The Whitfield Watering Hole

It's Not Too Late

2012-01-27T07:52:00.000-08:00

Well we are just under the three week mark before our departure back to Zambia. God has been so gracious in providing almost all of the needed monthly support we have been trying to raise. As we shared previously, we were in need of seeing an additional $1500/mo come in before our return to Zambia. To date we have seen almost $1000/mo pledged and are trusting that God will raise the remaining $500/mo we need over the next two weeks.

Also, we wanted to remind everyone that it is not too late to take advantage of the ongoing matching gift offer of $50,000 pledged towards the development of Eleeo Project's ministry center in Chikankata. The donor has agreed to extend the deadline past our departure date and has comitted to leaving it open until the full $100,000 is realized.

Would you consider assisting us with these two immediate needs we have? You can receive more information by clicking here.

Thanks again for your continued prayers and support!

Blessings

The Whitfields <><

Almost There!

2012-01-10T08:41:00.000-08:00

Fundraising

Update Fundraiser Thermometer Here

Just wanted to share that over the past three weeks we have seen close to $900 pledged in new monthly support. We are faithfully believing that God will continue to raise the remaining $600 before our February 14th return to Zambia.

We also wanted to share that we have seen almost $20,000 come in towards the Eleeo Project $50,000 matching gift offer. While this offer was originally set up to run until our departure back to Zambia we have been given permission to extend it until the additional $30,000 is raise. What a great opportunity to see your donation doubled!

Thanks for your continued prayers and for more information on how to get involved please click here to visit our website. You can also find out more about making a matching gift offer by clicking here.

Getting Involved

2011-12-14T12:17:00.001-08:00

It is not too late to donate toward either the matching gift donation or join our monthly support team. To make a donation towards the matching gift offer please visit our secure online donation page website by clicking here. You can also mail in matching gift donations directly to our pledging partners (a registered 501c (3)) in Texas at: Disciples From All Nations 633 Meadowcrest Drive, Highland Village, Texas, 75077. Please specify on a separte sheet that the donation is to go towards the Eleeo Project matcing gift offer.

If you are interested in becoming a monthly partner you can do so by clicking here and selecting our picture. You can also become a monthly supporter by mailing in your pledge to: Commission To Every Nation P.O. Box 291307, Kerrville, TX 78029-1307. If you are mailing in your monthly support please leave the memo line on the check blank and include a separate sheet of paper that specifies the donation is for Luke & Elise Whitfield. In case of any difficulties setting up an online donation please feel free to contact one of Commission To Every Nation's helpful staff members by dialing toll free at (800) 872-5404.

Please know that all donation will be receited for tax purposes.

Thanks again for your continued prayers and support. May God continue to richly bless you all!

Blessings

Luke & Elise Whitfield <><

Can You Help?

2011-12-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

Fundraising

Update Fundraiser Thermometer Here

Over the past five years we have been so blessed to have experienced the faithfulness of so many of you who have financially partnered with our ministry. In light of this fact we had the blessing of rarely having to raise additional support. For the first time we find ourselves in the need of raising an additional $1500 per month to continue the work God has called us to in Southern Zambia.

Would you begin to pray about becoming a financial partner? If you are currently a monthly partner would you consider increasing your donation by 10% to help us overcome the financial need we currently are facing? We will be updating the fund raising thermometer on the right side of this blog as pledges come in.

If you would like to become a financial partner or increase your existing commitment you can do so by clicking here and making a donation online.

You can also mail in your support by sending donations to:

Commission To Every Nation
P.O. Box 291307
Kerrville, TX 78029-1307

If you are mailing your donation please leave the memo line on the check blank and specify the donation is for Luke & Elise Whitfield on a separate sheet of paper.

I you have any further question or comments please contact us by emailing us at: whitfield.luke@gmail.com
whitfieldelise@hotmail.com

Thanks for taking time to consider how God might use you to partner with us.

Blessings

Luke & Elise

Whitfield's Weekend in Wisconsin!

2011-11-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

Our friends John and Patsy Taylor pastor a great church in Wheeler, Wisconsin! They have supported us faithfully while we have been in Africa!!! We visited them in 2009 and it was great to see many familiar faces again during this visit! Luke shared about Zambia and our future plans and we enjoyed an early Thanksgiving meal with the congregation and had a neat time of prayer! Thanks for your prayers and support Otter Creek Community Church! We appreciate you!!

Please continue to pray with us for these last few months before we return to Zambia. We are needing to raise an additional $1,000 in monthly support and get current supporters switched over to our new organization CTEN!!! Thank you for considering how God might use you to partner with us in this adventure!

Matching Gift

2011-11-09T11:38:00.000-08:00

Wanted to take a moment to let you know that we have received an amazing opportunity to see Eleeo's Project's ministry center in Chikankata realized. Recently a missions-minded charitable organization pledged a matching gift offer for donations up to $50,000. So here is where your help is needed. This offer is good through our departure in mid January 2012 and means any amount you can pledge toward Eleeo Project now will be doubled. Would you consider how you might be able to get involved? If you are interested in participating you can do so by either:

**Donating online a our secure donation page by clicking here: Eleeo Project

**Mail in donations to (memo line should specify donations to go to Eleeo Project):

Commission To Every Nation
P.O. Box 291307
Kerrville, TX 78029-1307

**Or call in your donation toll free: (800) 872-5404

Imagine what God could use this gift to accomplish in the lives of the thousands of Tonga's who live in Chikankata. Thanks in advance for your help!

Amazing Opportunities....Can You Help?

2011-11-08T11:13:00.001-08:00

Wanted to take a moment and share some amazing developments and opportunities God has recently place before our ministry. A few months ago our ministry partners, Brent and Keri Roberts, were approached by a church in South Carolina that wanted to bless our ministry by donating a 40' shipping container to transport needed ministry items to Zambia. As you can imagine this is a huge blessing as we try to assemble the necessary materials we will need to develop our ministry center in Chikankata. The shipping container is currently sitting in Columbia, South Carolina where it is being filled with donations from individuals such as: wheelchairs and medical supplies, donated clothing, power tools, generators and other requested items.

Elise and I were also recently approached by a mission based charitable organization with a matching gift pledge on all donation we can raise up to $50,000. As you can imagine we are overwhelmed at the opportunity this presents for us to raise the funds necessary to see the initial development of our ministry center in Chikankata realized. This offer is currently available to us through our departure date back to Zambia which is presently set for January 14th 2011. Would you consider making a one-time donation of any size toward this need and take advantage of this unique opportunity to see your gift doubled!

To find out more about getting involved please shoot us an email at either:

whitfieldelise@hotmail.com
whitfield.luke@gmail.com

Blessings

The Whitfield Fam

Drilling For Jesus

2011-10-15T15:45:00.001-07:00

This past October Luke spent two weeks in the hills of North Carolina learning the in and outs of well drilling and maintaining well pumps. These courses are run by Equip Ministries International a ministry based out of Marion, North Carolina that specialized in teaching missionaries appropriated technologies. The usefulness of these appropriate technologies is immensely needed in areas like Chikankata. Teaching Zambians these types of skills will ultimately result in their ability to begin to provide for themselves and their communities. The possibilities are exciting!

Yes The Whitfields Are Alive!

2011-09-13T14:54:00.001-07:00

I know its been a LONG time since we have blogged! But Yes we are alive and WELL! We have enjoyed being back on US soil these last 2 months! We have been super busy and right now we are at orientation with our new organization.......CTEN (Commission To Every Nation) in Kerrville, TX! We are so excited for our future with them and all that God is going to do in Chikankata! Thanks for your prayers and we will keep you updated!

visit our website: http://www.eleeoproject.org

visit our blog: http://www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com

skype id: taziona6

2011-03-13T14:18:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends

It has been a while since our last update and so we wanted to take a few moments to fill you in with what has been going on in our lives. I, Luke, specifically would like to share about a recent trip I took to Zimbabwe to attend a week long seminar to be trained in conservation farming with a Christian ministry called Foundations for Farming. It was an amazing experience to be a part of a group that represented 16 countries including places like India, Mexico, Ukraine, Sudan and many more. One of the coolest stories was that of a very tall man name Michael from Southern Sudan. Michael shared about his dream to take what he had learned and begin teaching school children in Southern Sudan so that through the younger generation his people’s future might be a bit brighter.

I want to start by sharing some statistics. Over the past 50 years it is estimated that close to 2.3 trillion USD has been pumped into Africa in the form of aid. Africa also possesses 30% of the world’s natural resources. Sub Saharan Africa (where we are) has a great climate, bountiful rainfall, fertile soils and plenty of people to work the land. Despite these facts Africa’s total Gross Domestic Product only represents 1.3% of the world’s total. Poverty continues to grip the vast majority of the continent’s peoples resulting in Africa’s population growth exceeding agricultural production. Bottom line, Africa continues to be the hungriest and most malnourished continent on the planet.

Foundations for Farming is all about seeing Africans go from being the world’s beggars to becoming a blessing to the nations. Since the vast majority of Africa’s population are small scale farmers the vision is to teach productive farming techniques to these individuals with the net result being the production of enough food for families as well as extra income to aid in the development of economic growth. At the heart of this vision is a focus on achieving these outcomes through a heart change of the people. Based upon a Biblical perspective promoting stewardship with what God has given them the course encourages participants to farm on time, at a high standard, no wastage and most importantly with joy! This is a very simple explanation of what Foundation for Farming is all about and we would encourage you to take a second and learn more about this amazing and revolutionary ministry by visiting their website at: www.foundationsforfarming.org .

So why are we sharing all this with you? As we detailed in our February update, 2012 will see some major changes in our ministry focus. Upon our return to Zambia in January of 2012 we will be moving down to the rural area of Chikankata to begin full time work assisting the chief of that area in expanding the Kingdom of God amongst her people. As we have planned for this shift one of the unanswered questions has been what would be the best way to enter into the community and gain the trust of the Tonga people. After my trip to Zimbabwe we feel like Foundations for Farming is God’s answer to that question. Our hope is that as we are able to train the people of Chikankata to be more productive and profitable in agriculture a door will be opened to share Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We will be sharing many more of the details surrounding this shift in the months to come and are excited about this open door God has provided us with to reach the lost in Chikankata. Again thanks for your continued support and prayers. We love and miss you all dearly and are looking forward to reconnecting upon our return to the States in July 2011.

Blessings

Luke (for the fam) <><

Michael from Sudan

Getting My Hands Dirty

Foundations For Farming

16 Nations!

February 2011 Update

2011-03-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends

It’s that time again, time to get you all up to speed on what has been going in our lives over the past few weeks. As we write this correspondence the rains have slowed a bit which is blessing to the many Zambians who have to endure the spread of diseases like Cholera when the rains are heavy.

As far as ministry goes we recently received permission from the Lusaka Health Board to continue conducting clinic visits for 2011. Last week we started back with our regular visits to four Lusaka area clinics. Despite a couple months absence from the clinics we were welcomed back by the doctors and nurses of these clinics who questioned where we had been. It was such a blessing to watch God show up and to witness His power transform the physical and spiritual conditions of the patients we prayed for. One such patient was a lady whose family described to us that because of her sickness she had not spoken in a few weeks. The group gathered around her and offered a simple prayer of faith for her healing. Immediately after we all said “amen”, the women opened her eyes and began to speak much to the amazement of her family. What a testimony it was to them of God’s love and compassion for the suffering they were enduring. We are expectant that many more testimonies like this will be shared as we spend time ministering over the coming months to the many afflicted souls here in Lusaka.

Family ministry continues in the form of home schooling. As we stated before Luke has taken on the responsibility of teaching math to Macie, Emma and Payton. This is definitely a humbling experience for him and tests the limits of his patience. The kids continue to amaze us with their ability to grasp and retain all that we throw at them.

This past month also saw another answer to prayer as we were granted a non-immigrant visa for Chichi to travel home with us in July. This might not seem that significant, but after hearing countless stories from other families in similar situations tell us how they had been rejected, our receiving not just a single entry visa but a four year multiple entry visa confirmed to us the favor of God upon our situation.

As we close we wanted to share with you some recent developments concerning a new direction we feel the Lord calling us towards as we continue to serve here in Zambia. Many of you will recognize the name Chikankata. This is the area in the Southern Province of Zambia where we have worked over the past few years with the local chief in showing the Jesus Film to many of the peoples of her chiefdom. We have watched in amazement as each trip has produce testimony after testimony of how God is breaking the spiritual bondage of witchcraft in the lives of the Tonga people we have ministered to. Over the past two years we have wrestled with the idea of what it might look like for us to move down to this area and have a more permanent presence in Chikankata. Well, this past November God began to intensify that tug upon our hearts to where we currently have decided that upon our return to Zambia in January 2012 we will move our family to this remote area to begin ministering full-time to the peoples of Chikankata. There are many more details to share with you concerning this new direction and we are hoping to get a chance to do so over the next few months. We are also hoping to be afforded the opportunity to meet with each of you personally to discuss these changes while we are back in the States on furlough from July 2011 – January 2012. For those of you that would like a visual refresher of Chikankata and our previous work there you can do so by visiting our blogspot: www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com .

We will have more information about when and where we will be during our furlough, so stay tuned. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to ask you to pray with us as we continue to seek God’s call upon our ministry here in Zambia. Your partnership is crucial to the lives that have and are being touched by our presence in here in Africa. We could not do it without you. Until next time stay blessed and know we love you all dearly.

Blessings

Luke and Elise Whitfield and Family <><

January 2011 Update

2011-03-07T18:34:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends

We wanted to start by wishing you all a very blessed New Year. Here in Zambia, we have officially entered into the big rains of the rainy season and for almost three weeks now have had little to no sun which can make life a bit sluggish at times. It has been a while since we last wrote and we wanted to just take a second to update you on what God has been doing in our lives.

This past December we enjoyed a two week visit with Luke’s Mom and Brother Noah. It was such a blessing to watch Mamoo (as she is known) and Noah reconnect with the kids who they had not seen in almost two years. We enjoyed just hanging around Lusaka but did get a chance to take Luke’s Mom into the main teaching hospital to pray for the sick and distribute fruit to the patients. Spending Christmas and New Years with family was such a treat for us and we appreciate all of you who covered Chris and Noah in prayer as they traveled.

January not only marked the beginning of a new calendar year but also the start of another wonderful year of homeschooling bliss (those who have home schooled know what we are talking about, hah!). This year the kids were introduce to a new teacher (Luke) who will help out by teaching the kids math. One of the biggest ways you could bless us would be to pray for us in this area. Specifically that God would give us patience and the ability to cater to each child’s specific learning needs.

The start of the New Year also ushered us into some new territory in the adoption process with Chichi. Next week on January 31st we have a meeting at the US Embassy to apply for a non-immigrant visa for Chichi. This is crucial as we will need one for him to be able to travel home with us this coming July. Please be praying that God would continue to give us favor and that we could walk away from the meeting with confirmation that a visa will be granted.

Lastly, as we mentioned above our next home assignment is tentatively scheduled for July 2011 through January 2012. While our return to the US is still a ways off, we wanted bring it to your attention as it will be our desire to connect, in person, with each of you during our time home. We will be both in Chicago as well as Dallas during our stay and will get you more details as they materialize. Would you also begin to pray specifically for God to provide a vehicle for us to use while we are back.

We love each of you very much and as always remind you that our last four years of service here in Zambia would never have been possible without your involvement. Your prayers and support mean more to us than you may ever know! Be blessed and we will be in touch soon.

His Servants

The Whitfield Family

November 2010 Update

2010-11-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends

Whew! What a time the past few weeks have been. This morning, after a teary goodbye, we got Elise’s parents Steve and Kathy VanSinderen off to the States after a three week visit. What a great time we had ministering together and watching God continue to display His power and character through our obedience. So much to share, where do we begin?

The day after they arrived we jumped in the car and headed down to Chikankata to show the Jesus Film to a group of 250 Tonga’s who had never hear the story of Jesus in their own language before. It was once again an amazing time. Elise and teammate Brent Roberts prayed for an elderly man who had sight problems in one eye……true to His nature God healed the man’s eye right before their eyes. The best part, as a father, was to watched as the kids (Macie, Emma, Patyon and friend Caleb), prayed for many who were healed instantly. Caleb had the quote of the trip as he told his Dad, fellow missionary Brent Roberts, “Dad God healed someone the first time we prayed for them” (a child-like faith is what He desire from each of us)!

We also had a chance to visit Chanaima Mental Hospital with Elise’s parents. Again, God showed up in an amazing way as we experience an immediate response to the presence of God (which we are carriers of) from many of the patients. Almost immediately a young woman approached Elise’s Dad Steve and began to manifest demonically. This situation resulted in the demon talking direction to Steve and telling him that it did not want to leave the woman. After commanding the demon to leave it asked to be sent into some animal in a nearby field (sound familiar) -- 32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. Matt 8:32 (KJV)

Later in the week we visited the Pediatrics Malnourishment Ward at the University Teaching Hospital. We went with two pastors from our Action Pastors College Joseph Zulu and Patson Sakala. We arrived with about 40 pounds of bananas as well as a desire to see the works of the devil destroyed. It was an emotional experience, as it always is, as we loved on children and parents who were being tormented by common illness such as chronic vomiting and diarrhea. As has happened before, we watched as a baby we had prayed for moments earlier passed away in front of our eyes. We have learned that if God is sovereign (which He is) then just as we are not the ones who get the glory when He heals an individual, we also are not the ones who have to carry the burden when He does not heal.

Also, we had a great time as a family enjoying the wildlife of Zambia at a camp called Kiambi about 2 hours south of Lusaka. It was so nice to get out of the city and swim, go on a couple of boat rides and roast marshmellows around the campfire. We were able to see many elephants, hippos, crocs, and lots of birds on our boat rides!!! Us men went fishing with the older kids and we all just enjoyed playing together after so many months of being apart! We are so thankful for my parents who blessed us with this nice vacation together!

Overall it was a great trip and we were so blessed and found a new level of intimacy ministering together as a family. The Christian walk is so much more exciting when what we see in the Bible starts to happen in everyday life. Remember there is nothing special about us or the geographical location of Zambia. What is happening here will happen wherever there are human beings filled with the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. The model of Jesus Christ (His preaching, theology, and signs and miracles) are not some great story to be marveled at but rather the ultimate example of what a man or woman, completely surrendered to the leading of the Holy Spirit can accomplish for the Father’s Kingdom. Why, because the Word tells us that Jesus was completely a man empowered by the same Spirit -- 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Phil 2:5-8 (NLT)

Go Light Your World
The Whitfields <><

2010-10-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

Well it is time again for another trip to the bush of Chikankata. Some of you may remember that this is an area in the Southern Zambia where ACTION Zambia has been given permission by the Chieftainess to preach the Gospel freely to her peoples. The last time we went we experiences great outpouring of God power and saw healings and many deliverances as these dear souls responded to God's great love and compassion for them. We also saw the tearing down of a major wizard (witchdoctor) who had been tormenting the peoples through demonic oppression for over 50 years.

We leave today and will be staying on Friday night and returning Saturday afternoon. Elise's parents Steve and Kathryn VanSinderen will be going with us this time as well as Elise, Macie, Emma and Payton. Tonight we will show the Jesus Film in a remote area where reports of witchcraft are overwhelming. We are going determined that God has provided an opportunity to destroy the works of the devil and take back spiritual dominion that he has not right to possess. We go remembering that the ministry of Jesus means that all "authority in Heaven and on Earth...has been given to Him" and as a result also to us.............we expect great victories, salvations, miracles and deliverances to take place.....why, because He has gone before us and His Spirit is upon us!

So, would you partner with us by praying for this outreach........your prayers directly impact the work that will occur tonight and call into activation God's angels to function as ministering spirits. We will make sure to send and update upon our return. Thanks so much for you involvement, we could not do any of this without you all! We love and miss you dearly.

The Physician's Assistants

The Whitfields <><

visit our blog: www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com

Skype id: taziona6

Mid October Update

2010-10-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

Hope all is well and that you find yourself basking in the goodness of God. Just a quick note to share some things that have happened over the past few days.

We will start on a sad and share a story from the life of our gardener Movety Nyrienda. Movety is a wonderful man and the main reason that our yard looks like a small scale botanical garden. This past week on Monday Movety showed up to work only to inform us that he had just learned that his eldest brother had been found dead after being run over by a train. What originally appeared to be an incidence of homicide (the initial story was that Movety’s brother was attacked and then thrown onto the tracks) later became much darker as the discovery was made that Movety’s brother had actually taken his own life. As the story evolved it seems that Movety’s brother was devastated when his wife gave birth to a son who, because of circumstances, was definitely not his. This led to great shame and depression and this past weekend resulted in Movety’s brother leaving his family and disappearing for several days. After the fact, it was discovered that Movety’s brother had camped out near the train tracks for a couple of nights making a makeshift bed out of corn stalks and elephant grass. Near the crime scene a note scratched in chalk on a wall was discovery shedding insight on the struggle that Movety’s brother wrestled with over the course of a few days……the note read “never give up”. Tragedies like these are often too familiar to those we serve here in Zambia. Please pray for Movety as he has become the eldest brother in the family as a result of his brother’s death. In African culture this means Movety becomes the one responsible to handle and resolve any issue or crisis in the family!

