Mumena Mission Part 1: Chief Mumena's Desire for His People to Know God

When Jonathan was offered the position to become Chief Mumena, he saw this as an opportunity to bring the message of God to his people. As a businessman living in the wealthier part of Zambia, he knew that moving to Mumena would be a a difficult change for his family. However, he knew that God could use him to bless the people of Mumena land, so he accepted the role as Chief.

Years later, Jonathan saw an opportunity to make a bigger difference among his people. He had been talking with Lenard Mujala about teaching God's word in Mumena land. There existed a large section of land which had belonged to an NGO (Non-governmental aid organization). The NGO had disappeared and left the people of Mumena worse than when they had come. They had promised to train the people through various developmental programs, but none of the programs had worked. Now the land was mostly unused and the buildings were falling apart.

Clearly, an NGO can not bring hope to a people. What the people of Mumena really need is to have God in their hearts. Then, they will have hope and will see that God can improve their lives in many ways.

Eventually, word had spread about Chief Mumena's desire to have someone come and teach his people about Christ. When Hillcrest church of Christ in Abilene heard this news, they saw this as a wonderful opportunity. Their missionary Brian Davis and his family was planning on finishing up the work in Cape Town, South Africa and needed a new place to go.

The Davises had always shown a desire to move to the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) which is directly north of Zambia. Brian and Sondra had worked with Congolese refugees in South Africa for many years and were looking for any opportunity to move there. However, the DRC was not yet safe for a missionary family. Perhaps God had a better plan. Although, Mumena is not in the DRC, it is only 60 minutes from the DRC border and many Congolese refugees live near Mumena. This would be a great opportunity for the Davises. They could continue their work with the Congolese in addition to starting a work among the Mumena people whom seemed eager to hear God's message.

Hillcrest began communication with Chief Mumena. The Chief offered to let the church use the land for whatever purpose. However, he did not want to see more failed development programs. He believed strongly that his people would not change until they had God in their hearts. Therefore everyone was in agreement that the primary goal was to bring God's word to Mumena land.