Snowing Day

A freezing, snowy day birthed a premature winter. As often is the case in Oklahoma, we have an extended summer, a very short fall, and a sudden winter. When was the last time that we were snowed in for two days in a row?

A day of cold confinement always inspires me to cook. My always-be-prepared-for-the-worst husband exhorted me to fill up with gas and groceries before the ice and snow hit. I followed his advice with diligence. Smells of chili and homemade bread filled the air inside as snowed swirled in the air outside. Nothing brings comfort more than a wood-burning fire, a hot cup of coffee, and some homemade goodies.

What do I cook tomorrow?

Report We Received from Zambia

After returning home from Zambia, Israel Simbaya, our host in Ndola, sent the following report to us:

Alarm Zambia organized Pastoral Family Enrichment Conference in the town of Ndola from June 5-8, 2006. The conference attracted more than 50 pastors couples from 25 different denominations and churches. Our facilitators were Ed and Donna Edwards, Jacquelyn Edwards, Mike and Donna Jestes. They represented two organizations, namely: Living Well and KEEP.

The Ministry of Jacquelyn Edwards
Jacquelyn is 21 years. She accompanied her parents on this trip. She ministered to 260 students in four High Schools of Ndola, namely: Kamba Basic School, Muzi High School, Temweni High School and The Most High Secondary School. She spoke to the students on abstinence and purity. The response from them was overwhelming and encouraging. Following are some of the testimonies about the impact of her.
Tracy C. Mwelwa: I have learnt not to be ashamed of asking God to forgive me. No matter how big my mistakes and sins, He is able to forgive me. This has helped me to start living again.

Mwamba Kayeye: The timeless lessons that I have learned through Jacquelyn’s sharing are that God is the solution to everything, God is forgiving and that I must wait for the right time to have sex. I will use these principles to propel my entire life.

Sheba M. Mwale: I have learnt that it is important to keep my dignity because my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I have a sad past and I know God knows about it. I have asked Him to forgive me and I believe He has done it. Additionally, He will be able to use me as his instrument to minister to other lives.

Tinashe Mibenge: I have learned to keep my body pure. I will do exactly that by abstaining from sexual activities. I am helped to know that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Mwango Lomba: I have been cleared on relationships with the opposite sex. I have learned that relationships are not all about sex. I should zealously guard my virginity. If a person really loves me he should wait to have sex with me in marriage only. Thanks Jacquelyn for helping me to know this life truth.

The Ministry of Mike and Donna Jestes
Mike and Donna trained Trainers of Trainers on HIV/AIDS. Many professional persons attended their seminar. We had 78 participants. The impact of Mike’s ministry is evident in the following testimonies:
Phelma: Through the seminar, I have now come to realize the value and importance of abstinence. Abstinence is good for a youth like me. I want to adopt it as my lifestyle.

Patrick Mkandawire: I have always believed that condoms are a 100% preventative method against HIV-AIDS because of the way they are advertised on our public media. The teachings I have received in this seminar today have changed my perception about condoms. I now believe that condoms have a false security regarding prevention against HIV. Condoms only lower the risk but they cannot do away with the risk completely. This makes me believe that abstinence is the best method of prevention against HIV/AIDS. I promise to live by it.

Lois: The practical examples on purity have brought change in my life. It is good I came to this seminar.

Joseph Chanda: A condom is not 100% safe. So I have learned to abstain till my right time comes. This is my gospel message I will live by.

The Ministry of Ed and Donna Edwards
Pastoral Family Enrichment Conference started on June 5 and ended on June 8. The main speakers in this conference were Ed and Donna. God used them to bring change and transformation in the lives and marriages of many a conference attendee. The impact of their ministry to the pastors and their wives was tremendous.
Mrs. Evelyn Chendela, Baptist Church: I have learned to respect my husband unconditionally. I will forgive him even if he does not ask for it.

Pastor Maybin Mwaba, Christian Kings Worship Center: I was poor at communicating with my wife. I have been helped to communicate well with her. This conference was just for me. God has used it to transform me completely.

Mrs. Elmeda Bisenga, Cathedral of Faith: I thank God for what he has done for me during the conference. I have specifically learnt the difference between a husband and a wife in a marriage relationship. I will take a new approach in my marriage.

Mrs. Alice Changwe, Church of God: I am revived in my spirit. I never respected my husband. I have grasped what it means to respect him. If I practice what I have learned my marriage will be restored.

