March 27, 2011

This weekend I attended a 2-day international Christian teaching convention in downtown Ndola. I am still in processing mode but really was overwhelmed at how God met me there. He really used the sessions to give me a renewed vision for teaching and even somewhat of a new perspective. One of the quotes flashed on the overhead screen really struck me, It went something like this: “Being a teacher is like being a candle; it consumes itself to light the way for others” As I have reflected on this quote I am reminded of the great Teacher, Jesus Christ who lived a life of sacrifice and who ultimately gave his life for his “pupils”. And what are we called to do? I will reference Ephesians 5:1-2 to answer this question in part. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Christ poured out himself fully on our behalf. It is clear from scripture that this was not easy. In Jesus’ last moments before crucifixion he cried out to his Father, “ My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. Matthew 26:39b. As I reflect on the life of Christ, I am both convicted and challenged. The bible makes it clear that our lives, what we do, are to be an act of worship to the Lord. Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” To be honest, it is difficult for me to imagine doing everything as an act of worship and to the glory of God. In my mind I say, “How is that possible?” I think I am still processing these thoughts but at least for now I can say is that God wants us to be aware of him in anything and everything we are doing. All things are by him and through him. all we are and all we have are by him and through him. Even our struggles and sufferings are for a greater purpose. He is the potter who is skillfully forming us more and more into is image. We may not understand, we may fear but we must trust the ever faithful, the ever present help in time of trouble and remember that his plans for us are better than any plans we could have for ourselves. The more we empty ourselves of ourselves the more God can fill those places and work more effectively in us and through us. And I have come to realize that this is completely and utterly impossible on our own. Where does it start? It starts with prayer. Getting on our knees and asking God to change our hearts and give us the desire to see him glorified and to see his purposes fulfilled through us. This is all still in process in my mind, so I am hoping this at least makes some sense. I will leave you with some more verses to reflect on, I received them in an email last week.

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light
for my path.
( Psalm 119:105 *NIV )

For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves,
God has a positive answer for us! After all.....

When You say, "It's impossible".
God says: "All things are possible". ( Luke 18:27 )

When You say, "I'm too tired."
God says: "I will give you rest". ( Matthew 11:28-20 )

When You say, "Nobody really loves me".
God says: "I love you". ( John 3:16 & John 13:34 )

When You say, "I can't go on."
God says: "My grace is sufficient." ( 2 Corin 12:9 & Psalm 91:15 )

When You say, "I can't figure things out."
God says: "I will direct your steps." ( Proverbs 3:5-6 )

When You say, "I can't do it."
God says: "You can do all things in Me." ( Phil 4:13 )

When You say, "It's not worth it."
God says: "It will be worth it." ( Romans 8:28 )

When You say, "I can't forgive myself."
God says: "I forgive you." ( I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

When You say, "I can't manage."
God says: "I will supply all your needs." ( Phil 4:19 )

When You say, "I'm afraid."
God says: "I have not given you a spirit of fear." ( 2 Tim. 1:7 )

When You say, "I'm always worried and frustrated"..
God says: "Cast all your cares on ME ( 1 Peter 5:7 )

When You say, "I don't have enough faith."
God says: "I've given everyone a measure of faith." ( Romans 12:3 )

When You say, "I'm not smart enough."
God says: "I give you wisdom." ( 1 Corin 1:30 )

When You say, "I feel all alone."
God says: "I will never leave you or forsake you." ( Hebrews 13:5 )

Always remember that; Every Word of GOD is Flawless; HE is a shild to those who take refuge in HIM. ( PROVERBS 30:5 ) For the Word
of GOD is living and active! Amen. ( HEBREWS 4:12 )

March 2,2011

Well I have finally shifted to my flat, as they say in Zambia. From the outside of the building things look very nice but once inside, it’s a whole different story. There are 4 elevators, 2 of which have been broken since at least last summer when I was last here. The other 2 work “most” of the time. I learned a valuable lesson yesterday..the lifts are turned off at 10 pm. My good friend Judi (who lives on the 1^st floor) is pregnant and was put on bed rest because she started having contractions. She still has 6 weeks to go and I decided to take her a meal for dinner. I made her 2 shepards pies and brought along a French loaf as well. After having a great time together with her family and some friends I started off for home only to realize that the lifts were off meaning I had to take the stairs to the 7^th floor. I quickly noticed that many of the lights are out in the stairwells, thus it was even too dark to see the stairs. As I was passing the 3^rd floor I stepped and something and it seemed to run away. I was convinced it was a rat but didn’t want to know. My friend, who was escorting me home took my phone which has a small light on it and went back down to see what it was. I reluctantly followed behind to see what it was, only to discover that it was a small corncob. Ha-ha, we laughed hysterically.

