Zambia news
I received news from Charles Phiri that two church members have been murdered in the Siavonga area in the past couple of weeks. One was a young man who was killed by a friend. The other was a village head man who was shot while waiting for dinner. It is believed that it may relate to some accusing him of practicing witchcraft which was completely untrue. Sometimes the superstitions held by villagers are very strong.
Translation work
We have several projects going on now involving translating materials into the language(s) of Zambia. We are about the begin translating the WBS lesson “the church” into the Tonga language of the Southern Province. We are also working on a tract on grace and baptism written by Jack Abels of Circleville Ohio. We will be translating that into 
Tonga. But we are also going to translate it into Bemba, Nyanja (or Chewa) and Tumbuka. This will apply to the area from Siavonga up to the border with Tanzania and Malawi.
It is my belief that the long term effect of getting teaching material into the language of the people is vital. What we want to be the result is that the church of the NT will be an indigenous church rather than a missionary church from America. My personal goal is to be able to speak in Tonga at the very least. People react very positively when I read the Bible in Tonga as opposed to reading it only in English or having someone else read it in Tonga. I have even on occasion read it in Bemba though that is a bit different from Tonga.
New congregation at Kariba stores
When the Gospel Chariot parked at Kariba stores I spoke the two nights. There were 9 baptisms. The last two Sundays a group has met in the afternoon. I believe that a new congregation has now begun from those first conversions. It was not planned but the newly baptized did not want to travel the number of kilometers that going to Masompe would have required. This brings the number of congregations in the District to 18 at this time. Charles is meeting with them mid-afternoon each Sunday for the next several months.
People do respond more positively when you speak their heart language. This is true for all cultures The key seems to be speaking the language and keeping it God’centered.