“…You need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14b

Fear is contagious. It wraps its tentacles around our heart and twists away our confidence and hope. Fear is especially dangerous when we are right on the verge of something amazing. And, fear is everywhere these days, isn’t it?

The Israelites had been delivered from slavery in Egypt by the hand of the living God through Moses. They stood on the banks of the Red Sea only moments away from God’s spectacular and final act of deliverance against the Egyptians, but fear of the Egyptian army had invaded their hearts. And now they were whining that they wanted to go back to Egypt. Better to be safe and a slave than die seeking freedom! And so they whined and grumbled and panicked.

Moses’ reply to them says it all: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

“You need only to be still.” The dictionary defines “still” as “deep silence and calm.” When fear is raging, we are encouraged to be deeply silent and calm. Why?

The answer is in the following verse…””Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me. Tell the Israelites to move on.’” (Exodus14:15)

Why be still? Because it’s time to move on! Fear stricken, panicked people cannot move into the future God has for them. Whining accomplishes nothing. Fear must not be given free rein in our lives because it immobilizes us and causes us to look back for our future, which is impossible and deadly.

So, what do we prefer? Slavery to the safety of our past? Or freedom in God’s future for us?

I am reminded of the words of Patrick Henry, the great American patriot who stood on the precipice of an amazing future in 1775: “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

So, will I panic and whine and look back? Forbid it, Almighty God!

Or will I be still and be ready to move on? I do not know what course others may take, but I choose to be still. And I am poised to move into God’s future, whatever it may hold for me.

How about you?

“Be still and know that i am god.” Psalm 46:10

Home Again…

We returned home on February 11th after a great trip to winter temperatures and rain. Yuck! Our dear friends, Robert and Cyndie Howard, met us at the airport and gave us a ride home. Yahoo! We found our refrigerator well stocked thanks to our Lake Forest Church (LFC) mission support team, led by Lisa Hunter. Yum!

Since arriving home, we’ve slept surprisingly well and our body clocks are moving toward a full reset. We quarantined for seven days per CDC guidelines so we watched too much TV, read, and took drives to get some fresh air.

The Lord blessed our trip, and we are very satisfied with the training we accomplished and the reconnections we made. Spending time with Percy Muleba was amazing, as always, and we have made good plans with him for a second 2020 trip from late May through early August. We also made the decision to change our strategy a bit.

We will continue to train pastors and leaders as we’ve always done using our three phase approach, but on our next trip we will begin focusing on a few former students whom we have identified as having the potential to become dynamic trainers in their own right. We will begin coaching them during a one week “boot camp” on how to use our training manual effectively, and then give them the opportunity the next week to train a new class with us. We’re pretty excited about this!

To be clear, many of our former students are already using our manual to train others, and we’ll continue to encourage all of our students to multiply our training. But, we have never formally trained trainers in this way, so we’re looking forward to it!

As we look back, we’re glad we took the trip. It was sobering to see the devastating effects of a Covid lockdown on a country with very few Covid deaths. Yet, was also amazing to see the dynamic faith and adaptable spirit of Percy and our students. No matter what, the students’ desire to learn and grow remains insatiable. For us, then, getting to know and training them is such a joyful experience. We are eager to return.

Please pray for Percy and for Zambia, and please pray for us as we plan for a much longer trip in late May. And, as always, when we go, you go!

We had a fabulous time worshipping with old friends in Musokotwane. Abby led Bible study and I preached. Afterward, we were graciously served a delicious “village chicken” dinner.

John Zulu, a student and friend, and Theo (short for Theodora), will be married this Weekend! We trained both Theo and John on this trip.

We enjoyed training this class of young evangelists in Livingstone. From L to R: Esther, Sylvia, Winnie, Lameck, Titus, Golden, Nash, Mike, and Gift.

We enjoyed training this group of business leaders in Livingstone. From L to R: John, Webby, Carol, Wisdom, Peggy, and Theo.

Finding Purpose II

Greetings from Livingstone, Zambia! We’ve been taking some time the last few days to process our experience so far. Things are, to put it mildly, tough here. Not for us. It’s been fabulous working with Percy again, we’ve renewed old and dear friendships, our students have been great, and our accommodations adequate to lovely.

