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LION of Zambia Ministry Update
August 27, 2009


Dear Friends and Brethren,

                Thank you very much for seeking the Lord on our behalf during the recent trip to Zambia.  Megan and I were there with a couple from out church, Wil and Terry Hardy.  Wil is a dear brother and one of our deacons, who was helping to work out the logistical and financial aspects of our upcoming move.  Our main objective was to introduce Megan to the people and situation there and try to better prepare ourselves for the move to the capital, Lusaka, this coming January.  We also wanted to check on the three main ministries that are supported through our churches.  It was a great blessing, as usual, to be among our very friendly Zambian brethren, who are always welcoming and encouraging in their fellowship.  The trip was a success in relation to our main purposes, and we arrived safely home to a happy reunion with our children.  Detailed updates, including new pictures and video, are available on the website: www.lionofzambia.org .  But, below is a brief summary of the ministries, followed by prayer requests…

HOPE FOR THE AFFLICTED ORPHAN MINISTRY

Our support for the orphan ministry is presently providing for the schooling and other necessities of 28 children, five of which have gone on to high school.  In addition, a weekly Sunday school program has seen between 100-120 children coming on a weekly basis, including small children, which has posed a challenge for the two teachers who lead the school weekly.  The potential to sponsor many more children is limited mainly by the funds required, so pray that we will be able to expand this ministry in due season.  In addition, pray for the teachers not to grow weary in well doing, with so many kids and so much heartbreaking need before their eyes week by week.

COPPERBELT MINISTERIAL COLLEGE

 It’s hard to believe the College has begun its third year of classes, and it was good to hear from the men in charge that the students are growing and learning, and that they have profited from all of the lecturers sent thus far.  May the Lord continue to give good success to this work, as we look to see some of these men graduate in the next year or so!

CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH PLANT

Two years ago, Central Baptist Church had dwindled down to about a dozen or less people in regular attendance, due to the lack of a pastor there for some time, as well as job loss in the area, etc.  Through the support of churches here, however, Mondesters Hakanyanga was sent to take up the work.  Since then, it has grown not only numerically but in spiritual vitality.  One of the deacons from the overseeing church, Grace RBC of Ndola, told us that when he went to check on the work a month or two ago, the people kept talking about “our good pastor” with a tone of thanksgiving.  It was a privilege to preach in this church the last Lord’s Day in July, and get to know the people some myself.  We also saw the building on which they have been working recently, and brought with us a donation from U.S. churches for the completion of their roof.  The congregation at Central Baptist anticipates completing the roof by November, before the rains come.  We look forward to updating you when that takes place.

UPCOMING MOVE OF WILLIAMSONS

                Though it was a relatively short trip of 10 days, Megan and I got to visit five churches during our time in Zambia, each of which I preached in (Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Ndola, Central Baptist of Luanshya, Kafue Baptist, Lusaka Baptist, and Kabwata Baptist).  After a weekend in the Copperbelt area, we went to Lusaka by bus, which is about 4-1/2 hours’ drive south.  We had fellowship with several of the church families who had us to their homes for dinner (which is served at around 8:00 at night!).  As well, we were able to get around the city and gain an idea of what shopping is like, the cost of housing and transportation, etc.  On top of this, I registered for my work permit (You can read about how God worked in helping that to come about on the Newsletter page of the website.)  I got to meet with pastors in Lusaka, and was reminded again of the many opportunities for labor there as an elder in one of the local churches, and in ministerial training and church planting assistance.  I was also reminded of how I will need to trust the Lord and wait on Him to know where and how exactly I will be involved in those ministries, as the Zambian idea of planning is not the same as ours.

Being there brought home to us both how hard it will be to leave family and friends here in the U.S., and how many changes we will be coping with in the months to come.  However, after a couple of weeks of struggle and prayer and discussion through what we saw and what is ahead, the Lord has brought us to a place of peace and trust in Him as we move forward.  That is not to say there aren’t the uprisings of fear or sorrow, but that we do feel that the visit reconfirmed our plans and desires to move.  We appreciate your prayers for supplies of grace from the Lord as we press on in seeking to be used in His kingdom here and abroad.

 CONTACT  INFORMATION
E-mail:

admin@lionofzambia.org

Address:
LION of Zambia
c/o RBC of Louisville
PO Box 991257
Louisville, KY 40269

Phone:
502-266-6573

Fax:
502-267-5849

Answers to prayer from our  trip in August, 2009

I'd like to mention just a couple of events during our recent trip as a testimony to the Lord's guiding hand with us while we were there.  May they encourage you that your labor (of prayer) is not in vain in the Lord...

