To All Prayer Partners, Christian Friends and Sponsors,

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Greetings and Blessings from Lusaka Zambia in Jesus Name.

Our son Stephen got a merit in Introduction to Computers at Mansfield Institute of Technology, where he used to go for training after his school lessons and during his school holidays. We have all cherished his interest in computers and his general love for schoolwork.

The boy accepted Christ in August, 2003 and got baptized and now sings in the choir at our church. Every Sunday morning, he goes to the church very early morning with his friends to pray for the Sunday service. I am their Pastor. We are blessed as a family, that our son is growing spiritually, and we are praying that he continues that way.

Next year 2004, he will be doing grade nine, and he says that he wants to go to a Boarding School where he feels he can do better in furthering his education.

We thank God for your support. It has helped us to push him up in his education. Stephen is a promising young boy and we will always support his needs.

Our Children have puppies, and are looking after them very well. During the day all the dogs are kept in kennels and are released after 21:00hrs to keep guard of the house. The place where we stay is populated with over 300 000 people in squatter settings, with houses very close to each other. Our house is in a wall fence, and the dogs help a lot with security.

Our sons, Stephen, Ogden and William make sure that the dogs are fed at all times and that they are taken for vaccinations regularly.

The boys also keep rabbits. At first, they only had three, but now they have multiplied and are now sixteen. The boys have trained the dogs not to attack the rabbits. When the rabbits are fully grown, the boys sell them off to make their pocket money. They are so resourceful that they do not always look to me as their father for everything. The rabbits like to eat vegetables, so the boys are always looking for their food. I am so thankful to the Lord, to see the boys take care of the animals in such a good way. Our house is full of rabbits and dogs and are all looked after very well.

MINISTRY INFORMATION

The Jesus Film Project has been very successful. We have our own film Projector and we are able to show the film anywhere without hindrance.

We conducted an outreach in Linda Compound, south of Lusaka where we planted a church and over 563 souls were saved. We stayed for four nights and a pastor was put in place to take care of the new converts. We distributed over one thousand tracts in the area and many people were blessed.

From there, we went to Kabweza, also in the southern region of Lusaka and showed the Jesus Film. To most villagers it was their first time to see the Jesus Film in their local language and several gave their lives to the Lord.

Then we went to Shibuyunji in the Lenje speaking area, west of Lusaka, about 100km away. We showed the film for one day.

Our next target was the compounds of Lusaka. We started with Kanyama where we showed the film for three days and many people got blessed. We then went to John Laing compound and showed the film for one day. We have many tapes in local languages and many people are being blessed.

We bought several bicycles, which were given to evangelists in most needy situations. We gave one to Bishop Silungwe of Ngombe compound, who walks almost 15km to evangelise. We also gave one to Pastor Mvewe of Petauke in the eastern part of Zambia. He also walks many kilometres to organize his church, which has branches in villages far from each other.

We also gave out two bicycles in Mozambique, one in Tete and another in Zobue. In these two towns, we also gave out Portuguese and Chichewa Bibles and other Christian literature. We also gave out evangelism tape recorders and some Pastors received watches.

The Prison Ministry is doing well. We supplied more than one thousand reading materials to the prison library and also introduced Bible School through Correspondence at the central prison. Prisoners sometimes wait for more than four years for a trial to be concluded. This time is best spent by studying the Word of the Lord. It is a blessing to see people graduate with Diplomas and Certificates while in prison.

There are almost 1300 prisoners at any given time at the central prison and literature distribution and preaching of the Gospel has touched the lives of several people and many have accepted the Lord as their personal Saviour.

The Remand Prison takes almost 800 prisoners and this prison also has given us great opportunities to spread the Gospel.

I am one of the co-ordinators of a Bible School in Petauke, Eastern Province of Zambia, 400km from Lusaka.

The college offers a three-year diploma in Theology and certificate in Theology in combination with a nutrition course. The subjects include: Old Testament Survey, Missions, New Testament Survey, Agriculture and Nutrition. Also many more subjects are available to prepare people for the work of the Lord.

