MY TRIP TO ZAMBIA

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I hope that this finds you and yours doing well, and I want to thank you for joining me. This video is just an overview of my recent trip to Zambia. I had a wonderful trip there and so I wanted to share with you just a few of the highlights, some of the things that I experienced, some of the people that I met.

I hope that this video will be an encouragement to you. The trip truly was to me, so please do watch this video all the way through because I'll have a couple of videos of some brothers that I met while I was there and they were a tremendous encouragement to me and I trust that they will be to you as well.

So I just wanted to share with you a little bit about my trip. I left here in Montana, I left the day before Thanksgiving and after about two days of travel, I arrived in Zambia and a little tired, but other than that, no worse for the wear.

After one night's good sleep, I'm pretty well calibrated. I get my bearings again and good to go. So I landed and slept pretty hard that night and got up. My first engagement was a meeting of some of the graduates of the Central Africa Baptist College and Seminary in Kitwe, Zambia.

There was not a big group there, maybe, I don't know, 30 or so, mainly men. I think there were two sisters who were there, but had a really good informal Q &A with them. Surprisingly, the first two questions I was asked at this Q &A, the first one was about Benny Hinn and whether or not he has repented.

They had heard about that, so I walked them through that and explained to them that Benny Hinn has not repented. And then, believe it or not, the second question I received was about Kanye West. Some of you may know that I did two videos, actually three videos on some of my concerns.

Well, really two, technically three, because Lakewood Church filed a copyright claim, but I got that taken away. So anyway, go back to my YouTube channel, you can see those. But at any rate, I was asked about Kanye West, and I was not expecting that.

I was not expecting to arrive in Zambia, Africa, and be asked about Kanye West, but I was. In fact, through the whole time I was there in Zambia, I was asked about him fairly regularly. And people in Zambia had actually watched the videos that I did on Kanye West.

So we talked about that, and yeah, a surprise, but nonetheless, there was quite a bit of interest. And happily, I suppose, everyone that asked me about it actually agreed with me. They saw my videos, or at least heard about my videos, some saw, but they all agreed with me.

And once we kind of walked through the issues there, they didn't have any problem with it whatsoever and thanked me for the videos. So that was kind of a pleasant surprise, I suppose. You may have heard, as a little tag along with that, that Kanye West has now scheduled more events with Joel Osteen.

That's a development since my last video, but at any rate, this video is not about Kanye West. That was on a Saturday, and then the next day, Sunday, I preached at a Baptist church there. Now when I say Baptist, I was at several Baptist churches, and I was at a Baptist conference, but these are not Southern Baptists.

These are just kind of independent, I suppose, Baptist churches. But even when I say that, don't think IFB, don't think American Independent Fundamentalist Baptist. Not the King James only kind of stuff that we have here.

They're just Baptist churches in Africa. So anyway, that next Sunday, I preached at a little Baptist church there in Kituwe. And had a wonderful time there, just did exposition. But the following Monday, that was the main conference.

This was the conference at the Central Africa Baptist College and Seminary. And I taught at that conference the entire week. I was not the only speaker, there were a number of other speakers as well. Tim Chalice was there, Conrad Mbewe was there, a gentleman named Sam Horn was there.

And who else? There was a number of local African pastors, Zambian pastors who were there. I've got their names here. Henry Mukunda, Pastor Chuwe Mwitwa, not sure if I'm saying that right. And then Pastor Chopo Mwana.

And don't hold me to those pronunciations 100%. I'm pretty sure I got the first names right, but the last name's not 100 sure about. But just dear, dear brothers. Really, really enjoyed my time with them.

Also, Phil Hunt, he is on staff there, kind of the head of the Central African Baptist College and Seminary. And just wonderful, wonderful brothers. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed my time there.

It was just wonderful. There was about 500 in attendance, I think, give or take. And most of them were Zambians, of course. But there were a number of attendees who had come from some surrounding countries like Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania.

So there were a number of attendees from surrounding countries. And that was really good to see as well. Now, from what I was told, over half of these attendees were charismatic. A number of them were pastors.

I don't know the exact percentage. A lot of them were pastors. Not all of them. But probably more than half of the attendees at this conference were indeed charismatics to varying degrees. And the whole thrust of the conference was Search the Scriptures.

And I dealt with the Word of Faith movement, New Apostolic Reformation, the Prosperity Gospel. I kind of did my seminar, Clouds Without Water. And as you might expect, with being over half of the attendees were charismatic, me teaching that, of course, went against the grain of the beliefs of more than half of the people who were there.

