Teaching Pastors in Kitwe

We normally teach for five days at our pastors' marriage conferences when we go to Africa. We knew that we had a lot to accomplish on this trip, so we decided to teach for 3 days and do part 1 this year and part two next year.

The attentiveness of these pastors/spouses is always encouraging to us.

They are laughing at Ed or one of his jokes - not sure which!

Our youngest participant - just 4 weeks old!

LIVING WELL Zambia Mission Team Shares

THE NEXT STEP

What is my next step in my career? ..... in my marriage? ......in ministry? .... in my life?

We all face those questions. The question is easy; the answer doesn't always seem clear.

We have had a lot of people come to us with those questions. Usually, we want to know what is at the end of the road first and, secondly, how to get there. We have found that God doesn't always show us the end of the road, but He will always show us the next step.

Our answer to most people is "do what you know that He wants right now for your next step." After we take that step, He will show us the one after that.

School girl running after our bus
as we left

What's our next step in Africa?

We know that the Lord wants us to continue to help the children at Wisdom Community School in whatever way we can right now.

Our supporters and Zambia mission team have invested financially, emotionally, and spiritually in the school.

We believe that our next step is to provide security bars for the three doors and the one regular window of the school. The school is in a high crime area. When the vandals in that area learn that there are new books, etc. in the school, they will break in and steal whatever they could sell. The cost is about $650.

If you are interested in donating towards the security of the school, go to our donation link here.

Believing without Seeing

"Seeing is different than being told." African Proverb

We try to prepare our teams going to Africa as well as we can. Words and pictures cannot convey some parts of the journey.

Words do not adequately describe what it is like to sit down with kids who have never had new clothes, who have never wondered if they will have enough to eat, who have never sat on a toilet that flushed or ridden in a car or used a computer or watched a TV.

Words fall short when you try to explain the life of pastors who have never been to a Bible college or seminary or to a bookstore to buy a commentary. How do you describe the life of a pastor who shepherds a congregation who barely has enough food or water for themselves, much less something to pay the salary of a pastor or the upkeep of the church?

We can't adequately express the grace and gratitude of people who have no formal training in etiquette or diplomacy. Breaking down the barriers of preconceived ideas is impossible when those ideas have never risen to the level of consciousness. Most of us assume a lack of education means a lack of intelligence or desire to learn. Just a few minutes of teaching and interacting with our African brothers and sisters exposes and defeats those assumptions. More unknown assumptions lie in the minds of the average Christian in the U.S.

Those who sign-up for this journey go by faith - faith that God has called them, faith that He has given something to share, faith that He will provide the funds, the health, and the strength to complete the journey.

For us, one of the most exciting parts of this mission trip will be these eight people experience God in a new way, see the Kingdom from a larger perspective, and grow in their knowledge of Him.

 When we go, we expect the unexpected. We believe that God has gone before us; the unexpected for us is not new information for Him. We pray and plan but are assured that His ways are higher than our ways. We want to make a difference in the life of one less fortunate but we know that our lives will be the ones that are changed the most.

"Put simply, faith is believing in something you haven't seen."
                                     John MacArthur

His Heart Belongs in Africa

"God had only one Son,
and He was a missionary.”
David Livingstone

Zambia enjoys the great history of David Livingstone exploring and bringing the gospel to their land. David Livingstone died in present-day Zambia on May 1st,1873, from malaria and internal bleeding caused by dysentery. He took his final breaths while kneeling in prayer at his bedside.

Britain wanted the body to give it a proper ceremony, but the tribe would not give his body to them. Finally they relented, but cut the heart out and put a note on the body that said, "You can have his body, but his heart belongs in Africa!". Livingstone's heart was buried under a Mvula tree near the spot where he died. His tombstone in Westminster Abbey reads, "Brought by faithful hands over land and sea, David Livingstone: missionary, traveler, philanthropist. For 30 years his life was spent in an unwearied effort to evangelize the native races, to explore the undiscovered secrets, and to abolish the slave trade."

David Livingstone was the inspiration for many missionaries going to Zambia, Africa. They have been heavily evangelized and are somewhere between 50-75% Christian. The Zambian constitution even declares them to be a Christian nation.

