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| Special Needs: Monthly support for Bible Workers ($50/month) Sponsorship for children’s education ($200/year) Assistance with food relief projects Lifestyle Center funding ($35,000 still needed)
Evangelists, Life Style Educators enter Kafue “Into the tent where the gypsy boy lay, dying alone at the close of the day; news of salvation we carried said he—nobody ever has told it to me.” The words of this old children’s song paint a vivid picture of Riverside’s latest evangelistic series. Twice yearly Pastor Grabiner takes the evangelism students on a three week series of meetings. Last year, the class entered the nearby town of Kafue. Securing a football pitch near the center of town insured a good turn out. Nightly, close to 2,000 people came to hear the gospel preached in the setting of Revelation 14. In addition to the preaching, a new dimension was added to these meetings. The students from the new Lifestyle Educator class joined hands with the evangelistic team. Juanita Pretorius, the class instructor, Don Miller from Uchee Pines and Dr. Helga Strobel from Austria led the students in conducting a health expo before the meetings began. This expo aroused an interest among the people. Health nuggets were presented every night before the preaching service. The visual aids used, are part of the new ASI DVD project. The images are culturally sensitive and were extremely well received by the audience. The lifestyle educator students met with the evangelists every afternoon for visitation. This took them into the poorest parts of Kafue. Visiting among the needy, following up interests, looking for people to help brought them in contact with many suffering and sick. One man’s name was Silas. He had grown up in a Seventh-day Adventist home. Unfortunately, like many others he choose to respond to the attractions to the world. This is particularly dangerous when the main road running through your town is nicknamed the AIDS highway. Silas finally came home to his sister’s house. When the students visited with him, it was obvious that death was near. His skin was taut, his mouth full of thrush, he barely had the energy to brush away the flies from his face. Don Miller and a few students continued to visit Silas. They shared the hope being presented at the meetings. Their main aim was to help Silas prepare for death. They shared the willingness of Jesus to receive all. They encouraged Silas to believe in the constraining love of God. One evening, Don shared with Silas of letting his last thoughts be of Jesus. In that way, the next thing Silas would realize, would be the second coming of Christ. On the last Sabbath of the meetings, close to 100 people were baptized. The next morning Silas awoke early, and asked his sister to join him for prayer. Finishing his prayer, Silas asked his sister to have closing prayer. When she was finished praying, Silas died. The sadness occasioned by his death is tempered by the joy of knowing he is resting in Christ. “Tell it again, tell it again, salvation’s story repeat o’re and o’re; ‘Til none can say of the children of men, nobody ever has told me before.” |
Praise God that His message and the Holy Spirit touched so many hearts. The presentations were broadcast and satellite up- linked across Zambia, throughout Africa and into Europe. The Voice of Prophecy team did an excellent work in presenting the gospel to so many. Reports have come in from a number of locations, sharing unique stories. One group, in a rural setting, were able to get the satellite down link using a generator to power the equipment. As they sat in the bush, listening to the messages, in the background, hippos grunted their approval. We at Riverside Farm Institute were given the task of feeding the VOP speakers and others involved in the varied projects around Lusaka area. Under the guidance and supervision of Vivian Grabiner, Owen and Doreen Zimba did a superb job in making sure that all were fed on time for length of the programme. Others will agree with me that the food was great. Well done! Having met so many new people and listening to the testimonies and the variety of miracles that occurred at some of the sites, I have become convinced that God truly blesses. Not only did God provide spiritual food but the physical food necessary to go out day after day and spread the glorious Word of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that is food for thought.
Training in HIV / AIDS and Conservation Farming Riverside held a two week intensive training program in the Siavonga district targeting 1200 small scale farmers. This training was to incorporate two aspects. The first is conservation farming, the second AIDS awareness. The concept of conservation farming methods offer small scale farmer the opportunity to increase their productivity, minimize the effects of drought and improve their food security.
