Warners in Zambia

Elijah's Adoption Update

2011-09-20T05:53:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of you that prayed for our trip to Lusaka this past week! We had a great time and a nice break. Our meetings went with the US Embassy and social welfare office, we got some helpful information.

After turning in some additional paperwork, we are now waiting for the official notice of adoption to be prepared by the social welfare office of Zambia. Once the letter is issued we have three months to wait until we are summons to court to finalize the adoption. The final step of our journey is for Elijah to be an American Citizen. We have been told by the US Embassy the best option for us is to wait until Elijah has been in our home for two years (Jan 2013) Then he will be automatically eligible for citizenship.

Elijah is such a Joy and Blessing! We are so thankful for him!

We are waiting and trusting God for His perfect timing in all of this. Thank you so much for all your continued thoughts, prayers, encouragement and love!

September 2011 Prayer Letter

2011-09-20T05:44:00.001-07:00

September 2011
Dear Praying Friends,
As we leave the pleasant cooler season behind us, we in the Southern Hemisphere gear up for some “real” African weather. For our family that means putting away our space heaters (honestly, it does actually get cool enough to use them sometimes) and making sure all fans and air conditioners in our home and vehicles are in working order. It also means once again making sunscreen a part of our daily wardrobe. At church there are some definite advantages to the hot season, the most noticeable being the start times of our Sunday service. Because of the cold and the fact that many people use the sun to tell time, people generally wake up and get out later during the cold season than they do in the hot season. So during the hot season, things will get underway considerably earlier at Fallsview Bible Baptist Church. As an American preacher, there is something ingrained inside of me that wants to hurry through my message as I see 12:00 and 12:30 come and go on my watch. Most Zambians are not concerned in the least, but starting earlier will enable me to fit into a more “normal for me” schedule for church. More importantly, it will also allow us more time for our after-service Youth Bible Club meeting!
Recently the LORD has seen fit to send more adults to our services. In the 11 weeks following our 3rd anniversary, we have averaged 95 teenagers and adults in our Sunday morning services. This represents an increase of more than 20 from our adult average before our anniversary. Our total attendance, including children, has averaged 165, including our fourth-highest attendance ever (behind only our 3 anniversary Big Days) of 191 a few weeks ago. God has moved in the hearts of several of our members as well, with many responding to the call to surrender to God’s will for their lives. Three in particular have indicated a call on their lives to serve God in a full-time manner. Please pray with us and these believers about a Bible institute and training program that is in the preliminary stages.
Finally, thanks for all your prayers for us, especially Elijah. He is a joy to our home, and we are blessed to watch each new milestone in his life. We will be in Lusaka the first full week in September meeting with the American Embassy and the Zambian Social Welfare Office to discuss Elijah’s adoption. Our prayer is that his adoption will go smoothly and steadily. We would greatly appreciate your continued prayers for our wisdom and understanding of the whole process. There are times that it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what is the next step to take. Once again, thank you for all your thoughts, prayers, and sacrificial support for our family and ministry over the years in Zambia.

May 2011 Prayer Letter

2011-09-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

May 2011
Dear Praying Friends,
Our life and ministry in Zambia have taken us in several different directions lately. We have enjoyed learning and growing as Elijah’s parents. Preetika was recently blessed to enjoy her first Mother’s Day. Also, these past few months have found us (patiently?) waiting for the paperwork for the adoption to progress through the system. We are encouraged to have received a fostering document that appears to give us guardianship of Elijah until he turns 19. I say appears because few things in Africa turn out as they first seem to be. With that being said, our social worker has assured us that the document for foster care carries plenty of legal weight. The process of adoption here seems alternately too easy to be true and impossibly difficult, with unreasonable delays for incompetence and red tape that seems to be used as a way to avoid the necessity of creative problem solving.
For example, we are currently working on obtaining Elijah’s birth certificate. When at the office that handles such documents, we were sent to the hospital to procure a birth record that was needed before issuing the certificate. Reasonable enough, so far. However, at the hospital we were told that a record of birth could not be given by the hospital if we were not sure that he was born in that hospital (the only one in Livingstone). Of course, many babies are born at home or in clinics in and around Livingstone. Despite our repeated explanations about Elijah’s story, no one was able to really give us the solution to the fact that we did not know where he was born. Since nobody knew how to handle it, they did the next best thing—they passed our inquiry off to someone else. We finally tired of this exercise when we were told to go to the office and person whom we had started with. We eventually made some progress by going to a rural health clinic in a nearby village, whose head nurse (who also happens to be the chief’s wife) knows the Hadens well. She kindly gave us a birth record with Elijah’s full name and date of birth (both chosen by us), indicating that he was born in that village (Mukuni Village). We are still working on getting the actual certificate, so please continue to keep this and the entire adoption process in your prayers.
In the ministry we have watched lately as the LORD has breathed new life and excitement into our youth as they participated in a Youth Conference during the holiday month of April. They made several spiritual decisions in addition to competing in some Bible games like a Bible quiz, Bible-memory contest, Sword drills, and preaching and singing contests. They were encouraged with how well they did this year as compared to last year and were able to attribute the growth and improvement to our Sunday Afternoon Youth Bible Club begun after last year’s conference. We continually marvel and praise God for their eagerness to serve Him.
While our young people have been encouraged to press on in their lives for Christ, we have also mourned the loss of two of the charter members of our church. Both men were part of the first 10 we baptized nearly three years ago on the opening Sunday of our church. Even though Mr. Aaron Sililo (78 years old) and Mr. Benard Banda (58) were considered old men in our church, they both possessed a humble spirit and child-like faith. It is such a comfort to know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord for those who believe in Christ (II Corinthians 5:8). Seeing their heart for the Lord through their questions and our discussions about the Word of God truly made them a blessing to know.
Thank you for your prayers and sacrifice, which enable us to be on the mission field preaching the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Elijah

