It has been challenging, but the Chibuye family has grown even more in love with the village as they see God working through their obedience to stay.

Crocodile Island, which is shaped like a crocodile, is an island that consists of four different fishing villages on Lake Tanganyika. There is one community school and no clinic on the island, which is a half-hour public boat ride away from Mpulungu, the main town on the Zambian side of the lake. If one misses the boat, the only way to town is by paddling three hours. The people on the island are known to hold tight to witchcraft for fishing, successful businesses and physical protection.

There were churches on the island, but no pastor was willing to stay and help the people grow spiritually. Occasionally, pastors would visit on a Sunday to preach, but without a strong Christian influence, the issues of witchcraft, polygamy and drunkenness were still common in the churches. Realising the need for biblical role models, OM partnered with a church in Mpulungu to send a local couple, Kelvin and Florence, to Crocodile Island as missionaries in 2016.

At first, the Headman of the village was not open to receiving the couple. He couldn’t believe that outsiders would be willing to stay on the island with a pure motive of sharing God’s love and truth. “The Headman said that he would beat us until we explained why we wanted to stay,” said Howard Sichilima, an OM worker who first surveyed the village. Understanding the need for a spiritual breakthrough from God, the OM team went with Kelvin to fast and pray on the island before they officially moved in.

The couple wants to make sure that people from all backgrounds have a chance to experience the love of God. They don’t want people to just attend church but experience a real transformation from God in all areas of their lives. From house visits to youth and children’s ministry, leadership development to Self Help Groups, they make sure people on the island have opportunities to grow. Every night, there is Bible study and prayer time at their house that is open to all on the island.

Ministering through prayer

In the beginning, people were sceptical about the couple and some even tried to stop their work. However, God protected the Chibuye's without them even knowing.

Kelvin and Florence always seek to love their neighbours. As a result, people have started to ask for prayer. One neighbour who originally was sent to teach about Islam on the island came to know Jesus himself. 

One night, an unconscious young man, David*, was brought to the couple's house. They started to pray for him and continued overnight. “He was troubled by evil spirits and later on we learnt that he was practising Satanism,” said Kelvin. After David came to his senses, Kelvin invited him to stay with them for a while. “I wanted to make sure he understood what had happened and start to live a life right with God.” 

“I am so sorry for what I did to you,” David said to Kelvin and Florence. David shared that he had tried to attack their house. “When I came the first time with my group, we saw a wall of fire surrounding this house. We were not able to harm you.” The couple were amazed at how God had protected them. They forgave David and visited him regularly to help him grow in his faith.

David was baptised and has started sharing his story with other youth.

Challenges

Running a small business on a small island has not able to fully support the Chibuye family. However, the financial challenge didn’t deter their passion.

Now, they work in town for a few days during the week and then go back to the island on Friday and remain there until Monday. The weekend has a packed schedule of ministry.

Over time they have developed young believers to stand on their own and to help with the work. Many share their testimony to others of how God has set them free from drinking and witchcraft. Even the Headman who once was against the family is now open to know more about the Bible. 

*name changed

Mercy, a single mother of three living in a village along Lake Tanganyika, has not had an easy life. At one point, her mother took Mercy to the Muslim community to get financial help, which is how she became a Muslim.

Still struggling financially, Mercy was introduced to a Self Help Group (SHG) in a nearby village. The facilitator of the group was Purity*, a local lady from the community. She had a similar background to Mercy—a single mother with three children to raise. However, Purity had found hope in Jesus that took her out of the vulnerable situation. She knew that Jesus was who Mercy needed too.  

During the six weeks of SHG training, participants learn how to connect with God and people, as well as how to address political and economic issues through God’s eyes. In the beginning, Mercy was unsure how to pray and do the Bible study sections; she was not familiar with how to speak to God.

Throughout the weeks, God opened Mercy’s eyes. One thing in particular that she noticed was that the Christians around her sincerely cared for her and wanted to help. Having discovered who Jesus is during Bible study, Mercy decided to follow Him. 

Mercy was afraid to leave the Muslim community, but the members of the SHG supported her. They helped her find a flat to rent in a different area and start a business to sustain herself, as well as connected her with a church. Now Mercy is sharing her story with others and is looking forward to the day when she can share her faith with her former community. She is still part of the SHG where she continues to grow.

Purity was very happy to see how God once again touched a fellow woman though the SHG. Since being trained in 2016, Purity has been the most dedicated and faithful facilitator. She might not have the most education or strong family background, but she has a heart full of compassion and love. God has been using this ordinary lady to transform dozens of vulnerable families and the stories will continue.

Praise God for what He has done through SHGs along the lakeshore. Pray that more vulnerable women will join SHGs and their lives will be transformed by God. Pray that the facilitators will have wisdom, strength and patience from God to know how to bring the participants to follow God.

*name changed

Abbie was confused after having the dream because she wanted to spend her life as a missionary in India. God had a different plan, though, and when she looked for mission opportunities in India, He closed the door. Frustrated, she saw the village from her dream in an OM orientation video. That caught her attention, and she immediately knew that was where God wanted her to go. 

Challenges

Being the first foreign missionary in Kapembwa was not a simple task, and Abbie faced many challenges. The first encounter when she arrived was the spiritual darkness and heaviness of the place. Then, the language barrier also hit her. “I couldn’t understand when they were speaking. Bemba (the local language) is so difficult,” shared Abbie. She had to talk through a translator for most of her daily life in the beginning.  

The first funeral she went to was one of the biggest culture shocks. “Why do we need to all go and look at a dead body?” Abbie asked Angela, her translator, with a scared look. Angela responded, “It's how we do things here. Everyone in the village has to participate in all funerals.”

The sound of crying and screaming for the lost boy was piercing at midnight, and Abbie wanted to find somewhere to hide during the funeral. However, that was the time when she realised this was the place she dreamt of. Here is where God sent me and I will make sure I finish the task, she encouraged herself.  

“Awe, awe, Yesu! (No, no Jesus!)” Abbie shouted one night in the boat as a big storm arose when the team was returning from a far away village in the pitch black. Those were the first big waves Abbie experienced at the lake. There was no light on the boat and no moon in the sky. She thought she was going to die at that time. After arriving home, her co-worker Clement said, “I never see a strong lady like Abbie. After all the drama, we didn't expect her to laugh about the situation."

Malaria was another big challenge during her time in Kapembwa. In total, she was diagnosed over 14 times with malaria. It was a dangerous situation when she got it the first time. The team had to rush her to Mpulungu, where the closest hospital is. She said, "I was half dead when Clement took me from Kapembwa village to Mpulungu. Suddenly there was a heavy rain and we were caught up in the storm.” People were surprised to see her arrive in Mpulungu so sick and even more surprised to hear that she wanted to go back to Kapembwa after recovering.

“We were amazed to see Abbie's heart for Kapembwa. Many foreigners would leave with fear because of malaria,” said Lorrin Kasale, an OM Lake T leader. Abbie shared with a firm voice that Kapembwa was where God wanted her to be so she had to stick it through the end no matter what challenges came.

Moving on

Abbie had a discipleship class with the few believers in the village church. She was also involved in children ministry, evangelism and many community activities that are helping transform Kapembwa. When she first arrived, Abbie could count the number of believers on her fingers, but now the church has more than 50 members, with many disciples trained. The community has changed as some influential witchdoctors in Kapembwa came to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour; people in the village have come to realise that there is a God to worship other than the big mountain of Kapembwa where they gave their sacrifices to the spirit.

“[My work here is] finished, all that God loaded in me for this place. And now I have to go,” said Abbie. Reflecting back for the past four years in Kapembwa, she was grateful for how God helped her go through all the challenges: “When you serve at where God sends you, God Himself will work and you will be able to finish the task. It’s important to know that God calls us not to the people, church or ministry but [to] God Himself. God is the ultimate purpose wherever we serve.”

“Everyone is living without hope. I feel pity for the children here, all with dirty and ragged clothes, and drunk parents. When someone gets sick, they go to the witchdoctors, not realising that is not where they can find real healing, truth and everlasting life.” Rachel and her husband have been living in 4Miles for the last 20 years, living their lives in the best way they knew how, but not always following Jesus. 

God calling 

One day in 2015, an OM missionary visited Rachel. He told her about the discipleship programme at OM and how it could help her learn more about how to follow Jesus. Although Rachel had grown up in a Muslim family, she knew this was something she must do. The next few months she worked hard to save enough money to do the year-long discipleship and missions training. 

“After doing discipleship and missions, I wanted to keep learning more, so I became a student at Tabitha Skills Development," said Rachel. "Since joining Tabitha, my life has completely changed. At first my husband couldn’t understand the changes in me, but last year, he also decided to go through discipleship training! Now we can understand each other and be an example to our neighbours by loving and respecting each other.” 

At Tabitha Skills Development, Rachel successfully completed the beginner, intermediate and advanced sewing training. She quickly became an encourager and example to the other students of how God can transform a person’s life if they allow Him to. She has since become a full-time missionary with Tabitha, focusing on reaching the women in 4Miles. 

A new vision 

“After joining Tabitha, God was always speaking to me about not leaving behind the ladies in my own community," said Rachel. "My eyes were totally opened to God’s vision for my life. He was calling me to be like Tabitha in the Bible! I have been teaching my fellow women, just like I have been taught at Tabitha, and they follow everything I do. I used to be a bit difficult and had a very bad temper, but now God has softened my heart. I have even told all my family about Jesus, and they are no longer Muslim, but Jesus followers! Now that my eyes are open to the need for Jesus in my village, I will never stop teaching and preaching until God calls me onwards. The small one-room building that our family used to use as a tavern is now where the ladies meet for prayer, Bible study and skills training. 

“God has transformed my outlook on life so much, that even if I sometimes go to sleep hungry or in pain, when I wake up I feel energised and ready for ministry.” 

Physical sight 

In addition to Rachel’s spiritual eyes being opened, God has also opened her physical eyes.

Rachel always struggled with being able to see properly and didn’t have a suitable pair of glasses to assist her vision. She could hardly read, thread a needle or do any intricate work. However, Rachel now testifies to the restoration God has given to her eyesight. “I now have no problem putting thread through a tiny needle, or reading in the evenings with dim candlelight," she said. "God has done a miracle for me!” 

The love of Jesus has the power to transform lives and communities. As Rachel continues to minister to her village of 4Miles, she dreams that one day when asked to describe her community, she will be able to say it is a ‘vibrant community of Jesus followers.’ 

Join Rachel in praying for God’s wisdom, strength and protection as she diligently ministers to her community. Pray for endurance to not give up as she often faces persecution.

Don’t get me wrong. I totally support short-term outreaches as good exposure. As an OMer, this is in my DNA. I came back to the mission field where I serve now because I was so touched when I came here on a short-term outreach. Now I have been in the field for a year with many opportunities to host short-term outreaches. I have to be honest that there are times when I felt as if I was organising a trip for tourists. There is so much behind the scenes work and preparation involved in a short-term outreach. There are so many cultural barriers that I am not able to explain to people who come for two weeks. Along with the tendency for people wanting to see results right away, this might damage the local ministry as they try to build long-term. 

Imagine a group of Christians send you an email that they want to come and visit for a week. The message sounds something like this:

We are so excited about this short-term outreach and how God is going to do great things. This is our first time to travel to this part of the world. We would like to help with whatever is needed – manual work, teaching, evangelism, etc. We all know that language is important so we will need a few translators for the whole time to make sure the message is effective. We can’t wait to taste the local delicacies, but to make sure no one has stomach problems, we still need to have some familiar food. We all sacrificed a lot to come for this trip so we want to utilise the time and money well. We would like to have a programme with a fruitful ministry and not be too tiring at the same time. We will probably need a private vehicle so we don’t have to wait. Also, it would be great to have a little sight-seeing to bring beautiful memories home. Thank you so much and we are looking forward to experiencing the culture and partnering with you in God’s kingdom.

Now you got this super passionate email that you can already foresee how much work it might add to your already busy schedule. You will need to coordinate with all the ministries to see how they can accommodate them, especially by finding enough translators. You will also need drivers who can take them around (Oh, you might also need to find a bus. Sending them out in a local truck with no insurance is not a good idea.). The outreach schedule is so busy that the local team might need to take turns cooking for the group and making sure there is a good balance of local and international foods. This will also mean that as team members guide the outreach, the usual work will have to take a break. You send the orientation sheets with a packing list and hope that they will read it through. However, just in case, you prepare to step in to provide materials or help when they don’t understand and accidentally behave culturally inappropriately. You will also need to brief the local disciples to make sure they will not be offended or get false hope from the foreigners. Also, there are always some surprises might happen, so just be prepared. 

I don’t know if you can sense how intense this is. I know ministries and places are different, but I also know it’s not easy to take on an outreach team. If the outreach team has a great attitude to learn and support the ministry, it will be a great encouragement for the local team. However, a team who holds on to their own perspectives on culture and ministry might end up breaking relationships the local team already built.

Here I would like to share some tips that help me feel less like a tour guide and more like I’m helping facilitate an exposure trip for the Kingdom.

1. It’s ok to say no. Most of us are from the Global South are hospitable and don’t want to offend people, but when the time an outreach team wants to come is not a good season (for example, holidays or a super busy time), politely tell them better dates or decline the trip. If you try to accommodate them at the wrong time, it’s like taking an energy drink when you want to sleep — it will take days to recover from the mistake.
2. Do orientation with stories. It’s impossible to understand a culture in two weeks, but some real life examples—especially of mistakes from the past—will really bring home the message for people to be careful of cultural taboos. The goal of orientation is not for people to master the culture but to have a humble learning attitude so they will always inquire when they are unsure. It also helps to send some photos before they arrive. 
3. Do not assume. Many times we are so used to the local culture that we are blind to things that should be explained. Do not assume everything will go right and people will remember everything from the orientation. Be available and approachable at all times for people to ask questions. Always double check to see if there is any miscommunication between the local and the outreach team (Like regarding the concept of ‘time’). For evangelism, it is good to prepare together in case of cultural barriers. For example, you don’t use ‘snow’ in a metaphor when in a tropical country.
4. Beware of giving and promising. We all love to see that an outreach team blessed a community. However, directly giving things out might grow dependency syndrome. Foreigners might be moved by what they see to promise material things without knowing the real needs in the community. Make sure to make your stance on giving clear during orientation and talk about giving in the final debrief to help plan how to benefit the local community in the long run. 
5. Don’t treat the outreach team like tourists who pay for a comfortable trip. Many times we roll our eyes towards outreach teams with tourist attitudes, but we as hosts might be the ones creating the comfort zone. We should not look at them as potential donors. We are not there to please them. We should not downplay ourselves to earn pity, neither show how great the ministry is to impress. Both sides are there to please God and encourage each other. People can live without chocolate and real milk. Buy local ingredients for food. If there is only cold bath water, don’t heat water for everybody with temperature requests. We also need to brief the local team members and disciples to not overly treat the team and also make sure they don’t see the outreach team as having the answers for their personal problems. 
6. Money is not the answer. One of the big misassumptions during outreaches is that money can fix everything. We all know we need to be flexible in the mission field but with a short-term outreach team, we tend to panic more and want to find a quick fix when things do not go according to plan. I remember when the car we rented for an outreach broke down. While we were busy trying to call all the people we knew with a bus, one of the outreach team members told me “Money is not a problem. We can pay more for the car.” “Money is really not the problem,” I thought in my mind. “Even if we pay a million dollars, we might still not be able to find a bus in the area that could fit all the people.” This issue will also come up when people see needs in the field without knowing the long-term plan. They might want to give money towards something which the local team already knows is not going to work. Be patient and explain to the outreach team about the situation and how they best can help. 
7. Photos, photos and more photos. We understand people want to take photos to share with people back home. However, ten people taking turns to photograph a sick baby is not the best way. We are not in a zoo. Some ministries might also be very sensitive about photos. It’s better to have one person in charge of taking photos—with permission from the subject—and have the photos and videos available for the team at the end of the trip.
8. Briefing and Debriefing. It’s very important to have briefing and debriefing each day to make sure people are all on the same page. It is also an opportunity for both teams to clarify any issues and learn how to better work together the next time. It’s a time for highlights, lowlights and to address any cultural issues. This could also be a safe place for the outreach team to present ideas. We don’t want people who come to fix all the problems but they might really bring some new perspectives which will benefit the ministry. At the first meeting, creating a time to get to know each other (testimonies, backgrounds, etc.) can really help in the following days to show love as brothers and sisters more, especially in the Global South. 
9. Sightseeing. This can be annoying, but people do want to seize the opportunity to see more. A balanced way I found is to provide set ideas and contacts about sightseeing and let the outreach team decide what they want and let them organise it themselves. Then, the host will not need to work out everything for a tour but the outreach team still has the chance to see the beauty of the place. 
10. Keep calm and pray. This is the most important key to any short-term outreach. Before even accepting the outreach, pray for the right time and the right people. During the preparation, pray for clear communication and God’s plan. Always remember the devil is working, too. Pray for protection, unity and God’s work during the whole outreach. Things will go wrong but Jesus is there with us. Just keep calm and pray.

I hope these tips could help the host for better short term outreach outcomes, especially for the ministries who don’t have specific role to organise the outreach teams. For the people who are considering short-term outreach, here are some good resources for you. 

https://www.shorttermmissions.com/articles/research

Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions by Steve Corbett, and Brian Fikkert

Esther started attending Makwati Community School in Kabwe, Zambia, when she was in grade three. At that time, the school gathered to learn in a small building made of split-plank logs covered in black plastic to keep the dust out and offer a bit of protection from the wind and sun. With no desks or chairs, the students held their books in their laps and sat on the bricks that would one day build their school. 

Now in grade seven, Esther and her classmates no longer learn in the semi-dark on the ground but have moved into permanent school buildings. In 2013, the first block of five classrooms was completed, and in 2015, the main hall was added, followed by a block containing the head teacher’s office, kitchen and bathrooms in 2017. Still to be built is a second classroom block that will allow the classes to run simultaneously instead of split into a morning and afternoon sessions, as well as give each grade a classroom that is all ‘theirs'. 

The teachers quickly noticed an improvement in the student’s academic performances after moving into the new classrooms as the children were more focused on learning and less focussed on pushing each other for the best seat or balancing their books. 

For Paul, another grade seven student, his favourite part of school is reading the small collection of books in the corner of his class and playing football behind the school with his friends. The best part of moving into the classrooms in 2013 according to Paul was getting to sit at a desk to do his work.   

Though much of the construction has been finished, there is still a need for finances to completely furnish the classrooms with desks, chairs and cabinets and to purchase teaching resources and materials. The grade one textbooks, for instance, are six years old and in need of replacement as they have passed through many eager little hands. 

Seeing the difference

“We like school because if we learn, we can also help others,” Esther explained. 

“People are really changing because of this school,” said Phoebe, who has been a teacher at Makwati School since its beginning. 

When the school first started, the community did not recognise the full value of education. As the closest school is quite far–and getting there involves crossing a busy road–many parents did not care if their child attended school or not. Now, the parents bring the children to enrol them at Makwati School and encourage them to go to class and learn, according to Phoebe. 

