August 2006 newsletter
Friday, September 1st, 2006 by Dave MarttunenDear Praying Friends;
Your prayers fuel our work. As Donna and I returned from Africa in July; working in different places and doing different things with different people, our praise to the Lord overflowed. Time after time we commented to each other about how we knew others were praying for us. Without your prayer, interest and support our ministries could not have happened. Thank you for being part of our team.
There is so much to tell you that we have decided to post 3 new albums of our ministry in Zambia, South Africa and Kenya. Our computer woes have been solved and we are connected again to wide web world!
Great news! Credo Mangayi and his wife Esperance, who lead Deeds of Love Ministries (DOLM) our partnering agency in South Africa under the Baptist Union of South Africa (BUSA) will be our guests in Canada, November 2-23. They will be at our National Convention in Vancouver (Nov 6-9), available for ministry in BC Churches and participate in our FEBInternational youth mission’s focus called Fusion Nov 10-12 in Maple Ridge. We are introducing them to our contacts and Churches so that the opportunities for Canadians in Africa can be advanced and with the hopes that some will want to financially support these excellent national workers, through FEBInternational and BUSA.
Zambia.
Bruce Christensen, our BC Fellowship Regional Director, was my partner for this trip. It seemed like we had traveled together for years instead of weeks. One of FEBInternational’s goals is to increase involvement of our Fellowship Churches and people in South African ministries. Bruce and his wife April through their short-term ministry will be able to introduce pastors and others to the needs and opportunities.
Rural Zambia is crying out for assistance. Church ministry has been in place for over 100 years, yet in the district where we taught the book of Nehemiah there are only 6 pastors for 102 rural churches. Bruce and I taught 4-5 sessions each day in Katembula, the district center for these churches. Bruce creatively added some sessions for children which demonstrated to the adults how to use drama to teach Bible lessons. Participation, laughter and learning made his impromptu coaching memorable. The Zambian leader’s desperate need for training is echoed by the aching need of the people for teaching. As we taught and answered questions we heard again and again the thanks of the people for our efforts to come and teach. We worked into the night to pray and counsel the many who requested it. We praise God that one senior lady, whose husband had been a wizard, was delivered from demons and willingly destroyed everything connected to sorcery remaining in her hut. Since returning to Canada Rev. Puma, the District Superintendent of the Churches wrote me recently and said; “your leaving was like a funeral”, no one wanted to see us go. The Superintendent’s final appeal was for us to return and continue to help them with training. Rev. Puma and his family live in Katembula and travel among the Churches in the district.
There are volunteer leaders in nearly all of the Katembula district churches yet they have had little or no formal education. They are subsistence farmers. Seminar training has been in place for the last 2 years. Sleeping in the fields, learning in a grass enclosure has been challenging for the students especially in the rains. There are over 40 leaders currently taking the courses offered for 2-3 weeks 4 times a year. Superintendent Puma, has secured property near the Church in Katembula to build a training center. The land has been cleared so that a center can be built on the site. Bricks are being hand formed from termite mounds and then will be burned in a fire. This district composed of subsistence farmers need little more than mortar and roofing sheets to complete the project. The Northern Association of Baptists in Zambia which sponsors this district and four others like it, estimates that $5,000.00CAN will enable them to buy supplies to complete the center. Bruce and I are quietly appealing for funds to be forwarded through our BUSA partners who will be responsible for the accounting of the funds. This meets all the criteria for a short term project through FEBInternational. It is a small investment to bring life changing opportunities to this area.
There was so much adventure in this trip! We met with the High Commissioner from Zambia to have our Visas put into our passports hours after we arrived in South Africa, with an hour of sleep we were on the road with our team; 3 vehicles and 11 volunteers from Canada, US and South Africa, convoyed their way through South Africa and Botswana north to Endola Zambia. Arriving at Fiwale Hills after 3 days of steady driving on Saturday, we were in time to be assigned translators and be transported into the bush to preach that Sunday in remote churches. It was memorable and blessed by God as we crowded into mud and brick buildings to open God’s Word to hungry hearts.
