“Don’t eat my door!”

Everyone knows what it means to have to make tough economic choices: “Shall we go on vacation or paint the house?” “Shall we buy a car or pay down the mortgage?” I thought about these types of economic choices when I heard a Zambian friend put it like this: “Don’t eat my door!”

Don’t eat my door? She had recently received the great news that some money (K850 or $35) had come available to pay for a much-needed door for the house she was slowly building one small purchase at a time after many decades of living in a stick and mud hut. When she received the news, she playfully teased the one who would be delivering the money not to buy food with it instead. A door or food? A turn of phrase you’d probably never hear from an American.

Over the years, as we’ve become friends with Zambians, we’ve realized that it isn’t always possible for us to truly understand what daily life is like in Zambia, especially in the bush villages. On the other hand, we have so much in common. We all want a good home, we value hard work and perseverance, and we like to tease our friends. We love to laugh!

That’s why we’re so grateful for our dear friend and colleague, Percy Muleba, who has through countless hours of conversation, travel and training together, both here and in the U.S., helped us slowly enter the world of Zambia. And, we’re amazed that so many others have opened their lives to us in Zambia and Namibia, and given us the gift of relationships through the years.

This is why we have chosen to train in small groups over multiple phases so that we can, over time, get to know and be known by our students. And, this is why we just spent two weeks with three men, Titus, Martinet, and Pelekelo, in intense training and relationship building so they can integrate our curriculum and our DNA into their ongoing ministries in Zambia’s Western Province, multiplying our efforts to train the untrained to reach the unreached!

Already, these three have scheduled two training events before the end of this year. These events will include leaders from five denominations, both women and men. They have also requested that their wives be included in next year’s boot camp. We are delighted with all these developments!

We are so grateful for your prayers and financial support which gives us this amazing privilege. And remember, where we go, you go!

UPDATE: Our time in Zambia this trip is coming to an end sooner than we had planned. It’s winter here and COVID cases are spiking, and so new COVID restrictions in Namibia and Zambia have put stringent limits on our training. In addition, some of our students are under quarantine as they recover from COVID so they cannot meet with us. Last but not least, our travel agent has informed us that flights home are being cancelled in some cases. Consequently, we’ve made the difficult decision to change our tickets and fly home the end of next week. In the meantime, we will continue video recording our training for the Virtual Learning Project. Please pray for us that our new travel arrangements hold up and our trip home is safe and uneventful. Thank you!

A bible and pen are precious here.

“…if you cRy aloud for understanding…and search for it as hidden treasure…then you will find the knowledge of god.” Proverbs 2:3-5

Three women fish in the late afternoon on the zambezi river across from our training site in sioma, zambia.

Our mongu group was awesome, including our dear friends Yuyi and Mercy mundia (third and sixth from l)!

We are so grateful for Martinet, pelekelo, titus and nathan (our new team member and videographer)!

Percy and the guys!

Beautiful white-crowned lapwings frequented the zambezi river beach in sioma.

“This Is Real!”

We had been discussing the impact guilt, shame, and fear have on all of us and how our wounds reflect our deep need for a Wounded Savior, and for genuine and healing relationships with other Christians. In other words, we’re all wounded. We all struggle with guilt, shame, and fear, and we all need Jesus and one another so that we can walk in the freedom of the Gospel and become the men and women the Lord has created us to be. At a pause in the training, Martinet, bowed his head, sighed deeply, and said, “This is real.”

One of our hopes for this trip was that our “boot camp” for training trainers would be a success. Percy, Abby, and I had agreed earlier this year that three of our former Zambian students were great candidates to multiply our training: Titus Njamba Biemba, Martinet Kabutu Ilukena, and Pelekelo Chitoka. In addition, at the boot camp, we wanted to launch our Virtual Learning Project by recording video of the training with the new equipment supplied by your gifts and a matching grant by the JM Charitable Foundation. A new team member and friend, Nathan Kondowe, would join us to handle the camera and absorb our training, as well.

