Dear Praying Friends and Supporters,
Our furlough back in the United States and Canada has been busy. We have been able to visit many of our supporting churches and some new ones as well, and it has been a real blessing. We will be slowing down over the next month, so that we can be ready and home for the baby that is to be born in December. We thank you for the prayers for this pregnancy as everything seems to be going well, and there are no complications.
We are planning on returning to Zambia the middle of February, to be able to have just enough time to get the passport processed before we go back. We were able to get the family work permit all renewed and ready, so we only will have to add the baby which should be fairly simple.
The church in Makeni is continuing to grow and stay strong in our absence. Justin Sauder has been very busy with keeping things running, but we are excited to see the people that God has brought along to the church. We have had a few new people join the church membership over the past week, and we will be having another baptism at the church here in a couple weeks. We are missing the church and the people there, and eager to get back and help with the next steps of the ministry. Please pray as we reach out into the community, that we can be the testimony that we need to be and that we can see people saved and the church grow.
The church building has been almost finished, and we have been able to have the past several church services on the property which is so exciting. Almost a year’s worth of labor that now has come to fruition, but we are excited about the property that God has given us and what we can use it for. We have some other small projects that we are finishing on the property, to make the property as nice and useful as possible. We are hoping to get some of these done before the major onset of rains which is coming at any time.
In our previous prayer letters, we have talked about the drought in Zambia and the severity of it, and we are thankful to say that God has started to send rain. Please continue to pray for a good solid and consistent rainy season. It will take a good rainy season to even slightly restore the damage from the drought. As of the beginning of November, there is still only five hours of power a day in Lusaka, so that makes it difficult for businesses and the country as a whole. Many of our church members have had this affect them and their businesses directly. Please be in prayer for the church and for everyone in the church in this time, as financially it is a difficult time, but we know God is the great provider. We have seen an increase in crime all over Lusaka due to these challenges, so we ask for you to pray for God’s protection for the church and those in the church.
I am looking forward to getting back to some of our various ministries, and while stateside I have been trying to make plans and arrangements for some other pastor trainings and evangelism outreach programs to better reach Zambia. We ask that you would pray for those opportunities, that God would give wisdom and direction. Please also be in prayer for the delivery of the baby to go well, and that God will give a swift recovery to Abby and the baby.
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