A Look Back at Team Zambia 2014

Team Zambia Conclusions

 

Well, this last entry was written somewhere in the sky above England after a stopover in Rome as we were heading to Washington D.C. for one more plane change. The 20+ hours of flying is not easy but to a person each team member will tell you that they would do it all again! (Maybe not tomorrow, but eventually- they would certainly do it all again.)

 

To all of you who were on our team as family members who "let go" and for all of you who prayed and gave to "help us go"- we say a huge Thanks.

We know that it is impossible to quantify all that God did this week through reports, testimonies and numbers- partly because we only see the tip of the iceberg of God's work from the vantage point of this world.  I always think that perhaps I led the young man to Christ this week that will become the next great African Billy Graham...it could happen.

This quote from an unknown source has become a favorite of mine: "Any ordinary person, given enough time, can stand under an apple tree and count the apples on it, but only God can look at the seeds inside a single apple and know how many trees they hold."

 

Under the capable hands of our International Mission Board personnel, we learned so much about this place and culture that are new to us. For example, after one day of doing hut to hut evangelism it was clear that we needed to adjust our approach. With the help of Jeff Lowe, our missionary in Zambia and Krista Tope, a team member that has experience living in African culture, a gospel presentation was developed. Through an illustration, stories from scripture and a simple gospel presentation we were able to slow our pace and spend much more time with each person or family to which we witnessed. As a result, we made fewer visits but were assured that more of the decisions were authentic conversions. This also set the stage for Pastor Jere to follow up with those who accepted Christ and now need to be baptized and discipled.

And- even with this much more methodical approach our evangelism teams presented the gospel 126 times and saw 47 people pray to receive Christ.

The people who were saved were invited right on the spot to be a part of Chamba Valley Baptist Church and it will be their job to follow up with them to disciple them. However, Jeff has asked for us to pray for them as they are contemplating a church plant and need God's clear direction as to when and where to do so.

 

The invitation to come to Zambia to do evangelism/church planting and VBS came after I accompanied Nathan Lorick here last year and met Jeff and Robyn and other IMB personnel. They were brave to host us since they were taking our word that we would bring a great team that would be well trained and have servant hearts.

Normally, short term teams go home and the missionaries go through an evaluation exercise and then either issue another invitation to come back or simply thank the team and let that be that. I was so excited that before we even left Zambia that Jeff met with our entire team and told us that we were an excellent team and that He was praying for a partnership that would last well into the future.

 

As the Pastor over Missions here at Castle Hills, I want to thank you for being a church that reflects God's heart for the nations. I want to thank you again for giving and praying. I am so excited for the days ahead because our new pastor Matt Surber's record shows that he has that same heart and will lead us in completing the great commission to hasten the Lord's return. 

Oh Yeah- and to the 900+ facebook friends who have viewed our blog and prayed accordingly, I remind you that you had a part in every person who's life was changed for eternity.

Here are some random pictures I hope you enjoy.

to the neighborhoods and the nations for His glory,

Donnie

 

 

Team Zambia 2014 Day Five

THE WORDLESS BOOK SPEAKS VOLUMES

This week at Vacation Bible School the children have been learning a different color a day and that color represents a truth from the bible.

Here's a verse we have written to help them remember what the colors stand for:

Gold is for Heaven where God wants us to Go

Black is for Sin the Darkness in Man's Soul

Red is for the Blood Jesus Shed on Calvary

White is for the New Heart Jesus gives to You and Me

Green is for the Plant Growing Stronger Every Day

Jesus Living Through Me it is the Only Way

We normally make a friendship bracelet for each child with beads that match these colors but because the witch doctors use beads as a way to ward off evil spirits, we could not use beads. Instead we used the wordless book and yarn bracelets with strands of each color.

The wordless book has felt pages of each color and a symbol to remind them of the truth. The bracelets of yarn ended up most often being worn as headbands.

It was so gratifying to our team to see the children at the last session going through the colors and telling the truths they represented. The children were left with with the challenge of going home and sharing their wordless book with their family and friends. In my mind I can see this taking place between parents and these little African evangelists.