This morning, we will begin our second week of training with them on the heels of what can only be described as a remarkable first week. This “experiment” has deepened our relationships, strengthened our students’ grasp of our training manual, and deepened our intimacy with the Lord. The video recording has worked beautifully, and Nathan has done a fabulous job. Last night, after a quiet day, we were served our dinner by our amazing hosts at the Sioma Country Lodge around a bonfire on the white sand beach of the Zambezi River. After dinner, we sang, danced, and laughed together before tumbling into bed!

Abby has taught “The Foundation of Pastoral Care: Being, Becoming and Doing” and “The Wounded Healer.” I have taught “Understanding Guilt, Shame, and Fear.” This week, Abby will continue with “Family and Church Systems” and I will teach “Understanding the Bible.” This Weekend, our students will each teach a section of the material so that we can coach them up.

Please pray for us that our boot camp finishes strong, that the video recording continues to go well, and that the Holy Spirit continues to build us as a strong team so that our training can be multiplied in Western Province and beyond! And, remember, when we go, you go!

UPDATES: Should you wish to support Percy’s Virtual Learning Project, checks may be sent to: JM Charitable Foundation, 450 Pine Road, Davidson, NC 28036 (memo: Muleba VLP). Regrettably, online giving is not possible. For every dollar you send, the foundation will match it with two dollars!

As always, Abby and I also welcome your financial partnership and you can give online at: www.DougandAbby.org/give.

Namibia has tightened their COVID restrictions on lodges which means we will not be going there this trip which is very disappointing. Still, disappointment, His appointment! After our boot camp here in Sioma, we will be returning to Livingstone where we will continue our training and video recording. This means that our Zambia visa which limits us to ninety days in country per calendar year will expire a bit sooner than our currently scheduled flights home, so we will be changing our tickets and coming home a week or so earlier than we had planned. We’ll keep you posted!

Martinet and Pelekelo spend a few minutes Reflecting on the banks of the Zambezi RiVer.

This Sunset over the zambezi river was spectacular!

It is our privilege to train and learn from our friends and cOlleagues Martinet, Titus, and Pelekelo (l to r).

“Real poverty is refusing to share what you have…”. Bosco Kutoma

Our former student and now dear friend, Bosco Kutoma, dropped by to see us in Mongu this morning. He had just returned from two weeks in the field training leaders of new churches with a team from the local Hope Church. Our conversation was rich and covered many topics.

It was exhilarating to hear about the number of new churches that are being planted, AND are receiving solid biblical training. Bosco told us how he continues to use our teaching manual as he prayerfully decides what to teach each group of leaders, multiplying what Percy and we have taught him beginning in 2013. We are humbled and grateful.

At one point in the conversation, Bosco became quite animated as he shared his thoughts about what is happening in Zambia, the fifth poorest nation in Africa. He said, “Poverty is not the lack of shelter, or clothes, or shoes. Poverty is the refusal to share what you have been given.” He went on to say that by his definition there are many so-called rich people who are truly poor and there are those who lack essentials that are actually rich. He continued, “Imagine if each of us shared generously what God had given us, whatever it is, whether knowledge or skill or whatever?” Yes, imagine…

We’ve been in Mongu, Zambia since last Friday following a whirlwind couple of weeks in Livingstone, Mwandi, Kazungula, and Musokotwane with Maria and Amanda (see previous post). I was scheduled to preach on Sunday at Pastor Yuyi Mundia’s Vineyard Church, but I had come down with a bad head cold last Thursday and rested instead. Percy and Nathan went, though, and led worship there.

Monday afternoon, we began training some of the students we had trained in January and it has gone extremely well. Our topic has been “Understanding Biblical Submission.” In this training, we have been exploring the nature of biblical submission regarding our relationships with God, church leadership, fellow church members, the family, and government. We look both at good and bad submission, making clear that biblical submission is relational, voluntary, and mutual. Basically, we look at the nature of transformed Christian relationships and this is leading to some very spirited and relevant discussions, especially here where traditional views are in transition.