Hours more on dusty roads passing mines and forestry plantations we arrived in Katembula. I was meeting friends made last year, who quickly took Bruce into their hearts. We walked through their village as they coached us to learn phrases in their language and gave us background into their lives and dreams. We separated as friends, urged to return.
Kenya
After a night in Johannesburg, Bruce and I flew on to Kenya to visit with our FEBInternational missionary couple; Janet and Andy Wildsmith at the Kijabi mission station. Kijabi is home to a variety of mission supported works; The Rift Valley Academy, the Moffat Bible College, and the Kijabi Children’s hospital to name a few. Dr. Andy is a lecturer and part-time admin person at Moffat. He is shaping African leaders for the present and future. Janet is working on a degree in support of HIV/Aids work in local Churches. We traveled with Janet to the Kibera slum in Nairobi to see first hand the work that is ongoing among the nearly 1,000,000 people who live there. It was an overwhelming experience as we tried to fathom the need, and the what assaulted our senses. While we expected to find despair we encountered an everyday kind of matter-of-factness as people sold fried potatoes and vegetables alongside little stands of merchandise. The pastor we visited told us stories of leading people to Christ, training leaders and burials in numbers that staggered our imaginations. We sat in one of Andy’s classes and another one to hear students preach and came away giving thanks to God for the work that Andy and Janet are doing in Kenya.
South Africa
Donna’s trip to South Africa with 6 other ladies from Canada was a great experience. It was good to see each of the ladies develop as the days progressed. We began our time there with orientation in Johannesburg which included a seminar called Choose Life. It is a seminar that Credo has used in a number of settings. Part of the seminar deals with how we approach life as we review our own journey. Included in the seminar was a chance to understand culture from other perspectives. There was also some education about the pandemic of HIV/Aids in Africa. As a whole, the seminar was a terrific introduction to what we were going to experience in the township.
When we arrived in Mabapone, we were overwhelmed with the sight of all the sorrow. Statistics now had expressions. Numbers now had faces. HIV/Aids was now looking back at us through the eyes of those we were meeting. In our overwhelmed state we all questioned whether we had missed the will of the Lord. Should we have sent the money it cost us to come and given these families a few more meals to eat? Should we have spent the money used to by gifts to buy medical supplies? We came thinking we had so much we could share with these people and left realizing that we were the ones who had received so much. As we shared verses with the women and children, we saw the power of God’s Word to sustain and encourage. There was simplicity of life and faith that was compelling. As we entered the lives of these people, we were amazed at the importance they placed on relationship. The things that impressed them about us was not that we paid a lot of money to get there or that we brought them some nice gifts. What they said over and over again was how much they appreciated us being there, in their homes, hugging them, sharing Scripture with them, praying with them. We felt that it was so little but they saw it as enormous.
We came away knowing that we made an impact in their lives but also came away impacted greatly by the time we spent in Mabapone, South Africa.
Prayer and Praise…
- For the seeds planted in South Africa, Zambia and Kenya, that God would water and give the increase! Join us in giving thanks to God for the joy of this ministry.
- For Credo and Esperance Mangayi as they prepare and travel to Canada in November. Ask the Lord to provide open doors for ministry.
- For our travel to Colombia and Venezuela in late September that we would be used by the Lord to encourage and enrich the lives of our missionaries and nationals.
- For Dave’s step-mom Frieda who has had seizures, was hospitalized (ICU) is going through further tests, and has continuing weakness; that the Lord would give strength and grace.
- For the privilege of working with FEBInternational and seeing God at work in the lives of His servants around the world. Give thanks for the team in our Guelph office.
What’s next in 2006 and 2007.
- September 25- October 6 South America: Medellin Colombia and Caracas Venezuela.
Our itinerary includes conference ministry, teaching national leaders, some seminars. - November 6-9 Fellowship National Convention in Vancouver.
- November 2-23 Credo and Esperance Mangayi in BC.
- March 2007 Japan and Pakistan Conference ministry.
