Northwestern Province, Zambia
We left as we had determined at 7 am for Mufumbwe. Today we drive to Mufumbwe and then back to the Matunda Lodge here in Solwezi. A long day.
There is noticeably less traffic on this
stretch. It’s about who and a half hours driving, but we pulled over in a clear
spot in the road for breakfast. The
Pringles always talk about nice places to stop along the road for breakfast. At
first, we thought they were talking about stopping a little quaint
restaurant. No. There are no such things…not even close. They talked about stopping in a clear spot
and having a tailgate meal from the back of their 4 x 4.
As usual, on the way are goats and kids running all over the
road. Big trucks won’t stop or
swerve. They’ll run over the goats.
Getting “used” to the big trucks, children on a main highway
and unpredictable road surfaces from excellent (not very much) to cheaply built
(as by the Chinese) to awful and completely unsafe…waiting for an
accident.
We rolled into Mufumbwe a little after 10 am. We picked up
Joseph Kapatula at his home at Chilemo Orphans Club. He greeting us and told us some bad news.
They have been doing a successful chicken raising operation for several years,
but just lost a who crop of chickens to disease, about 180 in all.
The church building is about a half mile way on the other
side of the main highway. Joseph was in
a suit, yet got on a bike and headed out ahead of us in vehicle we were
in. Derrick stopped by a widow’s home
where we dropped off some bread.
We came to the church property and saw the new building for
the first time. A very nice clean new hall with an apartment on the back side.
This will be for visitors coming to visit the church and be for now for Derrick
and Cherry Pringle.
We were met by deacon Christopher. And, met his wife Gertrude. And also Samuel
and Simeon. Samuel is a farmer and bikes
30 km to the church regularly.
We came onto the Church property, building and saw the
borehole that was financed by the Badaliy family in Portland, Oregon. They made an $8,000 contribution towards it,
the pump and concrete. I didn’t realize
it was very close to the church building.
We are so thankful for what everyone has done.
This is the fourth and final building dedication on this
trip. We had the service, I spoke a lot
about the work of the Church. I find that people, even though far away and of
another culture, really appreciate hearing about what we do at the home office.
We had a meal, lots of fellowshipping and another meeting.
Since Friday, there has been at least one speaking engagement. We’ve had eight
since last Friday, which was the Last Day of Unleavened Bread.
We had 83 in attendance.
Once again, lots of kids, but they are so sweet and like children
everywhere else in the world. Not a
worry bothers them.
It rained some while we were out here and the road became
muddier on the way out and we got stuck!
Arghh! But, we waited a bit and
about a dozen men ran over from the church property, probably a half mile away
now and helped push us out.
You have to
be very careful as one can easily destroy vehicles. We got out without any damage. The photos will tell more of the story.
I am going to include here what I wrote in our church’s
eNews a week ago that overlaps some of what I’ve already covered, but does
cover the Mufumbwe visit details.
Dated
April 12, 2018
Bev and I
are leaving Zambia today and heading for Cape Town, South Africa, where we will
stay with our elder, Vivien Botha, and his wife, Cathy. We will return to the
United States this coming Tuesday morning.
This past
week, we were in Lusaka, Zambia, for the Last Day of Unleavened Bread and the
weekly Sabbath. The Lusaka congregation met at our 12-acre property. Last
Thursday, we spent an entire day with pastor Major Nawa Talama and his wife,
Felicia, discussing the Zambian churches and coming to a better understanding
of the scope of his pastoral duties. Zambia is a vast country that needs
several overseers to serve the congregations. Pastor Talama oversees eight
churches and groups that include the interior Mumbwa region where we built
three church buildings more than ten years ago.
Elder
Alfred Siame oversees two congregations 600 miles to the northeast towards
Tanzania. Deacon Filius Jere oversees two congregations along with a few
smaller groups in the far eastern provinces on the border with Malawi.