Mrs. Alice Chisenga, Church of God: I did not know how to love my husband, but I have learned.

Pastor Duncan Muzala, Church of God in Christ: The conference was wonderful. I have been ministered to in most areas of my marriage. I have known where I have made terrible mistakes. I can improve now through God’s enablement.

Pastor Geofrey Mwape, Christian Miracle Center: I have learned that effectiveness in ministry is measured by how one treats his own family. This is revival to me.

Pastor Kandu Frackson, Apostolic Church: I have learned to honour my wife and apologise to her whenever I offend her.

Mrs. Christine Mbewe, New Hope Christian Center: Your ministry has revived our marriage relationship. May God bless you!

Mrs. Catherine K. Kasweshi, Revival Church: I have been so blessed especially on the topic of guarding our hearts as a duty of both husbands and wives.


Few weeks after the conference, the participants have continued to testify that Ed and Donna, through their teaching ministry, have brought revival and new meaning to their marriage relationships. They (participants) have started living again. They have been confessing that they would be forever grateful to God for having brought Ed and Donna to Zambia.

Closing the Conference

After we handed out certificates to all of those who attended, they expressed their thanks with singing, hugs, and gifts.

Ed and Donna celebrate 33rd Anniversary in Africa

On our first full day in Africa, we celebrated our 33rd anniversary. Actually, we didn't do much celebrating, we just had dinner at the hotel in Nairobi. It's significance paled in comparison to the gargantuan trip we were making.

But our host in Zambia, Israel Simbaya, knew of the occasion through the multitude of emails that he and Ed exchanged. On the third day of our conference, the Zambians took the opportunity to honor us and celebrate our anniversary. Israek and Beatrice Simbaya presneted us with anniversary cardssigned by everyone in attendance. They presented us with flowers and a anniversary cake decorated with my favorite color.

The best part was the way they presented the cake and flowers. The effect is lost in pictures, one needs sound to go with it. A long line of women came down the middle aisle singing Come and See What the Lord has Done. They don't just sing, but dance as they come down the aisle. And all is done with great joy!

The last woman in the line was carrying a huge knife to use to cut the cake. But she went through a lengthy process of teasing us, pretending to give us the knife. Then as she finally did give it to us, she helped us cut the cake.


After cutting the cake, they insisted that we feed it to each other as we do at a wedding reception. Then, they demanded we kiss, which we accommodated. Our 33rd anniversary will always have a special memory with it.

Putnam City Baptist Church gives Ties and Scarves for Zambian Pastors and Wives

Our church family deluged us with ties and scarves after we shared our desire to take a special gift to each pastor and wife. We didn't take one tie and scarf but THREE ties and scarves for each person there.


We loved giving them, but not as much as they loved receiving them. Women most often bow their heads and even curtsy as they shake hands or receive a gift. They show honor and reverence in the demeanor of their culture.


After they received their gifts, some immediately put one on. They all celebrated with song and dance as they thanked God for the gifts from one church in Oklahoma City to The Church in Ndola, Zambia.

Charles, our Translator

An unknown before teaching in any country in Africa is the translator. Your translator may stumble over your words or he may teach as you teach. Some follow your gestures and tone of voice. You are hoping that they convey the same spiritual message your heart is teaching. In past conferences, we have had as many as four or five translators.


One of the great joys of this conference was Pastor Charles, our translator. He was not only a translator, he was a man of worship, a man of God, and a man of prayer. His voice was stronger than any of ours. We shared teaching duties among four of us.

After two days of lots of teaching, Ed was getting hoarse and a sore throat, but not Charles. He translated for all four of us, and he never used a microphone. He never got tired or hoarse and hardly ever even took a drink of water.

He had a smile that wouldn't end. He was a constant companion to every teacher. In most pictures of us teaching, the unnamed person in the picture is Charles. He was always encouraging to us and and talked to us personally about points of teaching. Thank you, Charles!

Study Bibles for Pastors

We had 50 NIV Study Bibles shipped to Zambia to give to each couples attending the conference. Along with ALARM, we gave all of them out and are shipping seven more over there. The Zambian pastors and wives received them with gratitude, rejoicing, and humility.

America, Freedom, and Forgiveness

What is the relationship between Freedom and Forgiveness? And what does that have to do with the 4th of July?

What does it mean to be set free?

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law says to relieve or rid of what constrains, confines, restricts, or burdens.

