Soon after we got here we were able to go to the local prison to minister to the inmates. As it was Easter the local churches took along gifts of food and other usable items. "I will never forget the sadness and sorrow as we said goodbye to the women prisoners", reported Breda Buchanan, a member of Stopsley Baptist Church in Luton England. More that eighty prisoners responded to the preaching of the Gospel and the prison Chaplain has already organized for these people to join the cell group that meets weekly in the prison!

Breda, Irish by birth, who has never been to Africa before, had been assigned to one of the most inaccessible villages to go to each day. Just traveling to it in an off road vehicle through dense bush and through rivers has been a new experience for her. Each day her team has reported that everyone that they have shared the Gospel with has responded by asking Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour.

Peet, who is 15, came in from the village where he was witnessing with great excitement and reported that two local Chiefs had asked Christ into their lives. Marcel, who is only 13, was excited on his first day out that he and his interpreter were able to lead 15 people to the Lord in one day. His only complaint was that he constantly had about 30 children following his everywhere, saying "how are you"? (the only English phrase they know) over and over again! He has seen similar results every day this week.

The heat has been a factor; forcing the groups to rest in the middle of the day. The place where we are camping is noisy at night, particularly with the constant barking of dogs. One of our visitors was convinced that an elephant had come into the camp one night. It was only a dog with a strange howl! But, there are elephants in the area, so you never know… During the showing of the Jesus film at various villages this week we have had interruptions because of elephants and snakes!

Drienie, from Wilro Park Baptist in South Africa, shared that when they asked a man if he knew Jesus he said: "Sorry I have not lived here long, perhaps my neighbors knows where he lives.."

The response in the rural areas has been phenomenal. At Sinde, only 25km from town, but 45 minutes by 4x4 vehicle, the response to the preaching and sharing of the Gospel has amazed the team sent there. Every morning before devotions they have reported that everyone who has heard the gospel has asked Jesus into their lives. The people are desperate for a church out there and HIM will soon begin with weekly meetings there. We have identified a leader at Sinde soon who will come to Livingstone for training at the Hub Church. This also applies to the churches planted this week at Malopi, Maleka, Ngwenya and Linda.

Pastor Nkole, one of our HIM Hub leaders, comes from Chililabombwe in the North West Province of Zambia. He met a young man who's parents are both deceased. After hearing the Gospel the man said: "I have no father, but today God has become my Father".

Every day at the feedback session, we have had reports of more that 200 people coming to Christ that day. One of the most exciting things to witness has been how local church members and pastors have developed through the week. Each day we have seen their boldness and fervor grow. It is comforting to know that evangelism will not cease when the teams go home. One lady said that for the first time she had learnt that one could go out and share your faith with anyone. Until now she had just invited people to come to church. Another said that for the first time she had discovered that just because someone says that they are a member of a church, this does not mean that they are saved. She has learnt to ask penetrating questions and to share her faith with people who are merely religious but who have not met the Savior.

While one group was sharing with a class of children at a school, two men arrived and said that they needed Jesus and had heard that here were people who could help them find him. This sort of thing happened again and again during the outreach.

The team has been fantastic. Trevor, Isaac and Pat have been a huge blessing as they acted as drivers and team leaders. Our UK team comprising of John and Eileen White, Breda Buchanan and Helen Turner have worked particularly hard, sometimes in difficult circumstances. Our other South Africans, Drienie, Alison, Peet, Marcel, Israel, Jenny and Amanda were indispensable and added great value to the whole outreach. Pastor Bernard Yampanya from the Congo and Pastors Denson, Nkole, Phiri, and Kasongo from Zambia acted as interpreters and guides.

Livingstone has been a wonderful experience of God at work. He has worked in and through the team. We have seen about 1300 people come to Christ and we have planted 4 new churches and helped one to relocate. Many local Christians were trained and encouraged in evangelism. We were able to minister in churches, un-churched areas, the prison, schools, villages and in people's homes. One of the most exciting aspects of this outreach is that several areas were systematically reached - every home heard the gospel, with the team completing the village, suburb or compound before moving onto the next. The hub leader will now identify men to lead these new churches. Soon they will be in training and soon they will start to plant new churches around them…. The work continues!

Special thanks to those who prayed for the team, all the glory goes to God!

Steven Loots
President
Harvesters International Ministries

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