JESUS UNDER THE STARS

The Jesus Film is produced by Campus Crusade for Christ and is used in thousands of places around the world in hundreds of languages and dialects. The video we used was in Chichewa.

Our International Mission Board has provided each of their teams with a Jesus film kit worth thousands of dollars consisting of a Jesus Video in the language of their people group, a high lumen video projector, a giant screen with a metal stand, a portable but powerful PA system, all the necessary cables and a generator.

All week we have been praying for Saturday night when the Jesus Film would be shown to the people of the Chamba Valley at their soccer field.

Some of the guys from our team went over and set everything up and the rest of the team followed. It was fun to pull up in the bus and already find swarms of kids on site and their parents soon followed with between 350 and 400 in attendance.

The film which chronicles the Life of Christ according to the book of Luke was shown and at the end the missionary gave a simple gospel presentation. However, there was no altar call given because with the Zambian culture being totally built around community it is too likely that everyone would come to the front. Unlike American culture that values rugged individualism, the African cultures value community above all. This has been a problem at times because a village chief will hear the gospel and simply decide that the entire village is going to become Christians without each person truly understanding what this means.

So, the local pastor was introduced and he invited them to come to Chamba Valley Baptist Church to find out more about how to be a follower of Jesus.

I have to say that I will never forget that night seeing hundreds of villagers huddled together around their lit charcoal cans (the temperature dropped into the low 40's). Some built open fires and roasted corn or peanuts sharing them with friends. Most of our team ended up with babies and kids asleep on their laps and overhead the sky was filled with brilliant stars. Even the Milky Way was clearly visible as many heard the true story of Jesus for the first time. Only our God could arrange such an amazing event.

NOT THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TO DO, BUT...

One day before we left the Guest house some of us noticed that there were some roof trusses stacked on top of some shipping containers. I asked the Missionary Jeff about this and he stated that their desire for some time had been to build a covering over these containers since they served as their only storage area. As God would have it we had two engineers and a welder with us on our team. So, Wayne, Collis and Jacob stayed behind on Saturday and in one morning were able to set all the trusses, a job that Dwayne, the maintenance man stated would have taken a month or more. Thanks guys for staying adaptable.

Team Zambia 2014 Day Four

A Blind Man is Saved

One of our evangelism teams was walking in the village and encountered a blind man that was being lead around by a child. The team started witnessing to the man and found him to be very thirsty to hear about The Lord. They shared that trusting in Jesus would mean that Christ would lead you spiritually even as this child has been leading you physically. After explaining exactly what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ this man prayed to receive Jesus as his personal Savior.

Walk, Walk, Walk, Walk

No, I am not complaining about all the walking we are doing here in Africa. These are the words to an awesome children's song we have had the privilege of teaching to kids on several continents. And with 200 African children singing it inside a very small church building it is wonderfully deafening. It's quite the site to see. African children sing with passion...and they dance with passion as well. It must make God smile to see them praising his name with such reckless abandon. We have it on video, you must see it sometime.

The Lost Leading the Lost?

So- one of our evangelism teams today was sharing Jesus hut to hut when we approached three young men ranging in age from probably 17 to 21 years of age. Our interpreter asked if we could share with them and they said yes and quickly brought out the little benches that almost every home has that are only 4 to 6 inches off the ground. We shared Jesus with the boys but in the middle of the presentation realized there were some women who had come up behind us and were listening as well. We asked them to join us and as they came around to the front we went back to catch them up on what we had shared with the boys. At one point, one of the ladies was confused and before we could answer her question one of the boys started explaining what we had taught him with great enthusiasm, almost pleading with her. It was at that moment that I took a step back in my mind and had this thought: "I am pretty sure that this boy is witnessing to this lady about Jesus before he is even saved himself!" In another half hour or so these 7 adults each prayed to receive Jesus as their Lord and savior.

Meet Team Zambia 2014

As I have stated before, this mission team has been extraordinary and it's easy to see with hindsight why God placed each person where He did. We have encountered some twists and turns in each of our areas that could have easily sent some people rolling off the back of the truck but this team has forged ahead faithful to the task.

