It is so awesome to be working alongside Missions Possible here at Project Samuel.  Missions Possible, like Project Samuel, is a department of Relationships for Christ Ministries, inc., and recently they brought a team of missionaries to Zambia to work on building a roof for the next children’s house at Project Samuel and filming a new Project Samuel video.  James  Clayton, a world class carpenter, missionary and founder of Carpenter Ministries inc. arrived at project Samuel ready to do something for the people of Zambia and the orphans at Project Samuel in particular.

During Brother James’s stay at Project Samuel, He managed to put the entire roof support up and install the roofing tin.  He taught our guys how to build trusses on the ground using a pattern and then install them on the house to speed up the time spent on each roof.  He also worked with our guys on installing the lathes between the trusses and the tin, along with ridge caps.

Seeing the roof on the house is a huge motivation to me and the Project Samuel team.  It is just another sign that God is at work all around us and that nothing is impossible if his people come together and unify.  Besides, this is a giant step for Project Samuel because as the first children’s house is now occupied with our first eight children.  It is time to finish another house so we can bring on the next eight children!

I remember Brother James preaching at one of the local churches and he quoted the scripture in Genesis 11:6 where it says, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.” God knows that if we as the body of Christ would unify, nothing can stop us.

There are over 800,000 thousand orphans in Zambia alone, not including the rest of southern Africa and the world. For the purpose of sharing our vision here at Project Samuel, I want to throw out some numbers for you to ponder.

Considering that farming is the largest occupation and second largest export in Zambia, let’s say that 400,000 of these orphans receive training as farmers. Now, say these 400,000 farmers worked their way up to farming 50 acres because they had also received life lessons on how to budget for their business. With the reserved estimate that these farmers will bring in about 100 tons of maize a year, they will introduce 40,000,000 tons of maize into the world’s food reserve each year given they chose to grow maize. None the less, that is 40,000,000 tons of some sort of needed food around the world.

The workers at Project Samuel are doing a great job and from the pictures I have seen, the maize is looking great.  However, being here in America makes me anxious to get back and see how they and the project are doing. Zambia has become home away from home for me and I find myself missing the friends I have made there.

At Relationships for Christ we have decided that three years is too long for people to have to wait, struggling week after week, before they can enjoy a place of worship!

The word says that faith without works is dead and profits us nothing, but it is faith, not works that brings us salvation.  Why would the word say these things that seem to be so different? 

Many Christians believe and have faith, but they believe with their mind.  When the mind believes in something, it does not require change and is content with just believing.   But it is not the mind that needs salvation. It is the heart and when the heart believes, it is compelled to change for it is no longer our heart but His in us.

When we believe with our mind, we are concerned with what we look like to others and to God, but when believe with our heart, we are concerned with who we are to others and to God.  We are no longer worried with others seeing our works, but rather experiencing our works and our actions transform from being self gratifying to God gratifying. 

Do you believe with your heart or do you just “THINK” you believe?

Every year my fellow Christians begin to complain about Christ being taken out of Christmas, and then that leads to Prayer in school, and then God in the Pledge or on the court houses.

I couldn't help but ask myself if this might be God rather than non-believers. I mean if you really think about it like this you might agree. Christ is being taken out of Christmas because many Christians have forgotten the real reason for the season. Prayer in school is being removed because many Christians place the value of education above the value of their relationship with God. Homework time is more important than prayer time. The pledge, because we would rather pledge allegiance to a country rather than to pledge faithfulness to God and our court system because we have forgotten that the greatest judge of them all has asked us to show grace, mercy, and love to all those who wrong us, but we would rather use the judicial system to seek revenge.

If you were God, would you want your name affiliated with any of this?

We as Christians need to step it up and remember that Christ's or God's name is not affiliated with these things because of a bunch people who demanded that it be, but rather a bunch of people who allowed God to work through them to accomplish education, faithfulness, grace and worship not only only during these holidays, but in life.

I challenge you to commit with me a life that will put God's name back into the hearts of people rather than buildings and pledges.

It is a great feeling when Project Samuel gets an opportunity to work with the local village and do the ministry we came to do in Zambia!  To know that we are building relationships within the community, and that we have such positive relationships at that, is something I am truly proud of.

Every day I am here in Zambia, I see new ways that Project Samuel could make a difference in the lives of those around us.  If you look hard enough, no matter where you are at, you can find ways in which God can use you to accomplish His work.

Recently I had the opportunity to deliver a “World Book” encyclopedia set to the local school.  To see the look on the children’s faces as they glanced through the books was priceless.

A lot has been going on here at Project Samuel.  We have planted seed for our vegetable garden, cleared more land for the maize field, and pulled cows out of the hole dug for our Training Center septic system.  Now I know that last part may sound a little crazy, but it’s just another day in Zambia!