WORK PERMIT

First, there was my work permit, which required a couple of forms and some other various paperwork.  Seke Lupunga, a pastoral assistant at Kabwata Baptist Church who helped us throughout the week in many ways, took me to the Immigration office to get a work permit on Tuesday, but did not yet have the necessary paperwork from Kabwata Baptist Church yet.  We weren't able to go Wednesday, we were scheduled to be out of town all day Friday, and the office would be closed Monday.  So, we had to have everything right for our next visit on Thursday.  The work permits are only done in the morning, until 12:30.  On our arrival, the immigration worker told us that our paperwork was insufficient, so we needed to see another officer.  While waiting in line, we were praying the Lord would give us favor.  He questioned the papers as well (transcripts of UofL.

They said we needed the actual degree, even though the transcript said "degree completed," etc.)  This man, however, decided to accept the paperwork.  That was a blessing, but then he noticed that there was a required letter from the Zambian "employer," Kabwata Baptist Church, which was not there.  It was 12:17, and this was our last chance to register for the permit before we left for home.  He told us there was an internet café across the street, and if we created a letterhead for the church and wrote an offer of employment, signed by Seke (as an employee of the church), before 12:30, we could be approved.  We ran across the way, typed out the letter in the form he suggested, printed and signed it and I ran back while Seke paid for the use of the computer.  I was back in line at his desk at 12:32, but he was away.  When he came back, he approved the paperwork, and sent us to the payment desk.  We paid for the permit, watching the lady scan over each document one more time before receiving the fee and giving us a receipt.  When we walked out, Seke said, "That was a miracle!"


MISSIONARY MEETING 

During my time trying to get the permit, we had dropped off Megan and the Hardy's at the Cultural Center, which is a place where crafts are made and sold.  One of the regrets of the trip was that we didn't have time to schedule in all the people we would like to have been able to meet and talk with while there.  One of them was a man I had e-mailed a couple of times, Franklin Kilpatrick, who has been a missionary in Zambia for over 30 years.  We figured we would just need to look him up when we got there.

However, while the guys were at the cultural center, in a city of a million and a half people, up walks this man!  They were able to talk to him and get some insight into life there, and he also told them about an orientation program which they do regularly for missionaries coming to the region.  It was a blessing to make this contact by God's providence while they were waiting around for us to get back-later, of course, than was expected!

 

PROVIDENTIAL WITNESSING OPPORTUNITY

Things run late for everything, and we got used to waiting around for rides, etc.  But on the Lord's Day morning, the Lord used this for a witnessing opportunity.  The Hardy's were supposed to be picked up in the morning, and were waiting outside the hotel for their ride.  There, they began to talk to a young man named Thomas who worked at the hotel.  Because their ride wasn't showing up, that talk extended and was soon a full fledged witnessing opportunity.  The ride was even later than the normal we had experienced, and it led to a good and long discussion with Thomas about the way of salvation.  As well, earlier in the trip, Terry had lost her Bible.  She got a new one in Johannesburg at the bookstore there, and that is the one she used during her time in Zambia.  Since it was not her normal Bible, worn and with notes, etc, she was able to give it to Thomas on the Lord's Day.  He told Wil and Terry the next morning that he had been reading it, and would continue to do so, expressing deep appreciation for their kindness.  Thank the Lord for giving Wil boldness to speak to this man, and making him receptive to the Word!  You will want to talk to the Hardy's to get a fuller version of how the Lord worked out this opportunity with Thomas.  Please remember to pray for him.

Along the same lines, the last time I was in Zambia, I rode a bus down from Ndola to Lusaka with Stephen Gambill.  I was in the middle sit squished between Stephen and a lady who got on the bus just before we left.  I began to talk to her about the Lord, and she was a Catholic.  I encouraged her to seek Christ Himself, and learn the teaching of Scripture.

She was from the Ndola area, and since I didn't have a Bible to give her myself, I urged her to get a Bible from Grace RBC, and gave her Kabwe Kabwe's name.  I have had several opportunities like this through the years to witness while traveling, but virtually never hear anything of it later.

However, this time while I was in Ndola, Kabwe told me that "a woman you met on the bus came to my house and asked for a Bible."  And, he said, later on she came on another occasion seeking his counsel.  It was an encouraging reminder of the need to keep on spreading the Word wherever He gives opportunity, and praying He will bless it.

 

Thank you again for the privilege to go and serve the Lord in this way, and for your work alongside us in this endeavor.


