Partnership Affirmed

It is now Monday night, the wind is blowing very strongly and our dinner visitor has gone home. It is time to reflect on the weekend and the interaction with the Samfya Bible School (SBS) board. The board are made up of men and women from around the Bemba areas of Zambia. Since last meeting them in 2008 there are a number of new members. Again I have been impressed by the calibre of these people and their commitment to the gospel and their desire to see positive change implemented in the Bible School training and in village church life.

The meeting discussed the Memorandum of Understanding between SBS and RBC. It was passed unanimously and the document was signed at the close of the meeting. This is a good step in clearly outlining the responsibilities that we both have in our partnership and will provide a firm foundation for our future working together.

I have also been able to have much personal time with the chairman of the board, Wathabu Simfukwe. He is a godly man with a passion for rural church ministry and a desire to see the Bible School become more effective in its training. Quietly spoken, Wathabu demands attention as he speaks with the wisdom of many years walking with our Lord. There are some people in life that you have an immediate bond and relationship with - Wathabu is one of those. He speaks with clarity and passion and will lead and guide the final decisions on curriculum development in October.

One area we talked of is the development of Bemba studies to enhance rural church life. There is very little available and a real need to see good material written as well as updating some other work. Graduates and church leaders desperately need material that is simple and yet solidly based on God’s Word, resources that will build into the lives of rural Christians.

Back to the board - they affirmed the desire that no infrastructure building begin before the arrival of Engineering Ministries International (EMI) on 2nd September. EMI will have a team of 10 here to develop the new master plan for SBS. They all bring areas of expertise that will be applied to establishing the most excellent use of the Bible School property. Please pray for the preparations for their visit that all will go well (we are having little success in finding any boundary markers for the site!).

The photos above are of the board and Chairman Wathabu signing the Memorandum of Understanding. This week Donald is teaching at the Bible School, working through 1 & 2 Timothy and on Friday we all head off to Kasenga in the Democratic Republic of Congo for meetings with graduates and their church leaders from this area. Donald’s brother Murray and his wife Joy will also meet us there and Gwen and Katie will visit the projects that Murray & Joy’s ministry partners with in this area.