I thought it might be good to give you just a word about our team. In fact, I thought I would give you one word that I've seen them exhibit while here in Africa.

Krista Tope- CONSISTENCY- Krista has been at Castle Hills since before she was born! She recently spent two years in West Africa with the International Mission Board and is a seasoned missionary. She has not only served as the LC (logistical coordinator) for this trip but she wrote a large part of the gospel presentation we are now using to share Jesus in Africa.

Laura Kincaid- DILIGENT- Back home Laura serves as the LC for the Helping Hand to Christ Witness Training Class. She also serves as a volunteer Pastoral Admin and has been instrumental in putting this trip together. She has been on several international mission trips and is currently undergoing the interview process to become a career missionary for the International Mission Board. 

Anette Messinger- HEALING- Anette is a former Army medic who oozes compassion for people who are sick or injured. It's been heartbreaking for her to see kids like the one she saw on this trip with his foot in a plastic bag inside his shoe because he had a large gash in his foot which is quickly becoming infected. She is strictly forbidden by Zambian law to administer any first aid to a national without government certification so her ministry at that point can only be one of prayer. Please join us in praying for this child. Monday, she will be on a team that will deliver a "Bucket of Love" which is a kit designed to assist AIDS patients to die with dignity. (Side note: in all the hundreds of people I have met in Zambia I have met exactly 1 senior adult. The average life expectancy for a male is 46.

Sandra Bender- MOM- Every great team needs a team mom. Someone who has a nurturing heart that can keep things calm and help everyone feel like it's going to be alright. She has been the mastermind behind our entire Mission VBS and has done a stellar job. She adores kids and will do whatever it takes to make their bible lessons come alive.

Ashlyn Bender- LEADER- Ashlyn has been one of the primary leaders in our Student Ministry for years now. I chose the word leader for two reasons- first, because she has never been a "follower of teen culture" but a leader for her peers. Secondly, she quietly shows by her Christian example how others can follow Jesus. (oh yeah, she's Sandra's daughter and has a proud dad and brother back at Castle Hills.)

Collis Boone- HILARIOUS- This guy keeps things light no matter what's happening around him. He is a part of our Young Married ministry at Castle Hills.  He has a dizzying sense of humor and knows how to make anything, even hard work, fun for all involved. He's the other HEALING person on the trip (He's a Policemen with EMT training) who has made sure that team members are safe and that they get the care they need to keep rolling.

Wayne Flores-STRENGTH- I chose this word not only because Wayne is a really big guy...but because he has inner strength. Through the ups and downs of family and church life he has been there to help guide his family (His wife Kay is our Interim Children's Minister), and our church to follow God's will. He is a well trained evangelist and has helped lead our hut to hut evangelism here in Africa.

Jacob Wuenschel-- KNOWLEDGE- Jacob just knows stuff. A lot of stuff. He is a serious student of God's word and a great teacher in our Young Married Department at Castle Hills. His wife Kim  is the leader for our Preschool ministry at Castle Hills. Jacob is a deacon also and God us using him mightily in evangelism here in Zambia.

Tabitha Thompson- FEARLESS- Now I know that when you look at this petit teenage girl, this may not be the first word you think of but Tabitha is just finishing the 8th grade and she has taken on every challenge we've thrown at her on this trip. This includes serving as a leader in the Music Rotation of our Vacation Bible School which has proven to be challenging when you have children from 1 year old to 12 years old in your class.

Lacey Gee- ENTHUSIASM- Lacey is a part of our Young Professionals Ministry at Castle Hills along with Krista and Laura. Lacey is fairly new to San Antonio and is a Dental Hygienist. The laughter and passion with which Lacey approaches anything she does, has been infectious for our team. She and Ashlyn are kid magnets and quite often during the trip she has had a child attached to each finger as she walks along the village streets sharing Jesus.