On a much happier note we wanted to continue to share with you all God’s faithfulness as we minister to the sick in the local clinics. Over the past few months we have detailed the many manifestation of God’s power coming upon the lives of those so overcome by the darkness that grips this culture. There have been many healings and deliverances but none that have encouraged us a much as the testimony of a lady we meet a couple of months ago. While witnessing her daughter (who plopped down next to our team one Wednesday totally tormented by aches and pains) completely delivered from oppressive body pain and a severe headache, Luke was approached by a nurse at the clinic he was ministering at. She began to explain that she had full blown AIDS (which means that her CD4 count was below 200, 140 to be specific) but she believed that the name of Jesus was bigger than her disease. Luke prayed for her and she stated that she felt full of hope and joy for the first time in as long as she could remember. Well………this past Wednesday while at the same clinic, she came out and found Luke again to testify to what God had been doing in her life. She explained that before she had met Luke and the team the first time, a recent CD4 test had found her count to be right around 140 which meant she had full-blown AIDS. A couple days after Luke prayed for her she got re-tested……….her CD4 count was 900. If you go and search CD4 on the internet you will find many medical sites which detail that a normal person (without HIV) has a CD4 count of between 700 – 1000. You get the picture…………God has healed our dear friend from the devastation of a disease that has tormented her for many years now. To get the full impact of this testimony you have to realize that a few months ago God spoke to Luke and shared that His heart was to see HIV/AIDS destroyed in and around Lusaka as a testimony of His love……….a love that the Bible tells us “covers over a multitude of sin”. We are believing, and are asking you to stand in faith with us, that our dear friend’s story would become a common reality in the lives of those we minister to as a sign of God’s love and compassion for them.

Just wanted to share the excitement we are experiencing as we watch Him fulfill the promise for which He was sent…………… Luke 4:18-20 (KJV)

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20

We love you all and continue to thank God for your faithfulness in partnership…….none of this would be happening without your involvement.

The Physician’s Assistants

Elise & Luke Whitfield <><

visit our blog: www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com

Skype id: taziona6

Chikankata Video

2010-07-28T12:31:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a quick video fellow missionary Steve Allen put togethers highlighting our recent outreach to Chikankata. If the video doesn't load here, follow the link to Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBjaBRJA1Dc

Keep Shining

Luke <><

Chikankata Trip Recap

2010-07-20T12:13:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends

Where do I begin, so much happened during our four days in the bush of Chikankata a short book could be written about our experiences. For those short on time I will give a brief overview of what happened during our time there and those wanting more detail can read on. Let me begin first by praising God for His faithfulness in answering our prayers and the prayers of the many that petitioned the Lord on our behalf…….God is so real and we all experienced His presence in a mighty way over the past few days.

The team we travelled with consisted of five local pastors from Action Zambia Pastoral Leadership Development program, a seasoned Zambian missionary as well as fellow missionary Steve Allen, his daughter Bradyn and my daughter Emma. In all we showed the Jesus Film six times over four days to an estimated 1600 individuals. We believe somewhere near 400 people had their spiritual eyes opened and received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. During our time in Chikankata the Lord used our group to deliver at least six individuals from demonic possession including breaking the strong hold of a well known wizard who had terrorized the local people for almost seventy years. There were also at least four testimonies that the group could confirm of physically healings including healings of chronic back pain, spinal cord damage, headaches, and urinary tract damage. Many of the people we ministered to also testified that the fear that had once bound them left after receiving prayers for deliverance. We were also blessed to watch the local Church in Chikankata grow as efforts were made to connect all those who professed Christ with the local pastors we were working hand in hand with. God’s power showed up in amazing ways over the course of the four days and the team left Chikankata confident that a shift in the spiritual realm had taken place………..all praise be to God!

………..below is a detailed account of some of the significant events that took place during our stay

Friday Night

During the second showing of our trip we experienced a mighty outpouring of God’s presence during and after the film was shown. This showing took place in an area known as Highlands and we use an old storage building as the venue. The building was literally packed full, so much that we had to ask those still coming to stand outside and listen to the story on the loudspeaker. At the point in the film where the crucifixion of Christ occurs we began to hear people wailing, similar to what you would hear at a typical African funeral. There are not words to describe how I felt in that moment as I listened to those cries of deep despair from individuals who most likely were experiencing the story of Jesus in its entirety for the very first time.

Following the film we asked everyone, probably close to 400 people, to come outside where we gave those desiring to respond to the Gospel a chance to do so. We also asked any who needed prayers for deliverance or for healing to come forward and receive prayer from our team.

It was at this point that we met Violet, a young girl that was probably no more than fifteen years of age. As we prayed for Violet she manifested demonically in ways I have never seen before. Her convulsions were so violent that it was almost impossible for five full grown men to restrain her.

After it became apparent that we were not making any progress with the demons the group decided to take her to her home which was about a mile and a half away. As we approached her small one room hut it became evident that the source of Violet’s torment was located there. Violet refused to go into the house and after talking for a while with her parents we found out that the house contained numerous witchcraft charms (articles such as pieces of roots and specials powders) which the family believed would protect them from evil spirits.

We explained that instead of protection the charms were actually functioning as magnets that were attracting the very demonic forces that had overcome their daughter. As their eyes were open to the reality of the situation they agreed to go inside and turn over to us every single charm they had accumulated over the years. Immediately, we proclaimed the name of Jesus over Violet again and she became still for the first time that evening. This caused great amazement in Violet’s father and he, without hesitation, asked to be prayed for as well. As the team prayed over him he also manifested demonically, fell to the ground and then became still as the demons left him. Immediately after his deliverance Violet and her parents expressed their desire to turn from living under the bondage of darkness and accepted Christ. Shortly after, Violet ran to a neighbor’s house to tell him that she had watched the demons leave here home and flee to his. Full of fear and having just witness what had happened he ran into his house, gathered all his charms as well and asked us to pray with him to receive Christ. I think the most amazing thing about the evening was that despite it being almost ten p.m., a large crowd had gathered to see what was going on. These bystanders not only got to witness the power of God first hand but also had the opportunity to hear the life altering message that is the Gospel of Christ. What makes this story so much cooler is the fact that earlier that morning during our team’s devotions we as a team asked God not for large crowds but rather one individual whose conversion would transform the village……….Violet was His answer!

Saturday Night

With the previous night’s events still fresh on our minds a new expectancy seemed to grip the group as we eagerly awaited for what the Lord had for us next. During the showing of the film Saturday evening it came to our attention that villagers nearby, who had heard of what had happened in Violet’s village, wanted the team to come and deal with a situation they were facing. They explained about a young girl, probably fifteen years old, who was demonically possessed in their village. This girl had recently been married and they believed the demons had come upon her during the traditional ceremonies surround her wedding. As we arrived at the crowed one room home we found the girl lying on the couch clearly unaware of her surroundings. We began to pray for her, and similarly to Violet, she began to manifest demonically speaking in foreign languages her family said she did not know how to speak. The demons began to cause her to fit violently flailing her body about the room. As we prayed for her she would experience moments of release only to return back to her tantrums almost immediately. After some time the team finally felt as though the situation was under control and we left to rejoin the team at the showing of the film. We would not find out until Sunday morning that our assumptions had been wrong….

Sunday Morning

As we awoke on the last day of our trip Steve and I, along with our daughters, decided to climb a foot hill close to our camp site. It was on our way down the mountain that I heard a familiar sound that I recognized from the night before. What I heard was the low toned voice of the demonically possessed girl the team had prayed for on Saturday night still screaming and ranting in the nearby village. As a team we decided that half of us would go to conduct the last showing of the film while the rest of the team would go and deal with the situation we thought we had dealt with the night before. We arrived to a scene that can only be described as pure chaos. The young girl we had prayed for Saturday, whose name we later found out was Rocinet (rose knit) had gone to the house of another young girl in the village where the demons overcame this girl as well. The two of them, Rocinet and Esnat, had then travelled to the house of an old man that they accused of being the one who sent the demons to torment them. A large group of villagers, probably around one hundred when we first arrived, had assembled at the man’s house and rumors were spreading that he was in fact a wizard. These two girls, empowered by the demons, had attacked the old man, beaten him and began to demolish everything within the house. It was obvious they were searching for something and as they did they took articles from inside and threw them out on the front porch where the crowd was watching in disbelief and gripped with fear. The team was unsure of where to begin so with the eyes of the bystanders anxiously watching us we stopped to pray and ask God for direction. We decided we needed to take the two girls back into the house in order to minister to them so we would be out of view from the crowd. As we approached the girls we commanded them in the name of Jesus to return inside and they immediately obeyed. The team began again, to command (in the name of Jesus) the demons to release their control on the two young girls. After a while the Holy Spirit revealed to me that the problem was that the house was in fact full of demons and that we needed to get the girls out of the house for them to be delivered. We carried them from the house and took them to a small building away from the main house. As we began to pray again the demons immediately left the girls and their demeanor and countenance changed at once. Where there had previously been pain and torment their faces now regained color and reflected the peace that had come upon them. We shared the Gospel with them and without hesitation they both prayed to receive Christ. One of our team members felt the Holy Spirit was telling him that we needed to bring the old man in with the girls to get a better understanding of what was happening. The first thing we asked him was if in fact there were any charms in the house…….without hesitation he said no. The girls immediately called him on it and began to describe the articles of witchcraft they had been seeking out. At this point the man confessed that all these articles were medicines he needed for his high blood pressure. Too weak to help us locate them the team began to search through the rubble ourselves….to our amazement we found hundreds of witchcraft charms including every article the girls had described to us. We decided to burn the articles so that the anger of the crowd might be appeased (at this point they wanted to burn everything in this man’s house). The fear that gripped the crowd was amazing as they gasped as team members handled the charms without any harm coming to them. This provided a wonderful opportunity to explain that our immunity was not because of any personal powers but rather that…He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. We finished disposing of the articles and began to preach the Gospel to those watching what was going on. It was also at this time that we brought out the previously possessed girls as testimony to the crowd of what God had just accomplished. They all stepped back in fear at first glance but were overcome with awe as these two young girls began to smile and explain what had happened. When we gave an invitation for individuals to respond to the Message no one within the crowd blinked an eye. We ask again and a little old man stepped forward and raised his hand. This village elder was then followed by another of the village’s head men. As the crowd watched these two we began to hear them softly say we all want pray and receive Christ……what an overwhelming experience! In all, we figure that two hundred people prayed Sunday morning to receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior…...hallelujah and amen! Later Sunday afternoon the team joined Chieftainess Mwenda (the traditional leader of the area) for lunch to debrief a bit about the trip. As we described the morning’s events she explained to us that the man the two girls had accused had been tormenting the people of that area with witchcraft since she was a little girl (the Chieftainess is in her late sixties) and that she felt a major stronghold had been broken that morning……praise God!

Friends, God is moving in Chikankata. Action Zambia has been given a huge open door to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven to the peoples of Chikankata. This is a unique opportunity and I would ask that you would pray for continued wisdom in how AZ should move forward. Lord willing we are planning another follow up trip at the end of November to go to some even more remote areas in the Chikankata area. Let me close by encouraging you that what God did and is doing in Chikankata, He is also able to do where you are right now. Anywhere the Spirit of God indwells believers there exists the opportunity to see the powers of darkness in the world we live in overcome and cast down. Remember the words of Jesus……..as the Father has sent me, so I also send you. Go light your world!

Luke <><

Going to fight in the bush...

2010-07-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

Hello again, wanted to just drop a quick note and ask you to partner with us in prayer for an evangelistic trip coming up later this week (July 15-18). Emma and I (Luke) will be joining a team of 12 others associated with AZ to go back into some remote areas in the Southern Province of Zambia. You may recall that last year we did a similar trip (that time with Macie) around December where we showed the Jesus Film in Tonga which is the local dialect. This trip will be similar in the fact that we again will be showing the Jesus Film but we are also expecting a lot more opportunity to minister to those who will come to the viewings.

During a recent trip to the same area, we visited with the local chieftainess (who has become an adoptive grandparent to the kids) and listened as she expressed her concern that witchcraft seems to be advancing in prevalence within her chiefdom. Great fear has gripped many of her people as well as many of her own family. Within the span of a few months she has lost two immediate family members suddenly to unexpected deaths, watched her own daughter unexplainably collapse and listened to the concerns of her husband that demonic activity appears to be oppressing the lives of many of the local headmen. There is no mistake that all of this is an attempt of the enemy to destroy the zeal of this dear woman in wanting to see the development of her kingdom as well as the future of her people be rooted soundly in the name of Jesus.

A great spiritual battle is going on in Chikankata and we are so excited to have the privilege to stand in the gap declaring the realities of His kingdom to come into existence in this situation. This is the main reason I feel the Lord has assembled this team from AZ to travel to Chik as ambassadors of His Kingdom. Please pray for us, the team is unified in our objective and has been seeking the Lord's presence and power through prayer and fasting. Pray specifically for deliverance, that a shift in spiritual dominion would occur during our time there and that the current presence of darkness would flee in response to the "Light" we are carrying within us. Pray for the power of God to be displayed, for eyes to be open, ears to hear, and hearts full of fear to be fill instead with that great peace that surpasses all understanding. Above all pray that the name of Jesus would be glorified and proclaimed to many without hope.

Thanks in advance for your participation in response to this request......it is such a joy and a source of great boldness to minister with the knowledge that masses are united petitioning Him on our behalf.......the Body of Christ is such a cool thing! Love you all and will keep you updated upon our return later this weekend.

His Servant

Luke <><

2010-07-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

Luke and I have been able to see a whole new side of Lusaka in the past couple months! Luke is training to run a marathon and I am running a half marathon In August! We have been running the back roads of our neighborhood which is situated right in the middle of Lusaka. It has made us appreciate our vehicle very much as the roads are quite rocky and busy! Nothing like dodging mini buses to wake me up on my 6am runs!!

It has been so neat to set a long term goal and work toward it with our team mates. There are 6 of us from Action Zambia that have signed up to run. The race is being held on the boarder of Zambia and Zimbabwe, where Victoria Falls divides the two countries (6 hours south of Lusaka). The race is August 29th and we are using this opportunity to raise money for our church retreat center Ciyanjano! This center is a long term goal at Action Zambia and we are asking that you consider sponsoring us to run this race from which all the proceeds will go toward the current building projects. We have 5 chalets that are under construction, toilets, covered meeting area, a football field and dreams of a playground and much more.

Ciyanjano in Nyanja means “fellowship”! Our goal for Ciyanjano is to be able to provide churches a facility for them to hold camps, conferences and a getaway from the city at a cost that is not cost prohibitive to even the most impoverish churches here in Zambia. We want them to develop their friendships with each other but most of all with their Savior! There is such a need for a development like this and we have many churches that have been using our facility although the building is not complete!

Ciyanjano is only 15 minutes outside of Lusaka and so many of the poor in this society have never been given access to a facility like this located in such close proximity to their homes . Schools have their breaks during the months of December, April and August and many churches have camps for the kids during this time. A large majority of these children cannot afford to go because of the traveling and boarding expenses. Ciyanjano is the answer to this problem and for just a small cost churches will never have to turn away another child.

We are so excited about all that God is doing and going to do through this retreat center! We hope you can catch the vision of Ciyanjano and the huge benefit it will be to so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ here in Lusaka and surrounding villages!

If you would be interested in partnering with Action Zambia and the Ciyanjano Retreat Centre by sponsoring either Luke or I you have a couple different options available to you. Please check out the race website: www.kilometersforkids.info/ where you can opt to donate online or you can print out the attached brochure and snail mail your donations in that way (Action International’s mailing address is displayed on the brochure). All donations are of course tax deductable through Action International Ministries (please disregard the disclosure on the brochure about 80% of donations being tax deductable as this only applies to runners coming over from the US, any donation given in our names will be 100% tax deductable). For more information about the Ciyanjano Retreat Centre and opportunities to get involved you can visit the official website at: www.ciyanjano.org/ .

Please pray for our endurance and perseverance as we have 7 more weeks of training! We look forward to hearing from you! Thank you!

Elise for the Whitfield’s!

June Update

2010-06-01T07:01:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends

We just wanted to write a quick update informing you of what has been going on with our family over the past few weeks. Winter is in full swing here which means lots of dust and somewhat cooler temps (mid 60’s usually – not really what we from the Midwest associate with winter).

On the adoption front things continue to move forward with Chichi. We have recently submitted our paper work to officially request we be allowed to bring Chichi into our family permanently. While the Zambian side of the adoption process is soon ending, the most time consuming and demanding aspect, the US side of things, will begin shortly. Please pray with us that God would give us favor during this time as there is much that will have to be done. Our most pressing concern is trying to accomplish completing a US recognized home study while living and adopting abroad. This needs to be done before we can apply for a travel documents for Chichi. It is rare in Zambia to be able to get a US certificed homestudy completed while living overseas. Since we did not complete this while we were in the States (not knowing we were going to adopt) it could mean that we will have to remain in Zambia an extra year. So it is possible that we would not come home next year but rather in 2012 for our next furlough. We trust God is working in all of this and fully expect His favor to quicken this process (would you stand in faith with us?).

The Kids

Elise's birthday

A couple of weeks ago there was an evangelist by the name of Christopher Ilam here conducting two week long crusades in Lusaka. We were asked by a good friend to come and be a part of what was going on. In the three plus years we have been here we have seen nothing like it. Over twenty thousand people showed up each night for the weeklong event and we were so impressed how this great man of God worked through the local church during the outreach. Time was even taken one night to bring all of the local pastors in this specific area up on stage to be introduced so that those that had made a decision could be plugged in to local congregations. This was so refreshing as follow up with those that have made confessions of faith is a rare occurrence with most crusades. Our family (all seven of us) was able to attend at least one of the nights and the kids reveled in seeing so many enjoying the presence of God. The highlight for us as parents occurred one evening when testimonies were being given by those who had been miraculously touched by God. A little boy, who all of his life had relied on crutches, threw them down on the stage and began to run around……to which Macie and Emma exclaimed God is sooooo amazing…….how true!

Our Future Evangelist

Some of you may remember that Luke has been involved over the past two years with helping to facilitate a discipleship course called 2:7. This course was designed by Navigators Ministry in the States. 2:7 is a yearlong curriculum that focuses on equipping participants with the proper tools to facilitate groups within their own churches upon their graduation from the program. This past week Brent Roberts (fellow missionary) and Luke were invited to participate in the graduation ceremony of the first church to successfully have a new group of students complete the entire program. The twenty some individuals, who were from different area churches, were given the charge to go and start their own groups making disciples of all men. Please pray for these dear brothers and sisters as they soon will begin teaching their own discipleship group equipping saints to be “fishers of men”

Well that is it for now……we have included some links to videos of both the graduation as well as the crusade……..we also threw in some relevant pictures. We continue to praise God for your faithful prayers and support and are always mindful that our work would never be possible without your involvement. Thanks for just being you……may God continue to prosper all that He has called us to accomplish here in Zambia……and may the name of Jesus Christ be glorified above all! We love and miss you!

To view the videos click on the following links:
2:7 Graduation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETSRhGeBwCs

Lusaka Crusade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAelvoDqL_c

His Servants
The Whitfields <><

whitfield ciyanjano video

2010-06-01T05:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video detailing the progress that is being made at Action Zambia's Ciyanjano Retreat Centre. This is a property outside of Lusaka being developed to served the local impoverished Church here in Zambia.

God is moving in the hospitals!

2010-04-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

Hello~ Family and Friends

After sharing with my teammate, Karen Singleton she encouraged me to let others know about my visit with Luke to the Kalingaliga clinic. Yesterday (tue) I went with Luke to pray for the sick at the clinic. This is a weekly visit for Luke, but a first for me at this particular clinic. Pastor Jere's daughter Prisca also came with us to pray and translate. Pastor Jere and Prisca come weekly, but he was unable to come this time.

Anyways, it was such a touching experience as we prayed for each person laying in the three different wards. It was neat to see the smiles and responses of the people around us. Each person warmly welcomed us and our prayers for healing. Family members asked for prayer for new jobs, family problems and you could just see the desperation on their faces, longing for some kind of hope.

In the childrens ward it was hard for me to watch this sweet little 10mon old baby, Samson suffer from open sores all over his body, and hear horrible coughing from two other little babies with pneumonia. You could tell the mothers of these babies were weary and fearful.

Luke shared in such a simple way about our hope in Christ and I was amazed to watch the Holy Spirit move in these peoples hearts. We did not see any immediate healing physically, but we did experience spiritual healing. There was a man so sick and in so much pain who said He would definitely go to hell if he was to die in this clinic. Laying on his side and sweating badly from the pain in his back, Moses expressed to us that He didnt even know if he wanted to live or if God could ever forgive him. It broke my heart as I listened. After talking more with Luke, he did accept Christ into his Heart and you could see the peace on his face after praying. We gave him a New Testament and our phone numbers so we could hook him up with a good church near his home once he is able to leave the clinic.

Another lady that sticks out to me from my visit is Florence. She is not a patient, but a middleclass working woman, that watches Luke and the Zambian pastors week after week come and pray for the sick. Florence works at the front desk of the clinic and is more of a manager you could say. As we were getting ready to leave, she asked to talk to me. I was surprised but didnt think that much about it. She expressed that she wanted to go to our church and understand more about God. She had never been to church before and was very curious. After sharing the Gospel with her and telling her about the free gift of salvation she told us that she thought that she would definitely go to hell if she died today. She quickly admitted her need for God and told us what a bad person she was. I prayed with her and I told her that the angels in heaven are having a big party. What a miracle! You could see joy just spilling out of her! The Holy Spirit was prodding at her heart and she responded! PRAISE GOD!