We value our freedom in America. But does our political freedom really relieve of us of what constrains, confines, restricts, or burdens us? I do not want to devalue our freedom in any way. I cherish it. I am so thankful that God, in His grace, put me in the USA. I have been to four continents and many countries but have never considered taking up residence anywhere else.

But there is a limit to my freedom here. My freedom is limited by my own anxieties. My freedom is constrained to the point that it doesn't interfer with someone else's freedom. How do I become truly free?

Jesus says:
John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Our only true freedom comes from the Truth given to us through Jesus Christ our Lord. What does he mean when He says that He will set us free? Free from what?

Romans 6:18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

We are free from sin, it's punishment, and even it's presence. It doesn't mean that we don't ever sin again, but we aren't bound to sin, we are bound to Christ.

But how do we take advantage of that freedom?
Hebrews 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

He died so that we could be free. Our part is to receive the forgiveness that He offers to each of us based on His love for us, not based on what we have done or can do. And then we can live in the freedom through the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

His desire is that we live in that freedom, not doing whatever we want, but doing what He wants. Today, as we are so grateful for our political freedom, we celebrate it, we sing about it, we shoot off fireworks in honor of it. How do we celebrate our personal freedom in Christ? We celebrate it, we sing about it, but more than anything, we celebrate our freedom by following our Lord, out of our love for Him.

I truly believe that God does want us to help the whole world find true freedom. I do wish they all had the political and economic freedom we have, but a person can still be enslaved personally. True freedom comes through a freedom from sin. God wants us to live in that freedom!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Galatians 5:1

Ed Edwards teaches Pastors and Wives on Receiving

Men in Africa traditionally are disconnected from their wives as well as their children. They often eat separately from the rest of the family. Christian husbands today are seeking to be the husband that God wants.

At the marriage conferences we teach in Africa, Ed always includes a part for the couples to turn to each other and say "You are God's perfect gift for me."

The second day, he has them hold hands as they say the same line. We often have to demonstrate what we mean because they are not accustomed to holding hands, face-to-face with each other.

On the third day, he will have them hold hands again and add the line "And I will love you forever" to what they have already said. By the third day, the couples seem comfortable with the exercise and even laugh and enjoy it.

Jacque Edwards speaks to Pastors Conference in Zambia

Fathers in Sub-saharan Africa traditionally remain distant from their children, leaving the role of parenting, training, and nurturing to the mother. Even Christian fathers are not always involved with their children. After Mike Jestes spoke to the pastors about the importance of the father in rearing their children, Jacque spoke about the importance of her relationship to her own father. To children, LOVE is spelled TIME. Her father's time and attention to her has made her feel valued and close to him. Even little things, like watching a golf tournament on TV together, mean a lot to her.

Students' response to Jacquelyn

Tracy C. Mwelwa: I have learnt not to be ashamed of asking God to forgive me. No matter how big my mistakes and sins, He is able to forgive me. This has helped me to start living again.


Mwamba Kayeye: The timeless lessons that I have learned through Jacquelyn’s sharing are that God is the solution to everything, God is forgiving and that I must wait for the right time to have sex. I will use these principles to propel my entire life.

Sheba M. Mwale: I have learnt that it is important to keep my dignity because my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I have a sad past and I know God knows about it. I have asked Him to forgive me and I believe He has done it. Additionally, He will be able to use me as his instrument to minister to other lives.



Tinashe Mibenge: I have learned to keep my body pure. I will do exactly that by abstaining from sexual activities. I am helped to know that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Mwango Lomba: I have been cleared on relationships with the opposite sex. I have learned that relationships are not all about sex. I should zealously guard my virginity. If a person really loves me he should wait to have sex with me in marriage only. Thanks Jacquelyn for helping me to know this life truth.

Jacquelyn Edwards teaches Students on Sexual Purity

A.L.A.R.M., along with a local student ministry, arranged speaking opportunities at four schools (a total of 260 students) in Ndola. The highest rate of sexual transmission of HIV is among heterosexuals. Young women are the getting AIDS faster than any other gender/age group. Many young women acquire AIDS from older men. Many myths and cultural barriers contribute to the pandemic. Women, in general, do not have strong skills in saying "no" to sexual advances from men.


The message of sexual abstinence until marriage is not only God's desire for every person but is a life and death decision in Zambia. Jacque used a combination of her own personal testimony with the truth of God's Word. She punctuated her message with her favorite candy, Skittles, as part of a visual demonstration.

