What A Glorious Heritage!

Let this be recorded for a generation to come, 

so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD. (Psalm 102:18, ESV)

My late uncle, Linda Makelele - freedom fighter, politician, and journalist

On 8th September this year, we lost an uncle, Mr. Linda M. Makelele right  here in Lusaka. He was the immediate younger brother to my mother, a noted freedom fighter, and one of the founder members of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). In his letter of condolences to the family, the then president of Zambia, Mr. Rupiah Bwezani Banda, among other things, wrote: 

I am heartbroken to learn of the death of Mr. Linda Makelele, a noted freedom fighter and political leader. I am deeply moved to see that the deceased has left us shortly before the 2011 elections, a democratic pillar that he fought so hard to achieve for his country. His exemplary record is a powerful lesson to upcoming generations about the meaning of selfless service. Without people like Mr. Makelele, the independence struggle and the development of our nation would have been far more difficult to realise. 

Former president, Mr. Rupiah Bwezani Banda

My uncle did not die with any earthly and material possessions to his name. But there was one item that was almost inseparable from him. It was always by his side whenever he travelled out of town. This item was a black briefcase. For many years, we wondered what was in that briefcase. From the way he treasured it, our conclusion was that it must contain something very valuable and precious to him. 

So when uncle died last month, and after all the legal formalities of appointing an administrator had been taken care of, we had, for the first time, an opportunity to discover the contents of the deceased's briefcase. No one knew the combination to the locks, so we had to break the case open in order to have access to its contents. And what we discovered was nothing anyone of us expected. There were documents going as far back as 1963, a few photographs, and a book in which he had pasted dated newspaper articles and pictures from the 1960s on. My uncle was a trained journalist, and these things must have meant a lot to him. 

Priceless discovery in my late uncle's briefcase 

Some of these pictures and newspaper cuttings have information concerning some close family members, and many others are about significant events in the life of our nation, Zambia. 


I don’t think uncle was doing this for himself. He must have wanted to preserve these documents so that they become some kind of a window through which we can look back and learn something about his life and the history of our country. And for sure, there is so much, which we previously did not know about him and some of our close family members. Now we are glad that the missing gaps have been filled in by this prized collection. And that is the beauty of recording and preserving history, it speaks to future generations. 

The text at the head of this post eloquently speaks of what uncle was determined to do through his personal archive. He wanted to have these things put on record for future generations, and it has been inspiring to read these historical accounts and see the many sacrifices made by so many people in the struggle for our independence. In his address to the nation on the eve of Zambia's 47th Independence anniversary, the current president, His Excellency Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata extolled the contributions of many Zambian heroes who fought for our independence:

The independence we celebrate today was attained at great cost. Our founding fathers and mothers spared nothing in freeing us from the yoke of colonialism. No pain was too hard for them to bear, no load too heavy to carry; no life was too precious to lose for the cause of freedom, prosperity and dignity for mother Zambia.

Current Zambian President, His Excellency, Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata 

I feel a a sense of pride to know that my family, in a small way, contributed to the struggle for the liberation of Zambia. What a glorious heritage! I thank God for my late uncle who preserved vital historical information for us his progeny to know that we stand on the shoulders of giants. If the information we now possess was in our hands much earlier than this, we would have forced uncle to write a book and narrate his, and many other members of our family's involvement in the struggle for our independence.  Except for a school in Northwestern province named after one of our departed heroes, many remain humbly unknown.

My late grandfather, mum's dad, Mr. Makelele - preacher, headman and freedom fighter, being honoured by the former president, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda in October 1967. He died in September 1969, a few months before I was born. 

On the occasion of Zambia's 47th independence anniversary, I wish my country a prosperous and peaceful future. May the Almighty God bless the people of the republic of Zambia.

"Til Death Do Us Part?" No!

The octogenarian televangelist, author and businessman, Pat Robertson, is no stranger to many people for his outlandish statements. And as he has grown older, these statements also seem to have grown boldly outrageous that you are left shaking your head in utter disbelief that such comments should be coming from a man who is supposed to be an evangelical Christian, and one with global influence through his television network. 

Pat Robertson

Take for example, his August 22, 2005 broadcast of the 700 Club, where he brazenly called for the assassination of the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez: 

You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger… We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with. 

Well, if that made you jump out of your seat then, Pat’s recent statement will gnaw at your Christian sensibilities. On the 13th September edition of the 700 Club, Pat Robertson told his viewers that divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer’s is justifiable because the disease is “a kind of death.” There is a portion during the programme where Robertson takes questions from viewers. A viewer asked him what advice he could give to a friend who began seeing another woman after his wife started suffering from the incurable neurological disorder. This was Robertson’s response: 

I know it sounds cruel, but if he’s going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her.” The chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network, which airs the 700 Club, said he wouldn't “put a guilt trip” on anyone who divorces a spouse who suffers from the illness. He then added, “Get some ethicist besides me to give you the answer.  

This response flies in the face of God’s divine intention for the permanency of the marriage relationship. Reformed Christians have long realized that the general thrust of the teaching of the Bible is against divorce. God himself made it abundantly clear from the beginning that marriage was designed to be an inviolable covenant bond between one man and one woman for life. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24).

