| Zambia Field Visit Highlights From March 23rd to April 13th we traveled to southern Africa to consult with church leaders and meet with Global Partners' missionaries serving in Africa. The first week and a half were spent visiting Global Partners' work in Zambia. Highlights of the visit included the following: - Bob met with the Zambian National Superintendent, Rev. Sitali Kakungu, along with members of the national board and several District Superintendents. They discussed issues of vision and strategy as the Zambian church continues to grow both within the country as well as in neighboring countries of Uganda and Malawi.
 - We toured several thriving Pilgrim Wesleyan churches in the capital city of Lusaka, including John Howard Pilgrim Wesleyan Church, a congregation of over 600 located in a sprawling shanty town. How exciting to view the varied ministries of this congregation as they minister to the needs in their community! What a thrill to hear the pastor tell of taking two Bible College students "fishing" the day before and of winning 46 people to Christ.
 - We visited Zimba Mission Hospital, the sole hospital serving a population of thousands from miles around. We observed the dedication and commitment of the GP missionaries stationed there: Drs. Dan and Joan Jones, mission administrator and hostess Selinda Ingalls, and maintenance supervisor Jesse Van Horn.
 - We enjoyed Sunday morning worship at Zimba Pilgrim Wesleyan Church and viewed the new church building that is presently under construction.
 - We had several days of fellowship with missionaries Mike & Cindy Helvie at Pilgrim Wesleyan Bible College at Jembo. (The photo at the top of the newsletter is of the road leading to Jembo.) While there Bob helped the college get started with computerized academic record keeping and consulted with the Principal, Rev. Harrison Jani (pictured below).
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| In This Issue | | | | | | | | April 25 -- Greenville, OH - Trinity Wesleyan Church May 25 -- Indianapolis, IN - Theological Education Consultation May 26-28 -- Indianapolis, IN - Leadership Council May 30 -- Bolivar, OH - Bolivar Wesleyan Church June 8 -- Brockville, ON - International Partnership Team for Ghana | | We Are Available | | We would love to have an opportunity to come and share what God is doing in the Wesleyan Church in Africa with the people at your church. We are available in May and June to share through Sunday morning or evening services, Sunday School classes, mission conferences, Wesleyan Women's events, Bible studies, prayer meetings, mission moments during any service - or whatever would work in your setting. | | | | We are grateful for all who have made a commitment to become part of our regular prayer and/or financial support team. If you haven't done so, you can join the team by clicking the link below. Thanks! | | Forward to a Friend | | You can help us by forwarding "Bits & Bytes" to friends who will be interested in the work of Global Partners in Africa. Just click on the link below. Friends who receive the email will also be given an opportunity to sign up to receive it in the future. | | | Africa's Generosity Continues In last month's edition of Bits & Bytes we reported that the Sierra Leone Wesleyan Church had donated $1000 toward Haiti relief. But they were not the only Wesleyan church in Africa who responded to the need in Haiti. While in the Sunday morning service in Zimba, we learned they had collected a special offering for Haiti relief a few weeks earlier. Later, in Swaziland, Dorcas Croft, missionary serving at Emmanuel Wesleyan Bible College, also reported that the students there had just had a missions conference during which they collected faith promises designated for Haiti. The emerging transition of African churches from being merely "receivers" to becoming "givers" is an important sign of developing maturity. | Prayer Requests
Please help us pray for the following needs: - Pray for the national superintendent of Zambia, Rev. Sitali Kakungu and members of the national board as they explore new areas of outreach.
- Pray that God will give wisdom to Rev. Bhekisisa Maziya, the newly appointed Principal of Emmanuel Wesleyan Bible College in Swaziland. The college is facing significant enrollment and financial challenges.
- Please pray for strength and encouragement for the missionaries at Zimba Mission in Zambia (Dan & Joan Jones, Selinda Ingalls, Jesse Van Horn) as they minister in the midst of high demands on their time and energy. Pray also that God will fully restore physical health and strength to Mike & Cindy Helvie at Pilgrim Wesleyan Bible College following several bouts with malaria. (Click here to see a slideshow of GP's missionaries in Zambia and their work.)
- Pray for Rev. and Mrs. Harrison Jani, Mike and Cindy Helvie, and Selinda Ingalls as they travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of this month to minister to and encourage churches there.
| | Praise Points - Praise God for safety in our travels and for a highly profitable trip to Zambia, South Africa, and Swaziland.
- Praise God for a record enrollment (30) at Pilgrim Wesleyan Bible College in Zambia.
- Thank the Lord for dedicated pastors and church leaders in Zambia who are winning the lost and ministering effectively in their communities.
| | The "Aha" Moment
One of the major realizations that sunk in during our three weeks in Africa was how important it is for us to get deployed to the field as soon as possible. Bob keeps quite busy communicating with African leaders and missionaries through email, Skype, and telephone. It gave us the false impression that technology made it possible for him to adequately do a major portion of his job from almost anywhere in the world. This trip made us see that our physical presence adds significantly to the effectiveness and scope in which we will be able to serve the African church and our missionaries.
We discovered that the level of access to technology for African leaders and missionaries was far below the level we had anticipated. For example, at the missionary retreat Bob intended to unveil a networking website he had developed for the GP Africa team, but had to scrap the idea because the Internet connection at the retreat center was inadequate to load the site. And, missionaries at the retreat were rejoicing at the "high speed" Internet connections at the retreat because it was so far superior than what they enjoyed in their places of service! From the first day in Lusaka with National Superintendent Sitali Kakungu it became quickly clear that emails and brief phone conversations could not substitute for face to face discussions for communicating vision and passion. The walk through Zimba Mission Hospital with Dan Jones brought about a clearer picture of the scope of ministry and challenges being faced there than a stack of newsletters, photos, formal reports, and statistics.
Would you help us as we seek to raise the remaining support needed so we can be deployed to the field? Please pray that we can make the right connections with churches and individuals who can provide the finances that still are needed. Could you act as an advocate on our behalf with acquaintances and your church to help us raise the additional support needed? Thanks for your partnership with us!
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