Daniel

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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^th of 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!!!