Something About Mary

(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

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

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

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!!!

Got Faith?

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

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!!!