The fall of man has, of course, brought about sin’s corruption in man’s entire nature. And marriage, as designed by God, has not been spared from the effects of the fall. Although there are situations in which divorce is permissible, it is also clear that it is never an unmitigated good. God hates divorce. (Malachi 2:16). Robertson’s thinking is a reflection of the so-called “no fault” divorce legislation that swept across the United States of America in the 1970s. Who can deny that these laws have wrecked havoc on the family (and especially to children)? The understanding of the marriage institution as an enduring covenant has been replaced with the concept of marriage as a contract of unknown duration, which can be terminated any moment. The radical individualism that has taken root in many western societies has not spared evangelical Christians and people are now driven by their desire for personal expression and freedom and marital vows are broken as soon as they are said.

What Pat Robertson said was not only cruel, but a denial of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Scripture tells us that marriage is a sign of something far more deeper – a mystery. The apostle Paul talks of the mystery of Christ and his church (Eph. 5). The husband is to love his wife “as Christ loved the church” (Eph. 5:25). This love is a self-sacrificial crucifixion of self. The husband pictures Christ when he loves his wife by giving himself up for her. To abandon a wife because she has Alzheimer is an unchristian decision and an open manifestation of a selfish spirit.

We own a Christian DVD movie, “A Vow to Cherish” which we have watched many times. It is a deeply moving story of a husband and wife who are faced with a devastating medical diagnosis – the wife had Alzheimer. 

As his wife slips into the grips of this incurable illness, the husband finds himself challenged beyond anything he could have imagined when he vowed his lifelong commitment and love so many years before. The true meaning of “til death do us part” is vividly portrayed in this movie. I could not hold back my tears the first time I saw the movie. If you are married and haven’t seen the movie, I encourage you to do so. It shows the true spirit of what being committed to one another and to God is all about, not walking out on your terminally sick spouse, as Pat Robertson wrongly advises.

Those who have read the biography of B.B. Warfield, would remember that he tenderly and lovingly took care of his wife who had a debilitating illness, and was almost an invalid. In his Ph.D dissertation, “The Lion of Princeton,” Dr. Kim Riddlebarger notes that during her long illness, Dr. Warfield almost never ventured away from her side for more than two hours at a time. He demonstrated remarkable compassion and care toward his wife, Annie Kinkead Warfield that every Christian husband must emulate. [see “One Productive Life” – A Short Biography of B. B. Warfield] 


We can't tell what else will come from the mouth or pen of Pat Robertson, but on the issue of marriage and divorce, he is characteristically off the mark. "Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man put asunder." 

A Weak Christian Who Knew a Strong Saviour

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

(2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV) 

The 2nd of September marks exactly one year since I lost a cousin, Hellen Kamponge at Wusakile Mine Hospital in Kitwe. In our Kaonde and Zambian tradition, Hellen was my younger sister. Her mother and my mother are  sisters, with my mother being the older one. News of her death reached us when my wife and I were in Harare, Zimbabwe attending the annual Sola 5 Conference. When one is far away from home, the last message you want to receive is the sad news of the passing on of someone very dear to you. It is easier to process the pain of loss when you are surrounded by other close family members with whom you can share the grief. 

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;


the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,


Help of the helpless, O abide with me. 

Helen's casket during the church service at the Riverside Congregation of the United Church of Zambia

Although Hellen's death brought a piercingly painful ache to our hearts, there was also something about her life and her death that was soothing and comforting to many of us who knew her closely and know the Saviour she believed in. 

Hellen was born with Sickle Cell Anaemia. This illness is an inherited blood disorder characterized primarily by chronic anaemia and periodic episodes of pain. The underlying problem involves haemoglobin, a component of red blood cells. Haemoglobin molecules in each red blood cell carry oxygen from the lungs to body organs and tissues and bring carbon dioxide back to the lungs. In Sickle Cell Anaemia, the haemoglobin is defective. After hemoglobin molecules give up their oxygen, some may cluster together and form long, rod-like structures. These structures cause red blood cells to become stiff and assume a sickle shape. Unlike normal red cells, which are usually smooth and donut-shaped, sickled red cells cannot squeeze through small blood vessels. Instead, they stack up and cause blockages that deprive organs and tissues of oxygen-carrying blood. This process produces periodic episodes of pain and ultimately can damage tissues and vital organs and lead to other serious medical problems. Normal red blood cells live about 120 days in the bloodstream, but sickled red cells die after about 10 to 20 days. Because they cannot be replaced fast enough, the blood is chronically short of red blood cells, a condition called anaemia. My late sister, Mildred, also had Sickle Cell Anaemia, and died in December 1989. 

Swift to its close ebbs life's little day;


earth's joys grow dim; it's glories pass away;

change and decay in all around I see.


O, Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Throughout her life, Hellen suffered periods of intense pain and was hospitalised countless number of times. Looking frail from the constant bouts of pain in her body, she refused to let her condition discolour her sweet demeanour. Hers was a long battle with the frailty of life and she fought that battle with enviable courage and faith. Like all of us, Hellen had her gloomy moments. She had fears, and sometimes she could not entirely succeed in concealing this fact from us. Occasionally, we could see this in the eerie silence that would suddenly descend upon her, forcing her to recoil, conversing with her soul, and with the Saviour she had come to know and love. But even when the dark clouds broke heavily upon her, she did not allow her emotions to be strangled by the cold hands of pain that tightly held her and pulled her into deeper waters. 

Hellen's parents laying wreaths on her grave

I need thy presence every passing hour.


