News from Zambia - 26th January 2005

Greetings from Luanshya!

Good news, bad news. We have asked you to pray for John and Sarah Bwalya

concerning their placement by the Ministry of Education. They have both

been placed and moved on site today. The really good news is that they

have been posted at the same school. The really bad news is they are 30

miles away. We do not know if they are going to be able to commute on

the weekends, but it looks doubtful especially during the rainy season.

We are excited about their new life. Nevertheless, this means they will

not be able to teach in the Sunday School and that is a major blow for

Sherry. Please pray for John and Sarah as they begin their teaching

career. Please pray that God will provide more Sunday School teachers to

take their places here in our church.

Brother Silungwe is thoroughly enjoying his discipleship lessons. It is

always exciting to see a senior saint getting involved in Bible study.

The other day he told brother Chibumba, "This is good stuff, this is

really good stuff. I am enjoying my study." Another young man is showing

interest in discipleship studies and we will be looking into that in the

next few days to see when it will fit into both of our schedules. Pray

for this ministry and for those who are endeavouring to grow in the

nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Sherry's College and Career class studied the life of the prophet Elijah

last week. The theme of the lesson was "Changing Our Schedule." The idea

of being busy and keeping ourselves occupied 24/7 is a common mantra.

This study focused on the need to prioritise and make sure that

sufficient "quiet time" is programmed into our daily schedules. The

example from Elijah's life is that he was so busy for the Lord, he

failed to take time to rest. When the threats of Jezebel were made

concerning his life, he ran in fear instead of taking a stand and

resting on God's promises based upon previous experiences. Pray for the

group as they look at the life of Moses this Friday and how he served as

a leader among the people.

We would like to ask you to pray for Mark. He is one of our students in

the correspondence school and has been for several years. He brought me

a paper that he wrote having received a "vision". In his paper he states

that Christ was the first creation of God. This is obviously heresy from

any number of cults that are present in Zambia today. I made a few notes

and gave him some scriptures to cross-reference. He came in and spoke

with Sherry today, as I was out of the office. He does not go to any

particular church but goes "where the spirit leads". He says that he is

now an apostle. Mark's church background is Baptist but his current

theology is rubbish. Please pray for him and for us as we talk with him

concerning what the Bible says as opposed to what men say.

It has been a busy week. We enjoy busy weeks because we know we are

having an impact on the people with whom we come into contact. Thank you

for having a part in this ministry.

In His Service,

Patrick and Sherry