What better gift do we have to give away than the Gospel!!!!!! It is alive and gives hope to those that are hurting and hopeless and I am so privilaged to be a part of that this week.

There are so many that God is able to touch because there is a man who is willing to reach out to the unlovely in an unlovely place! God has given Luke a gift to talk with people and a deep compassion for this outreach to the sick. I was so humbled as I watched him interact in the midst of what would be so uncomfortable to most of us.................disease, smells, pain, and talking with total strangers! Please continue to pray for this ministry. Not only that God would continue to heal the sick spiritually and physically, but also protection for Luke and the pastors that go and pray for these sick and often contagious patients.

I wanted to share this as a testamony to God's Almightly power! I hope this can encouraged you to share the gift that you have to those hurting around you! Step out and share today!!

God Bless,

Elise for the Whitfields!!!

visit our blog: www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com

Skype id: taziona6

Flooding update II

2010-04-02T06:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

In light of the email we sent out earlier in the week, this news report will give you a better idea of the situation. By the way the four short words I say was totally a case of being in the right place at the right time (and also being the only muzungu (white man) in the camp). Keep praying for the previously mentioned outreach Action Zambia is organizing through local pastors in hopes of serving the residents of this tent city.

You can click on the link in order to view the news report: http://www.africanews.com/site/Lusaka_after_the_floods/list_messages/31057

Happy Easter and remember Maranatha (He has risen!!!)

His Servants

Elise and Luke Whitfield <><

Cholera ~Evacuation Update

2010-03-30T05:01:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends

Just a quick note asking you to pray for a situation here in Zambia affecting hundreds of local families. Ever year the rains (which should be ending here shortly) cause at least some bit of local flooding usually in the same areas of town. Because development of info structure, such as drainage, is severely impeded drainage of rain water is left to the powers of the sun. This fact coupled with poor sanitation and the overflowing pit latrines consistently produces limited outbreaks of Cholera as well as forces the mandatory evacuation of those living in low lying areas. As if life is not hard enough for most Zambia some have to contend annually with the reality that they may affect adversely by such conditions.

This year the rains have not been as heavy but nonetheless we have recently seen increases of both those affected with Cholera as well as families being moved to tent cities until the waters have receded. As hospital visitation ministry has continue to visit area clinics we have witness the growth of quarantine areas that some clinics have set up in order to accommodate those infected with Cholera. These quarantines are often made of nothing more than 2" x 2" timbers with plastic sheets attached to form a barrier. They are often outdoors and patients are cared to as the understaffed medical team can find opportunity. At one particular clinic in the local compound of Kanyama we have watched as what was once a small 20' x 20' enclosure has been enlarged a couple of times to now encompassed much of the clinic's outdoor space. The actually number of those infected is a tightly held secret but one thing is for sure, the number grow each week we visit.

Along with Cholera the rains have also brought the evacuation of somewhere around 260 local families. Some of these families have given reports that their houses have water in them up to the ceiling trusses. The government has set up a tent city at the national football stadium with can currently accommodate 247 family (just over 1000 people capacity), some sleeping up to 10 people per tent. Action Zambia went out last week to meet with the Red Cross, who are running the camp, to inquire about opportunities to serve those who now called this temporary city their place of residence. It is the hope of Action Zambia that we might provide some physical and more importantly Spiritual aid to these people that have lost what little they had. There are preliminary plans to gather support from the local pastors involved in Action Pastors College and encourage them as congregations to gather supplies (washrags as well as antibacterial soaps) as well as organize a church service for the residents.

I know in light of tragedies such as Haiti and Chile the need of the situation in Lusaka seems like a drop in the ocean but to these families it is just as real and the weather forecast is calling for more rain. Please pray for these dear souls as well as Action Zambia that we would be able to hear what God is wanting us to accomplish through this opportunity before us.

Remember the greatest gift you can give is prayer and which is endless and free. Could not do any of this without you.

His Servant

Luke (for the fam) <><

visit our blog: www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com

Skype id: taziona6

March Update

2010-03-11T11:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends March 2010

Well it is hard to believe that two months have already transpired this year and yet we have seen God do so much during that period. Our family continues to mesh together as our adoption of Chichi continues to move forward and we learn to live with one more in our midst. We would be lying if we suggested that it has been easy and we expect there will be some wrinkles to iron out in the future but the joy of watching one that was lost revel in being found is indescribable. We look forward to celebrating as a family Chichi’s 4th birthday on March 15th.

Elise and the kids have struggled a bit to get back into the groove of home schooling after our long vacation break earlier this year but they always seem to get it together eventually. Elise has become such an example to our family of perseverance and determination – she truly is the glue the Lord uses to keep our family together.

Elise and I have also begun to train to run a marathon this August in Zimbabwe. We will be running (Lord willing, hah) with other members from our AZ team in hopes of raising funds to go toward the development of Action Zambia’s Ciyanjano Enrichment Centre (church campsite). If you are interested in learning more or considering coming to run yourself you can find out more at our newly created Race Blog Page: http://www.kilometersforkids.info/

Ministry has, as expected, really picked up this last month for me. The building of the Ciyanjano Retreat Centre has pick up pace and we currently are in the midst of building the first five bunk house foundations. These bunk houses will have the capacity to sleep up to 50 people per campsite. It has been so encouraging to hear the excitement of the local body of Believers as they watch this unprecedented facility take shape. Keep praying that God would raise up the necessary funds and be looking for a more detailed web site about Ciyanjano in the near future. For now you can find more info about the Ciyanjano Centre by following the link to AZ’s website: http://www.actionzambia.org/ministry-areas/ciyanjano-christian-enrichment-centre/

Hospital Visitation Ministry has gotten back underway after a couple of months break. Many of the same local Action Zambia pastors who participated last year are back with the addition of a few new faces. We continue to go into four different area clinics over the course of the week and spend roughly and hour and a half praying for the multitudes of sick that exists here in Lusaka. From these visits more and more stories are emerging about the blessings God has bestowed upon these patients during our time with them. I want to close by sharing a testimony of a young woman who since our visit with her one Tuesday in the clinic has seen God do amazing things in her life. This young woman has since started to attend the church of Action Zambia pastor Anderson Jere who shared this encouraging note with me. Pastor Jere writes in his own words:

Dear Brother Luke

I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I want just to share with you , a testimony of how our ministry (hospital visitation) is doing in the lives of many patients we minister to. On several occasions I have received phone calls from a number of them confessing that the Good Lord has done wonders in one way or another after ministering and praying for them.

One of them is Ruth. If you can remember very well, we ministered to this lady at Kalingalinga Clinic sometime back in mid November 2009. This lady told us that she had given up serving the Lord because God was not answering her prayers. But after helping her with the Word of God she confessed and promised that she will go back to church. Towards the end of February 2010, Ruth called me, and she thanked God saying that if only it was not for the prayers and words of encouragement she received from us, she could have killed herself because she had no option left but to commit suicide. I assured Ruth that I was always praying for her since we last met, and she further told me that she was still going through a number of problems. Her father, who is an elder in one of the church denominations, is a satanist and he once raped her and he is trying everything possible so that he can make her join in his satanic activities and this has brought great problems on her life and health.

After hearing this I was very touched and invited her to our church, and on Sunday 28th February 2010 she came. I ministered to her and together with some church leaders held some prayers with her and them she felt free and shared her story, it was a moving testimony.

Brother Luke, the ministry is impacting a number of souls, even those we don’t meet or hear from them after the visit. I only wish I was in full time ministry so that I could have enough time to minister to such souls. Pray for Ruth and also pray for me so that God can give me the means to sustain my family so that I can commit all my time to ministry work. May God bless us all.

Pastor Anderson Jere

As we constantly remind you, be encouraged and glorify the Lord for He has used and is using our partnership in ways we will never know until we get there! Could not do it without you, thanks for your faithfulness!

His Servant

Luke (for the fam) <>

Whitfield Zanzibar 2010

2010-02-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

Click on the link to see a slide show of pictures from our recent trip to Zanzibar!!

Whitfield Zanzibar 2010

Video recap of our trip to the village

2009-12-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends

Thought you might be interested to view a video that my good friend and fellow travelling companion, Steve Allen (AZ Missionary), put together with some video footage he took last during our evangelistic trip to Chikankhata. Steve, you have a gift man.

Check it out (yes, it does appear to be the Luke show but I promise there were many others who God used in greater ways during the trip. Just thought you might like some cinematic depiction of what God accomplished through our (you and us) ministry. God bless and PRESS ON & INTO HIM!!

Bush Outreach Update

2009-12-13T21:21:00.000-08:00

Ok here it is, as promised a somewhat detailed account of what occurred during our outreach over the past four days. Yes, it is long to wait until you can brew a pot of coffee and enjoy. God was so good and His faithfulness was evident each step of the way. We praise God for the part you play in this work -- Luke

Dear Friends 07/12/09

This correspondence is being written on the heels of what has been three and a half days of amazing ministry in the rural areas of Zambia’s Southern Province. A team of five men (three local pastors and two AZ missionaries) from Action Zambia spent the past few days showing the Jesus Film in partnership with Campus Crusade for Christ Zambia in the remote areas of Chikankhata (chi-kan-kata). The mission trip was also made possible through the permission and invitation of the local leader Chieftainess Mwenda who rules over the roughly 98,000 Tongas that live in her chiefdom of Chikankhata. Her Royal Highness had told us that she believed many of the people who would be seeing the film would be hearing the detailed story of Jesus Christ for the first time. She assumed that many had heard of Jesus before but the majority of her people had no understanding that salvation through Jesus Christ was personally available to them. How right she was.

December 3rd:

The Action Zambia team consisted of three local pastors who are currently involved with Action Zambia Pastoral Leadership Development ministry. Local pastors Anderson Jere, Patson Sakala, Bryan Zulu and Action Zambia missionaries Steve Allen and Luke Whitfield were accompanied by Campus Crusade for Christ Zambia volunteer Paul Mulenga who was an integral part of the team assuring that all the technical aspects of showing the film were taken care of.

The group arrived in the village of Chikankhata on December 3rd and enjoyed a meal and time of fellowship with the Chieftainess and her family. She detailed the following day’s event and informed the team that they would be traveling to a nearby village called Ngangula where she was born.

December 4th:

Upon arriving in Ngangula mid morning on December 4th the convoy, which was lead by the Chieftainess herself, was greeted by a group of women dressed alike and performing the traditional dance which is always performed when welcoming a visiting Chief. The team set up the film in a local Salvation Army Church which could have been no bigger than (20’ x 30’) and began to use the loud speakers to alert those in the outlaying areas of the event. In all there were probably around 200 people who turned out to view the film in their local language. The film runs for around two hours and it was amazing to see people continuously coming out of the surround bush even as the film was concluding.
Afterwards the team directed the viewers to a local soccer field and gave an opportunity for those who wanted to receive Christ to do so as well as receive prayers for sickness, demonic possession, or simply peace from a life consumed by fear. As the team prayed for the locals a huge thunderstorm developed all around the field but the crowd was never rained upon. The local people received a front row seat as God displayed His power during the prayer time through a continuous lightning show in the near distance. The team prayed for many to receive Christ as well as praying for the sick and oppressed. The two highlights though was the opportunity to pray for a little boy on crutches who came through the crowd, as one team member commented, “Just like the crippled man in the Bible”. The boy had a severely deformed right leg that was significantly shorter than his left one and although there was no visible evidence of an immediate healing the real miracle was to watch the faces of those in the crowd as team members focus so much love and acceptance towards this little guy. Disabled members of society are generally not valued by traditional Zambian culture so for the people to see these “special guests” affirming the “least of them” it spoke volumes to the authenticity of the Gospel the team had just explain. The other was a fourteen year old young woman named Desire who sought forgiveness for the bad things she had done but also expressed a desire to be a doctor. She was orphaned at a young age, and couldn’t even remember her mother or father. She became a Christian and the team gave her a new testament to read.

The team ate a late lunch in the Chieftaness sister’s home, and though they all ate at the same time, the Chieftainess was a in a separated partition of the room. Only Luke and Steve’s daughters who accompanied the team on this trip were allowed to eat with her, a privilege they relished. They love their “grandma.” That evening the team also showed the film in the village of Chikankata in a large Salvation Army hall. Around 200 mostly young people showed up to watch the film which had been advertised on the local radio. The movie ended at 11:00pm which hindered much follow-up.

December 5th:

The following morning (December 5) the team set out for the roughly 20 mile trip to visit the remote area of Simwambwa. This rural community is located in a valley surrounded by hills on all sides and is very isolated from most common forms of modern development. Upon the teams arrival they received a massive rain shower, the first in two weeks, which lasted almost the rest of the evening. The team was informed by the local Head Master of the school that they were “good visitors” because they had brought the rains (when God opens doors He puts out all the bells and whistles!). The team spent a good hour reading the Bible and praying for the evening with the Chieftainess. Her passion and love for her people is evident with anyone who listens to her pray. Among one of the greatest encouragements of this trip for the pastors who participated with the team was their time with the Chieftainess. Her unabashed love and faithfulness to Jesus and her desire to see her people be free from the darkness is evident in everything she does.

That evening the film was shown despite the constant sound of heavy rain on the tin roof above. The turnout was good and the team estimated the first showing had about 75 people in attendance who could not tear their eyes away from what they were watching. The evening also produced what could have been the biggest lesson of the trip as the team witnessed this first group’s response to the invitation to receive Christ at the end of the film. When the invitation was given to pray and receive prayer for sickness and such what had previously been a somewhat full room soon became empty with the exception of a couple brave women. The team watched as those who exited the room crowded around the few windows outside the to watched with great anticipation at what would transpire next. Murmurs and anxious comments could be heard as the bystanders offered their thoughts to one another on the events occurring inside. When the team had a chance to reflect on this phenomenon they agree that what had been witnessed was a people who had never before been presented with a genuine opportunity to enter into a relationship with Christ.

The team demonstrated unity in the Spirit as they all confessed that rather than responding in discouragement they would decide to pray that the Holy Spirit would work in the hearts of those who had been fearful and bring them back Sunday morning (December 6th) when the team would show the film again.

December 6th:

It had been announced Saturday evening (December 5th) that there would be another showing Sunday morning in Simwambwa at 7:00 AM sharp. Bit by bit people began to emerge from the surrounding villages and by the midpoint of the film the room was almost full. Again, there continued to be a steady and constant flow of people arriving even as the first showing was concluding. One of the Action Zambia pastors was told that even though the film was ending there was word that people were still coming from the far outlying areas. With this in mind the team decided to have a brief time of explanation of the film which would be followed by another showing to accommodate any who were still on their way. It was truly humbling for the team to witness so many who traveled so far to hear about Christ’s love for them.

By the conclusion of the second showing on Sunday the Chieftaness had arrived back from a short trip she needed to take to attend a meeting with Rupiah Banda who is the current President of Zambia. She informed the team later, that she had totally missed the meeting by the time she arrived but that they should not be concerned because to her, the mission of Action Zambia’s trip had great eternal value for her people. With Chieftainess Mwenda in attendance the team once more gave an invitation, with the help of the Chieftainess herself as the interpreter (the team was informed that this is an unheard of honor), for the roughly 150 present to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The response was uplifting as the crowd was encouraged to stop living under the fear of tradition and witchcraft and chose to receive the everlasting peace that exists in Jesus alone. Many decided to pray to receive Christ as well as receive prayers for sickness and demonic oppression. There was even an opportunity to anoint and pray for one of the local Headmen (local government leader) who had been complaining of continuous demonic oppression and attack.

Later that afternoon the team was lead by the Chieftainess to the nearby village of Chikani, which although was only 10 miles away took the team almost two hours to reach. Chikani was to be the last location for the team to show the film before departing back to Lusaka. The drive took the team through mountain streams and travelled some of the most rugged road any member of the team had seen in Zambia.
Along the way the Chieftainess suddenly stopped the convoy to get out and listen to the trials of one of her tribesmen. This man who name was Robson, described how his grass thatched roof had burned after a lightning strike that also hit his son Emmanuel. He wholeheartedly believed it was the work of a witchdoctor and had stopped the Chieftainess to request her to send for a “witch hunter”. The Chieftainess asked the team to pray for this dear man and his family to be delivered from the fear they daily live with. After listening to the team give witness of God’s love for them the whole family, maybe fourteen in all, joined hands with the team and prayed to receive Christ.

As the team arrived in Chikani it was clear, by the group of people already assembled, that word had travelled ahead of them detailing their visit and the showing of the film. The team quickly assembled the equipment and began the viewing. Within a span of around forty minutes the room, which could not have been much bigger than an average American garage, was filled with what seemed to be well over a hundred people. By the conclusion of the film the room was so packed that when Paul Mulenga, the team’s film technician, tried to get back in to monitor the projector the occupants told him to wait and let them finish watching this film.

The Chieftainess once again translated as the team shared with a large crowd of people the hope and eternal peace that existing in the name of Jesus. Once more there was a positive response of those wanting to receive Christ into their daily lives and they also clearly requested that Action Zambia return with the film since many more still on their way had not gotten the benefit of viewing it. After packing up the team followed the Chieftainess through another fifteen miles of the remote wilderness that makes up much of her chiefdom. One team member reflected, “all through the valleys we have seen there are hundreds of huts all containing people who need a chance to see what we have just shown others”. What an accurate account of what exists in this vast area that God has given Action Zambia great favor to minister in here in Southern Zambia.
Another great highlight was an opportunity that Luke and Steve had to sit down with the Chieftainess and to hear her hopes for her people and her desire that AZ would partner with her in not only reaching the kingdoms using the Jesus Film, but utilizing Action Zambia’s HIV/AIDS team, our Community School teams and AZ’s PLD pastors to put on conferences, camps and meetings. She shared which villages AZ should start with so that teams could then begin to reach the truly unreached villages that bordered the area. She shared how her eyes have been opened by the suffering her people are enduring and she welcomed AZ with a wide open blessing to come and join her in ministering to her kingdom.

Conclusion:

In all the Jesus film was shown six times in three different rural communities to roughly somewhere around 600 - 700 people who for the most part had never even seen a moving motion picture before. Many made an indication of needing to change their current way of living through putting their trust in God. All were expose the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and all this occurred for the cost of what many of us would spend on a weekend trip. The best part: The chance that even one of these dear souls found eternal rest from a life that is constantly filled with pain and struggle is of course: PRICELESS

There is much more to share and praise God about surrounding Action Zambia’s recent exploratory trip to Chikankhata. The team hopes to get a more detailed report of the trips events in the very near future. The Apostle Paul reminds us in II Timothy 4:2: Preach the Word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching (NLT). There were many an opportunity to put this verse into practice over the last four days and the team was amazed to see God provide opportunities to glorify and advance His Kingdom when they least expected it. There is no doubt that the spiritual need of the people of Chikankhata is enormous and the work needed to be completed will not be accomplished through a few quick evangelistic trips.

To those who prayed consistently for this trip, please know you are the real horsepower that allows the hands and feet of Christ to ministry to the masses as occurred in Chikankhata over the past few days. We are all part of the Body of Christ and each part is essential in the advancement of His kingdom throughout the darkness that suffocates much of the world we live in. Please continue to pray for Action Zambia and Chieftainess Mwenda as they continue to seek the Lord’s will in this divinely appointed relationship.

Luke (For The Team) <><

A Last Frontier

2009-12-13T21:14:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends

We wanted to take a moment and make you aware of a unique open door that God has provided our (you and us) ministry here in Zambia. Romans 15:10-12 reminds us of the Apostle Paul’s desire to preach the Word where it had not been preached before: My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the plan spoken of in Scripture, where it says, “Those who have never been told about Him will see, and those who have never heard of Him will understand” (NLT). What Paul is describing is an opportunity that is becoming almost unheard of as the global community we know grows closer and closer together. That is in part why we are so excited that God has given Action Zambia ministries and opportunity to participate in an evangelistic outreach to a rural village in the remote areas of Zambia’s Southern Province.

Some of you may remember us writing a while back about a rural area called Cikankhata (Chicken Cutta – is almost how is sounds) which is located roughly two hours south of Lusaka. God has given us extreme favor and a growing relationship with the chieftainess of the area and we have been given an open door to be developing and growing the non-existent church in her chiefdom. We have included some pics of a recent trip Elise the kids and I took this past week to visit Chieftainess Mwenda and discuss the details of our upcoming outreach December 3rd – 6th. During the course of three and a half days we will be showing the Jesus Film in the local dialect of Tonga. The Chieftainess believes it will be the first time her people will be hearing the Gospel message in at least one of the villages we will be visiting (what an opportunity). We will also be hoping to identify and empower local elders who might develop into the spiritual leaders of any church body that may develop as a result of the outreach.

This ministry will include the participation of ten local pastors who are currently involved with programs within Action Zambia’s Pastoral Leadership Development ministry area. Some of these pastors have prior experience and some do not, so it will be a unique environment to watch their different experiences and gifts work together to advance Christ’s Kingdom here in Zambia. We are also planning Lord willing, to spend one on one time praying for the sick and oppressed that we are sure to find in these far outlying areas.

