yesterday and today...

Just a warning, this will be a long one...

We finished up the teaching this afternoon at 5pm. It was a long week with 7 hours of teaching each day. The students continued to be extremely receptive to the idea of disciplemaking and even began to grasp some of the practical things we were teaching them--small group training, one-on-one training, how to prepare for an intentional discipleship program. Dave and I were encouraged as were Bonnie and Bennett, who said the students were extremely talkative after class and during breaks about the material and that this wasn't common for them. They also blessed us with a gift, a chitenge for our wives. It is the common skirt for women here, which is a large piece of cloth that is just wrapped around and tucked in. They also use it as a back-sack for carrying babies around or for a head wrap if they are carrying a basket of some kind any distance. This was such a moving gesture because of the cost and because Bonnie said that they have not given a gift to instructors in a very long time. They were obviously encouraged and complimentary beyond what is their already natural way of kindness and preference. It meant a lot to Dave and I, and even though we are very fatigued, the week was definitely very fruitful. These are the students that we taught, from top left: Paul (who wants to be a church planter), Brian (this was his last class before graduation and he will be a pastor in a local church here in Kitwe), Dave, Mark (will be one of the first to graduate from the new Master's program here and will be a pastor), Kelly (a pastor), Sylvia (who is a local pastor), Nathan (my friend), Moses (a very mature and well-respected local pastor), Owen, myself, Peter (who wants to work with orphans in Somalia); and on the ground from left: Davies (a military chaplain), Gerald, Kelvin (who will be going into national and foreign missions and church planting), Saviours, and Winston (who is a head pastor at a church plant that is 10 years old).As I mentioned, I ate at Nathan Chifuna's house last night. He cooked a veritable feast for me, and we had some good conversation and a good time of fellowship. Nathan is a passionate evangelist and disciple-maker, although he functions in an extremely high level in the gift of encouragement. It is always a pleasure to be around him and his family. Their gentleness and generosity is such a blessing.

Dave and I also had the priviledge of eating this evening with Matthews Fikati and Wilson Chabu. Matthews is on the left and Wilson on the right. The Zambian people as a whole are an extremely respect-oriented culture, and these two were better dressed than I'd ever seen them before out of courtesy to us.

They are part of a church here that is an especially missions oriented community. Matthews just returned a month or so ago from a mission trip to the Congo, and they are both also highly involved in planting a church in the 'bush' town called Serenge. There is a lot of demon possession there, traditional idol worship and the like.

When they have been there in the past, Matthews described his program (his daily schedule) like this: "I would preach and cast out demons from 9-12. Then I would take a break for some lunch and rest. Then I would have a bible study for those who had been converted in the morning."

At one point in his ministry there he was able to convert the local witch-doctor, which was a dangerous undertaking (because of the real power that is available through the demonic) and an obviously enormous victory for the kingdom. He said that the W.D. had a joo-joo over his door that enabled him to read the minds of those who walked in his home. So when Matthews came to confront him, he already knew his name, where he was from, etc. Matthews preached the gospel to him and after he confessed Christ, they went outside to burn all of his joo-joos. They then went into the hills behind his house where they turned over and burned the altar where the W.D. had been sacrificing to demons. Serious business.

I am always amazed at the humilty of my friends here and their unbelievable levels of faith and power in the Spirit. At another time, Matthews told the story of casting a demon out of a person that was, in his words, "not wanting to come out". He told me that they were in prayer continually for 8 hours for the man until he was made well, finishing matter-of-factly with "once you begin to cast out a demon, you do not stop until it is out, even up to one or two days."

The church in Serenje now has 23 members who meet together regularly and Matthews is going back in July with a group from his church to formally open the church.

Wilson is also in missions and is active in the church plant. He has been serving in a more pastoral role in the home church since his graduation, but is hoping to work with the Zulu of South Africa in the future. As of now, he is about to be the instructor at a local bible college on the book of Titus. They are both extremely zealous for the Lord and the advancing Kingdom. I am always encouraged to be around them.

Dave and I will be going to market tomorrow in the late morning and then taking some rest in the afternoon before preaching in two churches on Sunday.