Zambia - Day Five

Last Full Day of Ministry is Complete

Although as a team we are exhausted, it is hard to believe our journey is coming to an end. Today we hit the dusty roads of Chazanga Compound to once again share Jesus with anyone and everyone who would listen.

When you hear the number of people who prayed to trust Jesus as Savior this week, it’s hard to fathom. The people of Zambia are so open to the gospel because they are keenly aware of their need. They live in a survival culture that is not concerned with purchasing the latest gadget from Amazon, but are working daily to be sure their family has food and shelter. Because of this, they readily receive the message that God loves them and wants to be with them now and forever.

This week, we were blessed to share the gospel with 274 people and saw 128 trust Jesus as Savior.

DEMONIC ACTIVITY IN ZAMBIA…( a word from Donnie)

Because of the risk of sensationalism, I have sometimes hesitated to share the darker side of missions knowing it could be misunderstood. However, I think this story bears repeating for the glory of God. We shared the gospel, at one point, with two young men who were eager to hear the truth. Both young men expressed they wanted to pray to trust Jesus with their lives when suddenly, a man who was obviously disturbed came running up and started saying that we were the enemy. He went on to say that because we were from America we were responsible for the disappearance of his family. He rambled on about this repeating himself and was getting louder and closer each time.  I was with Pastor Banda from Joyful Baptist Church at the time and each of us reached out and put a hand on each shoulder and began to pray. We prayed that this man would be delivered from the power of Satan through the blood of Jesus Christ. Immediately, this man who had been waving his hands around wildly, went silent and limp closing his eyes and dropping his arms to his side. From there, pastor Banda was able to lead him up the road so that I could lead these two young men in a prayer of saving faith. One interesting footnote to this story is that while in Africa, I have been going through the book of Matthew. This morning I got to chapter 8 and the story of Jesus casting demons out of the two possessed men. I am sure God used this to prepare my heart for the spiritual battle I would encounter.

Parent Day at VBS

Today was the final day of VBS at Green Villa School. We asked the children to invite their parents to attend with them today but had no idea how many might come since it meant leaving their chores and walking quite a distance. As it turned out, we had a great number of parents attend and they got to see their children joyfully singing the songs we taught them this week. At the conclusion, we did a one act play called The Two Kingdoms that depicted the very story we have been sharing this week. Afterward, ten young girls approached Jessica. She assumed they wanted a “snap” (photo) with her like many others had done.  She was shocked at their question when they asked: “can you tell us more about Jesus.” Later, we talked about what a rare occurrence this was and how much we wished people asked that daily.

 Zambians rarely see silver hair.

Grandpa Bill 

Bill Andrews, Greg Davis, Forrest Faircloth, Donnie Anthony, and our interpreter, Newton, doing the Two Kingdoms demonstration.

 Parents loved taking pictures with the "mzungu" (white people)