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!!!

October Update

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

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

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

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

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

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!