Friendship- a Marriage Key

While I am no authority on marriage (considering I’ve only been that way for 31 years which pales in comparison to my parents who just celebrated their 63rd anniversary) and while I will not attempt to write a theological treatise on the subject, there is something I need to say.

God has stirred my heart with something recently in this area. It seems that in much of the marriage counseling I’ve done through the years and in situations where a few close friends of mine have been unfaithful to their marriage covenant, there is a common thread.

In almost every situation, the friendship unraveled long before the marriage did.

I’ll never forget when I first heard this truism: “good friends make great lovers!.”

It’s true. While we know that the foundation of any good Christian marriage has to be a relationship with God, we also know that our relationship was first built on a friendship. And the day-to-day health of the marriage depends to a large extent on maintaining that friendship.

I was talking with a group of men recently about this subject and I said to them: “sorry guys but none of you are so ruggedly handsome and sexy that women are going to just walk up to you and ask to have sex with you!”

Never have I seen a man fail morally this way. But, it’s scary how many times I’ve seen a man make a female friend at a time when his friendship with his wife was suffering and that friendship became the door to infidelity.

Here’s a gut check question: “Is your spouse your very best friend?” It’s a simple question and if the answer is not yes you get a sinking feeling even as you read it. But, I beg you to pay attention. 

I close with the story that cemented this truth deep into my heart. Recently, I went to Corpus Christi to spend time with my parents. As my dad and i were driving over to a lawnmower shop to buy a new primer bulb for his weed eater he shared that someone had recently said that they felt very sorry for him because he could no longer drive which keeps him from being able to get out and go where he pleases. He looked at me and said: “here’s how I look at it: for 60 years I worked hard every day and now, I don’t have to work and now I get to spend every day with my best friend, your mom.”

Team Zambia 2016- Day Seven, Sunday

BIRTH DAY OF A NEW CHURCH!

This morning we saw the fruit of our labor as 30 adults and 40 children gathered for the opening service of Malakata Baptist Church!

I truly wish you could have experienced the vibrant worship in the beautiful language of Nyanja. The pastor shared that they were about to sing a worship song in their language and since we could not join in the singing he encouraged us just to clap and dance! Everybody clapped and some of these baptists actually got moving!





First Worship Service at Malakata Baptist




Pastor Mumba and His Family as we prayed a prayer of blessing over them at the conclusion of the service.


GOD BRINGS THE HARVEST!

Each day during our hut-to-hut evangelism our teams kept track of how many times they shared the gospel.  Here are the results:

The gospel was shared with 445 People this week and 52 people prayed with out teams to trust Jesus as Savior.

Thank you for your financial and your prayer covering. You are just as much a part of this harvest as anyone on our team.

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who  makes things grow.

1 CORINTHIANS 3: 6,7

Team Zambia 2016- Day Six Friday

Short and Sweet Updates:

• We continued to lead people to Jesus as our six evangelism teams went hut-to-hut sharing the good news
• Our bus bottomed out on a railroad track and tore off the exhaust pipe and muffler (we were able to continue slowly and the bus was repaired by the time we needed to go back to the guests house. PTL)
• We had a very successful VBS Parent Program that was attended by many parents from the village, the headmaster and the director(owner) of the school
• The children not only performed the songs we had taught them for their parents but had prepared a song called: “Farewell” to sing to us at the conclusion of the program. (there were quite a few tears shed as they sang and even quoted bible verses for us)
• The parents were so appreciative of our time this week and we were able to share the gospel with them through the Bridge to Life demonstration.

AND NOW...OUR WEEK REVIEW, IN PICTURES

HUGE TURNOUT FOR VBS!

JOHN REYNOLD'S SHARES THE GOSPEL IN THE VILLAGE OF MALAKATA

(photo by Emma Whittis)

AND THIS LITTLE GUY- THAT'S WHY WE DO THIS!

