2009 Review
In 2009 we were privileged to host a team of high school students from Kelowna Christian School in Canada. The team worked very hard to begin construction on the second building in the orphanage project. This building will house the matron (mother) of the orphanage and the cooking and laundry facilities. The team also worked to dig and lay foundation blocks for a church that was planted in a remote village near Lake Kariba. In addition, the team ministered in many churches and played countless hours with the local children.
HNK saw the passing away of a few children and the adoption of new children. It is always heartbreaking when a child passes away but we trust that they have gone to be with our heavenly Father. Also, on a very sad note, Orina Thindisa passed away in 2009. Orina was a close friend and founder of the Tumelo Home for disabled children, where we sponsor many children. Graydon also visited and spent time encouraging the local pastors and leaders and working through the next steps with Pastor Roy Nalusenga, our project overseer in Zambia.
In 2010...
In February, Graydon will be in Zambia working out the logistics for another team from Kelowna as well as planning the project goals for the coming years. In March, Tyler Bishop will be leading a team of adults from Kelowna to work on the orphanage and do teaching in local villages.
In late summer plans are underway for a work and investigative team to continue the work on the orphanage and to start with the initial steps of providing clean water to those that need it most.
In 2010, we are also going to give some focused attention to meeting the needs for clean water in the remote regions of the Gwembe Valley. Most sickness is the result of unclean water and many people draw water from dirty streams and stagnant pools.
If you would like to be involved in any way please contact HELP at the office in Calgary or email us at helpca@shaw.ca.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Update from the Gwembe Valley
Following is an email written from Pastor Roy Nalusenga of the Gwembe Valley to Graydon Bishop:
23 October 2008
Hey Ma Bishop,
How are you and your dear family? How is church? I trust that the Lord will use you greatly for his glory. It gives me great joy to have this opportunity to give you an update of missions work in the Gwembe Valley. It's been such a long and silent period as far as missions work is concerned.
1. Mission’s work - 2008
During the 2007/2008 rainy season, there was an above normal rainfall pattern. The result was that 13 bridges on the road to Maamba were partially or totally washed away. Daily supplies for us became a real problem. For may days we could not drive out of Maamba to Choma or Lusaka. On the other hand, it was impossible to reach the churches in the valley for our usual conventions and crusades. Even with my now aged but powerful Isuzu, it was not possible to run any outreach programme in the valley. We were cut off from the valley churches for almost the whole of the first quarter of 2008.
2. Mission’s Team set–up
The Lord promoted some key members of the previous team. Two brothers, Happy and Sydney, who were strong and committed members of the Missions Team were promoted by the Lord and are now working in South African Mines. Petu and her brother Fabby are now at College. For a start, it looked like the mission’s team had come to an end. However, missions is a burden that the Lord gave me from the time I was at University. For me therefore, missions work was going to continue, regardless of who was with me.
Eventually, God gave me a vision to work with the brothers in the valley churches. It meant starting afresh to train a new Missions Team. The following outreach programmes were done after having incorporated the valley leaders.
3. Missions Report 2008
a) CHILELE CRUSADE ... 29th Sept to 1st October 2008
When we arrived at this village, we were suprised by the enthusiasm of the people in coming to listern to the preaching of the Word of God. A good number of people came from Chimpalaba Island, which is a 30 minutes journey by canoe from the main land. The area has no church in existence. This village is in a dambo where people grow their winter maize and other vegetables. To avoid commuting, people make temporal shelter in their fields and stay there. They however move away during summer because most of the land would be flooded.
TESTIMONIES
Ø There was one lady who had been demon possessed and never used to close her eyes to sleep. She said that every time she closed her eyes to sleep, she would dream of skeletons pursuing her, or somebody trying to strangle her. She even used to chase people around the yard whom nobody else saw. We prayed for her and cast out the demons. The following day she again attended the crusade and testified that she had a very peaceful and restful night. Her daughter, who was about two years old and used to have nightmares, was also delivered. Praise be unto the Lord.
Ø Another lady had severe stomach and leg pains. She was prayed for and the Lord delivered her immediately.