AIDS in Zambia

The HIV/AIDS virus has taken center stage in feared scenarios of life. When teaching to a group on any subject in Africa, the leaders take the opportunity to teach on STD's, most of all HIV. Zambia had reached an expected life expectancy of 60 years old around 1980; that life expectancy has now fallen to 37 years old because of AIDS.

While teaching on marriage, we had the perfect opportunity to speak about sex and AIDS. While Donna Jestes spoke to the women outside on the role of the wife in marriage, Mike Jestes spoke to the men inside on STD's. In our next session, Ed spoke to the men on the role of the husband and Mike spoke to the wife on STD's.

Misinformation abounds about AIDS. A common belief is that if a man, who is HIV positive, has sex with a virgin, he will no longer have HIV. So, many older men have sex with younger women, infecting them. The group being infected most are 15-24 years women through heterosexual relationships.

Mike Jestes is executive director of Oklahoma Family Policy Council (associated with Focus on the Family). OFPC does the most extensive STD/Abstinence education training of anyone in the state of Oklahoma. His extensive experience was valuable in communicating the facts to both the men and women in Zambia.

Marriage and Family Teaching

Zambians are a peaceful people, our host explained. They do not fight each other or with outside nationalities; but death has a pervasive presence. Many families have four to ten children; often one or two have died, sometimes in an accident, often from disease. Many young women are widowed, children are orphaned. Grief is a constant companion.

One battlefront raging within that country, killing large segments of their inhabitants, is HIV/AIDS. Misinformation abounds about the ubiquitous enemy. Why is AIDS so prevalent in Africa? They asked us.

Without answers to that haunting question, we sought to arm them with information and inspiration to save their lives and their marriages. Their thankfulness humbled us. Their celebration of the Lord showered us with joy. Their great hunger for His Truth captivates our hearts.


We passed out cards near the beginning for them to submit anonymous questions about marriage. The variety of questions included many questions about HIV/AIDS and sex. Others: What can you advise a couple who found his partner in adultery? Why do pastors divorce their wives? How can the marriages be acquitted of traditions that are barriers? Why do men fail to say “sorry and please forgive me,” especially to their spouses? What can I do to make my marriage to be strong? … They have unique challenges due to traditions, low incomes, and the scourge of AIDS, but they also have the same kind of problems we do.

We should never presume that they cannot understand or absorb our message because of the difference in education, income, or exposure to modern ways. We have found that the African people are very intelligent, highly teachable, and have a thirst for knowing more of God’s Word and how to live it out.

Zambian Resourcefulness

Being without power or not having a kitchen would never stop a Zambian from providing a meal or tea for a group, even if it is a large group. The venue where we were meeting did not have kitchen facilities but that was not a deterrent to the women serving the needs of the conference attendees. They went out behind the building and built a fire and cooked lunch. Every morning they had tea and rolls for the group. The absence of a dining hall meant that the men and women found places outside to gather in groups to eat and talk.

Oneness in Marriage, Zambia

To demonstrate the oneness that God wants for marriage, with Christ as the foundation and the seal, Donna and Ed use blue, pink, and white sand.


Just a month before going to Zambia, we saw our son, Zac and his new bride, Nikki, go through the same procedure. At their wedding, they poured the sand as a picture of their commitment to each other that their lives would forever be mingled together, unable to separate. They committed not only their lives to each other but also their commitment to Christ as their foundation and their seal.

Marriage and Family Enrichment Conference, Ndola, Zambia

Monday, June 5 began our Marriage and Family Enrichment Conference for Pastors and Wives in Ndola, Zambia. Many couples came together, although some wives were unable to attend because of recent childbirth or helping with harvest, etc. Some wives attended without husbands because many pastors are bi-vocational and had to work. At least 56 couples were represented at the conference.

The conference occupied a room where a church rents a space in a former university building. Israel and Beatrice Simbaya of ALARM and Kedrick, their administrative assistant, organized the conference over the last six months.


The life expectancy of a person born in Zambia right now is 37 years old, so we found ourselves to be the elders of the group. One pastor attended who had been married longer than we have. He was usually one the first there every morning and sat on the front row.

Mike Jestes began the teaching of the conference by talking to the pastors about their priorities - including their relationship to God, their marriage, their children, and their ministry to their church. Mike is known for his interactive illustrations and demonstrations as he teaches.

Pastor Webby Siwale hosts us for lunch

After the church service, Pastor Webby Siwale honored us at lunch in his home. A team of women prepared the extensive choices for our pleasure and served us. The pastor's wife, a young man (called to be a youth minister), and two women joined us for lunch.