What but thy grace can foil the tempter's power?


Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?


Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

The family tried to be very sensitive to her condition, but when she sensed that everyone was trying to be protective of her and to pull her back from the demanding chores that would drain her of the little strength she had, she would gracefully fight back with uncharacteristic energy, as if to say, “see, I can also do this, I can do it.” I often saw her hide her pain and step forward to do that which anyone in her condition wouldn’t dare do. A sense of duty and the desire to help the family in any way she could always compelled her to run difficulty errands in spite of their toll on her fragile body and health. She suffered much pain in her life, and much of it happened inside of her because she didn’t want those she loved to pity her all the time. I think that is the streak she must have inherited from our grandmother who died on her knees, praying. Hellen was a fighter, a very strong lady on the inside. 

I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;


ills have no weight, and tears not bitterness.


Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?


I triumph still, if thou abide with me.

The last moments of her life on 2nd September, 2010 were witnessed by her sister Mrs. Mukubwe Banda. Mukubwe testifies that there was a confidence and a hope and a longing for heaven on Hellen's face. Her hand was seemingly clasping something she did not want to let go of. She knew she was about to be ushered into a better place, and did not want anything to delay that blissful departure. And so, quietly and peacefully, as her eyes closed, never to open again on this side of the world, a light shone through the gloom and pointed her to the skies, having gallantly fought the last battle.   

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;


shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.


Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;


in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

As I look back on her life, I see a weak Christian who knew a strong Saviour. She endured great suffering and faced death bravely. Real Christian character shines brightly when our vulnerability is greatest and our own power is exhausted. Then, as the apostle Paul puts it, God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. 

This time last year, our tears streamed down our cheeks and our voices choked with grief, but we celebrated a life that struggled and overcame. And by and by, we shall meet her on that beautiful shore.

What Can Be More Precious Than Jewels?

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.” (Proverbs 31:10)

From early childhood, many of us absorbed the idea that marriage is a natural and integral part of normal life. I remember the games we used to play as I was growing up in the mining town of Luanshya; games that conditioned our minds to the reality of marriage. As dusk set in, we gathered under the faint shadows of the moon, and the slim silhouette of the closely built houses, singing “Nsale, nsale chinkamba, mulesala bawama...” or “I want to see my Jane, my Jane, my Jane.” Today, our visually-enthusiastic generation watches the Disney cartoons and fairly-tale characters like Snow White and Prince Charming, Shrek and Fiona, and early on in childhood, they receive signals that society expects them to one day be numbered among the married.

So it was not unnatural for me, with slightly more than a year remaining before I graduated from Bible college, to begin to seriously pray that God would bring into my life a godly young lady who would answer to the challenge of being a pastor’s wife. I had no idea where she would come from, and when I would meet her. I met several ladies in the course of time, corresponded with some of them through postal letters (those were days when e-mails and cell phones were not even in my remotest imagination), but none of these struck any note in my heart.

In April, 1995, we broke off from college for one month holiday. I travelled to Lusaka on a short attachment as a “trainee pastor” in one of the local churches. I was then in my third year at the Theological College of Central Africa (TCCA) in Ndola. During the one month that I was to spend in Lusaka, my friend and former college mate at TCCA was going to get married, and she had invited me to this wedding. The day of the wedding came, and I woke up with a swollen right foot, and it gave me a great deal of pain and discomfort. When I was all dressed up, and tried to force my swollen foot into my shoe, a bolt of pain rain through my entire body as if I had stepped in a pot of boiling water. I was determined to go for the wedding, but how was I going to make it with such pain?

I took a pain killer, waited for a few minutes for its efficacy to be felt in my body, and attempted again the unenviable task of squeezing my foot into the shoe. The pain was less severe this time, thanks to the pain killer. I literally wobbled to the bus stop, and got on the bus to the wedding service, and later the reception. God’s providence directed my steps to this wedding, in spite of the pain, and caused my path to cross with that of a fine young lady who two years later was to become my wife. The puritan John Flavel said “The providence of God is like Hebrew words - it can be read only backwards.” And that is true. As I look back, it was through that seemingly ordinary choice to put my swollen foot into my shoe and limp to this wedding that God began to unravel his intricate plan for my marital life, and as they say, the rest is history, or to put it differently, living the reality of history in the present.

Now, you may wonder, what has prompted this line of thought? Well, the 9th of August this year, marks our 14th wedding anniversary. Shupe and I got married on this date in 1997 in Kitwe, and what a blessing she has been to me all these years. The Lord couldn’t have given me a better wife! And humanly speaking, I couldn’t have made a better choice. I know that writing this way about my wife might attract stern rebukes from her. She is not the kind of person who seeks glory or attention to herself, and might express some embarrassment at this public acknowledgement of her great qualities. However, I will gladly bear with her rebuke in that area.

One of the great paperbacks that I would recommend to husbands is a short book, The Christian Lover: The Sweetness of Love and Marriage in the Letters of Believers, by Michael Haykin (with assistance from his daughter Victoria).