The teachers have also seen changes in the students themselves. “They want education,” Phoebe has observed. “They respect people and do many things [differently] than the way they were.” 

“After we teach [the students] here, they also go to their homes and tell their parents what we have taught them,” said Phoebe. “If we say ‘don’t fight,’ when they go [home] they tell their parents that our teacher has told us not to fight.”

The Manna project

The Manna project provides the students with lunch every school day. Around noon the students eagerly line up to receive lunch – usually a portion of nshima (the Zambian staple food made from maize) along with a sauce or vegetable. For some, it is the only full meal they will receive that day. The programme was developed in 2013, after the teachers noticed the students were having difficulties staying focused, engaged and lacked energy to play during the break times. 

“A lot of [the students] before we started [the Manna project] were suffering from malnutrition,” remembered Phoebe. “Sometimes even when you say, ‘You count,’ they were unable to count because they were sleeping. If you ask them, ‘Why are you doing that?’, it’s because they were not having enough food. ‘I did not eat enough yesterday, that’s why I’m dozing; that’s why I’m sleeping.’ Starting from that time when they brought Manna project, they were happy, playing, just like that.”

Background 

Started in 2010, as the result of an outreach to the community during the FIFA World Cup, Makwati School is the only school in the area and provides Christ-centred education to 289 students from pre-kindergarten to grade seven. 2018 marked the first year that the school has had a grade seven class, as each year they have added one class to accommodate the growing students. To continue on to grade eight, the students must write their exams and qualify for the public high school. 

Please pray for more finances for the school to fully furnish and supply the classrooms as well as build the second block of classrooms. Pray for the students to continue growing in their knowledge of Jesus and that they will see the value of education. Pray for the teachers to continue sharing the love of God with the children around them. 

There are many street kids in Kasama. Many of them are from broken homes, where they do not receive love or care and may even be abused. Orphans are common in the area and are shuffled between relatives, never really knowing if they will stay for long in one place. There is little stability in these situations, and, as a result, children end up on the streets digging through rubbish bins collecting bottles, begging, selling snacks beside the road or—in some cases—becoming thieves, getting into drugs and alcohol or selling their bodies. Gangs target vulnerable children and train them from a young age. Organised robberies in Kasama have been undertaken by boys as young as six years old.

Seeing the great need, OM Zambia’s Project Hope team had a vision to build a shelter for vulnerable children.

“We want to have a place where these children can be children. …A place to call home that brings hope,” explained Gabriel Kabela, an OM team member. For more than 15 years, the OM team has been working with vulnerable children in Kasama. Seeing the need for a shelter to help provide stability and restore hope in the lives of children, the team started dreaming about Home of Hope. Over the years the team has made initial plans, and God has brought along different people to help in the process. In early 2018, construction began on the first Home of Hope building.

Home of Hope will be a home for vulnerable children identified by the OM team. A strong married couple with skills in counselling will live in the house to show the children the love of Christ and to give them the care and attention they need. For possibly the first time in their lives, the children will be able to play without worry. “We want to bring the children in early, before the devil has a chance to pull them deeper into life on the street,” Gabriel shared. Home schooling will also be provided for the children, so they can learn how to read and write.

Besides bringing hope to vulnerable children, Home of Hope will also bring restoration to whole families. While children receive healing in the Home of Hope, the OM team will work to identify potential guardians among neighbours and relatives. Through Bible studies that focus on the topic of ‘family,’ the OM team will train the guardians to be good caregivers. OM’s goal is for the children to move in with loving families after a period at the Home of Hope. Gabriel believes that engaging the community is the core to bringing real transformation to children on the streets. He already has six families that he leads in weekly Bible studies, and he is encouraging them to build a relationship with Jesus.

OM dreams of having four houses to accommodate children. The team has also started a farming project to help bring sustainability to the Home of Hope vision. Already there are couples willing to go for further counselling training in order to become the house parents in Home of Hope. Even though the houses are not finished, the team believes God will provide funds in His time to complete the project. They are excited to see how God will use the Home of Hope to bring hope the community.

Please pray for enough funds to finish the buildings, continue the farming projects and send parents for counselling training. Pray that God will give the OM team wisdom to identify the right children for Home of Hope. Pray that the children in Kasama will find healing through Jesus Christ.

From helping the local community school to building a children’s shelter, many of the ministries in Kasama help children who lack nutrition. Often, families are only able to provide one meal a day, so, due to hunger, children end up begging on the streets. The OM team saw farming as a way of providing food for the feeding programme at Saikolo Community School as well as for the Home of Hope children’s shelter the team planned on starting. Growing cash crops and keeping animals would also generate income to help sustain the ministries.

The OM team had previously searched for land but were unable to find anything close to town. Travelling 40km to and from the farm was not a sustainable option. Praying for guidance, the team felt God urge them to approach the area chief, who was in charge of land distribution.

“I was so nervous as we were waiting in the [home] of the chief. After hearing the negative responses for other cases of land, I had no confidence that I could pass the vision to him,” admitted Francis Chileshe, the OM team leader in Kasama. When it was Francis’ turn, he carefully gave the application to the chief. In front of the consulting team and everyone in the queue, the chief loudly announced that Francis and the team were asking for land to help vulnerable children. “I thought he would say, ‘How do I know [you] are genuine?’ Instead, he asked others how anyone could reject this project,” Francis stated, positive that the Lord had touched the chief.

The chief promised 100 hectares of land for free in an area close to where Home of Hope, the children’s shelter, would be—despite the fact that many people were ready to offer money for that land. He also called an area leader to meet Francis. After meeting on a Friday, the chief promised to give OM the land on Monday which was not the usual process. “The chief was so excited that he even came to the village committee meeting to make sure OM would get [good] land,” shared Francis. The OM team received a large parcel of land right beside the road. 

OM plans to grow maize and cassava to provide a steady income of money and food. The team will also grow soybeans to provide some protein for the children’s meals, and there will be an area for chickens and goats. The team also consulted an agriculture expert from the government to help them plan. “This will help us to manage the farm efficiently and also benefit the community as they learn a better way of farming our land,” Francis said. In the future, the team would like to buy land next to a river for fish farming and growing vegetables.

“I pray that this farm could be a stable resource to support the children for the long term,” Francis said, grateful for how God provided the land. He trusts God will continue to provide the start-up costs for the farm, so that OM can buy seeds and hire labour to help clear and cultivate the land.

Please pray that God will provide the funds for the start-up costs of the farm. Pray that the farm will help the ministries in Kasama to be sustainable and that the children will benefit from the extra food.

Involved with OM since 2014 when he participated in Mission Discipleship Training, Joseph began his practical training in Kabwe, but soon moved to Ndola to begin work among the Somali people there. His heart has always been to reach youth through sports ministry.

Joseph recently returned from a new Personal Training programme that he is excited about putting into practice.

“I have always wanted to do more than coach specific sport skills,” he said. “This approach touches all areas of fitness: physical, emotional and spiritual–all aspects of a human being.”

Just as football has opened doors for discussions about Jesus, so too can weight lifting and strength training for those skilled in both this approach and open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. There is a unique opportunity to share when working in a one-on-one environment that does not exist in group training.

Having already been trained as a coach, Joseph can work within and alongside football and basketball teams, shifting into more personal training as interest arises.

Joseph speaks with passion: “I see this programme as an answer to my prayers. Because of my love for working out, I was searching for a way to incorporate it into my ministry and was considering beginning a certification course. This could not have happened at a more perfect time in my life.”

Using fitness to break new ground

Joseph and his wife are planning to relocate and break ground as the first missionaries on an unreached island that is predominantly Muslim. They recently visited to scout out the area and listen to what the Lord would have them do. Joseph discovered that there is much interest in physical fitness but no real place for people to go to find exercise expertise. When sport and exercise were mentioned, people got excited. He knows that God has equipped him to fill the need for training and coaching as well as provide a way for him to share the good news.

Chris Welman, International Director of OM Sportslink, is praying with the desire to see more people like Joseph, who can combine their passions for Jesus and sports; using this unique platform to bring love, hope and transformation to least reached people groups around the world.

Kasama is known for sports and vulnerable kids; two subjects that Noel is passionate about. He moved to Kasama in 2017 specifically to share the hope of Christ Jesus through sports to youth. “Sports bring people together and it’s a great tool to reach out to the young ones,” explained Noel. Three times a week, he has devotions and football practice with his two teams. God put 30 young people into his hand and the number is still growing.

Noel is still fairly new in the area; however, he is already famous within the sports circles. Training his team with biblical principles and treating them as friends, the youth all notice Noel is different. “There are even players from other team wanting to join our team because we do things in a different way,” said Noel. Renting a house near a township, Noel opens up his home for the youth to watch football. “I don’t want them going to bars for the match. Besides, this is a great opportunity to build the relationship,” he said. Almost every day a few boys visit him.

Seeing a difference

Though he has been with the team for less than a year, Noel can already see a difference. “Sometimes I am surprised by how openly they share with me and the testimonies after I encourage them,” admitted Noel.

Ken* is 22 years old and lives with his grandmother and five siblings. Dropping out of school in grade 5 to help take care of his family, Ken’s relationship with his grandmother held a lot of tension and he felt bitter towards his background. Ken opened up to Noel about his situation and feelings. It was hard to find a job for him, but Noel helped him discover his knack for cutting hair. Now Ken has a barber shop that Noel helped set up and is able to provide for his family.

Another boy confessed that he used to steal from his stepfather as revenge. After joining the football team, he stopped stealing and learnt to forgive his stepfather.

There are many challenges as Noel ministers to the youth with tough backgrounds. In his team, there are boys facing jail sentences because of drugs. He also deals with difficulties from guardians who see the children as tools. “Some parents send their children to the street to pick up bottles or beg. [At] the same time, I am trying to teach them the value of education,” said Noel.

The game is not easy, but with God as Ba Coach, it’s going to be a win for the team.  

*name changed  

James 1:27 is the key verse for Project HOPE. “The task is big, and God is asking us as Christians to care for the orphans and the widows,” said Francis Chileshe, the leader of Project HOPE. The team mobilises churches in different communities to see God’s heart for the vulnerable children, and then trains them to care for the lost. As of March 2018, 15 volunteers from different churches formed the Social Concern Group (SCG). This group identifies the most vulnerable children in the community and partners with OM to support them. 

“We also empower the church in rural areas to take on this role. In some townships, there are no churches. Then the OM team will go to form a group there,” Francis shared. Through regular house visits and children’s programmes, volunteers reach out and bring hope to the children.

“We are not able to be there for the all the children, all the time, in all the different communities, but the church is there to provide for the urgent needs. They also know the environments and the situations more,” Francis said. OM equips volunteers to be sufficient caregivers. Each SCG reaches out to around 30 vulnerable children at a time. “The volunteers work diligently without complaining. I am very happy to work with them,” Francis shared.

Only God has the solution

Volunteer Daniel Mubanga was part of the work from the beginning. Since 2012, he has been faithfully partnering with OM to lead the SCG in his church. Through the experience of taking care of his deceased brother’s children, he realised how many challenges orphans go through. Knowing Francis from childhood, Daniel was touched when Francis shared about the work, and he wanted to share the passion of bringing hope to the vulnerable.

“Only God has a solution for them. We need to let them understand that God has a plan for them,” Daniel said. For a child, losing a loving parent can feel like the whole world is being torn apart. “They think this is the end of life. They [think they] have no solution but to go to the street.”

Daniel has walked this journey with many vulnerable children, and he shared that encouragement is the key. “They need people to show them the hope beyond their difficulties. They might lose their parents but not their lives.” Regularly visiting and giving positive encouragement helps the children focus on God and not give up. Daniel is dedicated to visiting the children—even if the child moves to high school in another community, he is willing to travel to meet the child and ensure they have enough funds for school fees and are walking closely with God.

Challenges are still great as the team works with children experiencing trauma and living in poor conditions. Once, a few children who were helped by a SCG knocked on Daniel's door, saying that their school had kicked them out because they didn’t have enough money for tuition. Heart-broken, Daniel was not able to give them all the money they needed. He prayed, and God provided the money just in time. Now some of those children have finished high school. 

Don’t compare, and be strong

“Don’t compare, and be strong in Christ,” Alex Sichinsambwe encourages vulnerable children who are going through the same pain he once experienced. Identified as ‘vulnerable’ by a SCG when he was a child, he is now a 22-year-old young man studying to be a mechanic. Alex’s transformation is a great example of the results stemming from OM’s partnership with the church.

Alex was one of the first boys that OM sponsored to go to school. When he was in grade three, his father passed away and his mother couldn’t provide the funds for him to continue school, so he had to stop. “I started to doubt and lose hope for school and even the hope of my future,” Alex said. Thankfully, Daniel found Alex and put him on the list of a SCG. Through the funds from OM, he was able to go back to school, eventually becoming the first person in his family to finish high school. 

Daniel reached out to Alex during that critical time, inviting him to join OM’s children’s programme. For 15 years, Alex was provided for by many different people. Later on, he gave his life to God though the preaching of an elder, who was also an OM volunteer. From childhood to adulthood, Francis, Daniel and the church guided Alex like a father. Their care helped him grow spiritually and built in him the ability to make right choices.

Seeing Alex grow from a boy to a man, Francis said he was astonished by the development in him. “He has a heart to keep up, even when situations are difficult. He grasped the key of holding on to Jesus,” Francis explained like a proud father. “He is out of the vulnerable stage, but he is still the humble guy I met at first.” 

Alex said that if Francis and Daniel hadn’t been there for him, he didn’t know where he’d be now. He understood that it was by God’s grace that he found hope. Today, Alex has the passion to pass on this love to other vulnerable children, so they can also experience the transformational power of hope found in God.  

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27 (NIV)

The second deepest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Tanganyika borders four countries–Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania and Zambia–and is known for its spiritual darkness. From guaranteeing a good catch of fish to physical healing to falling in love, consulting a witch doctor is usually seen as the answer for people along the lake. As a result, witch doctors become very wealthy and powerful in the village.

Wilson was a famous witch doctor, only one rank lower than the top witch doctor in the area. Growing up in a family of witch doctors, he shared that he started to see visions at the age of 11 and practised witchcraft for the next 25 years. To gain more power, he said he delved deeper and deeper into the spiritual world.

Wilson used to tell the OM team that the spirits troubled him and asked them for prayer. However, he never really wanted serious prayer as he was reluctant to give up his power, remembered Clement Chama, the leader of the OM team in Kapembwa. In February 2018, Wilson fell down badly as he was coming down from the mountain. He said that the spirits started to beat him until he lost consciousness. When he woke up, he couldn’t move his right leg, and when his son found him, he had to find help from the village to carry Wilson down from the mountain. The situation grew worse as Wilson's leg became more swollen. Deciding that was enough, Wilson said he no longer wanted to live under the control of spirits even if it meant that he would lose all his power and profits. He called Clement for help.

“Please come to my house for prayer and burn all my charms tonight,” Wilson’s pleaded, as he insisted the team had to pray for him as soon as possible. Twice a day for one week the OM team rotated who went to worship and pray in Wilson’s house, telling him the importance of letting Jesus become the centre of his life and cutting the bondage of the spirits. Wilson asked his whole family to help him collect all the charms from the mountain and the house. Once they were all gathered, the OM team poured fuel on the charms to burn them. Wilson then brought a big stone to mash through the fire to make sure everything was burnt into ashes, as he explained to the team how deeply he understood the dangers of the charms and wanted to leave no room for the spirits to come back.

His son cried bitterly the whole time. “We didn’t realise what happened to the son until the next day,” recalled Abbie Corbie, an OM team member. The boy thought his father would die after they burnt all the charms. However, Wilson told his son that even if he did die, he wanted to die with Jesus. He didn’t want to live with the spirits anymore. “I’ve seen many come for prayer, but then go back to witchcraft after a month,” Abbie said. “However, I can see that Wilson is genuine. He really wants to make it right with God from now on.”  

Wilson’s leg returned to normal, and he started going around the village to share about his new life, going door-to-door to find his previous customers to tell them that Jesus alone had the power and that they should burn the charms he previously gave them.

“He is very passionate and open to testifying. Everyone knows him as the big witch doctor in the village, and now his story could have great impact on the people for Jesus,” Clement said. “We will have to really invest in him to make sure that his family will stand firm. Then he will become the living testimony around the lakeshore.”

Please pray for God’s provision and protection for Wilson and his family as they need to find a new way to provide an income. Pray for wisdom for the OM team in Kapembwa to disciple Wilson and help him stand firm in his faith. Pray that God will use Wilson mightily around the lake. 

*Name changed for security

Many children wander the street begging but they do not ask for money from the OM team. Instead, they are drawn to the team because of the unconditional love shown by the three ‘uncles’ who call them by name. 

“I have been there.” 

That is the reason why a passion for the vulnerable overflows from each team member. They were all once vulnerable, so they deeply understand how great the transformational power of God can comfort a weary soul. They were changed and now each of the men can not keep it to themselves; they’ve dedicated their lives to pouring out the hope they once received to the vulnerable children of Kasama.  

Hope through others

“I can still recall all those nights when my mother cried as she looked for ways to provide for our family,” shared OMer Francis Chileshe. His father left when he was in primary school and, unable to pay school fees for all seven children, his mother decided the two oldest daughters would continue school while the rest worked. At the age of 13, Francis started selling snacks and buns to help provide for his family.

Francis felt bitter and angry about his situation until God brought Christians to speak into his life. When he was 15, a deacon shared the gospel with Francis and later connected him to a Canadian missionary family. “They took me [in] as their own and taught me how to love,” said Francis. He started going along for ministry with the missionaries and even mobilised youths for an outreach in a township where churches were too afraid to reach out. This helped him see beyond his own problems and opened his eyes to the needs around him.  

“The missionaries broadened my view and gave me a bigger picture,” Francis shared. He was able to return to school and even learnt how to use a laptop–the newest technology at the time. Wanting to let more people experience the hope he found in Christ, Francis prayed that God would use him. “How do I show my appreciation to God?” he wondered. As Francis contemplated this, he met a missionary from Pro Christo (who would later merge with OM) who told him about a discipleship programme. He immediately signed up. 

During the training, his desire to serve vulnerable children only grew stronger and was confirmed through a dream. “God always brought the right people into my life. I also wanted to help people where they [were at],” Francis said. Returning to Kasama he joined Project HOPE. Twenty years later, Francis is still in Kasama bringing hope to those who have none. 

Hope through scripture

“My heart burns when I see people suffering like I [did]. I don’t want others to experience the same trouble,” said OMer Gabriel Kabela. Gabriel’s challenges started when his father passed away. With great determination to finish high school he moved around to find a school that would accept him. There were times Gabriel stayed with relatives where he received abuse instead of refuge. His mother brewed beer to provide for the family and, wanting to lighten her burden, Gabriel started looking for work while also attending school. This led him into gambling. For a whole year, he went out into the neighbourhood to get some ‘quick money’ in the evenings–sometimes overnight.

God prevented him from going further down that path by showing him a dream. Gabriel recalled clearly seeing Jesus suffer on his behalf and then forgive him. He also heard Jesus ask him to change his behaviour. From that day, he stopped gambling. His brother took him to a church where he gave his life to the Lord.