But nobody, at least to my knowledge, got mad. Now, a lot of people were challenged, to be sure. I gave them a lot to think about and chew on. But you know what? They stayed for the whole conference. And we had some wonderful Q &A sessions throughout the week, some really good questions.

And people received it. I don't know that 100 of the people were convinced by what I taught or Conrad and Bewe taught or Phil Hunt or Tim or Pastor Chopo or any of these others. But nonetheless, they stayed for the whole conference.

And they seemed very appreciative of it. And so I was very, very encouraged by that. Just met a lot of wonderful, dear people. The Word of Faith movement and the Prosperity Gospel is absolutely massive in Africa.

As bad as it is here, it is exponentially worse in Africa. Undoubtedly, the Word of Faith movement, Prosperity Gospel is America's worst export. It is undoubtedly the worst thing that we have ever exported.

We created that theology here in the United States of America. And we have exported it to the rest of the world. And so now, wherever you go in the world, unfortunately, the face of Christianity today is either Roman Catholicism or Word of Faith, Prosperity Gospel or a blending of those two.

It is rampant in Central and South America, all throughout Africa, India. It truly is a cancer. It's our worst export. So there's a tremendous, tremendous need there. But you know, I was glad to have that opportunity.

It's nice to kind of not always be preaching to the choir, so to speak. I kind of like to go into venues where I know that not everybody is going to agree with me. So anyway, very, very grateful for that.

I want to introduce you briefly to a couple of brothers that I met. The first one is named Muhammad. Now, you might be able to tell by his name that Muhammad was not born into a Christian family. He was born into an Islamic family in Sudan.

And at some point in his early adult life, Muhammad came across or was given a New Testament. And he began to read it. And he was saved. God saved him simply by reading the scriptures. And as you might imagine, it cost him dearly.

His family has all but disowned him. There's no relationship there between he and his family members who are, as of right now, still Muslim. I think there's a little bit of communication, but not a lot.

They basically disowned him. But what a dear, dear brother. He helped me all the time. He was always helping me with my scooter, getting my little electric three-wheel scooter out of the truck every morning.

And helping me get that set up. Just a great, great guy. And then I also met this young man. His name is Sayaka. I'm not 100 sure I'm pronouncing that right. But I met him, had a couple of opportunities to talk to him.

He, too, was saved out of Islam. In fact, recently, just within the last year or so, I believe. And he is now attending a good, doctrinally sound church. In fact, the church that I preached at that first Sunday that I was there in Zambia.

So just a very, very encouraging. You know what? This is the real power of the Holy Spirit of God. Not angel feathers and gold dust and all this kind of stuff. It's when God saves someone. When he saves someone out of deception and transforms their lives.

And begins that progressive work of sanctification. That is the true power of the Holy Spirit of God. I don't know. I just rejoice to meet these brothers and hear their stories. And praise God for them and pray for them.

I am praying for them. So pray for Muhammad and pray for Sayaka. And that God will continue to bless them. And pray for their family members. That God will use their witness to soften their hard hearts to the gospel.

Pray for that. A couple other highlights. One of the things that put a smile on my face every day. Is kind of down in the front over to the left side of the audience there. Was a section that they had dedicated for their deaf attendees.

There was a number of deaf people who attended the conference. And I presume they do every year. And they had a number of different interpreters. Signers who would interpret everything that was going on for them.

And I just love to watch these interpreters. And I met a couple of them. Just very sweet people. And one of the men there, a deaf man who was there. I met and I heard just a little bit of his story. And I asked him if he would tell his story through sign language.

And I recorded it on video. So watch this. Okay so I'm in Zambia and I just met this dear brother Matunda who is deaf. And this is Cherith who has been signing for him.

I was walking with my friends. And a false prophet came up to me. And he met with me. He began to talk to me about my body. He saw that I was good and all of that. And the false prophet asked me, Can you hear?

And I said, no I can't hear anything. And he said, oh you can't hear anything. He said, can I pray for you? And I said, yes fine, no problem. So he started to pray for me. And he put his hand on my head and he prayed.

And he prayed for a really long time. And after he finished praying, He stood behind me and he began clapping. And I still couldn't hear anything. And again he clapped. I still couldn't hear anything.

And finally he told me, He said, no you are from the devil. And so I was very upset. And said, how is it that I'm from the devil?

How?

And that's all. The false prophet is not true. What he said is not true. Jesus Bible is what's true. So thank you.

So you see one of the reasons why I say that the prosperity gospel is indeed America's worst export. This is rampant in Africa. African preachers have learned the tricks of the trade by watching American television.