Dr. Haykin has assembled together 32 personal letters from noted Christian leaders through history with the purpose of illustrating, celebrating, and encouraging the delightful and passionate love that a husband and wife can (and ought to) have toward one another. Reading this book will have a rewarding experience in your marriage. One of the letters in this book was written by the forty year old Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones to his wife Bethan after they had been married for twelve years. Dr. Lloyd-Jones wrote:

“Bethan dear, you are dearer to me than ever and I feel prouder of you than ever before…There is no one like you anywhere. The more I see of others the more obvious does this become…When I think of those days in London in 1925 and ’26, when I thought that no greater love was possible, I could laugh. But honestly during this last year I had come to believe that it was not possible for a man to love his wife more than I loved you. And yet I see there is no end to love, and that it is still true that ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder.’ I am quite certain that there is no lover, anywhere, writing to his girl who is quite as mad about her as I am.”

I have taken a cue from these godly men to unblushingly express myself in this way to and about the wife of my youth. The liveliness and cheerfulness that Shupe exudes; her gentle and kind spirit; her godliness, simplicity, humility and generous heart are just the kind of virtues any man would want in a wife, better still, a pastor’s wife. In her courage to gently but firmly straighten me, I have found a suitable helper without whom much good in me would not abide. And not on a few occasions have I thought to myself, "I don’t think I deserve her."

I thank God for this precious gift. Happy 14th Anniversary dear!!!

Hope Springs Forth from the Land of the Ethiopian Eunuch

“For as the soil makes the young plant come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.” Isaiah 61:11

When the Christian world dropped the established Julian calendar in 1582, in favour of the revised Gregorian calendar, Ethiopia refused to follow the “crowd,” and stuck to the old Julian calendar. As a consequence, Ethiopia is seven years and eight months “behind” the rest of the Christian world! The remnant of that stubbornness to join the rest of the world is something that you can see in the various aspects of Ethiopia’s rich and ancient culture. It is a country in which the old world charm and new world edginess mix to give it a fascinating air that is hard to describe, as it is impossible not to notice.

For many people, the image they have of Ethiopia is a famine ravaged country, with television pictures of starving people engraved upon their minds. But that was 25 years ago. The country has moved on. Although ranked among the poorest nations of the world, the country has refused to be dogged by its past and is determined to shake itself loose from the haunting ghosts of the poverty of yesteryear. But there is another kind of poverty that besets this beautiful country in north-east Africa – and it is that of sound biblical Christianity.

Although Ethiopia has a rich religious legacy that goes back to the 4^th century AD, much of what is there to show for this legacy is the Ethiopian Orthodox Church with its multifarious Jewish and pre-Christian Judaic influences, and the religion of Islam. These two are the predominant religious groups and account for more than 80% of the country’s 80 million people. The Protestant groups are in the minority and evangelical Christianity is a far cry from what the Scriptures teach. This is what prompted an American missionary, Anthony Mathenia to start a training program in this country, and consequently to enlist the help of the Reformed Baptists in Zambia. (you can read about the genesis of this training programme on Pastor Conrad Mbewe's blog). This training has now become a regular yearly programme undertaken three times in a year. We thank God for the persistence and unrelenting passion of Anthony against all odds to bring this training programme to the level where it is today. He planted the first seed, and the fruit is now beginning to show.   

It was a privilege to be part of the three-man team that undertook the fourth of these mission trips to Ethiopia. I travelled with Pastor Victor Kanyense of Mount Makulu Reformed Baptist Church, and Anthony Mathenia from Christ Church, New Albany Mississippi. 

From left to right, Victor, Anthony and Isaac

Anthony had prior to our trip to Ethiopia flown to Zambia as a guest of the Kabwata Baptist Church.  The major reason for his visit to Zambia was to chart the way forward in this specific work of mission to Ethiopia. And of the several things discussed while  he was here was the prospect of sending a missionary pastor from Zambia to serve either as a pastor of an already established church within the Ethiopian Addis Kidan Baptist Church (EAKBC) or planting a new work under the auspices of the EAKBC, with  the possibility of such a missionary pastor also teaching in an undergraduate theological college. The three of us left Lusaka on Tuesday, September 28^th, and we were met at the Addis International Airport by a dear brother, Yoseph Teressa.

                                                                                                    

Yoseph, our host and chauffeur

We stayed with his family throughout the period of our stay in Ethiopia. The following day, Wednesday, we had two meetings. The first was with Zemen Endale, a former teacher who together with four other friends have established a Media Ministry, which among other things, is involved in translation work. The meeting culminated into the signing of a contract with him and his ministry to translate some Christian literature into Amharic. Translation work on the first book, Absolutely Basic by Horatius Bonar and J.C. Ryle from the Christian classic series by Grace Publication, has since commenced. 

Anthony with Zemen, the literature translator

The first book which is being translated

Zemen also asked us to consider translating the same book, and other sound Christian books into Afaan Oromo, the language of the Oromo people, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group.

                                                             

Later that day, we had lunch with Steve Burchett and Selamab Assefa. Steve is a speaker, writer, and editorial assistant for  Christian Communicators Worldwide and serves as an elder in Christ Fellowship of Kansas City. Semalab  is a native of Ethiopia and recently graduated from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. He is also working with CCW. The  brothers also had come to Ethiopia to teach and preach among the Kale Heywot churches in Addis Ababa. They are also keen on translating some of Jim Elliff’s books into the most common languages of Ethiopia. Talk about the meeting of like-minded brethren! 