2011-01-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

On November 20, 2010, while most in America had thoughts of Christmas gifts under a tree, God was at work halfway across the world putting a special gift under a tree for Preetika and me.
This particular tree in Livingstone, Zambia was roughly 10,000 miles away from where we were in California at that time. On that Saturday evening, one of our missionary friends in Zambia, Tammy Haden, heard a baby crying outside. She thought to herself that the baby sounded so loud that it seemed to be right inside her yard. As the crying did not diminish and no one seemed to be calming the baby, she went outside to see what was going on. As she stepped outside and headed for the gate in her wall fence, the Lord impressed upon her heart that the crying baby had been abandoned. At that point she began running toward the sound of the cry which was coming from outside her wall at the base of a tree. There she found a 4-6 week old baby boy The crying must have also caught the attention of her landlord who lives across the street. He, being a long-time resident of Zambia, and not nearly as tender-hearted as a missionary wife, told Ms. Tammy not to touch the baby while he went to get the police. As he turned the corner, she picked up the baby and was joined by Bro. Joe, her husband, who was just returning from a village trip in the midst of all the commotion. After picking him up and soothing his crying, the baby gave her one of his beaming smiles for which he is now well-known.!

Soon after, the police arrived. They took a statement from Ms. Tammy, but did not seem to have any procedure in place to handle the abandoned child. Their only instruction was to take the baby to the hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital, Ms. Tammy was directed toward the registration desk with the baby. The registration nurse asked his name in order to register him. Since she hadn’t really thought about his name, Ms. Tammy was unsure of what to say. The nurse insisted that he needed a name, so Ms. Tammy replied that he is Moses, which makes sense to all familiar with the Exodus story of the baby Moses being saved from death when his mother sent him afloat down the river in a basket. He was found, cared for, and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter as her own son. Despite that inspired name choice, the LORD had a different name in mind. The nurse responded that Moses was not a good name because there were too many babies with that name already. The next name that came to mind at the registration desk was Elijah. This name was promptly accepted by the nurse who attached Haden as the last name. As the doors to adoption have opened up for Preetika and me, we have kept these names and expanded upon them. His full name is Elijah Paul Haden Warner – a bit of a mouthful no doubt but each name is full of meaning. Paul, by the way, is my wife’s maiden name, not to mention a great missionary of the New Testament.
After examination at the hospital, Elijah was sent home with the Hadens with a clean bill of health. Ms. Tammy and Bro. Joe were quite relieved to be able to take him home as they feared he may be put “in the system” that night. The nurses and policemen, on the other hand, seemed surprised that these Americans would be willing to take home and care for an abandoned Zambian baby. As promised the Hadens reluctantly brought Elijah back to the hospital the next day late on Sunday afternoon. When some of the nurses saw them approaching, they asked if Elijah was sick. Ms. Tammy said that he was not, but they were bringing him back as they had agreed to. The nurses replied that since it was Sunday and the administration offices were closed, there was no one who could see them today about the situation. They said the best thing to do was to wait until Monday and bring him to the Social Welfare Office in town. Through the next week (Thanksgiving week), the Hadens had several interviews and a home inspection. By Friday, they were in the magistrate’s office getting legal papers naming them Elijah’s foster parents.
We have been amazed at God’s Hand in orchestrating every detail. Notwithstanding a few appointment changes, the relative speed and ease of the process has been astounding and very “un-Zambia-like.” That God is at work here is extremely evident. Many Westerners have the idea that since the number of orphaned children in Africa is so alarmingly high (due to AIDS and other such calamities), therefore adoption is quite common. The opposite is actually true. In fact, since the year 2000, the number of Zambian orphans adopted by American families has been 77 -- or less than 8 per year. Compare that with China, India, or the Philippines whose lowest number of adopted orphans per year over the last decade are 3001, 297, and 171 respectively. Those countries have many more orphans adopted per year than Zambia has per decade. Most orphans in Zambia are cared for by their extended family members. Cases of abandonment are even rarer which indicates to us that Elijah’s family situation at his birth may have been unthinkably desperate. The social worker handling our case says Elijah’s is only the fourth abandonment he has heard of since he began working at the Social Welfare Office over 5 years ago. All of these stats emphatically remind Preetika and me of what a miracle Elijah’s life has been to this point has been.
We cannot help but recognize that God has a purpose and plan for his life. How privileged we are to be used of the Lord in the working of His plan!
The rest of the story, especially concerning what was going on in our hearts and lives in California concurrently with the events related from Zambia can be found in our January 2011 Prayer Letter which can also be found on this site. Preetika and I look forward to further updates along our journey to adopt Elijah and raise him up in the nurture and admonition of the LORD.

