Surprises

Sunday's outreach brought some pleasant surprises. Don and Laura Oldenburg and I took a group of high school boys on an outreach to the Tara congregation about an hour away. (David ended up having to drive on another outreach at the last minute.)

We arrived a few minutes before the worship service began. Laura and I sat down on the women's side of the building and were greeted by two ladies in the row ahead of us. One lady had a four-year-old son who couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of us. He looked like a healthy, happy child, and we enjoyed watching him as much as he enjoyed watching us. The mother sang with obvious enthusiasm during the worship and gave me the overall impression that she was a committed member of the congregation. Later one of the students we had brought with us introduced me to the woman, and I found out that she is my special little Bernard's new stepmother! (Bernard's biological mother died in childbirth; Bernard's father has since remarried.) Bernard's father was in Choma on Sunday, so I didn't get to meet him, but I did assure the stepmother that Bernard is old enough now for them to come get him from the orphanage and take him to live with them. I was thrilled to meet her and find out that Bernard will be going to a home with Christian parents and a sweet big brother. I'm also thankful that Bernard will be living close enough that I can visit him every now and then to see how he's doing.

When the sermon started, the thirty or so children in the congregation got up and went outside for Sunday School. The other lady who was sitting in front of us left with them to be their teacher. After the service ended, she led the children back in and took them up to the front of the building where they sang a song and acted out the story of Naaman. The teacher carried with her one of the Beginner's Bibles that I had given out during teacher training classes in 2006! It was a joy for me to see that teachers are continuing to use the Bibles and doing the activities that I taught them.

Once again I am reminded of the Zambian saying: God is good all the time. All the time God is good.