Proverbs 3:5 Trust the Lord completely and do not depend on your own knowledge.
In July, the local Hands at Work team in Luanshya held a Maranatha Workshop for Primary Caregivers in Chilabula. The purpose of these workshops is to provide the Primary Caregivers with an understanding of the unconditional love and healing that comes through Jesus. As they are set free from the inner wounds of their trauma, they are able to better care for their children and share the hope of Christ with them.
Belita Mumbi, African Leader (Zambia), Member of the Local Hands at Work Team in Luanshya
“On the first day of the workshop, there were between 45 and 50 people who came. Sylvia started by sharing about the ‘Jesus We Know’, to which many people responded and opened up. She asked people who Jesus is to them and many shared. Then she shared about God and creation, after which Jimmy (a member of the Service Centre) hared about the Holy Spirit. To demonstrate, Jimmy covered a granny’s face with a chitenge to show blindness and how we can hear and be led by the Holy Spirit. After that, we saw five Primary Caregivers give their lives to Jesus. On day two, we learned from Xolani (a member of the Zambia Regional Support Team) about the heart of Jesus, unity and Relationship Groups. Then we went outside by the mango tree and talked about the function of the tree: how all the different parts depend on each other, and as people in a community, we can only do as well as all of our different parts. We need to come together and work together to care for our children. Coming away from the workshop, many Primary Caregivers committed to coming and helping at the Care Points and wanted to join the Relationship Groups.”
Sylvia Mwelwa, African Leader (Zambia), Coordinator of the Local Hands at Work Team in Luanshya
“I’ve done many Maranatha Workshops and been to Chilabula many times and even done one in Chilabula before and not seen the fruit. We needed to depend on God, not on our own knowledge. We prayed for weeks ahead of time. We even delayed the start of the workshop so we could have more time to pray. Sometimes we want to go to the community and change people without knowing that it is only God who changes the people. We prayed that God would do the work and bring the fruit, not using our own programme or knowledge. This time we saw God’s hand because we trusted Him.
Among the five Primary Caregivers who received Christ, one of them was the mother of Moses*. We all know Moses – he is 14 years old but he is so small - he looks like he is 6 or 7. Both his parents drink so much. Both parents came to the workshop drunk and we wanted to push them away, but we knew that they needed Christ the most, so we invited them to come closer. His mother said to us, “You people care for my child and I want to care for people the way that you do.” On the Thursday of that week, she came to the workshop sober and Moses’ father was the first one there, and also sober. Since then, they have given up drinking and when I went to Chilabula the week after the Maranatha Workshop, Moses’ father was at the Relationship Group!”