What kind of person does God use?

Yesterday at Chainda II Baptist Church we discussed what kind of person God uses. I told the story of Daniel and the lions den from Daniel chapter 6. Then we looked at these 6 qualities of Daniel and tried to apply them to us.

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

The one that we spent the most of our time talking about was #3-Obeys the word at all cost. If you remember the story of Daniel, he obeyed God rather than man. He continued to pray to God even when he was told not to. So I asked them to think of examples in their life where they needed to obey God over what man said. Here are some of their examples: don't go to the witch doctor when our family says we should, don't make beer for funerals, don't go to the traditional celebrations or rituals. Then they asked me, "so is it a sin for us to give money to the headman that will be used for these traditional celebrations. People will come and collect k2,000(about .75 cents) per person or a bag of mealie meal, or whatever. If we do not pay we can be kicked out of the village." These are the type of things that Zambians have to deal with on top of things like poverty, AIDS, hunger, etc. Please pray for these women and people all over Zambia to have wisdom to know when they should take a stand and when they shouldn't.
I challenged the women to think about whether they were a person that God could use. Were they a woman of prayer, a woman of praise, etc. ? What about you? Are you the kind of person that God can use?

Wait, I want to talk.....

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15

As the women sat around me listening to Pauls testimony taken from Acts 26 and my testimony they knew it would be their turn next. They split up into pairs to practice and then we came back together again. Since my time was short I only had time to listen to a few share their testimony. I really should leave at 2:45 so I won't be late for my next meeting at another church so when I saw that it was 2:55 I told the ladies that I needed to go. Then one woman spoke up and said, "wait, I want to talk..." She then proceeded to tell me her testimony with a prayer request. Then when she finished another spoke up and said again, "wait I want to talk too..." She too told me her testimony. These women were eager to tell how God had worked in their life. Isn't it exciting to hear how God has worked in others lives to bring them to Him. How could I leave?? Now, it was 3:15 and I told the women I really must go but that I would listen to everyones testimony the next time we meet. I will not be able to go next week so at the next meeting they will share their testimonies with me and also how they did with their homework assignment. They are to share their testimony with 3 other people in the next two weeks. Pray for these women to be bold as they share what God has done in their life. Pray the verse above for all of us that we will always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks.

Baptism at the Lunsemfwa River

This past Sunday Kevin went to the Lunsemfwa River for church. He was meeting with one of the new churches there that the volunteer team from Arkansas helped to plant. He met with all of those that were supposed to be baptized. Then they held a baptismal service down at the river. Kevin first baptized a few new believers to show one of the leaders, Jeffery, how to do it and then he took over and baptized the rest. Sometimes our church leaders think that it has to be a missionary that baptizes all the people. But Kevin just teaches the leaders how to do it so they can do it in the future. There were 11 all together that day that showed up to be baptized.

Kevin preaching from the water. You see how shallow he is here. Remember there are critters in this water.

Kevin baptizing a young person.

Here is a woman that as soon as she went down into the water she started manifesting demons. It took these two men and then another to drag her up onto the land. These men prayed for her and the demons went away. The demons said they were going back to the water.

Now, it is Jeffery's turn to baptize.

This lady was 80 years old. Amen!!

A sister for a while....

This week Hannah had a friend stay with us from Tues. until Sunday. Her name is Kelsey Cook and her parents serve in Lusaka. The rest of her family had to go to South Africa so Kelsey stayed with us. Hannah has always wanted a sister so she got her wish this week. They had so much fun playing together.

They have matching dresses so they got dressed up in those today.

They liked to play and put they baby dolls on their backs like Zambian women do.

Kelsey loves our little dog, Tippy. I thought this pic. was a cute one of them both.

They even washed dishes with those babies on their backs. Now, don't think I made them do all this hard work. Hannah just has one day a week that she does dishes and Kelsey volunteered to help her.

Forgiveness

For the last two weeks each time I went to Chainda II Baptist Church the women did not show up. One week they were out in the field and the other they were at a funeral. This week everyone was there. I still had my same lesson that I had prepared to do 3 weeks before. I was going to tell the story of The Prodigal Son. You know I just don't believe that it was by accident that those women were not there for those two weeks. I don't think I was ready to tell that story until this past Thursday. Of course, there are several things you could focus on when telling this story but I chose to focus on how we are to forgive others. I asked the women if they were the father in this story if they would forgive their son in this same situation. They all said no. Why is forgiveness so difficult? Why is it so hard to even ask for forgiveness? Just this week something happened in our life that made it impossible for me not to forgive several people. Thursday morning while preparing/practicing this lesson the Holy Spirit very clearly spoke to my heart in such a way that I knew I could not teach this lesson unless I forgave these people. I told the women my story of what happened and it really spoke to them that I could forgive. So, was I supposed to share this story 3 weeks ago when I was first meant to? No, I think Thursday was in God's perfect timing.

Circle of Influence

Today at the women's meeting I told the story from Acts 10 about Peter being summoned to go and tell Cornelius and his family about God. The women really had trouble understanding this story until we started talking about their circle of influence. Our close family, good friends, and distant family are all a part of our circle. When I asked them how many people just in their close family did not know God many of them had to say that there were quite a few. The bible says that Cornelius and his family were devout and God fearing. Cornelius generously gave to those in need and prayed to God regularly yet he still did not know God personally. Every day we come in contact with so many in our circle of influence exactly like Cornelius. What kind of difference are we making in their lives? Are we taking the opportunities that God gives us to witness for Him?
After the lesson I closed in prayer. Then one of the women spoke up and asked if I would pray for her husband because he was not a believer. Then another asked if I would pray for husband as well. I then asked for all those whose husbands were not believers to raise their hands. 10 out of the 20 women said their husbands did not know God. They wrote me a list of their names so that I could pray for their salvation. I am now asking that you would pray for each of these 10 men as you feel led. I shared a story of a woman I know who prayed for her husband for 20 years before he became a believer. I challenged the women to persevere in prayer and not give up. God's timing is always perfect!

1- Martin Tembo

2- David Ngulube

3-F. Sakala

4- Sosola Phiri

5- Mr. Chitambo

6- Athony Mpande

7- Samson Mwiyenda

8- Mr. Lungu

9- Mr. Tembo

10- Mr. Luudika

Happy Birthday Mapalo!

This little boy's name is Mapalo and is the youngest child of our yard worker/neighbor Tito Mulenga. He turned one years old today so I made him a cake. We took it over and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He was so fun to watch. He liked his cake a lot!

This is Mapalo's family from left to right: Deborah, Dorcas, Tito, Mapalo(in lap) and Amai Mulenga.

What We Feel Is Not Who We Are

I got this Daily Meditation today from someone and liked it enough to share it with others.


Our emotional lives move up and down constantly. Sometimes we experience great mood: swings from excitement to depression, from joy to sorrow, from inner harmony to inner chaos. A little event, a word from someone, a disappointment in work, many things can trigger such mood swings. Mostly we have little control over these changes. It seems that they happen to us rather than being created by us.

Thus it is important to know that our emotional life is not the same as our spiritual life. Our spiritual life is the life of the Spirit of God within us. As we feel our emotions shift we must connect our spirits with the Spirit of God and remind ourselves that what we feel is not who we are. We are and remain, whatever our moods, God's beloved children.