Greetings from Luanshya!
We have had a very busy and fruitful couple of weeks. It was so busy that we did not really have time last Wednesday to sit down and do an update. We know you will rejoice with us in the victories of the last fortnight.
Sherry has been working one of our older high school girls in preparation for her to begin a new Sunday School class for the youngest children. Miss Kayuka began her first teaching class this past Sunday and did a marvelous job. She was given four of the existing children currently attending church and had a first time visitor brought by one of the four. Please pray for this young lady as she continues to build her class. Her goal for this week is eight children from the neighborhood.
The last two weeks the youth have been studying "Wise Living". Wisdom is equated with age and experience and does not appear-to the young people-to be attainable or particularly desirable. Sherry explained that the truth of the matter is that wisdom is what all people need no matter what their age. It is a focal point of maturity: a catalyst for good thinking: and the anchor in the swirling current of modern thought. Please continue to pray for the young people. The teacher's strike has temporarily ceased but there is a threat looming that if demands are not met by the end of July, the teachers will walk out again.
The last several weeks there has been a young couple meeting with us in the church. Jonathan and Melinda have been married for a few years and have a young child. Jonathan comes from a very devout Jehovah's Witness family. Melinda comes from a nominal Roman Catholic background. They met while in college and really have not settled down to any particular church. Several years ago, before meeting Jonathan, Melinda had visited the church in Roan Township in which I had ministered. When she found out we were now in town, she encouraged her husband to begin attending. This past week I visited them in their home and they both gave their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. Both of these young adults have spent many years in "religion", but they had never come to the realization that they could have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We are thrilled to have this new brother and sister in the family of God. Please pray that they will continue to grow in the Lord.
Other events of the last two weeks include Evaristo Mulenga, who has been coming in to prepare lessons for his Bible Institute class on General Epistles. He has found the material available in the Christian Resource Centre invaluable to his preparation. In the course of his studies he asked many questions concerning discrepancies between his denominational background and what he is learning in the Resource Centre. In like manner, Victor Zulu, Godfrey Nyirenda and a number of other men are coming in and studying the Word of God, also seeking answers. Having the Resource Centre down town and open to everybody, allows us to have contact with people who ordinarily would not stop to talk to us. We thank God for this opportunity and ask for your continued prayer.
Late last week I was chatting with brother Katandula (the man with whom I travel extensively in rural areas) showing him a number of lessons for church leaders, personal evangelism, etc. Brother Amford Kamba, from one of the vernacular churches, overheard the conversation and became very excited about the possibility of having these lessons taught in his township church. Brother Kamba is a very quiet, gentle man and has always been very pleasant, but I did not know him very well. This afternoon we learned that brother Kamba was a former governor in Zambia as well as an international diplomat a couple decades ago. It is a reminder that we really don't know people by their outward appearance. I've never seen him in a suit. He comes in for his correspondence studies regularly and loves the Lord. He has never pushed himself to the forefront of any of our Bible studies but he is enthusiastically looking forward to being a part of any spiritual outreach. He also wants to be a student in our Bible Institute next year. Imagine, an international diplomat as a Bible school student!
This has been a brief overview of the last two weeks of our ministry in Zambia. We appreciate the fact that you are remembering us in prayer and look forward to sharing even more victories in the coming days.
In His Service,
Patrick and Sherry
Dr. Patrick and
Sherry Coleman
Luanshya, Zambia Africa