Zambia up close

What you are reading are the regular updates I sent to my core team while in Zambia. These will give you a better feel for our day to day work there. If you want to receive regular updates about our work here in Chicago as well as our work overseas, let me know! I'll be glad to have you on board.

Dear Friends, 

You’ve all expressed an interest in praying for me OR you are someone I trust as a person of prayer. I take the commitment to pray seriously and I think you do too. While my financial support is crucial, I believe that prayer (not money) is the real oil that makes the wheels of this ministry turn. I believe we’re in a battle together and I need you to give me your time in prayer. 

So welcome to the team. My goal with this core group is not only to receive your prayer coverage for general things, but to excite your imagination with frequent and specific “prayer assignments”. This is the best way you can be involved in our ministry day-to-day.  

Ready for your first assignment? I get on a plane tomorrow morning for Zambia.

*I need you to spend the next two days praying for a heart-felt unity between me and my two teammates. I want our teaching to seamlessly flow and reflect a shared vision for discipleship.  

One of my teammates has sleep apnea. If we don’t have electricity at night, his sleeping device won’t work, making for miserable rest and potentially disastrous exhaustion.

*Pray that Jon would experience a healing from his apnea and would rest beautifully: electricity or not. Think God could do that? Me too.

For those who have been to Africa, you'll understand the unique demonic stronghold that exists in certain parts of that continent. You'll also know the subtle power of prayer and worship over that demonic influence.

*Pray against spiritual attack towards us and spiritual malaise within the students. Pray for open hearts and receptive minds.

Then there’s the general stuff:

*Health

*full funding for the trip ($3,000 per person)

*Sharp minds for preparing the lessons and discerning cultural issues which will impact the form of our lectures

That's enough for now! I'll try to keep you up to date on developments from Africa. Thanks for your prayers!

Okay folks, here's a quick one. After 34 HOURS of transit, our team of
3 has finally settled into our guest rooms in northern Zambia.
Connections were tight but smooth and in-country travel took 3 hours
longer than hoped (thanks in part to a snafoo at the police
barracade). It is dry, grassy and temperate here. Not much to see, but
great work ahead of us. Our hosts (an American and Zambian couple who
run a bible college) here in Kitwe are more than accomodating and have
made us feel right at home.
Tomorrow, (I mean... in 8 hours) we will be conducting 5 hours of
leadership training in a poor, low-education area of Kitwe. Pray that
we will know how to communicate succinctly, humbly, and poignantly (we
are working through a translator).
Our hosts have also asked Jon and I to share a testimony and a sermon
at a local church on Sunday. Yikes! Our schedules will be intense.
Keep praying.
Love you guys. Thanks for everything!

I'm sold. God is doing incredible work through young Zambians. I've met several young people who have come to bible college with a zeal for evangelism and left with a global passion for advancing the kingdom of God. This is a brand new movement of young Zambians entering the mission field in neighboring African countries. I'm convinced that the time of American missions is fading and these young African are already taking on the yoke of world evangelization. For this to fully happen, they NEED solid biblical discipleship and they need to learn to build disciples as they go.

So I'm convinced that God is doing truly amazing work in Africa through discipleship AND that I want nothing more than to throw my whole life's energy into this task. I hope you'll join me!

Thank you for praying. Things are going SO well. I'm sorry to say that Jon is not yet healed from sleep apnea, but God was gracious to bring the power back on last night just after we went to bed so his sleep machine could work. Our team is unified, healthy, and doing well. We are receiving surprisingly thoughtful responses from the students (over 60 today including a couple nuns!) who have crowded into the little tin-roofed church here in Kitwe. Our hosts continue to be gracious and an insightful resource. Our hours are completely packed with preaching, teaching, and meeting with people. I've hardly had time to bathe! I'm generally skeptical of "short-term" mission projects, but this one is so strategic and so fruitful that I'm seeing the advantages of being here for 2 weeks at a time.

Here's your next assignment. It's a big one: Pray that God would raise up pan-african missionaries from CCM Bible College in Kitwe. Our friends here are working hard to give the students a global vision and are sending teams to the Congo, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa, and Tanzania. My prayer is that they would receive that vision and begin taking the gospel to unreached parts of Africa. Also, pray for our little learning environment tomorrow at the church that it would be rich with personal application for the students and cultural insights for us to teach effectively. Pray that this little group would catch the fire for discipleship and begin to spread it through the community. Perhaps the best starting point is for people to start reading their bibles daily.