Life was still not easy after he became a Christian. Because he kept changing schools, Gabriel repeated grade 6 three times. Later on, his grade 9 results went missing. As he asked God why, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4* came to mind and a voice told him “I have chosen you.” He started to dwell on the Bible and find comfort from God’s word. “I couldn’t put down the bible. The word of God guided me and helped me out of the bitterness,” said Gabriel. The love of Christ compelled him to bring the hope that he received to the vulnerable. Sharing the same passion, Gabriel joined Project of HOPE full time in 2015. Now, he leads a Bible study among the vulnerable to help them discover hope in Christ.  

Hope through sports

“Through sports, God brought me back to him,” said OMer Noel Zulu. Despite growing up in a Christian home, the desire to pursue fame through sports drove him away from God. His eyes were set on his own glory and his life didn’t reflect Christ.

While focused on sports, he joined a new football team. “[The coach] could understand me and I could share with him about everything, from sports to life,” shared Noel. In fact, this coach was a missionary who used sports as a platform to reach out. Noel rediscovered the power of God and his attitude changed each practice. “I realised that sports are not for personal fame. I could play sports to share the love of God.”    

The missionary trusted Noel with a football team and the Holy Spirit started to work in him and helped him live a lifestyle pleasing to God. As a team leader, he knew that he had to change his behaviour to be an example. At the beginning, Noel didn’t want to disappoint his coach. Then, he slowly found he didn’t want to disappoint God.

Seeing how sports could touch the lives of youth, Noel decided to join sports ministry with OM in Zambia, where his passion for sports and God could meet. After hearing the vision of Project HOPE, he moved to Kasama in 2017 to help with sports ministry. “Kasama is famous for sports and street kids. I know this is the right place where God can use me,” said Noel with enthusiasm.

*“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” – 2 Cor 1:3-4 (NIV)

Cycle of Brokenness

Around 3,000 people live in Saikolo Village, Kasama, the capital city of the Northern Province in Zambia. Many people from remote villages move to Kasama in hope of a better future, but are unable to fulfil their dreams. They end up in Saikolo with no work and no land to farm. With limited education many can’t find jobs. Some girls, by the age of 14, end up in the sex industry or marry early to survive. HIV has also become very wide-spread, and drunkenness is a common coping mechanism.

Children growing up in Saikolo do not have an easy childhood. Most of them stay with grandparents who have little ability to provide for their needs and so the children become the ones who go to remote farms and the streets to earn small amounts of money for their family. Some go around the neighbourhoods drawing water for people and earn less than 1 ZMK (0.1 USD) a day. For many, school has become a dream they’ve given up on.

Saikolo Community School

Seeing the great need in Saikolo, the community itself initiated Saikolo Community School in 2008. Currently, they have 601 students from grades 1 to 5. The five teachers are all volunteers who are dedicated to seeing breakthroughs in the lives of these vulnerable children.  

From 07:00 to 17:00, the classes divide into groups in order to rotate the massive amount of children through the three small classrooms. There is no electricity, no running water and not enough desks in the school. The children simply pile on the desks or on the floor and the teachers have little space to move around them.

Despite these conditions, the students are eager to learn. They understand that this might be their only chance to get an education. Without a salary, the teachers are willing to teach their students with the uttermost love. “I love to be around the children. Through education, I want to see them have a good future and have the ability to support others,” said Mercy Mutale who has been teaching in Saikolo Community School for seven years.

Mercy shared about two brothers who used to go to a government school until a driver accidently ran off the road and into their father’s shop killing him. The boys had to drop out of school due to lack of finances. Upon hearing their story, Mercy started helping the family. “We were able to help them come to our school and now four years have passed by and the biggest boy is in grade 5,” she said.

Hope through partnering together

In 2014, the OM team in Kasama visited the school. They were moved by the passion of the teachers, but at the same time, challenged by the limited resources and poor conditions. They could also see that the teachers were struggling to keep up the work as the need was so big.

Also having a heart for vulnerable children, the OM team took on the Saikolo Community School as one of their projects. They mobilised youth from different churches to repair the desks and found some funding for the school. In addition to uniforms and stationary, the team raised funds to start a feeding programme as they noticed many students were too hungry to concentrate.

One of the teachers admitted he had wanted to give up before the OM team arrived. “We realised there was little support for these teachers. If we wanted to have deeper impact on the students, we needed to raise the hope of the teachers,” remembered Gabriel Kabela, OM team member. Gabriel began a Bible study with the teachers on Fridays and a children’s programme on Saturdays. The teachers gradually opened up and began to trust God as they worked. Many of them did not know Christ personally, but are now rebuilding their relationships with Him. “Even during the holidays, they want to have Bible study. And when we are not there, they will still have prayer sessions.” Gabriel shared that the changes in the teachers has also brought unity to the team. When they studied forgiveness, he challenged them to forgive others. During that time, one of the teachers was having a conflict with the school and all the other teachers decided to forgive him. He is still part of the school today.

Like the teachers, the students were also not getting enough attention. Most of them come from broken families and carry these traumas to school with them. Growing up, the children are taught not to be loud or active. Compared to other children, the students in Saikolo were very shy. In the beginning, they would make no noise and didn’t know how to play during break times. The OM team trained the teachers to bring positivity into the children’s lives and give them the freedom to be childlike. It was difficult at first for the team to see the impact, but now they see the children growing physically, emotionally and spiritually. The school began to experience laughter and smiles from both the teachers and the students. Gabriel said “Now we can even see light on the faces of the children.”

Please pray with us for more funds and resources, especially for desks. Pray for support and love for the teachers as they volunteer to work in the school. Pray that God will send more people to meet the need in Saikolo, especially trained teachers.

He did not expect the Muslims to ignore him.

Often, he would enter a shop to buy a cup of tea and talk with the men gathered there. When he entered the shop, he would see two or three people. When he sat down to join them, within a few minutes, they all disappeared.

For a year and a half, he tried to befriend his next-door neighbours—a Somali family who had moved from Somalia to Kenya to Tanzania to Zambia. Because of the family’s travels, Jeremiah knew they spoke Swahili. Yet every time he addressed his neighbour in Swahili, the man, Khaled*, simply shook his head.

One afternoon, Jeremiah was sitting outside his house, when he heard the neighbour’s daughter, the same age as his own firstborn, screaming. Jeremiah rushed to the house. The girl had burnt herself with boiling water. She continued screaming, her mother was crying, and Khaled was not at home.

Jeremiah acted quickly: “I felt so bad, I took this girl in the car, took the mother in my car, took my wife and drove to the clinic”—the private clinic, that is. Government clinics, although cheaper, can require hours of waiting, Jeremiah noted. At the private clinic, he immediately approached an available nurse and asked her to attend to the girl as quickly as possible. The nurse gave the girl powerful medications and began dressing the wounds.

Later, after she had finished treatment, the nurse gave Jeremiah some medicine and the bill. He paid and then drove the girl and her mother home. “Tomorrow, we’ll take you back [for follow-up],” he promised.

That evening, Khaled returned to his house, and his wife told him what had happened. Soon, Jeremiah and his wife heard a knock on their door.

Khaled stood in front of the house. “I’m so sorry,” he said.

“So you speak Swahili?” Jeremiah replied, noticing tears in Khaled’s eyes. “For one and a half years, I tried to speak to you.”

“In my context, in Somalia, we don’t trust anyone. You don’t even trust your wife or your brother or your aunt or anybody,” he said. “Jeremiah,” he continued, “you are not my friend, you are my brother.”

The next day, Jeremiah and his family received an invitation to dinner at Khaled’s house. “That was the key to unlocking the Somali community,” Jeremiah explained. From then, he had the foundation to preach the gospel in the Somali community, and since that time, he has seen several Somalis come to Christ.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a world traveller and writer for OM International. She’s passionate about partnering with believers to communicate the ways God is working across the globe.

Katete, located in one of the remote areas along Lake Tanganyika, is a nine hour boat ride from Mpulungu, the main Zambian port town. The OM Lake Tanganyika team started a SHG in 2016 among the most vulnerable women of the village. The group meets twice a week to learn how to associate with people, use the resources around them and incorporate the Word of God into everything they do. The women started recognising their own talents and building up their confidence. 

Rose

During the training one of the women, Rose, was identified as a good leader. After six weeks of training, Rose began leading the group so that the facilitator could move on to start other groups. 

Rose helped the 17 ladies in her group to continue practising what they learnt. A few months later, Roses started getting bad stomach pain. In the village there is no clinic aside from a man with some medicine. Rose’s pain got worse and she was unable to make the three hour boat ride, or one hour walk, to the closest clinic. She had no choice but to get medicine from the “doctor.”

Even though she got better, the trouble didn’t end. The man charged her K3,000 ($300 USD) for the medicine, which is a big amount for her. She called Golden for help, but he could only give her a K100 ($10 USD) loan. It was not a good season for business, so she only managed to earn K1,200 ($120 USD) to pay the man. At the same time, she was still leading the group.

All the ladies heard Rose’s story and how she was being pressured to pay. Without telling her, the group decided to contribute K900 ($90 USD) to help Rose. This was from the pooled money the group had saved to help start businesses. The group expressed their appreciation and how happy they were to help their leader and friend. Even more, the incident triggered them to think about community development. Now the group wants to build a clinic for the village. Using the K9,000 ($900 USD) they saved throughout the year the group has started other projects to benefit the community such as digging a well and buying a boat for transportation. 

“Before, they could only focus on themselves and barely managed to survive, but now these ladies play a big role in the village. The unity [between them] is so beautiful,” said Golden. Self-help is not just a name. It’s their own experience. Before SHG, some of these families could only manage to make K1 ($0.01 USD) per day. Even to provide meals was a challenge and sending children to school was far beyond their abilities. Golden shared that all the ladies are now able to provide three meals a day for their families and their children are all in school. Rose even started a new SHG to encourage more ladies in the village. “God really changed these ladies from the inside out,” Golden said.

Self Help Groups are formed along the lakeshore to reach out to the marginalised and most vulnerable women. Along the lakeshore people turn to witchcraft and sacrifices in order to guarantee a good catch. People believe in spirits, practice witchcraft, wear charms and are commonly bound by fear. Lack of empowerment contributes to malnutrition, early marriages and forces children to quit school to look for work in order to raise an income. The SHG’s exist to address these issues and empower communities starting from an individual level, working up to a family level and then to a community level.

For the past five years members of the OM team at Lake Tanganyika have visited the holding cells at the police station in Mupulungu, Zambia. Up to six days a week the team provides for the physical and spiritual needs of those awaiting trial and have seen God touch and transform the people’s hearts.

Three cement cells hold men, and every once in a while women, for days or months at a time as they await sentencing. The small cells often have 20 or more men crowded into them so there is no space to properly lie down. They are not provided with food or even toilet facilities other than a plastic bucket. It is up to family members to provide for their incarcerated relatives daily needs, however, Mpulungu being a port town, many of those in the cells are not from the area. 

Food for the body and the soul 

Around noon the OM Lake Tanganyika team brings food to the police station in large pots balanced on the back of a bicycle. For some, this is the only meal they receive. Besides the physical food, the team also provides spiritual food; the Word of God. After sharing and praying for them, the team encourages everyone to listen to scripture on an AudioBible given to each cell. “We have seen great impact through the AudioBibles,” said Shebele Kaunda, the prison ministry coordinator.

With literacy levels low, the team has found doing bible studies using an AudioBible is more effective. With AudioBibles, even the illiterate are able to listen to the Word and everyone can share it at the same time. Those who have listened have grown interested in the Bible.

One of the men asked Kaunda about Zacchaeus from the Bible. He was surprised that Jesus had wanted to visit Zacchaeus's house. Through that, Kaunda was able to share how Jesus came to earth for the sinners and is calling them as well. The man was amazed that God would still love him even if he was in prison. 

'Jesus is my lawyer!'

Joseph* used to be a fisherman and liked to drink and smoke. He didn’t know God. 

One day he was out fishing with a friend and they were both drunk. At one point out on the water he looked around the boat and realised his friend was no longer there. Afraid of being charged with murder, Joesph fled to Tanzania where he was later found and arrested.

Brought back to Mpulungu, Joseph spent eight months in a holding cell. He got to know the OM team through their visits and shared his story with them. One team member recalls how Joseph had no interest in God but enjoyed talking with the team. Joseph was sentenced to seven years in prison in another town.

In prison he met another Christian who continued sharing the Word of God with him and Joseph accepted Christ as his personal Saviour. He testified to seeing God’s hand on his life in prison even through such a difficult time and served only a reduced sentence. When released he immediately went to visit the family of his deceased friend and there was forgiveness on both sides. Then he went to church to share this testimony and told the congergation 'Jesus is my lawyer!'

Please pray that God will continue to provide for those awaiting sentencing. Pray that the Word of God continues entering their hearts and that they will see .

*Name changed

The most famous witch doctor in the area, Kongolo has said that to perform a ‘village cleansing’ it will cost Kapembwa $1,300 USD--an exorbitant sum for a village that relies solely on fishing for income. 

It is against the law in Zambia to do a village cleansing because of the violence that accompanies the process. Village cleansing involves the witch doctor conducting rituals to discover who in the village has been cursing the fish supply. Whoever the witch doctor reveals as the culprit is then beaten and sometimes killed. Kongolo himself has admitted that some of the charms he uses are not real, but people continue to seek out his help.

Despite village cleansing being illegal, a committee was formed to collect the fee from everyone. Those who refused to pay were beaten and belongings were taken and sold from those who did not have the cash to contribute. 

OM Lake Tanganyika has been working in the village for the past three years. Five missionaries have planted a church of about 50 members and run a preschool for more than 60 children. Slowly they’ve formed relationships with people and shared the good news. 

When the committee began going around the village collecting money, the OM team stood their ground and said that they would not pay. Church members similarly took a stance. Knowing the OMers are missionaries, the headman understood their refusal to pay but thought the church members were getting their courage and strength from the OMers. The Christian villagers told the headman and his committee that they were not bold because of the missionaries, but rather because of the God they serve. 

Now when the committee goes around asking for money, they do not knock on the doors of church members. “It’s like Passover,” said OMer Clement. “They will not come to our homes and force us to give money.” 

Despite recent trips by committee members to fetch Kongolo, he has not gone to the village, as he feels there are people in Kapembwa who are against him. In January 2017, when the headman’s youngest son died, a witch doctor told the headman that it was because the headman had taken people’s money and yet Kongolo hadn’t come. When his second son became sick, the headman bought charms to protect him. People are beginning to say the problems the village is facing are because of the headman, and that he should fix the issues himself.

Prayer in the evening

Every evening, the OM team worships together and prays for their village. All are invited to join, and the team has found that the children come the most frequently. At first Clement assumed the children came because they had nothing else to do, but one night he overheard parents telling their children it was time to go for prayers. Clement feels that people want to attend the gatherings but are afraid what people will say about them, as they were previously so outspoken against Christians themselves.

People continue going to the OM team for prayers and deliverance--some secretly in the dead of night. The team tells each visitor they need to turn from charms and witchcraft and believe in the one true God. Recently, some of the headman’s relatives went in the middle of the night for prayer.  

“God has allowed [this situation with the witch doctor] so that He can reveal himself in it,” said Clement.

Free at last

One night a man stayed behind after prayers. 

No stranger to the missionaries, Williamson* had come to them for prayers of deliverance before. Not long after each time he was prayed for he would visit the witch doctor for one thing or another and be tormented by spirits until going to the OM team for prayers. 

However, this time when Williamson came for prayers it was different. With him, he brought the objects he had been using to communicate with spirits. A small bowl called a caracash, a root and a little wooden boat and paddle. 

Other villagers would visit and give him questions to ask the spirits. While Williamson slept, the spirits would tell him the answers, which he then told the villagers. His father and older brother had both done this service for the village before him. 

Tired of living this way, Williamson went to the OM team and said he no longer wanted to communicate with spirits; instead, he wanted to give his life to Christ. In all his previous visits, Williamson had never asked what he needed to do to become a Christian or confessed he used witchcraft. That night they burnt the witchcraft items, and Williamson prayed for salvation. 

The next day Williamson attended church for the first time. OMer Clement remarked how much happier he looked now that he had turned away from witchcraft.

Please continue praying for the village of Kapembwa. Pray for strength and wisdom for the OM missionaries as they continue spreading the good news. Pray that people will recognise that a village cleansing is not the answer to their problems. Pray for each person who goes to the missionaries for prayer, that they will see the light and boldly go for worship and prayer during the daytime.

*Name changed

“Bad things would happen and it made me believe that there was no God, or if there was, He would not care about me.” This is what Grace, a young mother of two boys, thought before she was introduced to OM Zambia’s Tabitha Skills Development, a discipleship programme focused on empowering and equipping vulnerable and marginalised women.

Grace reports that she once lived an ungodly life that included much drinking, but she happened to hear about Jesus and chose to put her life in His hands.

One Sunday morning, Grace and her husband Joseph were visiting a local church while the leader from Tabitha was speaking, inviting women interested in a tailoring course to submit their names.  Joseph encouraged Grace, acknowledging that her talent so far had no opportunity for development.  He urged her to apply. When she was accepted into the Tabitha program, true transformation started.

Grace began learning the ways of God through the mentoring and bible studies that are a vital part of the Tabitha programme.  Each woman is challenged spiritually to find her identity and freedom in Christ by going through topics such as repentance, faith, hearing God’s voice and more.

“It was important for me to grow spiritually before I was able to expand in practical ways,” Grace said. In addition to specialised skills training, all women have a chance to receive guidance in life skills such as cooking, health, HIV/Aids, gardening, basic business and literacy. While she was digging deeper in Christ, the beading, tailoring and business skills she was also acquiring began to spark hopes of self-sustainability. 

The training is indeed bearing a fruitful harvest. Peter, Grace’s son, was sad to be kept at home, missing school due to their inability to pay tuition fees.  Now Grace has used her new skills to earn enough money to send an eager and excited Peter back to school this term.  The family’s excitement is contagious.

A changed life changing lives

One day Grace and Joseph were caught out in a heavy rain. They were welcomed into a pastor’s home for shelter.  They enjoyed a time of fellowship and conversation about the Lord. A few days later, Grace had a vision: that same pastor was dancing and telling her that one day she would be busy rescuing her friends from a life of darkness. 

Life has been breathed into the bare bones of that brief vision for Grace now leads bible studies, teaching and mentoring many other women about the saving love of Jesus Christ.

Pray for this young family as they dream of one day opening an orphanage, continuing to seek ways to serve the Kingdom. They are currently participating in the Missions Discipleship Training Programme at OM Zambia.

From the gardens, the buildings and the melodic laughter of children, Mkushi Mission of OM Zambia is bursting with life and activity.

Tobias and Maryna Vente, leaders of the work, named the site Inchende Yakwa Lesa (God’s Place).

“God’s vision is unfolding here,” says Tobias. “We are excited to join in His work; uplifting the community through commercial farming, discipleship and church planting. We can’t rush anything. All things must be in God’s timing.”