JANUARY 2011 PRAYER LETTER

2011-01-12T07:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Praying Friends,
We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas, and we wish you a very happy New Year! This holiday season has been a blessed one for us for one extremely special reason. The Lord has seen fit to add to our family. A few days before Thanksgiving, after having delayed our return to Zambia because of a few necessary medical tests, my wife noticed a rather unusual post on Facebook from a friend and fellow missionary in Zambia. Joe and Tammy Haden, who live in our town, had found an abandoned baby outside their fence. Unbeknownst to my wife, I asked God to let the Hadens contact us if He wanted us to adopt this four- to six-week old baby boy. Preetika and I have considered and prayed about adopting a Zambian child for the past three years. The process always seemed rather daunting, and we were overwhelmed with thoughts of where to begin. Incidentally, I had been told in my research of Zambian adoption that a prospective adoptive parent had to have a targeted child in mind before beginning the process. Our purpose in considering adoption was not only to fulfill our desire of parenting but also to care for a child truly in need. Though there are plenty of orphans in Zambia, most are cared for by their extended family members. While this can often lead to mistreatment and a “Cinderella” syndrome for the orphaned children, it is the typical way of handling this common situation in Africa. So we planned on visiting some of the orphanages in our country on several occasions; but each time God closed the door, and our plans for a visit fell through for some reason or other. We are now convinced that He already had His plan set in motion. And when God does something, He does it right!
Now that you have been brought up to speed on God’s pre-workings in our hearts regarding what He is shortly to bring to pass, this is where the story really gets good. The next day after hearing about the baby (and praying for God’s will to be known) was a Sunday. While returning from church that afternoon with my wife and her parents, Preetika checked her Facebook page on our cell phone. She was sitting in the backseat, and I was driving. When we arrived home, she came to me with tears in her eyes, looking like she was about to burst with excitement. When I asked what was the matter, she replied that Ms. Tammy had sent her a message asking if we would be interested in adopting Elijah, the abandoned baby’s name given by default by Ms. Tammy. (For the complete story about his name, please see our website, www.warnersinzambia.blogspot.com.) I told Preetika that the Lord had answered my prayer, and we replied that we were VERY interested in adopting Him. Within one week, the Hadens had been court-appointed as his foster parents until he turned 19 or was adopted. We laughed about that “until age 19” clause since Bro. Joe and Ms. Tammy are doting grandparents expecting their 13th grandchild in a few months (actually that unborn grandchild has been pushed to number 14 now that Elijah has entered their life!). Over the next two weeks, Preetika and I frantically prepared for a new baby in our house—from 10,000 miles away. We praise God for the tremendous support, encouragement, and help in preparing for Elijah from our family and Foothill Baptist Church family, my wife’s home church.
We traveled to Zambia with at least 150 pounds of baby gear in tow. It especially attracted a lot of attention to be carrying a baby car seat with no baby in it. Several times we were asked if we had mistakenly left our child behind somewhere. We didn’t mind the questions, but I just imagine all those that thought the same thing but didn’t ask. I am sure there are dozens of people from Los Angeles to London to Johannesburg, South Africa, who think we are the most careless parents alive. At any rate, the anomaly of the situation allowed us to share Elijah’s story several times over the journey. Preetika and I have decided to work on a tract or pamphlet tying in the message of God’s adoption of sinners into His family through Christ with our own adoption of Elijah to prepare for the questions that we will undoubtedly field regarding our multicultural family over the years. Since our arrival in Zambia, we have spent much time with Elijah at Nonna and Granddaddy Haden’s house. We have met with Mr. Kawana, the social worker handling our case, and he has encouraged us with his effort and concern to push Elijah’s adoption through the system. He also enabled us to have the unspeakable gift of having Elijah in our home over the Christmas weekend! We have been assured that Elijah should come for good to our home in the first or second week of January as we take over the fostering of him while waiting for the adoption to be finalized. Please be in prayer that God will open doors and allow the paperwork to be completed soon. We are trusting God and have been amazed at His working in this situation. Many times through the last couple of weeks, we have remarked that things are just going too smoothly—nothing is this easy in Zambia. We can’t go to the store and buy groceries as easily as things have worked so far in this process! While we don’t completely expect smooth sailing, we know God is in control, and He opens doors no man can shut! For more on Elijah’s story including pictures, you can find my wife on Facebook or check out our website. Thanks as always for your prayers.
“God setteth the solitary in families….” (Psalm 68:6) Praise God He does!
In His service,

Justin & Preetika Warner

Nancy's Testimony

2010-10-18T15:38:00.001-07:00

My name is Nancy Kalonga. My full name is Malo-Malo,Twaambo, Nancy. I live in Livingstone, Zambia. Before I came to this city, I used to live in Magoye District -- Mazabuka. I stayed in this village for 8 years. That time my Mother and Father were still alive.