Ø One lady, who had attended our first meeting and had been delivered from demons, was beaten by her husband for coming to the meeting. When she was punched, she fell down and fainted and her daughter fell out of her hands. The following day I went to see the husband and shared the Word of God with Him in the presence of his two wives. I asked him if he would be happier to have an unfaithful wife who did not fear God, than a God fearing wife. He apologized and gave his life to the Lord and has been attending church ever since.
Ø Additionally, it was so disheartening to see so many children, of primary school age, who were demon possessed. The girl children are not really considered for education. Some are forced into marriage at an early age of even 12 years. We are praying that the Lord will bring a transformation in this area. We will appreciate if you can kindly add this need to your prayer list.
b) MUKALANGA CRUSADE ... 2nd to 5th October 2008
Our arrival and reception in the above named area was a bit of a shock especially for new team members. Perhaps none of the team members realized that you can actually be stoned or thrown out when you go out to preach the Word Of God. We arrived just before dark. The Community Secretary allocated us a place where we could camp. While we grappled to pitch our tents in the dark, the Assistant Headman came. He was drunk and furious that somebody else had given us a place to pitch our tents instead of him. He declared that he would not allow anyone to undermine his authority, and started ordering us to leave the place and go back where we had come from. His arrogance was heightened by some drunk village boys, some of whom even accused us of being Satanists. You are aware ofcourse that where people act as a resust of mob-psychology, anything can happen.
The situation became so tense that we were surrounded like goats. We stood around the vehicle to try and protect our items, although it would have been futile if they had attacked us. It was such a crowd that we were no match for them. However, the Angels of the Lord stood onguard and no violence ensued. We sang a worship song and began to worship as the crowd began to shout and howl insults at us. The Assistant Headman’s house was just a 100 meters from our tents and he kept walking away and coming back to order us to leave the place. He kept asking who the owner of the vehicle was, but in all that drama, God gave me the wisdom not to answer a word. Finally, around midnite, the crowd began to disperse and we enjoyed some sleep in un-secured tents.
In the night I began to ask the Lord if we had made a mistake by going to that village. I even contemplated going back to our previous crusade station, especially that the people there wanted us to stay longer. However, I never got a clear YES or NO from the Lord. But the Lord turned my attention to the hundreds of people who had gathered that night, and without praying another prayer, I just decided that we would not leave those hundreds of people without the Gospel, because of one un-circumcised Philistine.
TESTIMONIES
Ø To begin our day, early the following morning, the Assistant Headman came to tell us that he had not been talking out of drunkenness, but he actually meant what he had said the last night. This time around I answered him and told him that we did not have any problem leaving that location. I told him that we could even go and camp in the hills. I wouldn’t be far from the truth to say that I guess some team members were expecting that we were going to leave the village. I further asked the Asisstant Headman to show me the sick lady who was reported to be at his house. He was still emphasing the fact that we were not welcome where we were. He however showed me the lady who was sick. I had prayed to the Lord that this would be the first miracle in the village which would show the people that we were there in the Name of the Lord. The sick lady had not slept in her house for many months, because of suspicion of some witchcraft. Further more, she had not been eating, except to drink some water. We shared the Word Of God and encouraged her to receive Jesus, who is the healer, Saviour and deliverer. She readily accepted Christ as her Lord and personal Saviour. I then prayed for her after which I asked one of the team members to help the children to make some porridge for her. So they cooked porridge for her and she ate everything. I then asked them to make tea for her, and give her bread as well. Guess what, she ate everything. Praise be to the Name of the Lord. We sat there and chatted and continued to share the Word Of God with her. She commented that what we had done for her was more than what her relatives had done. She was so happy although she still looked frail since she had not been eating. The following day, she was even able to go to her garden. She has been a member since our first Sunday in that place. Praise be to the Almighty God.
