The meaning of "Factorize"

Last month we told the story of the “First Aid” Box in the section of T.I.A. (This is Africa). This pas t month I have a story that stuck with me the whole month and maybe for a good while to come.  A few weeks ago we met a man who is a Christian, but has been backslidden for some time.  He was so touched with the message of Grace and God’s unconditional love for him, that he assured us that he would visit the church.  He said (with a half-smile),”Let me go and “Factorize” myself and then I’ll see you on Wednesday.” I just began laughing, trying to think of the meaning of “Factorize”.  Obviously, he meant that he wanted to get cleaned up and be presentable in the house of God. Wednesday came and went and he never showed up.  It made me think of how many people, whether it be mental or physical “factorization”, never come to church or to God because they are not ready.  The point is they are as ready as they ever are going to be to come to God.  Thank God, that His message is always a message of “Just Come” like He says in Matthew  11:28-30 without need of “Factorization”.

 For our couples ministry we all got together and watched the Fireproof movie.  It’s been about 3 years since we watched it with the church and it was very thought provoking.  If you haven’t seen the movie (I won’t spoil it), it is a story of a Firefighter and his wife whose marriage is on the verge of divorce.  We had all the couples take notes of many of the factors that brought problems into their marriage.  Afterwards we discussed them as a group.  Two of the Zambian pastors were on a panel with myself to field comments and questions.  It was amazing to see the growth in all of our couple’s lives.  The couples ministry is one area where we can see first-hand where messages that are preached on Grace are implemented in peoples families.  So many of these marriages have the character of God infused in their decisions, it causes us to thank and glorify the goodness of God.

We are asking for your prayers:

-For the Malawian Church Registration to be processed without a hitch. We submitted it just after Christmas and everything seemed fine. It should be ready by the middle of this month. We are praying for no hangups.

-For the submission for Pr. Albert and my work permits. This requires our Church registration to be completed. We are planning that to submit our permits when we pick up our church registration.

-For the means to bring 2 or 3 Malawians to the Zambian Conference April 6-8^th.  It will be so encouraging for the guys and for the church here.

-For suitable living arrangements in Malawi.  We plan to scope out living arrangements on our next trip this month or next.  We are trusting God that we can find a place that can be held until we move to Malawi this November.

Thank you for your faith, hope, and love for what God is doing in Central Africa.

In His Care,