One of the things we’ve learned through the years is that while sound biblical training in a relational setting is crucial, the one-on-ones that follow are often even more valuable. The Kingdom of God comes alive in individual Christians and time spent discussing deeply what God is doing in our lives, digging more deeply into the topics covered in training, and encouraging one another to implement what we have learned together makes all the difference. We are so grateful for the privilege of doing this kind of mission. It has changed our lives.

Please continue to pray as our time in Mongu comes to a close. Next Monday, we head to Sioma, about two hours south, to hold our first ever boot camp for training trainers followed by one week of co-training.

And remember, where we go, you go!

What could be better than to spend some time under the trees with a former student and dear friend who is multiplying our ministry throuGh healthy church planting and leadership training?

“Jesus is the only man who’s ever lived who truly understands women!”

Percy, Jordan, and I were sitting in the shade outside the Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAOG) in Musokotwane, Zambia. As we talked and got to know one another, we could overhear women inside singing, dancing, laughing, and talking. Abby, Maria, and Amanda had joined a group of about twenty women from two PAOG churches for some in-depth time together. Suddenly, both the women and we were quiet, and that’s when Abby’s voice rang out saying: “When you think about it, Jesus is the only man who has ever lived who truly understands women!”

Percy, Jordan, and I just laughed. We laughed because it was funny. We laughed because it was true. And, we laughed because we were glad the women were coming together. And, we laughed just because we’re men.

Jordan is the Chairperson (acting pastor) of the Musokotwane PAOG church and, along with his wife, Stacy, are leading the members in worship, pastoral care, small discipleship groups, and door-to-door evangelism. As Jordan put it, “We have learned that evangelism is not the time to confront people with what’s wrong about their lifestyle. We simply begin with John 3:16 and tell them about how much Jesus loves them. Until they know they are loved, there is no point in talking about anythIng else.”

Our first ten days here have been intense. Abby, Maria, Amanda, and I flew into Lusaka, Zambia a week ago Sunday, and then spent the first night at a lovely lodge in Kafue where we enjoyed dinner with Bishop and Mrs. Manyando of the United Church of Zambia. We learned about Mrs. Manyando’s nursing work and Bishop’s new call in Kafue. Bishop has begun translating Percy’s and our curricula into the Lozi language. It’s a total of almost three hundred pages of outlines so it will take him some time to do it accurately, capturing the true meaning of our words in Lozi. This will definitely multiply our impact in Zambia. We are incredibly grateful for his help!

Last Monday, we drove into Livingstone to our old friends at Fawlty Towers Lodge, enjoyed a night of rest, then left Tuesday morning for Mwandi Royal Village located about three and a half hours southwest of Livingstone over a very, very bad road. Percy’s mother, Gertrude, welcomed us into her home, fed us a delicious traditional lunch of village chicken, nshima (think thick grits), mbala (whole dried minnows), steamed cabbage, and tomato/onion relish. Delicious! She then took us on a village prayer walk, introducing Amanda and Maria to Zambian village life. We saw so many of our former students: Pastors Simasiku and Scuta, Lemmy, Innocent, and Aongola. In total over the last ten years, these have established a preschool, a primary school, and planted nine churches, not to mention their ongoing ministries in their churches. It was amazing to hear how our training has multiplied through the years!

While in Mwandi, we also visited our friend, Lawrence, who manages Simba Mission House, and we had the chance to wander through it, awakening so many fantastic memories of mission trips past. Too soon we left and drove home for a late dinner.

Wednesday, we rested in the morning, then visited Victoria Falls, one of the eight natural wonders of the world. Because of the heavy spring rains, the Falls were thunderous, befitting their name, Mosi-O-Tunya (“The Smoke that Thunders”). We were drenched despite our ponchos, but enjoyed the raw natural beauty, the cooling rain, and multiple double-rainbows. Amazing, as always!

Later Wednesday afternoon, the ladies were welcomed by Percy’s wife, Muyunda, into their home. They spent three hours with Muyunda, her older sister, and four friends. They got to know one another, studied the Word, prayed for one another, and enjoyed pizza! Percy and I spent the time together catching up and discussing our training plans for the rest of the trip.