Would you begin to pray that God would, even now, be working in the hearts of those who will have (maybe for the first time) the opportunity to respond to the wonderful message of the salvation found in Jesus Christ! It is our hope, Lord willing, that these types of trips to the Cikankhata area will become a more regular part of how Action Zambia is being used by God to strengthen the local believers here in Lusaka.

As always we share this with you to remind you that your partnership with us is being used to accomplish amazing things both now and for all eternity. We are truly blessed to have your prayers and support. Of course we will be taking cameras along to document the events of the trip so you can expect some photos and an update upon our return. May God bless and keep you in His grace and mercy.

His Servant

Luke (for the fam) <><

September Update

2009-09-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

It has a few weeks since our last update and there is much to inform you about. The month of September is always special as it is the only month in which we have two birthdays (Luke’s 29th, Emma 7th) and Payton celebrated his 5th the end of Aug. We have been enjoying some hotter weather which was perfect for Emma’s Hawaiian themed party which was held her in own tropical backyard (we included some pics for you). We also enjoyed a recent visit from Luke’s Uncle Jim and his fiancé Jacki who were in Lusaka with Willow Creek Church in Chicago conducting a seminar on Biblical Church Leadership. It was great to see and reconnect with them and see how God used them help strengthen the Zambian Church.

September also saw the completion of the first 2:7 discipleship class, which Brent Roberts and Luke had been facilitating over the past few months. Along with the Roberts we hosted the graduates to a barbecue where they received their certificates of completion as well as being encouraged to remember to always lead by serving first. With the completion of one class also came the recruitment and enrollment of a new group of students who, Lord willing, will complete the 2:7 course over the next year. Please continue to pray for these leaders as they go out to make disciples of all men.

AZ’s Pastoral Leadership Development Team (PLD), also saw the addition of another Zambian to its consultancy staff to specifically be working with Brent and Luke in the area of Discipleship and Evangelism. Pastor Wozifera Ngoma will be the fourth Zambia to come on staff with Action Zambia and we are very excited about God adding him to our team. He is a wealth of cultural insight and wisdom and it is AZ’s hope that he will help us to serve the Zambian people in a more effective way. Please take a moment and visit Action Zambia’s website: http://actionzambia.org/ to learn more about Pastor Ngoma’s story.

Hospital Ministry has also flourished over the past month as Luke has seen many new doors open up. The AZ team, along with local pastors, are visiting patients in five of the local area clinics and hospitals. At one particular clinic Luke visited this past week, the head physician informed the group that because there are so many patients who are medically untreatable the need to ministering to them spiritually is immense. He actually said that most of his patients are really more in need of spiritual attention than they are medical (Amen). Luke said the best part of the day was to see the excitement on the faces of the local pastors he had traveled with who could not believe the opportunity God had opened right before their eyes. Praise God with us and continue to pray that He would raise up an army of Churches here in Zambia who will compassionately reach out to the sick and dying in Christ’s name.

Moving from ministry to school, Elise has seen such an improvement in the kids’ involvement and retention of schooling material. Although she would deny it, much of the credit goes to her amazing amounts of patience and love that she exhibits towards the kids and their sometime infuriating learning patterns (praise God for kids). School has also gotten easier now that our house helper Pauline is watching Tazi during the morning school session. One highlight from this past week was Macie’s acing her Math exam which, as we would expect, she is very thrilled about. God has also blessed the kids with the opportunity to participate in classes at the International School just up the road from our new house. The biggest blessing is that the school offers some of these classes for free to homeschool students. Macie and Emma are doing swimming classes and Patyon is in beginner’s football (soccer).

As a family we are well and blessed and enjoy learning daily more about our dear Zambian friends and their culture. We have decided to try our hand at raising chickens, much to the delight of our chicken-eating dog Spud. Yes we have already lost two chickens to mortal wounds inflicted by this savage beast; but amazingly, the kid’s love for Spud really does cover a multitude of sins. We continue to praise God that He has faithfully keep us healthy and malaria free as the mosquitoes have become horrendous over the past few weeks.

With that we say goodbye for now but please know we love and miss you all dearly. As always thanks again for being such great supporters and teammates of what God has called us to accomplish for His sake here in Zambia. Please keep praying without ceasing for us as we are always in need and could not function without them. We would love to hear from you or maybe talk sometime -- for those of you on Skype you can reach us at username: Taziona6 . God bless and keep all of you and remember to forget what’s behind and press on to the things He has called you Heavenward in Christ.

Lesa Masuma Nshito Shonse (God is good all the time)

The Whitfields

Guinea Pigs, Math and Street Kids

2009-07-23T13:02:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends

Sorry it has been a while since we last touched base. Much has happened in the last couple of weeks in all areas of our lives. Where do we start?

How about our saga involving the death of eight Guinea pigs, yes you heard right, eight, Guinea pigs. For a while the kids have wanted to get some more pets, but unfortunately our dog, Spud, does not share their enthusiasm. Spud is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and is basically bred to be very territorial when it comes to other animals. Needless to say, we have been reluctant to try to introduce another pet into the mix. As often happens, we went against our better judgment and gave the go ahead for our friend “Grandson” to build the kids a cage and fill it with four Guinea Pigs. Things started off well, as we built the cage to be dog proof; which it was until the kids forgot to move a large stone they had earlier place right next to the fence. Yep, you guessed it, that stone gave Spud just enough height to bound over the fence and quickly end the lives of our new fury friends. So what does any sympathetic warm blooded parent do in a situation like this? Buy the kids four more Guinea pigs and hope that the talk you had about being more responsible for themselves and their surroundings sunk in. Of course you know how the rest of the story goes. Yesterday, while trying to fortify the cage even more, we removed the new Guinea pigs and placed them in a rubber bin in the house. With watchful eyes we ensured every door was closed denying Spud the opportunity to repeat his feat again. That is until one of the kids forgot to close a door behind them and sure enough that dog boldly came into the house in “stealth mode” and kill the new batch of four. Amazingly the kids seemed to have been conditioned a bit by the week’s earlier killing and did not seem as upset over the loss of the second group of pigs. All in all it has been sad and if I am honest a bit funny as Elise and I have to break the bad new twice now. We of course will be searching for a new batch of Guinea pigs (as they are only around $2 piece) and will keep you posted on their progress (hah).

"Grandson" and the guinea pig pen

On the home schooling front I am happy to report that Elise and the kids area really enjoying their time together. This is in part to a new system Elise has implemented to teach the kids responsibility and to create a bit more structure into their days. I want to take a moment and let all of you know how great a mom and teacher Elise is. She has done such a great job helping our family to get into a new routine after our move to our new house. And it has been fun to watch her discover her natural gift of teaching.

A while back I wrote about an experience I had while ministering to some street kids and in particular a conversation I had with a young man named Alvis. I return the next week with a group of friends on a frigid Friday night and distributed some tea and roles to around 70 kids. I have included some pictures and can assure you it was an amazing time of fellowship and coming to the realization that some of these kids have never felt a loving touch. There was one teenage boy who literally latched himself onto my body and said, “I love you, please take me with you”. To tell you the truth, I did not know how to respond. But after I had some time to reflect on the evening I realized that my experience with my young friend was a perfect picture of what Christ does each time I come to Him for affirmation. He does not get hung up on all the Worldly filth that often covers me, but rather, quickly embraces and reminds me that I am His and that He loves me dearly. Please be praying tomorrow as we will return to visit with the street kids and continue reminding them that they are greatly prized by their Heavenly Father and us as well.

Hospital visitation continues to move forward and it seems that God has opened the doors for us to be working in almost all of the local clinics in Lusaka. Recently, I spent some time arranging an outreach event for a short term team that is coming in August from South Carolina. They will be distributing hygiene kits (wash cloths / soap / powder ) to the patients in the Pediatric Malnourishment Word at the local teaching hospital. This will be a great opportunity to spend some time with these suffering children and offer not only some physical relief but more importantly as much spiritual relief as God will use us to accomplish. Please pray for this outreach as many times African are afraid to have white people pray for them due to a cultural belief that all “whites” are “satanists”.

On another ministry front we wanted to ask you to start to pray for Action Zambia’s upcoming pastor’s conference. This is the second conference AZ has facilitated and we are expecting over 200 people to show up. The conference is themed: “Building Biblical Marriages” and is opened to all pastors who will hopefully bring their wives as well. It will be taking place during the first week of August and run from eight in the morning till noon on Mon / Tue / Wed / Thur/ Fri. Elise and the rest of the AZ ladies will also be leading the worship time during the Friday portion of the conference. Talking about marriage matters in public forums is not as common or accepted here in the African culture as it is back in the States. Ask God that He will begin a good work in the lives and marriages of the many areas pastors that will attend this event.

Other than that life continues as usual, always busy and never the same. Thanks again for all you do in supporting the Lord’s work here in Zambia. As you know none of this would be possible without your involvement. We love you all dearly and miss you as well. I know we had said this before, but if you have not already, please visit our blog by clicking on the link: www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com , where you can read all of our updates and see even more pictures. God bless each of you and remember to PRESS ON & INTO HIM!!!

His Servants

Luke (for the clan) <><

The Plight of Alvis

2009-07-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Friend

For a moment imagine, the perpetual smell of urine, sweat and dirt. Contemplate the thought that the next meal you will eat will more than likely be pulled out of a trash can and someone’s leftovers. Take second, to ponder the thought of living with the constant fear of looking over your shoulder wondering who will take advantage of you next. Or possibly, the reality of looking for a temporary escape from this hell you live in through the use of inhaling toxic fumes. Sound familiar? Of course not, or at least, for your sake, I hope not. Unfortunately, for some youth here in Zambia this is daily routine that leaves them to live a life without any hope for a future of what many of know to be normality.

What I have described to you is a picture of life in the day of what the world has labeled a “street kid”. This past Friday, three of my friends and I spent sometime minister to about thirty of these unfortunate souls. During this time I met a young man named Alvis. Alvis is what you might call a ring leader. He is a bit older than most of his peers and is responsible for selling “stika” to the rest of his colleagues. “Stika” is basically what we would call rubber cement and most of these kids spend a majority of their day seeking out and inhaling its fumes; which provides a temporary escape from the battle of life as they know it.

Alvis was an interesting story as he explained that he only sells “stika” because he wants to get his teenage wife, who is pregnant with their child, off the streets and away from the city. As I scanned the crowd of filthy youth for her, my eyes settled on a girl that could not have been more than 15 or 16 who had a dirty dish rage covered in “stika” over her mouth. You can image my horror as I realize the danger this young lady was putting herself through, not to mention the jeopardy she was exposing her and Alvis’ unborn child to. This is life to them, they know nothing different. To them the importance of life lies in finding the next high and then waking up the next morning to do the same. My heart sunk as I soon realize this is who Jesus was taking about when He said he came to seek out the lost and forgotten.

If there is any ray of hope in this story, it is that after talking with Alvis for almost forty minute he admitted he was tired of living this live and wanted something more. I told him that the only true satisfaction he could find in life would be through a relationship with Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. He agreed and we prayed for him to receive Christ and to have his life turn around in that moment. Our discussion was interrupted by his pregnant wife pulling at his sleeve asking for more “stika”.

Pray for Alvis as leaving this life he knows will be anything but easy. Alvis’ story is not unique but probably very typical of what many young adults on the streets of Lusaka and around the world are experiencing every day. In fact, for those of you who think a story like Alvis’ is only occurring in third world countries, I would challenge you to consider that right now there are many young adults like Alvis in your own back yards. Maybe they don’t live on the street and maybe they are not eating out of trash cans. But there are many lost souls all around us searching for that true satisfaction that comes only through a meaningful relationship with Christ. You might think working with individuals like Alvis is only for those that find themselves in the slums of developing countries, but that simply is not the case. Each of you have numerous opportunities to reach out to suffering individuals like Alvis each day. The question is will we listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting?

Pray for us as we will be going out tomorrow night again to bring food and hot tea to the many needy street kids of Lusaka. I am hoping to see Alvis and not only provide for his physical needs but more crucially his spiritual needs. Thanks for your continued love and support and remember what God is doing through us here in Africa He can do through you right where you find yourselves now. We love and miss you all.

His Servants

Luke (for the Whitfield clan)

July 2nd

2009-07-14T18:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

Just wanted to take a moment and update you on what has been going on this week. As we wrote last time, we had a team here from Vacaville, California. The team left this morning but was such a blessing in helping to complete some major projects at Action Zambia’s Ciyanjano Ministry Center. Our family so enjoyed getting to know the team and we have some great memories to remember them by.

On the ministry front Luke has begun to work with a discipleship group made up of local pastors and church leaders. This group is going through a study called 2:7 which is developed and published by Navigators ministry out of Colorado Springs. They meet twice a week for about two hours and the focus of the course is to help equip these men with a better understanding on how to effectively disciple individuals in their own churches. Luke is helping facilitate the class which is being led by his good friend and fellow missionary Brent Roberts. What a blessing these men have been to Brent and Luke as they teach each other how to better make disciples of all men. The upcoming lesson is on “Love In Action” and Brent and Luke will be taking the class to visit patients at the local hospital UTH.

The hospital visitation ministry has taken on some new developments this past week as Luke has sought the permission of the Lusaka Province Health Board to not only be visiting the main teaching hospital, UTH, but also the many compound clinics around the Lusaka area. This would be a huge blessing as it will allow the pastors he is working with to ministry in the immediate areas where the churches they pastor are located. Previously, getting pastors to UTH (University Teaching Hospital) was a bit of a challenge due to transportation difficulties. Please pray that Action Zambia will be granted permission to work in these clinics as it would be a huge open door for hospital ministries to expand.

Elise continues on with home schooling, although you can be praying for the process as this past week was not a pleasant one. Most of her concerns surround teaching math to Macie as they seem to not always get along so well. She also is working on getting a music ministry developed at Hope of Glory Revival Fire Ministries (what a name) which is the church of our good friend Pastor Colins Chipaya. This would mostly entail helping introduce new songs and better coordination of musical during services.

Other than that we are doing well and praise God that all of us our in good health. Thanks again for all you do in enabling us to minister to needing here in Zambia. We love you all and look forward to hearing from you soon.

His Servants

The Whitfields <><

Daniel

2009-07-14T18:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

Just wanted to share a huge opportunity for us to corportately praise God for His goodness.

Last Sunday as we were going to home church with our missionary friends for father's day Luke saw a man utilizing a crutch outside our friend's gate. He felt that God was telling him to go and ask what had happened to this man and to pray for him. As he inquired he found out that Daniel had a bad infection in his leg that made it almost impossible for him to walk without the aid of a crutch. Luke prayed for him and then sent Daniel on his way.

This weekend Daniel showed up at our friend's gate and asked for the big Muzungu (Luke has put on some weight if you have not seen him lately). Our friends the Allens directed Daniel to our gate and he informed us that his leg had been completely healed. Luke was gone the first time that Daniel stopped by and so was a little skeptical at the report. Today, Daniel stopped by again and Luke was amazed to see that this man's leg,that had been bandaged and extrememlely swollen, showed no sign of infection at all.

We are writing this to encourage you all that if God can work through sinners like us, then He can work through anyone. Prasie God with us as we rejoice at His goodness and mercy. What a great God we serve and may all glory and honor be unto Him. It is amazing what He is doing through our partnership here in Zambia.

We love you all and so appreciate your love and support.

(We have included a picture of Daniel, his wife, and their child Emmanuel)

His Servants

The Whitfields <><

June 26th

2009-07-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

What a busy week it has been for our family. We continue to settle and unpack into our new home which is such a blessing given the extra space it affords us. Elise started up home schooling again this week (much to the dismay of our three kids) and has enjoyed getting back into the swing of things.

On the ministry front, Action Zambia has had a short term mission team here from Vacaville California for the past week. This team has focused on doing construction projects at Action Zambia's Ciyanjano Center in order to help develop it for future minstry use. For those of you who might not remember Ciyanjano is a piece of property just outside of Lusaka that Action Zambia has owned for about four years now. The current plan is to develop this property into a retreat center for local churches as well as a venue to hold conference for pastors or other church groups. Facilities on the property include a walled compound areas where there are a few residential buildings as well as a main bunk house where the current team is staying. There is also an orchard, a soccer pitch as well as a large thatched buiding called an insaka which is meant to hold large gathering and even baptism services as it also has an in ground batismal. The future vision is to fence off almost all of the 20 acres with an electric fence in order to provide more security for those using the facilities and to create a camping grounds where churches could for fellowship.

This past week Luke has spent almost everyday out at Ciyanjano with the team constructing a new soccer pitch. It has been a familar throw back to his days spent as a superintendent of construction back in the States. The only differences this time were the constant delays encountered due to faulty equipment of a machine running out of diesel (who sends a machine to a job without enough diesel to complete it -- TIA (this is Africa)). Payton also spent a day out with Luke and was so excited when the bulldozer unearthed a spitting cobra which was promptly killed by the young Zambian children and Payton throwing stones at it. Payton proudly posed for a picture with the head of his first real hunting trophy, although his involvement did provide an almost unbearable experience for a couple of the ladies on the short term team. Over the courese of four days earth was moved, a large ant hill was leveled and the development of a better than average soccer field was accomplished. What a blessing this field will provide for the youth of the area and what a great venue it will be to be able to conduct evangelistic ministries through sports.

Elise was also pleasantly suprised to find that the Bible study she invested so much time into during our first term here in Zambia is still thriving. During a recent trip out to Ciyanjano she met one of the ladies from the study who informed her that on their own, several ladies had continued to meet in each others houses each Wednesday for about two and a half hours. Elise was so touched to see that the seeds that were planted in these ladies lives have, through the Holy Spirits involment, blossomed into a practical desire to grow togethers as sisters in Christ.

Please continue to pray for us as we get back into our routine of ministry and continue to adjust to live here in Zambia. You all are such a blessing to us and remember that without your involvement we would not be able to function as Christ hands and feet here in Zambia. We love you all and continue to think of you often. May God bless and keep each of you in His perfect will.

His Servants

The Whitfields

June 16th

2009-07-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been so crazy for us. YES, we are moving for the fourth time since our arrival in Feb. 2007! Monday we moved from our house in Woodlands to a home that is closer to our fellow teammates. This house in Roma was previously lived in by our team mates the Melville's who have gone back to the states after 2 years of service. We were sad to see them leave but so glad that we can be closer to our other team mates that live in the neighborhood and have a little more space for our family. The move went smoothly and we are so grateful for our dear Zambian friends that helped us "shift" as they would say! You will see in the pictures included that the moving truck is not quite the same as in the states. You can imagine all the stuff on the back of the truck and then two men sitting on top of all the stuff. Everything made it to the new house safe and sound and now we are just organizing our brains out. The kids are just grateful that they get the week off from school!!!

Last week we shared about our visit to Great Commission Baptist Church and the thanksgiving service we attended. We have included some pictures of the small school room they rent out and all the Zambians jammed inside worshipping together. It was a wonderful service and we want you to get a glimpse of what a typical Sunday service looks like!

Hope you enjoy the pictures! Thanks for all your prayers during this first month. It has gone by so fast and been a whirlwind. We love and miss you all.

Elise and Luke Whitfiled and kids!

Great Commission Baptist Church

Our Old House

Moving Day

Back for 3 weeks!

2009-06-09T12:28:00.001-07:00

We have been back here in Zambia for three weeks today! It is great to be back, but it has taken some time to get back into the swing of things. Our bodies have adjusted back to the time zone but are still getting used to the different food and water!!! The weather has been beautiful and sunny and we are enjoying the 80 degrees winter weather!!

We are in the process of moving into a new home and we are excited to be finally done with packing and unpacking that we have done since December! We are only moving across town about 15min but we will be closer to teammates and have more room for our family.

We have been so blessed to see our Zambian friends here and get reconnected with them. We attended Great Commission Baptist Church this past Sunday for their 2 year celebration service. This is the church that we have worked with very closely over the last year and a half or so. We loved seeing all the familiar faces and were so encouraged.

Not only has the church grown but there are now two discipleship groups that are up and going since we left in December. They have also started an AWANA children's program! This is an answer to prayer to see this small congregation understanding what it is to further God's kingdom and equipping the new and growing believers there. Praise God. Luke and teammate Brent Roberts will continue to encourage the leaders and train them further over the next couple of years. Kerri (Brent's wife)and I had the opportunity to sing with our 5 kids on Sunday morning. It was so fun to share in the thanksgiving service and we are so thankful for all that God has done and will continue to do these next couple of years. We look forward to partnering with other churches and seeing what God has in store!

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and encouragement. Being back in Zambia really feels great and we really feel we belong here. Of course there are more rats, bugs, and daily challenges, but we are so grateful to be back!

Back In Zambia!

2009-05-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family

Wanted to touch base and give you a brief look at how our first week back in Zambia has been. We have felt so blessed to have such a wonderful team and many Zambian friends who have made our adjustment a bit more endurable. Life here in Lusaka has been just as we left it some months ago and we have already had many laughs and some tears during this past week.

