to the Edge 08

That was the theme for our Southern Sectional Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa from March 24-29, 2008. The following are the highlights of our time together with 450 missionaries in the Southern Section of Africa. Enjoy the picture of our Zambia Family!

Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us, and bless us, and make His face shine upon us, that Your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the people praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us.
God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him. (NIV)

We began each morning with music/worship from a team in the States at WestHills Church. Robby Hurd (team leader, guitar player, vocalist, and lead worshipper) along with Josh Harrison (electric guitarist), Collin Ray (drummer), and Greg Chapman (bass player) lead our worship and praise music and did an excellent job.

We were blessed to have 36 volunteers from Columbia, Tennessee come and share their gifts and talents with over 100 MK's for the week.

Leading our mentoring sessions was a long time supporter and participant in mission adventures, Dr. Al Jackson, pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn, Alabama. He was a great encouragement for us and our cluster as we learned more about being a mentor and being mentored.

And last, but certainly not least, our main speaker, the "VP of the World", Dr. Gordon Fort, let God speak from his heart into our lives, and the Spirit was truly in this place. What a privilege it was to hear what God is doing in and around the world. Gordon grew up in Zimbabwe as an MK, and married a journeyman from Bophuthatswana. They were career missionaries in Botswana and Zimbabwe, and now Gordon serves as VP of Overseas Operations of the IMB. I can't describe the closeness we all felt to God. It was a powerful week!

During the week we had all kinds of meetings and we hardly ever saw our kids except for leaving the room for breakfast and tucking them in at night. They had a blast just being with other MK's and getting loved on by the volunteer team from the States. Oh, and they brought goodie bags for all the MK's. Austin, Coby, and Kelsey received Dr. Peppers, Cheez Grips, Pop Tarts, Fire balls, and lots more during the week. Not much of those goodies were left-over to make the trip back to Zambia!

The hotel we stayed at was very plush -- not what I expected to see in Africa, but this is Jo'burg and everything here is just like America. You don't feel as if you're even in Africa. I didn't sleep very well, but it was nice nonetheless.

My afterthoughts of this meeting: a spiritual refreshment and a desire to come back home to Zambia and sow the seeds of the gospel among our people group. I first, and foremost, had to get on my knees and pour my heart out to God. There is something about kneeling before the Lord which causes our hearts to bend to His will. Then, my priority was to become connected to the Vine, to be with Christ. And then I had to remove all hindrances from my vision of seeing the glorious face of my Savior. I have thanked God for this time and put Him in charge of my life and my ministry. He has brought me and my family to these people so He can do a miracle that will cause our mouths to drop open and praise Him. We are not the Savior, Jesus is. He knows what He is doing.