"This was the guilt of your sister Sodom; she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and the needy." Ezekiel 17:49

Orphan Feeding Program Delayed for Lack of Funds

Richard and his church are wanting to begin an orphan feeding program on Saturdays for the orphans in his vacinity. They were going to begin on July 31st, but had to delay that due to the lack of funds. His church is going to plan on supporting the program from their meger funds since they are poor and only about 50 people including children, but they are also hoping to find some other people who are interested in helping them financially to accomplish this feeding program for the orphans. They had hoped to begin the program with a special outreach that would include other people in the community too (such as local officials and the school master and teachers), so that the community could see that the church is committed to helping the orphans and show that they are Christians by their love for others. Richard had gotten together some of the youth of the church to create a choir to sing at the outreach too. They would like to feed about 250 people for the first outreach and also give pencils and school writing books (notepads)to the orphans at this special event. The funds needed for the outreach would be about $600.00 Is anyone interested in helping Richard and his church to reach out to the needy orphans there? Please see the righthand side of this blog for information on how to give. Thank you!

Praise God our Healer and Protector!

Praise God, Richard's mother and sister are better now. I'm so thankful for His watchful care over them. Thank you for your prayers.

Malaria Strikes

Please pray for these people whose lives have been affected by malaria. A couple of weeks ago, Richard's 7 year old nephew, named Sunday, fell ill to malaria. He lives about 30 minutes outside of Ndola in a farming village with Richard's mother and one of Richard's sisters. Richard received a phone call stating that Sunday had been ill with malaria for several days and was doing very poorly and they did not have any medicine for him. So Richard bought transporation to the village and picked up his nephew and mother and sister, and brought them in to Ndola to go to the hospital. Sunday was very sick and he spent 4 days in the hospital. Praise God he recovered after treatment and went home. But on the way home, Richard's mother began to feel ill also, and in the next few days fell ill with malaria also. She also became very ill before contacting Richard for help. They do not own a phone to call for help and had to borrow a neighbor's. They also do not own a bicycle to go to the local clinic for help, so Richard's sister had to borrow a neighbor's bike to take Richard's mother to the clinic. But when they got to the clinic (several hours away) it was closed for a holiday and they were unable to get any medicine for her. By the time Richard heard about her illness (last Friday), it had been several days already. It is important to catch malaria early and treat it or it is sometimes fatal within days. At this time, Richard had no money for transportation to go and buy malaria medicine for his mother, or the cost of the transportation to go and bring it to her, so he had to wait until a friend could take him 3 days later. At that time he was only able to bring her a type of medication that is insufficient for treating malaria if you have had it for a long time already. So we are praying that God is watching over his mother until he is able to bring her the correct kind of medication today. I pray that it has arrived in time! Also, his sister has a severe cough and her ears are so infected that she can hardly hear now, so he will bring her some medication for that. It is hard for us to imagine not having these simple medicines available in our cupboards when we need them, or just down the street at the nearby 24 hour drugstore. Even having the transportation to get to the drugstore is no problem, and the money to buy these medicines is usually something we don't think twice about having available. Also, 24 hour urgent care is so easy to access. In Zambia, it is a different story for most people, and malaria is such a severe issue of life and death. Please pray for Richard's mother and sister.

Another family which has been affected by malaria in the last two weeks is a family from Richard's small church. The church that he began just months ago has been growing, and one family that has been very active in the church held morning pray meetings at their house and some evening Bible Studies also. The man and his wife had several children, and the wife has been ill with many things over the last year. One thing that was affecting her was blindness, and I wrote about how she was healed of her eye problems a few months ago during a church service. But just a few weeks ago, the man contracted malaria and fell very ill. Richard took him to the hospital where he stayed for many days and then was released. But after a few days at home, he became ill again and died a few days later. It was devasting for this new little church, to have a very devout brother in the church die. They buried him on Sunday, and held their church service at the graveyard. Now the wife will have difficulty supporting all her children and also her two elderly parents without a husband, and with her other health issues. Please pray for the Lord to take care of this family.

The sewing machines have arrived!

Richard was able to pick up the 4 donated sewing machines and 1 knitting machine in Lusaka and bring them back to Ndola. Now he is viewing an instructional DVD to learn how to use the machines. He is excited that the machines are able to do alot of various tasks such as sewing button holes. Most machines available in Zambia just do simple basic stitches. But he has no building to use for teaching the people how to sew. He needs to find a location in the marketplace to rent, or he needs to finish his house and install electricity. Both options will require funding. There are many who are anxious to begin learning to sew so that they can support themselves. Please pray that God will supply the funds needed to get the ministry started.