Ø Going back to the Assistant Headman, he had not been there while we prayed for his sick relative. He had excused himself to go somewhere, but was back as soon as we finished praying for the sick lady. As he came back, I asked him what his suggestions were for our camping site. He then took me and two other team members to his former home. The place looked ideal for camping and at least there was some shade. The site was between two streams and we were able to dig just a bit to get some clean water for kitchen chores. There was also an enclosure which we were able to turn into a shower room. THE LORD USED THIS ANGRY MAN TO TAKE US TO THE BEST CAMPING SITE. Praise be unto the Almighty God. The Assistant Headman had seen the power of God in his own home through the healing of the sick relative. Our first service in that place had 70 people and the Assistant Headman was there as well. The second service had 128 people, and the Assistant Headman was one of them. After the service, we asked them to tarry so that we could make plans on how to build the church. The headman was the one who stood up, like a chairman, and began to give responsibilities to different brothers in this new church. He even warned the women that when it is time for work, they should not disappear to other churches, and only come back when all the work is done.
** CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO OUR OUTREACH IN THAT VILLAGE IF WE HAD BEEN ARGUING WITH THE ASSISTANT HEADMAN?
** ISN’T IT AWESOME THAT GOD CAN USE AN ANGRY MAN TO BLESS YOU, WITHOUT HIM KNOWING WHAT HE IS DOING TO YOU?
Ø In this village, there were many who were demon possessed and the Lord delivered them all. By the grace of the Lord, the Word of Knowledge took us through situations that would have been impossible for us to deal with. The Lord enabled us to pray IMFORMED and ACCURATE prayers, instead of just the noise of a Pentecostal prayer. This was a serious reminder that every outreach needs to be preceded by a serious time of prayer.
Ø There were many children and teens as well who were demon possessed, but were delivered. Many situations were revealed to us through the Holy Spirit of the use of charms on children, and this was what was bringing bondage upon the children. Many charms and all sorts of herbs were brought and we burnt them. Some of the people who came for prayers were actually medicine men, and they surrendered everything to the Lord.
Ø Some of the villagers even labeled us as having been brought in the village to trap witches, because we had to go to different homes to destroy medicines and pray for the families. The traditional churches in the area, who sing more than preach, were leading a campaign to discredit us. However, by now, they could not have a large following because the people had been healed, delivered and/or saved. Many had seen God at work. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.
OVERVIEW
It was suprising to discover that there were still areas just near by, where the power of the Gospel was not known. We also learnt during this outreach that it is not the Pentecostal binding and loosening that brings victory, but leaving everything in the hands of the Lord. Through the leadership of the Holy Spirit, I directed the members team members not to pray any binding and loosing prayers, except to thank and worship God for what He was going to do. It is evident that we have not even finished the work in our Jerusalem. May the Lord revive His work and Vision in us.
To crown it all, Graydon, this mission trip would not have been possible without the support that you send. We owe it to the Lord and to you that we were able to undertake such a mission. Ma Bruu, I want you to know that what I have reported is the fruit of your faithful labour in the labour.
God bless you ever so much.
Love you,
Pst Roy
23 October 2008
Hey Ma Bishop,
How are you and your dear family? How is church? I trust that the Lord will use you greatly for his glory. It gives me great joy to have this opportunity to give you an update of missions work in the Gwembe Valley. It's been such a long and silent period as far as missions work is concerned.
1. Mission’s work - 2008
During the 2007/2008 rainy season, there was an above normal rainfall pattern. The result was that 13 bridges on the road to Maamba were partially or totally washed away. Daily supplies for us became a real problem. For may days we could not drive out of Maamba to Choma or Lusaka. On the other hand, it was impossible to reach the churches in the valley for our usual conventions and crusades. Even with my now aged but powerful Isuzu, it was not possible to run any outreach programme in the valley. We were cut off from the valley churches for almost the whole of the first quarter of 2008.
2. Mission’s Team set–up
The Lord promoted some key members of the previous team. Two brothers, Happy and Sydney, who were strong and committed members of the Missions Team were promoted by the Lord and are now working in South African Mines. Petu and her brother Fabby are now at College. For a start, it looked like the mission’s team had come to an end. However, missions is a burden that the Lord gave me from the time I was at University. For me therefore, missions work was going to continue, regardless of who was with me.
