This is the story about three men who attended a church service for the first time since they became adults, aban doning their past and vowing never to look back. NELSON CHANDA reports…

A QUADRUPLE of evangelists who usually visited their respective farms situated in separate areas won many hearts of new converts.
These servants of God, who consisted of a pair of couples, travelled almost 30 kilometres every day from their main Fire Baptised Church in Kitwe South, where this scribe congregates, to reach their pieces of arable land surrounded by other small-scale farmers and labourers to whom they preached the word of God wholeheartedly, in the peri-urban.
Through the Grace of God, many local people embraced the crusade to minimise vices in Mabote in the Ben Mwiinga farm bloc. For quite a long time, the much awaited approval from the local government fulfilled their vision to become a reality by securing a plot for a church to stand in the Kamfinsa area.
One Sunday morning, on the New Year’s Eve of 2011, our main congregation was invited to attend a combined church service at the newly-established site in Mabote. Upon arrival in a hired 26-seater mini-bus, we were marvelled by the attractive temporary church structure whose walls were made of sticks, closely knit together without the decorative clay mud smearing.
Then, systematically, the grass-thatched roof of the house of God appeared decent like it was set in a tourist resort. In sequence, a metre aloof, was a large unroofed flamboyant structure which stood horizontally like a castle, which was also to become the main permanent church in that farm block.
On the opposite side was bare land selected as a site suitable for construction of a conference or convention centre and hostels for the guests, and it was fascinating as well. Suddenly, the service commenced with touching worship and praise songs, like in any other Pentecostal church.
All eyes were cast at the pulpit, as one of the founder evangelists, a woman, delivered an enthusiastic sermon. Filled with ideas, referring to the holy Bible, she lamented some human weaknesses including boasting, cheating, stealing, smoking, pride, arrogance, killing and adultery.
The preacher, whom I was familiar with, was an excellent orator such that every individual was uplifted spiritually. The learned elderly woman urged her audience to resist temptations, referring to Mathew Chapter four when Jesus Christ was baptised, then fasted for 40 days and nights, but the devil failed to corrupt him.
The evangelist told a story of a man who, after being introduced to Jesus, gave up bad habits by burying a packet full of cigarettes, a small bundle of raw tobacco (Kaponda) and 2.5 litres of hard traditionally brewed transparent liquor commonly known as Kachasu, reserved for his leisure time.
After he had buried those things in a hollow pit with a hoe in his garden, the woman of God continued, he returned home with the hope that he had abandoned wickedness, a stance that delighted his wife.
She went on to cite as many scripture episodes in the Bible as possible like when Peter, John and Barnabas were instructed by Jesus to cast their nets again, after toiling on the sea overnight, but in vain, and how later they had a big catch beyond their expectations. They believed in Him and followed Him.
The pastor also told the story of a Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the water well, including Zacheaus the tax collector and Saul who became the apostle Paul as examples of those people touched by the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus.
The gifted evangelist gesticulated, interpreted, magnified and compared our contemporary life styles to those of ancient times as the congregation chorused the sacred “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!’ followed by a deafening applause. It was moving, highly motivating.
Many a congregant, including us visitors, were absorbed homogenously, praising the presence of the Holy Spirit. Shortly, three men were introduced on request to give testimonies alternatively.
In their introductory remarks, all three young men hardly omitted to say that before any structure was erected at the site where the vast hut we were gathered in was standing, the congregation conducted church services under the trees during the dry season and at a selected farm house of one of the faithfuls, in the wet season.
According to their testimonies, by then the three ‘musketeers’ were unbelievers. They simply watched the congregation praying from afar as they rested camouflaged in shrubs waiting for the service to end in anticipation of seeking piece- work which was granted to them.
Also, they elaborated how they worked tirelessly in that first week to cut poles, extract ‘inshishi’ (fibre) using axes and sickles to cut ‘ulweo,’ (grass for thatching) the roof as part of preparing building materials for the house we had gathered in.
Lucidly, they expressed how extremely hard the work was followed by hunger which knocked their bowels out, as no-one brought them food. Worse still, payments were not coming forthwith to make both ends meet, they testified in front of the congregation.
