"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" Gen. 18:14
This is God's loving challenge to us each day. Nothing is too difficult when we believe in Him enough to go forward, doing His will and letting Him do the impossible for us.
Vacation Bible School. As exciting as the program may be, those that serve as program Director may look upon it with fear and trepidation as day one approaches...will there be enough volunteers? Do we have sufficient materials? What about the prizes? Will the program be riveting? Will I be prepared for each day's new demand? Will the children come? How will we ever follow up all those children at the conclusion of the program? I'm sure this and much more is presently going through Sherry's mind as she and her team holds their first planning session this evening. Please commit to prayer the VBS that is scheduled for 15-19 December. The theme for the week is "The Great Global Adventure" using the characters of the well-known children's series "Adventures In Odyssey". Even in Zambia children are familiar with this program as it is broadcast every day over the Christian radio station.
Yet another month has come to a close and we note the continued interest and growth in the correspondence school. This ministry has certainly spread beyond our wildest expectation and we are thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to serve Him in this manner. We continue to wait for a shipment of lessons. Please pray that this will arrive before the current stock runs out. Just for your information 204 lessons were corrected, and 232 were distributed during the month of October. Sherry was happy to sign 20 certificates of completion and enroll a number of new students.
With schools closing early this month to enable examination classes (Grade 7, 9 and 12) to sit, we already find that the Christian Resource Centre is filling up early in the day for those who wish to read and study. Many of those who are able, will enroll in the lessons or continue their lessons during this period since schools will not reopen until mid-January or February. Pray that many souls may be reached through the various ministries of the Christian Resource Centre.
The Youth Fellowship met Monday for their ongoing activities and Bible studies on "Symbols of Christ in the Gospel of John". This week the young people looked at "Christ the Good Shepherd" in John 10. The metaphor of the shepherd and his sheep is probably the most common one used in Scripture to describe the relationship of God to His people. Since God used it often, the shepherd/sheep metaphor must have great power to convey the truth behind it. Pray for next week's lesson "The Resurrection and the Life."
Our first Young Couples Discipleship Class was held on Sunday. Though we began the lesson late, no one was looking to leave early. How refreshing! The first session on "God Cares For You" seemed to spark a lot of discussion. A number of misnomers and misunderstandings were dealt with in what we thought was an easy lesson. However, some of the issues that we take for granted certainly weren't "the norm" for those in the class. We were able to talk about four different areas: God created you; God knows you; God loves you; and God made you part of His family. Pray for this special group, as all are new to the faith and desire to learn and to serve.
Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer.
In His Service,
Patrick and Sherry
Dr. Patrick and
Sherry Coleman
Luanshya, Zambia Africa