Acts 1
…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth…
I cannot
hope to measure the impact of my team in the land of the Chipolopolo. I lack
the insight and the objectivity to tell you what will come of the work I leave
behind at the end of the month. I can only pray and trust that the same Spirit,
who gives me understanding and permits me to teach on matters I am far too naïve
to teach, will continue to do for our new friends as has been done for me.
Evans is one
of Kolezi’s roommates in A206. I casually address him as “Governor”.
Currently a third year student in the School of Banking and Finances, he
aspires to one day be a governor for the Bank of Zambia. The young man is
ambitious, but he seems to have room to grow in the area of time management.
Unfortunately, I fall short of the distinction of “pacesetter” in that
department. Nonetheless, he is a willing and effective learner, and his
potential is great, for what it is worth.
He and
Kolezi shared two afternoons with me at the conclusion of the last week. The
two provided their usual, dependable attention as I walked them through the
Bible’s teachings on living a Christ-centered life, and the tools and vision
for sharing their hope with others. The latter yielded unexpected results when a
follower of the Jehovah’s Witness faith joined minutes into our time together,
intent on steering my presentation of the Gospel towards a hidden objective.
Two hours would pass before he would confess his agenda. The discussion would
have been a complete loss if I had not witnessed an encouraging quality in the
two men I had come to see. They were firm in their faith, though not in
ignorance. Their knowledge was well founded, and their logical refutations were
sound. It is good to see that I do not know these men as well as I had
initially believed.
The next
morning, Evans and Kolezi were gone. Bryce and I are working around the vacuum
the university’s term break has created on campus. The week-long hiatus offers
several advantages to building relationships with the remaining students, though
we are obviously coping with the academic exodus. Bryce has capitalized on the
availability of one student Gerald, who has responded with immense eagerness
and humility. Their relationship continues to mutually foster deep spiritual
growth as they learn about new roles in the ministry of reconciliation – Bryce as
a mentor, and Gerald as a disciple maker.
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| Bryce and Gerald sharing their last week together |
I delight to
see Bryce mature as a man of God, and the process has been swift since our
settlement in Kitwe. Almost two years ago, Bryce moved onto campus at Purdue
University as a first year student in engineering. He quickly found old friends
and assembled with a small group of men to read from the Bible. It was not
Bryce, but one of his friends in the group that I met first. However, my
earliest memories of him were of a steady and purposeful young man who was
prepared to gain much more than a mere Bachelor’s Degree through his time at
Purdue. I often found him reading and reflecting on life issues, and I coveted
the opportunity to walk alongside him.
When we
moved from Lusaka to Kitwe shy of a month ago, the opportunity seemed like a
dream come true. Astonishingly, our time together has exceeded my expectations,
and I find that I am realizing ideals of true Christian community I thought
were unlikely in this era of media, entertainment, and social etiquette. In
short, the Bible has been living and active at all hours of the day, and we are
challenging each other towards Christian maturity in biblical ways.
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| Reflections by candlelight - A blessing of the occasional power cuts. |
Tonight,
Bryce sleeps on campus with the students. The idea and the initiative were his.
As it has always been, his ministry here in Kitwe is being led by the Spirit. He
has only two days to give to Gerald before we conclude and hand over our
ministry at Copperbelt University. My little brother, friend, and fellow
laborer Bryce Dzirbik has grown up.
