At the Manda Hill Mall

I'm at the Manda Hill Mall in Lusaka, Zambia. It's Thursday afternoon, and I'm here until my Saturday am. flight on British Airways out of Africa and into London.

When you go on a missions trip, your goal is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and make a positive impact in the lives of those you meet.

Here's some of the things I was able to accomplish:

1. Brought two 32 kg (70 lb) bags full of supplies and books. My bag for the trip home is around 20 kg, for a next contribution of 44 kg (around 100 lbs)!.

2. Taught a one-week intensive Apologetics course to the senior students of TTC (Trans-Africa Theological College - John and Ruth Kerr PAOC - you can look them up online!).

3. Hired and paid Gary Bufuku to function as a teaching assistant (TA). The money was a help to him, since he is currently without work.

4. Travelled to Lubumbashi, Congo and taught another one-week Apologetics class. My stomach was not happy, and it let me know in no uncertain terms. But I soldiered on, and the Lord blessed me with his presence and his anointing. We stayed at the Restawhile Guest House, run by the Brethren.

5. Flew to Kolwezi, Congo, where I continued my weight-loss regime and taught a one-week Christian Doctrine class, once again translated into French.

The Congo Christians deal with a lot of false doctrine, including those of the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Seventh Day Adventists, local African heresies (including one church which believes its leader is the Holy Spirit!) and "Branhamites" -- those who follow the teachings of American preacher William Branham, who denied the trinity (they believe the modalistic heresy that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are merely three "masks" or modes that God successively wears, a bit like how you could alternately act as a father, a brother, or a husband -- three roles, but only one you.

6. Typed two essays for the Rev. Mathieu Mufika.

7. Marked approx. 40 exam papers from the students of Lubumbashi. What made this interesting was they were written in French! I had Rev. Mufika translate a bunch of them until I caught on, and then did the rest myself.

8. Preached for about an hour at the Sunday 10 am. service at Rev. Mufika's Kolwezi Church. The fact that it is translated helps a bit -- you have time to think between sound bites. I preached on the importance of a) baptism, b) the Lord's Supper, and c) the anointing with oil for those who are sick -- three tangible aids to faith (and means of grace) that God has given us.

9. Sunday night I gave a quasi-impromptu 30-minute radio talk encouraging Kolwezi Christian married couples to keep their marriages strong.

10. Returned to Zambia in time to help the Kerrs purchase a (badly-needed) new washing machine. Their washing machine had totally conked out and was over 20 years old. As just one evidence of the way God watches over us, the new one they wanted went on sale today, down in Lusaka, where we are now, and we saved ONE MILLION KWATCHA (!!!) on the purchase price when we bought it this morning. When was the last time you saved one million anything?!

John Kerr has now headed back to Kitwe (about a 4 hour drive north); I'm relaxing and waiting until Saturday. I'm staying at the Baptist Guest House tonight; I've got the entire Lion guest house to myself; it's a one-bedroom cottage with a kitchen, dining/living area, and porch. All to myself. For $15 USD a night. The keepers of the BGH are from South Carolina.

Thank you for your prayers. I have prayed that they would rebound in providential care and blessing upon you.

Now, back to my coffee.

More later...