Let start with the trying aspects of our return (not complaining just sharing):

--Getting over the loss of our laptop and all our files (we think it was stolen from the plane in London)
--Found out that the repairs to our vehicle were not completed per our agreement with the local garage (surprise, surprise)
--Found that we have inherited a family of rats and also some cockroaches who have made our vehicle their home during our absence
--Had to deal without hot water for some time as our water heater broke shortly after our arrival

Now let me share the blessings:

--Seeing all the bright smiles of those Zambians who have missed us dearly during our furlough
--The kids being re-united with their dog spud
--Receiving a roster as a welcoming present from our dear friend Pastor Chipaya
--The wonderful smell of diesel everywhere you go
--Getting back into ministry little by little

The bottom line is that while our return may have not been picture perfect or full of convenience it has been a vehicle to remind us where our peace and comfort truly come from.

Sorry this is so short (this is Luke writing) but I promise to get Elise to the Internet cafe in the near future so you can have a much more detail report. We love each of you dearly and so appreciate the sacrifice you make to partner with in prayer and support. You are such as blessing and an essential part of what we do every day for the Kingdom of God here in Zambia.

God bless and PRESS ON & INTO HIM

His Servants

The Whitfields <><

May Update

2009-05-06T20:21:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends,

What a whirlwind these months have been!! We praise God for a great time back in the states. As we count down to our departure (May 16th) we are so grateful for all the relationships that we have and for all the love we have felt during our visit home. Thanks for all your encouragement and support for us. We feel reconnected and refreshed and ready to take on another two years in Zambia!

We have been able to share with so many families, churches, schools, children's classes and Bible studies and have been so blessed and stretched in each situation. Our media presentation had it's fair share of difficulties and the kids were quite a challenge at times, the traveling was not always ideal and we have gained some weight due to all the fast food.......but what an amazing time to share pictures, stories, and songs and share about what God is doing in Zambia.

We have made wonderful memories with our families in Sycamore and Dallas these past months and will hold onto them and all our pictures over our next two year term. We hope these good memories will outweigh all the health issues we have had since our return!! We started in February with having to kill a family parasite that had infested each one of us during a swim in Lake Malawi six months previously. The medicine was effective, thank goodness and killed the increasing hatching eggs in our systems. Also in April, Luke spent 5 days in the hospital with a bad case of strep throat and pnemonia. Strep being very contagious, made its way through our whole household including Luke's parents and brother. You can imagine all the medicine we had to keep track of!!! A family member jokingly said, " I think your angels are on vacation now that you are back from Zambia!!!" We are doing well now and just enjoying these last couple weeks together! We would appreciate all your continued prayers for great health, especially for Luke!

The kids have enjoyed their time in America and now are looking forward to getting back to their other home! It's been so neat to watch them and see how brave they have been in new/different situations. They have gotten their fair share of McDonalds and most of all loved being with family and friends. They also love seeing their cat Gus and being able to pick up the duties of taking care of him. They are very excited to see our dog Spud in Zambia and catch up with their friends.

The Zambians have touched our hearts and lives forever. We hope through our contact with each of you, that their faces and needs touch your heart too. May you remember all the faces of the starving street kids and say a prayer for them around your dinner table. As you tuck your kids in bed please think of all the little orphans that don't have a parent to kiss their cheeks. May you look for the opportunities to welcome people in your home and remember our dear friend Joyce who did't have a roof to cover her six children. We in America are so blessed so please use these blessings to love on your neighbor, whatever that may look like!

Thank you all for partnering with us for another two year term in Zambia. We are looking forward to returning to our teammates, friends, our home and of course to our dog Spud. We will continue to keep you updated and tell you all about our adventures good and bad!! Thank you for all your love and support. We are so blessed to have families like you behind us! Please stay in touch through e-mail or through our blog.
God bless,
Luke and Elise
Macie, Emma, Payton, and Tazi Whitfield

Whitfield Furlough Itinerary

2008-12-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends

We write to you from frigid Chicago where we were greeted with snow as we arrive on November 30^th from Zambia. Everyone in the family traveled well, especially Tazi, who seemed even more like an angel compared to the baby sitting next to her who cried almost the entire way across the Atlantic (wow!). We have enjoyed these past two weeks as we have reconnected with family and friend we have not seen in such a long time.

We wanted to take a moment and remind all of you (before the Holidays consume you all) of our schedule while in the States. It is our intent and desire to meet and share with as many of you who might be interest in hearing about what God is doing through our partnership in Zambia. We have included our itinerary below:

· We currently are in the Chicagoland area until the 27^thof December when we will be flying down to spend time with Elise's family in Dallas.

· We will be in the Dallas / Ft. Worth area from the end of December 08 through the first week in February 09.

· We will be arriving in the Seattle area, for a week, on February 10^th and be returning to Chicago February 16^th

· We will remain in Chicago from February 16^th through April 10^th at which time we will be returning to Zambia, Lord willing, for another two year term

So there you have it, we have plenty of slots available and hope that many of you will take us up on our desire to meet with you. There is much to share and we can hardly wait to hear what God has been doing in your lives as well. If you are interested in getting a hold of either Elise or Luke while they are back you can reach them on their cell phone at: 815.901.3284 or simply shoot them an email at either: whitfieldelise@hotmail.com or whitfield.luke@gmail.com. Remember to also visit our blogspot at: www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com or www.actionzambia.org for pics and updates.

We will keep you informed of any changes to our itinerary and we thank you in advance for your continued prayers and support. God is good always and we look forward to what He has purpose for us in the future. God bless and keep you this holiday season and remember He is the reason for the season! PRESS ON & INTO HIM and know you are loved!!!

October Update

2008-10-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

Just a quick update on what has been going on in the life of the Whitfield family. The rains have finally come (first rains in about 5 months) and the temperature seems to be subsiding just a bit. With the rains comes the return of the beautiful green blanket that covers this semi-tropical area. We have also begun to finalize all the details surrounding our departure to the States and find ourselves very busy in the process. Elise and the kids continue their schooling and despite days of no motivation, they have continued to learn together quite well. Tazi is just about crawling now and really surprised us the other day when she pulled herself up on her walker (here we go).

Recently, Action Zambia held some meetings as a team to discuss the future vision for our ministry. As some of you may know already, we said goodbye to the Ripley family in October, who felt God calling them home after six years of ministry here in Zambia. They were the original pioneer family in Zambia and their contribution and cultural knowledge will be a huge loss as an asset to this team. With the Ripley’s departure the team felt is it was necessary to regroup and talk about what God may have for Action Zambia with the individuals He has assembled here in Zambia. As a team we continue to hold fast to our main purpose here in Zambia which is the strengthening and building up of the local church through: Theological training for pastors, cell groups, mentoring, evangelism, community schools, HIV/AIDS awareness programs, mercy ministries, and many other activities. We want to do all these things in a manner that does not create a dependency on financial donations with the churches we are working with. Above all we want to continue to proclaim the name of Jesus to the lost here in Zambia. During our furlough we look forward to sharing with you all the many opportunities God has placed before Action Zambia for the next few years.

Work continues with Great Commission Baptist Church in the area of evangelism and discipleship. Our hospital visitation ministry is always a time of great fellowship together and we always leave feeling refreshed but drained (if that is possible). At times visiting with patients is difficult due to the nature of their illness or injury and a sometimes not so accommodating medical staff (they are underpaid). It has been especially heart breaking to work in the Pediatric Malnourishment Ward. As a father, I could not imagine losing my child to starvation or simply because they had a bad case of diarrhea, but many parents here lose children to these types of illnesses everyday. Most times, when visiting the hospital wards, we are the ones offering hope and motivation, but on our latest trip we were inspired by the example of a young man named Samuel. Samuel, was on his way to South Africa when the bus he was travelling in (similar to a Grey Hound bus) was involved in an accident killing almost all the 60 people on board. Samuel, whose left arm was amputated because of the injuries suffered in the accident, told us that He was praising the Lord that he was alive and knew God spared his life for a reason. What an example of …….rejoicing in the Lord always. We prayed with James and encouraged Him to stand on the promises of God and share the hope he has in Christ, despite his injuries, with those he encounters. I wish I could have shared a picture of the smile on this young man’s face, but taking pictures in the hospital is kind of touchy. So many of the patients are just pleased to have someone, they don’t know, take the time to care about their pain and share the hope that exist in Christ despite their circumstance. I have included pictures of some of the Hospital Visitation participants from Great Commission Baptist Church. Included are pictures of Alex (an elder at Great Commission Baptist Church) and Rachel (a good friend of the family who is involved in the praise and worship at Great Commission) also one of Alex and myself in front of UTH hospital.

Again we just wanted to share with you the blessings God is using your partnership to achieve in the lives of those we serve here in Zambia. Remember we are going to be back in the States beginning Dec 08 until April 09. We still have not filled our speaking calendar and would love to share with each of you personally, in a small group, Sunday school, or even a church service on what God is doing in the hearts of the Zambian peoples. Get in touch with us by calling the numbers listed below for our stays in Chicago and Dallas. We are so grateful for you continued support and prayers. Remember we could do none of this without your help. God bless and keep you until we meet again.

His Servants

Luke (for the Whitfield fam)

Chicago: < Dec 5^th- 20^th / Feb 15^th – April 5^th >

Dallas: < December 28^th – February 10^th >

Zambia Update

2008-09-13T11:54:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update to keep you all current with what is going on over here in Lusaka with the Whitfield family. Things are going well and we continue to see God opening doors for new opportunities in ministry. Luke continues to go and do hospital visitations with members from local churches here. A couple of weeks ago he had the privilege of serving a young boy name Enzo and his family. Enzo’s family are Tonga people and come from an extremely remote and rural area in Southeastern Zambia. Enzo, who is five years old, has a very noticeable heart murmur (you can hear it when you are standing close to him) and has not received any medical treatment for his condition until recently. He was seen by a cardiologist but unfortunately there was no diagnosis or prescription given for his treatment (medical care here can be such a joke). Because of this large hole in his heart, Enzo is mostly lethargic and does not exhibit the normal energy level of a five year old. We prayed with Enzo and his uncle for the complete healing of his heart condition and were amazed when we came back the next day to find him running around the ward. He still has the murmur, but we continue to believe that God will, bit by bit, heal this little boy’s condition so that he may sing of the goodness of our God forever. Would you join us in asking the Lord for Enzo’s complete healing!

Luke will also be going, tomorrow, to visit with the head chaplain of prisons here in Zambia. This could be a huge opportunity and we would ask that you would continue to pray that God would give AZ favor with this gentleman tomorrow. Luke also had the opportunity this past week to preach at the church of our good friend Rev. Colins Chipaya (this is the third week in a row that Luke has preached and he stated that he has a new found respect for all you pastors who do this full-time!!).

On a completely separate note we find the seasons changing and the heat beginning to rise. With the increase in temperature comes the increase of bugs (mostly cockroaches). We have included some pics, for your viewing pleasure, which were taken outside in our septic tank. The sighting of these fine specimens means that inevitably we will be seeing these beauties in our house real soon!

Finally, for those of you keeping up on the development of Tazi she has finally reached the point where the supplementation of food is require for here appeasement. We have started to test out different variety of foods, as she seems to be our most picky eater to date (pray for us, hah!). She also cut here first tooth so Elise is really looking forward to nursing now!

Thanks again for all your continued support and prayers. Don't forget to visit our blog: www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com wher you can find more pictures and all of our updates. We would not be able to accomplish what God has called us to do without your partnership. May God bless each one of you and remember to PRESS ON & INTO HIM!!!

His Servants

The Whitfields <><

New Opportunitis for Ministry

2008-08-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

Greetings from increasingly hot Lusaka, Zambia. I (Luke) wanted to write a quick note and let you know the latest on new ministry opportunities and development with us. As Elise has mentioned in a previous update we have been investigating ways to “mobilize” the churches we are working with. We have realized, during our two years here, that there is much knowledge transfer going on in churches but very little mobilization of the congregation. While knowledge and study of God’s Word is essential, if that knowledge cannot be transferred into practical actions are we really helping the Zambian we came to serve? It to this end that we have been intent on developing outlet ministries that allow different congregation to see the power that exists when we take the knowledge of the Word of God to the streets. This has mainly been in the areas of door to door and open air evangelism, as well as hospital visitation.

The past two weeks I have gone over to the main hospital here in Lusaka, UTH, and spent time visiting with various patients. I always take a member from a local church with me because of the language barrier and most importantly because we are hoping they will catch the vision for themselves. Yesterday, 25/08, we went to the pediatrics ward and all I can say is that I left broken hearted. So many little ones with tubes stuck all over their bodies and anxious mother with looks of desperation covering their faces. We went to visit a little 8 year old boy named Enzo. This little guy has a significant hole in his heart which means you can literally hear his heart murmur without a stethoscope. With or without treatment the diagnosis is that Enzo will probably die in the next year but the hope is that treatment might prolong the inevitable. We went to love on little Enzo and pray a pray for healing in faith, what a privilege to serve this little one in this manner. While there we also meet a little girl name Musonda who, just like Enzo, also had a heart condition as well as problems with her lungs. As we prayed for her she labored heavily to take each new breath in, but when we finished she rewarded us with a big smile. Her mother, a Jehovah’s witness, was reluctant at first to let us pray for her but finally agreed. After we had finished we noticed that all the other patients in the ward has gotten up and left the room we were in. We took this a clear rejection of our prayers and proceed to leave the ward. As we enter the hall, Musonda’s mother came running after us and frantically explained that she was concerned that we had only prayed for her daughter, what? As I asked the Zambians who had come with me to explain what she was so concerned about, they told me that there is still much superstition towards whites (we are sometimes thought to be Satanists) and she believed bad things would happen to her daughter if we only prayed for her. We assured her that we had just prayed for a little boy in the next ward named Enzo but she would not be satisfied until she asked him for herself. These are the little ways satan has bound these people in fear and keeps them from receiving the healing message of Jesus Christ. Continue to pray that the name of Jesus would break down these spiritual barriers and that He would continue to equip us to do battle for His name sake.

We are also still organizing a meeting with the head of all prisons here in Zambian with the hope that we will be granted permission to begin work in the prison system here in the country (amazing opportunities for ministry). I continue to help lead, with my good friend Brent Roberts, a small group ministry with Great Commission Baptist Church. We are excited as we have identified two future leaders in the group and are hoping they will partner together to start a new small group within the church. This is such an answer to prayer as our mission, from the beginning of our small group ministry, has been to see replication happen (praise God). We also began work a couple of weeks ago on creating a curriculum for evangelism that will be piloted at Evangel Baptist Church, which is the church we are currently attending. I have begun a five week program on evangelism with the men’s group each Saturday morning a 7:30 and I am excited at the evident eagerness to see a heart for evangelism fostered at this church. Please pray as the long term vision for this program will be to implement it into all levels of the church—leadership, men’s/women’s ministry, youth programs, AWANA, small group, etc. Elise and I feel that this type of training and educating is why God has called us to Zambia. Also, as you continue to pray for us you might be interested to know that last Tuesday 08/19 the president of Zambia passed away in Paris, France. This has been such an interesting time as the government has decreed that there will be 21 days of national mourning which will end with his burial on my birthday September 3^rd. Things remain very stable here but the implementation of the new government would prove to be troublesome. I am sure that violence will be avoided at all costs but as we have seen in other instances bathing these types of situations in prayer is essential. Pray that Zambia would continue to remain a beacon of stability in a somewhat unstable region and that the Christian heritage they claim would continue to be the cornerstone on which this great country rests. FYI—please check out our blog at: www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com as we have added some new feature that will allow you to give online and also sign up for email updates ever time a new entry is posted. Thanks again for your continued support and prayers. We are so appreciative of your partnership.

His Servant

Luke <><

August Update

2008-08-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

We trust you are all well and resting in the provision of our Lord and Savior. Wanted to write (this is Luke so don’t get excited about details, hah) and let you know about what has been going on over the past few days. Elise and Tazi are currently in Lukulu (Uncle Jim that about 200km south of Chit) which is about 120km East of the Angolan border. She has been participating in a children camp, with a group from Dallas, which has seen numbers as high as 2000 participants. They have been concentrating on teaching local leaders on how to teach and evangelize the local youth in the area. She is very excited at the lesson she has learned and can hopefully apply to our ministry here in Lusaka. The first night they were there they had over 1000 youths attend a praise and worship service (God is moving!). She is due to arrive back in Lusaka tomorrow (Friday 14^th) but will miss the kids and myself as we will be heading to Kufue National Park to camp (yes nylon tents) amongst the lions, hyena, and elephant. Macie has reminded me that if God could close the mouths of the lions for Daniel He can do the same for us (what a little woman of faith). We continue to work with Great Commission Baptist Church here in Lusaka. We have just received permission, from the largest hospital in Lusaka UTH, to begin doing hospital visitation three times a week with the members from GCBC and other churches AZ works with. We also are going to meet with the head of prisons here in Zambia in the next couple of weeks in hopes that we can also get permission to begin prison ministries with the churches we work with. This past Saturday (the 3^rd August) we were invited to participate in a fellowship that the congregation at GCBC planned to honor those from Action Zambia. What a humbling experience to hear the testimonies of how these dear brothers and sisters have been bless by our work with them. Just another reminder that all God needs to do His work is a willing vessel and He does the rest! I am also developing curriculum base on Ray Comfort’s Way of the Master that can be used to teach local churches how to begin to cultivate a spirit of evangelism in their congregations. Please pray for me in this area as I do not feel gifted in the area of teaching or necessarily enjoy the development of curriculum.

On a side note we need to petition your prayers concerning our current support levels. We have been so blessed by the consistent support of all of you who partner with us in this call God has placed on our lives. As I know is also the case in the States, we have seen a great increase in the cost of living due to the global financially crisis. This has resulted in us being very much under supported at our current levels and left with the realization that we will need to raise an additional $1000 - $1500 a month to remain on the field for another term (it is really only 15 people committing to $100/mo or 30 committing to $50/mo). We know that God has already gone ahead and secured this support through individuals like you who see the importance in what God is doing for His Kingdom here in Zambia. We are planning on raising much of this support during our four months home while on furlough, and would love the opportunity to speak with any one or any church that you feel would be open to allowing us to share about what God is doing here in Zambia. Please consider how the Lord might use you to continue our partnership in reaching the lost here in Zambia. For more information about how you can partner with us please send us an email and we will be sure to get you all the necessary info. For those of you interested in meeting with us while we are home our dates again for Chicago are: December 1^st – 22^nd; February 15^th – April 1^st; Dallas December 28^th – February 8^th. We are planning on travelling to see those of you who live in adjoining such as Wisconsin, etc. We are home to share with you what God is doing through our partnership so please take us up on our offer of spending some time fellowshipping together. We love you all and look forward to hearing from you soon. Remain in Him as He calls us Heavenward in Christ Jesus. PRESS ON & INTO HIM!!!

His Servants

Luke (for the Whitfields) <><

Prayer Needed

2008-08-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

What a great August it has been so far! We are all over our sniffles and the weather is starting to warm up again. By the end of this month it will be hot and I am sure I will be wanting this cool weather……but as for now it is nice!!!! Last Friday we welcomed back our house helper Pauline and her little baby Grace. It is such a blessing to have her back to help us keep our crazy house in order. It is so fun to see little Gracie and we all love holding her. She is two months old and we are excited that her and Tazi get to grow up together. Thank you all for your prayers for Pauline and her family.

I am especially excited this week because I am headed off to the bush to help with a kids camp. I will be going with a team from the states and we will be gone for a week. We leave this Saturday and arrive back the following Saturday. Tazi will be coming with me and sharing in the adventure. I am excited to see how this large kids camp is run and get experience for the future. ACTION Zambia is expanding and adjusting the child evangelism and discipleship aspect of ministry and I am excited to start helping them in this area. The camp is organized by local Zambians and we (7 muzungu’s or whites) will be helping in any ways we can. They are expecting several hundred kids and it will be amazing to be a part of this week. I will be in touch when I return home and share all the details and pictures with you all. Please pray for our protection not only on the 7 hour bus trip to the village of Lukulu but while we are staying in the bush. Malaria is more common the further you get outside the city so PLEASE pray for protection from that specifically. Also pray that I will be used how God wants me to be used and I will be sensitive to His Holy Spirit. Thanks so much for covering us in prayer. Luke will be home with Macie, Emma and Payton so pray for him too!!!! He, the kids and other team mates are going camping and on a night safari the following weekend so they are all excited. That will be a fun and special time for them.

Please pray for our vehicle situation. We found out today that the insurance company is not going to pay to get the car fixed, instead they will buy the car from us because it will be less expensive than fixing it. The insurance companies here are different than in the states and more difficult to work with. They are not buying the car at the same price that we did and so we will have to raise more support to buy a new car. As many of you remember we imported this Land Cruiser from Japan and it took several months and a ton of paper work and phone calls. It was a great deal price wise but a big pain. So we are again trusting God to provide for all of our needs as he has been so faithful in doing these past 18months. Please pray for our frustration this week as we work through this whole procedure. Pray that we will find a new vehicle soon and at a good price. Our God is big enough to do anything so that is what I am praying for as of today. We are praising God for our friends Andy and Robyn Davidson who have let us borrow their second vehicle while we get all this figured out. Thank you Jesus for such great friends!! Please keep these prayer requests in your hearts for us. Also this month we have seen a drop in monthly support so please remember us in your prayers as we depend on Christ for our monthly income. Thank you for your faithfulness, continued support and prayers, e-mails and notes of encouragement. We are excited to watch and see how the Lord provides for us again. We will update you soon on all the camp details and how the car situation is coming. We love and miss you all and look forward to hearing from you.

