God's Majestic Creation

The majesty of Victoria Falls



African Wild Dogs - a rare sight as opposed to vilage dogs that are everywhere!!

The Next Stage

 As I write I am on the bus north heading to Lusaka and then Samfya – about 15 hours of buses rides in one day. The team is at Livingstone International Airport ready to get home – Daniel a bit sore after meeting a rock while white water rafting!! Last night we were able to reflect on our time together and the challenges and joys of the things we have been exposed to. We have all been blessed by the hospitality and devotion of our brother s and sisters in Christ from village areas. We also rejoiced in the good work  that was evident among the many graduates – the ministry of the Bible School is making real differences in village life.

It is a difficult dynamic being tourists in a place like Livingstone after all we have seen in the North, however we have been reminded of the incredible wisdom and creativity of our God as we witnessed Victoria Falls and enjoyed the diversity of wildlife that our God has created. He has given us all things to enjoy as 1 Timothy tells us, but we must never place our hope in the riches that he blesses us with, but rather on Him and being wise stewards of all that He has given . For me that is why the investment of time and money and energy in Samfya Bible School is such a blessing – it impacts thousands and thousands for Christ.

I should arrive back at Samfya at around 2am on Saturday morning, sleep for a while and then head away after Lunch for a week long conference at Mambalima. The Bible School staff have been vitally involved in the committee organising the conference, and their focus is on what the local church should be and do. I start off the conference with two sessions on leadership and how leaders are to function and what they should be desiring for the church. The rest of the sessions then build on this over the whole week and we will be there to interact with people and leaders and help them in their role in church life. We also trust to make contact with many potential students so that next year there could be an intake of up to 30 soaking in God’s truth.

Once back at Samfya I am to teach the students and also spend much time with the staff in planning and looking towards the future. I hope to work through with the staff some of the chapters in Jerry Wragg’s book on leadership. Would you please pray for these weeks ahead that much will be achieved for the Kingdom and that as further plans are established that we would find more partners to help this ministry expand.

It is a challenging thing to know that for many of the village churches that span through hundreds of kilometres, the only source of encouragement they receive from outside of their region is from the Bible School – often the only supply of Bibles and help for their work. Friends let’s store up treasure in heaven by investing in this humble but growing work – your support makes a real difference!

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!

People everywhere!!


Anyone for Nshima??

Sunday School on Saturday!!

Counting the sticks - one per person attending = 1750!!


Five graduates working in the Mwewa area


Meetings in progress

Men at Work

Ray & Colin refurbishing Blackboards for the new classroom






Roger cutting panels for under the eaves



Daniel with Peter getting door frames ready to install

The team leaves shortly for a conference in Mwewa, approximately 90kms from Samfya. Thank you for your prayers.

Midweek and Power Problems!

Greetings all. The work on the Multi-Purpose Hall continues with the roof all on over the toilet block, the fiddly woodwork under the eaves progressing well and a concrete pour just about ready for the veranda. Please pray for continued safety on the work site. Power continues to be a major problem here with the voltage only ever getting close to full capacity in the early hours of the morning. Often there are power cuts completely and always from around 6pm-9pm the lights only just glow! It makes productivity very difficult indeed and things like meals are always a logistical problem to cook! The whole power issue is a significant challenge to effectively using evenings and the people here laugh to think that much work happens at night in pastoral ministry and care!

This weekend we are heading to a conference about two hours drive from Samfya where they have been inspired by our 2011 Impact Conference to teach on Stepping Into Eternity. We leave Friday afternoon and will return on Sunday afternoon/evening. Then on Monday the team begins the homeward journey via Livingstone (two days travel) with time to see Victoria Falls.

Donald returns to Samfya on Friday 17th and then on Sunday travels to the Mambilima Conference with the Bible School staff who have had a significant role in organising this year’s programme. It will focus on the life and ministry of the local church. With well over 10,000 attending and camping out in very basic conditions it is an amazing place but they come to be taught and also to hear the wonderful choirs from the churches attending.

Donald will teach the opening two sessions on the role of Leaders to advance and promote the ministry of the church which will feed into the later sessions during the week long conference that are encouraging various aspects of church life. The need to see leaders equipped and prepared to lead in their churches is significant, so please pray that this conference will be used of the Lord to strengthen the church and also that potential students will be identified for the 2013 student intake.

The Team passed through the Mambalima Conference site on the way to Kawambwa last weekend.

Tuesday 7th August

Sunrise over Lake Bangwelulu today Facia boards going up on the outside. More Photos to come but the internet has slowed too much to upload!! roof going on

Leadership Training in Kawambwa

What an amazing weekend! Leaders were gathered from 10 churches, some men biking 150kms to attend the training. We were able to give out a small booklet on eldership that the Bible School staff have translated into Bemba (written by John MacArthur). The issues in this booklet are the very issues that the Bible School staff have identified as necessary in training up leaders from these village church areas. Donald, Levy & Francis shared the teaching and there were great times of questions as the men shared the issues and problems they face in setting biblical standards in their churches.

We also had the privilege of sitting with five recent graduates of the Bible School. We were able to pass on Bemba Bibles to help them in their ministries and also a Study Bible each which will enhance the work that they do. They get little financial assistance from their own churches (an area of teaching we have been working on with the elders) but still remain very active in the ministry. They are involved with two church plants in the Kawambwa area as well as teaching and various ministries in their local churches. Transport is often a difficulty with only one of them having a bicycle to travel the distances between churches so they have to walk. They report that people are open to hear the gospel and they actively involve themselves in evangelism.

 Donald & Francis in Training Mode

The graduates reported that the training that they received at Samfya Bible School has been a significant help to them in their churches. Many of them commented on the confidence they had gained in studying the Bible and then teaching it to their people (the expository teaching classes have had excellent input). Before raining they had little confidence and were in some ways timid. Praise God that the school is equipping these people for their service in the churches. They also commented on how the agricultural training has helped them become a little more financially secure which assists them as they go away on frequent ministry trips.

We had a private meeting with elders from these graduates churches and without fail they reported how well these graduates were working and how much they fitting in with their leaders and willingly working with them. They can see how the training has blessed these graduates and they have very encouraged by the teaching that they have been providing. They are so impressed by the work that they have identified 6 potential students for the 2013 year and also want to send one student back to do further training when the second year programme begins. We are arranging to send three boxes of Bibles that will be sold to the church families in Kawambwa, the proceeds then going to help sponsor these six new students.

Thank you for your continued prayers for these workers in the gospel. They have little in material terms, however they are rich in spiritual terms as they live out God’s calling in their lives.

 The hospitality was fantastic!

We also had a meeting with a group of evangelists who are also helping with one of the church plants, but have a passionate desire to get out and do more in reaching new areas for Christ. Their challenges are financial and the Bible School staff tried to help them think through how local community resources could be rallied to encourage their desires. There are also other good models of local churches working together to send out evangelist teams – please pray that they will continue to step out in faith to preach the gospel.