Mary finds her calling

Joseph Mutale and his wife Mary, a Zambian missionary couple, are the other half of the Mkushi team. Joseph moved to Mkushi with the Ventes, taking some time to set things in place before Mary joined them. It was a challenging time of settling in for Mary.

“I was finding it hard to live alone without my wife and was so happy when she joined me, but Mary was very unhappy. She felt she had nothing to do and nothing to offer. Mary would wake up early, make my breakfast then go back to sleep, even until 7:00 hours,” Joseph explains, sharing his concerns.

One night, after the evening meal, the team gathered to pray.  They specifically asked the Lord to show Mary what His purpose and plan was for her time in Mkushi.

Early the next morning, Mary came out of the house smartly dressed and boldly proclaimed, “I am a teacher.” She immediately began teaching lessons to her own child and two other children from a village across the Mkushi River. With no supplies, Mary broke up a pencil into pieces to share between the children. In a few days, six children from the same village joined them so that by the end of that week Mary had nine students.

“By the end of week two there was a multitude of children,” says Joseph, “at least fifty gathered. We selected those who were from the ages of five to seven because it was too far for those little ones to walk the almost eight kilometres to the nearest school.”

They asked parents to sign agreements giving them authorisation to begin teaching God’s Word and other lessons. When Mary started, there was no seating or teaching material but they have since been blessed with chairs, tables and teaching tools donated by friends at Living Word Church in South Africa. While once they met beneath an insaka (a thatch covered open area) the school now meets inside a small building, with walls covered in bright charts and pictures.

“Mary is happy now,” smiles Joseph, “but knows she is not at the correct academic level. She wants to go back to school as soon as there is a teacher who can temporarily take her place.” 

Mary is also part of an active women’s ministry, working hand in hand with Maryna to bring hope and encouragement to broken-hearted women who are struggling with unfaithful husbands and troubled marriages.

When Joseph looks back to that night around the fire, seeking direction for Mary’s future, he is overjoyed at how quickly and certainly God answered both their specific prayers and general prayers for the farm.

Time of growth

Six hectares have already been cleared in preparation for this year’s planting of maize and soya. Vegetables are thriving; bananas, strawberries and other fruit trees have been planted. Chickens and goats are growing happily and may soon be joined by other livestock.

The base has been expanded with an equipment shed, showers and eating areas for visiting outreach teams.

Before workers get busy with their daily tasks of building, setting up irrigation systems or tending to the fields, they meet for morning devotions. Every Friday afternoon is a Bible study and on Sunday mornings, Joseph and Mary have a fellowship gathering. The Ventes join every second week to participate and monitor progress.

"God is the reason for all the work here and remains the centre of all things as lives are impacted, villages transformed and His Kingdom expanded," says Tobias.

The name Inchede Yakwa Lesa is truly fitting. To Him be all the glory.

Yakob is an OM Zambia MDT (Missions Discipleship Training) participant who completed his course work and travelled to Namibia with his fellow student, George, to complete their practical training.

The pair was based in Katima Mulilo at The Mission House, a multi-denominational, multi-organisational team. They served under Linda, our OM leader in Namibia with others from Windhoek and from Jesus Reigns ministry in Zimbabwe.

This was the first time they had been outside of Zambia for ministry and the time was packed full of opportunities to serve in different communities, including Macaravan, Mahohoma, Katima Mulilo Village and Chotto. Each area had previously established bible study groups, but interest and attendance had been dropping. The eager mission students breathed new life into the studies, stirring new fire from dying embers.

Ministry to many

There was Saturday morning ministry to children, Sunday afternoon youth fellowship, women’s skill training and ministry and evening meetings in each community that included the showing of the Jesus Film in the local language. 

“The film opened up doors to questions, conversations and the creation of new bible study groups,” Yakob noted.  

Each Wednesday, men from churches in the surrounding areas gathered at the Mission House for Men’s Talk, a time to discuss issues and learn what answers the Bible could provide.

Yakob said that for him, hospital ministry was an unforgettable experience.  “I was encouraged that a boy of thirteen years with HIV/AIDS gave his life to Jesus,” he shared. “The boy did not have a t-shirt to put on. The shirt I was wearing was a special favourite but I felt provoked by God to give it to the boy. I gave it to him on Sunday and the next day received news that boy passed into the arms of Jesus while putting on the t-shirt. The community was watching this outpouring of love from strangers and began to open up to learn about Christ.”

The team made home visits in the village of Mahoma in the early mornings. There was a man who came and said his wife was very sick in childbirth. He could not take her to the clinic so she was at home. She had no strength and could not stand without fear of falling.  The baby was delivered safely, but with no food, the mother remained quite weak.

“We had passed through town on the way there and had purchased some things for later,” Yakob reported, “but we felt the Lord touched us to say ‘can you give what you have right now so that she can come back to health?’ So it was a great experience for me to know that this was the love that Jesus Christ was talking about and we have to be sharing, sacrificially.”

On the final day of their journey, more than ten people gave their lives to Christ at an evening meeting. Yakob said they were encouraged to see what God had done in and through them.

What does the future hold?

On what God doing in his heart, Yakob said, “He is doing a lot and we are not discouraged that we had to leave Namibia. I am in a listening process to hear where the Lord wants me next. In December I graduate from Mission Training.”

When asked about going back to Namibia if doors were open, Yakob replied, “If that were to happen, I feel within my heart there are still hands which we need to extend in Namibia. There is still work and the labourers are few there.  I am open to where the Lord wants me to go.”

The experience has solidified his desire to live a mission-based life.

“I have a passion to serve in [North Africa],” he shared. “Namibia was a training ground. Three metres from where we were staying was a mosque and most of our neighbours were Muslim. By God’s grace, I was even able to befriend one guy who was a Muslim.”

“A man once said: ‘If the life you are living is not worth Christ dying for, then it is not worth anything.’  That is the life I want to live. My main passion is to show Christ’s life to Muslims where ever that might be. They say love is not a feeling, it is a gift from God and you have to express it.”

Yakob learned much in this, his first field experience.

Please pray with OM Zambia that doors of opportunity open for Yakob and all of the other students, and that they will continue pursuing their ministry dreams.

OMer Rick Fendick believes the root of all knowledge is between the covers of the Bible, and this is where he begins every Foundations for Farming training session. The vision of the ministry is:

“To bring transformation to individuals and communities through faithful and productive use of land, using a very simple conservation farming method with an implementation management teaching, which when followed helps people to apply the gospel to their lives.”

A village gathering

Farmers and gardeners gathered in Katuba village to hear Rick speak on how God has already provided all that they need to both farm and live successfully. They listened intently, nodding in agreement with God’s call for them to steward the resources He has given. They were eager to learn the four principles that undergird Foundations for Farming: “On time”, “At standard”, “Without waste” and “With joy.”

The participants all agreed that farming is a struggle, with little money for fertiliser, chemicals (pesticides and herbicides) and seeds.  They were excited to learn how to conserve water by blanketing their fields; use ashes from their daily cooking instead of buying lime to neutralise the acidity in the soil; make thermal compost to replace expensive fertiliser and grow true breeding varieties of plants so they can harvest seeds for future years. Recipes were distributed for homemade pesticide sprays made from simple ingredients like dish soap, garlic, hot peppers and baking soda.  One villager offered a prayer of gratitude to the Lord:

"Father in heaven, I thank You for these teachings. I thank You for sending us someone who can give us alternatives to the expensive things we don’t have money to buy. Thank You for showing us we can use what we have and still succeed. Continue to teach us how to farm for You, in the name of Jesus, Amen."

There were also times of practical, hands-on training.  The villagers learned how to use their hoes as measuring devices to create straight plots; proper spacing for the planting holes and more.  The team could see how much they had learned as they witnessed them helping, correcting and teaching each other their new skills.

It encouraged the team to know that by equipping them, they will be able to equip others, empowering them to effectively feed their families and also help those around them who are less fortunate. This is stewardship in action, the heart of Foundations for Farming.

A life transformed

God is also busy at the OM Zambia base in Kabwe. Moses Chongo is Rick’s assistant, running the model gardens.  He shared how knowing Christ has impacted him:

“In my life it was hard to not do bad things. I was always with many girls, too many girls,” he remembered. “I didn’t want to go to church.  I started thinking Jesus was really real in 2012, but life was still hard, I was drinking too much beer.”  

When he began working with Foundations for Farming this year, he got serious about following Christ.  He started attending church regularly, finding a place to serve. “Even my father stopped drinking and started going to church,” he shared.  Not only is their method of farming changing, but the whole family is being transformed.

Moses is beginning Missions and Discipleship Training in January 2017 and wants to continue learning more about the things of God and His way of farming so that he can teach others in the future, taking the good news to places near and far. When asked about his dreams for farming Moses said “In Zambia farming is very, very important, and when I start teaching people, I can help. We will see more crops grow well and give glory to God.”

Please pray with us that this year's crops will flourish and more local farmers will be touched by what the Lord can do.

The noise of the lake fades away, people chattering on their way to town grow quiet, and even the birds seem to stop to listen. 

The sound is children—clapping their hands, stomping their feet and raising their voices to praise the Lord.

OM's Good News II School for orphans and vulnerable children welcomed 188 students back to class this September – a huge growth from the 20 children the school started with back in 2008.  

Some of the children are single orphans (having only one living parent) and some are double orphans; some have lost parents or family members due to HIV/AIDs. All are considered vulnerable.

The ten teachers at the Good News II School freely give their love and encouragement to the students; making the school a safe place to grow and learn. 

Moving forward

This year marks a significant milestone in the school's history. Last December the grade six students wrote their exams and graduated from the Good News II School. Those students were the very first class in 2008 and will now further their education in the public school system. 

Though they have outgrown the school, they have not outgrown the people. 

“They are still part of us,” said Lorrin Kasale, who has been their teacher the longest. “We haven’t let them go.”

The grade seven students are welcome at the school for lunch everyday and are encouraged to visit their former teachers and share what is going on in their lives. Lorrin has seen how the students have continued to grow in the public school and carry the values they learnt at the Good News II School with them. 

For instance, two of the boys who have gone on to government school went to their head teacher and informed him the chalkboard in their classroom was not well kept and needed to be cleaned so they could better understand what their teacher wrote on it. No student had ever done that before and the head teacher was surprised; not only that they had come to him, but by their humble attitudes and obvious desire to learn. 

A different day they went to him to ask if they could lead devotions during assembly with all the students up to grade 12. The head teacher was very impressed by the boys’ leadership. 

When the news made it back to their former teachers, they were encouraged. 

“We were just thinking wow, we know that the students are still practicing what they learnt here, although it is not really common in the schools where they are,” said Lorrin. 

Gladys

Gladys started school when she was already 11, and as a result is just now in grade six but has a strong desire to learn. 

Last term Gladys was forced to become engaged to a 21 year-old man in her community. He ran a small shop and the people surrounding Gladys told her she must be very smart and special for him to want to marry her and ignore all the other women. 

Gladys said no, that she was too young and wanted to continue her education before getting married, but her mother said if Gladys refused she would be kicked out of the house. 

One of Gladys’ friends heard about the situation and encouraged Gladys to talk her teachers, but Gladys was scared of what her mother would say if the school knew. The friend went and told Lorrin who immediately called Gladys for the whole story. 

The man had paid 50 Kwacha (around $5 USD) to Gladys’ mother as part of the bride price and had been meeting with Gladys once in a while to talk. He had tried to sit close to Gladys and touch her but Gladys always said no and moved away. He continued to buy her small presents like lotions and candy. 

Lorrin invited the mother to the school to talk where she initially denied what her daughter said but later admitted it was true. 

The mother had initially been very persistent that her daughter attend school, so Lorrin asked her what had changed? The mother was stressed with the added responsibility of her nephew coming to live with them as well as the fact that her older daughter was pregnant and wouldn’t say who the father was. When the man had approached her about marrying her younger daughter she thought it would prevent Gladys from getting pregnant out of wedlock and that at least she would be well provided for. 

Lorrin reminded the mother that Gladys was not ready to be married; she didn’t know how to be a wife or mother or do the cleaning and cooking that would be expected of her. The man would soon tire of her and leave her pregnant or just abandon her. 

The mother agreed and together with Lorrin and Head Teacher Laban, went to the village headman to explain the situation. The man was called and they all talked together. The man didn’t really understand what was wrong with the situation, but said the engagement could be called off if the sum of the money he had spent on buying things for Gladys was returned. It was and they all parted ways. 

Pray for Gladys as she continues her education and praise God for the friend who intervened and that the situation was worked out peacefully. Pray for the many girls along the lake who don’t have someone to stand up for them in these situations.

There is not much visible on the grounds of Subilo House (Bemba for House of Hope) that would cause one to rejoice.  The ground is hard with piles of dried leaves everywhere, but in the eyes of Nigel Keur, they are the stuff compost is made of and compost is an integral part of the vision he is working to bring to life.

“Many people living with HIV and AIDS do not have the proper support structures to help them through the first two to three weeks of starting their antiretroviral drug treatments,” explains Nigel. “What we are aiming to do is provide a care centre where these people can live and receive help through that initial stage.”

Caring for self, caring for others

During the time the People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) are at Subilo House, they will be equipped to look after themselves but also to go back into their communities and be caregivers to others who are infected and affected. 

Part of this care plan involves starting a garden at the Centre using “Foundations for Farming” methods.  Ground that now looks bare will be alive with vegetables and fruit trees. This will enable people to be well nourished while at Subilo House, yet the vision is far wider - there will also be practical training in the Foundations for Farming method so PLWHA can start their own gardens when they leave. They will be given seedlings to jumpstart their gardens as a means of having improved nutrition when they return home.

Please pray that Subilo House will glorify God and help achieve the AIDSLink vision “to see hope restored in individuals and communities, as we work together to overcome the challenges of HIV and AIDS. We will give HOPE to this marginalized people group through empowerment--giving them the ability to help themselves.”

AIDSLink International works in partnership with OM to impact the worldwide HIV and AIDS pandemic.

“I went through vulnerability,” admitted Cecilia. “I was not an orphan, but had parents, brothers who were doing well, sisters, but they just rejected me. I know how it feels at that age to be vulnerable. Since my childhood it has been my passion to help girls like that.”

When Cecilia moved back to Mpulungu in 2014 it was hard to see the girls returned to their families. 

“I had such a heart for these girls; having seen what goes on in the villages, how they have no value, no chance to go to school and when they reach 14 years old they have to get married,” said Cecilia.

Sharing her heart with the Lake Tanganyika leadership, they prayed together that if it was His will that God would make it possible to stay with girls like Grace and Bwalya. In late 2015 He provided the money to purchase a safe house in Mpulungu and in January 2016 Hope House was opened. 

“The dream is to rescue as many girls as possible,” Cecilia explained. “We will take from this generation and they will grow up, and I know some of them will not be able to do well in school so we have to provide them with skills, things that they can do better at. We will empower them with things they can do. Those who can finish their education will finish.”

Hope House

Five girls live in the house with Cecilia ranging from age 10 to 17. 

They share the cleaning and cooking duties and together are a family. Each evening they have some sort of activity together; from prayer, to game night, to worship and weekly debriefs. 

As education is not seen as overly important, especially in the villages, the older girls are far behind in their learning, particularly reading. It is very discouraging for them to go to school and know they are behind their younger classmates, and yet receive little help to catch up. At home they are able to work and learn together, as well as receive encouragement in their studies. 

Six females living under the same roof might not always be easy, but to Cecilia it is worth it. 

“It’s a very stretching experience (being the ‘mom’),” said Cecilia. “I knew Grace and Bwalya before so they know when I am serious and when I am laughing but for the others it takes time to get to know one another. With some there are language barriers, but I am learning some Lungu and they are learning some Bemba so we can communicate better.”

Seeing a change

Though they haven’t been together long, Cecilia has seen a difference in the girls. 

“I’ve seen changes in their spiritual lives, especially Safi,” Cecilia said. “When she first came every night she would manifest, I had to pray and chase those demons away for months. Also she was crying all the time. Now she is gaining confidence in herself and getting to know herself. Having time with God, doing devotions and discovering what God says about her is helping her a lot.”

“The other thing I see changing in them is that they are beginning to love. The people along the lake don’t love to share. They can share [food] but when it comes to things like clothes you see division. But in the girls you can see if the clothes don’t fit well she’ll give it to the friend without anyone telling her. They are learning to love each other.”

“God has been teaching me so many things as well,” said Cecilia. “Number one is to be patient. Like when Safi came she didn’t even know how to wash her own clothes. In our culture a girl needs to know how to wash and clean but she was very much behind the other girls. Wherever she stayed she was chased away so she never had a chance for somebody to teach her.”

“Also just to love the person the way they are. They are different girls from different backgrounds with different abilities and interests.”

Bwalya

Bwalya, her nine siblings and parents, were staying in a temporary camp as they had no permanent house when Cecilia met them. Her father was very sick and couldn’t do any work and the whole family depended on her mother for provision. 

After Bwalya’s father died her mother took the three youngest children and left to find work. Bwalya was left in a vulnerable state – unable to go with her younger siblings and unable to marry or get a job like her older ones. 

Cecilia had gotten to know her through Sunday School programmes and took Bwalya to live with her and Grace. 

When Cecilia moved back to Mpulungu, Bwalya stopped going to school and started taking care of other young children. Although only nine, she was treated as an adult and expected to take care of herself until she was old enough to be married. 

When Hope House opened Cecilia brought Bwalya back to live with her again. Bwalya doesn’t find it easy being the youngest in the house after having been treated like an adult for so long. However she is finding joy in being able to be a child again. 

In the village, Bwalya’s family had a reputation for arguing and fighting. Bwalya always had scratches and cuts on her face from physical fights with both teenagers and adults. She thought life was about fighting. Now she is learning to respect other people and her true sweet character shines through her precious smile.  

Bwalya loves God and does her morning devotions and prayers without any reminders. 

One day she dreams of going back to her village to help develop it and work with vulnerable girls. 

About the name

“The whole project is for girls in crisis, but we said we can’t continue to call them girls in crisis because they now have hope," explained Cecilia. "There’s still hope and life coming in front of them, so we can no longer call them girls in crisis they are the hope girls, something is coming.”

Praise God for the provision of Hope House! Pray for each of the girls; that they will find their identity in Christ, that they will know they are loved, for perseverance in completing their education and that they will grow into Godly women.

The name Honest Boys was picked to instill in each member a value for honesty—something Christopher admits he struggled with as a young boy. 

Some of the boys have lost one or both parents, some still have parents, but all were considered vulnerable. 

Through the Honest Boys they learned many things including football skills, how to coach, farm, make handcrafts, handle finances, lead a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) and uphold Christian values. 

Five years is a long time and those seven boys are now seven young men who are discipling other boys whose situations resemble their own pasts. 

Highschool: Dennis

Living in Kapembwa, a large fishing village along the lake, Dennis dropped out of school at an early age, telling himself that he would never go back. He loitered around the village, thinking he was stuck there. 

When visiting his cousin at the OM base in Mpulungu, Dennis got connected with the boys and Christopher, who invited him to stay and be discipled. 