Your family in Christ, Elise&Luke, Macie, Emma, Payton and Marley Whitfield

July Update

2008-07-25T04:01:00.000-07:00

What a month July has been for us! We have had some trials but God has been so faithful as always. Thank you all for your prayers, love, notes of encouragement and support. We definitely can feel the prayers and love even though we are across the globe. My health is restored and I am feeling myself again. We have started the new school year (second grade and kindergarten) and are loving all the new books and curriculum for this year. All the details that need to be taken care of to get our vehicle fixed are coming together and we have been so blessed by all the help we have received from the company that hit us. They have called us, visited and looked at the car, brought us chocolates, and they are fully insured so they are able to pick up all the expenses for fixing the car. We are still trying to figure all the details out, but we are thankful that the driver that hit us worked (passed tense because he did get fired) at such a good company. We have gotten calls from the American Embassy saying that they can assist us if anything goes bad or wrong. We are so thankful for God’s provision. God provided for the kids and I, even at the accident site last Wednesday. Many people stopped to check on us and one lady stood with me and the kids and held Tazi while I got all the glass out of all our hair. A man came and checked on us, left and came back with a pizza for the kids to eat in the car. I told Macie that I thought he was an angel. She said, “How could you tell?” it was so cute. We never know, but all we do know is that God took a very bad situation and turned it around for good and His glory. Also, at the police station I was also able to talk with a woman who is a Jehovah’s Witness. It took a while for the report to be written up so we got to have a nice chat. You never know what God has in store in the good and rough times. I know that many of you also have felt his protection recently so let us all give Him the praise and glory for what he has done. Thank you for rejoicing with us.

Just a little update for you more specifically about the kids!!!!

Tazi turned five months this week and is just the most smiley little thing. She loves the kids and is definitely used to all the noise in the house. She sleeps better in the noise than in her quiet bed.!!! She is nice and fat, (as they say here) and is a very easy baby. We have been trying to get her to eat baby cereal and the basic foods but she won’t have anything to do with it. She makes the worst face and spits out everything. This is the longest I have exclusively breast fed any of the kids. We will see how it continues! We recently borrowed a walker and she loves sitting up and seeing everything. She is not yet sitting but I found her rolled over in the opposite position today when I left her for 2 seconds to get a diaper(she was on the couch)!!!! She has only fallen out of her bouncy seat once so that is great for my record with the other three kids!!! No injuries so far!!!!!

Payton loves his bow and arrow that Movety (our guard) made him yesterday. Don’t freak out, it is made from dull sticks nothing piercing or dangerous. He will be turning 4 the end of August and he is such a little boy. He loves doing Bible with us in the morning and has learned to sit still for longer periods of time. YEAH!!! He is great at memorizing the weekly scripture verses and often ends up singing them around the house. He just received some bath toys in the mail from Mimi and Papa in Hawaii and he finds any excuse during the day for needing to take a bath! He loves his littlest sister but is not so sure about holding her now that she is getting so big. But he is always the first to give Tazi her passie when she is crying!

Emma is just a little princess; always wanting lip gloss and her dress up shoes, even when she is playing in the dirt. She is doing great with her reading and off to a good start in Kindergarten. She is my perfectionist and is very slow and exact with her work. Emma loves ballet and can be seen dancing around the house or yard most of the time. She is shy when meeting people but warms up quite quickly. She has learned so much this past year in school and her and Macie love singing their continent and ocean songs together for our house helper. Emma’s favorite thing is picking out Tazi’s outfits, matching head bands and socks!

Macie is fun loving and a free spirit and reminds me so much of myself. She is always laughing and smiley. She catches on so fast in school and loves to read. She loves talking to other Zambians and makes friends really easy. She is very diligent in school and likes to get ahead in her math lessons. But she does not like practicing her flash cards!!! Sounds familiar?! Macie is a great diaper changer and loves being the big sis and entertaining Tazi. She also loves riding her bike and has recently turned it into a horse and rides it around the drive way! She is working hard on her reading chart to earn horse riding lessons!!

The kids teach us so much every day…especially patience!!!!! It is such a blessing doing school with them and I have gotten so much closer to them and am enjoying who they are becoming. Of course there are always days that are rough and some that are VERY rough but overall we are enjoying all the new changes Zambia has brought our way!!! We are all trying to learn the local language and getting is sloooowly. We love Zambia and really feel like it has become home to us. (home away from home) But we are ALL definitely looking forward to our four months in the states and visiting with all of you. Thank you again for all your love and prayers. We love you all and thank God for his provision in so many ways!!!!!

Much love and Blessings,

The Whitfields:

Elise &Luke

Macie, Emma, Payton & Tazi!!!

Ps. We have more specific dates now for our time in the Dallas area: Dec 26^th through Feb 9^th! We would love to get together with all of you if possible. Please e-mail us if there are certain dates that would work for you. I know the Holidays are busy so that is why we are letting you all know so early. Thanks!

Angels Watching Over Us ~ (From July 16th)

2008-07-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

Do you remember the Amy Grant song: “Angels Watching Over Me”? Tonight we can testify that indeed God has His angels watching over us everywhere we go. Around 5:45 PM our time I received a phone call from Elise letting me know that she was in a head on collision with a box truck near our home here in Lusaka. She assured me that no one was injured, she was in the vehicle with our four children, but that the vehicle was totaled. As I arrived on the scene I was even more amazed at her report as the damage was much worse than I had imagined. Apparently this individual, who we believe was drunk, driving the box truck swerved and came over the median separating the four lane highway and became airborne as he made contact with our vehicle. The amazing thing is that instead of t-boning our vehicle, which he should have given his trajectory, his vehicle simple grazed and slid down the side of ours. Elise and Emma where seated on the side directly impacted by the truck and logically should be critically injured or dead. Thank God that he is not a God that functions in the logical but rather in the supernatural as He showed us so faithfully again tonight. Elise, Macie, Emma, Payton and Tazi walked away without a scratch or cut on their bodies (glory be to God). In fact I received the worst injuries, slight cuts on my hands, as I climbed in and out of the driver side window. I have included some pics that do not do justice in showing how bad the accident should have been. Rejoice with us as we marvel at Jehovah’s protection of our family yet once again (He is always faithful). We would like to ask you to pray that we might use this opportunity to share our faith with those God will put in our path. Thanks for your prayers and mediate with us on the great promise found in Psalms 91:11,12, For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone (Amen Amen Amen). We love you all very much.

Resting In His Peace And Grace

The Whitfields <><

Can you believe it?? Tazi Pics!

2008-07-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

Family Visits!

2008-07-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends

What a wonderful month of June we had with our Whitfield family visitors. It went by so fast but we enjoyed every minute of it. I updated you a couple weeks ago on our trip to Malawi with Luke’s father and what a great time it was to do some ministry with him and our friends the Burns. These past two weeks with Luke’s mom Chris and Aunt Karen were also a great time of ministry but it looked quite different than our time in Malawi. Chris and Karen brought many items to bless the different orphanages we visit here in Lusaka. So the day after they arrived we went to Kanyama (EFH) the orphanage that we visit weekly as a family. The five children there have become like our own. Chris and Karen brought t-shirts and fabric markers to decorate the shirts, candy, beanie babies, other toys, balls, books, markers, coloring books, and buckets to fill with these items. It was so fun to bless the kids with these gifts that they have never received before. They had so much fun decorating the shirts and we have tons of pictures of all the fun. We went to another orphanage the following day and read books, played ball and loved on the kids. The toys and candy was a hit again and we felt so blessed to be able to bless these orphans. We are so thankful for Chris and Karen and all the fun stuff they brought that blessed so many little hearts here in Lusaka. We will include some pictures of our time at the orphanages. The ladies were also able to come to the weekly Bible study out at the farm and they both shared their testimonies and things God has recently taught them. It was so neat for the ladies at my Bible study to meet our family and for mom and Karen to meet the ladies.

The following week we visited an orphanage called House of Moses. This house cares for 0-2year olds. It breaks my heart every time we visit. One room down stairs holds about 15 cribs situated along the walls of the large room. The room is filled with crying, laughing and crawling little ones and they flock to you as you enter. The babies are in a room upstairs that is warm, quite and very clean. There is a 24-hour nursing staff equipped to take care of these little ones. Most of these babies come straight off the street or directly from the hospital. Some of the babies were abandoned at birth in trashcans and some were orphaned at birth due to the mother dying during labor. There are 17 little babies upstairs and only one of them was a little girl. A three-week-old pair of twins about 4lbs each lay wrapped in many blankets sleeping quietly. The nurses said they have great hopes for these little ones and that they are “sucking” eating well and doing great. In May a 2lb little girl passed away after a good fight but she was just too little to fight any more. These house mothers/nurses are quite aware and conscious of how the littlest ones are so it was good to hear their positive comments. It is always a blessing to go visit House of Moses and love on these little ones. They are doing so much to help these little Zambians get a good start. But it does break my heart to think of the one on one love and care they are missing out on. Please pray for homes for these little ones and for them to hear about how much their heavenly Father loves them.

To finish off the two-week trip with Chris, Karen and Noah we headed off to Livingstone to see the falls and go on safari. We had a great time hiking the falls and seeing God’s creation. There were many baboons along the trails and the kids, Karen, Chris and Luke took a long hike down to the bottom of the falls, while Tazi and I took a break at the top! We got drenched from the mist off of the falls and had a great time viewing the rainbows, and beautiful tropical landscape. We are so thankful that we could experience this wonder of the world with our family. We went on the safari the next day and were again amazed at all the animals. We took a boat ride in the morning and saw alligators, hippos, many birds, 4 lions, several elephants, water buffalo, impala, and baboons. By vehicle we saw zebra, giraffe, more impala, warthogs, many more birds and mongoose. It was another great day in God’s creation and we will share with you some of the pictures of our time.

We were sad to see Chris, Karen and Noah leave this week but these two weeks were filled with so much joy. We look forward to our furlough and more time with our family and friends. Thanks again for all your love and prayers for us. This week has been a little trying health wise for us. I discovered on Sunday night after going to the hospital that I had malaria. The doc took a blood test and thought that I had contracted it in Malawi. Today Thursday I am feeling much better and have finished all my medication. Thankfully I am able to breastfeed while on the meds. Luke has had an upset stomach and throwing up on Tuesday and Macie has been dealing with some soar body parts and swollen eyes. Weird stuff going on with us!! Please pray, as we are always aware of Satan’s attacks in many different forms. Tazi is doing great and trying cereal and a few bananas and pears this week. She is growing like a weed and definitely has the biggest cheeks out of all the kids!!! See what you think!!!! Thank you for all your love, prayers and support. Please keep in touch. We have missed hearing from many of you. I know the summer brings many busy weeks and family trips, but we love knowing what each of you are up too!!!! We love and miss you all. HAPPY 4^TH OF JULY TO ALL OF YOU!!!!

2008-07-07T10:36:00.001-07:00

Dear Family and Friends

Sorry that it has been so long since we have written all of you. We had a great trip to Malawi last week and are enjoying Luke’s father Drew’s visit these past two weeks. He leaves tomorrow and Luke’s mom and aunt come to visit next Tuesday for two weeks. The kids have loved playing with their uncle Noah and are catching up for the last 18months being apart. It is such a blessing to have family around again and we are so thankful that God has provided for us some tastes of home again.

Our trip to Malawi consisted of both ministry and pleasure. We drove about 12 hours to the small town of Ntcheu 2 hours outside the capital city of Lilongwe. We stayed for four days with fellow ACTION missionaries the Burns family. The Burns are the only missionaries (whites) in the town and villages surrounding. Those four days were filled with ministry such as handing out blankets and uniforms to 50 orphans and 50 widows, playing soccer and giving a gospel message and snack during half time, building cement pews in a new church, Drew preached on Sunday morning, and lastly the men visited the local prison and shared the Gospel with the inmates. Drew preached four times in the first two days. We warned him ahead of time that you always have to be ready to preach or share from your heart and now he can speak from experience. The kids had a great time playing with the local children and also the Burns three young adopted kids. They enjoyed eating goat for the first time and a lot of Nshima (the cornmeal staple that I have share about before). We had a wonderful time working alongside the Burns family and seeing what God is doing in Malawi. We look forward to continuing our visits each year!!

After the four days in the village, we headed 2 hours East to Lake Malawi. We had beautiful weather and enjoyed three days of beach, clear water and hot sun. It was a great time of relaxation and getting out of the normal swing of things in Lusaka. We headed home on Friday morning and thank God for safe travels and His angels protecting us on our voyage back into Zambia. Thank you all for your prayers. We will post pictures on our blog if you would like to see them.

Also many of you will remember my e-mails about my house helper Pauline and prayers for her safe pregnancy. Well, the week before we left for Malawi she gave birth to a baby girl (2 weeks early). It took her more than a week to name the baby but the name is Grace Gloria. We are going to visit her this week and I thank you for your prayers and thoughts toward her. She is like a part of our family since we see her everyday for most of the day. She is out of work for three months on maternity leave and we all miss her. Also you can pray for our guard Movetty as he lost his father and is in the village with his family. Death is so common here, but it still hurts just as much. So thank you for your prayers as they grieve.

Well, we are enjoying the break from school this month and will start the new year of school in July. We have just received new curriculum and the kids have actually missed school these past weeks. It is amazing how much children thrive on a routine. We are exited to start another year and dive into second grade with Macie and kindergarten with Emma. Payton also enjoys school for a short amount of time but loves playing outside with the dog and dirt. Tazi is growing so quickly and weighs just over 14lbs. She is almost four months already and just started on cereal this week. She is such a great baby and smiles and giggles all the time. It is cold and windy here but we enjoy having hot cider and hot chocolate from the states during these chilly months. We are looking forward to our visit to Livingston with Luke’s mom Chris and aunt Karen the end of June and all the fun with our visiting family. Thank you as always for your prayers and support. We love and miss you all so much and appreciate your e-mails and picture and keeping in touch. We look forward to sharing stories face to face on furlough the end of the year. Many blessings to each of you,

Elise for the Whitfield gang!!!

I am starting to do a craft each week with the ladies at my Bible study. I would love any simple ideas or craft materials. I am lacking in both areas. This would be a great opportunity for any woman’s groups or ministry to get involved!!!!! Thank for your help!!!! Please e-mail me!

Please Pray For Our Outreach

2008-05-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends.

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful month of May, thanks to all those lovely April showers!! The Whitfield six are doing great and counting down the weeks until family comes to visit!!!! I had a great birthday last week and will enjoy this last year in my twenties to the fullest!!! Hope all the mothers had a great Mother’s day last Sunday and felt extra special. I am blessed to have four little ones to give me kisses this Mother’s day!!! Marley girl is 11 weeks old this week and will be getting more shots next week. That’s always fun!!! Macie is working hard these past weeks to get all her math and reading assignments finished before Papa Drew and Noah come May 29th! Emma is practicing her reading and doing quite well. She is very excited to start Kindergarten this August and can’t wait to open all her new schoolbooks! Payton is growing like a weed and has perfected the names of the colors. He loves to color and do play dough but it quickly turns into a throwing game and the play dough is the ball. It takes him a while to pick up the mess, as you can imagine!!! The kids were sad as they said goodbye to one of the turtles that died and was covered in ants. But they have a new chameleon to keep them busy and we are hoping they don’t kill it before Noah (8 year old uncle) comes to visit. We are looking forward to our trips to Malawi and Livingston in June with the visiting family members and getting a break from everyday life here in Lusaka.

This week is an exciting week for Great Commission Baptist Church. As you might recall, this is the new church that our family and the Roberts family have been assigned to partner with. We have been helping them plan an evangelistic outreach that will take place this Friday and Saturday at 6pm. Last Saturday Luke and Emma stapled posters up all around Chilenje, the part of town that the church is located. We will be showing the Passion of the Christ in two sessions on a large screen in the football pitch. Each night there will be a gospel message presented, booklets to hand out and questions to talk about with those who desire more information. The hope of this outreach is to lead the lost to Christ and to plug them into Great Commission Church for discipleship. The church is planning to start a Bible study just for new believers. We are so excited for all that God is going to do and we ask for your prayers for the lost souls that will attend.
Please also lift up in prayer our house keeper Pauline. She is having her fourth baby June 9th. The baby is breech and the doctors are going to try to move the baby tomorrow morning. We are praying that the baby will move on its own and that the doctors will have wisdom. Thank you for your prayers for her also.

We appreciate you’re continued support and love. We love hearing from you in response to these e-mails. Thank you for your prayers and we will continue to keep you updated.
Much love and Blessings,
Luke and EliseMacie, Emma, Payton and Marley

2008-04-29T21:27:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe that we are half way through the monthof April! Kids are getting antsy inschool (at least ours are) as the school year is coming closer to an end. The rain here has stopped and I am sure the rains have started in the states. Zambia’s cold season is soon beginning and the summer is soon beginning where many of you live. We have always looked forward to the change in seasons no matter where we have lived.

This week we wanted to share about our Easter party that we had with the orphans and share some pictures with you. On Easter Sunday in March we had a big party for about 40 people most of them orphans. Five of the orphans were from EFH Kanyama where we visit and the other children were from New Horizon’s. New Horizon’s is an orphanage that our friends and fellow team mates the Allen’swork with. The party was held at the Allen’s home and we had such a blast with all these kids. They played relay races, rode bikes, had an Easter egg hunt, ate dinner, watched a movie about the resurrection, ate dessert, and just had fun altogether. Also our new teammates Brent and Kerri Roberts (and kids Caleb, Grayson, Maddie) helped out and joined in on the fun. We are so thankful for the Allen’s holding the party at their home and that we could all love on these kids together.

My Bible study is continuing out in Kasupe at the Farm. There are about 5 semi-consistent women that come and that I have grown to know over this past year. It is hard to believe that we have been doing the bible study for a year now. Time has gone by quickly. We are starting a new schedule to change things up for this year. This past week I showed them how to make biscuits, next week we will have Bible study and the following week the women will show me how to make a Zambian dish. We will see how this new schedule goes and if more women come to find out what is happening. I am so thankful for my teammate Liese Ripley who has been teaching the last couple months and appreciate her help to keep the study going. Kerri has also been joining us and we are excited to have her input and for the ladies to get to know her.

(Kasupe Women's Bible Study)

Two weeks ago we visited my friend Teresa(also in the bible study) who had a baby the end of March. We went to her home and brought her a few clothes and new chitenge. A chitenge is the traditional wrap that most Zambian women wear over their skirts. There are many uses for a chitenge such as carrying your baby on your back or front, wiping a snotty nose, using as a blanket or cover or something to sit on in the dirt/grass. It is tradition here that a new mother should receive a new chitenge for her new baby. I was blessed to receive 2 chitenges from two of my Zambian friends, Katherine and Stella. So in turn we gave a chitenge to Teresa to celebrate her new baby Frank!!!!

(Elise and Frank)

(Teresa and Tazi)

As far as the Whitfield gang goes we are doing great and have adjusted quite well to having little Tazi around!!!! She is growing quite quickly and is a whooping 11 lbs. She is a very content little girl and loves all the kisses and hugs from her siblings. She is sleeping great and so am I!!!!! Thank you all for your continuedprayers! We definitely feel them. God bless you all and please keep your e-mails coming!!! We love hearing from you! Love Elise for all the Whitfield gang!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whitfield Update

2008-04-07T11:06:00.001-07:00

Dear Family and Friends

Hope you are enjoying the Spring and all its new beauty!!!!!!! We are enjoying our new little “beauty” Tazi and it’s hard to believe that she is almost 7 weeks old. She has grown so much these past weeks and is catching up for lost time in the womb. She is over 9pounds and looks a lot like Macie as a baby. You can see for yourself in the pics on our blog!!!!!!

We have not been very diligent these past weeks with our weekly updates and hope to be more consistent in the months ahead. Thank you for your patience. We want to share a little more in depth about what we have been up to these past two weeks. We are partnering with a small church called Great Commission Baptist Church and Luke will be helping them with their evangelism and discipleship program. Luke has also met with the pastor Michael Kandella in our neighborhood and evangelized from home to home. They have been able to see many come to Christ and last week four of the new converts came to church at Great Commission! We praise God for his faithfulness. Luke has also been meeting every Tuesday or Thursday with Chiluba and going down town and sharing the gospel on the streets. They have also seen such a hunger for Christ and many come to accept Him as their personal savior. A handful of these new believers also came to church the following Sunday. Luke has been encouraged by this response and the hunger of the Zambian people. These dear Zambian brothers have also taught him how to approach Zambians and what some of the spiritual problems are here in this city.

I am excited to be able to work with the women at this new small church and hopefully helping in the music department too!!!! Luke and I also have the opportunity to encourage and disciple young couples in this very young church and look forward to encouraging couples in their marriages through the scriptures. There is so much potential here at Great Commission and so many opportunities and we can’t wait to see God work!!

