Making a difference one by one...

 

 

Today Kevin and I went to visit two homebound patients in Valley View Compound with a local pastor.  The first place we went to we found Mr. Peter Phiri who is very sick and could not get up off his place on the floor.  He is having trouble with his kidneys and is in a lot of pain.  His wife and daughter are trying to care for him, but as you can imagine it is hard for them to lift him even to this wash basin just a few feet from where he lays to give him a bath every so often.   

 

As we visited with the wife, she and the pastor shared with us a great testimony.  Many, many years ago, their son began going to the Baptist Seminary campus to play soccer.  This was in the 70’s and at that time there were only two Baptist churches in Lusaka. He was injured during one of times playing and needed to go to the hospital.  The imb missionaries who stayed at the seminary wanted to take the boy to the hospital but felt they needed to let the parents know first.  They went to meet the family and got permission for them to take this boy to the hospital.  This chance meeting led to a relationship where eventually the whole family was saved and then started going to one of those two Baptist churches.  Today, we got to meet with this sweet family and help them in another physical way by giving them a BGR bucket.  The items in this bucket will help Mr. Phiri to be more comfortable in his last days.  The items will also help his wife and daughter to care for him better.  While we were there she recalled the way early missionaries like Fred and Joy Allen had helped them, and now it was a privilege (so many years later) to be a part of that continuing legacy in their lives.

 

 We explained each item in the bucket to Mrs. Phiri so she would know how to use everything correctly.

 

 Mrs. Phiri with the bucket

The second patient we saw was a woman named, Develesy Mbewe, who had a stroke some time ago.  She is now paralyzed on the whole left side of her body.  She was so very thankful to receive the BGR bucket and all the things inside.  As I was pulling out the pair of socks from the bucket her daughter Grace took them and went ahead and put them on her mother’s feet.  I imagine that many of us have a whole drawer full of socks. This woman now has two pairs which will keep her feet warm, especially during this cold season in Zambia.  Thank you to all the churches who help pack these buckets.  They really make a difference in people’s lives!

  

 

Jubilee Celebration

As a young child and even in to high school I was in lots of parades.  When I was a little girl I twirled the baton in the parades.  Then in high school I played the clarinet and was in many parades in the marching band.  Since graduating from high school I haven't been in a single one until Monday.  This week the Lusaka Baptist Churches got together to have a Jubilee Celebration and it all started with a parade marching down one of the major streets in Lusaka.  Several of the missionaries in the Baptist Mission of Zambia took part as well. 

 

Me, Noria, and Robyn before the parade

 

Hannah, Julie, and Hadassah

 

We marched right behind the band!

Each church marched behind the banner that they had made.

 

Hannah and Hadassah

It was a huge parade!

We ended the parade at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.  We met out on the grounds and then the speakers and choirs sang up on the steps of the Cathedral.

Vocal Collection sang many times and then different choirs from the churches sang as well.

The first day Kevin just have to give a welcome speech and then the second day he preached twice.

 

This was the annual general meeting for the Lusaka Baptist Fellowship Churches Association.

This year Zambia is celebrating 50 years of independence as a nation, and the theme for this years meeting was "Jubilee Celebration 2014: The Year of Liberty"  in honor of Zambia's 50th birthday.