Moving to Mpulungu, Dennis was encouraged to think about going back to school. Using the handcraft skills he learned, particularly carving, Dennis began saving money. Once Christopher saw that Dennis was committed to getting an education he helped him with the school fees. 

Now in grade 11, Dennis is one of the oldest students in the class at 22 years old, but doesn’t let that get him down. He is passionate about developing others and is a role model for the other students. Many of his teachers have asked Dennis why he is different. The answer: Jesus. 

Dennis has also taken up leadership at Kids Church on the farm plot. Kids Church a church that is reaching out to children on their level. The church strives to develop leaders from a young age and Dennis is helping the kids step by step develop their identity in Christ. 

Not sure what he wants to do in the future yet, Dennis has thought about becoming a soldier so he can help people in need. 

College: Kennedy

Kennedy, a relative of Lorrin, Christopher’s wife, was found by the Kasales nine years ago in a shanty compound just outside of Kabwe when they still lived there. 

Drinking, smoking, fighting and sleeping on the streets, Kennedy was a boy with no hope who had been told he would never amount to anything in life. 

Believing differently, the Kasales took him in; though initially he kept returning to the streets. Fetching him back, they would encourage and pray for him, and gradually Kennedy changed. 

When the Kasales relocated to Mpulungu, Kennedy found that there were many vulnerable boys and took charge; encouraging and reminding them that he had been just like them but now had hope. 

After the Honest Boys group was created Kennedy became the leader of the team and has helped many boys grow spiritually, mentally and physically. 

After completing high school, Kennedy applied for mechanic school. He passed the entry exam and went for an interview and he was accepted and began the one-year course in January 2016. 

Though away from the lake, Kennedy has taken all he has learned with him. 

“It’s a lifestyle now,” Christopher explained. “Even at school he has got a group that he is discipling.”

Business: Brian

Already in high school when the Kasales moved to the lake, Brian had gotten to know other boys on the base. 

Though too old to fit in with the Honest Boys, Brian still learned their values and was discipled by Christopher. 

“I learned discipleship and servanthood are important,” said Brian. “Being humble, loyal, respecting people, all those things I learned from being at the base.”

After graduation Brian went to technical school where he studied to become a mechanic before returning to Mpulungu to set up his business. Brian’s father died when he was young and since then he has been responsible for his mother and younger brother and sister. This burden would have made it impossible for him to study further after high school. However, because of his relationship with the OMers they, and other supporters, sponsored him to go to mechanic school and provided the startup money for his business. 

Brian’s vision was to set up a mechanic shop where boys could come to his workshop to help him and be discipled as they work. 

So that’s what he did. 

Though it didn’t end up being boys that he trained, but instead three men in their late 20’s who all have families but no training. 

Building up relationships with each of them, Brian leads by example; demonstrating Christian values in the way he treats his customers and runs his business. 

“My shop is very different from the other shops. All the mechanics are on the same road, facing each other, but because of our attitude, the love that we show, the customers feel the difference,” said Brian. 

Brian dreams of one day expanding the shop; both in services offered and worker capacity. In the meantime he is able to pay school fees for his brother and sister and take care of his mother. 

“I need it to grow bigger to help more people,” Brian explained. “People come to me and ask for work, those who just graduated or come from the villages; they need to be helped.”

Next steps

“There’s no graduation, you’re always an Honest Boy,” laughed Christopher. 

Today, three generations of Honest Boys are changing and challenging the young people of Mpulungu, and beyond. 

Though they may not actually be boys anymore, they still carry the title of “Honest Boy” proudly and seek for others to follow suit. 

“I feel so encouraged (looking at where the Honest Boys are now). It motivates me, pushes me and I want to do more,” Christopher said. “I want to see the oldest ones married and leading Godly families.”

A boy named Pardon is small for his twenty-one years, missing one arm and slow to learn because no one ever believed he could.  

Makululu compound is a hard place to grow up; the high level of poverty usually leads to chronic starvation, illness and a general sense of hopelessness.  For a young person with a disability, the problems are compounded.  Pardon used to carry a whip to fend off the attacks of others who teased and tormented him as he aimlessly wandered the Makululu streets.

One day he stepped inside the gates of Mercy House, where he was greeted, fed, and shown the same love that Christ would have offered. Anne, Mercy House’s director asked to speak with Pardon’s parent or guardian and met with his seventy-six-year-old grandmother Anna.

A caring grandmother stretches her meager resources

Anna had seven children but only three remain alive.  Of her fifteen grandchildren, she has taken in eight to live with her in a tiny house that she struggles to maintain. She asked if Mercy House could please feed Pardon and Anne agreed.

Now Pardon attends regularly and is learning to sit in the classrooms without his whip. The other children are learning that is not right to treat him differently because of his disability and they are passing on what they have learned in the larger community.

Pardon’s grandmother Anna began working at Mercy House one day a week.

“I’m here because of my grandson, ” Anna said. “I feel nice and it is a blessing to me because I was not affording to give Pardon food and I am keeping lots of children so it is a challenge. Because he is bigger he would eat more,” she explained.

Anna has no money, little food, and a big heart.

“At this place I clean the toilets” she says proudly.  “I come to work here because of my grandson. I help them by cleaning and they help me to buy food to feed my other grandchildren who are orphans. Now I can buy food and we eat together.”

Blessings multiply

A shy and thankful smile lights up Anna’s face as she concludes “I bless Mercy House and Mercy House blesses both Pardon and me.  Mapalo to mapalo” she says in her native Bemba language. “Blessing to blessing.”

Please pray for Anna, Pardon and the rest of their family that they continue to seek God and walk in His ways. Pray also for the ministry provided through Mercy House.

At two years of age when it was clear that Yande was not developing as she should, her mother handed her to Yande’s aunt and left. In the African context, that made the aunt Yande’s mother.

“The aunt of Yande has more children, but how God amazes you, you can’t differentiate between them and Yande. They are just brothers and sisters,” said Peter Chilla, head of Bethesda Mercy Ministries.

Never officially diagnosed, Yande did not have much sensation from the waist down. To go short distances she crawled, using her arms to drag the rest of her body along. The tops of her feet and knees were constantly covered in sores from scraping against the ground. For longer distances, such as going to school, her mother or siblings carried her on their backs. Her mother worried what would happen when Yande grew too big for her to carry. 

Connected to Bethesda Mercy Ministries since the time of its conception in 2009, Yande was one of the first children in the Nakoli community to benefit from the ministry. 

Bethesda Mercy Ministries vision is to equip and empower people with disabilities and to bring God’s hope and truth through different ministries such as a skills training programme for women, and a school for disabled children. 

Learning to walk

Through continued physiotherapy, Yande was able to gain some feeling in her lower body, such as knowing when she had to go the bathroom and moving her legs. She also had surgery to correct a minor case of clubfoot. 

At home and school, Yande used a wheelchair to get around but was not strong enough to push it on her own. The wheelchair could only be used in these places because the paths in the community were too narrow or muddy to maneuver the chair. 

A physiotherapist had splints made, but they failed to offer Yande enough support to walk and she quickly outgrew them. 

Daleen Schutte, an occupational therapist from South Africa, was able to make a contact in Lusaka to make moulds for new splints that would work better for Yande. Reaching from ankle to thigh, the new splints have a hinge at the knee to make bending possible. 

“She really clicked fast on how to use the splints,” said Daleen. “At first her balance was a bit poor, but she got the hang of it very quickly.” 

Making adjustments to a pair of crutches already at Bethesda, Yande continued to make rapid progress. 

“Yande was very impressed with her ‘new legs’ and immediately said to me ‘no more wheelchair’ when I gave her the crutches,” remembered Daleen. “From day one she was willing to try her new legs and determined to make it work.” 

At first she needed assistance walking to and from school, and going to the bathroom, but as her confidence and strength gradually increased so did her mobility. 

A testimony to the crowds

Yande’s ability to walk has impacted more than just her.

Her mother constantly praises God for helping Yande. Having never dreamt that Yande would one day walk, she thought her daughter would go through life being rejected and scorned by the community. 

“I don’t think her mother really realized why I wanted the splints,” Daleen said. “She did not think Yande would ever walk and did not look like she believed me when I told her the splints and crutches would make this possible. She was really amazed when Yande got her crutches for the first time and actually walked.” 

Yande has also been a testimony to the community. The mentally and physically disabled are generally looked down upon in Zambia. They may be hidden out of view, abandoned, or treated poorly. For Nakoli to see Yande walking around, happy and smart, is something they were not expecting. 

“The (people) in the community watch her,” said Peter. “They have seen her since childhood when she was just crawling. Every time she passes you’ll find someone watching Yande walk. We praise God for the confidence that she has to walk through the community even though people are staring at her. (She’s) a surprise to the community.” 

At the annual Love Africa Conference in Kabwe, Yande stood in front of hundreds of people and praised God for what He had done in her life. 

“I was sitting there crying,” Peter admitted. “I never expected Yande could speak to a crowd of people; giving testimony to how she was born and how she had been helped to walk. It was really touching. I said ‘really, this is transformation.’ That was a milestone moving forward in the life of Yande.”

Isaac sometimes felt guilty that they had the disease while he was negative. He could not take away the pain they felt when people stigmatised them because of the disease in their bodies. Although Isaac was not infected, he was and is still very affected outwardly by HIV and AIDS. Just as one who is HIV positive may ask God, “Why me?,” the same can be true for a family member who remains HIV negative like Isaac.

Through his life, Isaac is answering the question, “Why me?” As a pastor, he helps people living with HIV and AIDS (or PLWHA). At the Nakoli HIV and AIDS support group each week, he makes a difference in people's lives by facilitating discussions on topics related to HIV and AIDS.

Sometimes he teaches a spiritual lesson of how different Bible verses can be applied in their lives. Other times, participants discuss a topic such as dealing with stigma and educating themselves. When someone is newly diagnosed with HIV, Isaac can explain the basics about HIV and AIDS and answer any questions they might have.

Often, there is strain in the larger family if one or more members is HIV positive. So, in both a practical way and in prayer, Isaac can guide the members in how to communicate with their family members, to live positively. 

After attending the Churches Channels Of Hope (CCOH) Facilitator's Training in South Africa, Isaac said, “Passion to help people with HIV without knowledge, is dangerous. I now have the knowledge that can truly help people.”

OM partners with AIDSLink International to make a difference in the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

Tabitha Initiative, part of Tabitha Skills and Development, a Freedom Challenge project in Kabwe, Zambia, is a business initiative that teaches women, who have previously completed basic-skills training with Tabitha, further business skills so that they can market the products they’ve learnt to make. Or, if they choose to start a business unrelated to handmade crafts, the training helps, empowers and encourages them.  

After completing Business Expenses Savings Training (B.E.S.T.), where participants learn the basics of running a successful business, the ladies have to start a business with a small loan of 40 Kwacha ($4.14 USD). Though it may seem like an insignificant sum, successful businesses have been started with a similar amount. 

“[The amount of the loan] is to teach them that they don’t need $5,000 to actually start a business,” explained Eva. “The idea was that the reinvestment of the profits they made could actually grow their own businesses.”

The women were asked to be creative, and the businesses ranged from them selling popcorn to buying and re-selling books, making samosas to sewing children’s clothes. 

Those ready for a bigger push were told to prepare and present a business proposal for a larger loan. With the prospect of a bigger loan, came bigger ideas. A grocery stand. Raising poultry. A tailoring shop. The ladies were not given a monetary limit that they could apply for but were urged to think practically about what they could handle and pay back. 

Eight ladies were given loans of varying amounts, depending on how much they requested in their proposals. The women are expected to pay back the loans in instalments every three months throughout the year and give progress reports. 

Meeting once a month, the group continues to learn business strategies and share their struggles and successes as they develop as entrepreneurs. There is also time for worship, prayer and a devotion during each gathering, and each lady has been given an audio Bible to use at home and taught how to use the Discovery Bible Study method so they can replicate it in their own communities. 

“It’s not only that we want to bring them forward in business,” said Eva. “It’s a road of discipleship we walk together as well.”

Gaining confidence

Patricia opened a small shop with the aid of her loan. 

After the store had been opened, she found out her landlord had not been paying the property taxes, and therefore the government could close her shop at any time. Patricia went to the city council to find out how much was owed on the taxes and suggested to the landlord that she would pay the debt owed for the property taxes, instead of paying rent for the next few months until the amounts were equal. 

“To see how Patricia is standing up for herself is very encouraging for me. She’s gained so much confidence since I met her two years ago,” said Eva.

The landlord hasn’t made a decision yet, but Patricia decided that if the landlord refuses to pay off the taxes, she will rent elsewhere instead of putting her business at risk. 

Working as a family

When offered a chance at a larger loan, Monica didn’t know what kind of business she should propose. Her grown son Solomon was already raising chickens and suggested she follow suit, as she could benefit from his experience and share the building he had already made to contain the birds. 

“When [Monica] is not around, I help her. Even my wife knows how to take care of the chicks,” said Solomon. “We are working as a family to see that we keep the chickens happy.” 

After a few challenges, the family has found a rhythm in caring for the birds. The building is divided into two, and one side of the building can hold between 80 to 100 chickens, while the other side can hold up to 200. While the chicks are young, warm coals are carefully placed in the enclosure to keep them warm, and water is drawn from a nearby well to keep them hydrated. At the beginning of the cycle it takes the chicks a week or two to consume a full bag of a feed, but near the end of their six weeks, that same bag lasts just two or three days. Once grown, the chickens are sold to individuals around the community and in the local market. 

With the profit from the chickens, Monica will pay the school fees for her youngest daughter to attend school. 

Monica would like to advise future entrepreneurs that “you cannot start a business without preparing beforehand.”  

Please pray for Eva and the Tabitha team as they teach, encourage and empower women in Kabwe. Pray that the ladies will grow in faith and skills and be a testimony within their communities. Pray that the women will dream big dreams, and that the businesses will help them achieve those dreams. 

Street children are generally hard to work with due to addictions, wild behaviour, criminal activities, prostitution and the influence of gang leaders and pimps. Some people also believe that they are evil, demon-possessed and cannot be helped. 

With 17 years of experience in Sudan working with street children, Christine Jones from the UK knows that they can indeed be helped and is working to change people’s perceptions. 

“God called me to work with homeless children in Africa when I was nine years old,” Christine shared. “It breaks my heart to see suffering children fending for themselves and demonized on the streets.” 

Currently based in Zambia, Christine and three others formed “Africa Area Hope on the Streets for Children”; an OM ministry that trains people to help the African church become aware of the needs of street children and what they can do to help, whether through prayer, finances or the start of a ministry focused on street children. 

The churches are encouraged to network and connect with one another to share resources, form area committees and hold discussion forums. 

“Our vision is that the African church will become a good family to the street children and youths,” said Christine. 

“If the church can catch the vision then it can expand way beyond us,” she continued. “The projects will never be run by us, or belong to us, but will be run by and belong to the local churches. If this happens, thousands of children will find love, friendship, hope, help, a way out of their suffering and most important of all - know there is a saviour who loves them and who sees their suffering.” 

Training

Training sessions are held multiple times throughout the year at the OM Zambia base in Kabwe. 

Six students graduated from the three-month program in March and have moved on to complete practicals with various ministries, while a new class begins in May. Workers from other fields will be invited for three weeks of training prior to the annual Love Africa conference in August in addition to distance learning.

The team has also connected with the Kabwe Pastor’s Fellowship group, who formed a Street Children’s Ministry Committee as a result of their friendship. Working together, the committee is looking to see how a transitional, sustainable programme can be established in Kabwe to reach out to children living on the streets.

In March God opened the door for 45 police officers in Kabwe to receive training on dealing with traumatized children. Consisting of two phases, each phase includes one week in class and a month of distance learning followed by exams. 

The officers made comments such as “[the teaching] has changed the way we handle children,” “it has changed even my family life,” “we have implemented child-friendly areas,” and “it has helped me understand my own trauma and has changed my life.” 

Prevention

Makululu is the second biggest shanty town in sub-Saharan Africa. With high poverty rates and low literacy rates, life is hard for the 60,000 people who call Makululu home. 

Hope on the Streets for Children is networking with ministries within the shanty town who are helping the community recognise its problems and find solutions, start child-to-child education and run a women’s empowerment programme through skills training. 

Looking forward

Once a team has been established in Kabwe, the core team will conduct training in other countries, helping them replicate the Kabwe model. 

“It takes a long time to train people,” explained Christine. “I am the only person who has both training and experience, so this is slowing down establishing the work. We need experienced, trained people to join us… we have many calls to train and not enough people.”

Pray for God to raise up others to join this important outreach in loving street children.

The Nsumbu village sits near the Democratic Republic of Congo border, northwest of OM Lake Tanganyika’s base in Mpulungu. There, Charles and his team have led several locals to Christ, only to see them return to old practices and ‘traditional medicine’—meaning witchcraft—revealing what Charles calls “their true Christianity.”

It’s not an impossible problem, as God’s grace demonstrates, but it does require a concentrated effort from Charles and his team to reach locals as they fight on a spiritual level.

Prayer produces life

Some time ago, Charles remembered, there were three women in the village who were pregnant at various times. All three suffered greatly from the hot weather. They told Charles later that they almost died from the pain they experienced. All three babies were stillborn.

Recently, the women became pregnant again, and when the pain returned, they visited the village’s traditional doctors, received medicine, and were assured that their babies were fine. But when the pain didn’t stop, they looked to Charles and the OM team for help.

“We sat down with them and explained that we don’t give out medicine, but we know that, by calling on the name of Jesus, if spiritual forces have been causing their pain before, that their pregnancies would not end as they had before,” Charles said. “I read them the Bible, I led them to Christ, and we prayed with them that they would have faith that Jesus was [with] them.”

Just two days later, Charles received word that one of the women had given birth to a living, healthy child.

Healing forgiveness

In another instance, before a self-described “cursed” man came to see the OM team, he visited local doctors who told him that another man in the village had cursed him. The man who had been cursed found the man who had supposedly cursed him and threatened him.

Without a resolution to the problem, the man continued to feel worse physically, as problems with his eyes and stomach arose. Medicine and alternative methods of healing brought no relief, but he eventually found true relief, by God’s grace, in forgiveness.

“He came to us and we sat down with him and explained how powerful Jesus is, in comparison with witchcraft,” Charles described. “Then we explained to him that, in order to experience healing and deliverance, he needed to forgive the man who he suspected to have cursed him. He told us that he was ready and we reminded him that if we prayed for him, he shouldn’t pay this man another visit, but should decide to forgive him and forget about all of that. As we started praying, his symptoms and stomach pain ceased.”

Today, the man and his wife are part of the church in Nsumbu, and the forgiveness he showed to the man who cursed him caused a rippling influence. When the chief of the village heard that the man had been healed, he charged him for goats and money as payment—a common practice when healing occurs. When the man explained that he was healed because he had forgiven the other man, the chief thought he was out of his mind—until the man had the chance to explain that his forgiveness came from faith in Christ.

“I am now a Christian,” he told the chief. “Therefore, I have decided to forgive this man.”

Pray for Charles and the OM team in Lake Tanganyika as they prayerfully take on the villagers' deeply ingrained spiritual practices. Pray that more healings would occur, opening the door for others to know Christ. 

