40/40 Day 10- Amazing Women

Me and Christine


Perry

Doris, Christine, Hope, and Perry

Christine has been my Zambian helper for my week in Lusaka.  She has introduced me to the people in her neighborhood, answered way too many stupid questions, kept me from paying the “mzungu” price, and helped me to see a little more deeply into African culture.  Her husband died from malaria in 2001, and she’s been raising and supporting her two daughters alone ever since.  Christine is an amazing woman of God, and has been a huge blessing to me as I’ve walked through the neighborhood of Matero this week. 

Today Christine introduced me to several women, and I was able to share the Word with them.  They all said they were born again, but Hope said she doesn’t go to church often because she feels embarrassed and shameful when she goes.  I reminded her that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  (Romans 8:1)  I also was able to tell her that all people, even the people at her church, are sinners, even me, and the only hope for us is the blood of Jesus.

Jane is Hope’s landlady.  She owns a small compound with 4 or 5 small houses built around a shared courtyard.  She also runs a produce stand where she sells greens, okra, tomatoes, garlic, sugar cane, and spices, among other things.  She was one of 13 children in her family, but she is the only sibling still surviving.  She is now responsible for raising and providing for her brothers’ and sisters’ 23 children.  Understandably, Jane is a woman who feels completely overwhelmed by her lot in life.  She struggles to meet the needs of all the children she is now responsible for.  Though she is a believer and active in the Anglican church, I was able to encourage her with the story of how Jesus fed the 5000.  He is surely able to meet our needs in abundance, and Jane is trusting Him to provide for her family.

Doris is Jane’s friend, and lives just down the road.  As I spoke with her, she shared how faithful God has been to provide her needs.  I asked her how I could pray for her, and she told me she was asking God to use her like she has never been used before.  It was so humbling to see her faith… here is a woman who is struggling to survive, and her one prayer is to be used by God!

Please pray for these women—for Christine, as she raises her daughters alone; for Hope and her husband, that they would become closer to Christ and raise their son Perry to know Him; for Jane, as she struggles to provide for a huge family; for Doris, that God would show her where He wants her to minister, and that she would have the courage to follow.