October has arrived in full force with days that are between 37-39°C. Personally I prefer hot weather over cold weather, so I am not complaining (not too much at least). The heat has some glorious benefits. Mongu is a tapestry of colour with it's has beautiful flowering trees, namely white and coral coloured frangipanis (it makes mongu feel very tropical), purple jacarandas (that remind me of my South African home) and vibrant red flamboyant trees (pictured above). Almost every yard has at least one of these trees and my heart smiles as I move around Mongu. We are also enjoying summer fruits (which are sun-ripened and sold in the local market - much tastier than supermarket fruits) such as watermelons, granadillas, pineapples and a fruit known as monkey fruit. Soon we will also have an endless supply of mangoes which we will freeze and use in smoothies during the rain season and the next hot season (I am very excited!).
Let's talk a bit more about monkey fruit. I encountered this yellow coloured fruit in Mongu for the the first time. It has a thick, wood-like shell which you open by throwing it on the ground. When the shell is cracked you get a ball of seeds covered in a brown-juicy flesh. You eat it by sucking the flesh off the seed. Some people eat the seed but I am not at that professional level yet. Someone described the taste as sour apples. Its the closest description I can come up with.
Champions Club Update
We have officially launched the first champions club in Zambia. The founder of Champions Club, Craig Johnson from Lakewood Church, Texas, came to join us. What a blessing!! We had 80 families represented as well as leaders from Hope Church and the unit for disabled people from social welfare. It was a great day celebrating the God who cares for each individual.
We are currently working through the story of Noah in Champions Club. Our memory verse is Psalm 147:20 "God protects everyone who loves Him." We are memorising this verse using Makaton symbols and signs (a type of sign language). In this unit we are learning that we show God we love Him by being obedient. We don't need to be afraid of anything when we love God.
The timing of this unit is great. We are enjoying a lot of water play - perfect for October weather!
Lets get moving!
We had the absolute privilege of giving Njumba his fist wheelchair. Watch him practicing to get his drivers license!
Leseli is also on the go! She is busy getting strong enough to, God-willing, walk on her own.
Visitors!
My sending church, Connexions church in Benoni, came to visit me! It was a joy to get to know Nadia, Zach and Hayden better. I loved showing them everything happening here. God has blessed me with a wonderful sending church!
I also had the privilege of spending time with Elin, a physiotherapist with a missionary heart, from Norway. She helped us a lot with wheelchair seating and was just an overall encouragement and support. The picture shows us with Grace. We issued her with a wheelchair and now she is able to come to church with her sister.
Maintenance Team - Better Together
The maintenance team is often overlooked, but they are essentially the lubricant that keeps everything running smoothly around here. They have recently been going through the “Why Jesus” Silozi booklets and learning how to share the gospel Once they finish these booklets, they shared it with a friend or family-member that they want to reach out to with the gospel. We are passionate about seeing our whole team work towards our vision of bringing the gospel to Western Zambia. Every person’s part is important and plays a role in this vision!
Eco-Building - Hope Church Community Care
Hope Church Mongu, runs many community care projects for people in Mongu. One of these projects is building homes for the elderly. Our incredible team realized the eco-buidling is a great way to clean up the town AND build these houses! They use plastic bottles and filled with plastic waste to build up the walls. It helps to reinforce the structure and provide a bit more insulation for these mud houses. They have been a massive success and we are so proud of our team for thinking of this!
Until next time! :)
I am busy working through a wonderful podcast, "Ideas have Consequences." It's about how what we think (our worldview) has an effect on how we live. In saying that, it's not enough to simply introduce people to God through Jesus, we also need to disciple people to so they adopt HIS way of thinking (His truth) and thereby HIS way of living (His goodness) in order to bring glory to HIM (his beauty). In doing so we disciple the nations that we live in to reflect the truth goodness and beauty of God. I have become aware of, and with the Holy Spirit's help, I am busy changing, many mistaken ways of thinking that I have been harbouring. We have been intentional in our devotions in Champions Club to discuss passages that reveal God's truth. The ultimate disciple-maker, the Holy Spirit, has been so good in revealing mistaken worldviews (such as that we need to provide for ourselves, or women are inferior to men) an allowing us to discuss Godly worldviews. We always pray together and many people have prayed aloud for the first time in our devotions. Please pray that God, who started the work in each person's heart will bring it to completion.
I will be travelling to South Africa next month. I am looking forward to catching up with friends and family. God-willing I might see you soon!
With much love and joy 🌻 ,
Tanya