Emily sharing Jesus in the Village

This lady came and found Micah and reminded him that he came to her home last year and prayed for her husband who has been bed ridden from a stroke for the last 10 years. She told us that she is Micah's African Grandmother

Doing the Bridge to Life Presentation at Kamrise School

Presentation of a Soccer Ball to the Headmaster at Kamrise School

Team Zambia 2016- Day Five Thursday

Day Five Thursday

MISSING TRANSLATORS

One of the main themes we live by in missions is…”don’t worry, things will not go as planned.” This morning we loaded up the bus for hut-to-hut evangelism in the village and stopped at the Ten Mile Market to pick up our translators. But, instead of 4 translators- there was only one. Somehow, there was a mixup in communication and our translators were not where they were supposed to be. So, it was off to share Jesus with five teams but only 2 translators. We decided that our team would use this opportunity to prayer walk the village. However, we kept meeting people and greeting them with the only phrase we really know: “muly bwangi” and giving them invite cards to the new church that will begin in the village Sunday. Then, we met a 16 year old girl that greeted us in perfect english. She was standing in front of her home with her entire family. She proceeded to translate for us to share the gospel and eventually her sister Mesha and her mother Susan both trusted Jesus.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN REYNOLDS

As a young Catholic Altar Boy, John Reynolds never imagined he would be walking the streets of a village in Africa sharing Christ from hut-to-hut. He says: “I just can’t believe how respectful and open the people here really are. They always take time to listen to the gospel, no matter what they are doing.” John took advantage of the 12 hours of training offered for this trip and while he has been sharing bits and pieces of the gospel story, today he shared the entire presentation!

DEEP THOUGHTS FROM ZAC AUSTIN

I’ve always known I am supposed to minister. Whether it’s been in a full time student ministry position or on a trip like this. I can feel the love of Christ compelling me to tell others about God. I honestly feel like this trip has opened so many doors for me to share Christ freely but I’ve also noticed it’s having a huge impact on my own heart. It’s like I am wrestling with God with what that ministry in the future would look like. All I know is that I am open to anything and God WILL show me the way.

SUFFERING FOR JESUS?

When I was first felt that God was calling our church to Church Planting in Africa, I said to God- “ok no matter how bad it gets- I am willing to go.” I pictured us staying in mud huts in the villages fighting off mosquitos! Instead, I have to say that the accommodations and the food God has provided for every trip have always been wonderful. We are staying at the Baptist Guest House of Lusaka that affords clean sheets and towels and even hot showers! (when the power stays on long enough to heat it). And the food? All our team keeps saying each evening is WoW! In varying multiples we have had the following for dinner so far: grilled fish, beef stew, rice, baked potato, pan fried chicken, pork chops, rape, spinach, eggplant, pinto and lima beans, pumpkin leaves, collard greens and Nshema. (pronounced “ in shema”) Nshema is to Zambia what rice is to China. There is never a meal without it. It is cornmeal that is cooked similarly to grits but then it is cooked much longer to a dough-like consistency so that it can be picked up and eaten with your hands. The only drawback is that instead of losing weight on a mission trip- you may just come home with a few extra pounds. Thank you Lord for our wonderful cook Chongo!

ABIGAIL- OUR 13 YEAR OLD VETERAN

Abigail Flores was on our team last year with her dad Wayne. According to her mom, Kay, Abigail has waited for this trip all year long. And although she is a veteran at sharing Christ here, it seemed like she had a really tough time the first couple of days just getting started. We prayed for boldness and today she just launched out a couple of times walking a few steps away from her team to venture out on her own. God gave her some ladies that spoke good English and she was able to pray with one of them regarding some needs in her family and one of them prayed to receive Christ with the help of Caleb.

LYDIA’S PERSPECTIVE- RENEWED

“I am shocked by the lack of middle aged to older people in this place. The average life expectancy for a male they tell me is 46! That has really reminded me of what a blessing it is from the Lord to be able to live this long and see my kids and grandchild. Especially, when I think back to being age 19 and being diagnosed with leukemia. At that time I honestly didn’t think I would live to be 30. God gave me a peace about it either way and I will never stop thanking him for allowing me to see my kids come to this  point and for allowing me to share Jesus in Africa. 

PLEASE PRAY

• for our vbs parents programme- that we would reach many of the parents
• continued safety and health of the team
• renewed energy as we hit the wall- the homestretch of the trip
• that the people of the village will come to the services at the new church we are planting this Sunday- 
• that many more will give their lives to Christ tomorrow in our last day of hut-to-hut evangelism

Team Zambia 2016 Day Four- Wednesday

QUOTING THE KORAN?

This morning we shared Jesus in the village where we are planting a new church. Our group was divided into six teams of two or three and a translator. We were accompanied by the Lowes as well as another IMB missionary, Randy. Randy took one of our teams around and they encountered a Muslim man. After introductions they asked him “where do you pray?” (the African way of asking where you attend church) He stated that he was a Muslim and that he prayed at the mosque. Randy, who used to work extensively with Muslims had a copy of the Koran with him. After the group shared their story from John 3 of Nicodemus, Randy pulled out his Koran and showed the man a quote from Muhammad where he says: “I do not know where I am going or where you are going.” He then read from the bible in John 14 where Jesus says: “In my father’s house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. And If I go to prepare a place for you I will come again for you that where I am there you may be.” In the end, the man stated that he became a Muslim because they were paying his children’s private school tuition. He prayed to trust Jesus as Savior stating that from this day forward he would be a follower of Jesus.