And so now you've got indigenous false teachers. Word of faith false teachers in Africa exploiting their own people. And these churches are massive. Guys like Pastor Chris and David Oyedepo. I believe David Oyedepo has the largest church in Africa.

It's absolutely massive. He's good friends with Kenneth Copeland. So that tells you a lot. But anyway this is what you just saw. It's just some of the bad fruit that is born from this false gospel. But praise the Lord that God delivered that man.

Apparently that happened to him when he was much younger. When he was a boy I guess. But praise the Lord that God delivered him out of that deception. And now he is attending good doctrinally sound conferences.

And getting taught and fed truth. So praise the Lord for that. But just a great time dear friends. Just a great great time at the conference. Timothy Murdock is a Native American. Not a Native American.

I mean he was born in America. But now he's living in Zambia. And I don't have a picture of Timothy unfortunately. But he helped me every morning. He came to pick me up at the hotel. And helped me get my socks and shoes on.

And things like that. And shuttled me back and forth every day. Just a wonderful guy. He and his wife Lisa. I met so many people. And that's one of the joys that is mine. Traveling around the world. As I get to have fellowship with like minded brothers and sisters in Christ.

All over the world.

And it does not matter where I am. Doesn't matter what culture I'm in. What country I'm in. Doesn't matter what language is spoken. And it certainly does not matter what color our skin is. When I am with like minded believers in Christ.

There is an instant bond. An instant fellowship. An instant love. That I have for these folks. And that they have for me. We don't care what color our skin is. None of these things matter because we are family.

We are family. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We have been adopted into the family of God. And there is that bond there that transcends all of these superficial differences. And anyway. It truly is a joy.

One of the great blessings that is mine. In doing what I do in evangelism. So the conference wrapped up on Friday. And Conrad was there. And Conrad lives in Lusaka. Which is about a six hour drive from Kitwe.

Where we were at Central Africa Baptist College and Seminary. So I had the privilege of riding with Conrad and Bewe. He was driving of course. And there were a few other young men in the back seat that traveled along with us.

But I had an opportunity to drive with Conrad all the way from Kitwe down to Lusaka. So we had about six hours together. And just a really neat opportunity to get to know Conrad and Bewe a little bit better.

We have been together in a couple of conferences. But we have never had any extended time to fellowship with one another. But we did. And when we finally got to Lusaka. We went to his home. And his wife Felistas had cooked us a wonderful meal.

And so we ate dinner there at Conrad's house. And wife Felistas was so very sweet. I really enjoyed getting to meet her as well. And so Conrad took me to the hotel. And there in Lusaka. The next day I went to another Baptist church.

A small Baptist church. And this was my smallest venue. There was just kind of a youth meeting at this church. And there was only about eight or ten young people. Teenagers. Kind of older teenagers that were there.

But I was grateful to have the opportunity. And I preached. And we had a really good Q &A session. They asked some really good questions. And I did my best to answer those. So even though it was just a handful of young people there.

I loved it. And they seemed to enjoy it. I'll show you a picture of this young man. There were steps going. Of course in Zambia. Pretty much every building has steps. And that presents a challenge of course.

But he made a makeshift ramp. For me to get my little electric three wheel scooter up. And into the church. Just a fantastic young guy. And I had a great time. And then the next day. It was Sunday. And I preached at two more churches.

A different one for morning and evening. Sunday morning I was at Conrad's church. It was at Caboada Baptist Church. Pastored by Conrad M. Bayway. And had a really good time with him as well. I met with he and the other elder with him.

Before the service. And had a good time of prayer. They prayed for me. Went into the service. And something kind of neat that I noticed. That these churches in Zambia do. If they have a guest speaker.

They will ask the guest speaker to come up. Before the sermon. And they will just do a brief interview. And they did this with me at Caboada Baptist Church. And then the church that I was at. That evening.

A different Baptist Church. They just had me come up. And ask me a few questions. About me. Where I live. My family. Things like that. Prayer requests. Both of the churches asked me how they could pray for me.

And they do this just to introduce the congregation to the speaker. And Conrad said also. To let people hear your accent. At least get them kind of exposed. A little bit to your accent. Before you actually begin to preach.

And I do my best to mitigate my southern accent. When I'm preaching. But it still comes across. But anyway. Just a really neat time. And then I did exposition. Sunday morning. At both churches. Sunday morning and Sunday night.

And had a really good time. I want to say something else. I want to show you a picture here. You can't tell. Because all you can see right now is his head. But that is Conrad. That is Conrad in Bayway.

Helping me with my socks and shoes. I have swelling. Edema or whatever you want to call it. In my feet. And lower legs. Significant swelling. So I wear compression socks. To try to keep that swelling at bay.