From left to right, Victor, Steven, Anthony, Selamab and Isaac

The actual church leaders' training programme started on September 30th and ended on October 5th. The first training lasted three days at Gullelle Addis Kidan Baptist Church. And the second one was  from October 4th to October 5th, in Debre Zeyit,  a town about 45 km away from Addis Ababa. Debre Zeyit is the tenth largest town in Ethiopia with a population of about 200,000. The training in Addis Ababa brought together more than 40 people (which included 8 ladies), and their enthusiasm throughout all the sessions was very conspicuous. 

Part of the group at the at the first conference

In Debre Zeyit, we had 15-20 people in attendance. The theme for both the Addis and Debre Zeyit ministry was Redemption: Accomplished and Applied. I handled the aspect of Christ’s finished work of redemption, while Pastor Kanyense addressed the application of this redemption. Anthony gave the keynote address in both places with great gusto and passion, setting the tone for the rest of the days. We preached in English and God has from the beginning of these mission trips to Ethiopia, provided an excellent and gifted interpreter in the person of Solomon Abebe. 

Solomon with his wife

He has just begun his Masters Degree programme in theology at the Ethiopia Graduate School of Theology (EGST). Except on one day when he had to attend class during the Debre Zeyit leg of our ministry, he interpreted for us in all the sessions. On this particular day, he recommended a friend, Abinet, a final year student at the Evangelical Theological College of Ethiopia who, like Solomon, proved more than equal to the task. 

Victor, our relief interpreter Abinet and myself

One of the most exciting highlights of our ministry in Ethiopia was the dinner which was hosted by the denominational leadership of the Ethiopian Addis Kidan Baptist Church (EAKBC) in our honour at one of the hotels. Our brothers shared with us their vision to draw up a Church Leadership Development Programme for the whole denomination, and asked if we could get fully involved in this training and oversee the doctrinal aspect. In Pastor Mbewe’s earlier blog, one of the areas of prayer he mentioned for the work in Ethiopia was that “our hearts will be so united with the brethren of Ethiopia that the fruit of this fellowship will enrich our lives in both countries.” I want to believe that judging by the warmth with which we were received by our brothers and sisters there, the Lord has answered our prayers. The Lord is truly opening the door for us to play a very crucial role in bringing the light of Biblical Christianity and church life to our brethren in Ethiopia. We assured them of our prayerful interest and support from the Zambian Reformed Baptist churches. A formal bond of fellowship is truly being forged.

On the only Sunday we had in Ethiopia, we joined God’s people for the worship service at the International Evangelical Church (IEC). It’s a multiracial and multinational church, with a significant number of people from the middle to upper classes of the Ethiopian society.  Addis Ababa hosts the headquarters of the African Union (AU) and the Economic Commission for Africa, and this gives the city a very conspicuous diversity. The IEC is a church strategically positioned and with great potential to influence the Christian direction of the nation through a powerful expository ministry. The pastor of the church is Gary Threatt, an American who previously served as a missionary with the Southern Baptist Convention in Ethiopia some 15 years ago. He was called back to pastor the IEC. 

International Evangelical Church

Before the service started, we noticed a Book Table near the entrance, and curiously turned in that direction to look at the various titles on sale. Out of the more than 80 titles on display, only two  in my opinion, deserved a second look. Pastor Kanyense and I snatched these two excellent books and they were fairly priced. The rest, as C.H. Spurgeon would say, “were not worth the paper they were printed on.” The service was fine, with the obvious evidence that the congregation has not been spared from the pseudo-Charismatic influence that has dreadfully infected much of African evangelicalism. The pastor has been preaching through Colossians, and that Sunday, he was on Colossians 1:24-29. He is a good communicator, but his exegesis of the passage, and clear lack of application was a poignant reminder to us of the need for the reviving beams of the Sun of righteousness to cause the seed of His Word to germinate and sprout with strength, so that praise might spring up before all nations. 

On Wednesday morning, October 6th, we were escorted to the airport by Anthony and Yoseph, to catch our flight back to Zambia. Anthony’s flight back to the USA was later  in the evening that same day. As the Boeing 767 soared into the sky headed for Lusaka, our spirits also rose in gratitude to the Lord for the honour which was ours to serve the beautiful people of Ethiopia who have demonstrated a humble and keen heart to learn. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Lord has opened for us the door for the work of missions to the land of the Ethiopian eunuch.

Celebrating 10 Years of God's Precious Gift

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17). 

The birth of a baby in the family is often a source of great joy and celebration. And greater still is the joy if the baby is not only the first one, but also one that comes after the pain of losing two previous pregnancies. Such was the joy with which we welcomed our first baby. It was an indescribable experience!

Like most married couples, we looked forward to our first child. After providence frowned upon us with my wife's loss of two pregnancies in succession, the gift of our first baby in the third year of our marriage filled us with exceeding joy and gratitude to the Lord. It was at 20:45 hours on Sunday evening, 27th August, 2000, that our precious baby girl was born. I vividly remember that day as if it was only yesterday.

