rbcinafrica: Camp Conference with 1750 Others at Mwewa

Wow what a weekend. With 1750 others we camped in tents they were out under the stars! You have never seem so many children and young people and families – all gathered from about 23 churches and coming to share in a conference titled “Stepping Into Eternity.” During the Sunday School we estimated there were around 200 children, and then the young people in the late afternoon would come in singing and dancing in joy before the Lord.

It was humbling to be with these people – they have so little and yet their love for the Lord is so evident and their friendliness fantastic. We were able to meet with 5 graduates of the Bible School that come from this area. They are very active in the local church and also have work happening in about 5 church plants. They co-operate together in these plants, doing evangelism door to door and in the market places. They are the people that are motivating much ministry through the church network – youth, children’s, teaching...

The challenges these people have are common to most graduates. The need for literature is extreme. We have only just received the Bibles at Samfya while we were away at the conference, but there is the need for more resources in discipleship, bible studies – but in the Bemba language. All of them have transport issues, with needs for bicycles or spare parts to keep bicycles going – not having effective transport makes life so much more difficult as they have to walk significant distances to minister to the churches around them. One graduate has a wooden leg and he walks 6 kilometres to the church plant every Sunday! Bibles are always in need – one church plant of 65 people has 8 Bibles and another of 25 people has 4 Bibles.

It is good that we have received the Bibles supply and boxes will be sent to this region. They have identified 3 students for next year and the small amount of money that these are sold for will go towards a scholarship to help these students attend the Bible School.

It is a sobering thing to share with these people when we know how much is available to us in our own church and also how much is there in the English language. The need to translate material is significant, but that takes time and money and planning. Oh that there might be even more partners that would get behind the vital ministry of the Bibles School – its impact is right across the Bemba speaking area of Zambia and even into the Democratic Republic of Congo. The graduates are doing wonderful work with their very limited resources. Praise God for their faithfulness to the calling they have in gospel ministry.

A new area of ministry is also being identified by the Bible School staff. There are many Christian teachers in these rural areas. They usually have reasonable English and are significant helpers in local church work. The staff here are thinking through possible training to these teachers during their holiday breaks, equipping hem further for the work in local churches. There will also be a follow up to this area for Sunday School Leadership training – with 50% of the population being under 15 years of age, the needs to teach these children about Christ are huge – and they are always so very receptive.

Well please keep praying for this work – we will give further reports on this time in the days ahead. Tomorrow at 5am we drive to Lusaka – a long day but we are rejoicing in all we have seen!