So this time last week I was in Heathrow waiting to fly out to Zambia...I'd written to you in the morning from the comfort of my bed in Manchester. It's been quite a busy week since then...
Right now I'm sat in Loza lodge, a nice little place with a pool and some yummy food... Team 1 and 2 have just got back together after going on separate adventures and have been busy swapping stories.
For my part, I've spent the last week in a village called Lumpampa just outside Serenje. We were helping Gervais and Margaret run a 3 day training conference helping people understand what life might look like when we love God and love our neighbour.
I've really enjoyed getting back into the swing of things...it's been a bit of a baptism of fire...straight off the plane, lots of driving for a day or two and then into a village! Much of it was as I remembered...long drop toilets, chickens wandering by while you have a wash and lots of little kids asking "how are you" closely followed by "I am fine!" before you've had chance to answer. I'd forgotten most of the Bemba I knew (which never was much) but I've had fun trying again!
So, we've been staying in Lumpampa, camping out in the village and running some training sessions. Our focus is on helping people understand that their life is no mistake, that God has placed them in their village for a purpose and it's through them, not outsiders, that real change will come to their community. We talk about the church as a body, we discuss how each of us has an important part to play, no matter how small we may feel. We try to help people understand how God loves them and is calling them to be his people in the places they live. It always amazes me how some of the things I take so for granted, having known them for so long, are a new revelation for many we talk to.
I'm excited to hear how the people we have spent the last week with will grow over the coming weeks , months and years. Some may go home and take no action - that's fine, it's up to each of us to chose how we live our life. We cannot tell anyone what they have to do. Others will go home, gather some people in their village and make some plans to start a Life! Group in their village. This is simply a group of people, meeting on a regular basis to study the bible, pray and share their everyday lives. As they do so, it is our hope that they will grow in faith and in their love for God and their love for their neighbour. As this happens, we believe lives will be changed, both now and for eternity. It sounds like a simple idea, and really it is, but it's a new thing for the places we work. I hope and pray it will lead to a new hope in many villages around Lumpampa.
