Leadership Training

We have a small team in doing basic leadership training. The team is only here for 5 days but will meet with 3 different groups and help with our Magwero school project!

In those 5 days, we will meet with community leaders, church leaders, and small scale leaders. I have jokingly labeled them the white collar, blue collar, and Spirit collar workers.

Using the Bible as our foundation and basis for all our principles, we are able to aptly communicate truth's of leadership. A great benefit of using God's word is its ability to cross borders and be just as applicable in any time zone.

A big thanks to Winshape for their commitment to leadership and willingness to pass on knowledge and bring added value to the work here in Chipata.

not forgotten

Over the last few months we have been visiting Magwero school for the Deaf and for the Blind. It didn't take long for us to see the need for the school, dorms, and overall condition of the facilities. The school is kind of tucked out of the way and maybe that is why people seem to forget about the needs of these children. There are close to 150 children that attend the deaf school and almost 50 that attend the blind school. 

We recently started up a small project to finish a classroom block representing 5 classrooms. Previously, there were no doors, windows, or a proper floor making it very cold in the winter season, very dusty in the hot season, and even wet during the rainy season. Certainly not ideal learning conditions. We are hoping to finish our project in the next 2 weeks that will transform the facility giving the students a proper place to learn and maybe more importantly help them to know they are not forgotten. 

Along with school rooms, we are also helping to replace a water tank for the deaf school. Currently the school is using a bore hole connected to a water tank. However, a couple months ago the water tank was punctured and couldn't hold enough water to meet the drinking, bathing, and sanitation needs of the school. Thanks to the donations of some friends, we will replace the tank later this week and the students/community will have clean drinking water available to them again.

Taking steps

I must admit there were many lessons I have taught that I rushed through and later wondered why the people didn't ever change or truly understand. Lately, I have realized, teaching the Bible is not about finishing the lesson but about people knowing the Lord. When we plant a seed, it takes time for it to grow and produce any real fruit. Even when we think of a baby - if you give the child all the food in the world, it will still only grow at a certain rate. I believe the same is true of Christians. Jesus spent time with His followers and if we are going to impact people time is going to be required to slowly nurture and provide the spiritual food that is necessary. 

That being said, it is wonderful to see a group of people growing even at the smallest rate. The last few weeks I have been working with our Bible study in the bush to memorize all 66 books of the Bible in order. Today, 3 of the group members stood in front and recited all 66 books! Each week we are memorizing a new verse or portion of Scripture and teaching a basic lesson. Just baby steps but in only 5 weeks our group has memorized:

• John 3:16
• John 14:6
• Psalm 23:1
• Proverbs 3:5-6
• Psalms 34:7-9

Almost the whole group is able to recite the memory verses and there is a contagious talk about spiritual things that is happening. We praise the Lord for these baby steps! I originally had planned to teach 1 lesson in 1 week, but it appears that 1 lesson has spread into 4 weeks.  I am reminded each week, just take a step...

Friends and Faith

Some neighborhood girls came over the last couple days wanting to play with Analiese. They are teen-aged girls that are off from school right now and just looking for things to do. Analiese is more than happy to play with anyone who will give her attention. So, we pulled out the chalk and grabbed some soccer balls, and the fun started!

After playing for a little while, Savannah gave the wordless bracelets and explained what it meant and how to be saved. The girls went back to playing but said they wanted to do more Bible studies. Later, Savannah gave them all a copy of John/Romans and did a study about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Always wonderful to see the Lord open doors of opportunity right here in our own neighborhood!

Being Wise Builders

Today I was out teaching a group of about 15 or 20 church members some basic Biblical principles. We are going through a series on "foundations of Christianity". We have been going through this for a few weeks and sometimes you wonder if people are listening. Anyway, I was discussing the verse:

2 Timothy 2:19  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (KJV)

We were specifically going over "depart from iniquity" and how many "Christians" look like Christians but dont actually live like Christians. I spoke about how in Zambia many say they are Christian but hide charms in their homes for protections against evil spirits. As soon as the words came out of my mouth a woman started loudly saying something. I immediately thought I had said something offensive (cause that happens from time to time). However, I was pleasantly surprised. She said, "we dont have those charms in our homes anymore". She went on to explain that since the last time I taught from the Bible, everyone went home and cleaned house! Praise the LORD!

Most of our teaching is a springboard from Matthew 7 in which we are told about two people building a house. One person builds a proper foundation on a rock and the other builds their house on sand. The one that built on rock of course is considered wise, a person that hears, and does the words that are spoken. The other person is considered foolish, someone who hears but does not do. It is wonderful to see people make the decision to be "wise master builders".