Thanks again for laboring with us in prayer. I can say with relative confidence that it is certainly working on our behalf!!

More to come.....

Nate Harkness

Today wasn't as bad as I feared. I shared a 10-minute testimony on teachability, then went to the seminar, but just Dave taught today. Tomorrow morning, I'll be opening with an hour on building mature leaders. I'll also be running the workshop for the needs growth assessment. Pray for me! This is a very crucial part of the seminar as it gives the students a chance to apply these principles in a practical way.

I've met so many people that have encouraged me:

*Bonnie is American, fiesty, conservative, passionate. She asks many good questions and has a way of drawing you into conversation. Every encounter seems like a disciple-making one. She started a bible college and primary school here. Soon she will plant Zambia's first evangelical seminary. She is an old-school student of missionary biographies and tries to teach everyone about the importance of world missions. A couple years ago, she married a student (Bennet).

*Ben is a quiet, laid-back african gentlemen. He is one of 11 kids, deeply beloved, and a great match for Bonnie. They are both in their late 40's and neither has ever been married.

*Matthews is a young man with a huge missionary heart. Serious, thoughtful, and passionate, he was a missionary in the congo. Now he is traveling to South Africa to plant a multi-ethnic church there. He absolutely gets the vision. I told him that the burden of world missions now rests on his shoulders and those of his generation of you African leaders. To which he gravely replied, "Yes, pray for us. It is a great responsibility."

*Nathan came to Bible College two years ago. He was so shy he didn't say a word in class for a full year. He reluctanty went on a missions trip to another part of Zambia and then to Malawi. God changed his life there. Still a bit quiet and stunningly genuine for an African, he is now a zealous evangelist. He wears funny outfits (like his "I'm bananas for Jesus shirt, or his prison jumper that says "Not Guilty" on the back) that strike up conversations about God. He brings a new person to church every week. Today, he wanted to find the market so he could try out his brand new megaphone! He is zealous, yet balanced. He sees the deceptions that Zambians are buying into and sees a great need for discipleship here.

*Harry just became a pastor. He says it is the most fulfilling thing he has ever done. He has three kids spanning from 19 years to 14 months. He speaks with great pride and fondness of his youngest daughter, Boopay. His whole family (kids too) spoke with that trade mark Zambian quiet conviction about life in a pastor's family and the great responsibility it is to develop a personal relationship with Jesus.

*Harry Jr. is the pastor's 19-year-old son. He is a very intuitive guitar player and a very serious eldest child type. Today he said to me, "I have a question that I want you to think about and you can tell me tomorrow: Why missions?"

Zambians, you can tell, are gentle, thoughtful, and reserved. When you ask a question, you will usually need to hold your breath for about 5 seconds. But the answer is usually worth the wait. I am consistently stunned at their self-awareness, their discernment, and their vision. Next year, they want to host the restorative team for some teaching about emotional healing. They see the deep pain of many Zambians and are greatly concerned about the needs (spiritual, emotional, physical) of the whole person. I told them what a good curriculum it was and they seemed very excited.

Tomorrow is our last day in Kitwe. I haven't had much (any?) down time and I have seen very little of the city. I don't mind one bit. I feel like I'm doing the work I came for and it is SO much cooler than Victoria falls, or the game park, or the town market. This is the real deal.

Nate

Friends,

We finished our teaching in Kitwe today. There was such a good response from the church here. There is a deeply felt need for discipleship in the wake of the great evangelistic crusades that frequently take place here. I have met many people and heard many stories to make me think we are on the right track in what we are doing here. The future of missions and indeed Christianity is in places like this. We are wise to invest our time and resources in giving them a good biblical foundation as they grow in prominence.

I had dinner tonight at a friend's house. And yes. I ate catterpillars. It was a warm time of fellowship as I shared my testimony, shared what I've seen God doing in Africa, and laughed about a woman from the "Lozee" tribe whom I thought was being called a "lousy" woman.

Tomorrow I'm going to Serenje where we will repeat the process. I need all the usual prayers. But I'm also asking for your prayers for my finances. I got word today that my support is at $400. That cut me down a notch. I believe God will provide but I'd appreciate if you could pray with me for the remaining $2,600 I need as well as the monthly support I will need to raise when I get home. Thanks for your prayers!