The fifth daughter in her family, Ega was born in September 1981.

At just four days old, Ega got yellow fever, an acute viral disease transmitted through mosquitoes. Rodan, Ega's mother, devotedly nursed her daughter back to health, dripping fluids into her mouth to keep her alive.

She survived, but at the developmental stage when Ega should have been moving around and sitting up, she was unable to do anything more than wiggle. Soon after that, Ega's father declared he wanted a divorce and left the family.

Rodan had no family in the village where they lived so she decided to move to the outskirts of Mpulungu. The area was mostly bush when they arrived, but now it is a busy, growing community.

Rodan sells small bags of cassava (a starchy, tuberous, root) and a course corn flour called maize mielie-meal in the market. While she is out, one of her other daughters or a neighbour girl watches Ega, who usually lies on a mattress on the front porch. The mattress was a Christmas gift from the Lake Tanganyika team a few years ago, before that, Ega lay on a reed mat.

Though Ega cannot speak, she communicates through grunts; making a noise when what she wants is said. Her limbs are curled tight to her body and are stick thin, but she stretches them out to emphasize a point or to tell her sister to move out of the way.

Their two-room house with a grass-thatched roof served the family well until recently when the community announced that anyone with a grass-thatched roof would have to build a new house with an iron sheet roof, or move, due to the fire hazard the grass presents.

This concern was not unreasonable, as the roof ignited one day when Ega was alone inside. Neighbours saw the fire and carried Ega outside to safety before dousing the flames.

Concerned for Ega's safety while the rest of the family was outside working during the day, Rodan prayed for a safer house. God answered her prayers through a former OMer who had visited Ega in the past and, after hearing about the situation, sent funds to begin the building of the new house, right next to the current one.

Construction started in October 2015, and the iron roofing sheets have been secured in place.

Funds are still needed to plaster and paint the house.

One day Rodan dreams of having electricity installed to power a fridge so she can sell cool drinks. This would allow her to stay closer to Ega, and not have to move around as much as her knees pain her.

Ega and the new house

Though the house is still not complete, Rodan wanted to sleep in the new building one night. The following morning when she went into the old house she found Ega with tears streaming down her face. Unable to tell what the problem was, Rodan continued with the chores around the house.

Later, she saw that Ega had pushed herself off the mattress where she usually resides and onto the porch where she had then fallen off the step and lay crying. Trying again to ask what the problem was, Ega kept crying as Rodan carried her inside to change her clothes and wash her face.

Lifting Ega once again, mother carried daughter outside and into the new house.

As soon as they passed through the doorway, Ega started laughing and smiling; she had wanted to be in the new house too. Once inside she refused to leave for two days. She doesn't like when someone sleeps in the new house without her.

Mwando is a large Zambian fishing village along the shores of Lake Tanganyika.

Ten years ago OM sent workers to the village to observe the area. There were no churches in the village of about 2,000 people.

“People went [to Mwando] in the beginning not to plant a church, but just to befriend the people,” Christopher said. “They made friends, made relationships, then the time came when we realised that that place needed a church.

“[But] we don't want to plant churches. We want to help our disciples plant the church, and help facilitate the process.”

That is where sports came into the picture.

In 2012, Cecilia Kasale moved to the village with the purpose of doing sports ministry with Dimas, a friend of OM and a local resident.

Cecilia reached out to the young children and girls through netball and other games, while Dimas started a football team with the boys.

The way the two coached and worked with the young people caught the attention of the community, and other coaches wondered how they did it.

Cecilia and Dimas organised a sports leadership training for any coaches who wanted to attend from the surrounding villages.

During the training, the 25 coaches realised that it was about more than just sports, it was about God. As Cecilia and Dimas gave testimonies of how their lives have been transformed through sports and the influence of former coaches the participants responded. A few of them stood up and gave their lives to Christ on the spot.

Starting a church

The coaches began a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) together, studying the Bible and growing in faith and numbers.

Discovering the Word of God and realising that no one could help them the way the Word was helping them, a church was started in Mwando. They met where the sports leadership training had taken place, beneath a few trees; later they moved into a temporary shelter of thatched grass, with plans to build a brick structure.

While Cecilia and Dimas develop more disciples through sports and DBS, OM worker Howard Sichilima moved to the village to develop the church and its new leaders. Howard's wife, Josephine, reached out to women through skills training, such as sewing and tailoring.

“The Lord gave us the people,” said Howard. “Children. Ladies. Youths, Men... Then I made sure that [those] people were grounded in the Word.”

Once a church has been established, OM Lake Tanganyika encourages the church to become affiliated with a mainline church for accountability and support. The village church became the Christian Fellowship Church after leaders visited the village to discuss and compare their doctrines.

Today, 70 people attend the church, and some of those first sports-minded people are serving in leadership positions. The village's head woman has also become a church member.

“She stood at a distance and watched how the church was coming about [before] realising that she needed God,” said Christopher. “Now she is in the church and is also a leader of the village, so the Christian influence among the people is [getting] big.”

Coach Dimas is still part of the church and its leadership. His heart is to go to other villages, using the same strategy of sports to plant churches. A DBS has already started in Chaushi, a neighbouring village, through a football team.

“God showed us that we were to start with sports,” said Howard. “The sports helped a lot to gather [people], starting from the small children to the adults. So it was very easy.”

Thank God for the church in Mwando. Pray that it continues to grow and make disciples through DBS, sports and skills training. Pray that the church will continue reaching out to neighbouring Chaushi, and that the people will respond to the Gospel.

Agatha is one of six women who meet together as part of OM Zambia’s Tabitha Skills and Development. Meeting twice a week, the ladies from different communities within Kabwe, Zambia, are learning various skills, including sewing, tailoring, embroidery, beading, knitting and cooking.

Hearing about the programme from a friend, Agatha was excited to sign up. A mother of five, she had the desire to learn how to sew, but she did not have the resources.

“Now when I am at home, I always play with my material, needles and buttons; that's what I do,” Agatha smiled. “I'm always with my material, learning. Practicing.

“I was a person who didn't know anything. I didn't how to sew, or cut, or about the Bible. I thank [Tabitha] for what they have done in my life. I've learnt a lot,” continued Agatha. “I appreciate our teacher, Pharen. She's a good teacher and has taught me many things that I will not forget in my life.”

Pharen Mulusa, a Tabitha team member, teaches the ladies different skills and is passionate about the ministry.

“[Tabitha] is in my heart and upon my heart,” Pharen said. “I've got a heart for children, for women and for the vulnerable. I look at my life and see what the Lord has done and [want to see] the same in the lives of other women.”

One of the goals of Tabitha is to empower not just one woman, but a whole community through that one woman.

“We believe that the ladies we are teaching will go to different places and be able to teach,” explained Pharen. “Our key is them. When we have them as our key, and release that key into the community it will open doors.”

Agatha has already caught that vision.

“I am a very happy woman,” she said. “I will go into the communities to teach those ladies who don't know anything. I will teach them what I have been taught. I will take these skills to my friends so that they can be skilled women, not women who just stay at home. I want them to be like I am today.”

The Tabitha Skills and Development team arrived in Zambia in 2013 to begin the project with the intention of making it sustainable before leaving it in the hands of a local team and moving to another African country to replicate the project.

Previous to this year the classes were much bigger, containing up to 40 women. The training team realised that this was too big of a number, and not everyone was getting the attention and direction she needed. After changing their curriculum, Tabitha selected six ladies to train and develop this year’s intake.

The jewelry, clothing, placemats, blankets and pillowcases the ladies make are sold to visitors and at the annual OM Love Africa conference. One day they hope to export to the United States.

All of the designs at Tabitha are originals.

“(The team) sat and asked God to put ideas in us. ‘God help us design, to think, and even just put the beads together.’ We prayed about it as a team and designed the necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The ideas all came from God,” said Pharen.

Why the name Tabitha?

“Looking at the Bible, Tabitha (also called Dorcas) was a servant of God,” said Pharen. “She was making garments and giving them to the poor and vulnerable. She was bringing hope to the lives of people. She made the naked to be dressed.

“When she died people came, mourning, crying for her, saying, 'God bring her back to life because of what she did in our lives.' Peter prayed and God brought her back to life.

“We decided to take the title of ‘Tabitha’ because we believe that every woman in this ministry will be a 'Tabitha', bringing change to the community and giving hope to the hopeless.”

Tabitha Skills and Development in Kabwe, Zambia, is focused on empowering, restoring hope and equipping vulnerable and marginalised women through skills training. To learn more about Tabitha check them out on Facebook.

At one time, there was a large youth group in Mpulungu, where the OM Lake Tanganyika team is based, but leadership did not see the youth in the group growing in their faith. Discussing why there was no impact, someone suggested that too many youths had attended, and the group didn’t have the capacity to train and develop them. Rethinking the approach, Christopher decided to start smaller.

“We didn't want to be seen in the forefront of 100 youths trying to develop them,” said Christopher. “We wanted to develop one boy, and he can develop his friends.”

The Honest Boys

Four years ago a group of seven boys, now young men, were picked to be discipled as the Honest Boys.

“One of the reasons for the name Honest Boys was because I struggled very much being honest as a small boy,” admitted Christopher. “I knew those boys had that struggle too. So we came up with this value and asked: Can we be honest? Can we speak the truth? Can we keep promises? Then if we are honest, we are going to have respect.”

Some of the boys have parents, while others have lost one parent or both. But all are vulnerable.

As part of the group, the boys learnt many things, including football skills, how to coach, farm, make handcrafts, handle finances, do a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) and uphold Christian values.

“The values we [teach] are ownership, responsibility, creativity and stewardship,” said Christopher.

The boys, says Christopher, learn to take ownership of their football, of a garden, of skills they learn and of their actions. They grow in responsibility by caring for these things.

Creativity is developed through gardening and crafts. Additionally, the boys are taught stewardship by learning how to save and how to withdraw money from a bank.

The first of the Honest Boys to open an account was Kennedy. “You could see his face shining with his Visa card,” said Christopher. “By then Kennedy was about 15 years old, and if you look at the 15-year-olds in Zambia, there are many of them, but maybe one per cent have a bank account.”

Likewise, five years ago, an Honest Boy named Sunday was laughed at and couldn’t speak English, recalled Christopher.

“His job was the anchor boy, and the anchor boy is not respected,” Christopher said. “He was the last person in the community. But he was built up, built up. Now he is a big boy and many boys go to him.”

Another Honest Boy, Nelson, was living with his sister and brother-in-law, who are OM missionaries, when he was picked to be one of the Honest Boys and knew his life would never be the same.

With money earned from farming and making handcrafts, Nelson paid his own school fees, starting in grade nine to grade 12, becoming the first person in his family to finish school.

“For me, being an Honest Boy has transformed my life,” said Nelson. “Now my role is to help other guys so their lives can be transformed.”

Developing leaders

There are few things Zambians are more passionate about than football.

“When you walk in the streets with a ball you will be surrounded by 50 kids,” laughed Christopher. “If they know it is your ball, they will not leave you. You'll be in church worshipping and they're outside looking for you. It doesn't matter if they are Muslim or Christian—as long as you have that ball.”

What can one ball do? “It can bring transformation,” Christopher said. “One ball can change the life of a child, of a family. [It can change] the community.”

Just as they were chosen and developed, the Honest Boys now do the same for boys in the communities around Mpulungu. Each young man coaches their own soccer team of 15 and picks three to five boys to further develop.

When the boys attend practice they are given help and advice from the coach, as well as participate in a DBS. Some are taught to make crafts that they are then able to sell; others are involved in agriculture, growing and selling vegetables. Others raise chickens or goats.

“I have three guys I am working with right now,” said Nelson, “helping them with things like the Discovery Bible Study. For the economic part, we are making [crafts] together. For the social part, we talk about our lives and families. Every week we have a game and use that game to develop the physical part.”

Farming has proven to be a skill every team member can use.

“The young ones have this desire to learn, and whatever you give them they will do it,” Christopher said. “I told them to prepare [gardening beds] at home to plant vegetables. So they make beds in the corner of their yards and I give them vegetables. Then [there are] conditions, like before you come to practice you need to water the garden. Within three months, each child has a vegetable garden at home. In Zambia, people will know about [the garden] and come looking to buy vegetables. So they start to sell.”

The profits from the vegetables are used for school fees, to buy food for the family, to be put in the bank and to purchase a new football.

As the young people make their own money using the life skills they’re taught, they are encouraged to buy their own football after three months, which produces another ball that starts the cycle again to train more boys.

“If [someone] asks me how many balls I need, I will say just one,” said Christopher. “Then come in three months and you will find that that one ball has been multiplied and has brought change to people.”

Saturday, 3 October 2015, over 100 people gathered at the OM Zambia training base in Kabwe to participate in this year’s Run4TheWorld (R4TW).

“One [purpose of the event] is to build relationships between people,” said Chris. “Then there is the funding side of it—getting people running for a specific cause. Then there's togetherness, unity. I think sports have the ability to bring people together. It doesn't matter if you're in a wheelchair, you're old, or you’re young, anyone can participate, even if you're there taking pictures or helping at the water station.”

This was OM Zambia's fourth year participating in R4TW, and for the first time, the day offered 35-kilometre (approx. 22-mile) and 65-kilometre (approx. 40-mile) bike routes, in addition to the 10-kilometre (approx. 6-mile) run. The introduction of the bike routes helped draw people from outside of Kabwe to the event.

Starting at 07:00 for the bikers and 30 minutes later for the runners, the day started out overcast, but soon grew hot.

“There was a positive vibe,” Chris said. “A lot of people were helping out. And everywhere you go with a bike, or running, there are always kids there—all the faces popping out from nowhere.”

Charles Malupande, a missions student at the OM Zambia base, was excited when he heard about the event.

“I wanted to run for God, just for God,” said Charles. “To thank Him for what He is busy doing in my life.”

On his entry card Charles indicated that he would enter the 35-kilometre bike race. Because he did not have a bike, he asked around to find out if anyone could lend him one.

“The week before the run [Charles] was all over me,” said Alfred Kashikechi, an OM worker involved in organising the event. “[He said] ‘I want to bike, I want to bike,' but he didn't have a bike. I told him he could enter the run.”

And run he did. Not only did Charles finish first in the 10-kilometre run, he did so running barefoot.

“I can't remember [how fast I ran],” smiled Charles. “But I was faster [than everyone else]”.

A week later, during morning devotions at the base, Alfred wheeled a new bright-yellow bicycle to the front of the room to award to the winner of the 10-kilometre race.

“I was excited to present the bike; Charles really deserved it,” said Alfred.

Donated by Zam Bike, the bicycle was supposed to have been presented on race day, but it was delayed. Having thought there were no prizes for the race, Charles was shocked to receive the prize, but very happy to take ahold of the handlebars.

“God is a God of grace, of love, and He is our provider,” Charles said later. “He gave [the bike] to me, and it was a surprise to receive it like that. I wasn't expecting it.

“I want to use it for when I go to do ministry, also to church, and to help other people by letting them use it.”

To find out more about R4TW events near you, check out www.r4tw.org.

Dimas is the headman of Mulima, a small village of about 50 adults and double that many children. Located along the Zambian side of Lake Tanganyika, Mulima's main industry is fishing.

Dimas was not born there. In fact, he did not live in the village until 2000 when his uncle died, leaving Dimas next in line as village headman.

With a wife and two children, Dimas moved to the village to take up his new role. Previously he had been a farmer, but the rocky ground along the lake was unsuitable for growing crops. Plus, without the proper fishing supplies—boat, line, etc.—Dimas could not go out on the water. Instead he and his wife, Evelyn, cut grass in exchange for fish.

From an early age Dimas did not like going to witch doctors and tried attending different churches, but he never felt that he got anything out of it.

Then Dimas met Aaron, an OM missionary living in Kapembwa, just over the hill from Mulima, on the local ferry. After hearing who Aaron was, Dimas invited him to his home to share and discuss the Word of God.

When the other villagers saw Dimas talking to Aaron, and later on Clement, another OM missionary, they warned Dimas, saying that “those people are satanists; don't fellowship with them.”

While acknowledging their worries Dimas replied, “If they are satanists, I am going to see for myself.”

Immediately, though, Dimas knew that what Aaron was saying about the Bible was true.

“When Aaron took me into the Word of God I felt that that is what I needed,” said Dimas. “He explained it very well, it touched my heart.”

“In the past we believed in witchcraft and witch doctors,” Evelyn added. “When Dimas was sick [with high blood pressure] we went from witch doctor to witch doctor to find help, but nothing changed. We went to the hospital, nothing changed. But after meeting the Word of God, everything has changed. Our lives have changed.”

“People are able to see a difference in me from [before],” Dimas said. “A lot of people follow me, even to church. They are coming to fellowship because of [mine and Evelyn's] lives.”

Being a Christian and a headman has its difficulties though.

“In every village, the headman is entitled to discipline a person who is misbehaving,” explained Dimas. “So what they usually do is call everyone in the village and beat that person. But for me it is a challenge because I am not supposed to judge anyone as a Christian, and not beat someone because of the wrong they have done. I would rather sit that person down and take them through their mistakes so that they learn. But to the villagers and elders they think that is not being a good headman because I'm not doing what I am 'supposed' to do. It's a big challenge being a Christian and a headman because you cannot abide in the village law and the law of God.”

Another example of this is when visitors arrive in the village. As headman, Dimas is expected to welcome them and let them stay in his yard.

“The villagers think I am not fulfilling my role as the leader of the village [when I turn witch doctors away],” said Dimas. “But the witch doctors have stopped coming to this village since they heard that I am a Christian.”

A testimony of forgiveness

One of the greatest moments of joy for Dimas and Evelyn was when their son, Bernard, became a Christian.

“The villagers used to call me a 'dead person' because what I did was so terrible,” said Bernard. “I used to sleep around with women. When one of these women got sick, the villagers believed it was because of what we were doing. They threatened to kill me.”

Dimas asked all the Christians he knew to pray for his son to know Jesus.

Aaron and Clement were committed to befriending the headman's son, walking over the hill sometimes twice a day to encourage him. Clement even offered to teach Bernard how to read and write.

Bernard moved to another village where he met his wife and returned to Mulima and started going to church. After two months Bernard put his faith in Christ.

“I have seen how God has brought back the relationship [between me and the villagers],” said Bernard. “For a long time everyone was scared of me, they hated me; when I was passing through they would even spit at me. Now they welcome me into their homes, they greet me like a normal person, and kids run towards me. For a long time they would run away.

“When I pass by they say 'Bernard, God is great for your life to be like this. You should continue holding onto Him.’”

Praise God for working in the lives of Dimas, Evelyn, Bernard and the villagers. Please pray that through them many more would know God. For more about what OM is doing in Zambia, visit the OM Zambia news page here.

To Charity Durey, a cheerleading coach from the U.S., it makes perfect sense. “It all wraps together. I see how they combined a sport and the relationship with Jesus, and I see how the girls really love each other and bond together while learning a great skill. When we cheer, we want to give God our very best because He gave us His very best.”

