A Person that God Uses

After sharing the story of Daniel and the Lions Den we discussed what kind of person God uses by looking at Daniel as our example. Daniel was all of these things below and so should we be a:
1-Person of prayer
2-Person of praise
3-Obeys the word at all cost
4-Offers life to God daily
5-Fears God more than man
6-Seeks to multiply themselves by training others
It seems like in the past as I have taught this lesson the ones I always get questions about is #3, 4, and 5. Today was no different. It is exciting to hear these women ask me questions about deep cultural things because I know if they are asking me than they trust me. Zambians don't always share personal things or deep cultural things with outsiders. So when they do it makes you feel like you belong and are a part of them. All of the above require sacrifice but especially 3-5. It takes sacrifice to obey the Word of God when your mother comes and puts a charm on your baby and you know it is wrong. It takes sacrifice to offer your life to God daily and then when your husband beats you or your neighbor comes to accuse you of something and they slap you to continue to trust God. It takes sacrifice to fear God more than the chief or headman when they control your land and can take it away so fast if you go against them.
Please pray for these women as they continue to grow in their relationship with Christ that they too would be women that God can use. Pray that God would help them to make these sacrifices joyfully and that God would bless them for it.

October is coming!

For most of you who read this blog Oct. brings cooler temperatures. Leaves begin to change colors and the beauty of fall surrounds you. Here in Zambia it is quite different. October is our hottest month and it is very dry so everywhere you look things look brown. We have just recently started getting council water(from Chongwe) so we are able to water our grass. You can see that it isn't a big spread but hey, it is better than it was before-nothing. Today it is 92 degrees in the shade, by Oct. it will be up at 100 degrees or more(in the shade). The other day I went outside and our turtle was sitting right under the sprinkler cooling off. As I took the pic. she started walking away. I couldn't help but smile because come October I may be sitting under the sprinkler myself!

Our Circle of Influence

I believe that God has a purpose and a place for each one of us. I don't think that God intended for us to just go to church on Sundays and then do nothing for Him the rest of the week. He wants to use us to reach out to those we come in contact with-family, friends, neighbors, or work buddies. Those I come in contact with on a regular basis are in my circle of influence. What I mean by this is that we each have people in our lives that God intends for us to influence for Him. Someone may be more likely to listen to me because they have a relationship with me. They know and trust me. Whereas if someone they don't know were to just come up to them to try to share Christ they might wonder why they are doing so and not really listen. Each of us has our own circle of influence and we need to make sure we are doing all that we can to be a light among them. On Thursday, this was our lesson as I told the story of Peter going to see Cornelius and his family from Acts 10:11-48. It was exciting to hear these women apply this story to their lives. They said things such as, " it should not matter which tribe or country someone comes from. We should be able to love them no matter what and be able to share Christ with them. We should be obedient to whatever God tells us to do. That is an important job that God has given us. I feel responsible for those I can influence."
The longer I am here the more amazed I am that God's plan and place for our family is here in Zambia. What if I didn't reach out to those I come in contact with? Would they ever hear the truth of God's Word? Would their lives ever change? Who is in your circle of influence? Are you doing all that you can to tell them about Jesus? Try to think of at least one person you can share with this week and then do it.
Thursday morning I left at 8:00am and picked up my two friends Amai Betty and Amai Mwachamota. We traveled for two hours on a rocky mountainous road. We were going to a womens meeting at Muyanga Baptist church where 4 different churches were represented. I was able to stay about 45 min. and then I had to leave them there so I could travel to my regularly scheduled visit on thursdays. I then traveled back and further on another two hours to reach Nyamphande where I taught the women. Then I left and went to Kamilulu just about 10 min. further down the road and taught again. The plan was for me to wait on the side of the road for my two friends at 5:00. I got there at 4:30 and sat in the truck and waited in a small little shop and tavern area. The music was loud and the drunk people at this time of day was amazing. Many came up to find out why this white person was siting there waiting. They wanted to know if I had anything to read and I just so happened to have some little books with Bible verses in it. They would all thank me(I think I gave out at least 20) and then I would watch these drunk people go off and sit and read these little books. Pray that those people will reread these books when they are sobered up and that God's Word would penetrate their hearts. Anyway, my friends were still not there at 5:20 so I called them on the phone and they said they were still walking and were far away. See, they were having to walk back to the main road to meet me. It took me two hours to drive that far but it only took them two hours of walking it since they were able to go a shortcut way. I drove out blindly, not knowing exactly where they were or if I was even going in the right direction. I finally found them and then we headed home. I finally reached home at 7:00pm. It was a long day but it sure was fun to be out doing God's business.