Richard's church, Emmanuel Worship Center, is still growing and has moved from Gilbert's house to the local school. They rent the school for $22 a month. They are trying to build a good relationship with the school's headmaster and are offering help to 10 orphans who attend the school. They will enroll them in the feeding program that they are beginning in July. The church has decided that they will support the Saturday feeding program for orphans in the community. Pray for this young church body which is made up of very new believers who do not come from churched backgrounds. They have a heart to serve the poor even though they themselves also struggle with hardships. May the Lord reward them for their faithfulness and growing trust in His provision. I will be mailing some donated clothing and sewing supplies to them this month. If you would like to help with the shipping and customs costs, it would be much appreciated!! Thank you.

Training Widows in a Skill

Help women like Dora be able to leave the life of prostitution and be trained in a skill like sewing to support herself. Dora has led a long life of prostitution and is known in her village as the "mother of prostitutes". She has lost her front teeth to the violent situations she has been in. She recently gave her life to Christ and wants to leave her trade and help her "girls" to find a better way to support themselves. They need a skill like sewing to earn money. Richard is ready to train these women, but needs funding to buy supplies and more sewing machines for training.

Richard also has the opportunity to hire an elderly man to teach orphans how to make sound equipment like radios or amplifiers, or to make instruments like guitars so that they can earn funds to attend school. These things cost money, to buy fabric and thread, or the supplies for building sound equipment or instruments. Is anyone interested in supporting a widow or an orphan to help them better their future?

Richard needs funds to finish his ministry house

Richard went to Lusaka this weekend to pick up a donated sewing machine and knitting machine that he can use to train needy widows in a skill. His house still does not have a roof, so he won't be able to train them there. He is in need of funds to put a roof on his house so that he can open it up for ministry. If he can train widows and older orphans in a skill like sewing or knitting, then they will not have to turn to prostitution or stealing to eat. It will cost about $2000 to put a roof on his house, to buy the tin and supplies. Once he has a roof, he can install electricity in the house and also have the equipment be secured from theft.

"He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?", declares the Lord. Jeremiah 22:16

Richard Zwau has been ministering to orphans and widows in a compound in Ndola for several months now, and last month they began a church for those that they have led to Christ. The church has grown from 9 to 35 in the last month, and he speaks of the miracles that God has done in their midst--a woman with eye problems being able to see, and a man who was "mad" for the past 6 years being restored to sanity. He has also begun a ministry for the church members to contribute whatever they can to help the widows and orphans in their community, and he is happy to see that they are wanting to give. They have brought shoes and blankets to share with others in need. They have a heart to serve the Lord.

Mutwafwe African Ministry Account
(Mutwafwe means “Help Us” in Bemba)

I am beginning a support ministry for several of my African friends who serve the poor in the village communities of Zambia. The focus of these young pastors and their ministries is sharing the gospel in places of great spiritual darkness and severe physical need. They work with impoverished orphans, widows, and the elderly, and also with prisoners, the possessed, and the sick. Over the past 6 years that I have known them, I am constantly in awe of their dedication to the Lord and obedience to His Word, despite their own meager means of support. I wholeheartedly believe in supporting these ones who are daily laying their lives down for Christ and for those around them. I would like to share their lives and stories with you in the hope that you would also like to come along side them, to help support them in prayer and financial needs. It is difficult for them to work with people all the time who have so many severe needs while they have so little resources to help them. I’d like to be a spokesman for them so that together we can increase their ability to serve the poor and needy. When they visit the sick in the hospital, I’d like them to have the means to bring them a bar of soap along with the gospel. When they visit the street child who doesn’t have enough to eat, or take them in and care for them in their own home, I’d like to be able to help them to have enough food to share with them. When they share the gospel with widows who can’t send their children to school, I’d like them to have a fund to help send these children to school. When they lead the prisoners in jail to Christ, I’d like them to have Bibles to give out so that they might grow in their faith. Whatever the Lord wants to use them to do in their ministry, I’d like to stand with them in prayer and financial support. If you’d like to join with me, even if it’s a little amount each month, it would go a long way for the Name of Christ. I’m opening a ministry fund account at Calvary Chapel Eastside for your donations.