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| Lifestyle
Center-new outreach In order to give a complete presentation of the gospel message, God designs that the health ministry should be an integral part. Lifestyle centers, or as they were called in 1800’s, sanitariums, are a divinely ordained means of sharing truth. "God has given our sanitariums an opportunity to set in operation a work that will be as a stone instinct with life, growing as it is rolled by an invisible hand. Let this mystic stone be set in motion." 7T 59. Is it time for Riverside Farm to establish a lifestyle center? Is
it time for the "mystic stone" to begin its roll on the continent of Africa?
We believe that it is the time for such a work to begin and Riverside is perfectly situated to open such a center of hope, help, and healing. The Riverside team is going forward with plans to start a Lifestyle Center on the farm. Our plans are to remodel an existing home, and transform it into a Lifestyle Center. A few modifications costing approximately than $45,000 would have the center up and operating. The proposed Lifestyle Center will provide an opportunity to minister to the upper classes of Zambian society. Lifestyle related diseases are becoming increasingly common, as Zambia becomes more westernized. The need in Zambia, as in all of Africa, is great. A Lifestyle Center is a tremendous soul-winning opportunity. It is an opportunity to serve and to reach out more people It will also serve as a further training ground, from which scores of medical missionaries will be able to share what they have learned. Medical missionary work has been called the right hand of the gospel. If this is true, then the work has been hindered in many places in the world. Nevertheless, God has greatly prospered the work of spreading the gospel. Yet imagine the blessings He could pour out if both hands worked together. It is time for the "mystic stone" be set in motion. Despite the fact that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is very strong in Zambia, there are still areas that have not been reached. Riverside supports 18 bible workers who are using their talents to extend the truth into these areas. Gillen Simamvwa is one of Riverside’s these men. Gillen has been working with Riverside for three years now. He has helped in the forming of several new congregations. However one of his greatest joys is training others to participate in this joyous work. These young men come for a period of time, enter the field to work, and then return for more training. One young man Gillen trained is named Milimo. Milimo took what he learned and began to share it in a remote village. There he had an experience similar to Paul’s in Acts 16. Milimo visited a village, where there was a young girl demon possessed. He prayed for, and she was freed from this bondage. Unfortunately, not everyone was happy. Some relatives contacted the local judge. Milimo was apprehended, taken and thrust into a rude prison. There he was beaten on several different occasions. This did not weaken his faith. Upon his release, he continued to share with others. He has since rejoined Gillen, in order to receive further training. Shortly, he will be back in the field, hoping to bring men and women to Christ. |
For the third consecutive year, Riverside
has been blessed by hosting Student Missionaries (SM’s) from
Southern Adventist University. This year, Mindy Bell, Lori Edgemon, Jon Michael Brown and
Stratton Tingle have joined us. The young ladies are both nurses, the young men are both
communications students. However, here their experience is broadened by helping in church
building, bush clinics, and an evangelistic series in addition to the daily work of
running a mission station. Lori and Mindy are helping in our clinic and bible school.
Recently, during a measles outbreak, they both helped with vaccination of the children in
our area. Having a full schedule, the SM’s still want to experience as much of African culture as possible. Lori spent a week at Lushyomo, our small mission station in the bush. She wanted a closer experience of the daily life of the people. Mindy will be spending a week at a local orphanage in the near future. The next big adventure will be a trip to Kenya. There we will help to host a mission group from Southern. We will join together in building a Bible school for the Masaai children, conduct a VBS and run a small clinic. Living in Africa one must expect the unexpected. It is a real pleasure to see young people dedicated and willing to serve God. Life can be difficult, eating "nishma and relish" daily, using pit toilets, avoiding mosquitoes to avoid malaria. Through it all, they have been an inspiration and blessing. |
Stratton and Jon Michael
have been helping with our food distribution program. They have participated in the
distribution, monitoring and record keeping. They can testify that it can become quite
hectic when the amount of people out numbers the bags of maize!
Imagine Stratton’s surprise as he
went to the bananas to make a satellite phone call to his mom. Walking carefully through
the grass, hoping to avoid snakes and crocodiles, he was startled when a leopard bounded
out of the grass and ran off. His first words to his mother were, "Hey mom, I almost
stepped on a leopard."