October Newsletter

Baptism Picture

Sunday Morning Service

Poema enjoying zambian music

Trying to occupying the girls during the message:)

Team Dinner

Muli Bwanji (“Hello” in Zambian Local Language). It is so great to be writing you from Lusaka. It seems like it was only 2 weeks ago that we were in Baltimore. Oh wait, it was only 2 weeks ago. God has really done wonderful things for our family in order for us to be here. Currently we are staying with Pr. Renaldo & Family until we find a place of our own. We jumped right back into the missions schedule of “full time” ministry with the bonus of our 2 daughters in the mix now. They are adjusting well and feeling at home at the church here. They are very free with everyone. Callia is quick to make friends; in fact, anyone she meets she says they are her “best friend”. We just had our 5^th baptism which always stirs us up as we see church members declaring to everyone their faith in Christ. We are preparing to welcome a group of guests coming for Pr Scibelli’s semi-annual visit. We also plan to visit the two new churches Pr. Adam Speedy and his team are pioneering and take a missions trip to Malawi (one of our next targeted countries). We are very excited about the trip to Malawi because it may give us a vision for a new country in the future.

Pray for us in the overall adjustment process. Things have to be done in stages here and many things that we take for granted in the west have to be done very thoughtfully and prayerfully over here. For instance, we began looking for a car; and, believe me, it is quite an endeavor over here. In Zambia, durable goods are hard to come by, so they tend to be very expensive. The plus side is that they hold their value a lot longer. A car here is like a house in the west; so even used cars are 2 to 3 times more in price. Thankfully two of the church members are mechanics and truly have a ministry to us in helping us make the right choice.

After we find a car we will tackle the housing issue. Again, thankfully Pr. Renaldo, Charity, Baby Linda, and Pr. Joe Roche have opened their home and laid down their lives to allow us to stay with them. It has become one big team house again with 8 people living under one roof (wow! – try that in Africa Jon & Kate). Julie is truly a champion. She has organized our whole family and our stuff all in one room and also manages to keep it clean. She cooks and takes care of the children and even finds time to give pre-school lessons to Callia. I think the most blessed part is when we bring the whole family to evangelism. Who can say no to Callia and Poema both handing you a tract. People ask me if it is a risk to take our family on the mission field. I see it as an investment in our family. Already I see us getting closer to each other as we draw near to God in His work.

The church has now multiplied from one church into 6 (4 churches in Lusaka and 2 that are 5 hours north). I am teaching in the Bible College again – Great Men of the Bible Class. Many of the graduates are now also teaching the classes and/or going on the new missions teams. By God’s grace we will send a team to Congo in April and another to Botswana 6 months after that. In Exodus 25:9, God told Moses to make the tabernacle and the utensils after a pattern. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel; we just do what we’ve seen other great men of God do. We simply follow the same pattern that we see in the book of Acts: Love God, Love the Word, and Love Lost Souls. Pr. Renaldo and the church here have done an awesome job following God’s pattern for touching people’s lives. God bless you and thank you for your prayers and support.

In Him,

The Arman Squad