Our Time in Zambia
Author: Jeremy Lelek
Category: Uncategorized
NOTE: Guest authors from our TEAM in Zambia Africa. Chris and Joy Wells; Aaron Hunt and Rachael Rosser
After about year of being away it is so nice to be back in Zambia again! Yesterday we went back to the church and met with some of the Zambians we will be teaching over the next week. It was great to see Pastor Peter again and talk to him about what the the Lord had done through the Biblical counseling material. One of our primary prayers regarding our trips has been that the church in Zambia would become a safe place for both sufferer and the sinner. There are plenty of examples in both Zambia and the U.S. where the church, rather than being a place of of healing, encouragement and safety, is a place where they will be shamed, ostracized and gossiped about.
Hypocritical church members admonish and shame, either because of their own pride or because they just don't know any better. Our purpose has been to properly teach how the gospel brings a message of restoration, hope, and forgiveness through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So, when I asked Peter what the Lord had done the past year, he not only explained to me the impact biblical counseling had had in his own community, but that it had begun to affect the cities on completely different corners of the country of Zambia. People were now seeing the church as a safe place to find healing, forgiveness and restoration. In the past, people might seek out a witch doctor as the answer to their problems, but now they are seeking their Christian brothers and sisters. The local churches in Lusaka, where we are today, had seen God move so much that they have been creating there own teams to go and teach Biblical counseling in major cities all over Zambia! Please pray for us that we may take the task God has set before us with humility to others and that we may teach accurately from the word of God as we are guided by the Holy Spirit.
by: Chris Wells and Joy
Today we joined the church for their worship service. It was so refreshing to see that the Zambian Christians don't simply love God, but that it is clearly evident in everything about how they worship him. After several months of preparing for this trip, it is truly a joy to be together with our brothers and sisters here. I'm constantly humbled by how joyful and excited they are to have us here and to learn god's word by studying the bible and reading the Equipped to Counsel curriculum.
The first night at our lodge I met a security guard named Tosek. He started asking me questions about our group, and I started to share with him why Jesus had brought us here. Our conversation turned towards the Lord and salvation. He started attending his wife's church a few weeks ago, and I believe this is where God has begun wooing him. He and I spent time discussing who God is, and I was able to give him a bible. We plan on meeting in the evenings to discuss God's character and study his word. IT is so humbling to participate in what God is doing here in Zambia. It seems as if everywhere I turn people are hungry for the gospel. To God be the glory!!
by: Aaron Hunt
The Lord has given me the privilege to travel extensively and share his word overseas, but there is no place on earth quite like Zambia. This place for me is sheer joy. I see Jesus in the laughter of the women and the inquisitive faces of the men who are attending the conference. But most of all I see him in the children. I look at their dirty faces and torn and soiled t shirts, and I cant help but to kiss each one on the forehead and pray for their hearts. I pray for their salvation and that they would not doubt the presence of God and fierceness of His love.
My hope for the children here is that they would sit under Godly counsel and discipleship from their own parents, teachers, and pastors. That they would reap the benefits of the seeds that God is sowing here in Zambia. I pray that as these adults live and counsel the gospel, this will have a direct impact on their children who are the future of Zambia.
Monday is the beginning of teaching as we will be split into groups to teach on addictions, the reasons why people seek counsel, and what is biblical counseling. Each day, we will also have a small group who we eat lunch with and discuss their chapters with. Please pray that the Lord would continue to go before us and that he would knit our hearts as one. Pray that as prisoners for the Lord, we would walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called with all humility, gentleness, patience and bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of Spirit in the bond of peace.
by: Rachael Rosser
Posted on June 4, 2013