A new baby!

This is a picture of Matilda, the woman who works for us, about 3 weeks ago.  As you can tell she is pregnant in this pic.and was due to deliver at the end of Dec. said the doctor.  She stopped working last Thursday and then had her baby Sunday night.  I feel just awful that she worked right up to the time she had the baby but she says it made her fit and made the labor better. Ha!  We are so thankful for Matilda and all she does to help our family at home but also she helps us in the kitchen with 40/40.  She is such a blessing to so  many people!

Wed. we went to visit her and see her new little boy.  He weighed a little over 7 lbs. and has a head full of hair.  He is just precious!

He slept the whole time we were there until we were about to leave and then it was time for him to eat.

Holding little babies brings back so many memories of our 3 little ones who have all grown up!

A New Outreach

I'm beginning a new outreach in Ng'ombe compound with some palliative care ladies.  These ladies work in this huge compound helping those who are sick and most likely on their death bed.  This is volunteer work for them, they are not getting paid.  Anyway, these women get together a couple of times each month and discuss their patients or make some kind of craft that they can sell to help raise money for those in need.  The only thing they are missing is spending time in God's Word.  Troy Lewis, another missionary, in Lusaka has been working in this compound already and even with these women as they distribute the BGR buckets(see sidebar for more info.) for those with HIV/AIDS.  He has developed a bible study called "Stewardship of Life."  So, I'm teaching through this as a pilot program.  I'll be meeting with these women every other Monday in the afternoons.  These women are not all baptist but come from many different denominations so things could get interesting. Ha!  I went this past Monday for the first time.  I shared my testimony so they could learn more about me.  Then I answered some cultural questions about how America is different than Zambia.  That's always fun!  Then I taught my lesson, "God cares that you know Him."  We talked about what it meant to be a steward and that we needed to live our lives in such a way that will please God.  We also discussed how the Bible was written by prophets many years ago so that people could know God better.  How exciting to know that the God of the Universe loved us so much that he had the bible written down for us!  We also talked about how God created the Spirit world and that He is ruler over the Spirit world.  I shared with them about how Satan, demons, and angels came to be.  So basically, I started at the very beginning. In two weeks I'll go back and the lesson will cover Gen. 1-2.  Pray that I will be an encouragement to these ladies and that I'll be able to point them towards Christ as they come each time.  Pray also for any who do not know Jesus to make that decision to follow Him.  Hannah is planning on going with me next time and teach the little kids.  Pray for her as she plans this time and also that the kids would be well behaved and listen to what she has to share.

"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Romans 15:4-6

My Hope Zambia-Ministry of Billy Graham

Many people are fearful and some have lost all hope.  The difficult economy, corruption, loss of jobs, violence and natural disasters have broken their spirit.  All of us face death, and many have no hope.  But the Bible says, "No one whose hope is in you(God) will ever be put to shame." (Psalm 25:3)
The vision of My Hope Zambia is to make disciples of Jesus Christ throughout the nation, using TV, radio, and dvd's in 60,000 homes of believers, trained in 6000 churches, using the Matthew and Friends strategy.  This strategy comes from the Bible in Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17, and Luke 5:27-32 where Jesus called Matthew to follow Him, and then Matthew invited his friends, family and neighbors to his home for  a meal to meet Jesus.
This Thursday, Friday, and Saturday My Hope Zambia will be broadcasting on TV and radio stations 30 min. programs which will feature African music, testimonies from other Zambians, and a brief message of hope by Billy Graham or Franklin Graham.  Zambian believers all across this country will use these programs to share messages of hope with guests they have invited to their homes or other locations.  I know they will be on two different TV stations these nights(Thurs.-Sat.) at 6:30pm and 7:30pm.  Please pray for this huge event that is taking place in Zambia.  This is such a great opportunity for many to hear the truth of God's Word and have an opportunity to pray to receive Christ.  Those who pray to receive Christ will receive follow up and they will be directed to a nearby church which teaches the Word.  Pray that many will hear these programs, that the Holy Spirit will convict their hearts, and that they will trust in God and decide to follow Him.  
I have been passing out a few brochures to help promote this and I gave one to our night guard.  He came back the next night and said, "I have done what the brochure says to do.  I thought of some people who do not know Jesus, I wrote their names down and I'm praying for them.  I invited them into my home to watch this program."  I am so excited!!  This is going on all over Zambia!  Please pray!

Bauleni Baptist Church

Phil. 3:10 says, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This past Sunday Kevin was asked to preach at Bauleni Baptist Church in Bauleni compound.  The pastor and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Zulu, have been friends of ours since 1997 when they were students of mine at the Baptist Theological Seminary of Lusaka.  I taught Samson English grammar and his wife ESL.  Since graduating from seminary the Zulu's have been serving at Bauleni Baptist Church and doing a great job.  They have planted several churches within Lusaka and in other parts of the country.  He has helped in many of our bible schools in the eastern part of Zambia too.  Now, they are doing a discipleship program  in their church called One on One with God.  He trained some leaders in his church in this program and then they are now each training different groups within the church.  After they finish, those who went through it will teach others.  Sounds like multiplication to me!!  I asked him, "After everyone in your church is trained, what will you do?"  His answer was, "Then we'll start teaching outside of the church."  Sounds like a good plan to me!  

