titus urged us to stay longer. He said if we stayed that 200 would come, maybe more. Can you imagine? Sadly, we told him we had to leave because we had training scheduled in Mongu. Next time?

A small group works during a breakout session.

We met some amazing people in Nangweshi. Chameya Ngomba, a sixty year old brother, had bicycled over rough gravel and dirt roads 148 kilometers (92 miles!) to come to the training. What a dear man! Elder Regan sat on the front row every day deeply engaged, and has been talking regularly with Percy by phone ever since the training.

Chameya Ngomba rode his bike 92 miles over rough dirt roads to attend our training!

But it was Pastor Martin Ilukena''s story that broke our hearts, that touched us so deeply. After day two, while Abby was dancing with the women, Pastor Martin told Percy and me that just two miles from Nangweshi, in the 1990's, the United Nations had built an Angolan refugee camp housing 27,000 Angolans fleeing the communist insurgency. It was all new buildings with running water and generators for electricity. (What a contrast to Nangweshi, a bush village of only 2600 people.) Swimming across crocodile infested rivers, the refugees had arrived war torn, many missing limbs or eyes, in deep shock, starving, and separated from their families, many of whom had died in the war or in river crossing.

Pastors Titus and Martin organized the training. Pastor Martin's story broke our hearts.

With tears in his eyes, Pastor Martin told us how he had become a chaplain to the refugees from 2000 to 2008. During this time, while he ministered to these broken, confused and wounded people, he himself became terribly wounded. All nine of his siblings died during those years, six by natural causes and three brothers to murder by one man who confessed to Martin his crime. He told how he had surrendered his AK-47 to the police once he knew the man's identity because he was afraid he'd kill him. How desperately in prayer he'd asked for the strength not to seek vengeance. (Sadly, the man was never prosecuted.) Today, his mother and he are the only surviving family members.

He went on to tell us that, somehow, ministering to the desperate refugees during his time of deep grief had helped him. And then he emphasized that Abby's teaching that day on the "Wounded Pastor" had made him realize for the first time that the deep burdens and terrible memories he'd been carrying all these years were shared, in some way, by other pastors. That he was not alone in his woundedness. And that Jesus, the Wounded Healer Abby had taught about, had ministered to him and touched him deeply that day.

"You have no idea what today has meant to me," he said. "It has touched me deeply. It has changed me." I called Abby over from the dancing and he then told her how much her teaching had meant to him. It was, to say the very least, a truly sacred moment. One we will never forget. One we could never forget.

July 28: After tender goodbyes, we departed for Mongu via a shortcut.

Please pray for Nangweshi, for Pastors Titus and Martin, and for us as we process what God has done, is doing and will do in Zambia. And next year, in Angola!

They rejoiced over us with singing!

Our Lilonga, Zambia students were awesome!

July 18-21: We were excited to return to the Lilonga congregation of the Evangelical Church in Zambia (ECZ), located in the bush about 10 miles north of Sesheke where I (Doug) had preached last year. New elders had been chosen and leaders were hungry for training, according to Pastor Moses Yamba, our colleague and friend.

Mushiba, a brilliant and friendly young student, reads Scripture from the Lozi Bible.

The training went fantastic. We were warmly welcomed each morning by folks hungry for God's Word. We'd remembered beautiful acapella singing at Lilonga and our memories were accurate!

Munyinda, our oldest student in Lilonga, was a delight.

As Abby taught them "Family & Church Systems," we drew a picture map of our family when we were children. There was so much laughter and joy as they drew, but also some poignant stories shared as we encouraged one another that God was with us even in the difficult times we had as children. They really dug into the Word as I taught them "Understanding the Bible," and focused on the structure, story and themes of the Bible and how faithfully to interpret it. The "Wounded Healer" Abby taught focused us on Jesus, the real Wounded Healer. The students worked really well in small groups to study Scripture. 

Multi-generational learning at its best!

One of our students there, a young single Mom of three, Helena, lost her hut to a freak fire sweeping through the bush in the middle of the last day of training. Despite this, they all still wanted to finish the training. So Pastor Yamba and some others from the class and I went and comforted Helena. They then left her in the care of some of the village "mothers." The church immediately began making a plan to rebuild her hut and replace her belongings.

Helena's home was destroyed by a freak bush fire during our final day of training.

When we returned, we spent some time praying for Helena and her children, and then finished the final 2 hours of training. Sad for the tragedy, we are glad no one was hurt, and are still praying for Helena in her loss. We are amazed and grateful for the ways these sisters and brothers taught us about community, sharing and generosity which arose out of folks with so few material possessions. We remain humbled. 

As we drove away the last afternoon, several of the woman ran behind our car and sang over us, joyfully waving goodbye. We were deeply touched, to say the least.

As I reflect, I'm reminded of Zephaniah 3:17, "The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."

July 22: Percy joined us in Sesheke and we had a much-needed rest day.

July 23: We worshiped and I preached at the Katimo ECZ, a new church plant. Pastor Yamba accompanied us. Worship was fantastic, the music joyful and passionate. There were about 75 in attendance, including 26 children! We had a great time.

The Katima ECZ congregation warmly welcomed us.

