August 2015 Newsletter
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus! We give thanks for your sustaining prayers over the past month, and also for the many generous gifts given in support of our ministry in Zambia (2 Corinthians 9:6). Since last month’s newsletter was so long I will try to keep this one brief!
Ministry Update
There are so many surprising aspects to ministry at TCCA. I’d like to share two unexpected e-mails that I received this week that show how God is blessing the work at TCCA.
The first e-mail is from a student who is also pastoring a church in a nearby city. He was recently asked to be the speaker at a large conference and came to me a few weeks ago asking for my help in preparing his talks. Here is his report following the conference:
Good morning Dr. Churchill,
… I wish to express my gratitude for the notes you gave me… I did a very good work at the conference. I just did it as you had suggested to me and we had about 69 people coming to the Lord and another 65 people rededicating their lives to Christ. Thank you doctor Churchill for your generosity and may the almighty Lord richly bless you.
The second e-mail is from a senior student who recently completed a year of Greek language studies. Since TCCA’s current curriculum doesn’t make use of Greek in other New Testament courses (unfortunately), I created an independent study course for him to help develop his Greek reading skills by going through the book of James in Greek. We met together for several hours a day over a two week period reviewing his translations. After completing the course I received this e-mail from my student:
Evening Dr. …
I am grateful for the experience of working in James which has left me amazed and with a tired mind. Again, I will be preaching from James tomorrow. I have found James to be a good resource for preaching on practical christianity. Thanks for according me this unforgettable experience, which has been the grand beginning of the start to reading the New Testament Greek.
I have since had other students asking if they could also do this course with me! There is a real hunger for God’s Word among many of my students who are eager to study to show themselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15) by digging deeply into God’s word, even in the original languages.
Support Update
Despite my best efforts to understand SIM’s complicated multi-national accounting system, it appears that we have a $6,500 shortfall in our support account. My first indication of this shortfall came in an e-mail from a SIM Canada administrator. It’s been an interesting week for e-mail…
Prayer Requests
- Pray for Sarah Lantz, a young surgeon and fellow SIM Zambia member. Sarah recently returned to the US for diagnosis of some unexplained symptoms and was shocked to learn that she has advanced breast cancer. Her blog is found at http://sarahlantzmd.blogspot.com/.
- Pray that God will provide for the shortfall in our support account.
- Pray for the country of Zambia, which is currently experiencing a significant electricity shortfall. We are currently without power for several hours every day, which makes life and ministry difficult.
Blessings in Christ,
Tim & Kristina Churchill