Mother was a Christian, but Dad was a non-believer. My Mother was a good woman in the sense that she helped me out to do the work of God. But at my age, I thought salvation was about my works. This made me join any church and believe any thing I heard from the preaching. I used to buy sweets with the offering money Mum used to give me. I never believed in giving or going to visit people who were sick.

In 2002 January 20, my Mother died and left me with the sister to her grandmother. With this new life I had it was very difficult for me to live with her, because I had to work like a slave doing works that my fellow children were not allowed to do, because the works were very difficult for little children like a 9-year-old.

In this family I had no say, neither freedom of movement, but all those things did not stop me from believing that I will go to heaven, because of my works. Grandmother did not believe in God but in ancestors and using charms {connected with witchcraft} for anything she desired. To me it was hard since no one used to worship God, and to me since I had a Dad it was still hard because Dad had married another wife with whom he had three children. He boasted around with them, passing by my grandmother’s house and showing me and making me hurt. I was even asking myself why I was born and why did God take my mother away from me. But with God, I guess He did not want it like that, and all my Dad’s three children died in the same month and his wife divorced him. Surprisingly my stepmother was the best friend to my Mom and this use to make her very sick when she thought about it in time when she was alive. Dad tried so many ways to continue denying me, but I resembled Dad’s face, color, and the way of talking. A miracle happened! Dad accepted me as his child at the age of 12 years and bought me school requirements. The same year just after six months accepted me as his daughter, he died.

I was left alone still not knowing the truth about God and still alone, no family, but only anyone was my brother and sister. I did my best also to be good to my grandmother (actually a great-aunt), but she did not seem to appreciate that. She only cared about her real granddaughter, Rachel.
They changed my name to Kalonga, thinking that when I get married they will not get the dowry (money) unless I carried their name.
In 2007 I was taken by the brother to Mum, Mr. Richard in order for him to help me with school. He managed to sponsor me from Grade 7 until half of the Grade 8. I started attending class but I used to be allowed to learn maybe three times a week. The teachers would chase me from school, because my school fees were not completely paid. Once again a miracle happened, the guidance teacher, called me and he asked me some questions which touched my life made me cry on explaining. He called people from USA who used to sponsor people who were most vulnerable (orphans) in both urban and rural areas.
These people only wanted 10 pupils out of 350 pupils. I was one of the ones chosen, and they told me that they will pay my fees for school. They helped me until Grade 9. They paid my exam fees which I had to take after Grade 9, and God helped me qualify for the next grade in school.

Before I wrote my exams I met Pastor Justin Warner and his wife, Mum Preetika Warner preaching the gospel to people at our area and inviting them to church, but for me and my family we used to run away from them. We called them names and looked to them as just wasting our time. Especially the people I used to stay with, they discouraged me a lot and made sure that I got convinced that the Pastor was telling lies. I used to hide the gospel tracts because I believed that when I looked at them or read them I would vomit blood.
At the end of all this I began to remember - my belief about good works taking me to heaven. I started greeting the people from church, and I promised them that I will attend the church bible study.
Sunday afternoon they came to pick me up that day that I decided to visit. The thing that happened was I had to write the number plate of the vehicle and give the number to my uncle with my neighbors because I was afraid that they might not bring me back home. The church were friendly and I felt more comfortable than at home. I heard the preaching and also the truth that I did not know for a long time. I couldn’t wait to join them, I had no doubt in my heart when the service was ended. They invited me to a big service on Sunday morning. When I reached home I told my family all about God and a little information about the church but they did not believe me.

Sunday morning came, and I made sure that I could be the first one to reach church so I could be the first one waiting for the people and get to know other people there. That day I received the love of God and I was saved.
I felt good to be a member of my own church for the pastor’s preachings are all from the Bible. This was also the day I held the Bible in my hand for the first time. I thank God and want God to continue sending Bibles and people to preach the Gospel in my town.
I thank God for blessing me with Pastor Justin and Mum Preetika. For they help me with my school and treat me as their own daughter, I had no hope of going to school but now I know that God loves me very much. He has given me all the joy, love and peace; and has protected me from sickness and death. May the Lord be with all the people in the States. I can’t write it all because the Lord has done a lot which I cannot even list. I hope you will get to know how the Lord has blessed me.

And I noticed that without the pastor and his wife I would have been a person who has no home and know nothing of the love of God. I thank my pastor with all my heart and let them continue to be a blessing as they receive your blessing,

God bless you all,
Sincerely,

Nancy Kalonga Psalm 23v1

Fallsview Bible Baptist Church Video

2010-09-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

This is a 7 minute video highlighting some of the minstries of Fallsview Bible Baptist Church.