Derrick
Pringle, with his wife Cherry, pastors four congregations in the Copperbelt
that straddle the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On Sunday morning, we flew up to Ndola in the Copperbelt and
dedicated the new Mufulira church building. Derrick Pringle is chiefly
responsible for driving this project for the past 11 years and his vision has
now become a reality. We were pleased to see the newly-constructed building
with its pleasant interior and comfortable seating. 99 people were in
attendance. Because our flight was two hours late to Ndola, the service ran
into the early evening. I spoke about the temple that Solomon built that was
also 11 years in the making. When Solomon dedicated the building in 1 Kings 8,
he first blessed the assembly of Israel, the living temple of God.
Then he
asked for God's presence to be in the building where He would hear the prayers
of His people. Then he prayed that foreigners would take note of the temple as
the place where God's commandments and statutes would be taught. Finally, the
building was dedicated to God.
At the
service, Sam Kasonga was present from the Congo. We were happy to hear that
French Africa senior pastor Tim Pebworth, along with pastor Moïse Mabout, will
be consolidating a few Sabbath-keeping groups along with the people that Sam
Kasonga cares for under French administration. There is currently a
congregation meeting in Lubumbashi, Congo's second largest city which is not
far from here, but a world away because of the politics and the French
language.
Then the
next day, Monday, we drove about four hours
northwest to Solwezi where we held services for 73 people in the building that
we dedicated about a year ago at this time of year. Through the afternoon we
counseled with many people. The road from Kitwe, where the Pringles live, to
Solwezi has been greatly improved and Derrick and Cherry try to visit here
every two months.
Before this, they could only manage three or four visits a
year.
We
dedicated the Solwezi building a year ago on our last visit there. Most of that
congregation came from another Sabbath-keeping church and came to an
understanding of the Holy Days. French-speaking deacon Chonga Chonga is one of
the principal leaders in that congregation.
Early Tuesday morning, we left Solwezi for Mufumbwe, about a
three-hour drive farther west.
Our
brethren in that area have an amazing story to tell which I wrote up and posted
at http://lifenets.org/mufumbwe/mufumbwestory.html
It is an
incredible story about the persistent faith of men who waited 25 years to be
baptized. I was honored to baptize some of these people in April 2011 in
Lusaka, Zambia.
The
Mufumbwe brethren now have a new church building. We had the fourth building
dedication of this journey held on Tuesday, April 10. 83 were present for the
occasion. We started the morning meeting with the dedication service and my
sermon.
Then a lunch with a Bible study following. Beautiful flowers graced the
church hall outside and inside.
Christopher
Ndungyuyonga, one of those baptized in 2011, is now a deacon and leader of the
Mufumbwe congregation.
Joseph
Kapatula, one of the congregational leaders, operates the Chilemo Orphans Club
that LifeNets supports with the help of LifeNets Australia. He is a man gifted
with compassion as well as resourceful solutions for orphans, widows and the
elderly. When we're with him we note his special, tender touch for the
vulnerable.
In spite
of their poverty, the people in the Mufumbwe area are recognized for their
kindness, compassion and generosity. They think differently and their nature is
different from most. This community built a congregation along with its
physical building. Many of the people in the Mufumbwe congregation are within
walking distance of the building. They worked hard and cooperatively on the
details for the construction of the building. For example, for the original
convert, Horasi, who goes back more than 30 years and who is now in a
wheelchair, they made a point of building a wheelchair ramp for him at the
entrance of the building.
If you read their story at the link given above you
will see that a solid foundation was laid by disciples Joseph, Horasi,
Christopher, Samuel and Simeon. From their example, an Antioch-like
congregation sprung up, as described in Acts 11. Their lives are an example of
a life of obedience to God and its positive effect on others.
I cannot
thank Derrick and Cherry Pringle enough for their dedicated and faithful work
in the Copperbelt area of Zambia. At their own expense they have cared for the
people, covered most travel expenses and heavily contributed personally to the
church properties and construction costs. Derrick's corporation, Active
Agencies, has done the major part of the construction work. Bev and I are
very moved by their generosity and sacrifice.
Working
in the Church here is not for the faint of heart. It is for those who are
passionate servants and who trust God as the Apostle Paul did through enduring
severe hardships in fulfilling a mission. Paul did so because he was driven by
God to humbly and lovingly serve people, sometimes difficult people, in various
venues throughout the Aegean.
gayle_hoefker
2018-04-23
Lovely photos of beautiful people.