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Saturday, July 26, 2008

Davis Zambia News: July 2008

Hi there,

Here we are on the other side of our campaigns and now I’ve got time to write another newsletter. I did mention back in May that you may not hear from us until July. Remember? As usual we had a very busy, but productive three months. There were four medical clinics held, which saw many people. But the best part is we have a new preaching point because of the work. In the village of Kyangozhi there were a few baptisms so they are now beginning to meet together on Sundays and also have a weekly Bible study with Brian on Wednesdays. At present, there are about 10 people who attend but we hope to see that number increase as time goes by. Please keep them in your prayers.

Another big prayer request is for the Musole family, who are members of the Kananga congregation. This is a very new church plant and most there are very new Christians. The Musoles came from another congregation far away because of a job opportunity in the copper mine. About three weeks ago their 13 year old daughter went to buy tomatoes in the market and she never returned. The family is obviously suffering greatly from her absence. The police won’t help search for her and their family and neighbors are pressuring them to seek answers from the local diviner. Thus far we believe they have resisted. Even though Americans can’t fully understand it, the temptation is great for them to resort to such satanic devices because their culture is so blinded by his sneaky ways. Since this congregation is so young, falling to this temptation could destroy this new church plant. Please join us in earnest prayer for the Musole family and the Kananga congregation. Pray the child will be safely returned and pray for the spiritual strength of the family and congregation. They need to rely on Jesus as their strength, protector, and provider.

The biggest push forward from our recent development volunteers was in agriculture. Cleddy Varner spent about 9 weeks here developing a plan to teach the Kaonde better farming techniques year round all the while keeping it something that the Kaonde people can reproduce and continue long after the missionaries are gone. The program has just begun and there is a lot of upfront work to be done but the ideas have real promise.

Our four female interns were a joy to have around this year. They were good about going out on their own to visit with people and learn the Kaonde language and culture. They had missions and theology classes with Brian a couple mornings a week and then they were out in the afternoons. One week, after discovering that our boys had never been to VBS, they taught our boys Bible lessons and had crafts and games for them. It was fun to look out on the back porch and watch the interaction. After two months of so much time spent together talking, playing, reading, etc. the boys really hated to see the girls leave. These times with Americans are good for our boys to learn and identify with a culture that is supposed to their theirs and yet one they have never lived in.

Noah, Bryson, and I started school two weeks ago. It’s been an adjustment for all of us to have two grades going on simultaneously but I think we’re doing pretty well. Bryson is in kindergarten and has school with us for about 2½ hrs where he and Noah study Bible and history together, as well as share story time, music appreciation, and critical thinking skills. Bryson also is learning to read and has math activities during that time. After Bryson has finished for the morning, Noah, who is in third grade, takes a small break and then returns for science, spelling, language arts, math, reading, and handwriting. They’ve both worked hard the past two weeks and it looks like it will be a good year for all of us.

One last thing before I go. We want to send out a big thank you to everyone who came over during May, June, and July. We appreciate all the hard work you put in to help the church planting efforts among the Kaonde people. We saw some good things happen while you were here and now we will continue on.

That’s all for this month. Until next time….

Blessings,

Brian, Sondra, Noah, & Bryson

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