"No One Ever Comes Here!"

Our dear friend and GTN colleague, Pastor Percy Muleba, and Pastor Kwalombota Mubita (R) of Evangel Assembly of God Church in Mongu, Zambia. 

Pastor Mubita introduced himself to me after our celebration service on our last Sunday afternoon in Mongu. He had preached a spirited, direct and timely sermon to the youth who had gathered and I was happy to meet him. We chatted for several minutes before he had to leave, and he had much to say, but it was these words which have stuck with me ever since:

"No one ever comes here. But, you have come!" 

When I asked him what he meant, he explained that the Western Province of Zambia is neglected, that missionaries and mission teams almost always go elsewhere in Zambia. He added that the sort of intensive training we do simply never comes to them. When I reassured him that we had made a three year commitment to the Mongu area, he was delighted. 

As we have traveled and ministered over the last 12 years in Zambia's Western Province, I must say that we have almost never encountered anyone doing the kind of training we do. Sadly, then, I was not surprised to hear his words. 

Earlier in our stay in Mongu, we'd had the privilege of meeting with Bishop Manyando (United Church of Zambia, Western Province). He also decried the lack of sound theological training available to the people of Western Province. It is, in his estimation, a desperate situation. 

Bishop Manyando (L) with Percy and Doug

Our hearts break when we see this need, especially because we meet such amazing individuals on every one of our trips, men and women with the heart and intellect for serious study, men and women who love Jesus and his church, and who lead with such vigor when they are empowered. 

Thank you for enabling us to do what we do. Thank you for coming with us through your support and prayer. We're incredibly grateful! 

Great Start in Mongu

One of the exciting things about training leaders in Zambia is the eagerness of the students. We began our training of about twenty youth leaders in Mongu last evening and it went very well.

Our host, Pastor Yuyi Mundia, has a Kingdom heart and has developed the interdenominational New Vine Youth ministry to reach, equip and send young people to share the Gospel. It is our privilege to encourage him and his ministry this week. 

Our focus this week is God's design for human relationships, especially male-female relationships, and how our relational health affects our worship, our life and ministry within the church, and our mission in the world. 

Please continue praying for our students and for us that the Holy Spirit will bring dynamic transformation to all of us!  

Mongu Celebration!

Our Mongu students proudly hold their Certificates of Completion after a week of intensive training! 

What a fabulous week! We had thirty dedicated students, all of them young (18-35) and eager to learn and grow. 

We were also able to encourage our dear friend, Pastor Yuyi Mundia, of the Central Mongu Vineyard Church.  

Saturday and Sunday (9/16) were especially full days. On Saturday, we trained all morning, then met separately as men and women to discuss sexuality issues. Significant conversations were held on this sensitive subject.

On Sunday, we worshiped at Yuyi's church. Percy taught on biblical worship during Sunday School, and I preached on the fivefold purpose of the church during worship.

That afternoon, we participated in an awesome celebration at Evangel Assembly of God where Abby preached on God's profound love for us, and we also awarded certificates of completion to our students. The church was packed with 150+ youth leaders and youth, and various praise teams led us in worship and dancing. It was simply awesome!  

In addition to these formal meetings, we had numerous one-on-ones with pastors and leaders throughout the week to discuss issues pertaining to their ministries and families. We were able to be an encouragement to many and received encouragement in return. 

Thank you for supporting us, for enabling us to do this work. We are profoundly grateful and blessed!

Plese pray for our students and us as we begin training a new group of pastors and leaders in Katima Mulilo, Namibia this Saturday. And we will continue to pray for you! 

Grateful for Another Adventure

Students from this year's Nangweshi, Zambia training display their completion certificates!

Abby & I leave tonight for about a month in Zambia (Livingstone and Mongu), Namibia (Katima Mulilo) and England (Wolverhampton). In Zambia and Namibia, we'll be joining up with our dear friend and GTN colleague, Percy Muleba. It'll be great to see him, his wife, Muyunda, and his girls, Thabo and Nsala. His oldest daughter, Natasha, is away in nursing school. We'll also see other old and new friends while we're there. In Mongu, we'll be training youth leaders and, in Livingstone, we'll be encouraging some of our former students and mentees.

In England, we'll visit for a few days with our U.S. friend and new missionary, Cheri Contes, and her kids, Hannah and Evan. I (Doug) will have the privilege of preaching in the church she is helping to plant there. Should be exciting!

Would you pray for us while we're away? Would you pray for our kids, Jen, James, Emily and Andrew, and our grandsons, Isaac, Luke and Zachary? And would you pray for safe and uneventful travel, great health, the inspiration and leadership of the Holy Spirit, a loving and enthusiastic team spirit, and the transformation of our students by God's grace!