FIRST PERSON EVER LED TO CHRIST!

It has been amazing to find that several of our team members for the very first time, have prayed with someone to trust Jesus. No matter  how long they live, they will remember that the first time they led someone to Christ was on the continent of Africa.

AND NOW A WORD FROM CALEB

I have been so impressed with how open and welcoming and nice the people are. They truly love that fact that we came here. Even when we approached a Muslim man to talk about Jesus he was so kind. I got to draw the picture of the gospel as we shared Christ with him. Randy and Bob and I tag teamed and it felt great to have a part in this man receiving Jesus Christ as his Savior and leaving darkness of Islam.

EMILY McCOMACK ON THE SUBJECT OF WITNESSING

Emily: “It’s so comforting to know that it’s not about how smooth our presentation of the gospel is.…it’s just that God’s power is in it.  God has been showing me that we don’t always have to see the harvest, sometimes we are planting seeds and sometimes, that’s enough. This was confirmed when I got up this morning and started reading in John and saw John 4: 37 “One sows and another reaps, it is true I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor. I’m starting to get the hang of this. I can’t wait for tomorrow.

GOSPEL IN THE DIRT

It is so encouraging to walk through the village now and see again and again, the remnants of our gospel drawings in the red dirt. Traces of the move of God in this place.

VBS, AFRICAN VILLAGE STYLE- (OR AS THEY CALL IT: "HOLIDAY BIBLE SCHOOL")

In past years we have been in a more urban environment in compounds with 70,000+ population which sometimes means having 400 children in a small, cramped area. It's been so nice to have only between 100 and 130 children in a school environment with use of all the classrooms and grounds. The atmosphere has been so much more relational and we are truly getting to know these kids.

I have to brag on our team: They have moved these children seamlessly through three rotations each day where they get a Bible Story, Crafts and Game Time that all are based on our children's missions curriculum that goes through the gospel using the colors; gold, black, red, white, and green.

They have created a neat memory device that uses words and motions to help the kids keep this message in their heads and hearts. 

PLEASE PRAY for VBS Parent's Night on Friday evening. This will be an important opportunity for us to reach the parents of the children that we have grown to close to.

Team Zambia 2016 - Day Three Update

Day Three- Tuesday

Today was truly a full day with hut-to-hut evangelism in the morning and Vacation Bible School in the afternoon.

Here are a few bullet point highlights I hope will bless your heart:

AFRICAN BREAKFAST TACOS?

• The day began with breakfast tacos! Seriously- we bought fresh eggs and a flatbread that resembles tortillas that is called “Chipate” and John Reynolds put his chef hat on and made a great meal!

A MUSLIM RECEIVES JESUS

• One of our teams led a muslim lady in her 70’s to Christ who was willing to denounce all faith in anything but Jesus when her two grown daughters also prayed to trust Jesus for eternal life.

PUTTING YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR FAITH IS

• One of our teams talked to a man who was asked the question: “what does it mean to be born again?” They were so surprised when he answered: “to become a Christian by believing in Jesus.” So- they asked him if he’d believed in Jesus and he said no. They shared the gospel and he was so overjoyed after praying that he asked to speak to Pastor Banda (our African Pastor) because he wants to help the church get land on which to build a church building.

MICHAEL TO MEET FRIDAY ON SUNDAY

• At our Holiday Bible School this afternoon I was able to lead a young man who was 17 years old to faith in Jesus. Our teenagers were amazed to see his notebook and see that he was doing precal math! As it turns out, he lives very near the young man I told you about on Sunday (who’s name is Friday!) I told him that one year ago Friday had prayed the same prayer of faith. He was excited to have a friend in the compound with whom he could begin to read God’s word. They will meet at church this Sunday.

OUR LITTLE AFRICAN EVANGELIST

• A little boy came up to Hannah yesterday and asked if he could have more of the invite cards we brought for the new church plant. Hannah said she had about 12 cards in a stack and so she gave them to the boy. He came beaming today to Bible School and told her that he had gone around the compound to his friends and gave them all out so they could come to church with him this Sunday at the new church.