First service on the new church property

2010-08-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

Under Construction--Church Foundation - From June to current

2010-07-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

June 2010 Prayer Letter

2010-06-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

June 2010

Dear Praying Friends,

A big “THANKS” to all who prayed for our Second Anniversary on June 6, 2010! To say it was successful would be an understatement. As many of you who received our e-mail prayer request (or saw it on our website) know, our prayerful goal for the day was to have 300 people in attendance that day. We have been consistently having between 150 and 170 people attend services every Sunday for most of 2010. Also, if our goal was reached, Fallsview Bible Baptist Church would have set a new attendance record. As we prayed, planned, and organized, the believers worked hard at inviting visitors for the Big Day. As we prayed for 300 in attendance, we planned to be able to accommodate and feed as many as 400 people. Perhaps our faith was too small, or maybe the LORD just decided to go above all we could ask or imagine; but whatever the case, the LORD saw fit to send 630 people on that day, including 170 adult visitors! We had 49 people trust Christ as their Saviour during the service, and we have already begun following up on the other visitors and presenting Christ to them in their homes. We anticipate being able to win many to Christ in this manner. Please keep this endeavor in your prayers.

One of the tools that helped to bring so many to church on our anniversary was our new large truck. It made a couple of trips to some of the more distant areas of Livingstone and was able to carry more than 200 to the services. My wife and I and the people of the Fallsview Bible Baptist Church are greatly indebted and appreciative to those whom the LORD used to answer our prayers for this vehicle for use in our ministry. Many of you, our praying friends, also remembered us faithfully in your prayers in this matter. The vehicle literally came just in time! We finished all the paperwork for the purchase and had the vehicle road ready on the Friday afternoon before our anniversary. On Saturday another driver from our church and I acquainted ourselves with driving it during visitation and the preparations for the next day. Then on Sunday the vehicle performed admirably – even being used in an unforeseen way! Our ladies served the meal from the truck’s open bed. The height gave the servers a much needed buffer zone between themselves and the hungry masses.

I have been racking my brain for how to accurately describe this scene, but it is so unlike anything I have ever seen in the United States that I simply cannot find the words. Suffice it to say that it is closer akin to the feeding of desperate people in a third-world country after a war or natural disaster than to the orderly lines of a potluck meal after church in America. I am just pleased to have survived it without any major injuries . . . I write this only semi-jokingly. One might wonder what it takes to feed over 600 Africans. Our menu might give you some idea. We cooked nearly 30 gallons of stew, consisting of 40 pounds of ground beef, 25 pounds of potatoes, and over 40 pounds of other vegetables, all served with the Zambian staple of nshima made from 250 pounds of cornmeal!

Though incredibly grateful to have seen God’s hand at work that day, I am relieved that our anniversary comes around only once a year! To see some pictures of our Second Anniversary, please visit our website at http://www.warnersinzambia.blogspot.com/ or find us on Facebook at my wife’s page.

In His service,

Justin & Preetika Warner

Two Year Church Anniversary

2010-06-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

Update on FBBC 2 -Year Anniversary

2010-06-02T06:29:00.000-07:00

Please pray for our upcoming 2-year church anniversary on June 6! We praise God for His provision of a vehicle to use for church transport on both that day and every Sunday! I have seen and test-driven the vehicle as well as gotten a mechanic’s opinion. All seems good and I am currently in the process to finalize the purchase this week. That should give us just enough time to get the vehicle registered and on the road by this weekend. I also need to get a few hours of driving practice in as it is the largest vehicle I have driven in quite a while! Not to mention the extra challenge of navigating the narrow, pot-holed roads that are typically packed with pedestrians who are not always the most cognizant or concerned about vehicles that share “their” road.

In addition to the transportation aspect of our Big Day, we are actively preparing for the more than 300 expected people that day. We are organizing teams of church members to serve in the different duties on that day – including greeters, ushers, cooks, children’s workers, and soul winners. Not only are we looking forward to breaking our highest attendance record that day, but are also excited to see the interest and hard work of many of the believers. Many came on or since last year’s anniversary, and it has been a privilege to see their growth in the LORD. Several have been learning how to be soul winners and have won their first souls to Christ over the last couple of weeks. Please pray for our church as it seeks to grow – both numerically and spiritually – this week.

Recent Building Project -church foundation

2010-04-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

March 2010 Prayerletter

2010-04-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

March 2010

Dear Praying Friends,

In Job 1:21 we find the words, “…the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” The verse could very well have been the motto for our life and work in Zambia over the past few months.

During this rainy season, the rains were coming, and then they weren’t. For about a month, we did not see even a drop of rain, and there were talks of a drought and famine. Over the last week, the LORD has sent the rain again . . . in buckets! This is a relief and blessing to most in Zambia and is well worth the inconvenience it poses to the work of the ministry. In fact, Sunday, the 21st of February, was the first time this season we have had rain falling during the time when people are on their way (nearly all walking, of course) to church. We were extremely encouraged with our attendance that day. We had just under 115 that day, with one visitor braving the elements to be with us. Though this is a relatively small group compared to most Sundays lately, it is still a good picture of the growth of the Fallsview Bible Baptist Church, both in numbers and in their commitment of faithfulness to the Lord. I was taught in Bible college that you can see the growth of your church not in the high days but in the low days. On our first anniversary in June 2009, we had a goal to break our record for attendance up to that time. We prayed for 100 people to come to church that day. We have seen very few weeks since then—and none so far in 2010—where we have had less than 100 people in church on Sunday. Thank God that even the rains could not hinder people from coming to hear God’s Word!