Rachael Heard- COMPASSION- Rachael is a speech pathologist in San Antonio and an experienced missionary. Rachel attends Northwest Park Baptist Church in San Antonio. God has given us a passion to reach out to people from other churches and take them as a part of our short term missions teams and this year we were blessed with two members of Northwest Park. Rachel has been invaluable in the planning and in leading our Vacation Bible School. She loves kids and it shows every minute she with them.

Micah Smith- ENERGETIC- Like Rachael, Micah is also from Northwest Park Baptist Church and he's been our energizer bunny this week. He is a sophomore at Northwest Vista College and he has not stopped running and playing with children all week...except to share with them the gospel using the colors found on the Evangelism Futbols we brought with us.

Team Zambia 2014 Day Three

The Crippled Lady and the Crowd

Today one of our evangelism teams encountered a lady who was crippled. In talking with her it was apparent that she had a strong spiritual interest. One of the team members shared the story of the man carried by four friends in Mark 2. Instead of using this passage to promise her that she would walk again it became an opportunity to show her that Jesus did the most important thing first, he forgave the man and saved him.  One of our teenagers on the team shared that she wondered if this isn't exactly what it felt like to walk with Jesus especially later when a huge crowd of almost a hundred people began to follow them down the street listening to everything they shared. ( they may have never been more like Jesus than on this day, on this dusty street in Africa)

A Beautiful Orphan

Christine- Our Awesome Interrupter...I mean Interpreter. Almost everywhere we go in the world we have to depend on interpreters. They are our lifeline to teach, sing, give instructions and to share Jesus. God always graces us with wonderful people in this area and this trip is no exception. Christine is a beautiful African young lady who is 21 years old. Her vivacious personality and her amazing singing voice has made our music team's job much easier at times. She is just not finishing the 12 grade because she has had to drop out of school to help her family several times. The first time was two years ago when her mother became ill and died and again recently when her dad was hospitalized. We were astonished to find out that she buried her dad one week ago. You would never know it by her wonderful spirit and tremendous smile. Please lift up a prayer request she has entrusted to us, that she would be able to finish the 12th grade and attend college to become a teacher- it is her dream.

Help is on the Way

Micah, a high school student on our team, and Collis have been struggling to keep up with the demands of six sessions of Recreation every day with so many children. Then yesterday a young man named Ben showed up from the village. He too is a high school student and he brought a couple of friends along just to see what was going on at the local soccer field. Micah and he hit if off immediately and the boy and his friends jumped in and made a huge difference with the children and Micah has began to witness to him about Christ's love. Pray for his salvation and for the salvation of both friends.

Christmas in April?

Last night our team was resting and planning for the next day in the cafeteria of the Guest House when a lady and her teenage daughter walked in. It was Marci and Emily, two people I met last year when I came to Zambia with Nathan Lorick. They live with their family, in a very remote part of Africa and only come to town to shop for supplies every couple of months or so. They "just happened" to be here when we were in town and were staying at the guest house. We were amused to find out that the Christmas cards that our church sent to them finally arrived in April after first being misrouted to Sri Lanka. Our team gathered around them and encouraged them ending the night in a prayer for their ministry. This was no doubt divinely appointed.

Praises and Prayer Requests

Praise God that a young man one of our teams witnessed to made the decision to put aside his tribal beliefs and trust Christ. He said that this was very hard because he realized that if he accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord that he could never visit the witch doctor. Pray for him that his commitment will be steadfast.

Pray for a harvest of souls at the Jesus Film which will be shown on the soccer field this Saturday. We are anticipating that hundreds will attend even though it means walking great distances for some.

Pray that our team will not become fatigued. We have five days of Vacation Bible School with a three hour session in the morning followed by lunch and a three hour session each afternoon. Also, our evangelism teams are walking and talking with people both morning and afternoon as well.

Team Zambia Day Two

Well, it happened...more kids came to VBS. In fact, we had 200 children by the end of day two at Vacation Bible School. This is a GIGANTIC praise and a HUMONGOUS prayer request. We are maxed out on supplies and today got pretty hectic at times but Our three VBS teams have been stellar. Kudos to Sandra and Anette who are the ones who get to actually try to get that many kids to sit down in a tiny church building for the Bible Lesson. The Braveheart award goes to Rachel and Tabitha who handled the entire music time today without a guitar so that I could go with our evangelism/church planting teams...love you guys...I know that was difficult. 