_________________________________________

Newsletter from July 23, 2009


Dear Friends and Family,

 

                Megan and I are scheduled to leave this afternoon for Zambia with one of our deacons and his wife (Wil and Terry Hardy).  This trip has several purposes, and we would greatly appreciate your prayers for us while we’re away.  Also, we’d appreciate prayers for our children, as they will be staying with good friends for the next 12 days while we’re away.  They have been a bit sick, but seem to be on the mend, and we hope it will be a healthy and safe time while we’re away, and we can get back soon to a sweet reunion with them. 

PRAY FOR OUR TRIP

In terms of our trip, as I mentioned, we have a lot we hope to accomplish.  First, we plan to check on our various ministries currently supported in Ndola, and work out some details to better pray for them and supply their financial needs.  These include the Hope for the Afflicted orphan ministry, the Copperbelt Ministerial College, and the church plant in Luanshya (where I am scheduled to preach this Lord’s Day).  We will be meeting with folks and discussing the ministries throughout this coming weekend (July 25-July27). 

                Then, we will head down to Lusaka, the capital, where we hope to move early next year.  We will be meeting with the pastors in that area to make plans for my work there in training men for the ministry and for pastoral work in one of the churches in the area.  Also, we plan to meet with a couple of folks about starting an orphanage in Lusaka. 

                In addition to these more official meetings, this trip is very important as it will be my wife’s first exposure to Zambia.  We will be looking at housing options for when we move, and getting the “lay of the land” as far as what life is like there, checking out shopping options, medical care, etc.  So, please pray for the Lord’s blessing on this aspect of our trip as well.  On the Lord’s Day, Aug 2, we will be worshipping with the Kabwata Baptist Church in Lusaka, which is where Conrad Mbewe is a pastor.  We may also visit another of the churches in the evening, and I may be preaching on that weekend as well. 

                While we are in Zambia, another quarterly module will be taking place, with Ronald Baines teaching Old Testament I (Genesis-Deuteronomy), and Gordon Taylor teaching Doctrine of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit course is a very important one for the Zambian context, where there is a very large Charismatic/Word of Faith movement, along with the very harmful prosperity gospel teaching.  A right understanding of the Spirit and His works is a high priority for the spiritual health of the church in Zambia.

UPDATE OF RECENT TRAVELS AND WORK

                We value your ongoing prayers for us as we visit churches this year and prepare for the upcoming move.  Beginning in early May, we traveled 9,200 miles in 6 weeks, visiting about 10 churches to tell about the work in Zambia.  The yearly cost of our missions effort to Zambia is estimated to be about $80,000, and our home church will be providing half of that.  We have received some commitments from churches to provide the rest, though there is a lot more needed at this point.  But, we know that the Lord gives means where He issues a call, so we ask you to pray with us that He will demonstrate His great grace in supplying all our needs abundantly.

About two weeks after returning, I went with 15 other members of our church on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic.  After that, I was sick for two weeks straight, first with a bad stomach virus, and then with bronchitis.  Thankfully, I’ve been healthy the last couple of days and now am headed to a plane for Zambia!  In between this time, I’ve preached a few times at my home church here.  The Lord has blessed and drawn near to us, and the church is in an encouraging state of health and growth.  It has been bitter sweet to be back among people whom you love and seek to serve as a shepherd, only to leave again.  But this will be the routine for the rest of this year as we have several more places to visit after returning from Zambia.  Also during this time, I was able to complete a paper on John Calvin, which leaves me with one more class and a long paper (100-120 pages) to complete my M.Div., which I’ve gone back to finish up this past year.  This has become a higher priority over the last several months, as it would be helpful to have that finished before we leave for Zambia.  I fit in work on the degree here and there when we are home.  But, it’s been good to be freshly reminded that it is not pieces of paper that make ministers of the gospel!  We hope it will be a tool to make my service in Zambia more effective, and I’ve appreciated the instruction I’ve received from the courses in the process.

  Needless to say, without the Lord’s sustaining grace, we would be utterly overwhelmed this year.  We are so thankful for His kind mercy in keeping and preserving us, and demonstrating that His grace is sufficient for us in every situation. 

 

                 It was a blessing to meet many of you recently on our trip out West, and I hope this helps you see why there haven’t been more updates since we arrived back home.  I hope to send out montly updates of our progress toward moving, and continue to keep you posted on a monthly basis once we arrive permanently in Zambia.  


The Lord has greatly encouraged and strengthened our hearts this year, and we pray it will lead to much blessings for our brothers and sisters, and needy orphans, in Zambia.  It is truly a privilege to serve in this way, and we only want to be faithful and useful to the Lord in this work.

 

We thank you all very much for your prayers. 

 

In Christ our Blessed Savior,

 

James Williamson