Kingdom culture

changing a totally blown out tire int he African Bush!

a shot of a town here, i love the colors!

A Village in the bush
Kingdom Culture
Jeremiah said to me this morning “ wow! It is such a privilege to be in these boys’ lives! To be discipling them and loving them! They are the children God holds closest to His heart and He entrusted us with them. We need to pray to be good stewards…”
Loving these boys: their culture has thought them to be part of the crowd, to not seek being an individual, or to admit their personal struggles. The strength of this is that they really think as a community, they think as a group, “My brother or friend is just as important as I am” we have seen how this can cause them (anyone in the community) to avoid getting ahead because they will be seen as not thinking of the community as a whole (my story about the man who stopped gardening), but I think in it’s pure form this mentality is from God. But we also see how the culture we have been brought up in can serve them as well. We have always been encouraged to think for ourselves, to be creative problem solvers, the get up and keep going when we fall. Being different is good.
We are realizing the encouraging them to be individuals, yet also playing off the strength of their culture; togetherness and the group mentality, is how they will grow the most. This is the kingdom mindset; we want to create a kingdom culture in their lives, and in ours. We can learn from each other.

Mike (a Zambian who we live with and is on our team), Jeremiah and I began Pebbles and Stones with the group of boys we have been teaching English to. This is a wonderful curriculum that emphasizes teaching children how to hear God’s voice and respond to Him. We were not sure what to expect this being the first time. These boys are so hungry for attention and to learn. They are like little sponges just eating up things we/God offers them. Because they have little education, and have had such little stimulation through out their lives, and the culture they come from, it feels like extra effort to get them thinking for themselves. Jeremiah told the story of Jehoshaphat in 2nd chronicles 20, and how he had to pray and ask God for help. They then got their own pen and paper to journal. What a beautiful site; all of them finding their own little rock to sit on and to journal. When we gathered back to talk about what God had said to them, and what they had drawn, most of them repeated the story that Jeremiah had told them. But as we asked more questions many of their fears came out. One boy told us he is shaken awake at night by something (a sprit) and He gets afraid. Many said they were afraid of death. It was hard for them to share their thoughts, but we were so encouraged by how they were beginning to open up. We stood and prayed for the person next to us. It felt like we could finally see into their lives. Having mike there to interpret opened up a whole new world fro Jeremiah and I to really begin to understand their worlds.
We saw a real leader emerge, Mukaela. We went and visited his family after, and found out he is a true double orphan. He lives with his grandma and sister who has a baby of her own. During Pebbles and Stones he shared and helped prod the other boys. He said to us “I want to be a child of God” and we never used this language with him! He can’t read or write (either in his own language or English). So how do we push him into leadership?! Jeremiah saw a picture while he was praying this morning of Mukaela leading Pebbles and Stones with other kids.
Through discipleship, learning Bible stories, and through hearing from God. We pray and believe that specifically 5 of these boys will become leaders in their communities, have a heart for orphans like themselves (3 other have lost their father, and sometimes live with the grandmother and sometimes with their mother), really share Jesus, what they are learning from God, and this will become simple reproducible churches where ever they go. That they would get a vision to see Zambians rural villages reached. We have Faith God will teach them to read over time, and to speak English