These are the women from Nyamphande Baptist Church. I usually pick them up and then we go together to Kamilulu. Today they were working on their church and asked if I could come and teach them while they took a break. Afterwards, I went to Kamilulu and taught the other 10 women. After being in 3 different women's meetings that day I was pretty tired.

Nyamphande Baptist Church-they are working on putting up a roof.

This pic. was taken as we were leaving the meeting. You can notice how the women carry their babies on their backs.

Another pic. of the women in front of their church.

sorry, I didn't take any pics. at the other two meetings.

Behold!

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Rev. 3:20

Since Hannah was in my womb we have been praying for her salvation. She has been asking questions for a couple of years but we never felt like she was quite ready. For about the last week she has been praying before bed that God would help her to understand His Word and that one day she would come to know Him as her personal Lord and Savior. Tonight she came to us and said that she was ready to become a Christian. We talked for a long time and she decided that she was ready to repent of her sins and accept the free gift of salvation that God gives to us.We are so thankful that God answered her prayer and ours.

Please pray that Hannah would daily grow in her relationship with God and one day become a beautiful Godly woman.

21 Years ago....

21 years ago on the 10th of September Kevin and I became husband and wife.

I praise God for such a wonderful husband and the life we have had together. We have known each other for 25 years. That almost blows me away!

We celebrated in Kenya a few weeks ago and then again last night we went to an Italian restaurant and a movie.

Happy Anniversary, Kevin!

Multiplication

Today I talked about multiplying disciples. It isn't just the pastors job to share the good news of Christ with people it is also the job of every believer. I tried to cast a vision for the women of what it would take to win their communities to Christ. Yeah, they can tell some people about Christ but if they would then train them how to share with others and then those would also share and train, it would go much faster. Pray for these women as they go out and tell others the stories they are learning. Pray that they will be true followers of Christ and disciple others.

Here are most of the women that were at the meeting today. I gave them the rest of the handbags I had. If you will remember there were some women in Arkansas that sent them for the women I teach. My friends were so excited to get this gift.

When I first got there they had prepared a meal so we ate first. They served Nshima and kapenta(small fish).

The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Tim. 2:2

Where are you from?

When you meet people for the first time you are almost always asked where you are from. This is a difficult question to answer when you are a missionary. It seems we always pause and have to think how to answer for some reason. We usually answer with something like, " we grew up in NC but are now living in Zambia as missionaries." Sometimes you know that as soon as you answer this question you will for sure be talking to that person for the next 15 min. or so about where Zambia is, our life overseas, and what we do. This happens all the time but one example happened while we were in the states recently. It so happened that I was on an elevator at a beach condo when someone asked me where I was from. We were staying on the 16th floor so we began talking all the way up and we just happened to be getting off on the same floor so we continued talking in the hallway for about 15 min. I guess this is ok as long as you are not in a hurry anywhere. It's funny because our children will always answer that they are from Zambia. They often get funny looks because of course they don't look african. This is home to our children because it is where they have grown up pretty much. Zach was 5 and Justin was 2 when we first came to Zambia. Then when Hannah was born, we came back with her at 3 months. It's kind of sad to me that the kids don't think of America as home but at the same time I'm so thankful that they love where we live, love the people, and what we do. I guess home is where ever we are living as a family. Whether that is in Chongwe, Zambia, out in a tent during 40/40, or in NC during furloughs. I know that one day those who are in Christ will make their home in Heaven. Then it won't matter where we come from.