I had the privilege of witnessing Shupe's long labour at Nchanga South Hospital in Chingola. The midwives who attended to Shupe were excellent, and as providence would have it, all the three of them were not only personally known to us, but also very close sisters in the Lord, and fellow members with us at Central Baptist Church in Chingola, where I was then serving as an elder. The Lord could not have prepared better and competent hands to help bring this new life into the world! Two of these midwives have gone to be with the Lord, Mrs. Cornelia Kanyata and Mrs. Appronia Gardner and the third, Mrs. Cerrien Siluka is now working in Scotland. (Below, Shupe holding Mwitupa at 7 months)

As we celebrate our daughter's 10th birthday which falls on August 27th, we acknowledge God's provision of this precious gift to us. The name which we chose to give to our daughter sums up our sense of gratitude to the Lord. She is appropriately named MWITUPA, which in my native language, Kaonde, means " You have given us." God is the one who gave us this child. Our God, the Creator of the rolling spheres, He who is ineffably sublime and immutable is the source of this "good and perfect gift." He gave us a daughter, and less than two years later, a son. (below Mwitupa with her younger brother Taonga, picture taken in 2004). All that is loveliest and best has come to us from above, from the Father of the heavenly lights himself.

                    
It has been such a joy and a delight to see Mwitupa grow in her first decade. Oh, what joy she brings into our lives! Her name is a constant reminder to us of the goodness of the Lord and a summon to us to keep trusting Him and depending upon Him always. The birthday girl herself is so excited to be in the 2-digit age bracket! (Below, the picture taken outside the hospital where she was born).

The Lord constantly lavishes upon His people all the best gifts, and with these gifts comes responsibility. It is our hope and prayer that the Lord will grant us the wisdom and grace to shepherd the hearts of these little ones and "bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).

Decent, Informed and Ethical Politics

On 19th November 2009, Mr. Watson K. Lumba (photo below) was convincingly elected as new Solwezi member of parliament. He contested the same seat in the 2006 elections, and was beaten by the late Benny Tetamashimba by more than 4000 votes. This time around, it was a different story, as the UPND/PF pact demonstrated that it will not be a pushover in the 2011 elections.

Lumba is a dear brother in Christ, and gave a stirring maiden speech in parliament, which I share with you my readers. Let us pray that our brother will live up to the ideals and values that he so eloquently outlined in his speech. To you brother, I wish you success as you serve your constituency and the people of Zambia.

WATSON K. LUMBA,
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT- SOLWEZI CENTRAL
MAIDEN SPEECH TO PARLIAMENT

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to make my maiden speech in this august House.
Mr. Speaker, Firstly, I want to begin by thanking you most sincerely for giving me this opportunity to deliver my maiden speech to this august house.
Secondly I want to salute and say thank you to the people of Solwezi Central Constituency. It is my honour and previlege to represent and serve them all as their Member of Parliament. I express my appreciation to them and my commitment to work conscientiously towards the achievement of our shared objectives.

I thank the many supporters, of various political thinking, who supported our candidature, the United Party for National Development (UPND), the Patriotic Front, MMD Party members who were not able to come out in the open, and particularly the longstanding and dedicated electorate committee workers who have stood with us and worked so tirelessly. This result is a credit to their efforts. I see it as a portent for 2011. To the other candidates, I thank them for providing me and my party a tough contest. They fought and marshalled a tough campaign and I was declared the victor because of them. To the many hard working people of Solwezi that worked tirelessly for the other candidates, I wish to thank them for their earnestness. I want to say to them that I will be their Member of Parliament too, and will represent their interests as vigorously as I can. I look forward to working with them all.

Mr. Speaker, I also thank the President of my Party, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, his colleague Mr. Michael Sata, of the Patriotic Front, my Campaign Manager Honourable Katuka and the entire leadership of the UPND/PF Pact, for their confidence in my candidature and for tirelessly directing an informed, issue based and spirited campaign. The unity shown by the UPND/PF members from the top leadership right down to the grassroots portends well for the future of this country.

Mr. Speaker sir, Allow me to thank my wife, Patricia and daughter, Racheal, my family, and my close friends—people whose love and support I have depended on. Finally, above and under all this is God’s love and enabling grace. I am grateful to the Almighty for this privilege to serve his people in this way.

Mr. Speaker, as Member of Parliament for Solwezi central, I follow a string of illustrious predecessors whose political history and contribution to this country is immense. There was Mr. Humphery Mulemba, Dr. Ludwig Sondashi, inter alia, who served Solwezi Central Constituency with distinction. Allow me now to pay particular homage to the memory of my immediate predecessor, Honorable Benny Tetamashimba, who passed into eternity in September 2009. Mr. Tetamashimba will be remembered as one of Solwezi Central Constituency’s great Members of Parliament. I honor his memory (MHSRIP).

Mr. Speaker, deciding to enter politics didn’t come natural to me. Some of my family members and close friends argued against it. “What are you thinking?” they asked. “You’ve got a family, a successful career, why jettison all that for a life in politics?” Their view reflects the same frustration any attentive listener hears across Zambia, that our politics is not listening or responsive to people; that out politics is “dirty”. My decision ultimately came down to believing that I can make a real and positive difference—something that has motivated my life; and something that I have done elsewhere.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to pick, for my extended discussion the state of politics in our country. Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals, the society in which they live and the economy in which they work. Most critically, our responsibility in this Parliament at Manda Hill is how that power is used: whether it is used for the benefit of the few who have access to power or to the many who give those few the power. In this my first speech I want to speak on the fundamental principles that I believe should govern the exercise of political power and the reasons, therefore, that I am a member of the United Party for National Development (UPND) and why I have sought election to this parliament. I want to speak on how these beliefs shape my approach to some of the great policy challenges now facing our young nation. I also want to speak on some of the practical problems facing the local community that Iam now privileged to represent in this august house. I believe that ideas are important, Mr. Speaker. Ideas shape behaviour—the behaviour of governments, of bureaucracies, of business, of unions, of the media and of individuals. As is it written in the old Book of Life, the Bible: “Whatever a man thinks, so is he”.