Unfortunately, these factors do not translate into Christian lifestyles in all aspects of their lives. Sex outside of marriage is common, which has become the means by which HIV/AIDS is spread. Zambia has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS. About one in every seven adults is HIV+. The life expectancy is around 50 years old (up from 39 years at the height of the epidemic).

Children have been much affected by the AIDS epidemic in Zambia, where 120,000 children are estimated to be infected with HIV. In 2009 there were 690,000 AIDS orphans in the country and made up half of all orphans in the country.

In 2003, it was revealed that increasing numbers of child rape cases were being fuelled by the "virgin cure" myth (which wrongly claims that sex with a virgin can cure AIDS). Older men will have sex with a younger girl, a virgin, thinking it will take away the AIDS. The reality is that it further spreads the disease.

The church can be one of the most effective means of changing the direction of the epidemic and ministering to those who are affected by it.

OCTOBER 2011 LETTER - LIVING WELL

I was done. I was ready to get out of the marriage…… How much longer can I go on? …. A last ditch effort…. They better have a miracle in their pocket….. Realizing how much I had been forgiven…. Why do I deserve to be forgiven but he doesn’t? I need grace everyday just like he does. …. Learning how to not argue, how to resolve our differences. Learning techniques….. Now reconciled after two years of separation.

This testimony of what God has done through Living Well was shared at our dinner. [see the video here]

Guidance given in the first nine months of 2011

Since the beginning of 2011, we have met with 22 couples (multiple appointments each) six of those appointments were for premarital preparation. When couples come to see us, we both meet with them. We ministered to 23 individuals (5 were also in the couple meetings) for a total of 62 different people, representing 40 families. (who have a total of 60 children approximately). Your prayers and support has made a difference for all of these families. 

Thank you for our prayers for our annual dinner. We enjoyed seeing everyone and sharing what God has done during the last year and His vision for us for the year to come.

At last year’s dinner, our board presented a budget of about $148,000. Our budgets include all of our ministry expenses including rent, office supplies, printing, staff development (.5%), salaries, payroll taxes, health insurance, Africa missions, and fundraising (1.2%). As you can see, we operate on a very low budget for the amount of ministry that we do. We are the only two staff members. After last year’s dinner, some commented to us that they couldn’t believe that we operated on that small amount. We are thankful for the many donors who make this ministry possible. 

Living Well Budget for Fiscal Year
October 2011-Sept 2012

Our income during the last fiscal year was $12,000 less than our budget. Since we operate on a very tight budget, the only expense that we can cut is salaries. We received $1000 less per month salary than our budgeted amount. At our dinner, our board of directors presented our total budget of $164,645 for the coming fiscal year . Our budget includes the same ministry expenses as last year except money for one new computer and a second mission trip to Africa.

We believe that God wants us to focus our mission efforts next year in Zambia again. Our ministry time there last year was very fruitful. Why would we spend 20% of our budget this year on this mission when we aren’t even receiving full salaries? Because of the numbers of lives that we can impact and the receptiveness of those to whom we minister. 

During eight days in Zambia last year, we taught over 40 hours and reached about 275 people; 100 of those were pastor couples. The need there is so great in so many areas but they are very responsive to the teaching and willing to follow the Lord. We are now planning to go to Zambia in January of 2012 to minister but also to plan for a larger ministry endeavor for the summer of 2012.

How can we possibly meet this new budget since it is around $28,000 more than we received last year? Only God can make it possible! Please pray with us that He will provide the additional donations so that we can continue in the ministry to which He has called us.

We ask you to pray with us that God, Our Provider, will supply the necessary funds for full salaries and also for an additional computer and mission needs that we have. Please pray our donations increase by $2333/month. We know our mission to see marriages healed and strengthened is close to His hear.

Donations make it possible for us to give guidance to people with their marriages or money management problems, regardless of their income and ability to give. The donations also sustain our work with churches in developing marriage ministries and our Africa missions. You are an valuable part of our ministry! We love and appreciate you and your support of what God is doing at Living Well!

Our love in Christ,
Donna and Ed Edwards