Last entry from Zambia!

Here is my last entry from Zambia. As it says below, I may not have internet in DRC. I will keep records until I get back. JO

August 1, 2008

One of my concerns traveling to another continent is that I would get sick especially by food poisoning. I’ve been on three prior trips and each time I became sick. However, at the last day of our first institute, I’m pleased to say that I feel great. I have one week to go. The only problem I have had is sleeping, but that was my fault. Some of you know that I like my coffee strong enough to stand up a fork. The Zambians know how to make coffee. A couple of nights at dinner, I had their coffee. It only took me two times to learn my lesson. It kept me up almost all night. But, the coffee is fantastic!

My last class in Romans is finished for this institute. I will teach it again in Goma, DRC. This last lesson covered the application section of Romans from chapter twelve forward. We examined the ideas of being living sacrifices and how that works out in life. I made sure we covered the part in chapter fourteen about disputed items. We decided not to get too specific so as not to cause a ruckus in the teaching session. So, I used other examples and stressed the ideas of accepting one another and not causing another to stumble. I feel ok about how the whole course went since the students asked excellent questions. I will make a few changes for the next institute since the material needs to tie together better.

The pastors seem so thankful. They come up and graciously shake our hands. Little do they know how much they have blessed us. They actively take notes and think through the issues.

I just finished my last course. I had about four hours of notes left and only one hour to teach. Fortunately, the student notes have detailed explanations with Scripture references. So, there was much for them to study later on. We did make it to the end times. I don’t even have a chalkboard to use; I would have liked to draw a timeline. However, I got the idea to use volunteers to illustrate the order of events. It worked really well. We did come up with even a better way to use the illustration when we get to Goma.

And, it broke my heart later when a pastor asked me if I had a Bible. The poverty is horrific.

The students graduated today. They were so appreciative and wanted to know when I could return. I have to wonder about the spiritual hunger in Zambia. If the pastors are this hungry, how do the rest of the believers feel?

We are leaving for Goma on Monday early. So, we are not sure if we will have internet access. Don’t worry if you do not hear from me for the week. We will start the next institute on Tuesday, August 5, and finish on Saturday. I should be home on the 12th.

Pastor Joe