Many of you know and have been praying about our need for a larger vehicle in our “bus ministry.” A special thanks to those who have sacrificed and given toward the project. We have had a vehicle in mind . . . twice . . . and even started the process of getting the vehicle into our name, only to have the deal fall through at the last minute. It seems that all the vehicles in our price range are not up to the mechanical standard we need them to be, and all those in good running condition are out of our price range. I am sure we are not the only church ever to face such an issue. We are confident that each time the deals fall through, the Lord has something better in store for us. Please continue to pray along those lines for our vehicle need.

Finally, thanks to all who have been praying for Pastor Kebby this last month. In accordance with the verse at the top of this letter, we thought we were looking at our Zambian preacher on his deathbed, but the LORD has graciously given Pastor Kebby more days to live and serve Him. We took no pictures of him during those days he was in the hospital out of concern for offending others, but how I wish you (and Pastor Kebby himself) could see what a change God has wrought in his body. Outside of a few scars that are shrinking every day, there is little evidence of the brutal attack he suffered. His stamina is returning, and he is back to teaching and preaching in the ministry. Our plan is to search for the “Good Samaritan” who found him and took him to the hospital and invite this man to be a special guest in our church. Just as the Lord used him to give Pastor Kebby a chance at life, we are trusting the Lord to allow Pastor Kebby to present this man with a chance to accept Christ’s gift of eternal life. Please pray for this man whose name we do not yet know. Lord willing, we will have good news concerning him in our next update.

Also, please be aware of the change in mailing address for FBMI, our mission agency. The new address is 507 State Street, Hammond, IN 46320.

In His service,

Justin Warner

Update on Prayer Requests

2010-02-01T08:14:00.001-08:00

Thanks for your prayers about both Preetika’s father and Pastor Kebby. In both situations we have seen evidence of many praying people around the world.

First about Preetika’s dad, just about every report was encouraging good news. All 3 stints put in 3 ½ years ago are clear and doing their job. Despite passing out due to the overexertion, there does not appear to be any indication of another heart attack nor any new damage to the heart. For all this, we are extremely grateful. Her dad will just rest and recuperate for a week or so at home before getting back to his normal routine. Thanks for all your prayers and emails of encouragement. It sure helped sustain us through a trying time.

Now about Pastor Kebby, the news is also pretty good but he has a longer road of recovery ahead of him presumably. He was discharged from the hospital on Saturday morning (too quickly for my liking) though he still had trouble walking, had severe head aches, and was seeing double out of one eye. According to the doctors though, the swelling on his head had gone down and he was therefore ready to go home. (They actually took a tape measure to his head to determine that. I don’t know if that is standard medical procedure, but it looked a bit strange to me.) He was told to come back Tuesday to have the estimated 40 stitches removed from three separate gashes on his head. He was sent home with no medicine, but told to purchase our equivalent of Tylenol for pain. Needless to say, that has not done much to take care of the pain. Today, Monday, we took him to a private doctor for a second opinion, and his advice was to ask the hospital for a referral to the hospital in Lusaka, our capital city, to have a ct scan done. There are no such machines in all of Livingstone. His educated guess is that it Pastor Kebby either had a concussion or a blood clot somewhere between brain and skull. I don’t remember the medical term he used, but that is my understanding of what he said. He said the concussion will go away on its own while the other can be treated with drugs but only after being confirmed on a ct scan. He also mentioned that a symptom of the “blood clot” scenario was falling asleep suddenly. That has not been occurring according to Pastor Kebby’s wife, so we are encouraged that it may have been a concussion – serious enough but the best case scenario all things considered. He is still quite weak and a bit unsteady on his feet, but is much better than a few days ago. His voice is rather weak, but he is talking and seems to be understanding and remembering most anything we talk about (though still very little about the specifics of the attack and afterwards until waking up in the hospital).

Please continue to pray for his full recovery as well as wisdom for us on the best way to help him recover. Also do keep the people of the Fallsview Bible Baptist Church in your prayers that many of the members will take up the slack during the recovery. God is in control and it is apparent to all of us here in Livingstone that the LORD still has further plans for Pastor Kebby. Praise God.

Prayer Request

2010-01-27T05:30:00.000-08:00

Dear Praying Friends,

Preetika and I would like to bring two matters of prayer to your attention.

First, we were informed on Monday that Preetika’s father was in the hospital undergoing some heart tests after he passed out on Saturday. We have since been informed that there is no apparent heart damage and the brief loss of consciousness may have simply been due to overexertion. All other results from the tests have seemed encouraging as well – Praise the Lord! Please pray for him and the doctors as they attempt to determine the health and condition of his heart, especially in light of his previous heart attack. God has been comforting and encouraging both Preetika’s parents and us here in Zambia though it is tough to be 10,000 miles away at times like this.

Secondly, we had missed calls on our cell phones while on the phone with Preetika’s parents this morning. After returning those calls, we were informed of another serious problem. Pastor Kebby, our Zambian pastor, had been beaten and stabbed severely and was in the hospital. Upon visiting him, we saw he was in pretty terrible condition. He has loss much blood as well as several cuts and huge knots on his head, so much so that his head looks incredibly misshapen. He is extremely weak and cannot speak much. It is quite miraculous that he is even alive. The thieves left him for dead and he was found by a real-life Good Samaritan who loaded him in his taxi and took him to the hospital. The thieves had taken his phone, and he was so out of it that he was staggering in the direction of a house he used to live in thinking he was going home according to the man who found him. Without that man, we may have never found him before he died from his injuries. Pastor Kebby remembers nothing of what happened.