And then there's our he-men...Collis and Micah who have sore places in places where they didn't even know they had places from non stop pandemonium on the soccer field.

Our evangelism teams have had 15 salvation decisions already and that is amazing considering that it takes an average of 45 minutes to share the gospel here. It takes this long because the people we are encountering have no concept of "the one true God" and are steeped in ancestry worship and tribal religious beliefs. It is sad to realize that  with the exception of a very minute percentage of dedicated Christians who have been well discipled that every family makes regular visits to the village witch doctor on a regular basis. Already we have noticed several children with bright blue markings on their forehead which resemble a tattoo- the marks placed there during a the witch doctor's healing ritual.

A quick story. Our evangelism team was walking down a road in the village when we noticed some men working on a home. As we approached them they put down their tools and greeted us warmly. We shared the gospel with them starting with Creation and making a beeline for Christ. When we asked what a person must do to come to God one of them perked up and said excitedly: "repent." I was surprised to hear such a religious answer and the man beamed like a child in class that got the answer right. However, when we asked what that meant he hung his head and said through our interpreter: "I do not know." Obviously, someone had paved the way for us in sharing with the man and we watered that seed. In the end four of the five people there prayed to receive Christ and we spent more time explaining the church to them. Later in the day we took the local pastor we are working with back to meet them and they are planning to be in church with us on Sunday.

Team Zambia 2014 Day One

Our first day is over and it's great to walk through the International Mission Board Guest House and hear the conversations between our team members about who they shared Christ with and what children they already love and how amazing it is that so many of these children know nothing about God or heaven.

I heard Tabitha say: "The kids already know our songs, I heard them singing them all through the village as they left today." And I wondered if she ever dreamed a year ago (at the ripe old age of 12)  that she would be saying those words as she sits in Africa. I'm pretty sure that's a negative.

It was great to hear Sandra and Rachael and Anette talking about how they could overcome the difficulties of having 103 children show up for the first session of Vacation Bible School and what to do if it continues to grow!

I was so moved to sit in a room with our hut to hut evangelism team (comprised of Krista, Laura, Jacob, Wayne, Ashlyn and Lacey) praying and seeking God's direction on ways to retool our method of sharing Jesus to overcome some huge cultural barriers discovered today. God revealed a clear answer we believe will make the truth clearer to those who will hear the gospel tomorrow.

I was also thankful to see Collis (the eternal kid at heart) and Micah the High School guy that every African boy here wants to meet mixing it up at full speed on the Soccer field during Rec time. (Thank God for youth and stamina- this duty is not for the faint of heart).

Only God in His infinite wisdom could have fielded such a well rounded team. Kinda reminds me of the Spurs- (yes I am going to go there- we have not had nearly enough Spurs championship analogies yet) a dedicated group with a single passion, only difference is- this one is forever.

Already several have prayed to receive Jesus and been gloriously saved!

Praises & Prayer Requests

The Guest House is one of the nicest places we've ever stayed and we were shocked to find that we had hot water in the showers!

We have come at the perfect time to visit a country on this side of the equator...at night the temperatures are hovering in the 40's with the high today barely getting out of the 70's.

The traditional African meal tonight was fantastic with "amechi" (fried corn meal balls), green beens, boiled potatoes, rice, beef with onion and local spices, baked chicken and roasted beef.

Great reliable transport- we have a wonderful, experienced driver and what seems like a very good bus that is big enough for us to all travel in together.

Pray against fatigue- our trip here was a grueling one with one leg of the flight being 12 hours and 30 minutes nonstop. (everyone seems to be recovering well)

Pray for clear ways to communicate the gospel to kids and adults in a place that is so steeped in ancestor worship and tribal superstitions/rites administered at the hands of witch doctors.

Pray for the health of the team both in continued travel safety and God's protection against dehydration, disease or injuries.