Greetings from Luanshya!
It has been a long time since we have sent an update because we have been away from the office. However, God has continued to bless the work here in Luanshya. Brother Chibumba has been ably handling all of the responsibilities with regard to the church, but he was ever so glad to see us return so he could go back to sharing these same responsibilities. I enjoyed being back in the pulpit last Sunday!
Upon reopening the Christian Resource Centre, the building was packed from day one. School children are currently on a two-week vacation and that always means a busy time for Sherry and her assistant. The courses from the Source of Light Bible Correspondence School continue to come in and we were greeted with hugs and handshakes from people all over town.
Sherry met with the youth on Monday. They have begun a new series on "Music". Lesson one was a search through scripture on what was done in the Old Testament period concerning praise, worship, and singing. This coming week the young people will look at "Rock Reality". As they explore different forms of music and what may or may not be worthy of God's ear, pray for them. Many misunderstandings are expected.
We want to share with you the testimony of a dear saint. Mrs. Tali was born in 1928. She accepted Christ as he saviour when she was twelve years old. She was married in the early 40's and she, along with her husband, began serving the Lord in their local church. They raised several children. Three of their sons have ministry related responsibilities. One of their sons is a pastor in a local Baptist church. Two of her sons are elders in two other churches. Mr. Tali died several years ago, but Mrs. Tali continued to serve the Lord teaching and ministering to women in her home church. Just prior to our return to town she became ill and entered into eternity as her family stood around the bed. Her life was celebrated at the funeral last Saturday. We are challenged by the lives of these special saints, like Mrs. Tali, who have served the Lord for over six decades. Please pray for the Tali family and for the ministries in which Mrs. Tali served.
This coming weekend we have been invited to the Gideon's banquet. The Gideon's have a small "camp" here in Luanshya and a number of the Christian businessmen are actively involved in the distribution of the Word of God. In Zambia it is still legal to distribute New Testaments to students in grade 7. In the past we have been able to assist in the distribution and our local church has contributed to the Gideon's through special offerings. Brother Stanley Mpotela made a special effort to deliver our invitation and follow it up with a personal visit. We are looking forward to the evening of fellowship and hearing of many blessings.
This coming Sunday we are going to celebrate "Mother's Day." This is not a recognized holiday in Zambia, but we are going to celebrate it anyway. Being a mom is never an easy task, but being a mom in Zambia presents challenges that the modern day American/Canadian mother will never confront. Pray for our mom's as we celebrate them this weekend.
To all the mom's out there, we wish you a very happy Mother's Day!
In His Service,
Patrick and Sherry
Dr. Patrick and
Sherry Coleman
Luanshya, Zambia Africa