Life in the Big City!
40/40 Lusaka, Zambia
When most people think of Africa they think of village life and are surprised to learn that there are large cities in Africa. We were able to spend 12 days in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, a city of about 2 million people. Our family stayed at a guest house and had running water and electricity.
Most days we were given a daily field assignment (DFA) that helped us learn about life and ministry in Africa. The DFA's would typically give us a topic for us to interview Africans about. There were a wide range of topics from medical care to their religious beliefs. So we would take a bus to our interpreters part of town and interview people on the streets or sit and talk with people in their homes for about 3 hours. We could not have done it without an interpreter (which is one of the reasons that we will spend our first year on the field in language study!)
On Sunday we went to a Church in Lusaka and were surprised by how modern it was. Below is a picture from inside the Church. (click on the pictures if you want to see them a bit larger)
Following the service we went home with our translator as they provided lunch for us. Here are a few pictures from our time at her house.
Though we learned a lot, there was a heaviness to the lessons. People enslaved to fear of witchcraft and animistic beliefs. Others in bondage to alcohol. So many just trying to survive day to day. Pray for the Pastors who serve and minister in Lusaka.
As I processed my time there two events stand out in my mind that I want to share:
1. For our time in Lusaka we were teamed up with another missionary other than our spouse. I was paired with Brad, a great guy who has a heart for evangelism. As we were walking through the town an old man called to us and asked us to come to his home. When we got there we engaged in a spiritual conversation with him. He was a member in a Catholic church there but was confused about a number of things he wanted clarification on. One of those was if baptism saved you. We shared with him for about an hour trying to answer some of his questions. At the end of our time he went and got his "papers" to show that he was able to work and had a good relationship with his previous employer. He asked that we would pray for him to get a job. So before we left we prayed that God would open the doors for him to get a job and that that the Holy Spirit would continue working in his life. The following day we passed by his house again, wanting to check in with him. He greeted us at the door with a huge smile on his face. After our translator talked with him he shared with us the good news. After we left, he had received a call requesting him to come and work! Praise God who answered this mans prayer. Please pray for the local pastor as he follows up with him and continues to guide him and help him understand what the Bible says about how to have a relationship with Christ.
2. Nearby to the man I mentioned above we also stopped by a house where some ladies were sitting outside working. They shared with us about their difficulties, in particular about how their marriages were in ruins because of their husbands addiction to alcohol. We stopped by and talked and prayed with these ladies over several days. One afternoon Brad and our translator were able to share the Gospel with them. A group of about 10 gathered listening to the Gospel presentation. Others came and listened for a while and walked away. After about an hour, three of them indicated that they wanted to follow Christ and come into relationship with Him. They prayed and confessed to God their desire to follow Him. There is a church within walking distance of their house that they will be able to attend and grow in their faith. Pray that the Spirit would continue to work in their lives and would draw near to God.
We finished up our 12 days in Lusaka and took a 7 hour bus ride out to where our "bush camp" portion of training would take place. (Blog entry coming soon on that!)
When most people think of Africa they think of village life and are surprised to learn that there are large cities in Africa. We were able to spend 12 days in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, a city of about 2 million people. Our family stayed at a guest house and had running water and electricity.
Most days we were given a daily field assignment (DFA) that helped us learn about life and ministry in Africa. The DFA's would typically give us a topic for us to interview Africans about. There were a wide range of topics from medical care to their religious beliefs. So we would take a bus to our interpreters part of town and interview people on the streets or sit and talk with people in their homes for about 3 hours. We could not have done it without an interpreter (which is one of the reasons that we will spend our first year on the field in language study!)
On Sunday we went to a Church in Lusaka and were surprised by how modern it was. Below is a picture from inside the Church. (click on the pictures if you want to see them a bit larger)
Following the service we went home with our translator as they provided lunch for us. Here are a few pictures from our time at her house.
Though we learned a lot, there was a heaviness to the lessons. People enslaved to fear of witchcraft and animistic beliefs. Others in bondage to alcohol. So many just trying to survive day to day. Pray for the Pastors who serve and minister in Lusaka.
As I processed my time there two events stand out in my mind that I want to share:
1. For our time in Lusaka we were teamed up with another missionary other than our spouse. I was paired with Brad, a great guy who has a heart for evangelism. As we were walking through the town an old man called to us and asked us to come to his home. When we got there we engaged in a spiritual conversation with him. He was a member in a Catholic church there but was confused about a number of things he wanted clarification on. One of those was if baptism saved you. We shared with him for about an hour trying to answer some of his questions. At the end of our time he went and got his "papers" to show that he was able to work and had a good relationship with his previous employer. He asked that we would pray for him to get a job. So before we left we prayed that God would open the doors for him to get a job and that that the Holy Spirit would continue working in his life. The following day we passed by his house again, wanting to check in with him. He greeted us at the door with a huge smile on his face. After our translator talked with him he shared with us the good news. After we left, he had received a call requesting him to come and work! Praise God who answered this mans prayer. Please pray for the local pastor as he follows up with him and continues to guide him and help him understand what the Bible says about how to have a relationship with Christ.
2. Nearby to the man I mentioned above we also stopped by a house where some ladies were sitting outside working. They shared with us about their difficulties, in particular about how their marriages were in ruins because of their husbands addiction to alcohol. We stopped by and talked and prayed with these ladies over several days. One afternoon Brad and our translator were able to share the Gospel with them. A group of about 10 gathered listening to the Gospel presentation. Others came and listened for a while and walked away. After about an hour, three of them indicated that they wanted to follow Christ and come into relationship with Him. They prayed and confessed to God their desire to follow Him. There is a church within walking distance of their house that they will be able to attend and grow in their faith. Pray that the Spirit would continue to work in their lives and would draw near to God.
We finished up our 12 days in Lusaka and took a 7 hour bus ride out to where our "bush camp" portion of training would take place. (Blog entry coming soon on that!)
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