Zambians have it very tough, though. The Kwacha is trading at 21.3 to the dollar these days (it was 13.5 in 2019) which means prices on food and other necessities have risen and continue to rise, and the Covid Restrictions are killing small businesses. The tourist industry has been decimated. The streets of Livingstone, home of Victoria Falls and gateway to Botswana's fantastic Chobe National Park, are basically devoid of foreign visitors. It’s eerie. One blessing… The rains came in November for the first time in several years and maize is growing beautifully in Western Province, so that will help for sure. Still…

Someone commented to me before we left the States: “Lockdowns are for the wealthy.” Well, if that’s true in the States, just imagine what that means for the average Zambian? The W.H.O. is estimating an additional 150 million starvation deaths in the Developing World due to the effects of all these lock down policies and travel restrictions. That’s multiple times more than the expected Covid deaths. Troubling, to say the least, especially when you talk to old friends here who have lost or are about to lose their businesses or jobs. Well, I’ll stop now, but you get the picture.

Now, to our students and the training…Our experience in Mongu with the young (20’s-30’s) New Vine Ministries leaders was outstanding. As is always the case here, they were hungry to learn, open, teachable, and enthusiastic. We spent a week teaching “Discovering My Life Purpose” and it was exciting to see our students catch a glimpse of how and why the Lord uniquely created and marvelously redeemed them. The training culminated with each of our students writing out his or her life purpose statement using a formal template we gave them to encourage them to be focused and brief. We then coached them as each shared his or her purpose statement with the group. It went really well!

We were amazed by what they wrote, each statement unique and, in several cases, delightfully surprising. For example, one young man - I’ll call him Ernest - wrote this: “My life purpose is to plant, grow, and cultivate fruits and vegetables to feed my family, the elderly, and double orphans.” We then pushed him to go a bit farther because he had not told us in his statement why he wanted to do this. We asked him, “So that?” He paused for a few moments and said tenderly, “So that they know they are beloved.”

“So that they know they are beloved.” Indeed.

After we left Mongu, we stopped in Senanga for a couple of days and spent some wonderful time with Pastor Titus, his wife, Kahilu, and their son, Dougie, who is my namesake. We renewed our friendship, planned future training for leaders in a new community for us, Shangombo, and enjoyed several meals together. It was refreshing!

Yesterday, we began two classes in Livingstone, Phase 1 (“Understanding the Bible” and “Family Systems”) with some young evangelists and “Discovering My Life Purpose” with some local business/church leaders who worship at our friend and former student, Pastor John Zulu's, church. We’re limited to two hour meetings because of Covid restrictions, but it’s a start, and yesterday went extremely well.

Please pray for Percy who is dealing with some important extended family matters and for us, that our training be infused with the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, and that we remain healthy as we enter our final days here before flying home on February 10-11.

And, remember, where we go, you go! Love to all of you!

Our Mongu class was Awesome!

You gotta admit…Little Dougie is a good looking boy!

It was wonderful to see rising waters and Green again in Western Province!

Finding Purpose…

It’s been a marvelous few days here in Mongu, Zambia. It’s been great to be back in Zambia, to say the least, and wonderful to see old friends. We’ve particularly enjoyed spending time with our host pastor and his wife, Yuyi and Mercy. Percy Muleba and we have enjoyed warm hospitality and comfortable lodging, not to mention moderate temperatures in the 80’s due to the almost daily rain. The area is lush and green!

Our students from five area churches have been focused and faithful, a pleasure to teach. Our focus has been on “Discovering My Life Purpose” as a follow-up to “Discovering My S.H.A.P.E. for Ministry” which we taught here in 2019. Our class members are all leaders in New Vine Ministry which is focused on ministry to youth (ages 14-35) in area churches.

On Sunday, Abby and I enjoyed preaching in two different churches, Abby at the Vineyard Church and I at the Christian Community Church (CCC). (See my latest Instagram post to hear the CCC choir @dougvinez.) Following worship, Abby taught a seminar on the Christian response to verbal, non-verbal, emotional, and physical abuse. She did a fabulous job.

Our final training session in Mongu is today, and our students will be writing their own life purpose statement. We’ll conclude by discussing how they can explore the life purpose of New Vine Ministry after we leave. It’s always difficult for students here to focus on themselves in the context of this strongly communal culture, so we would appreciate your prayers to this end.

Tomorrow, we leave for Senanga, about an hour's drive away, where we will meet with Pastor Titus and his wife, Kahilu, both of whom are former students, to plan future training in Shangombo. Some of you might recall that Kahilu gave birth to a son during a previous training, and that he was subsequently named Dougie! We will meet, as well, with a local Bishop who wants to explore future training opportunities for his churches.

As always, thanks for praying for us, writing to us, encouraging us, and supporting us. And, remember, where we go, you go!

Our students have been awesome!

This shy little Girl we passed along the road was holding a “Victoria & Secret” bag.