And as a noted Economist John Maynard Keynes wrote in his General Theory:
“The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slave of some defunct economist.”

Keynes notes here that we are all influenced by some ideas. The crux of the matter is whether those ideas are founded on sound ideas or based on some false notions.

Debate, therefore,is about fundamental ideas, particularly ideas about the how political power must be used in developing our young nation and the proper role of the state in the economy and society, is critical to an informed discussion on policy in this House. Unfortunately, this is lacking. For as long as I can remember, it has become fashionable in our young country to accept that politics do not deliver sustainably and lack imagination; the notion that hard work doesn’t pay; the death of principled positions; the triumph of neoclassical economics which are less understood even by their proponents; and the politics of non-issues which are devoid of any discernable ideological position. We continue to waste time and resources on non-issues. Put crudely, it is the degrading view gaining ground in our nation that says “forget the ethics and morals, everything goes, the end justifies the means”; and also that “everything is up for sale at the right price”. In Solwezi, however, the concept of the highest bidder secures clearly failed. Politics on this argument becomes little more than theatre—a poorly staged public performance necessary to convince the electorate that the country is moving, or needs a new management.
Mr. Speaker, I disagree, and I disagree fundamentally. I believe that there remains a fundamental need for us as a people of Zambia to clearly define and articulate our national interests that transcend party affiliations. Under girding such national interests should be ethical and moral issues that include setting for ourselves to honor virtues of hard work, honest, trustworthiness and decency.

I believe that there remains a fundamental need for us as a people of Zambia to clearly define and articulate our national interests that transcend party affiliations. Under girding such national interests should be ethical and moral issues that include setting for ourselves to honor virtues of hard work, honest, trustworthiness and decency.

Mr. Speaker, at this stage in our national development, it is unavoidable that politics plays a very important role in determining the direction of our young country. And this is precisely where the use of the political power becomes very important. Our people want to move from underdevelopment to development. Individually, this is a lifetime journey. But for politics to lead, it must of necessity contain some basic fundamental moral values and correct knowledge. How can we hope to develop when our politics are used not to serve the larger public good but the people in politics? How can we move this young country forward if we do not possess the basic understanding of the sound tenets of governance such as democracy, liberty and economics? Mr. Speaker, the rest of the world is marching on forward through globalization, with or without us. If Zambia will not stand up to be part of this march, it will be sucked in nonetheless.

How have we done in the past few years on this account of making progress? Admittedly, Zambia has made progress, but it is the progress that we should be ashamed of because we could have done much more. Progress in some areas, like in growth in the trade and non-traditional agriculture sectors, has been negated by backslides in the quality of education and health systems amongst others. I wish to suggest Mr. Speaker that this is due to our failure to articulate clearly our national interests and putting these in priority. Our fate as a nation is bound together and no section of our society can prosper sustainably while leaving behind the vast majority of people in ignorance and abject poverty. This is where ethical politics come in. Our government has a role of ensuring that we begin to put in place an organized Zambia. Why is it that as a country, we are more disorganized now than pre-1991? My view is that we have wrong politics.

Mr. Speaker, allow me to digress and give some aspect of my life story that inspired me to seek to serve the people. I come from a family of 14. My father, who is 79 years old and he has spent the last 40 years as a pastor in the Christian church. Growing up in that family, we were taught, as many in this house I am sure were, values and virtues rooted in scripture that called on us to love God first and then our fellow man. I therefore believe that without a sense of wanting to serve fellow man, man used generically to include woman, politics becomes devoid of its soul. But how can one serve man without love for him/her? And how can one love man without the love of God, the giver of true love? Mr. Speaker, I strongly believe that service to our fellow Zambians and our country should be informed by principles of virtue that will once again make our people proud of themselves. It is only when we believe that we can and should take care of our neighbours that we will have a fearless energy to drive this country forward. With this, we must reject an infamous proclamation of one of the leading western leaders of the last two decades when she said that “ there is no such thing as society.”

Mr. Speaker, Zambia has natural vast resources that we need to harness. But I fear that the Government is taking too much of a minimalist interest in the management of the exploitation of these resources, and the income therefrom. We had better take charge and control of proceeds from these resources or else we are doomed. I am sure it is clear to us all Mr. Speaker, that the often heralded foreign investors will leave Zambia one day once these resources are finished. And we will be left with large holes in the ground and serious environmental issues. My call is that politics and leadership should be used to get our fair share of these resources.
Mr. Speaker, as people, we are all the product of our own experiences and the ideas with which we have been confronted. These are the simple experiences and unremarkable beliefs which cause me to sit proudly here rather than on the benches of those opposite. I believe unapologetically in an active role for government in leading the development of this country. I believe that this activist role should have, as its foremost guiding principle, a commitment to equality of opportunity that is real rather than rhetorical. It is a principle that should permeate all that we do in education and health, water supply and sanitation and mining, to mention but a few sectors. I also believe that the government must actively look after those who, through no fault of their own, cannot look after themselves. Our economy is small and weak, and therefore I believe that the government while fostering its growth must regulate it.

