The morning began early with the group gathering for devotions and prayer. We spent personal time in prayer and Bible study and exercised before breakfast. In Zambia, nshima is a staple food. It is a kind or porridge made from corn meal or corn flour. Traditionally, it is eaten with the right hand and dipped into different “relishes” or side dishes. Nshima was rather fun to eat and tasted great with the imana.
We gathered again after breakfast for a short training session. We reviewed how to give a Bible study on the second coming of Christ and how to address the questions that are commonly asked about Christ’s return. Muchinka and I went door-to-door together. He insisted that I give the Bible studies in English and he translated into Bemba. We went to two houses and shared the Bible with two families. The second woman we studied with thanked us repeatedly for coming to visit. She talked about how happy she was to see young people doing something worthwhile in the community. We invited her to the health fair we would be having that afternoon.
Muchinka and I returned to the houses where the IMPACT team stayed a little after noon. When we arrived Michael asked Erin and I to stay in Muchinshi until Thursday so that we could work with Dr. Tim Riesenberger. We headed to the crusade site to set up for the health fair. Chama ran the registration table, Erin and I took blood pressure, someone else calculated BMI. Daniel checked people for cataracts, Dr. Tim addressed their medical concerns, and Edwin prayed with each person. About 30 people went through each station and more people came but we did not have time to see them all.
Children were gathering at the crusade site and Chama, Erin, and I sang, taught them a Bible verse, and told Bible stories. We took breaks in shifts going back to the house to eat a late lunch then returning to the health fair and children’s program. The health fair ended when the sun set but we continued the children’s program until it was time for the song service before the crusade. I have never seen children so attentive as the children on Chilubi. They loved every song we sang, they remembered the Bible verses, and they listened in rapt attention to the Bible stories and could answer every question we asked afterward.
The topic addressed in the sermon was spiritualism and witchcraft. There are witchdoctors in most villages and there are a number of people who practice witchcraft and Satanism even while they profess Christianity. Erin and I sat with the children during the crusade. When the crusade ended the children stood around us asking us questions. “What’s your name?” “Where are you from?” One young boy put my hand on his forehead asked me to pray for him, of course I did and then ALL the children wanted me to pray for them! They crowded around holding my hands and saying “please pray for me!” Arms outstretched I prayed for each child, asking the Lord to bless them and their families, and to save them in His kingdom. I have never seen anything like that and it had a profound impression on me. I thought of Christ’s words “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)
I wish there was a like button on this blog site like facebook! :D
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