Greetings from Luanshya!
One of the primary reasons we are foreign missionaries is to train national leaders. Last weekend I was teaching in Livingstone (9 hours south of Luanshya) so brother Chibumba brought forth the message "Why Did God Allow Christ to Suffer?" Sherry said he did a marvelous job presenting the gospel and explaining the age-old question. He has been in the Resource Centre every day for weeks. We have seen a marked improvement in both the content and delivery of his preaching over the past few months. Sunday evening he led the Bible Institute study "The Master's Plan for the Church". He spoke about the muscles of the church. He began with preaching/teaching and went on to prayer and followed this with evangelism/missions. Next week he will continue with the remaining "muscles" of the body of Christ.
We had a brief meeting with the radio station coordinator. The initial license has been obtained and he is now waiting for a review of the Constitution and construction permit of the antennae tower. There is to be a meeting of the Board of Directors very soon. I have been asked to chair this particular Board, but we need to confirm whether or not a non-Zambian resident can chair a Board of a radio station in Zambia. We have been assured that this is not a problem but we want confirmation from the Ministry of Information and Communication. It is better to know before the fact than to cause a problem with government bodies after the fact. Please continue to pray for this ministry possibility.
The youth have been studying "Relationships". This week Sherry taught on "Keeping Close". She stressed that because Christ offers His friendship to us, we can respond in ways that build up our relationship with Him. Using Christ as an example, they examined ways in which a true friend acts towards people around him. They also discussed how their own actions either help or hinder a relationship with the world. Pray for the next lesson, which emphasizes Christ's acceptance of us.
Tomorrow morning I will be traveling to Mkushi to collect Colin for a nine-day school break. It is always great to have him home and he always enjoys being a part of the fellowship at church. For those who may be interested, the school can be seen on their web page at www.chengelo.sch.zm. This will give you a general overview of the school and the ministry of the staff. We are privileged to have this facility available to us keeping our son that much closer to home.
We want to add one final prayer request. A friend of ours is having some difficulty at work. He is a civil servant in a managerial position. Because he would not participate in some of the unethical practices, his subordinates accused him of various misdemeanors. There has been no evidence to back it up, but the accusations have caused a lot of harm and he is temporarily transferred off site and out of town. This causes a lot of pressure at home especially since his wife has just recently given birth to their second child. Please pray that this situation will be sorted out soon and our friend will be back to work near his family, home and church.
As always, we appreciate your prayers for this ministry. We know we could not do it alone.
In His Service,
Patrick and Sherry
Dr. Patrick and
Sherry Coleman
Luanshya, Zambia Africa