The hot water heater is broken and I am told it will be fixed next week, we shall see. I told Judi about it and she laughed, she said that she had the same issue and they just hired someone to come fix it and then 3 months later the maintenance guy for the flats came to fix it. So the water is ice cold, well when I have water. I have also learned to keep the bathtub full of water as well as extra buckets. The water goes off without warning too many times to count in a day. I asked the maintenance guy about it today and he said it is on for 20 minutes and then off for 20 minutes if the reservoir is full..but I have no way of knowing when the reservoir is full so a lot of good that info does me. Ha-ha

And the place was filthy, I wont even mention the things we found when cleaning. The 1st day of cleaning it took 4 of us like 6 hours to get it halfway decent. Then I hired a lady to help me clean a few days after and we spent another 5 hours cleaning. I am finally getting use to doing laundry in Africa. Hand washing, line drying and then ironing (to kill any possible Tutsi fly larva so that they don’t burrow into my skin) I paid an exterminator to spray for roaches and lets just say cleaning up the casualties was hmm gross but better dead than alive..eh.

March 1, 2011

Two Sundays ago we had our annual “College Sunday” at church. This is a day specifically geared towards the college students in the area. We had probably 8 different colleges represented there and it was packed! All of the chairs in the auditorium were filled and we even had to bring in extra chairs. Different college groups did some presentations, mostly musical and the locally famous band, DMK preformed. Afterwards Pastor Chanda gave an excellent gospel message and discussed the love of God. At the end of the service 35 people game forward and gave their life to the Lord. What an amazing thing to witness and be a part of. Afterwards about 5 of us went outside with the 35 and divided them into groups. Some needed to talk one on one with someone so I ended up having a group of 8, 3 girls and 5 guys. We had a small discussion about this new chapter in their life and I just took some time to get to know each of them a little better. What I am most thankful for is that pastor knows the importance of discipleship and does not merely stop when one asks Jesus into their lives. We have already begun visiting these and the other students on campus and in their boarding houses. Starting next week I will be having a discipleship group at my place once a week for 6-8 girls. There is a college just across the street from me so more than likely they will come from there. I am excited to see how God is working here and praying that we will start to see fruit in the lives of these young people. Also, every other Sunday afternoon we have a youth group event and I am encouraged to see the numbers continuing to grow. We have had between 15 and 40 young people each meeting. God is at work in the hearts of these people and I am excited to see what he will do and how God will continue to use this church.

February 25,2011

It has been far too long since I have last posted, so my apologies. My plate has been full but thankfully God has been giving me the strength I need to press through the hard times and the tiredness. I am finding such great joy in spending the majority of my time with my pupils (now 29 of them). I missed 3 days at the beginning of last week being that I needed to be at the flat while the repairs were being done…and oh how I missed them. I couldn’t wait to get back and see their smiling faces and give them a big hug. I think I am hooked..lol. I started extra tutoring lessons with about ¼ of them. I started with 4 that are having some trouble in math and after mid term break, which is next week, I will be working more with the ones that need help in English and grammar. I will more than likely do math-tutoring 2x a week and then the English/grammar 2-3x a week. It’s difficult because a few cannot even recognize the numbers 1-10 when I write them out. They can count but actually identifying the numbers is an issue, thus doing the math problems with the rest of the class has been impossible. Most cannot read and a hand full cannot even properly copy notes from the board. So part of the week off I will be reviewing their work and assessing where they are and which students need remedial work and tutoring. Once I have assessed this I will be able to group them together and better plan the tutoring sessions. I truly want to see them all reach their full potential but realize they are on different levels and not all are able to grasp everything in class. Please be praying for guidance and wisdom from the Lord as I begin the assessment process and tutoring sessions.