Every year, the missionaries from Zambia and Malawi gather together for a retreat after Easter.  We alternate countries and this year was Zambia’s turn to host.  This is a unique opportunity for missionaries to come together to share joys and struggles, to encourage one another, to have Bible study and Sunday School, and to have a little fun and recreation too.  The theme for the retreat was “The Lord is my Portion” and was held from the 14-17 April.  We saw how Jeremiah relied on the Lord through his frustrations and hardships and gained encouragement from his example.  We studied Paul’s amazing joy and peace through all of his struggles and hardships.  We heard about David and his complete trust and reliance on God through dark times.  It was such a timely theme for the mission field in this time of uncertainty about budgets and cuts.  We were reminded that no matter what happens the Lord is in control, and he is always enough for us; he is our portion.

We spent our days at Nsobe Game Ranch which is near Ndola, Zambia.  It was a bit of a rustic retreat with almost everyone camping.  We filled the camp ground with tents, camp chairs, mission vehicles, and even a badminton net.  Game drives went out each morning and evening to search for animals.  The stars shone bright against the black sky.  A group went out to look for birds every morning.  It was a beautiful place to enjoy God’s amazing creation.  It was unseasonably cold and all of us who are so accustomed to African warmth got out our hats and sweatshirts and fleeces and thick socks.  There were canoe races, wiffle ball, ultimate Frisbee, fishing, camp fires, and wonderful conversations.

Everyone went home a bit tired and possibly had some aching backs, but felt refreshed spiritually and thankful for the fellowship together.

Zambia is officially a Christian country.  The work of the Lord through missionaries for more than half a century here is very evident.  I was struck by this fact the other day when I was at the grocery store the day after Easter.  I was meandering through the baked goods section and happened to glance down at a few cakes on display.  The cakes had some writing on them and at a closer look I saw that the frosting spelled out “Christ is Risen!”.  It did not say happy Easter, happy egg hunting, or yay for bunnies.  It is a blessing to see the true meaning of Easter celebrated simply in a cake at a grocery store.  It means even more, however, to see the freedom and the joy that Zambians have in their Lord to celebrate Easter for what it really is.  People will greet each other on Easter Sunday, “He is risen!”  and the other person responds, “He is risen indeed!”.  This Easter Sunday was uplifting to sing praises and to hear the wonderful Easter message again with my Zambian brothers and sisters in Christ.  May God continue to bless your Easter celebration and remind you of the joy in this blessed day.

A two-hour bumpy ride in a land rover over a dusty trail took us just ten miles west of the city of Dhangadhi along the southern border of Nepal. To the north at times Pastor Robert Hartman and I could make out the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains and to the south we could see the forest that marks the border with India. This is farm country. Broad, rich fields of wheat are ready for harvest. Soon the rice crop will be sown. Sugar cane, vegetables, goats and cattle abound. Dhangadhi is the center of the western part of the narrow agricultural plain that stretches along the entire southern border of Nepal.

We have come to a church constructed by Christian farmers several years ago. Land was sold, bricks were bought, and the men constructed a simple, but solid sanctuary that seats more than a hundred people. But it’s already too small—the congregation now numbers more than 200 people. Farmers pastor this church and others nearby. One of them received training from a Bible college in Delhi, but the pastors have seen various congregations split and then split again. Clarity is needed about the Bible. The pastors want to be united in the Scriptures. And they want to spread the gospel to the many that live in the mountains that form their horizon to the north.

The Board for World Missions accepted a request to help those pastors. We could provide literature and help them start a distance learning program. We could provide workshops to offer additional training for leaders of the Scripture learning groups that were now sprouting in dozens of little communities on the plain and especially in the mountains. While the core leaders, such as those pastor-farmers, are literate and knowledgeable about the Bible, many of the new leaders are barely literate; and they have only a rudimentary knowledge of the Scriptures. Few understand English well, only one speaks English well. Have we plunged into an impossible mission?

Paul Hartman

This article is taken from the Multi-Language Publications website.  Continue reading the rest of the newsletter.

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” -Mark 10:14. I often imagine Jesus opening his arms to the children of his day. Jesus lovingly invited the children to come to him and believe in his promises.  The words of Jesus inspire our work here in Taichung. Every week we have 50 children between the ages of 7 and 17 walk through our doors. And every week we are reminded of the power that God’s word has on each of our students.

The youth ministry program in Taichung consists of a kids’ class and a teenagers’ class. We teach English, and most importantly, God’s word. Every week we educate our littlest children about the love of Jesus in our kids’ class. Whether we talk about Jesus helping Moses free the slaves of Israel or Jesus healing a sick boy, the children learn the fundamental promises of Jesus.

Jesus loves you. Jesus wants you in heaven with him. Jesus will always take care of you. These are just a few examples of what the children learn every week. Read more ›

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“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him. I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16

If you had met Tom, there’s a lot you would have quickly learned about him. You’d see how he made everybody laugh and how he had a unexplainable gift with young children. If you got to know him a little more, you’d learn more of his story – how he grew up as a ‘bad kid,’ a teenager who had been involved in drinking and gangs in his past; how he had first come to faith in Christ when studying at the Bible Institute in Chiang Mai several years ago; how his non-Christian parents were so excited when he came home after one term of studying the Bible and saw a change in his life.

But while God had given Tom a visibly changed, repentant new life in Christ, his old friends and old life still pulled at him. Read more ›