Kimani on Christmas Day)
December 30, 2006
Greetings!
From Kamau...
We hope that you, your families and friends had a delightful Christmas Holiday as we remembered the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, Him who left the splendor and glory in Heaven and came to this sin stained world knowing His destiny was to be the lonely hill of Golgotha.
Our holiday here in Zambia was rather quiet and low key. We took the time to rest and recharge and then for me, it was back to work the following day on Tuesday. We are very encouraged as we reflect on the last three months since we arrived in Zambia, how that in spite of many challenges and bumps along the road here and there, the Lord our God has been very gracious and right there with us in every situation.
I think of our wonderful church family in Delaware and our many other friends who prevailed with us in much prayer and intercession as we prepared to embark on the journey which we felt the Lord was leading us.
Looking around us now, there is sense of awe and deep gratitude to God as we see the wonderful things He has done in the three months that we have been here, challenges notwithstanding . Please take a brief picture tour of some of the things which are now in place, none of which were there when we arrived in first week of October.
The foundations on all of the first cottages have
Kimani and Malaika at the farm in the Village. This is
Cottage number one is ready for the roof to be installed
From Kimberly...
Our Christmas was warm and sunny, quiet and restful. We celebrated the birthday of our nine year old houseguest as well with the day culminating in presenting a cake and singing “Happy Birthday.” On Tuesday the day after Christmas, Kamau was approached by one of the Conservation Farming students and told him that she wanted Jesus to come into her heart because she had been doing bad things. She shared that she had recently been involved in a verbal altercation with another girl who had made her angry. Her mother witnessed her behaving this way and this caused her a great deal of guilt and shame. She also said that she had been drinking at times and she was tired of being this way and wanted to change. Kamau spoke with her briefly about what salvation is all about and told her that he would bring his wife to talk about it with her in more depth.
Later that afternoon we went to the farm where the students were finishing up for the day. Kamau introduced me to the student, Ireen, and we found a quiet place so that God's Word could be shared with her. It was absolutely delightful to be able to speak one on one with Ireen and explain to her how she could come out of the kingdom of darkness into God's kingdom of light through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. She was eager to receive God's Word into her heart and she prayed for forgiveness and received Christ. After counseling with her, I invited her to attend church with us on Sunday. She was concerned that her father may not let her attend because the family is Jehovah's Witness, so we prayed and and asked God to intervene. I encouraged her to obey her father and trust that the Lord, her Heavenly Father, would work on her behalf. How very exciting to receive a text from Ireen which said, “Hello Auntie, how are you, what time will we be leaving for church this Sunday.?” It was an awesome display of God's grace!
The next few days were spent preparing for another houseguest whom we picked up from the bus station in Lusaka. Her name is Betsy and she has been volunteering at the Children of Zion children's home in Namibia. She will be taking a couple of weeks to rest and fellowship with us. Betsy is a young woman in her twenties from Maryland and will be returning to the US soon to prepare to return as a long term missionary. She is seeking the Lord's direction on whether to serve at the Villages of Hope here is Zambia, return to Children of Zion in Namibia or another country in Sub-saharan Africa.
Yesterday, Kamau came to the house to ask for first aid supplies. One of the Conservation students had injured his hand and knee and needed care. Later on, I asked Kamau how the student had been hurt and Kamau shared with me that the young man, Peter, had actually been running for his life. As Kamau was telling me this I was thinking, “Oh, someone must have been trying to fight with him or something”, I certainly was not prepared to hear what the true threat was. Peter said that he had been walking towards our farm to begin his day at school, and he heard movement and looked around but saw nothing. He heard it again and this time when he turned, he saw a hooded cobra standing (yes, standing!) almost as tall as he, prepared to strike. Peter began to run and then fell, which was how he received his injuries. The cobra had disappeared into the grass as Peter began to run.
I was speechless as thoughts which tried to take root as fears tried to crowd my mind as I considered what Kamau had just told me. I remembered that just two weeks ago, we had seen a baby snake near one of the cottages where we will soon be living, and the obvious question which was left lingering in our minds was, “Where were the parents and siblings?!!”
I could hear the “what ifs” in my head begin. But then the Spirit of the Lord brought to my mind some verses from Psalm 91:
“You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.”
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
It was very comforting to mediate on these verses and the “what ifs” began to be pushed away. This morning when Marika was having her quiet time, she came excitedly to Kamau and I and said that the Lord had just impressed upon to share these verses in Psalm 91 to us. We had not told Marika about what had happened with the cobra and Peter, the day before! It was a wonderful confirmation to my spirit that the Lord had truly been speaking to my heart and once again addressing my fears and encouraging me to trust Him fully with all things. I could do nothing but praise God from my heart.
Marika, typing letters to loved ones back home.
January 1, 2007
Celebrating the New Year in Zambia
Our our new church home is in a rural village and has mud walls, a grass thatched roof and dirt floor without electricity. To bring in the New Year, an all night prayer vigil was held that began at 7:30pm and ended at 6:00am on New Year's Day. We joined them at 11:00pm and were very excited to participate in the celebration. As we approached the church it was very dark except for the glow of candlelight coming from the windows of the church. We could hear the voices of believers praying and pouring out their hearts to the Lord. When we entered the building, we saw men, women and children gathered together. Some people were standing, some sitting, others were kneeling as they prayed.
As 2007 approached, the prayer intensified to welcome the New Year by imploring God to accomplish His purposes in our lives, our church, our communities and in our nations. There was a sense of a refusal to let the enemy of God continue to wreak havoc through division among churches and believers and through deceiving the lost into believing that seeking the things of this world is what life is about. When midnight came, there was singing of praises to God and greeting and hugging one another.
Throughout the evening there was a joyous spirit of worship through prayer, personal testimonies of God's faithfulness in the past year, exhortations, singing and dancing. Pastor Nzulu encouraged us from John 16:33 that though we may have trouble and tribulations in the world, we are to be of good cheer because Christ has overcome the world. We were reminded that these are the last days and perilous times will come, yet in all this we can take comfort in the knowledge that God will never leave us, nor forsake us. We can therefore, have hope and confidence as we enter the New Year with all of its unknowns. As we were returning home we drove past a tavern not far from our church. The people there were dancing and ushering in the New Year also. We could not help but notice the stark contrast of those who choose to worship the Lord and acknowledge Him in all things and those who seek only after the pleasures of this world.
Our prayer for you is that you all would experience the best that the Lord has for you this year, and that the character of Christ would be formed in you in increasing measure until He is all that can be seen.
With much love and gratitude,
The Kamaus
Psalm 73:28
“But as for me, it is good to be near to God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds
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