At least somewhat. Normal socks I can get on. Compression socks I couldn't get on. If my life depended on it. I just can't do it. Conrad helped me. Every morning. While I was with him. To get my compression socks and my shoes on.

You know. I've heard a lot of people. I've seen a lot of people. Disparaging the evangelical elite. And I know there are some. Well known evangelicals out there. That are. Have issues with. Pride and other things.

Not that any of us. Is without pride. I don't mean that. Anyway. I've heard a lot of people disparage. Some of the big name preachers. And Conrad in Bayway. Would fit into that category. The evangelical elite I suppose.

By these folks definition. These critics definition anyway. Here he is helping me. Get my compression socks and shoes on. And he did it every morning. And he did it with joy. In fact. He would text me.

We would text each other. On the whatsapp app. That's really popular overseas. But he would text me. And he would say. Coming over for our little. Morning ritual. That's kind of what he called it. And he did it with joy.

Honestly. I have to ask people to do this for me. Because I just can't. It's a bit embarrassing. But I have to get over that. I share this with you. There's a lot of good guys out there. And a lot of them.

And some of the big names. Are you know what. They're really good guys. They are. And so every time. When Conrad would come over. And help me with my socks and shoes. I'm thinking. Here's your evangelical elite for you.

So anyway. I digress. There's some out there. That I would have issues with too. But not all of them. Just because someone has a big platform. Does not always mean. That person is full of pride. And not the real deal.

There are a number of them. And I know them. That are absolutely the real deal. And Conrad is. I'd like to play this video for you. When I was in Zambia. I learned that there are 73. Different languages spoken.

In one country. English is the official language. But apparently there are 72 other languages. That are also spoken in Zambia. Bimba is one of the. Next to English I believe. Probably the most widely spoken.

Thursday night at the conference. They had a group of the attendees. Some of the leaders there. At CABCS. And they sang. How great thou art. In English. And in 6 or 7 other languages. And I'd like you to.

Just watch this. And I know it will bless you.

Here with you.

One final video. And this is a gentleman. That I met. At Conrad's church. Now he doesn't attend Conrad's church. He attends a different one. Long story short. He heard that I was going to be. At Caboada Baptist Church.

So he came and I got to meet him. His name is Cayumba. And Cayumba was born blind. I took a video of him. Sharing his testimony. It's a bit long. So I'm not going to show you the whole thing. He was converted as a young man.

And now. Just see for yourself.

Being a visually impaired person. In Africa. And in Zambia specifically. Has it's own. Challenges and nuances to it. First of all. Traditionally. In the African context. We tend to think. Of disability.

As something. Of a curse from the supernatural. And so. Sometimes. Attitudes that are reflected. Especially.

In.

Places where people are not. Very well educated. Tend to be. Reflective of the fact that.

This person.

Might be a result of a curse. It's similar to what you read in the Bible.

Concerning.

The Jews.

And some of their attitudes.

To persons with disabilities.

Ruling out. Of course. The providence of God. And how God can work sovereignly. Even in disability.

So.

Mr Peter is here. Because he's using.

A wheelchair.

Or he's using crutches. The thought would.

Generally be.

He's disabled because of something. That happened in the family. That's the. African traditionalist.

Perspective.

But of course. As more and more people. Have become educated. Some of these attitudes. Have begun to change. Except that. What has brought.

Problems.

Is the. Neo Pentecostalism. That has come. And it is. Creating a lot of problems especially in Africa. And in Zambia here where we are. Because then. When people see.

A person living with a disability.

They want to take them to these. In quotation marks men of God. And these men of God should. Pray over them and they should get well. I have had such encounters myself. Many of them. One of them was when I.

Lived with my older brother. In South Africa. And someone came visiting. And they said to my. Older brother look.

Your younger brother can be. Taken to this man of God.

Apparently that man of God was in Johannesburg. He had a church there. And again in quotation marks. And where people. Would be taken to be prayed for. And they would get well. So I had made my position.

Very clear to everybody else. Around me that I believed.

That the Lord wanted to use. The fact that I was blind. For his own glory. And my older brother gave that response. To this visitor who had come. And she was surprised. That a person. Who was visually impaired.

Would actually refuse. In her view. An opportunity to regain. His sight. In actual fact. What I did. Was just to say. That you see the Lord had. Purposed. That I should be visually impaired. And that he would use this.

Disability. For his own glory. I had come to that realization. When I was in high school. I was in 10th grade. I was reading through the gospel of John. Chapter 9. The first three verses. Where the disciples.