"And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."  2 Tim. 2:2

We enjoyed a good lunch after the service with the Zulu's and had a good time catching up with them and hearing about all that God is doing in their area.

 

 

This is just part of the Bauleni Baptist church.  You can see they are trying to build and add on to their existing church.  I'm guessing there were around 350-400 there this past Sunday.

It had been raining all morning.  On our way out of the compound we took a few pics. of the flooding.  Many times in most of the compounds there is not good drainage so you'll find lots of flooding during the rainy season.  What is so sad is that many children drown in this flooding because you can not tell where a big ditch is and as they walk through the water they fall into a ditch and can't swim.

Life is difficult in the compounds but this man stopped his work and gave us a big smile and thumbs up as we drove past.

There are many compounds in Lusaka where the living conditions of the people would just stun you.  Please pray for Bauleni Baptist church as they try to reach the lost in their compound that peoples hearts would be receptive to the gospel.  

Justin is Home!

Justin was supposed to fly in around 11:30 pm this past Friday night.  His flight was delayed because some of the crew for the flight was stuck in Nairobi traffic.  Anyone who has ever been to Nairobi can totally see that happening!  Anyway, his flight touched down around 12:05 and we waited for him to come out.  It is much more exciting to go to the airport to pick him up then it is when he has to go back to school as you can imagine.  We reached home around 1am and went to bed.  The next day the kids slept until 12:00!  Meanwhile, I'm up fixing a thanksgiving feast trying to be quiet so they could sleep.  As we were waiting for the food to be finished Justin went out to play with the dogs.  He missed them very much and I think they missed him too!

I love this action shot!

Here we are about to eat our meal.  I made a turkey, gravey, mashed potatoe casserole, veg. casserole,
carrot souffle, and rolls.

Here are a few pics. I took of Hannah.

 

 

Thanksgiving

Rejoice in the Lord always!  I am so thankful that so many of our missionaries in Zambia were able to gather for a Thanksgiving feast on Thursday.  Everyone made such delicious foods!  After we had eaten and all the dishes washed we had a time of prayer for each family who served in Zambia.

Hannah waiting in line to get her food.

Marci and James

Taylor, Zoe, and Hadassah

Lesley holding her daughter Kenley.

The men did even did the dishes!  That is certainly something to rejoice over!  Thanks guys!

Mark holding his son Matthew.

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  

Worship the Lord with gladness; 

come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

The day after thanksgiving our guest house manager, Ellen, planned a fun time for the kids.  She rented a jumping castle which the kids really enjoyed.  Above is Matthew and Zoe.

The little ones especially enjoyed jumping!

Here is a pic. with most of  the kids.

Zoe and Hadassah

Hannah and Matthew

 

 

 

After playing outside we came inside and the kids decorated cupcakes to look like turkeys.  They used candy corn for the feathers and then a pumpkin candy corn for the head.

Hutch enjoying his creation!

Abigail and Emily with their turkey cupcakes.  Aren't they cute?

Happy Birthday Kevin!

 Kevin decided that he would like a steak for his birthday dinner tonight.  So, we decided to go out and get a small grill so we could grill it instead of cooking it in the oven.

 You can't see the dogs in this picture but they were close by trying to figure out what was going on and how they could get some of what they were smelling!

 Everything was delicious!

Kevin isn't big on deserts so I made his favorite cookies-oatmeal!  We are so thankful for Kevin! 

Happy Birthday!

Graduation

Yesterday we had the privilege of going to an afternoon tea to celebrate the 9 students who will be graduating from the Baptist Theological Seminary.  Some of the faculty prepared some different foods for us to enjoy and then we had punch.  Even though it is called a tea it is just a little too hot to drink hot tea this time of year. After our refreshments we sat outside on the porch and each graduate went around and shared their testimony of how they had seen God work in their lives throughout their time at the seminary.  Over and over again most of them talked about God's provision and His faithfulness!  They all were so thankful for the teachers, the other students, and their families for their support and encouragement over the years.  They have learned much and even had opportunities to put into practice all that they have learned.  Now it is time for them to leave the seminary life and head out to where God is leading them.  Two of the couples are going back out to our old area east of Lusaka so we are very excited about that. 
Saturday is the graduation day for the Baptist Theological Seminary of Zambia. Please continue to pray for the families as they leave the Seminary and adjust to new places of service. Also pray for the new students who are preparing to come to the Seminary in December.