Zambia Update Saturday

From Dave Clark:

This week has been a special week of ministry here at Northrise University in Ndola, Zambia.  Our discipleship conference concluded yesterday.  It was a memorable and life impacting four days for all those who were involved.

Each day of the week (Monday through Thursday), we met from roughly 10am to 4pm.  Although we anticipated equipping college students, we ended up primarily teaching and training church leaders.

Our team of ladies (7 of them) built some great relationships with the approximately 15 women who attended the conference.  The Zambian group of women included pastor’s wives, ministry leaders, and women wanting to grow in their service to Christ in their local communities.

Our men’s team (4 of us) had a great time with the approximately 35 Zambian men who came for the conference.  The majority of the men were pastors.  It was a great group of godly, gracious men, who were eager to learn.

Collectively we enjoyed amazing times of worship together.  Many times we sang in Bemba, the native language in this area of Zambia.  Although, we couldn’t understand the words, it was an amazing experience to hear our brothers and sisters sing and to worship with them in our hearts.

We also had an encouraging time in the Word together.  All of the sessions we taught focused on growing as disciples, and making disciples of Christ.  The sessions included:  The Great Commission, Vision & Strategy of Disciplemaking, Discipleship Vocabulary, Thessalonian Legacy, Multiplication, Profiles of a Disciple, Qualification of a Disciple Maker, Bible Overview, The Importance of Quiet Time, and The Master Plan of Evangelism (among others).   Both the men and women listened attentively, asked thoughtful questions, and shared encouraging insights from what they were learning.   I believed we all left compelled to give our lives to being and making disciples of Jesus!

We were all humbled to stand in front of such high caliber men and women.  We were honored to worship with, learn alongside, and share meals with such a precious group of believers.

We are all different because of the things that we saw, learned, and experienced together this week.  God is a faithful & gracious God!

More pictures from Wednesday

Zambia Pictures from Wednesday

Below are some pictures from today.  Elizabeth, Sabrina, and Kristen all ate caterpillars for lunch.  

Second Day of Teaching in Zambia

Our team is learning that in Zambia when things are supposed to start at 9 am that really means 10 am.  Though we have had to adjust our schedule a little due to the late start and a longer lunch break this was actually anticipated.  We have been encouraged for the devotion of the 30 pastors.  Everyone of the men attending is a pastor!  It is amazing to think of the impact that can be had upon these 30 congregations as their pastor begins to live a disciple-making lifestyle.

Both the men's and women's conferences have been going really well.  The hunger and maturity of so many in attendance is very encouraging.  We taught till 4 pm and then visited with many of the staff of Northrise University.  The team enjoyed a dinner at restaurant with our host.  

We are thankful for the fruit as a result of the conference, the wonderful men and women we are meeting, how God is working in Zambia, the kind host we have, the unity of our team, the health of our team, and most importantly our Lord Jesus!  Keep us in your prayers!

First day of Teaching in Zambia

From Jana: 

What an amazing day it was!! From beginning to end, it has been a wonderful day!! We started early this morning with a full breakfast and prayer. Jet lag wasn't really a problem for most of us because last night's rest was so peaceful and refreshing. The place that we are staying at is called Kaps Villa and Lodge. We were all awakened a little earlier than scheduled because there are turkeys, chickens and roosters walking freely around the property and roosters actually begin crowing waaay before sunrise! None the less it was a very peaceful night's rest that led into a great first day here in Ndola.

After group prayer together and a little praise and worship led by Dave Clark, we loaded up on our bus and headed to the school. The day started a little slow as many of the folks arrived late.  Though the day began slowly I was reminded how God was still the center of the trip. We had a wonderful group of women attend.  Disciple-making is about the "FAT" men and women (Faithful, Available, Teachable). As the day went on more people began to trickle in. And with the women in our sessions we had pure worship and great classroom participation. They were older than I expected but their maturity in the faith and hunger for the word is inspiring and encouraging to simply be a good steward of what we have been given.  These women were pastors wives and church leaders.  As we engaged with these wonderful women I realized how much expectations can hinder us and keep us from seeing the better thing that God has!

When we finished teaching at one of the satellite locations we drove to the main campus of North Rise University to see what the university looked like. It is on a huge piece of land that they are still planning on developing and growing to be greater. They have a banana plantations and there are also mango trees everywhere. We got to see the beautiful sunset in the west which reminded me of home being westward and how God removes our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). I'm so thankful that we made it here safely and that God's faithfulness is evidently here with us. There's beautiful people and sights everywhere and God made them/it all. I'm thankful to be His witness from Memphis to Ndola to Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth!

Zambia - Monday

Today was our first day of training.  The men taught a group of pastors from around Ndola and the women taught local church leaders.  We have started a Facebook page for the group to put pictures on and you can link to it here https://www.facebook.com/groups/138080753057305/

Arrived in Zambia

After over 40 hours our team of 11 made it to Ndola, Zambia.  Everyone is doing great!  We had a 12 hour layover in Amsterdam and got to explore the city.  We are settling in today and tomorrow we start day one of a four day conference.  Pray for our team!