We also wanted to update and let all you that have been praying for the orphans at EFH know that the waters have finally subsided and last Friday, April 4th, they return to the orphanage at Kanyama. It was such a blessing to see how happy they were to be back at the place they know as home. Please keep praying as water is still an issue and in the last couple of week there has been some 40 reported cases of Cholera in Kanyama. The concern here is that the reported causes are never a clear picture of the actually population affected and with many of the pit latrines in the area full and overflowing the situation looks to only get worse. We know God is in control and we continue to rest in knowing He has a plan in all of this. It is such a testimony to us when we observe how many of our Zambian friends continue to trust the Lord even in circumstances like we have mentioned above. What a conviction to us when we find ourselves complaining about trivial things like power outages or weird tasting foods. It is so evident that we have much to learn from our Zambian friends in how to rejoice in the Lord always!

Lastly we wanted to again get the word out, quite a bit early, about our upcoming furlough. We have secured tickets and will be arriving back in Chicago around the first of December and remain home until sometime, March-April, in the spring. Our plan is to be in Chicago through Christmas and then make a trek down to Dallas for a month or so. We will then return to Chicago for the remainder of our time home. The reasoning behind sharing so far in advance is that we don’t want to miss any opportunities to meet with you all. We are home to share and fellowship with you our friends and supporters and look forward to meeting with any of you that are interested. More details will follow closer to our departure but please be thinking, yes even now, about opportunities that may exist for us to share about what God has been doing through our partnership here in Zambia.

As always we treasure and appreciate your continued involvement and support of our ministry. God’s Word tells us that we are all a part of the Body of Christ and each of the parts are necessary and important. This truth has become so real to us over the last year and a half and we remind you that your involvement is essential to the survival of His work here in Zambia. God bless all of you and PRESS ON & INTO HIM!!!

(Pictures are as follows: EFH (orphanage)family with Elise and Luke at Easter party / Chiluba (far left) and Luke (taking photo) witnessing to some vendors at Soweto Market / Of course pics of Tazi --Enjoy!)
His Servants

The Whitfields <><

Pics of Tazi!!

2008-03-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note with some pics. Sorry these are way overdue, internet in Africa continues to be an adventure. Elise and Tazi are doing fine much to the amazing efforts of Elise. She continues to amaze me with her natural ability to be a mother. Thanks again for your continued prayers and you will be happy to know that Tazi is quite the little "porker" weighing in around 9 lbs. 4 oz. Love you all more pics to come!

Ministry Update

2008-03-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends ~ Just wanted to write and express our appreciation for you all. This last month has been so busy with the birth of Tazi and adjusting to having a new born in the house again. Despite all the chaos God has really been increasing our thankfulness for all of you that support prayerfully and financially. You all can never know this side of Heaven what it means to us and to the Zambians we work with that you would partner in the work the Lord has for us here. We have grown in our understanding of the power that exists in the body of Christ by experiencing your partnership with us and for that we are eternally grateful. Elise and I wanted to take a quick moment to let you know of some new areas in which we have been asked to minister over the next few months before our return to the States for furlough in Dec 08. As many of you know we have been working with orphans at EFH (Emmanuel Family Home) in Kanyama and also with the elders at the Christian Brethren Church in Kanyama as well. Action Zambia has worked with the Christian Brethren Church in Kanyama for the past five years and as an organization we feel it is time to allow these dear brothers and sisters to become more interdependent as a body of believers. This ultimately means that Luke will no longer be regularly meeting with the elders but we will continue to work with EFH and with the orphans themselves. Over the last few months the Lord has really given both Elise and I a burden for evangelism and discipleship and we were recently approached and asked if we would begin to develop a pilot program for AZ in evangelism and discipleship. This excites us tremendously and will provide an outlet for the passions the Lord has given us in these areas. What will this look like you may be asking? Our primary functions will be working with Pastor Michael Kandella at Great Commission Baptist Church (got to love that name) in developing evangelism and discipleship programs in the body there. Some ideas we have discussed include regular evangelistic outreaches in the communities surrounding the church as well as conduction young couples discipleship groups in our home. The later excites Elise and myself as it will be a great way for us to minister together in a area that is widely neglected in the African culture. We also are excited about what God will do as we get this great body of believers involved in regular evangelistic outreaches. Some ideas we are developing include holding praise and worship services in public places and watching the Lord work. The premise here is that if we create an atmosphere for the Lord's presence to come people will ultimately take notice and inquire into our activities. This will be coupled with regular door to door evangelism which I already am doing with Pastor Michael. Elise and I will be working along side Brent and Kerri Roberts who are new arrivals to the AZ team. The Roberts are a great family and as I may have told some of you Brent and myself both were members on a mission trip to Kenya back in 1994 (nothing happens by chance with God!). The bottom line is that we feel this is ultimately why the Lord called us to Zambia and we can't wait to dive into what he has prepared for us.We wanted to close by asking you all to be praying for these new developments specifically concerning:--An increase of God's power as we ultimately wage war on satan and his purposes--An increase in the understanding and functionality of the Spiritual Gifts God has given Elise and myself--Balance in the time we spend as a family and in ministry (the two often get blended together)--A student's hearts as we will need to learn much from Pastor Michael and his congregation concerning evangelism in an African context--Above all hearts of LOVE as we minister to Zambian peoples (for without love it is all for not)Thanks again for all your love and support, you probably have no idea what a pillar of comfort that is to us as we serve so far away from all of you. On a side note, we know this is early but we are planning on being home for furlough from Dec 08 -- Mar 09. We will spend part of our time in Chicago as well as Dallas and a brief stay in Seattle. We would like to also visit with those of you that live in other locations as well (ie. Wisconsin). It is our intention to be available to come and share, in person, with all that would be interested. We will put out another email closer to our departure detailing specific dates when we will be in these locations. Also could you be praying that we might find a vehicle to lease/borrow while we are back. This would greatly help us to be more mobile and able to visit with more individuals. If you know of an organization or individual that might be able to help in this area your response would be greatly appreciated. Please remember that we would not be able to be here without the involvement of individuals like you all. We will keep you posted as God continues to lead and guide us. God bless you all and PRESS ON & INTO HIM!!!

Marley Anne Taziona Whitfield

2008-02-24T19:21:00.001-08:00

Well we did it, we finally agreed on a name that the fam could live with. Her name is Marley Anne (for Elise's grandmother Barbara Anne) Taziona (Tazi) Whitfield. The spelling on Taziona could change but thats why it take so long to get a birth certificate here. Elise and Tazi are doing fine although you could be praying for Elise as her spinal injection seems to have produce a persistant headache. As promised here are some more pics, enjoy. Love all of you and look forward to sending more info and pics in the near future. God Bless

She's Here!!

2008-02-20T11:39:00.001-08:00

Dear Loved Ones We are so excited to share with you that we have been blessed with a little baby girl. We have not decided on a first name but have chosen 'Taziona' (spelling will probably change) this is a Zambian name that means 'we have seen it'--we have seen the Lord's faithfulness. She was born at roughly 6am (CST) 2pm our time, and was a whoping 5lbs 9 oz. and measured around 18in. A tiny baby compared to our first three. Although small she is perfectly healthy and took to breastfeeding like she had a nipple in the womb,hah! Mom and Tazzy are doing fine and Elise is recovering very quickly. For those of you praying for power cuts it worked, praise God!! As we were getting ready to walked into the operating room the power came on, He is so faithful. I have attatched some photo, more will be on the way but it has been a hectic day. Praise God for our new addition and we will keep you posted on the name game. More details and pics to come soon. Love you all and PRESS ON & INTO HIM!! The Whitfield <><

A few pictures of the kids!

2008-02-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

Baby Updates

2008-02-19T06:08:00.003-08:00

As we should have expected there has been a slight change to the schedule time of the C-section for Elise. Because of some afternoon power cuts (in recent days) the doctors had suggested that the operation take place @ 6am, which was not manageable as one of the doctors was not available. So we have just found that we are back on for the afternoon of the 20th at 1pm instead, with or without power (yes, they still deliver in those conditions). There is a saying here in Africa that we often use and apply to this situation—TIA (this / is / Africa)! Please know we are at complete peace and have sought the guidance of our pastor (and Doctor) and he feels we are in no danger (we agree). Mark 11:24 reminds us, Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and will have them! Would you join us in praying and believing that there will be no power cuts and that the presence of God would exist in the studio tomorrow. That the spirit of deception and fear would be bound from the situation and that that God’s protection and provision would be loosed. Lastly and most importantly that our family would bring honor and glory to His name at all times. I will send out baby details as soon as I can get to a computer (no there is not one for use at the hospital). Thanks for your prayers and know that I am writing this, not to raise concern, but because some of you would never forgive if you found out after the fact. He is GOOD and more than ABLE all the time. We love you guys and would love to have this request sent to any pray chains you are part of!

NIU SHootings

2008-02-19T06:08:00.001-08:00

As most of you know, before we did, that there was a shooting at the college I (luke) graduated from in 2004. Not only did I graduate from NIU but it is located in the town where I spend much of my childhood. I have attended many classes in that lecture hall in Cole and can picture exacltly what must have transpired. Elise and I are asking each of you to be in prayer for our community in Sycamore/DeKalb, Illinois in light of these recent events. We have many individuals in our church that in someway shape or form are connected to the NIU community. Some of our friends work in buildings near to where this tragic event transpired. We would like to petition specific prayer for the Batiste and Graham family who are family friends that work on the NIU campus with Christian ministries. Elise and I participated with the Batistes (who are campus directors for Campus Crusade for Christ at NIU) during my time at the school there. Brent and Stephanie Batiste have served for years and no doubt are face with a huge opportunity to witness for Christ in the upcoming weeks and months ahead. Byron and Michelle Graham (campus leaders for Intervarsity at NIU) also will need prayer as they find ways to bring the healing power of Jesus Christ to many needy student on the NIU campus. We would also you to pray for our dear friend Drew Wells who, as a paramedic, was one of the first responders to the scene. Most importantly pray that this would be a catalyst for revival at NIU and in the DeKalb County area. Elise and I were commenting at how some people were concerned for our safety coming to Zambia and yet a tradegy like this happens in a place where I have spent substantial amounts of time. These recent events show us that our lives are finite no matter where we are. We, as Christians, should look at each day as our last and be feverishly looking for opportunities to share the hope and assurance we have in Christ with those who don't. Our lives are but mists and vapors that will soon pass, let's make sure we make the most of them for His Kingdom's sake. To our EVFREE family back home grasp this opportunity to proclaim His goodness! Don't wait for witnessing opportunities to come your way, create them! as you stand in line at Wal-Mart, eat dinner at Tom & Jerry's, or simply talk to the teller at the bank drive through. You all have something the world (especially DeKalb County) needs right now!! Thanks to all of you for your continued prayer for our family. To those who are wondering about our new arrival Elise will go under the knife (he,he) this coming Wed 20th around 6 AM (your time)CST. We would treasure your prayers and will look forward to sharing the Lord's provision in this matter. We love you all dearly and (though not physically) are with you in His Spirit. God bless and PRESS ON & INTO HIM!!!!

More Updates

2008-02-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

How crazy that we find our selves in the middle of February already. I know many of you are ready to be rid of the snow and cold weather and like you we are ready for less rain and more sun. To begin this month we wanted to update you about the flooding and about some of our other friends that we have shared stories about over the last couple months.

The rains have continued and last Monday we evacuated the orphans at Kanyama EFH. Social welfare told them they must leave until the water was dealt with. So Luke and Payton went to pick the five kids and two housemothers up and take them to social welfare and then they would be placed in other orphanages. It was hard for me to think that they would all be separated for who knows how long it would take to get the water situation resolved. My heart was aching for them as most of the kids had not ever been in any other living situation. But praise God on Tue they informed us that they were all placed together with one of the house mothers, Stella. The other housemother, Katherine is getting a little break so she appreciates that immensely. Wednesday Luke went downtown to buy a pump and spent much of the day pumping the water out, only to find out that the water is coming up through the ground itself. So no matter how fast they could pump the water out more was taking its place. This was disappointing and we realize now that this is going to be a long process. Not only is the water affecting the orphans in the home, but also the school has been shut down and so much of the community is affected. It doesn’t look like the school or orphanage is going to be reopened anytime soon. Please continue praying for this situation.
But on a more upbeat note, many of you might remember me telling you about my friend Joyce from the bible study I lead out at the farm. She is a single mother of five kids and has no job and no roof on her home. Over the last couple months we have been praying about helping her with the roof. It is so hard to know sometimes if dishing out our resources actually helps or hinders relationships. The Zambians in general are a very dependent people and once you start giving they expect more and more. But we really felt like God was telling us to be His hands in this situation. Last Friday Luke (with some assistance from Payton) and the short-term team visiting from California blessed Joyce and her family with a new tin roof. Luke was able to use the handy man gifts that God has given him. We are so grateful that God has shown himself so faithful to this needy family. Not only has God provided a roof for her but she also got a job this past month as a house helper for a family in the area. Now she can put some food on the table without having to hustle men or beg. We are praising God that we have been able to actually see His compassion and love in this situation.

Also I wanted to include an update about our previous house helper, Maureen. In August she informed us that she was HIV positive and feeling quite sick. We were advised by her doctors that we needed to let her go so she could seek intense medical aid and rest. It was hard to let her go, but God has allowed us to continue supporting her and her four kids. We have missed seeing her smiling face every morning as she walked in the door but God is continuing to heal her. She has been on ARV’s since September and she is doing better. We saw her 2 weeks ago and she has gained weight and seems like she is on the upward cycle. She will go in for more tests Feb 20th to see where her blood count is and she hopes to get a good report and find a new job. Please continue to pray for her and her family. She is a single mom and has a lot on her plate. Thank you to those who have donated money for her and we are privileged to be the avenue to bless her through your gifts. We will continue to keep you updated on her progress.

We are also going to start our own sponsor program for children that need finances to go to school. Maureen and her four kids, Joyce and her five kids, Pauline (our current house helper) are her two kids and some other children close to our heart will be in this program. We will provide details on how you and your family can sponsor these kids so they can attend school. We are currently getting all the details to send out a very specific e-mail about each family and what their needs are. It is so difficult to be a part of these family’s lives and not to be able to help them in every area. We have been praying about how God can use us in each of their situations. We feel that sponsoring a child will not only bless the student with an education but will also give the sponsor family new incite about Zambian culture. It is also a wonderful avenue to share Christ’s love and be an example to your own children and those around you. Please consider how you might be able to help. In the next couple of weeks we will send out pictures and a detailed e-mail about each family.

We are continuing to plug away as a family and the kids have a countdown to when they get to meet their new sibling…..10days!!!!! Macie had her 7th birthday Jan 11th and she got some b-day money from great-grandma and grandpa and from her Aunty Jen and Uncle Ryan. As soon as she opened the first card and saw the money she said, “ I know what I can do with this money! I can give it to Joyce for her roof!” Luke and I looked at each other stunned and our eyes welled up with tears. It not only reaffirmed why we are here, but all that God is doing in the hearts of our kids. Home schooling and the daily grind of life gets in the way and it was a precious gift to see how God is molding Macie’s heart to see the needs of those around her. We praise God again for His faithfulness and goodness to us. Thank you for your prayers, love and support. We couldn’t do it with out all of you too!!! Thank you for your e-mails and keeping in touch with us. We love knowing what is going on in your lives.

God Bless and keep each of you!

Elise,
For all the Whitfield’s

Our First Year At A Glance

2008-02-11T12:39:00.001-08:00

Dear friends and family!
What a year it has been and we just want to share in this e-mail some things that we have experienced looking back over our first year here in Lusaka, Zambia.
God has been so faithful to us over these many months of change. We have experienced four moves within the first 8 months and are finally settled for the next year (or so we think!!) We have missed our family and friends more than we ever thought, but God has given us a more extended family and group of friends here in Zambia. God has brought us both locals and other fellow missionaries that we have grown to love and bond with here as we have settled into this new third culture world. We have become a part of a local congregation and have experienced the extension of the body of Christ here in Africa. It is so beautiful to worship with the Zambians here! Even when you can’t understand the words to some of the songs, God ministers to your heart just through His Spirit and the music itself. Knowing that we all serve and love the same God and seeing the expansion of His body of believers is just awesome.
Not only are we expecting our fourth child here in a couple of weeks but we have also grown to love the children at Emmanuel Family Home in the compound of Kanyama. They have become like our own children and God has given us a deep love and concern for these kids. Our own three kids are also quite attached to them and God has opened their hearts for those that don’t have mommies and daddies.
It is amazing to see the changes in the kids and their love for the Zambians. Macie received some money for her birthday in January and the first thing she said is “now I can give this money to Joyce to help build her roof.” Luke and I started crying as we saw in Macie a new sensitivity that God has given her for those truly in need. Emma shows her love more quietly, by loving on those babies and praying for them daily. Payton, being the more vocal one, loves singing his favorite Zambian songs and preaches to the girls while they play church. He loves wearing his preacher clothes and while preaching he continuously waves his one arm as he holds his Bible in the other. They love Pauline our house help and every morning greet her with big hugs and hellos. Our guard, Movetty has a special bond with Payton as they have dug in the dirt over many hours together. Movetty and Pauline have become like family to us and we have learned so much from them culturally. We are so blessed to have them as a part of our family.
Our dog spud is quite attached to the kids and loves their attention, while are two turtles would love to get not so much attention!!!!
Not only is our family growing but our vocabulary is also. We are slowly learning the local language Chinyanja and have found it fun but difficult. Luke is very good at greetings and enjoys making people laugh as he yells out the car window. The kids have learned the names to many animals and songs and love showing off to visitors. We are beginning more language study every Friday and hope to grasp more this year. It is not a necessity here in Zambia, because English is the most used language here, and all the signs everywhere are in English. So while it is not essential, learning the language will bring us closer to the Zambians and is a great example to them that we are trying to adapt to the culture, not just merely exist.
Living in another country we have learned to adapt to many different things. The first would be the food. We have eaten all sorts of different things from caterpillars to dried fish (kapenta), and then some not so crazy stuff like mangos, lots of cabbage, new types of meat, juice, bananas right off the tree, smelly cheese and ice cream (its not quite like Blue Bell for those of you in the south or Culvers for those in the Mid-West!!) We have enjoyed this process over the last year, but always love those packages in the mail that have skittles, muffin mixes, ranch dressing packets, taco seasoning, starbursts or other treats. Thanks to all those who have sent goodies to bless us!!!!
Another thing we have had to adapt to is the weather. We have grown to love the hot Zambian sun and have really realized it now that we are in the rainy season! But with the rains come beautiful flowers and everything is so green and vibrant. The rains have brought the cooler weather, which is a blessing for me and my growing belly!!!! Also, we have gotten used to using the Zambian Kwacha instead of our American currency and find it easy to convert back to dollars. There are no coins and so you can imagine how many bills we must carry around when shopping. The kids have loved learning and playing with the Zambian bills.
The outlets in our house have also been an area that we have had to adapt to. Every outlet needs at least one converter and things have to be moved frequently around the house to get charged. Our toothbrush and razor chargers are on Luke’s desk, kitchen utensils have to be moved and re-plugged daily and the bathrooms don’t even have outlets! I never thought that I would get used to this “inconvenience” but I guess you make due and God allows you to relax with such annoyances. I have found this true in many areas such as power outages, no water pressure, noisy neighbors, ants coming out of every crack, spiders on the walls, lack of Internet access, and Zambian drivers!!!!
The kids have also adapted to sitting through a 2-3 hour church service, and we thought that the day would never come, but it has THANK GOD! God has seen us through so many new and interesting situations and we are so thankful for all that He has taught us this year.
It is still very hard to drive down the streets of Lusaka and see the poverty first hand. The children half dressed playing on the dirty wet streets and men sweating while pushing overflowing wheelbarrows through town with goods to sell in the market. Women carrying their baby on the back, a pile of sticks on their head and lugging buckets of water home to their families. We have nothing to complain about and we are quickly reminded of that as we see our fellow brothers daily struggle. We will never get used to seeing this poverty and we pray daily that God keeps out hearts sensitive to the needs of those around us.
We have been blown away by all of the love, prayers and financial support that you each have given us this year. We could not have done it without you all and the Lord’s guidance. We truly appreciate your e-mails of encouragement and news, letters, packages, Christmas cards, and phone calls. As we have said in many previous e-mails, we are all members in the body of Christ and we are so blessed to be the hands and feet of what God is doing here in Zambia. Thanks to our Heavenly Father and family and friends like all of you!!!!!! Thank you for your continued support for 2008 and we look forward to catching up with you all on our furlough the beginning months of 2009!!!!!!!We look forward to all that God is going to do this New Year and all the adventures ahead of us. We will continue to keep you all posted on the details!!

With Much Love, Elise for all the Whitfield’s!!!Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight”

Floods

2008-01-17T14:10:00.001-08:00

Dear Family and Friends!