Fellowship of Christian Cheer, (FCC), is an American-based cheerleading league founded 30 years ago by Cary Coleman. “There are four million cheerleaders in the USA. It's a sport, and every other sport has some kind of faith-based outreach,” said Cary. “Thirty years ago when we started FCC there were zero faith-based options for cheerleaders, so that's why we focused on them.”

FCC operates in schools, while Impact Cheerleading, a part of FCC, runs in churches. Zambia was Impact Cheerleading's first African outreach in March 2015, with Charity behind the idea.

“I went to Uganda four years ago, and I'm very passionate for missions and spreading the Gospel. I also love to cheer, and how the two mash together very well, and I felt like the people in Africa have so much energy, so much excitement, that this would be a great sport for them,” Charity explained. “The men have football, and this will give the girls something that will be theirs.”

Seventeen women from across Zambia attended the four-day training led by FCC and SportsLink Zambia in Kabwe. From a police officer to a teacher to a missionary, the participants came from all walks of life, but were united in one purpose: to empower and encourage women and girls.

The new coaches were taught to stretch properly, design a routine, plan devotions, and how to run practices.

“I think (the coaches) were shocked that they had to actually do some of it,” said Alyssa, the 'cheer specialist' from FCC. “They were all complaining a couple days in that their arms and their legs were sore. By the end of it they all got a lot better at the basic motions. I know that they will continue to grow.”

“We use cheerleading as an avenue to speak about Christ,” Alyssa added. “These coaches will hopefully do the same thing.”

Cheerleading at the Lake

Cecilia Kasale, an OM missionary at Lake Tanganyika, is doing just that.

Two days after returning from the training Cecilia met with a group of girls to share her vision of having a cheerleading team. Immediately excited, the girls wanted to start right away.

The fact that none of them had ever heard of cheerleading before didn't faze Cecilia because she herself had not known what it was until just a few days before the training.

“I had no idea what cheerleading was,” Cecilia admitted. “I don't think any Zambian knew what it was, we just heard there was a female sports training in Kabwe and went. When I did find out what it was I thought it was a very good idea. Normally in sports you only concentrate on the boys, for girls there are few things they can do.”

Since March the group has grown from eight girls to 22 girls between the ages of eight and 14.

“Anyone can join,” said Cecilia. “because it's not about dancing, but shaping their lives and teaching them the word of God.”

Practising twice a week, each meeting starts off with devotions and ends in prayer. Since they've started practising there have been visible changes and improvements not only in the girls dancing, but their habits and attitudes as well.

Maureen used to insult and fight with her mother constantly. At 15, she dropped out of school and talked of moving out and getting married. Today Maureen has gone back to school because of the values taught in cheerleading.

“(Cheerleading) is helping her,” said Cecilia. “The devotions are building her morals.”

There are two purposes to having a cheerleading team according to Cecilia. “We want to be attracting girls to come and learn the word of God. When they learn a scripture we tell them to go and share it with their families. That means that if we reach out to these girls, we also reach out to their families. The second purpose it to make the girls feel valuable. Most of them don't go to school, some have gone but don't even know how to write their names, so this is something that can give them value. Something people can see them doing apart from school. Cheerleading is encouraging and keeps them busy.”

During her visit, Anne hoped to learn about different stages of intervention used to impact street kids’ lives and learn what works and how to implement it. During her stay, she lived with Pastor James and his family, which includes children formerly living on the streets, heard their stories, and visited with kids in Lusaka still living on the streets.

“I’ll cook for you ma’am. All kinds of African dishes that will make your mouth water!”

I saw the little spark of hope in Mark’s* eyes snuff out when I told him I wasn’t looking for a chef—I was there to learn about working with street kids.

He told me he’d been fighting, because some guys beat him up over two kwacha ($0.30 USD). Mark said he’s sick of fighting, but it’s unavoidable to survive on the streets.

Mark is a member of a gang of youths who hang out at a small mall in Lusaka, washing cars for money. Over the past eight years, Pastor James has slowly gained the trust of these young men by visiting them to talk, and showing the love of Jesus.

I noticed that all five of the youths were dirty and dressed in ripped clothing. Some appeared high, and all looked deep in despair. The leader of the gang, a guy named Dan*, wasn’t there when I first met them, so we travelled to his home to visit him.

No more than 18, Dan is the sole provider in his house. He’s responsible for his mother, two sisters, and cousin. He said he finds it impossible to earn enough money to keep up with the needs of the household. Though Dan appears tidier than the rest of his gang, I still see pain reflected in his eyes. I wonder what this young man has seen in his life.

A few years ago when Pastor James first met him, Dan was living on the streets like the other members of his gang because of poverty at home. Dan’s father died, and his mother was never home due to always trying to find work. Pastor James helped Dan reconnect with his family and move back home.

Curious, I asked Dan what keeps him from the tempting life of crime that would bring more money into his house. He replied that he did think about it, but his mother had taught him that stealing was wrong from a young age, and he knew God didn’t approve of it either.

Dan told the story of one of his former gang members, who decided to join a different gang involved in thieving. They went into a school to steal some laptops but were caught, and a mob stoned him to death. I think Dan is afraid he could possibly suffer the same fate if he got involved in crime.

I asked him what he thought was the answer to his problems. Dan replied that only God could help him. Dan prays God will help him find a steady job, and in the meantime, for cars to wash every day.

I was amazed by this youth. His life is hard, but he is at home. He tries as much as he can to make an honest living, and to help the rest of his family.

I can’t help but wonder if he’s been abused, if he’s on drugs, and if he’s been beaten up or has beaten up someone else.

He still has a long way to go. He accepts Pastor James’ input into his life and seems to have his own faith, so I must trust in Jesus and continue to pray for this young man, that it will be onward and upward for him.

A day at the movies

One of the things that struck me the most was how Dan’s gang had been forced to grow up too early. They had never had care-free days of laughter, not worrying where their next meal would come from. They had never experienced the things I took for granted, living in the Western world—like eating out with my friends at McDonald’s, or going to see a movie.

So, I asked the Lord, “Jesus, do you think it would be OK to take the guys out for the day, and just let them be boys?”

I was under no illusion that it would solve their problems, but I felt a strong pull to take them out for a day of good food and fun.

“Anne.”

“Yes, Lord?”

“I would love to treat my beloved boys, and just spend time with them,” He replied to me. (How about that? Jesus loves going to the cinema too!)

I ran the idea past Pastor James to make sure I wouldn’t be creating problems, and he approved. He told me most of the boys had probably never been to the movies or eaten in a restaurant. Checking the movie times and looking at restaurants, we prayed the boys would show up at the mall for work the next day so we could take them out.

When we arrived at the mall, Dan and the rest of the guys came to the car to greet us. In Bemba, the local language, Pastor James invited them out for the day with us. I don’t speak Bemba, but the excitement in their voices needed no translation. The big smiles on their faces were priceless, and I’ll never forget how, in just a few seconds, they changed from worn-down boys with too many burdens for their age to animated young men.

The security guard at the mall looked shocked as he watched us enter the building. Dan told me later that the security guard himself probably doesn’t ever eat at the mall, let alone go to the movies.

“Mama Anne,” he said. “The security guy didn’t realise that this is God’s special day for us.”

We ate at a place similar to KFC, where all eight of them received two pieces of chicken, chips and a soda. One of the boys even prayed for the meal. As they ate slowly and politely, I was amazed at the group’s table manners. I had just assumed the meal would be a feeding frenzy, as they devoured the full meal they so rarely got.

I sensed from God that these weren’t the bad, wild young men that the world assumed they were. They were just young guys who have experienced terrible trauma and would do anything to survive. We’ve backed away, fearing the worst, when actually Jesus calls us to be involved.

While we were eating, one of the boys remarked that he was sad because, though he was eating well, his family probably wasn’t eating at all. Oh, how I wish I could have fed all of them and their families. After eating, we went to the cinema to watch a comedy. Though most of the guys struggle with English, they laughed in all the right places and enjoyed the popcorn.

I feel privileged to have spent time with them.

Eye-opening experience

The three weeks I spent in Lusaka was an eye-opening time for me. Seeing how these boys lived and worked put my own life into perspective. I complain when the shower runs out of hot water or I miss a meal. These guys don’t know what a hot shower is, or what three square meals a day feels like.

I wonder how long a person can live in poverty without giving up. I can only hope the Lord will lead me to those who are ready to grab ahold of Him and be transformed by the giver of life, Jesus Christ. 

*Name changed

A port city, Mpulungu is a hub for people travelling to and from villages along the four countries bordering Lake Tanganyika. This access provides business opportunities, but not all are positive. Prostitution and child trafficking have become common, and girls are always at risk to becoming involved, voluntarily or not.

Girls as young as 12 years old can be married to older men, which is an acceptable practice in their culture. Families pull the girl out of school and send her off to begin life as a wife. If the girl refuses, she may be kicked out of her family's home.

Thankfully, OM has found a way to share God’s love in practical ways with these vulnerable young girls.

OM teaches girls life skills

The OM-founded Good News School first opened its doors in 2008 to a class of 20 preschool-aged children. Today, that initial group of pupils is in grade six, and the school has grown to include over 100 more children.

As their pupils grew older, the OM Lake Tanganyika team looked at the girls in their school, many of whom are orphaned or have only one living parent, and wondered how to protect them from the pressures of the surrounding community.

The solution: a group just for the girls that would teach them useful skills, as well as help the girls discover their identity in Christ. The girls named the group The Pure Girls.

The past two years, 20 girls from grade three and above have met twice a week. Wednesdays they do Bible study and discuss relevant issues in their lives, like marriage, prayer, love and home situations. Fridays the girls learn sewing, beading and cooking.

“We have seen that many of the girls are not so good with their school work,” explained Lorrin Kasale, who teaches grade six at the Good News School and leads The Pure Girls. “So, if they drop out or finish grade seven, what then? We want them to be skilled so that even if they don’t finish school they will have something to do that will (help prevent) them from going into prostitution.”

The girls learn how to make small bags from chitenges, doormats from old t-shirts and paper beads. Their products are all sold locally, to people visiting the OM base or at the OM Love Africa conference. The profits are pooled and the girls request small items like underwear, socks and lotion that might not otherwise be available to them.

Seeing a difference

In their homes, the girls are expected to act older than their years. However, at Lorrin’s house, where they meet for The Pure Girls, they are encouraged to be themselves. The girls share giggles and smiles as they work together. Lorrin said she has seen girls change through their involvement with The Pure Girls.

One girl, Kachelewa, had lost both her parents. Her father died before she was born, and last year her mother passed away. Kachelewa was devastated.

“It was difficult to help her because she felt like she had lost everything,” said Lorrin. “I took her through the Bible and explained that God is our Father, and He will provide for her. I monitored her every day to find out how she was doing, and to let her know that I was there. Today she is a happy girl.”

Lorrin lost her own father when she was 11 years old, an experience she said allows her to really understand what the girls are going through.

“These girls need love,” Lorrin said. “Someone needs to show them that they care. That is my prayer—that God will send people from here, or elsewhere, who have a heart for these girls.”

When her mother passed away in December 2014, Benike, 12, became the woman of the house. Her duties include caring for her three younger siblings, cleaning the house and fetching water. Sometimes Benike misses school because of her chores and she is behind in her classes. Though school is a struggle, Benike excels at handmade crafts.

“She’s the best with the skills,” said Lorrin. “You show her once, and away she goes. Benike has already finished one yarn doormat while everyone else is not very far. She is just so good at working with her hands.”

Benike said The Pure Girls group is important because it teaches girls, “how to overcome the bad things that happen. When I grow up, I know I have something that I can do.”

Interested in using the gifts God has given you to serve in Zambia? Check out OM’s opportunities to serve here.

OMer Lourie Ferreira is a qualified dentist. Originally from South Africa, Lourie and his wife, Gisela, moved to England where Lourie practiced as a dentist for several years before God called them to Zambia to work with orphans and vulnerable children. Lourie soon realised that the rural community where they reside was also in need of his dentistry abilities.

“There's no dental services around here. The nearest town, Sesheke, is 40 kilometres away, and they don't even have a dentist,” said Lourie.

“This is such a poor area; these people don't have two kwacha to rub against one another, let alone [have money] for dental services. So everything here is done free of cost.”

Twice a week, Lourie packs the back of his truck with instruments and supplies donated from the UK and heads out with one of his assistants. Thursdays, they set up on the porch of a medical clinic, and Fridays, they can be found under a large tree.

“For most of them, this is a foreign environment; they've never been to a dentist. You can tell as you're extracting that this is the first tooth they've had treated. It's a totally unfamiliar concept, but once they get to know you, they come from far and wide,” said Lourie.

Some patients walk five kilometres to catch the ferry that crosses the Zambezi River, then another 10 kilometres to see Lourie; some walk from the nearby villages. All walk with an ache in their mouth.

“I don't know if you've ever had a toothache before,” said Lourie. “But it controls your whole being. The fact that, in a minute or two, they can be relieved of that pain and agony is amazing for me.”

Upon arrival, each person joins the queue. One-by-one, they sit in Lourie's fold-out chair as he tips their head back and peers into their mouth to get a good look at the problem tooth. After a shot that numbs the area, Lourie sends them off to wait until the injection has had enough time to kick in. Then they are back in the chair, mouth open wide as Lourie extracts the tooth, sometimes, in more than one piece, depending on the degree of decay.

“When they come to [me], their teeth are so bad and so far beyond repair that there's only one way to solve [the problem], which is to take it out,” Lourie said. “We're really just basic pain release.”

One patient, Eric, lives just down the road from the tree where Lourie sets up his office on Fridays. Having been there twice before, he came to get a third tooth removed. After an injection to numb the area, Lourie clamped the tooth and quickly removed it, Eric neither flinching nor grimacing during the process.

“No, it wasn't painful,” Eric said. “[Lourie's] ok.”

Each patients leaves with two things in hand; a few pain relievers and their tooth. The reason the patients keep their teeth is twofold. One, Lourie does not have the means to dispose of the teeth properly, and two, in the culture, keeping something from one's body, for example a tooth, is like keeping a piece of that person and can then be used for witchcraft. Lourie wants no confusion about the fact that he is there to do God's work and is happy to return the teeth to their owners.

“I cannot do this ministry without the Lord,” said Lourie. “I see His hand in everything we do here. [Dentistry] is a way for me to touch people's lives and show God's love for these people.”

Interested in learning more about opportunities to serve in Zambia? Check out OM’s opportunities here.

That was the invitation Akim extended to the young men of his village Kangomea, Zambia.

All were encouraged to join, regardless of age or ability. The prospect of a team excited the boys, most of whom spent their extra time sitting around, watching videos or frequenting the local bar.

Meeting at the unused football field beside the railroad tracks, they started a game and sat beneath the trees afterwards as Akim led a Bible study. The following week, they did the same.

Akim came up with the idea of starting a football team after completing the three-month discipleship course at OM Zambia, a half-hour walk from his home. He thought the sport would provide a great way to share what he had just learnt in discipleship with the young men of his village.

Now, 25 boys between the ages of 9 and 19 can be found at the football field every Monday and Wednesday afternoon. They maintain the field themselves, bringing slashers and cutting the grass as needed. At the end of each practice, they gather to study God's Word and share what is going on in their lives.

The first football the team had was donated by a missionary. After awhile, they decided to purchase an additional ball and pay for it as a team.

“We started with 50 ngwee ($0.01 USD),” explained Alfred Kashikechi, assistant coach and OM Zambia missionary. “Whenever they had 50 ngwee, they would bring it until we could buy a soccer ball.”

After two months, the players had pooled together 40 kwacha ($6.00 USD). An additional 10 kwacha ($1.50 USD) was donated, and the ball was bought.

“It was very exciting [when the ball was purchased],” Akim said. “They did not realize that they could contribute and buy a ball together. They thought they couldn't manage it, that it was too expensive.”

The success of the ball encouraged the team to dream bigger. Next, they set their sights on buying matching jerseys. The players spent a whole day cutting a local missionary's grass to earn the money to purchase "Zambian green" jerseys. Matching shorts were later donated to complete their uniforms.

The team plays against nearby villages and always wins, according to their coach. Not only have they proved to be substantial football players but also youth of substantial character, as well.

“I can see a difference if we are playing another village,” said Akim, “from how those guys are behaving and how our guys are behaving. You can tell there is [Christ] here.”

A team on and off the field

No one can say exactly where the idea of a garden came from, except that it was planted by God.

As many of the boys don't have enough money for school fees, books or even to buy a pen, the team sat down to discuss ways of coming up with the funds. The suggestion of a garden was immediately popular, as there is plenty of empty land surrounding the village.

A farmer himself, the father of one of the players offered a piece of land for the team to develop for free, saying they could have even more land if they wished.

Located a short walk from the football field, the garden has been platted with tomato, rapeseed, maize and onion.

Just as the team works together on the field, they also work together off the field to maintain the garden. Split into four groups, each group is responsible for looking after the garden one week per month, weeding, watering and doing whatever else is necessary to keep the vegetables growing.

Already, there are plans for expansion. Another parent has given permission to use a plot of land that would be ideal for growing maize next season.

The profits from the garden will benefit the team, as well as each member individually. As the garden grows and profits, the goal is that the boys will be able to pay for their own education.

“It's key to have something like this to empower boys, to give them a way of thinking differently,” said Chris Welman, SportsLink Africa Area Coordinator. “Suddenly, they could have an income and pay for school fees. The same story's happening up at Lake Tanganyika and Ndola and other places as well, like this, next to the [football] field, and we're excited about that. I think it's a great model here."

Chris continued, "Imagine: 25 boys could pay for their own school fees and have something that they can take back home for their family. [It's] a big deal. We can transform communities if we do this.”

Lines of villages of with populations of 500 to 2,000 people sit on the lake’s shore, and life revolves around fishing, as there is little farming and no markets for trading other goods.

Men fish at night with huge nets in teams of 15 or 20 in large wooden-planked boats. Status amongst the men is determined by how many wives, children and fishing boats they have. Unfortunately, men value all three as possessions and do not place value on being a good husband, father or provider.

A lie that influences the fishermen’s mind-set includes the belief that they should sacrifice their own children to be able to catch more fish. OM recognises that local people need to know that God’s Son died for them and their children to give them eternal life, and that they can live life to the full, with His provision.

Becoming fishers of men

Members of OM Lake Tanganyika have been working in six villages over the past eight years, living within the fishing villages as members of the community.

Over time, the villagers have become attracted by the loving way they see the workers interact with each other as spouses and families, and the way they interact with their neighbours. These workers know that it is through relationship, discipleship and the modelling of a life lived according to biblical principles of loving God and one another that a village can change. 

A key strategy for supporting the missionaries living in these villages involves an ongoing training of the disciples, called “Fishers of Men”, which is what Jesus promised His followers would be. In a culture full of lies, this practical programme is based on the truth of who is Jesus. 

In December, a Fishers of Men training was held with 13 attendees – two from Burundi, three from DRC and eight from Zambia. Some are fishermen from lakeshore villages and others are missionaries or future missionaries preparing to work within the fishing villages.

This was the first training of this length and intensity and was possible because of funds made available for the necessary food, accommodation and fuel for travelling by boat on the lake.