Asked the Lord Jesus. After they met a man who had been blind. Who is it that had sinned. Between the blind man. And all his parents. And so the Lord said. Neither had sinned. But this had happened. So that the Lord.

Might glorify himself. And I had come to that conviction. Myself. Based on that I had begun to use. My gifts in the church. One of them being.

Singing.

And the other being. Preaching. And so. That of course. Surprised this lady.

I think.

The other event. I had. Was when I met. Another gentleman. He was Zimbabwean. While still in South Africa. Who actually recommended surgery. And he was willing. To finance it. That my eyesight should be restored.

I said look. I believe God wants to use me. This way. It doesn't mean that my life. As a person living with a disability. In Africa doesn't have challenges. But my belief is. That God wants to glorify himself.

This way.

And.

That happened about. Close to. 12 years ago now. And most recently. It's about two or three months ago. My wife and I were on a public bus. We were going to visit an aunt. My wife's aunt. Across town from where we are.

And.

Another lady was going to attend. One of these.

Churches.

And they were having a. Deliverance in quotation marks. Session. And so.

She saw me.

And talking to my wife. And she had a leaflet. Of this in quotation marks. Man of God. Who would pray over me. And I would get well. So she gave this leaflet to my wife. And in our local language here.

One of the languages that is used. Most commonly is Bemba. She said. Meaning. You should bring him to our church. And he is going to see. And my wife said to me. If only she knew. The person she was talking about.

And. So.

These are some of the encounters. I have had. Now I believe that the Lord has used.

This visual impairment.

In many ways. One of them.

Being the fact that.

When people see.

A person with a disability. Serving God.

With zeal. With a whole heart.

I think it brings a different. Level of encouragement. I don't know what it is. But the Lord uses it. And I have seen that. When I have preached. Or even when I have. Sang. At different places. People would come up to me.

And tell me.

How they have been blessed. But the way they would express it. You could tell that there is something.

Unique.

That has taken place. Other people would actually openly come and tell.

Me.

How.

They have been encouraged.

Specifically.

By my testimony. I had those encounters. When I was in university. Friends of mine would actually tell me. When you minister. A lot of people are blessed. That is about me. I currently work here. In Zambia.

As a teacher.

And.

I was. In the youth ministry. I still am. But I was in the youth ministry. As a youth leader there. I was the youth ministry chairperson.

For about.

Three years.

And I still. Participate in church life. Mainly in the music ministry.

And also.

When opportunities are available. I also preach.

You preach in a bit different way. A unique way. Tell us about that. Do you have some kind of a reader?

Yes.

I depend on a software. It is a screen reader.

So.

On a laptop you install the software. That will read aloud. What is on the screen. And so I prepare my notes. On the laptop. Like any other feature would. I have my bible. In soft copy. And then.

I preach.

That way. I will listen to my own notes. I will have my own notes. Read to me. And then I will preach. That way. Sometimes I use. My android tablet. It has a feature there. Called talkback. Which reads aloud what is on the screen.

And I am able to. Type using that. And then preach the gospel. Using that.

Amen brother.

Well.

Kayumba. God bless you brother. Thank you for sharing your testimony with us. You have been a great encouragement to me. And I know you will be to many many others. Thank you brother.

Bless you too.

Bless you and your wife.

So dear friends. I hope that video encouraged you. At least half as much as it did me. You know. This is the true power of the Holy Spirit of God. As he saves people. And then sanctifies them for his glory.

You know. More often than not. God is most glorified in us. Not when things are going well. Not when there is plenty of money in the bank. Not when our bodies are strong and healthy. Not when. Everybody likes us.

But sometimes he is most glorified in us. In times of suffering. You know. When we go through trials. Trials of persecution. Like what we saw with Muhammad and Sayaka. Trials of bodily weakness. Sickness.

Disease. Handicaps. Like we saw with Matunda and Kayumba. And yet through these trials. Through the persecution. Through the suffering. Through the sickness and disease. Through the disabilities. We remain faithful to Christ.

And we seek to honor him by our lives of obedience. Sometimes God is most honored and glorified in us. In times like that.

So.

Thank you for watching dear friends. I hope that this video has been an encouragement to you. I know that many of you pray for me. And the ministry. And my wife Kathy. And our little dog Mia that you see there.

So covet your prayers dear friends. Thank you very much. Please do continue to pray for us. And we pray for you as well. Thank you. It is a tremendous encouragement. So until our next time together. Well.

Merry Christmas if you are watching this before Christmas. But until our next time together. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The love of God. And the fellowship of his Holy Spirit. Be with you all.