Photo Journal

   

Team Zambia 2016 Day Two- Monday Update

SO WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

Team Zambia’s mission consists of two main activities; hut to hut evangelism in the mornings and mission vacation bible school in the afternoons. Both of these activities are aimed at planting and supporting local churches. That is always the bottom line mission. 

If there’s one part of the trip that can make team members nervous- it’s probably hut-to-hut evangelism. We train extensively for this so that every team member is well prepared but nothing can totally remove the butterflies that still get in your stomach when you are about to walk up to a total stranger halfway around the world and tell them about Jesus. For this reason each team has not only an interpreter but a leader that models this before letting each team member share.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR NEWBIES!

After the first morning of sharing, here’s an impression of how it went for a couple of our first timers:

Emily McComack: 

At first I was very uncomfortable because I have never done this kind of thing. But, it really helped not to just be thrown to the wolves. We each got to share a small part in the beginning and tag teamed with our other team members to move through the gospel. When we went up to the first lady there seemed to be a cloud of confusion over her and so instead of the normal presentation, the team leader asked me to tell my story of my relationship with Christ. This turned out to be a great first step for me and after “breaking the sound barrier” I feel much more prepared to share in the coming days.

Maddie Thurmond: 

When I first heard we were going to to this, I thought: “no problem, I like talking to people- after all I worked retail for 5 years. However, the thing that made it hard was trying to choose my words carefully so as not to step over any cultural barriers that might offend them or leave them confused. I really wanted to use words that would be easy for them to understand and easy for the translator. Already I can see that God is giving the words. I can’t wait to share more tomorrow.  Actually- my favorite thing so far is that Hannah and I get swarmed by beautiful little kids every time we enter a compound. Mom- Dad- I might not want to come home!

SURPRISE!, SURPRISE!, SURPRISE!

Here’s another example of how things don’t always run perfectly smooth on a mission trip. We arrived at Kamrise School yesterday afternoon to begin our “Holiday Bible School” (African speak for VBS). We went in and met with the school officials to make formal introductions (which is very important in African culture.) They looked very confused and when we asked for the man with whom we had spoken a month earlier they just looked at each other and there was this long pause. As it turns out, this man had been fired recently and although he had mentioned a group coming, he had never mentioned a date. The teachers asked if they could convene a meeting of all teachers to come to a decision. They came back in a few minutes and said: “you are welcome to do your programme!” These were welcome words, especially since much of our 12 hours of training had centered around bible stories, crafts and games created for this particular group. The teachers immediately loved our team and were singing with us and even participating in the games with their students. God made a way where there seemed to be no way.

PLEASE PRAY

Prayer Request: Please continue to pray that each of our team would have a “holy boldness” as they walk down these dusty roads sharing Jesus.

Photo Journal

    

Team Zambia 2016 Day One- Sunday

Team Zambia 2016

Meet the Team 

John Reynolds

John is a regional sales manager for FMC technologies. He has lived in San Antonio for two years and has been a part of Castle Hills Church for a year and a half. He is married to Tara and has a six year old son, Henry. 

Prayer Request: Pray that God would use us to literally change someones life. 

John Ekstrand

John is an active duty Colonel who is an Army Physician. He has lived in San Antonio for five years with his wife Carolyn and his children, Charlotte, age 24, Christian, age 22, Jonathan, 19 and Jessica, age 17. John currently serves as a deacon at Castle Hills Church.

Prayer Request: I would ask that God would use this trip to not only touch others but to draw me closer to Christ personally.

Zac Austin

Zac is an event manager with Fresh Success Marketing. He and his wife, Laurin and his son Atlas, (1 1/2 years old) have lived in San Antonio for two years and have been at Castle Hills for that entire time.

Prayer Request: Asking that God would give us a thirst to share the gospel here in Africa but that it would continue and I would share Jesus at my workplace as I have share him here.

Emily McComack

Emily is a former teacher and current stay-at-home mom who is married to Jason, a deacon at Castle Hills. She and her husband of 16 years have two children, Blake, age 9 and Lanie, age 5. Emily and Jason have been part of Castle Hills for seven years.

Prayer Request: That the Holy Spirit would give me the discernment to actually speak clearly what the Lord has put in my heart as we do hut-to-hut evangelism.

Madeline Thurmond

Madeline is a university student who lives with her parents and her sister, Finley who is 5 years old. Maddie has been at Castle Hills Church for 2 years where she is a group leader for 8th and 9th grade girls. She feels God calling her to Student Ministry.

Prayer Request: That Satan would not have any ability to cause division among us or to interfere with our ministry.