Nate

Serenje is a little more remote than Kitwe but I finally found an
internet cafe. We've been busy conducting a disciple-building
conference for pastors in this area. Amazingly, over 40 people showed
up representing 23 churches and 13 denominations! I'm stunned by their
humility and the apparent felt need for discipleship. They are sober
men of God who I believe will make a serious impact on their community
through disciple-building. They've started to recognize not only the
need to be biblically grounded, but also the need to be emotionally
whole and have integrity to their families. I saw a document today
that one pastor typed up for all the pastors to have and give to their
wives. It is a covenant to love and cherish their wives, caring for
all their physical and emotional needs. They want to begin by
discipling their families!
I'm so glad for your prayers. God is protecting us from outright
spiritual attack. Everywhere we look, we see fruit. We've been
provided for in food and lodging as well as health and high spirits.
Tomorrow we go to Lusaka. Pray for another round of fruitful teaching
at the seminary there. I'm exceptionally excited about this
particularly because it gives me the chance to impact young minds not
only for the cause of discipleship but also for its practical
outworking: world missions! Pray that God would begin tilling hearts.
Thanks again for making this possible. I'll reiterate that there's
nothing I would rather spend my time doing. This is best way I can use
my gifts and callings in the kingdom right now. And you are right
alongside me doing the work.
Nate

We're in Lusaka, the capital city! We're teaching for 5 days at the Baptist Seminary. I'm excited to pour into young lives, making an impact for (global) discipleship here. If I have one thing against the Zambian church, it is that they are so used to being in "receiving mode" from the west that they don't always take ownership for their own ministry. I want them to start supporting their own missions and local ministries. Teaching here at the seminary is a chance to impact the future church of Zambia. I've seen some encouraging signs already of Zambians thinking critically about their role in fulfilling the Great Commission.
It's cold here. I think I'm coming down with something. Probably diphtheria and small pox... or maybe just a cold. We teach all day every day WITHOUT a translator. We're filling up the schedule with modules we weren't able to teach elsewhere: inductive bible study methods, emotional healing, etc. Should be a good time of intense interaction with our 11 students.
Pray for health and high spirits. I miss my wife and daughter somethin' fierce. Two weeks is a lot longer than you think it is when you are constantly active and traveling. Keep praying for finances. I'm about halfway there now! Pray for whatever you can think of, but don't stop praying.
Nate
Actually.... if you have some time, pray over these folks:
Benson
Teshiba
Harry
Bonnie
Bennet
Chama
Matthews
Nathan
...All key leaders in this endeavor and prone to attack. Thanks all!

Well, the diptheria progressed into Parkinsons and the plague. I had to hand off some of the teaching load today, but I'm not too bad. Well enough to walk to the internet cafe! I've heard some feedback that y'all are praying and I greatly appreciate it. I'll be focusing the rest of my time here on personal relationships. Pray for good connections. I encouraged one prospective pastor today (pray for Brad) to support the work of local and global missions within his ministry. I'm hoping to have those kinds of connections throughout the week. I want the students to be able to apply this material, so pray that as we do small group exercises tomorrow, that they would start to formulate ideas about how they can disciple in their context. Thanks all. Love ya!
Nate          

Well, I've been healed!! We'll never know when God chooses to accelerate the natural process of healing in light of people's prayers. But I know I've gotten a lot of it over the last couple days and now I'm feeling almost 100%. So thanks! I even feel well enough to give my last lecture tomorrow on implementing discipleship through available structures.
I must admit that while I'm trying to finish well, my thoughts are back home. I'm ready to see my family, move into our new place and get going on some ideas for disciple-building in Chicago next year. Pray that I would have the focus to finish well and recognize divine appointments when they come!
Nate

Well friends, we finished strong with our lectures at the seminary. Now Jon and I are doing what all missionaries are sheepish about doing: sight-seeing. We decided on a whim to see Victoria Falls and take a small tour of the game park here. It's incredible. The falls are unbelievable, there are elephants and monkeys wandering around town, and everyone is trying to sell us the now-obsolete Zimbabwean trillion-dollar bills! I didn't come here for tourism, but this is a nice add-on to a grueling two weeks. Thanks for your prayers! I'll be back on Tuesday!
Nate