On Mission to the BaTonga People of Zambia

September 2008

"He opened the rock, and water gushed out; like a river it flowed in the desert." Psalms 105:42

October, known as "Suicide month" because of the high temperatures, truly lived up to its name. We are looking forward to cooler temperatures when the rains come, which seem to be just around the corner. We are praying for a good rainy season this year, not too little, not too much, as last year the floods destroyed most of the crops in the southern province of Zambia. We are already seeing signs of hunger.

During the month of October we traveled back and forth to our newest ministry area, Sinazongwe, where we are using Bible storying to teach the new believers and to continue to evangelize in three places. We see God's activity in each of these places, but it is yet unclear whether churches will develop from these Bible studies. We are just watching and waiting.

In addition to the above ministry, both Wes and I are busy on Tuesdays with men's and women's Bible studies. In the afternoon I am teaching the women of the Gwembe Baptist Church and as soon as I get home, Wes is off to teach a group of men who are new believers.

November will be a very full month. We will continue the above ministries for the first few weeks, and then Wes will be off to Zimbabwe to help with a hunger relief ministry to the BaTonga on the other side of the river. He will work together with missionaries from Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Immediately following his return, a volunteer team from Clanton, Alabama, will help us in outreach to a new area. Namwala Baptist Church, which was planted by First Baptist Church of Clanton several years ago, is now starting another church in a rural area outside of Namwala. They have asked FBC to join them in evangelistic outreach to this new area.

We won't have time to take a breath, for as soon as we finish ministering with the team, our mission will hold its' annual prayer retreat. This will be a special time of gathering together with our mission family to pray together, encourage one another, and give the Lord thanks for a good year. Our theme this year is, "A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving."

As you can see, we will need lots of prayer this month. Below are seven key requests for this month. Thank you for praying!

New Blog: For those of you that want to find out more about our daily lives in Zambia, we have developed a blog. You can find us at: www.africanadventureswiththewilcoxes.blogspot.com.

Prayer Requests

Day 1: Wes will be leaving for Zimbabwe on November 15 to help in a large feeding program among the Tonga People on the other side of the river. As many of you know, Zimbabwe is a very unsettled country these days and the people are literally starving. Missionaries from three countries: Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana will distribute food in Binga, Zimbabwe from November 17 to 19. Please pray for safety for the team as they travel to Binga. Pray that they will not have trouble getting through customs and police stops. Pray for their safety on the roads.
If you would like to pray for the team individually, those involved in this project are:

• Zambia: Wes Wilcox and Jim and Matthew Smith
• Botswana: Daren and Micah Davis, Andy Dennis, Josiah and Caleb Janz, Jeff Powers, Brian Beadle, John Putman and Paul Weiblen
• Zimbabwe: Duncan and Tatjana Pitts

Day 2: Feeding programs are never easy; hungry people can be desperate people. Please pray that the food distribution for the above project will go smoothly. Pray that the people will be calm as they come to receive food. Pray for great wisdom for the team in dealing with each and every situation they encounter along the way.

Day 3: Because of the nature of the relief ministry, the team will not be doing any large group evangelism at the time they are passing out food. They will give out tracts and will be open to share when God opens the door, but they do not want people to follow Jesus for the wrong reason. The missionaries from this area will follow up with evangelism outreach a few weeks after the feeding program. Please pray that the people receiving food will recognize that this gift is given because of the love of Christ. Pray for the team to have wisdom to know when and how to share during the feeding program. Pray that hearts would be open to receive the gospel message. Pray for the missionaries in Zimbabwe to know how to when and how to follow up.

Day 4: At the end of September, we baptized seven new believers in a place called Sinezeze. A new group of believers was meeting on Sundays and Thursdays for Bible study, and it looked like a new church would be planted. When we traveled to Sinazeze last week for Bible study, we were informed that only five people were continuing to meet. False rumors are being spread that we are satanists. We've heard this so many times that we are not surprised. Pray that the people of Sinazeze will come to know and believe the truth. Pray that the ones spreading the rumors will be silenced. Pray that God will have the victory and that the new believers will not be discouraged.

Day 5: We are enjoying Bible storying in the village of Sinzala. The people of this area are opening up to us, and each time we come, a good number of people are coming out to hear the stories from God's Word. In our last Bible study, a man asked the question, "How can you know which of us are truly committed to following Jesus? We pray to the ancestors here in Sinzala, and some people don't want to quit." We were excited about this question. Why, because most Zambians try to hide their involvement with ancestral worship when the missionary is around. This opened the door for a very good discussion. One man said, "I've been going to many churches, but you are the first ones to really use the Bible." God is at work in Sinzala. Pray for us to have wisdom as we continue to use Bible storying in the village of Sinzala. Pray that many people will come to know and believe the truth. Pray that lives will be radically changed, and that new believers will take a stand against ancestral worship.

Day 6: The third Bible study in this new area is at a school named Mwezya. We started going here at the request of a former Gwembe Baptist Church member. Each week we have different people attending, and we have had no response. We asked the Lord to show us if we should continue going to Mwezya, and the next time we went, over thirty people attended; we had our answer. Please pray for wisdom as we continue to share the good news of Jesus at Mwezya. Pray that people will respond to the good news of Jesus. Pray that we will be patient as we share.

Day 7: Yesterday we found out that one of our leaders passed away very unexpectedly. John was the leader of the church in Kabulamwaanda. He had been having trouble with his legs, and the doctors could not figure out the problem. This morning we traveled to see the family to give our condolences. The funeral was being held in his father's village, and many people were gathered there to mourn. We were in the house with the widow and a few family members, when one man came and said all the people would like to hear. Wes gave a gospel presentation, with an emphasis on the hope we have of seeing John again. Three of John's extended family accepted Christ. Please pray for the family during this time of great loss. Pray for John's widow, Joyce, and the children that he left behind. Pray that God will give them great comfort and strength in the days ahead. Pray that God will give us wisdom to know how to help Joyce through these difficult days. Pray for the Kabulamwaanda Church. At this time, there is no one else in the church that is capable of leading.

Again, we thank you for your partnership with us through prayer.
In His Love,
Wes and Laurie Wilcox