Hannah Watson 

Hannah is a junior at Reagan High School where she is involved in the Got Hope Club that raises funds to provide clean water to villages in Africa. Hannah is active in Castle Hills Student Ministry, works at the church in our childcare. She and her family have been at Castle Hills since 2003.

Prayer Request: I am praying that God would slow me down enough for me to clearly hear what He wants me to do to reach people for Jesus.

Abigail Flores

Abigail is 13 years old and will attend Garcia Middle School where she will be in 8th grade. Abigail’s family has been at Castle Hills for 11 years. Her mother, Kay has served in various capacities in our Kid’s ministry and her father Wayne is currently leading our Deacon ministry.

Prayer Request: That when I speak to children at VBS or share with people at hut-to-hut evangelism that it would not be my words but the words God would give me.

 

Lydia Hogan

Lydia is married to Mark, an elder at Castle Hills Church. They have three children; Jessica, age 29 and husband Adam, Josh, age 23 and wife Alysse, (and new baby Violet) and Jordan, age 21. Lydia has volunteered in kids ministry, student ministry and in our resource center for years.

Prayer Request: I am asking God that he would help me share clearly and concisely all that God has done in my life so they can see who he really is.

Rachael Heard

Rachael is a Speech Language Pathologist with Northside I.S.D She is a member of Northwest Park Baptist Church. Northwest Park has partnered with Castle Hills in our Zambia missions for the past 3 years. Rachael has participated in many mission trips throughout the U.S. and in International trips to Thailand, Africa and Israel.

Prayer Request: Pray for each of our team to enjoy a holy boldness as they share Jesus with children and during our hut-to-hut evangelism.

Caleb Bender

Caleb is 18 years old and will be a senior at Roosevelt High School. Caleb works as a lifeguard and has been involved in Castle Hills Student Ministry since 6th grade and has been on 8 mission trips.

Prayer Request: Pray that God would open our eyes to see people the way He does so that we can be used by Him to meet their needs.

Micah Smith

Micah is 21 years old and has served on Team Zambia for 3 years. He has been on 11 mission trips. He is a member of Northwest Park Baptist Church. He will be a junior at Howard Payne this fall and is studying to be an elementary teacher.

Prayer Request: Pray for overall strength and for us to totally trust in God in all we do.

Bob King

Bob and his wife Cindy have been members of Castle Hills Church for 20 years. Bob teaches the Encouragers Life Group at Castle Hills and works at our school with students who have special needs. 

Prayer Request: Pray that God would allow us to make the scripture come alive that says:
taste and see that the Lord is good.

 

Donnie Anthony

Donnie has been married to Trinetta for 31 years. They have three boys, Ryan, age 27, Joshua, age 25 and Dillion, age 23. Donnie has been on staff at Castle Hills Church for 18 years while Trinetta has taught at our school for 14 years. Donnie currently serves as Missions and Connections pastor.

 

Emma Whitis

Emma plans to attend Asbury University. She and her family live in Somerset, Kentucky. She attends Eagle Heights Church. Emma has been in Zambia for 3 weeks and will return to the states at the end of the summer. Currently she is a missions assistant to Robin and Jeff assisting them in all aspects of ministry.

The Lowe Family

Robyn, Hadassah, Jeff

Zoe, Levi

Jeff and Robyn Lowe and their children are career missionaries with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Jeff serves as the associate cluster leader for the Zambezi region which includes several countries in Africa. Jeff and Robyn provide strategic leadership for our missionaries on the field and have been our hosts for our church planting mission trips for the past three years.

Arrival

After 22 hours in the air, we set foot on the blessed ground of Zambia, Africa.

We drove the hour or so from the airport to the Baptist Guest House and were able to get a shower and some missions orientation and some much needed rest. 

Day One- Sunday

On Sunday morning we were up early and off to church. It was such a joy to be able to attend Living Water Baptist Church, a church planted by Castle Hills Team Zambia 2015 last summer. In talking with the pastor of this sweet little fellowship we learned that they have grown from the 10 to 12 members that gathered last year to 35 currently. This may sound insignificant but in this environment, this is a good sized congregation.

It was so good to hear their small choir praising God in their native language of Nyjanga. Also, it was rewarding to see the faces of some that we led to faith in Christ last year. One such young man came and afterward told me his story. His name is Friday. He shared that when we witnessed to him last year that his three friends were with him but they were drunk at the time. Well, he stated- they are still drunk but he has attended Living Water Baptist Church for an entire year. Please pray for him. He recently had to leave his job to care for his dying mom in the village and when he returned he had no job. He is pictured here.