"You shall know them by their fruit!"

Jesus said we'd know a tree best by its fruit (Luke 6:43-44). That's why, at IMC, we're always looking for stories from our students about the impact our training has had on their lives. Bosco's is one of those stories. He just officially graduated from Live School Tuesday evening (graduates Alex (l) and Bosco (r) are pictured below), but he had already planted a new church in the last year about 40 miles off the main road in a small bush village several hundred miles north of Mwandi.

In addition, as word has spread bout the new church, Bosco has been asked to visit families as far as 10 miles away who are interested in the Gospel. To help Bosco as he travels these long distances, IMC gifted him with a new bike at graduation!

I had planned on including a video of Bosco telling about Live school's impact in his life and the new church, but the bandwidth on the WiFi I'm using isn't adequate. The upload was going to take 7 hours! LOL! Anyway, I'll have to post it when we return to the States.

Just a quote from Bosco to whet your appetite: "I have told my new church that even though I am their pastor I am just a visitor. I told them I will be leaving one day because if I am going to go into all the world with the Gospel, then I have to be free to go and go and go."

By their fruit indeed!

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The IMC Adventure Continues!

It's always exciting to make new connections! Over the weekend, we traveled to Senanga to meet with the Ministers' Association about a possible invitation to bring our 3 Weeks Intensive training to them next June. But, first we had to get to Senanga and that involved the "pontoon" (ferry) across the mighty Zambezi River. There was a strong headwind and one of the two diesel motors was out on the pontoon, so our crossing took about an hour. At times, we wondered if we were moving at all. A bridge is under construction and should be completed within the next few months, but for now it's the pontoon!

We stayed Saturday night at the Senanga Safari Lodge, a comfortable place on the beautiful banks of the same Zambezi. Sunday morning, we worshiped at the Evangelical Church of Zambia in Senanga, led by missions minded pastor, Rev. Enoch. Now, getting to the worship center was a bit of an adventure. Senanga is noted for its deep sand roads and we found out pretty soon that without 4WD we were in deep trouble!

Once we solved the sand problem with the help of many passers by, we had an amazing time worshiping with great people and a fabulous choir. Later in the service, Percy led the praise and worship that led into my sermon and after worship we enjoyed warm fellowship on the church grounds.

Later, at 3pm, we met with sixteen pastors and elders representing six area churches to present IMC's mission. We were well received and, after a brief discussion among those present, Rev. Enoch invited us to come next June as we had hoped!

So, thanks for your prayers. Tonight, we enjoy a graduation celebration with twelve of our Mwandi Live School students. We can't wait!

The Freedom of A Fence!

Some time ago, I read an article about an elementary school that had a large and fabulous new playground installed. The teachers were frustrated, however, because the kids only played near the school building and rarely ventured to the far side of the playground even though some of the best equipment was located there. One day, everything changed. A playground fence had been installed over the weekend. That Monday, the kids swarmed every piece of equipment, near and far. The fence had brought freedom to the kids to play to their heart's content and make full use of the playground.

Today, the fence for our IMC land was completed. And, just like those kids, we now have the freedom to make full use of the land we've been given by Chief Inyambo Yeta to our heart's content!

This is our first step toward the Training Center and Farm we believe the Lord has called us to complete as part of our strategy to reach the Western Province of Zambia and beyond. It was an historic day. The Lord is good!

Four young men, three of them our Live School students, completed the fence around the 5+ acres in extremely hot conditions. They volunteered to do the job, by the way, and were content with some food and a large tent to sleep in. Their names are Alex, Bosco, Mulenga and Obby and they did an amazing job! (Alex and Mulenga are pictured above.) Thanks, men!

Our next steps are to bring water and electricity to the property and this will be done very soon. We already have the water tank and have made arrangements with the powers that be for installation. Once this is accomplished, we can look ahead to 2016 and our hope to launch the Farm and begin building the Training Center.

Next week, two local churches will bring their youth groups for a retreat on our land which will be led by our three students, Alex, Bosco and Obby, with Percy, Abby & me on hand to provide support and some teaching. This will be the first official use of IMC land as a Training Center!

Please pray for us as we move forward with God's vision for IMC!

"And the things you have heard me say...entrust to reliable people who will be able to teach others."

These words from the Apostle Paul (2 Timothy 2:2) came to mind as I was thinking about the small gathering we joined following worship this past Sunday in a community building in Sesheke, Zambia. Ten of our “3 Weeks Intensive” students from our June class were there, along with a few family members and the fantastic Youth Choir from the Evangelical Church of Zambia, Sesheke.

We were gathered to award completion certificates to our students, to celebrate in song, and to hear how our students have been putting into practice what they had learned.

One student, Misheck Sendol, had this to say, to the best of my recollection: “As you know, I was only able to attend the last week of the class. Nevertheless, I took what I learned and began to study the Bible differently, asking the Lord what he had in mind for me to do. As I studied, I felt strongly that the Lord wanted me to start a prison ministry here in Sesheke. But you had also taught us not to start a ministry alone, so I called a friend and shared with him my vision. He agreed to help me. Today, we minister the Gospel in the prison every other Sunday afternoon and in the hospital the other Sundays. Also, we have approached the high school about starting a Scripture Union Club there for the students and they have approved our request. We will soon begin that ministry, as well.”

Wow! And it didn't end there. Pastor Chimyaya Situmbeko told us that he's been using our manual to train ten young people in his church and that if we ever do another “3 Weeks Intensive” class in Sesheke he will bring these ten students to the class.

Pastor Moses Yamba reported that he had just returned from a mission trip to Angola with a team from his church and that they would be returning to teach church planting to the pastors they had met during the trip who want to go into the bush and share the Gospel with those who have never heard the name of Jesus.

Pastor Hellen Tembo's church has now launched a mission to Malawi and they intend to continue to develop that mission in the months and years to come.

In addition, Pastor Yamba announced that a Live School will be launched immediately in Sesheke. Live School, which we recommended to the class, is video based and contains 242 hours of outcome based mission training developed by World Mission Center out of South Africa. It will be exciting to hear the impact of Live School in Sesheke!

It was a wonderful day, as you can imagine, and underlined what God is doing in Zambia. Thank you for being part of his plan, for your prayers and support.

This weekend, we travel 300 miles north to Senanga to meet with the Ministers' Association and plan next year's which will be held in June. Please pray that our meeting goes well, that we make every connection God has in mind for us and for traveling mercies, as well. Thanks!