Eventually, God gave me a vision to work with the brothers in the valley churches. It meant starting afresh to train a new Missions Team. The following outreach programmes were done after having incorporated the valley leaders.
3. Missions Report 2008
a) CHILELE CRUSADE ... 29th Sept to 1st October 2008
When we arrived at this village, we were suprised by the enthusiasm of the people in coming to listern to the preaching of the Word of God. A good number of people came from Chimpalaba Island, which is a 30 minutes journey by canoe from the main land. The area has no church in existence. This village is in a dambo where people grow their winter maize and other vegetables. To avoid commuting, people make temporal shelter in their fields and stay there. They however move away during summer because most of the land would be flooded.
TESTIMONIES
Ø There was one lady who had been demon possessed and never used to close her eyes to sleep. She said that every time she closed her eyes to sleep, she would dream of skeletons pursuing her, or somebody trying to strangle her. She even used to chase people around the yard whom nobody else saw. We prayed for her and cast out the demons. The following day she again attended the crusade and testified that she had a very peaceful and restful night. Her daughter, who was about two years old and used to have nightmares, was also delivered. Praise be unto the Lord.
Ø Another lady had severe stomach and leg pains. She was prayed for and the Lord delivered her immediately.
Ø One lady, who had attended our first meeting and had been delivered from demons, was beaten by her husband for coming to the meeting. When she was punched, she fell down and fainted and her daughter fell out of her hands. The following day I went to see the husband and shared the Word of God with Him in the presence of his two wives. I asked him if he would be happier to have an unfaithful wife who did not fear God, than a God fearing wife. He apologized and gave his life to the Lord and has been attending church ever since.
Ø Additionally, it was so disheartening to see so many children, of primary school age, who were demon possessed. The girl children are not really considered for education. Some are forced into marriage at an early age of even 12 years. We are praying that the Lord will bring a transformation in this area. We will appreciate if you can kindly add this need to your prayer list.
b) MUKALANGA CRUSADE ... 2nd to 5th October 2008
Our arrival and reception in the above named area was a bit of a shock especially for new team members. Perhaps none of the team members realized that you can actually be stoned or thrown out when you go out to preach the Word Of God. We arrived just before dark. The Community Secretary allocated us a place where we could camp. While we grappled to pitch our tents in the dark, the Assistant Headman came. He was drunk and furious that somebody else had given us a place to pitch our tents instead of him. He declared that he would not allow anyone to undermine his authority, and started ordering us to leave the place and go back where we had come from. His arrogance was heightened by some drunk village boys, some of whom even accused us of being Satanists. You are aware ofcourse that where people act as a resust of mob-psychology, anything can happen.
The situation became so tense that we were surrounded like goats. We stood around the vehicle to try and protect our items, although it would have been futile if they had attacked us. It was such a crowd that we were no match for them. However, the Angels of the Lord stood onguard and no violence ensued. We sang a worship song and began to worship as the crowd began to shout and howl insults at us. The Assistant Headman’s house was just a 100 meters from our tents and he kept walking away and coming back to order us to leave the place. He kept asking who the owner of the vehicle was, but in all that drama, God gave me the wisdom not to answer a word. Finally, around midnite, the crowd began to disperse and we enjoyed some sleep in un-secured tents.
In the night I began to ask the Lord if we had made a mistake by going to that village. I even contemplated going back to our previous crusade station, especially that the people there wanted us to stay longer. However, I never got a clear YES or NO from the Lord. But the Lord turned my attention to the hundreds of people who had gathered that night, and without praying another prayer, I just decided that we would not leave those hundreds of people without the Gospel, because of one un-circumcised Philistine.
