Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Solwezi

We arrived at Solwezi, an additional half hour closer to the base, and set up our tents for the third time. Like Lunsala this unit was a bit further from the villages and so though we arrived on Thursday afternoon we expected our largest crowd on Saturday. We slept peacefully that night and after a glorious sunrise the next morning we were ready to teach. The children slowly trickled in and by the time we had presented the Gospel and invited them to accept Christ as their Saviour there were about 65 in attendance. The afternoon crowd was even larger and we felt that we had accomplished a lot for just one day.

The Children

The children at Solwezi learned so fast that we taught them almost everything we knew on the very first day. That night we were brainstorming to come up with more we could teach them for the next three days.

The Children stretching during a drill session.

Singing during one of our presentations.

The Facilitators

During our group devotions in the evening it had been our custom to sing a few songs and then listen to one of the facilitators share their testimony and how they had come to be serving the Lord at that unit. On Friday night we enjoyed hearing Makuka share. She had come to serve the Lord in Solwezi after marrying her husband Richard in 2006; together they worked as the facilitators.

That night we went to bed as usual; two team members in each tent, and the leaders in their own tents. My tent mate and I were chatting as we prepared for bed, waiting for the "lights out" command at 9:30. At the time we did not know that the facilitators and the other national staff staying with them that night had been beaten and robbed. We heard the two thieves come out to our tents and demand money from our head leader. The Lord be praised, a miracle took place that night and the thieves got frightened and ran off. Within an hour we had dismantled our tents, packed all our personal and kitchen supplies, and were headed to the base in Ndola four hours away. Because of truck problems and the dark it took us over twice as long to reach the base, and when we got there we ate breakfast and went to rest in one of the Bible school dorm rooms.

Lessons Learned

Through what happened our team realized how wonderful is the gift of God's protection. Instead of being fearful we rejoiced in the testimony that the Lord was allowing us to take back home, a testimony of His faithfulness and His love for His children.

"Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart." -Psalm 119:111

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