The congregation's development is being hampered by the rent they're paying the school in which they meet, about $10/month. You read that right. A gentleman has generously given them a plot of land which is amazing, and they're praying about alternatives. We told them about a South African ministry that donates tents to new congregations. Pastor Yamba is going to follow up with that.

July 24: We traveled with Percy Muleba and Pastor Yamba about 3.5 hours from Sesheke to Nangweshi, a bush village of about 2600 people still awaiting electricity. We looked forward to training the 15 key leaders we expected to find there.

Please pray for Helena and her children, for the church in Lilonga as they reach out to neighbors with the Gospel, and for us that the Lord continue to order our steps.

Back in Mwandi!

A Mwandi fisherman heads out at sunrise.

If Zambia's home, then Mwandi is our living room. The ride from Livingstone to Mwandi on Friday, July 14th should have taken about 1.5 hours, but it took over 3 hours because of the deteriorating road conditions. The potholes were worse than ever and it made for a very tedious trip.

Still, it was wonderful to be back in Mwandi where we are staying in our old friend, Fiona's, place on the river. We are the only ones here so it has been very peaceful and quiet. There's nothing quite like waking up to beautiful morning light and the sight of mokoros (dugout canoes) on the Zambezi River.

A Mwandi fisherman checks his net.

That evening, we attended a crusade sponsored by the Livingstone Mission Center (LMC) which featured a Zimbabwean evangelist. LMC is headed by David Newcombe from Jupiter, Florida and he brought an American team with him. Pastor Kimo, his wife, Natalie, and daughter, Emma were joined by Rick Branson, an evangelist, all from the Jupiter area. Amazingly, they had all attended the Rise Missions Conference in South Africa so we had already met them!

Youth (ages 13-35) Praise Teams from many ECZ churches camped at Sesheke ECZ.

Saturday, July 15th, we were invited to join Pastor Moses Yamba, an old friend, at his Evangelical Church in Zambia (ECZ) in Sesheke, about 30 miles away. A district-wide youth choir & praise team conference was underway and it was quite a sight to see dozens of colorful tents on the church grounds. It was even better to listen to the beautiful voices!

A clash of cultures? Or a beautiful marriage?

Abby and I were given the opportunity to introduce ourselves and I was asked to pray for the conference. We then enjoyed a lovely fish, nshima and greens lunch as the guests of Pastor and Mrs. Yamba. It was further exposure for us to the ECZ and its leadership which we appreciated.

That night, we attended the last evening of the crusade where Rick Branson gave an invitation to those who wanted to follow Jesus for the first time. Joyously, a number of folks stepped forward and they will be followed up by local church leaders in the days to come.

As the crusade drew to a close, our dear friend, Pastor Arold Mudenda, invited me (Doug) to preach at his church, Pilgrim Wesleyan, on Sunday morning, July 16th. We were delighted to accept the invitation.

Abby leading prayer at Pilgrim Wesleyan, Pastor Mudenda's church.

Worship at Pilgrim was hampered by a planned power interruption, but to be honest we were delighted. It meant that the praise and worship teams used traditional Zambian drums, and the beautiful four part harmonies the Lozi people are known for just flowed. The worship was amazing. It made preaching so easy. I felt carried by the Holy Spirit. I focused on Psalm 22 and, apparently, it tied in beautifully to a sermon series Pastor Mudenda has been preaching on Esther. I'm grateful. Abby was asked to pray at the end of worship and the Lord used her well.

Our old student and now friend, Obby, with Abby.

An old student of ours, Obby, has become very involved at Pilgrim where he facilitated a Live School last year and now co-leads the youth and younger adults ministry. It was great to see him and to hear he is doing well.

Abby & I have taught at Pilgrim several times through the years, leading Bible studies, preaching and training leaders in church planting. When we began working with them, Pastor Mudenda's church was meeting in his front yard under a simple shelter. Now, they have a lovely worship center and a strong congregation.

It was heartening to hear that Pilgrim has planted a new church in Limpopo, about 20 miles into the bush. Pastor Mudenda rides a motorcycle there, reminiscent of the Methodist circuit riders who planted churches in the United States in its early years. Of course, they rode horses!

Monday, July 17, was a rest day from training, although we had a visit from Lewis, a retired United Church of Zambia pastor, who shares our heart for bush ministry and sound biblical training. Since retiring about 18 months ago, he has planted three new bush churches. Now that's an active retirement!

I had a fascinating conversation with him about the danger of breeding dependency in people as we do mission. He warned that if missionaries (and pastors) are not careful, they'll produce spoiled children instead of mature disciples. Happens in the USA, too, doesn't it?

That evening, we hosted Percy's wife, Muyunda, for dinner because Percy was in Livingstone checking on their kids and making sure the electricity is hooked up sooner rather than later in their new home. We'll see him on Friday, July 21st, in Sesheke.

On Monday, July 17th, we moved from Mwandi to Sesheke.

Please pray that the Lord will gather the right leaders for training as we teach in Sesheke, Lilonga, Nangweshi and Mongu, that he will empower us by his Spirit and enable us to continue to rest well and pace ourselves sensibly!