The school is inter-denominational and accepts all kinds of nationals and is funded by donations from Christians everywhere.
The students come in from Monday to Friday and return to their homes on weekends. Those coming from outside the province stay on the campus until Monday. This year 2003, we had 15 students graduate with Diplomas in Theology and one student with a Certificate in Theology. These pastors are already in the field and are planting churches.

The graduation was very colourful. We had Senior Chiefs of the area, and local government officials. Present was the first graduate of the college and most of the graduates came from the local church. The next intake in February 2004, will include students from Mozambique, Malawi and Conge D.R., so that the college can get an international outlook.

UPCOMING MINISTRY GOALS AND PLANS

We want to get more materials for training in prison ministry, especially for correspondence courses. A good number of prisoners do not understand English very well, and would do better in local languages. We are planning to get correspondence lessons in local languages to assist those who cannot read English.

We plan to turn the buildings in Mozambique and Malawi into training schools in their local languages (Portuguese and Chichewa). These buildings are already completed in the Zobue, Mozambique and Chikwawa areas of Malawi. We have already been given learning materials for the two places and we plan to get more so that many can benefit.

We have prepared for Pastors from Malawi and Mozambique to come to Zambia for training. Some of these Pastors will come for three years' training, and others for less, like three months. These Pastors will go back to their countries and teach the locals.

We are processing their passports and study permits so that they come next year. These Pastors will be trained here in Zambia.

Next year, 2004, we are planning to go back to Mozambique and Malawi and do a follow-up on the churches. We want to see if the materials we left are being properly used, and what growth has taken place.

We also plan to start bible correspondence for Mozambique and Malawi which will be in their local languages.

We are planning to introduce Christian movies in the Lusaka prisons. The plans are at a very advanced stage. We have to go through the Ministry of Home Affairs. There is Government red tape, but we are believing the Lord that our plans will come to pass. We intend showing the Jesus film and other Christian films.

We have plans to have Christian films on passenger transport (Buses) travelling long distances. We have targeted about 100 buses to be equipped with Christian video tapes.

This month, (April, 2004), we have planned for evangelistic meetings in Harare, Zimbabwe. We have all the materials we need for this outreach, and all the logistics are in place.

In the same month the Pastors' Conference will be held in Switzerland, which is intended for all evangelical facilities. We are planning and preparing for this meeting.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Pray for rain in Central Africa. For the last few years, Zimbabwe has had poor rainfall. In this part of the world our food supply depends on how much rain falls in season. If the rainfall is inadequate there will be a shortage of food: that is why we always pray for good rainfall.

Pray also for the Gospel. Islam is slowly coming in. We should pray that the Gospel penetrates more, and that we be not overtaken by the ever increasing Islam in the region.

Please pray for our team of evangelists to be strong in the Lord. There are many forces that would make them weak. Pray that they will be strengthened, no matter what circumstances they face.

Pray for our trip to Zimbabwe in 2004. Pray for the good health of all the evangelists, and that all materials and logistics prepared will go according to plan.

Pray for me, my health is poor. I have been constantly attacked by malaria. These attacks come mainly due to the frequent trips we make in the field to evangelise. Pray also for my wife Anna who also has poor health.

Pray for our follow-up trip to Mozambique and Malawi next year. We are looking for funds for fuel and other requirements.

We will also need more Portuguese and Chichewa Bibles. Pray for more field workers to join our team.

Pray for our brothers in Zimbabwe. The political situation is very volatile; inflation
is over 400%, and no one is allowed to speak against the Government without great peril to themselves.

Pray for my son Donald who lost the Supreme Court case implicating him in murder and robbery. He was co-charged with people he did not know in any way.

The issue has afected our family very much. We have petitioned the President for pardon - please pray for us.

Pray for our country Zambia: cases of child defilement have increased in the recent past. Many of our young girls, including very young Christians, have been victims of this horrible crime.

Pray for our college in Petauke, and that the students from other countries will not have difficulty getting their passports and study permits.

Respectfully submitted by

Bishop Bwanali G. "Billy" Phiri, Dip. Theo.
PRESIDENT AND CEO/EVANGELIST - MISSIONARY FOR AFRICA