Hope you all are having a good January!! It’s hard to believe that another year is underway. And it’s also hard to believe that we have lived here in Zambia for almost a year this Feb. God is so good and so faithful!!!!
This time of year there are heavy rains and not so much sun. We have experienced an unusual amount of rain this season from what locals have told us. Many of the dirt streets around our house have huge potholes and are filled to the top with water. Every Wednesday we visit the orphanage at Kanyama, Emmanuel Family Home and they have experienced a ton of rain lately. As you enter the compound (which is the name for the poorest of the poor areas here in Lusaka) we slowly drive through each large puddle wondering how deep it really is. Some holes catch us by surprise as water comes flying on top of the car and sprays our windows. As we drove through the compound today most of the streets were flooded with water and many homes have water up to their front steps. Children are playing and swimming in the brown water while the adults tiptoe and maneuver themselves around all the puddles. Laundry hangs from clotheslines, people are walking to the market, kids are playing football, people are rummaging through the dump, (which is a large open field in the middle of the compound) as it continues to rain. It’s just another day in the lives of these poor Zambians.
We drove through the gate of the orphanage and parked the car and had to wade in the water to get to the house. Our kids loved it as you can imagine and Payton’s jeans got soaking wet. The water is up to the front steps at the orphanage and inches from coming in the back door. We are praying that it dries up before more rains hit, but this is just the mid portion of the rainy season for Zambia. The rain usually ends in April and that’s along way away especially when you have no power and water threatening your living quarters.
We also must pray for the diseases/dangers that come along with stagnant water. Many people don’t realize how dangerous it is to let children swim and play in this water. The housemothers today were telling us stories of kids drowning because they were playing in huge potholes that got too deep. Most Zambians have never seen a swimming pool or even a lake so most don’t know how to swim either. Every rainy season there are many children that die just because they are playing in the deep potholes in the streets. Cholera is the most common of diseases that these rains bring. You can imagine how dirty the water can get sitting stagnant, mixed with fields of trash, along with human waste and the sunlight. Need I say more?! There are other compounds very similar to Kanyama and all the people can do is continuing living and pray!!!!
So we ask you to join our prayers and so many Zambians praying for the rain to let up and to dry up these flooded areas. Also pray specifically for wisdom for the people to stay out of the water and to keep their children out too. This sounds so basic but I hope you can tell from my examples the real need for Gods intervention in this situation. Pray for protection for the orphanage and those kids and mothers that mean the world to us and have become like family to us. Thank you all! We trust that you will be lifting these needs up to the Lord as you have our other needs over this past year!!!
God be with you and thanks for your love and support………….Elise for the Whitfields

Happy New Year!!

2008-01-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends

Happy New Year!!!! We are writing you all with overflowing but sad hearts. We had a wonderful visit with my parents but were sad to see them leave today. What a blessed time it was to see familiar faces and to be encouraged and loved on. The kids loved all the attention and couldn’t get enough of their Mimi and Papa Steve. We had a great first Zambian Christmas and enjoyed sharing Christmas dinner with the housemothers, three elders from the church and the 5 kids at the orphanage in Kanyama. We bought them simple gifts like backpacks, coloring book, crayons, candy and so on and their faces just lit up as they opened everything. We all blew bubbles outside together, sang songs and danced, ate dinner, and Luke shared a little about the true meaning of Christmas. As we drove out of the compound we thanked God for a wonderful time and felt very full of love that Christmas evening. It was hard to imagine that it would have been just another day in the lives of these kids and housemothers if we hadn’t spent the time that afternoon to love on them. We are so thankful that God has given us this orphanage/kids to practically show His love by giving into their lives.

We had a great time showing my parents around Lusaka and what our lives look like on a daily basis. We also visited Livingstone which is 6 hours south of us and were able to do some sight seeing. We hiked down Victoria falls(one of the seven wonders of the world) and were amazed by its beauty and massiveness. We were chased my some baboons because of the apples the kids were eating as we hiked down. It was totally scary, but some local boys helped us by going ahead of us and throwing rocks and also following us and making sure the baboons stayed at a distance. Emma cried most of the hike (as many of you might remember she had been bitten by a baboon earlier in the year out at the farm,) so she was a little freaked out to say the least!!!! On a wetter note, Luke and my dad went white water rafting down the Zambezi River which flows from the falls. It is one of the most dangerous rapids in the world, and you better believe that mom and I were praying all day for them. They had an awesome time and were tipped four times out of the 9 rapids. They have video and pics to prove it. They were pumped but very tired when they returned to the hotel that evening. We were thankful that they returned in one piece!!!!

We also went on a day safari, which included a 2-hour boat trip, lunch and an afternoon game drive. We had beautiful weather despite the previous rainy days and were amazed at Gods creation. We were able to see several elephants and watch them play in a big water hole. Babies were splashing and bathing and the mothers and other adult elephants sprayed their backs and rolled in the wet mud. This was our fist time to see elephants and so we were all very excited. Then as the afternoon continued, we were very fortunate to come across an ambush that was happening right before our eyes. There were 14 lions positioning themselves in preparation to attack some warthogs at a small watering hole. We watched for quite a while as the lions gradually positioned themselves closer and closer to the unsuspecting warthogs. Unfortunately the first lion got a little anxious and went for the kill, but ended up losing in the end. We were just amazed at the whole thing especially after being told previously that we might not even see the lions because of the time of day it was. The guides were amazed and said we were pretty lucky to have seen that many lions. Little did they know that we had prayed that morning for God to provide a great display of his creation for us……and He definitely came through!!!!! We went home that night our cameras full of pictures and our hearts full of thanks.

Also during our visit we took our own vehicle through a game park and saw many more animals such as zebra, water buffalo, giraffe, many birds, impala, warthog, hippos, and monkeys. We drove in the rain and followed a path through the park and have many hours of video!!! My parents have a ton of pics to bring back home and we were all so grateful for our special time together.

Anyways, just wanted to give you all an update of what we have been up to over the last couple weeks. We are continuing to count down the weeks until we meet our new little #4 Whitfield!!! The scheduled date is Feb 20th and the kids are especially looking forward to seeing if it is a girl or boy. I am feeling pretty good and the baby is doing great and growing ahead of schedule. We will keep you posted on all the news as the date approaches. We will also continue to write our weekly e-mails and we hope you all received our holiday letter in the mail. We will try to post more pics from these past two weeks on our blog so feel free to look their for updates too. We love and miss you all and hope this New Year is filled with many blessings for each one of you.

God Bless,

Elise, for all the Whitfield’s!!!

Something About Mary

2007-12-06T06:58:00.000-08:00

(Elise and Mary at EFH)

Mary Tembo, is a 6 year old child in crisis that spent a long time in the care of Emanuael Family Home, which is the orphanage our family works with. Mary’s story is one that has gripped our heart almost since our arrival. This little girl is HIV positive, through birth, yet the doctors are amazed at her resiliency. She is not a true orphan, as her mother is still alive, but the care her mother can afford to give her is minimal at best

(Mrs. Tembo, Mary and Emmanuel)

A couple of months ago Mary’s mother decided to request custody of Mary and her little brother Emmanuel which she was awarded. This was a bitter sweet moment as we were saddened by Mary and Emmanuel’s departure but glad to see them re-united with there biological mother. The tricky part is that Mary’s mom, who has AIDS as well, cannot even care for her self let alone two children. After receiving some alarming reports about Mary and Emmanuel’s conditions, losing weight and continual sickness, we decided to sit down and talk with Mrs. Tembo
(The kids with their friends: Chi Chi, Gift, Sylvia, Mary and Emmanuel)

Our hope was to find a way to get Mary’s and Emmanuel back in the care of the home while moving the mother closer to the orphanage so she will be regularly involved in their lives. We have challenged the elders, at the Brethren church where EFH is located, to petition the local body and see if anyone can assist Mrs. Tembo with a place to stay and possibly a job

(Mary, What a smile!!)

Please pray for this situation as this would be a great opportunity for this church to grow and begin supporting from within it own membership. This is a goal we have been working with the leaders on for quite some time!

Life's Promised Trials

2007-12-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even thought our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal

II Corinthians 4:16-18 NKJV

Paul’s encouragements to the Corinthians have become very real to us over the last few days as we find ourselves pressing on through another of life’s promised trials. We are writing to request your continued, and extra, prayers as we enter a week that, very simply, will be stretching. Here is a run down of what we would like prayer over:

--In the next week (by next Monday 10th Dec.) will be looking forward to packing up our
current house and moving for the fourth time this year

--Our landlord (at our current place) owes us a month and a half rent but has
conveniently become unreachable as we quickly approach the agreed move out date of the 15th Dec. We obviously want to avoid having to deal with any legal disputes

--Last Saturday the vehicle we have been borrowing (this vehicle is the team loner,
which means it gets used when missionaries need an extra vehicle) blew up just as we pulled into our driveway. We have arrived at the conclusion that either the engine block is cracked or we blew some gaskets. Regardless we will be responsible for covering the damages and are without transportation as our vehicle is still caught up in customs (see below)

--Our vehicle is still not through customs. For those of you that don’t know, we have
been working through importing a vehicle from Japan (This process has over taken
four months).We realize that the reality of the situation is that the government is most likely looking for some financial motivation to expedite the process, which is not an option for us

--Elise has entered that point in her pregnancy where sleep eludes her much of the time
which is compounded by a lack of AC and temps in the high 80’s

--We have recently discovered that Emma is allergic to the skin of Mangos. We have a
mango tree in our back yard that the kids are constantly climbing. We have
concluded this is the source of the poison ivy looking rash on Emma’s arm (Payton
and Macie seem unaffected). Please pray for Emma as she has been scratching the
sores open when sleeping

--On top of all this we are still working through how our new understanding of
Zambian tax laws (We wrote about them in a recent email) will affect our support levels (let us know if you did not receive the fore-mentioned email and we will send it to you)

--We also are expecting Elise parents, Steve and Kathy, who will be arriving on the
13 Dec. and staying till the first of the New Year. Pray for there safe travel and that there time here would be a blessing for all

You know, sometimes it is hard to write to all of you and even ask for pray in light of some of the trials many of our African friends find themselves treading in. While our concerns are real and capture our attention they seem so trivial in comparison to a HIV positive mother who can’t find a job to feed her two children (one who is HIV positive as well). As much as we thought as missionaries we would have an effect on Zambians, it has been the effect Zambians have had on us that is more remarkable. We are continually humbled as we watch our friends rely on God for simple things like: food / shelter / shoes. There is much to learn from the humble and God’s presence can always be found in there midst.

While we would treasure your prayers please know that we are doing extremely well…..that peace that surpasses all understanding. It is necessary to state that we have been blessed to learn much from the example of Luke’s brother Seth. His contentment and trust in what God has placed before him both convicts and inspires us to be content with whatever the Lord would allow us to endure. We love you Seth! As the above passage states….we focus not on what we can see, hear, smell, tastes or touch but on that which is unseen….our eternal home and rest from these momentary affliction.

We will keep you all posted as we get a better idea of our financial situation and so appreciate those of you have responded to this need. We look at this coming week as a week of opportunities keeping in mind what James reminds us….consider it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your produces patience. James 1:2,3 NKJ. Pray that we would grow spiritually and relationally as we press on toward the goal He has called us to. God bless all of you and know you are love and prayed for. We could do any of this without your participation.

His Servants

The Whitfields <><

Thankful Hearts

2007-11-21T13:54:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends

Happy Thanksgiving to you all and hope you each have a wonderful holiday! We are so thankful for each and every one of you and all your love we feel even though we are so far away. We feel prayed for, loved and supported by all of you and we are grateful to you for this. Thank you for communicating and keeping in touch with us and keeping us updated on what is going on in your lives.

We have so much to be thankful for this month and year. Thank you all for your prayers, as we have been house hunting. We finally did find a home and it is such a blessing from God. We will be moving in a couple of weeks and we are so grateful that this somewhat stressful month is coming to a peaceful close. God answered our specific prayers for this move and we stand in awe at his faithfulness. We came across the house through our head board member that had us over for dinner last Friday. This family will be moving out of town because of a job transfer. We had been trying to get together with them for months and haven’t been able to schedule it. So finally we got together last weekend!! They were actually showing the house to a couple that night and so we asked about it and the next thing we knew we had a home to move into. The location of the house is great and it will allow our house helper and guard to continue working for us. The hospital where I will be delivering is less that 2 blocks away and our church is about 2 min away. There is also a nice yard for our dog, which was very high on the kids prayer list. So we are very thankful for God’s timing and provision once again for our family. We appreciate your prayers and encouraging e-mails these last couple of weeks.

We are also thankful for good health, as this last month has also been a little shaky health wise for all of us. Emma was treated for malaria last week and has recovered quite amazingly, and we are still unsure if it was malaria or what actually was going on inside of her!!!!! Macie with her sensitive skin gets any kind of rash that’s available here but Payton has survived somehow, even though he gets the dirtiest and plays with the most creatures.!! Luke and I have had a couple of weird bugs, but they all have passed and we have survived another set of African health adventures. We are so thankful for the patience that God has given us and also an amazing amount of peace through all these weird and unexplainable things. We daily have to choose if we are going to worry about it or give it to God. God has used so many things here to challenge us daily to let Him have control in every area….big or little. God cares no matter what it is and He has shown us that in real ways over these 9 months here.

So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for your prayers, love and support. We can feel your love and prayers and appreciate your faithful friendships. We wanted to share our thankful hearts with you and wish you a happy turkey day. We will be gathering with all our fellow ACTION missionaries for a big treat of a meal at a local hotel and will be enjoying home made pumpkin and apple pies as many of you will also. May you each reflect on all the things that you are thankful for today during the holiday and each and every day after.
Love and Blessings,
Elise, Luke and all the gang!!!

Sacrifice

2007-11-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends

As previous emails have stated, I (Luke) am teaching a class at a local Bible school on biblical eldership. As I was preparing this week I came across this section concerning the sacrificial nature of the post of elder or leader in the local congregation. While the selection calls leaders to serve sacrificially the message is applicable to each of us no matter what part of the body we represent. The follow was taken from Alexander Strauch’s Biblical Eldership:

“ Some people say, ‘You can’t expect laymen to raise their families work all day, and shepherd a local church.’ But that is simply not true. Many people raise families, work, and give substantial hours of time to community service, clubs, athletics activities, and/or religious institutions. The cults have built up large lay movements that survive primarily because of the volunteer time of their members. We Bible-believing Christians are becoming a lazy, soft, pay-for-it-to-be-done group of Christians. It is positively amazing how much people can accomplish when they are motivated to work for something they love. I’ve seen people build and remodel houses in their spare time. I’ve also seen men discipline themselves to gain a phenomenal knowledge of the Scriptures.

The real problem, then, lies not in men’s limited time and energy but in false ideas about work, Christian living, life’s priorities, and especially—Christian ministry. To the Ephesians elders Paul said, ‘you yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’’ (Act 20:34,35). How do workingmen shepherd the church yet maintain family life and employment? They do it by self-sacrifice, self-discipline, faith, perseverance, hard work, and the power of the Holy Spirit. R. Paul Stevens, author and instructor at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia, sets us on the right track when he writes, ‘And for tent makers to survive full-time jobs (work, family, and ministry) they must also adopt a sacrificial lifestyle. Tentmakers must live a pruned life and literally find leisure and rest in the rhythm of serving Christ (Matt. 11:28). They must be willing to forego a measure of career achievements and private leisure for the privilege of gaining the prize (Phil 3:14). Many would like to be tentmakers if they could be wealthy and live a leisurely and cultured lifestyle. But the truth is that a significant ministry in the church and community can only come by sacrifice’”.

Although many of us are not called to be shepherds or overseers of a local flock we are members the body of Christ, and we know that body is made up of many parts and that each part is necessary. Strauch reminds us that the path of a Christian is one of sacrifice, hard work, selflessness as it was for our Lord during His time on this Earth. It is not just a lifestyle demanded of those leading God’s flocks but for all of us as we are all called make disciples of men. As I share these truths with Zambian pastors and leaders tonight I am going to challenge them to evaluate and check if they sacrifice their time for Christ as much as they do for the things of this world. What a good question for us all to ponder. I hope you are encouraged and challenged by Strauch’s thoughts as I have been, and I pray we would be able to live and serve in the manner described above. Thanks for your continue prayers and support. We love each of you dearly and would not be able to touch the lives we are touching without your involvement. You are truly appreciated. God bless and PRESS ON & INTO HIM!!!

His Servants

The Whitfields <><
ps—Continue you to pray for our housing situation as we will need to be moved by no later than Dec. 15th and have still not settled on a new location. We trust He knows and cares about our needs and so we rest in Him.

Pictures!!!

2007-10-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

Got Faith?

2007-10-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

GOT FAITH?
Two weeks ago during my weekly Wednesday women’s Bible study I was challenged and thought that I would share it with you. The faith of my friend Joyce brought me to tears as I shared her situation with Luke. This small worn woman has 5 children and no husband to be found. Each child has a different father and each father has had a different reason for leaving Joyce and her children. She likes to cut and style hair so she has used her talent to provide a small but inconsistent living. She was just kicked out of her 2-room home and was left in the bush with only a prayer to keep her going. She sat on the floor of her home as she was gathering her belongings to move and she cried and prayed to God for a home to keep her children safe. Later that day a friend told her of a one-room home with no roof that she could move into. She was grateful but a little saddened by its condition. She also explained to me that she had been told that there was a lot of witchcraft going on in that area. The neighbors warned her of a huge snake that had been seen and that it would swallow up her children in the night. She knew this was from Satan to try to steal her joy and her home from her again. She decided not to let Satan discourage her and scare her but moved into the home with faith and confidence in God her provider.
The first night she lay on the floor with her children all asleep around her and looked up at the stars and thanked God for his provision and prayed for protection over her family. Over the next few days the children were very sick with malaria from all the mosquitoes at night, but she was thankful for no snake attack. Joyce’s faith was so strong as she shared her story with me. As I was listening to her I was reminded that this is life here in Zambia. She is grateful for what little she has and believes in God for her daily bread and protection. I was challenged by her trust and reliance in Christ. I had to ask myself the question: would I react the same way in her situation? Am I so quick to complain about my problems? And they aren’t even half as bad or desperate as Joyce’s problems. I thank God for these women that He has brought into my path. They have shown me, very practically what a deeper reliance on Christ looks like.
The next day after hearing this story, we had our first rainfall in over 7 months. I woke up praying for Joyce and that God would provide for her and her kids during the storm. I wished that I could help her, but new that only God could provide at that moment. The next week I told her I was praying for her during the storm and I asked her how everything was going. It was a blessing to hear that my prayers had been answered even at 3am in the morning. The neighbor invited Joyce and her kids to come inside their home and they put up a temporary tarp on the small house as soon as the storm passed. God is our provider! I am so thankful that He has made himself so faithful to Joyce. She was so thankful for my prayers and a little taken back that I had remembered her that early in the morning!!!! Only God gets the praise and glory!!!! Soon we hope to help her put a new roof on her home and love on her the best we know how. I hope that you are challenged by Joyce’s faith like I have been and I hope to share more of what God continues to do in her life. God bless all of you and may God show himself more real to you every day as you rely on Him more and more!!!
God is Good Always,
Elise

Ps—As promised long ago we finally have our blog up and running. We are hoping to keep written updates, along with pictures, posted on a regular basis. Click to included address to view: www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com

Whitfield Family Update September 25th

2007-10-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends.

We are officially moved back into our home in town and are enjoying the conveniences of being close to our fellow missionaries and also the grocery store. The kids are adjusting well and Payton loves his bunk beds and the girls love not having to share a room with him!!! We are looking forward to seeing how God uses this new location to reach more Zambians and for ministry in this new neighborhood.

Emma is looking forward to her 5th birthday on Thursday and we are having a little surprise party for her on Thursday afternoon. We have also started school back up this week and love our new Son Light curriculum. The girls are enjoying school and I feel much more organized this year!!! Thanks to all you mom’s for your encouragement and advice!!! Payton is adjusting to sitting still for longer amounts of time, but oh boy does he get excited when he is set free out into the yard to climb his favorite Mango tree!

The weather continues to get warmer and warmer and we enjoyed the nice cool pool and game drive outing with our fellow ACTION missionaries last Saturday! It’s been so awesome to enjoy the wild life here and the kids liked getting to sit on an elephant and feed her a snack. We also saw lions, zebras, baboon, warthog, kudu and much more.
The family adjustments we have experienced this month have been very positive and we are so thankful to God for His strength and guidance through them all. God has continually shown his faithfulness to us over these almost 8 months now here in Zambia.

We also have included some photos of our family at a compound church where Luke preached. The church is located in the compound of Chaisa and is an amazing body of believers. Pastor Mark Mwale (who I am standing with in one of the pictures) is an amazing man of God who, despite little financial resources, has taken in many orphans and children in crisis. He is such an example of how the joy of the Lord is our strength as he constantly has a huge smile and exuberant personality. The most amazing thing about Pastor Mwale’s congregation is their generosity and sacrificial giving. After Luke finished his sermon the pastor presented our family with gifts, note the head attire and traditional skirt I am wearing, and on a previous occasion took a love offering for Luke. To put this in perspective the congregation’s weekly tithe is roughly $20 and they gave almost a quarter of it to Luke as a gift. Needless to say we are completely humbled and convicted as we experience those that have so little giving so much.

This morning I was reminded during my quiet time to ABIDE in Christ. Such a small word with such great promise. Psalm 91:1&2 “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall ABIDE in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in Him will I trust.’” What a promise we have when we abide only in Him!!!

Lastly, I want to share John 15:4-9 which also was challenging to me and hope it is the same to you. “ABIDE in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it ABIDES in the vine, neither can you, unless you ABIDE in Me. I am the Vine and you are the branches. He who ABIDES in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not ABIDE in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you ABIDE in Me, and my word ABIDES in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so that you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; ABIDE in My love.”

May we all ABIDE more closely to Him beginning today!!
God Bless,
Elise
for all 5 and ½ Whitfield’s!!!