Church in Kalingalinga

TIA=This is Africa, which means things don't always go as planned. Due to miscommunication, I never made it to Highland Baptist today for church where my brothers grew up, but I did get to go to church in Kalingalinga at the church the Georgia team was visiting. It's called Jesus Army, and it was an absolute blessing to be there.

The congregation was so excited to greet us, and made us feel completely at home. Joy was everywhere as worship began. What a treat to be in a church were everyone wanted to be there, and where everyone had a heart in tuned with the Lord as we worshiped Him and all He does.

The Bishop reminded the congregation that today is America's birthday. He talked about how our country was founded to be a place for people to worship the one true God freely, but how we have fallen from the plans of our founding fathers. How right on the mark he was! I'm sure he was slightly afraid of stepping on our toes, but he hit the mark perfectly. He prayed for our country, that it would be a leader for the world in following the will of the Lord. What a blessing to know that our Zambian brothers and sisters are praying for us. Praise You Daddy God for new mercies every day!

The sermon was about Joseph being sold into slavery from Genesis 37. The point of the sermon was that bad things will happen to us and these circumstances are used by the Lord to move us to the place He wants us to serve Him. Also, the people who are put in our lives to help protect us, like Reuben had been protecting Joseph, are sometimes removed, as Reuben was, so that God can move us, physically or spiritually, where He needs us to serve Him. Such truth!

Meg, Robin, and I were not expecting the pastor to ask the three of us to read the scripture, but we did. It was fun reading a phrase or two and then having it translated into Nyanja for those that don't know English well. Then the pastor asked me to pray before he began the sermon. Um, me? The lady who stumbles over her words and says "um" a lot between phrases as she prays? Ok. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to quickly pray "God us me." and he did. I don't have a clue what I prayed, but I do know no "ums" were uttered, and everyone told me how much they enjoyed what I said after the service. That's great, because it means God worked through me, as I prayed. Praise you Jesus! The whole experience was very humbling, and I'm grateful for a time of learning the Word with such strong, solid believers.

After church we headed to Arcades for lunch and craft shopping. I have some beautiful things to bring home!

Tomorrow, Meg and I want to go to Chaminuka Game Reserve for a safari overnight trip, but their phones are down. Don is willing to drive us out there, so please pray there is a room available. It's a long holiday weekend here too, so we have absolutely no idea what to expect, but we definitely want to see the animal side of God's creation while we're here.