The trainees spent two weeks at OM Lake Tanganyika’s base discussing how to help the fishermen understand that they don’t need to trust in rituals and sacrifices, but instead learn to acknowledge and follow Jesus, the Provider and One who gave His disciples a “miraculous catch” and walked on water.

Another focus of the training is teaching the fishermen to be fathers and husbands according to God’s ways. Strategies include building relationships, not only with the fishermen but also with village headmen and other leadership. 

After the training at the base, the trainees went on an outreach to Kapembwa village, one of the larger villages between the Mpulungu base and the DRC border. Kapembwa is known to be a dark place spiritually and is where many of the rituals associated with fishing are performed. Currently, about five witch doctors live in the village.

Being in Kapembwa gave the trainees an opportunity to testify to fishermen who have no access to the Gospel. They also conducted training with the leaders of the church plant in Kapembwa village. These leaders are able to now continue teaching and discipling the fishermen who live or camp in Kapembwa.

OM workers reported that an immediate result of the outreach was both physical healing and spiritual deliverance for many in the village. The local leadership of the village also began to understand the power of truth. The headman of the village testified that they need God much more than before.

Making disciples

One trainee of the programme, Robert, was a pastor at a church in the DRC. He confessed that being a pastor was just a job for him and resigned from the position so that, as a church member, he could focus more on making disciples amongst the fishermen.

Another Congolese trainee, David, has also started doing Bible studies with fishermen and with Congolese soldiers who otherwise have no access to the Gospel. He has authority and influence even to lead military commanders in studying the Word of God.

Other trainees are starting Bible studies with children ages 10-15 in various villages along the lake. These young people will impact their own parents and communities, as well. One of the Zambian trainees has started a prayer house in Musende village, where fishermen can go and pray before they fish. One leader of a large fishing boat went to the founder of this prayer house to surrender his witchcraft charms for catching fish, and he is now praying to God for provision. 

The training in December 2013 of these fishers of men was the beginning of a number of trainings that will continue throughout 2014. In February, a similar training took place in Tongwa village, Zambia. 

Please pray for these fishermen, now fishers of men, as Jesus’ disciples, who are learning to be sons of the Most High, fathers and husbands. Pray they would learn to receive His provision by His own sacrifice. Pray they would share His love and blessing with their neighbours in all corners of Lake Tanganyika. And pray for the million people living along its shores in four nations, waiting to be caught by Jesus’ nets of love and light. 

Losing a loved one can leave a gap in one’s life. Such was the case in the life of Charles Halombwana in the town of Kabwe, Zambia. At age 13, Charles’s father, a local police officer, passed away. Though Charles attended church with his family every week he was not a believer.

He remembers, “When I was young I used to go to church, but I never knew the reason why I was going to church. I just had to follow my parents and so on. It never made an impact on me.”

What filled the gap, instead of Christ, were friends that Charles now describes as “bad company”. By age 14 he had started drinking beer, and by age 15 he was smoking and sleeping with girls. He admits, “I used to go to church in the morning, but just after the main service I would go to drink with my friends. [Church] meant nothing to me.”

One passion that has always driven Charles is his love of sports, specifically football. Since he was a young boy he dreamt of joining the Zambian national team by age 23. It was this drive that caused him to join an OM Zambia-sponsored football team led by Teddy Musonda. Charles viewed the opportunity as a way to stay in shape, increase his skills and have fun. He never thought that it would one day alter the entire course of his life.

Before starting practice, when the team was warming up, Teddy would share Scripture and challenge the boys in their thinking patterns. One day Teddy taught the team defensive football techniques. Teddy then related being a defender in football to defending oneself in life against negative influences. He singled out Charles, saying, “If you look at Charles, he’s a good defender. Can he be even a good defender against things that are coming into his life? Things like beer drinking, smoking and sleeping around with girls?” Says Charles, “I was touched from that.”

Later, Teddy invited Charles to attend the Discipleship Training School at the nearby OM Zambia base in Kabwe. During the start of the course there was no change in Charles’s behaviour. He would attend class each day and then go off to drink with his friends.

However, during a session on the father heart of God, the Lord moved Charles’s heart and he accepted Christ as his Saviour and Lord. The students were asked to write on a piece of paper things for which they were sorry and things they wanted Christ to change. Charles poured out his heart onto that piece of paper. The students, including Charles, nailed their papers to a wooden cross, symbolising how Christ bore our sin, shame and sufferings.

In 2012 Charles moved to the capital city of Lusaka and joined the police force. He is passionate about sharing about God with his co-workers. If successful, the impact on many Zambian communities and lives will be great.

As anyone can see, Charles Halombwana is a testimony of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Jesus is my life now,” proclaims Charles. “Without Him there’s nothing I can do. Without Him I’m a dead person instead of a moving body. I have realised that it’s only Him.”
 

I’m in the supply room of the Community Health Post in Tongwa village, which is officially located in Middle-of-Nowhere, Africa. Of the few resources Joyce Mutale has to help the villagers with their health needs, she has the one thing none of them ever need: sunscreen.

Joyce is the sole community health worker for Tongwa village, which has approximately 500 residents. Actually, she’s the only community health worker in the entire Tongwa area, which includes six villages and 2,283 people. For the past six years Joyce has worked at the clinic alone and without pay. To become a community health worker, Joyce received just three weeks of training at a government clinic in Mpulungu.

I try to wrap my mind around all of the challenges she must face, and then I ask her the obvious: “Why are you doing this?” She responds, “I am doing this because of God. I know that this work is for God.” I want to give her a medal and throw her a parade. I want to tell People magazine, “Here’s your next ‘Person of the Year’.” God bless Joyce Mutale!

Joyce has a wonderful smile and a fantastic attitude. She lives with her husband in a small hut a stone’s throw away from the clinic. The couple has raised five children in Tongwa. Two have married and moved away from the village while three are still in school. It’s an impressive feat considering the only money the family makes is from the husband’s daily catch of fish.

Joyce sees about 10 patients a day in the small clinic. Common issues are malaria, diarrhoea, coughing and stomach pains. Occasionally, Joyce sees broken bones and deep cuts. Although serious cases are referred to the hospital in Mpulungu – a two-hour boat ride away – Joyce has managed to stitch a wound shut and even deliver two babies this year.

When I ask Joyce what resources she desires, her voice becomes serious as she explains that she wants two things: pads and soap. The pads are for helping women heal properly after giving birth in the clinic’s one bed. The soap is to protect Joyce and her patients. How would you feel about stitching wounds and delivering babies without being able to properly wash your hands before or after?

Every month Joyce sends a report to the government office in Mpulungu. She explains that the government rarely gets involved in what happens with the clinic but will reimburse fuel costs if they have to make an emergency hospital visit by boat.

As I finish my interview I ask Joyce if there is anything else she wants to say. Her English is a bit broken, but she expresses her heart and cuts me to the core when she says, “You people, try your best and help this community. Help people in Tongwa. Provide some medicine. You know people here, sometimes they are very sick like malaria. It’s very difficult to be treated here. We pray to God to help give us a doctor or a nurse nearby us.”

OM Lake Tanganyika is developing a partnership with the Zambian government to provide medical supplies to stock the Tongwa Community Health Post. Future goals include training more community health workers like Joyce to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of other villages along the shores of Lake Tanganyika. 

For more information about the work of OM Lake Tanganyika, email info.africa@om.org.

Brad Livengood is a photographer and journalist who served with OM in Zambia, documenting the work that God is doing in Africa through OM.

“We committed ourselves in the presence of God and [the] public that we will remain faithful to each other, which never happens with other couples,” Moses professes.

Traditionally speaking, in Tongwa village if a man gets upset with the woman he is living with, or just wants a new woman to sleep with, he will simply leave the house and find a new “wife”. One can imagine what such a breakdown in family structure has on the society as a whole. Most kids grow up without having both a loving father and mother at home, and they spend much of their time wandering the village with nothing to do and with little to nothing in their stomachs.

Many people in the village get married simply for practical reasons. He brings home the fish, while she cooks the fish, cleans the house, gathers the water, takes care of the kids, and agrees to sex, and, and, and…(no one ever said it was a fair arrangement). Each morning the cycle repeats. Moses also states that a large majority of the husbands and wives in the village are drunkards who have no idea how to love one another. If there is love between two people, it’s considered socially taboo to show it. For example, you wouldn’t find husbands and wives holding hands or even sitting next to each other in public.

Setting an example of biblical marriage

Moses and Marjorie are daily challenging cultural traditions as well as setting the biblical standard for marriage by showing love and respect towards each other. For example, Moses helps carry water for his wife and helps carry their baby, Joshua. If his wife is not around when he comes home from a night of fishing, he will take the initiative to start preparing and cooking the fish. Often, even if she is home he will still begin cooking. Moses also helps sweep and clean the house. These actions go against what the Tongwa society says are “female only” roles.

While other men in the village view Moses’s actions as weak, the other wives have definitely taken notice. Several times women have approached Marjorie saying, “Please help us with some charms that you have used. It must be a very strong charm.”

By “charms” they mean witchcraft, which they believe Marjory must have used to influence the mind of her husband to perform these acts of kindness. To this, Marjorie replies, “It’s not a difficult kind of charm. The ‘charm’ that I have used is to put Jesus in between our marriage. He is at the centre. And that’s the only ‘charm’ that you can ever use.”

Marjorie also challenges cultural norms by showing love to her husband when he arrives home from fishing. When the boats come ashore, the wives are expected to be present and immediately carry the fish away into their houses. However, before doing a thing, Marjorie first gives Moses a big hug and says, “Welcome back, Honey!”

“It’s not normal for people like a young couple to be behaving the way they behave,” explains Lewis Musonda, an OM missionary who spent several years in the village and gave the couple pre-marriage counselling. “Almost everything they are doing is opposite to what the villagers believe about normal things. Helping the husband? It’s not a thing [women do]. Helping the wife? It’s not a thing [men do].”

Choosing to obey God

Changing the culture hasn’t been easy, and Moses and Marjorie have often had to face fierce opposition especially from members of their own families, who are not Christians. According to Lewis, traditionally parents want to control their children’s marriages.

For example, Lewis recently had to serve as mediator between the young couple and Moses’s parents. His mother had attempted to do something to their child that Moses and his wife did not feel was biblically acceptable, and they asked her to stop. The parents viewed their request as rebellious and stated they would no longer help raise Joshua. They explained that as a couple they are on their own unless they submit to them. They went so far as to say they wouldn’t even help Joshua if he became sick.

This isn’t the first time there have been such problems with the parents and their traditionally held views. Marjorie and Joshua nearly died in childbirth. She had been in labour for over 24 hours and Moses wanted to take Marjorie to the hospital in Mpulungu, a two-hour boat ride away. The mother refused to allow this, citing her opinion that when people go to the hospital they die and don’t come back.

Holly Steward, a leader of OM Lake Tanganyika, and a few other staff members were present at the time Marjorie was in labour. They desperately wanted to take her to the hospital, explained Holly, but had to go back to Mpulungu without her, as the couple was not willing to disobey the orders of the mother.

One can see the kind of power parents and traditions have on young couples. Holly later stated she didn’t think she would see Marjorie again alive. Fortunately, after Marjorie had been in labour for more than 40 hours, the people in the villages desperately paddled in the middle of the night for two hours to get Marjory to another village. There they found a doctor to give her an injection, and she managed to finally give birth to Joshua.

On relating to the parents, Lewis offers the couple the following advice: “At some point you have to tell them that this is not right. And you cannot engage yourself into worldly things. You have to choose to be obedient to God and also help your relatives understand that you are a changed person.”

Moses prays for the salvation of his parents and states that according to the Bible he must remain vigilant. Despite the opposition from his family, many villagers have said they admire Moses for not beating up or insulting his wife. Moses testifies, “There are many people in this community that thank us for the example that we are setting.”

“All they see is [us] working together and loving each other,” he says.

Clearly, making “disciples of all nations” as Jesus commands in Matthew 28:19 isn’t as easy when it comes to Somalia. 

Fortunately, you don’t have to go to Somalia to reach Somalis. They might be in your own neighbourhood. In January 2012, the UN Refugee Agency reported that the number of Somalis fleeing to neighbouring countries surpassed the one million mark. 

Peter*, an OM Zambia worker, has recognised the opportunity he has to reach out with love to the Somalis living in Zambia. According to the city council where Peter lives, up to 500 Somali families occupy the area. Peter has partnered with several other like-minded Christians in his area who want to see people from Somalia glorify the Lord.

Peter has not found the work easy. Many of the Somalis living in Zambia are illegal immigrants. “Because of illegal immigration, they are always insecure when they see the locals around them,” Peter explains. “So they would make sure that they don’t talk to the locals. And also they’re afraid. They suspect locals to be spies from the immigration offices or from the Office of the President.

“And when we go where they are, they completely change their language. They would be speaking their Somali language, which you can’t [understand]. You can’t contribute. So that becomes very difficult to build friendships.”

Despite the difficulties Peter isn’t giving up. He declares, “God wants them to be saved. Jesus died for them just as he died for all of us. And that’s why we are trying to risk our peace, to risk our joy, to risk our security, to go in their territories.” 

He adds, “So basically we enjoy the ministry as a family, though it’s quite challenging. Slowly but surely the Lord is helping us. We are just praying to see that in future we would be able to see some Somalis coming to the Lord. That would give us courage and encouragement.”

Please pray for Peter and the other workers in OM that are working to reach the people of Somalia for Christ. 

*Name changed

Ever since she was a little girl, Nicola (Nicky) Tiltman had cherished a passion to become a missionary nurse. She had never even heard of Africa's Lake Tanganyika until the couple applied to OM and learned that a nurse and person with administrative skills were required in the lakeside town of Mpulungu. The job descriptions suited them both.

Chris and Nicky moved from England to Zambia in 2012 and by April they were settling into a vastly different lifestyle along the longest freshwater lake in the world. Their team had 40 missionaries, 33 of whom were Zambian.

"As a Good News II Medical Ministry Team, our first priority was to build a relationship with the local government clinic while making trips to the villages on the lake," relates Nicky. "Almost a million people live on the Zambian shoreline and OM has workers in five villages. Initially we are focusing on three villages. Two of them have no clinic and in the third we are working together with a local Christian community health worker.  The most prevalent conditions we find are severe malnutrition, malaria, skin conditions and opportunistic infections related to HIV and AIDS. Our response is at primary and preventative healthcare level including education about nutrition, hygiene and sanitation.

Nicky adds that the need in the villages is not just physical but spiritual. "There are churches in some villages, but most who attend them also have a heavy reliance on witch doctors. Men, women and children bear scars from small charms implanted under their skin. When we visit a village, our team encourages the local church, does ministry with the children and often shows the JESUS film."

HIV testing

Nicky says that serving in Lake Tanganyika has given her a heart both for Africa and for people living with HIV. "Mpulungu has a population of about 100,000 permanent residents, and an HIV rate of 15 per cent amongst those who are tested. When I arrived I had the opportunity to work within the HIV department of the local government clinic. This clinic does have a conventional machine for obtaining a CD4 cell count, the test needed before a person can commence antiretroviral therapy. One of the challenges, however, is the cost of transporting people to Mpulungu for testing and the fact that it takes two days to get test results. Another problem is that Voluntary Counselling and Testing is not routinely conducted along the lakeshore, so many people do not know their status. The local Ministry of Health is desperate for us to go and offer this service."

Now, thanks to funding supplied by OM UK through their "Just Christmas" appeal, the team has taken delivery of a UNAIDS-approved CD4 cell count testing machine. The machine is lightweight and portable and does not require a laboratory technician to operate it. Nicky and her husband attended and passed the manufacturer's training in Lusaka; now they plan to train a number of local workers. The main benefit of the machine is that it analyses a CD4 cell count in a sample of blood taken from a finger prick, giving a result in only 20 minutes. This means that a person who is HIV positive can get their CD4 cell count and start on treatment within 30 minutes.

"Please pray for a continuous supply of antiretroviral medication to the government clinic we are partnering with to offer HIV services," urges Nicky. "Also pray for a change of mindset in the villages, where people are living in bondage to fear. We are dealing with 12-year-old girls who are at risk of early marriage and trafficking; with women who have no right to say no to sex and with men who have multiple women at different fishing villages. Many of them still believe that having sex with a virgin will cure them of HIV."

"There's a huge job ahead," she admits. "Illiteracy is very high so I am making a pictorial teaching tool. It's a challenge not to feel that we are fighting a losing battle. But that's where faith comes in. God is able to do abundantly more than we can ask or think or even imagine!"

As the days pass during our brief moments on earth, many friendships come and go. We move to different parts of the country, or even different parts of the world. We change jobs and lose touch with co-workers that we once held dear. Old friendships slowly die and new friendships spring up. Life just happens.  

However, if we are lucky, we might just be blessed with one special person that we form a lifelong bond with that neither time, distance nor circumstance can shatter. Americans Brad Parks and Mark Anderson are two such friends. They have known each other since Mark was eight and Brad was six, and they remain close friends to this day. 

Two years ago the friends travelled to Mpulungu, Zambia, where they met members of the Mpulungu Disabled Association. When he was 19 years old, Brad lost the use of his legs in a tragic skiing accident, and he’s used a wheelchair ever since. After Brad told his story to the members of the association, one of the women present said she was confused. She explained that she didn’t understand why Mark remained Brad’s friend after he became disabled.

In Zambia disabled people are often looked down upon, and disabilities can ruin friendships and marriages. Mark and Brad were dumbfounded by her question. They couldn’t imagine letting a disability get in the way of their friendship. The two were touched by the plight of the disabled Zambians and decided to get involved in the work that OM is doing in Zambia.

In 2012 they invited two young paraplegic men from Kabwe, Bernard and Aaron, to the US to participate in a wheelchair camp. There the men were exposed to all kinds of activities they had never had the opportunity to take part in before, such as horseback riding and water skiing. 

This year Brad and Mark returned to Zambia, along with many of their friends, to put on the first-ever wheelchair camp at OM Zambia. Their friends from the Mpulungu Disabled Association made the 16-hour journey to attend the camp. Disabled persons from all across Kabwe and even the nearby city of Kapiri attended. Altogether approximately 75 disabled persons attended the one-day camp. 

Brad introduced the sport of wheelchair tennis (which he founded), and the attendees practiced hitting balls with racquets. There was also an obstacle course that participants thoroughly enjoyed racing through. In the afternoon everyone learnt how to make a wheelchair seat out of foam to avoid bedsores.  

Professional paraplegic athlete Craig Blanchette showed videos of his wheelchair races, weightlifting and skateboarding activities. Craig has won numerous medals including an Olympic silver. Craig showed the attendees the exciting life that a disabled person can live. He also shared the gospel and preached that everyone is created in the image of God. 

Brad and Mark connected with Aaron and Bernard from the 2012 wheelchair camp. For them, it was a warm reunion. Brad and Mark shared their story of lifelong friendship with the attendees, and it was clear that they have a deep bond.

Before the trip one of their main goals was for Zambians to see what a great friendship looks like between a disabled and able-bodied person, and communicate that it’s what’s on the inside that defines who you are, that friendships are important and that disabilities shouldn’t break people apart.