Kathryn and I arrived in Zambia this week. This is the seventh year we have come to this country to teach at a Bible college in the town of Chongwe, which is about an hour and a half from the capital, Lusaka. The worst part of coming here is the hours we spend on airplanes to get here.
The best part about coming here is the students. Today was the first day of class. Kathryn is teaching a class on salvation, and I am teaching a class on Romans. We will be here, Lord willing, for ten more days. My class had Kathryn’s class two years ago. It was exciting to see that they understood that eternal life is given by faith alone and cannot be lost. What I did on this first day of class was review such wonderful truths. Kathryn has a whole new group of freshmen to teach.
It is exciting to see our old students. We hear many stories about how the message of grace has changed how they do ministry and see the Bible. We always bring literature, and many of them ask for specific books they have seen on the GES website. Through donors, we bring these books to them if they ask us before we come and know they want them. Other times, they ask for books we have brought and can give them to them. We also donate books to the library they have here. Plus, they are following GES online.
A group of students always ask us if we can have a question-and-answer period in the evenings. That happened again today. After dinner tonight, we will have our first such session. What is exciting about this is that it is voluntary and something they want to do. One of the things about the students here in Zambia is that they are very eager to ask questions. Students ask lots of questions during class. But some of them even want to continue with the discussions at night.
We are scheduled to speak at a local church this Sunday, pastored by the father of a former student of ours who has graduated. This will involve a Sunday school class and the regular sermon. This ex-student is solidly free grace and is currently in medical school in Zambia. His father’s name is Agrippa. It is an unfortunate name, biblically speaking, but we sure appreciate him. Last year I spoke at the church about Jesus’ offer of eternal life as found in John’s Gospel. This year, he asked if we could come and speak on rewards. He has read a number of free grace books by GES and wants us to share this teaching with the members of the congregation. Through some generous donations, we have brought some books he saw on the GES website that he requested. We also have enough books to share with the deacons in the church.
Coming to Zambia has always been a busy but productive time. We are praying this trip will be the same. We will give a report on how it goes in an upcoming edition of Focus on Grace. We sure appreciate all your prayers and support.