The next hurdle, as is often the case in a third-world country, (as evidenced by some of the reports coming out of Haiti) is the substandard medical care. When we first saw Pastor Kebby (early this morning after being admitted in the wee hours of the morning), he still had on the same dirty and blood-covered clothes on. There were a pile of bloody sheets in the corner presumably soiled from when he had first been brought in. We were finally able to take his wife to get some clean clothes from their home. Please join us and the believers of Fallsview Bible Baptist Church in praying for Pastor Kebby, his wife, Etambuyu, and their 2 young daughters.

We are to always trust God with every need, but the condition of the Livingstone General Hospital seems to really drive that point home in this case.

Thanks for your prayers.

In Christ,
Justin & Preetika

THE BAPTIST CHURCH GETS A BAPTISTRY

2010-01-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

On the last Sunday of 2009, the Fallsview Bible Baptist Church had the privilege of seeing 24 new converts baptized. This was the first time that we were able to perform the baptism on church property. The second structure built, after our storehouse, was a baptistry. It was such a blessing for the new converts to see the work going on at our church plot as many had never seen the place before. It was also nice not to have the thought of crocodiles in the back of your mind as had been the case previously when baptizing in the river.

One of those new converts baptized was a man named Trevor Rabson. He is one of the builders we hired to supervise the building of our church. He and his wife, both Zimbabweans, have been attending church for the last 6 weeks since receiving Christ. He also helped us construct the new baptisty. During that project, he expressed his desire to be the first convert baptized in the new structure. It was our privilege to fulfill his desire of being baptized and to see him be the first to be “raised to walk in newness of life” at the future home of Fallsview Bible Baptist Church

We have now baptized 60 adult converts into our church since its inception in June 2007 with 50 of them taking that first step of obedience over the last 9 months since our return from furlough! Praise God that His work is marching on.

2009-12-24T10:48:00.000-08:00

Merry Chrismas from The Warners and Fallsview Bible Baptist Chuch

Phase 1 of the building project

2009-12-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

December 2009 Prayer Letter

2009-12-11T05:53:00.000-08:00

December 2009

Dear Praying Friends,

Merry Christmas from Africa! The Christmas season in this part of the world is quite different from what we are accustomed to in America. For starters, the weather is decidedly “un-Christmaslike.” While we have absolutely no chance for a “white Christmas” (though you will still hear the beloved Christmas carol echoing through our home), we are all but assured a “wet Christmas.” December is when our rainy season just begins to pick up steam, both literally and figuratively. The days are incredibly hot and humid with relief coming only with the heavy downpours every other day or so. Not all the differences of the season are as unwelcome. For example, because of the stark lack of possessions of the average Zambian, there is also a noticeable lack of materialism. The highlight of the Christmas season for most is spending time with family and friends and perhaps a special meal. We as a church hope to incorporate both as we plan a Christmas Fellowship during the week before Christmas. People are extremely receptive to the spiritual significance and Biblical foundation for the holiday, as most Zambians have no expectation of receiving Christmas gifts. Please pray as we take the opportunity of this worldwide holiday to point people to Jesus—the ONLY reason for the season!

Even as the rains descend and the holidays approach, the day-to-day work of the ministry of Fallsview Bible Baptist Church continues. With the building program, teaching and preaching schedules, and soul-winning and visitation times, Preetika and I are keeping ourselves rather busy. We are nearing completion of the first building on our church property, a two-roomed storehouse that will hold our building materials and house a watchman during the next stages of building. For pictures and additional updates on our ministry here in Zambia, please keep up with us on our new website: www.warnersinzambia.blogspot.com.

In closing, I would like to request that you make a few items, which are described in further detail on our website, a matter of prayer. First, pray that the LORD would provide a larger vehicle for carrying people to church and building materials to the future home of our church. And, second, please pray for God’s provision as we undertake this building project.

Thank you sincerely for your thoughts, prayers, and sacrificial giving to support us in Zambia. May God richly bless you each with His peace and joy during this special time of the year.

In His service,

Justin & Preetika Warner

The Hard Way is the Only Way

2009-11-20T05:18:00.000-08:00

Zambians often do things the “hard way” (in my American opinion). To them, it is the way they have always done it, and it is the only way that they know. For example, we recently had a 30 – 40 foot dead tree in our yard cut down. It was done with no safety lines or even a ladder! Oh yeah, and not with a chainsaw, but an ax. The man who did it has been in this line of work for 25 years and was able to do the entire job without hitting the phone or power lines which were precariously close. I personally had a hard time watching him swinging an ax while standing on dead limbs more than two stories high. Despite doing it the hard way, the end result was the same even if it did take a bit longer (3 days). Speaking of doing things the hard way, all of the wood from those trees will be used as firewood to cook “the hard way” during various church functions over the next couple years or so.

