This is going to be one of the longest single day road trips I have done in a long time. I was able to share this ride with Doug Thorson our VP of Advancement and my son Calvin. I was so glad they could be with me on this whirlwind tour. We left the flat in Kitwe at 7am returning over 18hrs later at 1:30am. What we saw was truly amazing! The movement of life is emerging very fast in Zambia. Here are the notes of this single day tour.
We first visited one of several new ministries in Ndola, named, Silent Voices, 45 minutes into our trip. One of the intercessors of the Pan-African Conference, Sister Edith was waiting for us. She was so impacted by the conference that she decided to add the pregnancy center to the ministry she was already doing. She is a health care counselor and a believer so this became a good fit for her.
She unfolded an incredible story of her first baby saved. A young, very scared and overwhelmed pregnant girl came wanting an abortion because she had been told that because she is HIV positive her baby would certainly become HIV positive as well. She was counseled to abort the baby. To make a long story short, through counseling Edith was able to bring correct information on the matter to her and she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who is HIV negative. Both she and her husband are very happy.
We went from there to Kabwe, about 2 more hours down the road toward Lusaka. There we caught up with Pastor Michael who after attending the Pan-African Conference was compelled to start a counseling center called “Childs Eye Crisis Pregnancy Center.” Another center in Kabwe has developed as well from the conference. We heard similar stories as told by Sister Edith in Ndola.
Several hours later we arrived in Lusaka. It is hard to describe our journey through this town, the capital city of Zambia where over ten new ministries have developed as a result of the Pan-African Conference that we co-sponsored with Edward and Barbara Mwansa in May of 2009. In addition to these ten over ten more are about to be birthed. The movement of life has really been caught by our friends in Lusaka!
Here are a few examples. We first met up with Pastor Greenwell who is coordinating the effort in Lusaka. Originally he did not know he would develop into this role but the Lord made it clear that he was being prompted to do so. Now over ten ministries are thriving and over ten more emerging.
He led us to centers on each side of Lusaka. Some located in middle class sections like Charleston where his headquarters and market is located. The market offsets the cost of ministry for him. There we were presented with a very strategic plan to reach over nine schools with the abstinence message. Because the ministry is very small and resources limited, they have started with this issue first.
Then he led us into the “shanty compound” areas. These are densely populated areas of people who have no work. Their living areas are merely scraps of materials creatively held together by string, wire or make shift mortar. The floors are dirt and the roofs are scraps of quilted metal. As you walk you step over open sewage continually. In these areas the issues are very complicated and amplified. The need is immense. Here we found some of the most joy filled and hope focused people I have ever met. They offer love, hope, and refuge for some of the most desperate people in the world.
While visiting in Lusaka, I was able to meet many leaders of the emerging life movement in that region. I discovered, when we at LIFE International are faithful in sowing a little seed, God is faithful in developing the fruit. All of the ministries are operating on their own with no financial support from LIFE or the US. They caught the vision for life and they are running with it.
To date over 20 new ministries have developed resulting from the Pan-African Conference one year ago. Additionally, over 15 other ministries are about to emerge as well. This is a movement of life that God has put into motion. A nation wide Life-Giving Virus that will not only take over this nation but will spread rapidly into surrounding nations as well. Tracking the Life-Giving Virus is Life-Giving itself.
Hearing the stories and seeing the fruit fills me up with hope that God will fulfill this mission. Through Him it is possible!
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26
Recent Comments