TESTIMONIES
Ø To begin our day, early the following morning, the Assistant Headman came to tell us that he had not been talking out of drunkenness, but he actually meant what he had said the last night. This time around I answered him and told him that we did not have any problem leaving that location. I told him that we could even go and camp in the hills. I wouldn’t be far from the truth to say that I guess some team members were expecting that we were going to leave the village. I further asked the Asisstant Headman to show me the sick lady who was reported to be at his house. He was still emphasing the fact that we were not welcome where we were. He however showed me the lady who was sick. I had prayed to the Lord that this would be the first miracle in the village which would show the people that we were there in the Name of the Lord. The sick lady had not slept in her house for many months, because of suspicion of some witchcraft. Further more, she had not been eating, except to drink some water. We shared the Word Of God and encouraged her to receive Jesus, who is the healer, Saviour and deliverer. She readily accepted Christ as her Lord and personal Saviour. I then prayed for her after which I asked one of the team members to help the children to make some porridge for her. So they cooked porridge for her and she ate everything. I then asked them to make tea for her, and give her bread as well. Guess what, she ate everything. Praise be to the Name of the Lord. We sat there and chatted and continued to share the Word Of God with her. She commented that what we had done for her was more than what her relatives had done. She was so happy although she still looked frail since she had not been eating. The following day, she was even able to go to her garden. She has been a member since our first Sunday in that place. Praise be to the Almighty God.
Ø Going back to the Assistant Headman, he had not been there while we prayed for his sick relative. He had excused himself to go somewhere, but was back as soon as we finished praying for the sick lady. As he came back, I asked him what his suggestions were for our camping site. He then took me and two other team members to his former home. The place looked ideal for camping and at least there was some shade. The site was between two streams and we were able to dig just a bit to get some clean water for kitchen chores. There was also an enclosure which we were able to turn into a shower room. THE LORD USED THIS ANGRY MAN TO TAKE US TO THE BEST CAMPING SITE. Praise be unto the Almighty God. The Assistant Headman had seen the power of God in his own home through the healing of the sick relative. Our first service in that place had 70 people and the Assistant Headman was there as well. The second service had 128 people, and the Assistant Headman was one of them. After the service, we asked them to tarry so that we could make plans on how to build the church. The headman was the one who stood up, like a chairman, and began to give responsibilities to different brothers in this new church. He even warned the women that when it is time for work, they should not disappear to other churches, and only come back when all the work is done.
** CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO OUR OUTREACH IN THAT VILLAGE IF WE HAD BEEN ARGUING WITH THE ASSISTANT HEADMAN?
** ISN’T IT AWESOME THAT GOD CAN USE AN ANGRY MAN TO BLESS YOU, WITHOUT HIM KNOWING WHAT HE IS DOING TO YOU?
Ø In this village, there were many who were demon possessed and the Lord delivered them all. By the grace of the Lord, the Word of Knowledge took us through situations that would have been impossible for us to deal with. The Lord enabled us to pray IMFORMED and ACCURATE prayers, instead of just the noise of a Pentecostal prayer. This was a serious reminder that every outreach needs to be preceded by a serious time of prayer.
Ø There were many children and teens as well who were demon possessed, but were delivered. Many situations were revealed to us through the Holy Spirit of the use of charms on children, and this was what was bringing bondage upon the children. Many charms and all sorts of herbs were brought and we burnt them. Some of the people who came for prayers were actually medicine men, and they surrendered everything to the Lord.
Ø Some of the villagers even labeled us as having been brought in the village to trap witches, because we had to go to different homes to destroy medicines and pray for the families. The traditional churches in the area, who sing more than preach, were leading a campaign to discredit us. However, by now, they could not have a large following because the people had been healed, delivered and/or saved. Many had seen God at work. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.
OVERVIEW
It was suprising to discover that there were still areas just near by, where the power of the Gospel was not known. We also learnt during this outreach that it is not the Pentecostal binding and loosening that brings victory, but leaving everything in the hands of the Lord. Through the leadership of the Holy Spirit, I directed the members team members not to pray any binding and loosing prayers, except to thank and worship God for what He was going to do. It is evident that we have not even finished the work in our Jerusalem. May the Lord revive His work and Vision in us.
To crown it all, Graydon, this mission trip would not have been possible without the support that you send. We owe it to the Lord and to you that we were able to undertake such a mission. Ma Bruu, I want you to know that what I have reported is the fruit of your faithful labour in the labour.
God bless you ever so much.
Love you,
Pst Roy
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