Nowhere is the hard way of doing things in Zambia more evident than during our church building process. Building here is hard on workers, vehicles, and patience. To watch many of our members working hand-in-hand with the builders on our church site is truly a sight to behold. We have mixed both cement and concrete by hand using shovels and molded blocks, which is truly back-breaking work. The concrete floor slab was poured using wheelbarrows pushed (and pulled with a rope) by two men. No cement trucks here! My vehicle also has been working hard during these building days. It has been used for carrying anything and everything from workers to cement blocks to building sand and gravel to lumber and tools. It was recently out-of-commission for a few days when it had a broken spring sustained while ferrying, among other things, a half-ton of cement to the site. Finally this building program is teaching us patience out of necessity. For example, we have had to pay about 3.5 Million Kwacha (about $750) to have city water connected to our property. After making the payment, we dug the trench and laid the pipe to our plot. We then waited (mostly patiently) for the city to turn the water on. As of this writing, it has been 3 weeks, and we are still buying water from one of our neighbors as the city has not yet connected us.

Around Livingstone

2009-10-30T06:23:00.000-07:00

October is our hottest month of the year. Over 100 degrees everyday. Even with the intense heat and little rain, the flowers and trees are in full bloom.

Over 700 bricks (and counting)molded the past two weeks

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Future home of Fallsview Bible Baptist Church

2009-10-30T04:55:00.000-07:00

Fallsview Bible Baptist Church -July 2009

2009-10-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

Zambian Bus Ministry

2009-10-16T05:28:00.000-07:00

There is a saying among missionaries in Zambia regarding capacity when transporting Zambians. “There’s always room for one more.” That thought reminds me of our philosophy while in the bus ministry during Bible College. I still remember as a bus captain putting 85 people on a 65-passenger bus. Also I will never forget the strange look on the bus driver’s face when he told me (in all seriousness) that we would have to shift some of the people from the left side to the right side of the bus because he could feel it swaying underneath him. We were fortunate to be able to unload the excess passengers on another passing bus not long after.

Since the LORD has used many of the experiences of Bible College to equip for future ministry, it is little surprise that those days in the bus ministry were part of the preparation. Nearly every Sunday, lately, in Zambia I have felt the unnerving swaying of my vehicle beneath me. We typically cram 25 – 30 people on to my pick-up truck in addition to filling up a rented minivan with 25 + people. The rest of our attendees form our “walk-in” crowd. This week, on my vehicle, we needed to sit a couple of people on the roof rack among the benches and other church materials we carry with us each week. Preetika and I commented that we had finally disproven the saying “There’s always room for one more” as it appeared there wasn’t. Though this may seem like a headache to many, these types of “adventures” are a blessing to us and certainly keep the LORD’S work from being dull. We do, however, hope to alleviate some of the stress on both the vehicle and the angels guarding the safety of the “bus riders” by finding a somewhat larger vehicle to add to our fleet.

Please pray for God’s provision of a more suitable “bus”. I can’t tell you how much I miss those 65-passenger buses! But since those are not to be found around here, we will settle for some kind of open-bed truck which, Lord-willing, we will again test the limits of there always being room for one more!

October 2009 Prayer Letter

2009-10-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

October 2009

Dear Praying Friends,

As most of you reading this letter are moving into the fall and a cooler season, we here in the Southern Hemisphere are just entering our hottest time of the year. The hot weather will eventually give way to the relief of the rains. This will be a welcome change from the heat but will introduce new challenges to overcome. As we make preparations to meet these challenges, we continue to see the people of the Fallsview Bible Baptist Church grow spiritually. In addition to averaging11-12 people coming out for Saturday soul winning and visitation, we have been able to start a few children’s Bible Clubs with support and advice for the ministry coming from a recent visitor, “Uncle” Jerry Purtell. Also, we have recently been able to divide into several Sunday school classes, with a few of the classes being required to meet “village-style” (outside under a tree). While this works quite well most of the year in Zambia, we are currently gathering tarpaulins and tents in the event of a rainy Sunday.

Over these past few months, we have begun to suspect that our church attendance has nearly reached its ceiling at our current facilities, as we have been consistently accommodating 110–125 people. We have been able to handle adult-service crowds greater than the size of our rented classroom by having some sit outside, gathered around the windows and doorway during the preaching. This practice may be negated somewhat once the rains arrive.

These and other factors have caused us to refocus our prayers and energy towards our building program. We have purchased and cleared the land and are waiting for the blueprints to be approved. In the meantime we are endeavoring to get a handle on the materials and money needed and are soon to begin molding cement blocks for the project. (Yes, the blocks, numbering in the tens of thousands, will all be made by hand—from the mixing of the cement to the putting the cement in molds to the watering and curing process. It reminds me of another African building project when the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt.) Please keep our ministry and this project especially in your prayers. We are sure that once this building is complete, it will directly affect the number of souls that are saved and people who are encouraged in the Word of God. The building will comfortably hold between 350 and 400 Americans, which equates to nearly 1,000 Zambians! “Personal space” is a concept lost in the translation. Thank you for truly being interested in what the LORD is doing on mission fields around the world.

In His service,

Justin & Preetika Warner

Victoria Falls

2009-10-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

Victoria Falls during the dry season - July 2009