Following Christ

What does it truely mean to follow Christ? That was the question I asked the women at Kamilulu Baptist Church this past Thurs. To follow Christ means that you will love, serve and obey God no matter what. You will be His servant and you will make Him your Lord. Every day you have a choice whether to obey God and do what He tells you to do or go off your own way and do what you want to do. In Zambia, it is easy for the women to say to follow God you have to love Him, do good, and go to church. However, when I dug a little deeper and talked to them about why people go to the witchdoctor or wear charms they immediately said those people aren't following God. Those people are in our churches though. They have to be taught that to follow Christ means to trust in Him and not the witchdoctor or in those charms. I thought you might be interested in hearing a few of the reasons why women will wear charms or put them on their babies. 1-they will put them on their babies so that when they are in the presence of another nursing mother their baby will not get sick. They believe that if their baby is not protected with a charm they will begin vomiting and having diarhea and then die. 2-they will put charms on their babies until their fontanel area in their head grows together because they believe if they don't that it will never grow together.3-the women will go to the witchdoctor to get medicine to put in their tea to make their bodies warm for their husbands or other men. If they have drunk this tea and shake hands with another man the man will know that they want to be with them by the warmth of their skin. 4- If the women will wear a certain charm around their waist they will not get pregnant. I could go on and on but won't because some may look at this and think I'm being gross or even making up these things. I just want you to know, not so you can think bad of these people but so that you can pray for them. Many don't know any better because they have never been taught. Others have been taught but when put in a difficult situation or have a sick child they turn to what their ancestors have done before them. Please pray for these women and people all over Zambia to be set free from this demonic bondage. Pray that they can trust Christ and follow Him no matter what comes along. We spent a lot of time talking about #4 above. I explained to them that anything they wear on the outside is not going to prevent them from becoming pregnant. They couldn't understand that until I explained to them how a baby came to be. Many, because they have such little education out in the rural areas, just don't know. So I not only taught them from the Bible but also gave a little health lesson too. It was a good day even though those knats were out in full force again!

Kenya to Kaoma

After being at Turtle Bay for a few days we traveled back to Nairobi and spent the night and on Friday went to RVA. While we were there we had to show Justin around campus, get him a student bank acct., register him for classes, and get him moved into his dorm room. We finally finished around 5:00pm and so Kevin and I said our good-byes. I cried all the way back to Nairobi. I guess it isn't every easy to say bye to your children but as we drove off memories just flooded my mind of these two little boys who are now so grown up. Where did all the time go? When did they grow up right before my eyes? Many people wonder how in the world we can let our children go off to boarding school. Every time they go I wonder the same thing as well. It wasn't an easy decision and one that wasn't made without much prayer and guidance. Zach has had a great experience there and we pray Justin will too. There are just so many more opportunities for them there for sports, music, art, friends, and education. We have been very pleased with the school so far. Please pray for Zach in his senior year that he will make lots of memories, finish well, have wisdom about which college to attend, and grow in his relationship with God. Pray for Justin that he will make wise choices in friends, do well in all of his classes and apply himself, adjust to living at boarding school, grow closer to God, and his top request for today is that they will have warm water in the showers! So far for the last 5 days he has only had cold water. Hopefully, they will fix that problem today.
Anyway, after we left RVA we traveled back to a guest house in Nairobi and then flew out the next morning. We arrived in Lusaka at 12:00 and then drove about 4 hours West to Kaoma to pick up Hannah. It was weird to wake up in Kenya and then go to sleep that night in a little rural town called Kaoma. While we were gone the whole week Hannah stayed with her good friend Evie Smith. We were able to spend the night with the Smiths and go to church with them the next day. After church and lunch we traveled back home, finally arriving at 9:30 pm. It was so weird coming in the house and Zach and Justin not being with us. Please pray for us as we deal with the boys being gone.

Westervelt Dorm
This is where Justin is staying. He is in the same room that Zach was in his first year there too.

Justin's side of the room. We didn't get to meet Justin's roommate while we were there. Please pray that Justin and Andrew will get along well and become good friends.

Kevin and Justin outside of Westervelt.

Zach in his room. You will notice Zach's room is quite a bit bigger and nicer than Justin's. Zach will be rooming with Kevin K. again. We are so thankful for their friendship.

me, zach, and kevin outside of Chui.

This is Justin, Caleb(from Zambia), and Zach. Caleb and Zach are good friends.

Justin and Zach together in Justin's room.

On our way to Kaoma we had to drive through a game park. It was so exciting to see animals along the way.

This elephant was right beside the road.

This is the Smith family living in Kaoma.
Mike and Amy with their two children Tyler and Evie.
Hannah even did her first week of school while there. We really appreciate them letting Hannah come and stay with them.

Hannah and Evie saying bye to each other.