Then they went on saying that, after learning their dues were not dished out, promptly, on a Sunday morning the following week they strode to the site where prayers were being conducted expecting to be paid.
When they arrived where everyone had gathered under the shade of our Zambian rich savanna umbrella type of trees praying, the three hard working men humbly bowed down, as they were ushered to the improvised seats and were engrossed in praising and worshipping God.
They recalled that the very evangelist mother, who preached that day in a complete structure, was the one they found also preaching underneath the trees that Sunday they sought their payment delivering the word of God in front of the pulpit. They further said it was their first time to attend a church service since they became adults.
“After the sermon, we forgot to talk about our money, instead requested the overseer the pastor and other elders, men and women to pray for us so as to alter our lifestyles of intoxication and other vices to devote to serving God,” they told the congregation,
In the meantime, after praying for them devoutly, the pastor who acted as treasurer took the three men to an isolated place and paid them handsomely.
“We were paid good money beyond our expectations and praised God!” they said driving the church members to stand up and sing a song ‘Nshakabwelele numa ine nakana,’ never will I be drawn backwards, I refuse. It was inspiring.
Then, the first new convert said, “Since I became a born again in the past months, I instantly stopped smoking and drinking beer and my health has improved. I’m fat because I spend my money wisely to benefit my family as well, unlike previously,” he told the congregation, which ululated deafeningly.
“From the money which we received,” joined in the second man, “When cutting poles, grass, fibre and building of this temporary house of God we are witnessing, for the first time in my life, I’ve learned to save money at the bank and share with my family equitably. Financial drought is now a thing of the past,” he concluded zealously amid laughter and applause from the audience.
The third convert simply cautioned about the importance of resistance to temptations especially by intimate companions. He went on saying that the more one becomes prayerful the more the devil becomes distasteful.
“When my kinsmen and women visited my home, they said they could see Jesus on my face,” he said anecdotally, stirring the worshippers to a happy frenzy and marked the end of the service.
Concisely from that outing, I learned one thing, ‘hard work’. God cursed Adam after eating the forbidden fruit, that ‘in the sweat of your face you’ll eat bread until your return to the ground.’
Here, the creator demonstrated that being prayerful and striding abreast with laziness can lead individuals to live in poverty and crumple the vibrant national economy. I was inspired one day by one man of God on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) overnight Christian programme, ‘Coming Closer to God’, on Radio 2.
The Pastor outlined a series of minds-sets referring to Exodus when the Israelites were freed from bondage in Egypt. The first was a slave mentality, where they depended on their masters to provide and make decision for them while in Egypt.
In the wilderness, they experienced the second mind-set, the scarcity mentality where still they could cry and expect one to provide for them. If it was today, people would wait for the government to do everything for them.
The man of God emphasised that instead of raising their names up by creating something for the government industriously; they wait for the government to employ them. Even one who lives in a small area must not possess a small mentality to completely fail to think big. The Pastor said one should ‘interpret circumstances’ in their perspective dimension.
Indeed, like those three men who gave testimonies, they were as good as those the pastor on radio likened that, ‘Some could see leaves on a tree while others noticed money.’
Quoting Psalms 30, the song David Sang, verse 2.
‘Jehovah my God, I cried to you for help and you proceeded to heal me.’
Someone could be in pain or others could say in agony that I’m being fired at my place of work or every time I want to marry, ladies run away leaving me weeping.
Another one says God is punishing him because he’s broke, sleeping hungry – that he’s doomed. That depends on how one communicates. God does not allow suffering!
The men of God on ‘coming closer to God’ said, ‘God is going to repair what the enemy has damaged. We made a sin- but God has come to repair it.’
In the evening weeping may take up lodging, but in the morning there is a joyful cry, so says Psalms Chapter 30 verse 5. Nehemiah in the book of the Old Testament is another good example of a hard worker. He appeared dejected to learn that the wall of Jerusalem had been demolished by detractors. Despite resistance they had to rebuild it.
Where there is God everything becomes possible. Prayer without works is vague!
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