"If you think you have come to the mission field because you are a little better than others, or as the cream of your church, or because of your medical degree, or for the service you can render the African church, or even for the souls you may see saved, you will fail. Remember, the Lord has only one purpose ultimately for each one of us, to make us more like Jesus. He is interested in your relationship with Himself. Let Him take you and mould you as He will; all the rest will take its rightful place."
--told to Helen Roseveare, at the start of her missionary days in the Congo
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
A New Generation?
God is always busy. Jesus said in John 5:19-20, "For the Father loves the son and shows Him all the things that He Himself is doing..." Even when it appears that nothing is happening among the Lozi, God is busy behind the scenes. His Spirit moves like the wind (John 3:8) and He does all that He pleases (Psalm 135:6); no one can predict from where His Spirit has come or where it is going next. With that in mind, we want to share with you a curious list of things that might be indications of how and where God is moving among the Lozi in Mutemwa Area of Barotseland.
1. We've been working with a dear Lozi brother named Enoch from Trinity Baptist Church here in Livingstone. He and his eight year old boy are both extremely gifted by the Lord to sing and play the guitar. This brother has accompanied us several times to the villages in Mutemwa area. The children in the villages are fascinated and drawn to the two of them. How amazing to watch the Lord draw the children to hear the gospel through a father and his child.
2. Over the last year we've attempted to meet with the people in the villages every Sunday afternoon at 2 pm for Bible study. For many months we taught a Creation to Christ study using a modified Bible Story method. Well, the adults have been dwindling over the past couple of months while children attendance seems to be growing; sometimes as many as thirty at one time. Our foreman, Vincent, did his best to review a previous lesson with these kids while we were away. He did this on his own initiative because he felt it was important to meet with the children.
3. The schoolmaster at Mutemwa School has asked Stephanie to come and teach Bible classes on Friday afternoons to the children.
4. A sister Church in Greenville, SC felt impressed to write a catechism for children called "There is a True and Living God." According to the gang in Greenville, this undertaking has been a matter of obedience to God's clear directive. The artwork matches the theology; exceptional and beautiful. The same Lozi brother, Enoch, has translated the booklet into Lozi. He is also writing a children's song for each Q&A in the booklet. We are very excited about it.
5. Recently, Sean was in Lusaka preaching at a missions conference at Lusaka Baptist Church. One of the fellow church-planting pastors working in Mungu told Sean (out of the blue), "After five years working among the Lozi, I believe children are really important to this work. I realized that the ten to twelve-year-olds that I teach now will be the new leaders of the church ten years down the road."
6. When our friends Wendell, Mark, and David came in May, they had a conversation in the airport with a lady from a sister Church in Tennessee who goes and build playgrounds for children around the world as part of their missions strategy. The men know this meeting was no accident. Wendell is following up with them. It could be a great relational bridge / gift to the Ilwendo community to open an opportunity to preach and teach the true Gospel freely. We'll see what happens.
7. Stephanie has been impressed for some time now in private prayer that the Lord is going to raise up and build His Church from among the Lozi children; that Satan will have no longer be able to keep this new generation of Christ-besought people in bondage to fear and envy; witchcraft and false religion.
8. I was reminded recently in my daily Bible reading of two passages of scripture, Isaiah 49:24-25 and Isaiah 66:7-14.
Please pray over these things with us. It's absolutely critical that we walk in step with the Spirit of God. Sean and I would never have dreamed of this approach. In fact, we feel completely out of our element with this possibility as this does NOT match our training and/or background. But how like the Lord to place us in a situation where we are hopelessly unqualified so that He alone gets the glory for the amazing work that He will do.
1. We've been working with a dear Lozi brother named Enoch from Trinity Baptist Church here in Livingstone. He and his eight year old boy are both extremely gifted by the Lord to sing and play the guitar. This brother has accompanied us several times to the villages in Mutemwa area. The children in the villages are fascinated and drawn to the two of them. How amazing to watch the Lord draw the children to hear the gospel through a father and his child.
2. Over the last year we've attempted to meet with the people in the villages every Sunday afternoon at 2 pm for Bible study. For many months we taught a Creation to Christ study using a modified Bible Story method. Well, the adults have been dwindling over the past couple of months while children attendance seems to be growing; sometimes as many as thirty at one time. Our foreman, Vincent, did his best to review a previous lesson with these kids while we were away. He did this on his own initiative because he felt it was important to meet with the children.
3. The schoolmaster at Mutemwa School has asked Stephanie to come and teach Bible classes on Friday afternoons to the children.
4. A sister Church in Greenville, SC felt impressed to write a catechism for children called "There is a True and Living God." According to the gang in Greenville, this undertaking has been a matter of obedience to God's clear directive. The artwork matches the theology; exceptional and beautiful. The same Lozi brother, Enoch, has translated the booklet into Lozi. He is also writing a children's song for each Q&A in the booklet. We are very excited about it.
5. Recently, Sean was in Lusaka preaching at a missions conference at Lusaka Baptist Church. One of the fellow church-planting pastors working in Mungu told Sean (out of the blue), "After five years working among the Lozi, I believe children are really important to this work. I realized that the ten to twelve-year-olds that I teach now will be the new leaders of the church ten years down the road."
6. When our friends Wendell, Mark, and David came in May, they had a conversation in the airport with a lady from a sister Church in Tennessee who goes and build playgrounds for children around the world as part of their missions strategy. The men know this meeting was no accident. Wendell is following up with them. It could be a great relational bridge / gift to the Ilwendo community to open an opportunity to preach and teach the true Gospel freely. We'll see what happens.
7. Stephanie has been impressed for some time now in private prayer that the Lord is going to raise up and build His Church from among the Lozi children; that Satan will have no longer be able to keep this new generation of Christ-besought people in bondage to fear and envy; witchcraft and false religion.
8. I was reminded recently in my daily Bible reading of two passages of scripture, Isaiah 49:24-25 and Isaiah 66:7-14.
Please pray over these things with us. It's absolutely critical that we walk in step with the Spirit of God. Sean and I would never have dreamed of this approach. In fact, we feel completely out of our element with this possibility as this does NOT match our training and/or background. But how like the Lord to place us in a situation where we are hopelessly unqualified so that He alone gets the glory for the amazing work that He will do.
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