Friends Inviting Friends

Nearly 50 days after the broadcast took place here in Zambia, we are rejoicing as we see the slow but consistent flow of reports come into the national office. Because of when the broadcast took place, we knew that we would run into some difficulties in finding out what happened. The Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays halted some progress as everyone took a break to celebrate. The rainy season is also in full swing which means that flooded roads and muddy conditions slow everything down. However it’s exciting to see what God has done. When we begin working on a My Hope project, we never know how the Lord will move in a country or in some cases change it all together. So far we have seen 28,000 people make a decision for Jesus. And we praise the Lord for each of them. Please continue to pray for Zambia.

During each night of the broadcast we had a text messaging system set up, similar to a call center manned with volunteers and pastors eager to assist and respond to anyone who texted. During one of the three nights, a 15 year old girl texted to say that she had watched the program and was encouraged but hadn’t been to church in 5 years. After finding hope in Jesus she returned to her old church.

Father Frank Hakoola is a regional coordinator for the My Hope Project. His wife Monica and he invited three guests to their home on Thursday night to watch the first of the My Hope Zambia programs. One of the guests was Frank’s cousin. However, the relationship with the family has been difficult. He abuses alcohol. He is violent. One time in a fight with another family member he bit a relative’s finger so hard that the doctors’ had to amputate his finger. Since then he became an outcast from the family. It had been almost a year since they had seen him, and they only saw him a year ago because it was a funeral. Frank and Monica decided to invite him for the program. Father Frank says, “When he came yesterday, the message was just for him. Billy Graham said in the program do you want healing? Do you want Jesus? We all kept quiet and we’re thinking, ‘God that this is the message for now.’”

Halfway through Frank’s cousin was crying. After the program ended, Frank said to the three, “This is it. What do you think? This is our message.” Frank gave an invitation to pray to receive Christ, and his cousin gave his life to the Lord. Frank invited him to church on Sunday and they look forward to being together as a family again.

Father Frank is also the pastor St. Stephens Anglican Church. On night two of the My Hope broadcast, all of the youth in the church invited their friends to come to the church to watch the program with a projector. 80 youth from ages 11 to 18 gathered together to watch music videos, a testimony of a famous rally car driver, and a message from Franklin Graham. After the program 65 young men and women prayed to accept Christ into their hearts.

Pastor Nyasha’s church meets at Matero Community Hall each Sunday. During the project he received training from a My Hope district coordinator on how to prepare his guests to be Matthews. Pastor Nyasha thought that the concept of using your home for evangelism was an excellent idea. He decided to try it out. He trained the Christians in his church to be Matthews, they held dinner parties, and invited people over. They shared their testimonies, and gave invitations to receive Christ, all without a TV program! Pr. Nyasha says there were several dozen conversions before the broadcast.

On the first night of the broadcast all of the Matthews in the church invited their guests to Matero Community Hall to watch the program on a projector. Almost 500 people packed into the crowded hall. After watching the programs two church members shared how Christ had touched their lives personally. Pr. Nyasha then shared that he too was lost until he accepted Christ. He gave an invitation, and 104 people went forward to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts.

As we celebrate what God is doing through the My Hope broadcasts this past weekend, here are some highlights from the on-going work. Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers!

Rejoicing Rises Across Zambia: Zambian Christians are rejoicing as the psalmist did in Psalm 107:1-3—“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary, And gathered from the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south” (NASB).

‘Rewarding’ Return to His Zambian Homeland: “If you are born and raised in Africa, it doesn’t leave you. It’s part of your blood. It’s been a real joy to go back to Zambia.” — Roy Kruse, My Hope Zambia country director

A My Hope ‘Breakthrough’ in Zambia: The first of three nights of My Hope Zambia broadcasts begins with many decisions, including family members accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Prayer Requests

• Please continue to pray for My Hope Zambia, as further projector showings will be held nationwide in the coming months.
• Pray also for the follow-up and discipleship phase and that these thousands of new believers will become connected to a local congregation that can help them learn how to grow as Christians through reading the Bible, praying, fellowshipping with other believers and witnessing to non-believers they know.

For the last two weeks we’ve been waiting anxiously for the delivery of 14,000 DVDs of the My Hope programs. The DVDs will be distributed all over the country so that pastors can use and reuse the programs for evangelism. After waiting for weeks for their delivery, we were beginning to get nervous. Yesterday our office was in devotions and we were praying specifically that they would be delivered that day. No sooner had the prayer left our lips, than we got the call that they were cleared from customs and on their way. It was amazing to see and be reminded that God is fully in control and he can answer a prayer immediately.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time
we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

Last week we sent out four teams to seven meetings around Zambia to meet with Regional and District Coordinators. Thank you for praying for the safety of those traveling and for the meeting. We felt your prayers.  It was a great time to be with the coordinators in the field.

This week we have reached over 5000 churches trained! It is an exciting milestone. We are at 86% of the national goal, and the coordinators are all working hard to continue seeking out new pastors. Please pray for the national team and staff as they travel around the country this week to meet with coordinators to give out final instructions and materials for the broadcast.

The countdown to the My Hope National Broadcast has begun! With just weeks remaining until the broadcast, the excitement across the country has been growing. Over 5,000 churches have been trained. The programs have been produced, and now the My Hope National Office is announcing the broadcast dates, times and channels that will transmit the programs. Check back to see the other radio stations that will be included in the coming weeks.

My Hope Poster