Thursday morning found us driving north to Musokotwane as described above. Then after lunch, we drove southwest again to Kazungula on the border just across the Zambezi River from Botswana to visit a church and school (K-5) founded by twin brothers, Harrison and Gladson. Gladson heads the school, the kids of which welcomed us warmly. Meanwhile, we strategized about future training (2022) with Harrison who will now begin casting vision with the other local pastors.

Friday saw us return to Musokotwane in the morning once again. The women experienced exceptional prayer times on this second day there, one-on-one and as a group, with the women of both churches. Percy and Muyunda’s home in the afternoon for more relationship building and mutual ministry.

Saturday was a very full day. Abby and I joined Amanda and Maria on a local game drive where we observed elephants, giraffe, impala, zebra, crocodiles, monitors, baboon, monkeys, hippo, and many beautiful birds. Our guide, Malambo, was fantastic. We met Percy and his family for lunch, then the women headed for an afternoon visit with the wife of Bishop Kondowe, Pastor Carol Kondowe, who is herself a well-regarded local pastor, to discuss what it is like to be both a pastor and pastor’s wife as a woman in Zambia.

Sunday, we returned to Musokotwane for a lively, delightful worship service. Amanda and Maria led Bible study and I preached. Percy led worship and Abby shared words of encouragement and prayed over the church, and especially over the children. Later that afternoon, we attended a live-streamed worship service in Pastor Carol Kondowe’s church. The worship was led by their son, Nathan, and his praise band. Nathan will be traveling with Percy, Abby, and me for the next month to begin Percy’s Virtual Learning Project. We brought all sorts of video and audio equipment with us from the States and Nathan will be using it as we train. This will definitely be a learn by doing exercise for all of us!

Monday was a rest day which included a lovely sunset cruise on the Zambezi River, but it was also the day Amanda and Maria realized they were not flying home Tuesday as they thought, but Wednesday. Thankfully, they had accurately told their families they’d be home Thursday, so all was well. It opened up a wonderful opportunity for them to revisit Harrison and Gladson’s school in Kazungula on Tuesday where they delivered new blankets they had purchased to each of the sixty-five students there. They had a blast and the kids were thrilled because they are entering the cold, difficult months here now!

This morning, we sent Amanda and Maria home. It has been wonderful to have them here, for them to meet so many people, see what we do, and most especially experience what it means to do relational ministry in Zambia. I think they fell in love with the people. They were awesome here, diving right in, being flexible, sharing their hearts and the Word with their new friends, and lovingly encouraging Percy, Muyunda, and us. We pray they will return soon!

Today and tomorrow are rest and packing days as Percy, Nathan, Abby and I prepare for our six week road trip to Mongu and Sioma, Zambia, and Katima Mulilo, Namibia. We will be training pastors, elders, and leaders, leading two boot camps to train trainers, and visiting two bushmen settlements. Please pray for us as we travel for peace, joy, safety, healthy team dynamics, physical health, our first attempts at video recording our training, and, above all, for the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to be present in every relationship, class, worship service, and encounter we have.

And, remember, where we go, you go!

Maria furlough (L) and Amanda Sellers (M) did a great job breaKing open the word at the musokotwane church!

Village prayer ministry is always very Heartwarming and relational. Here maria is holding Teresa’s hands as we prayed for her. Teresa is both hearing and speech imPaired.

“Simon says” is always super fun for zambian Kids!

Pastors Harrison (L) and Gladson (R) warmly welcomed us to their church and school in kazungula.

Five minuTes after amanda expressed an interest in what a village well was like we passed this one. The women were very happy to let amanda help with the pumping!

Brenda is a leader in the musokotwane church. Here she Is readIng the word as it Is being read from the pulpit during worship.

Jordan is the chairperson of the musokotwane church. It was a pleasure to sit under the trees with him and hear his and his wife, stacy’s, story. We look forward to training his leaders and him in late july.

This awesome Elephant family (mom, 5 year old, and 1 year old) strolled by us in mosi-o-tunya national park.

Now you see why the hippo is considered the most dangerous animal in africa!