I also believe that any government in power should not just turn in on itself, but instead have a fundamental responsibility to pursue the public good, first locally, then internationally, in the promotion of national and regional security, democracy and economic development and the protection of the planet. These are the fundamental beliefs that continue to drive our Party. Ours is a dynamic, and not a static, movement. Our beliefs are clear but their applications to the policy challenges facing the nation require creativity and experimentation. Our Party is a combination of experience and youth. Through this it possesses the intellectual horsepower and the policy craft necessary to carve out an alternative vision for the nation as well as a program of action for the realisation of that vision.

Mr. Speaker, We are not afraid of a vision in the UPND, nor are we afraid of doing the hard policy work necessary to turn that vision into reality. Parties devoid of any ideological stand (and by ideology we mean a well thought-out political and economic system) will tend to react to issues; are caught unawares by the obvious and offer no solutions to the complex challenges of the 21st century. If Zambia must survive in this century, we need new thinking.

We are a decade in this new century, the nation is confronted with an array of opportunities and challenges of bewildering complexity in the economy, in education, in the environment, in the collapse of our local communities, in the structure of the local government and, perhaps most importantly, in the deepening contempt with which the institution of political infrastructure, is held. We are at present in a period of unprecedented global economic developments which at the same time are uncertain, driven by fundamentally unstable international financial markets. To meet these challenges, we need new politics and new thinking people in government who are dedicated and imbued with moral-ethical political and intellectual energies.

The first fundamental challenge for this country is to learn to feed ourselves. Feeding ourselves is fundamental to anything else that we may wish to do. It is not only a matter of national pride and confidence but of national security as well.
The second fundamental challenge facing our nation lies in our nation's education system. Education is both a tool of social justice as well as a fundamental driver of economic development. I believe that the nation needs a revolution in its education system. We have state curricula of highly variable quality and a decline of critical subject areas such as science. Some schools teach science without laboratories. We have a demoralized teaching profession whose energies are now dissipated in school administration and fee-driven tuitions rather than in syllabus delivery. We can call for and receive all the foreign direct investment in the world, but with an ill-educated population, we will reap the whirlwind.

I believe that if we are serious in our national rhetoric about having the next generation of Zambians attaining and driving a middle income country by 2030, then we must, through the school system, equip them to do that. I understand that my remarks will be met by the inevitable chorus of, `There is no money,' but I ask the question: `As a nation, can we afford not to?' I believe that equity and economic development demand it. In a global economy, a first-class education is one of the few forms of real security that the state can provide to its citizens. An educated citizenry may be the main key that we need to make progress as a people.

Mr. Speaker, Zambia once had an enviable position regionally and internationally. Lusaka used to be a must-stop destination to influential world leaders. Our first and second republic leaders stood shoulder-to- shoulder with their peers. Not only did we pride ourselves on our achievements, but we were also respected as an effective international citizen. This is no longer the case and we ask ourselves: “what happened?” The answer may again be related to our current politics. We have allowed ourselves to assume mental dwarfism that refuses to think critically and beyond our narrow self interests. We are content to visit political Tuntembas translated as tea cants or prefabricated sheet corner stores when we can get more from political malls with their polished knowledge. To get back to that place requires leadership—leadership that the current government appears demonstrably incapable of providing. Our future challenge is to build across this nation a robust domestic constituency in support of Zambia's future international engagement, one that will not be neglected by inferiority complex.

Mr. Speaker, I am in this place, first and foremost, as a representative of my local community, Solwezi Central Constituency, which has done me the great honour of electing me as their representative. My time here will be dedicated representing the interests of, the humble and hardworking people of inter alia in Kiafukuma, Kimasala, Kamiteto, Kyawama Mushitala, Zambia Compound Sandangombe and Kapijimpanga.
In these communities, there are three main challenges that I wish to bring here. The first of these is health. The existing health infrastructure is poor and inadequately equipped. The health centres are also sparsely distributed resulting in people walking long distances to access them. The second issue is poor road infrastructure. We all know the poor condition of the Chingola – Solwezi Road. This road should pay for itself given the economic activities of the two towns that it links. The other roads are equally in poor condition and need urgent attention to facilitate the rapid economic activities taking place. The third issue is the low access to clean water supply and sanitation. Many people depend on hand-dug wells which maybe unsafe and of a poor water quality. Poor sanitation too is of major concern and is responsible for preventable diarrhoea diseases especially in infants.
As for education, the story is no different. Infrastructure is in a dilapidated state, no desks, few teachers and a very de-motivating learning environment. Community schools have sprung up in many areas but unfortunately these are not regulated and therefore unlikely to be offering education of an acceptable quality.

Mr. Speaker, one of the major employers in my electorate is Kansanshi Copper Mine, which is responsible for hundreds of jobs. The story of the interaction between the mines and the community is a sad one, and I am not seeking to blame anyone but have no choice but to place the blame on someone - the government of the day. What we are seeing is that the benefits in terms of jobs and other benefits are not being shared equally. I would wish to call on government to look seriously in the matter of how to create a win-win situation between the people of Zambia and the foreign companies exploiting the mineral wealth.

Mr. Speaker, I do not know whether I will be in this place for a short or a long time. That is for others to decide. But what I do know is that I have no intention of being here for the sake of just being here. Together with my colleagues in the UPND/PF it is my intention to make a difference; starting with decent politics; informed politics, and ethical politics.
God bless the Republic of Zambia.

Thank you Mr. Speaker.