Phillip and Karina in Zambia

Last Expedition in Zambia

2009-07-22T12:58:00.001-07:00

We leave early tomorrow morning for our last expedition of AMT. The chief of this particular village heard about the ministry of Overland and came and invited us to come to his village. People from all over are coming to hear us speak. We all really believe that the Lord is going to do great and miraculous things this week.

Please pray for us during this ministry to be witnesses in everything that we do and say.

Pray for me on Friday. I am speaking to the men on Friday morning. Pray that the Holy Spirit would speak through me and give me the right words to say.

Pray that the Holy Spirit begins and continues to work on the hearts of the people as we are there.

God Bless, thank you all for continuing to support me through prayer. I'll try and give an update on Monday night when we return.

~Phil.

2009-06-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

From Phillip

2009-06-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

I don't really know if there's very much new stuff to talk about. We just
had a surprise overnight Come Back Alive class the other night. We had no
idea it was going to happen, but they randomly sent us down into the Gorge
to spend the night with only a few items. We had no sleeping bags, tents,
etc .. we had to build our shelters, fires, and we had to use a GPS to find
where our food was.... which turned out to be a live chicken and a bag of
rice. It was really cool, because we've done a bit of all that stuff in the
bush so far, but this time we were alone and had to fend for ourselves. We
were divided into two teams, each having their own shelter and food. Someone
else beheaded our chicken on our team, I helped pluck it. Karina killed the
other team's chicken, but Tom the African gutted and cut it. I gutted our
chicken and got what little meat I could off of it, but it was skinny. We
slept around the fire and it got pretty cold. But we survived, and it ended
up being a lot of fun!

I've really gotten into Rugby and soccer. We play whenever there's time and
we watch the games.

Well, that's about it. I'll let you know when anything else happens.

From Karina

2009-06-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

Our latest adventure was Come Back Alive. The 15 of us split into two groups. Our assignment was to survive the night by the Zambezie River, without any form of sleeping bag or blanket, nor food or fresh water. As a team we could take a total of 15 items. We took two pots, knife, two headlamps, water bottle, machete, camera, backpack, toilet paper, hand-sanitizer. Each team was given GPS coordinates to find our dinner. We approached the first place, there was a box of 5 matches (we got extra credit for the number of matches left in the box) and another larger box. We thought it would have some canned beans and stuff. Mark picked up the box. A claw came out of the bottom. All of us yelled out of shock. It was an a live chicken! We also found a bag of rice and salt. So we headed down the gorge, which is a major hike. Derek was the team leader so he assigned us jobs. I collected firewood while some of the others cut down small trees for the shelter. Derek and Tom constructed a teepee. We got water from the Zambezie and put it on boil to sanitize then cook the rice. I asked to kill the chicken. Mark held it for me. They all made fun of me for sawing the head off but my excuse is that the machete was dull. We then boiled, plucked and gutted it. We fried it in its own fat. The meal was really good except for some sand got in the rice and it was so gross when there was a crunchy bite. It was so cold (app. Forties). We all got about one hour of sleep. Again, it was so cold. Dan and Rachel came down to get us at 8:30. They graded us on stuff like moral, fire, shelter, etc. We then had to hike back up the gorge which took about 20 minutes of climbing rocks. But all in all, we came back alive!
We are sitting through lectures all day. The last hour of the morning session was filled with a 4-year-old’s screaming. He is the son of one of the Zambian workers. He has an infection in his finger and they were draining the pus.
It is noon and cold as all get out. I have 3 sweaters on. Winter is here.
I am learning a lot about team work and community living. It’s tough but fun.

It is a month from graduation. Next week we are studying medical stuff so I am excited.

Phillip: Back from the Bush

2009-06-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

I feel so blessed to have been a part of what took place this week. We had the honor of attending a gathering unlike anything I've ever been to and may ever attend again. A gathering of over 100 headmen assembled to be taught leadership and the Word of God by several of the folks here at Overland Missions. We were able to help throughout the week and build relationships with the headmen. Among the things that we were able to help with, were helping the headmen fill out village assessment forms for all the villages that they oversaw, hoping to be able to assess their physical needs in addition to their people’s spiritual needs.

We held the meeting at Chief Nyawa’s palace, who we had the pleasure to meet. He was very kind and had a nice hat. We tried to show a servant heart by helping to harvest his maze alongside his children. There’s something great about working in a field alongside the Africans who spontaneously break into songs about Jesus and Heaven.

While there, we also traveled to the surrounding villages, trying to reach as many people as we could with the Gospel. I was able to share my testimony with a group of people after walking close to 5 or 6km to reach them.

By the end of the conference, over 70 headmen stood up and publicly renounced sin and chose to follow God. They made decisions to lead their villages under the authority of God and they want to continue to hold these meetings every year. These men hold the power over at the very least one entire village, others hold the power over a dozen each. Having them serve God with all of their hearts could mean amazing changes within their villages and a large chunk of Zambia! God is good, and only He could have set up such an amazing opportunity for the country of Zambia.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. God Bless each and every one of you. I will continue to write more as soon as I can.

~Phil.

In the welding shop

2009-06-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

Heading out to the villages.

2009-06-17T07:49:00.001-07:00

Hey folks! It's been a busy couple of weeks here. We've been blazing through classes lately and time seems like it's flying by.

Tomorrow morning we head out for another week in the villages. We're having a conference for all the headmen in the area around Nyawa. That means we'll be ministering to very influential men in several villages. This could mean wonderful things for the spreading of the Gospel.

Please continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to go ahead of us and work on the hearts of the people.

Pray for all of us going out to be effective in communicating the Gospel and to remember that we are messengers for the Lord.

Also, pray for the health of the team members going. Already, the enemy has tried to stop several of us from going tomorrow. A couple of us, including myself woke up vomitting last night and Jamie is now not going on the expedition, and I'm still slightly under the weather. At the same time, Renee fell down today and possibly bruised a rib. Pray for healing and for continued protection for all of us as we prepare to embark on the Lord's work.

Thanks again to everybody who is praying and supporting our ministry here. God bless, I will send an update as soon as we get back.

~Phil.

2009-06-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

2009-06-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

2009-06-02T05:17:00.000-07:00

2009-06-02T05:14:00.000-07:00

From Phillip

2009-05-30T13:57:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally have a chance to update. We've started classes and have been learning a lot over the past couple of weeks. We just finished our class on African culture and traditional religion. We just started Diesel Mechanics this week ... a lot of fun.

Besides studying and spending time in class, we keep ourselves pretty busy around here. I'm getting in great African shape ... we hike down and back up the cliff almost everyday ... it's quite a workout. The other day, a dead hippo washed up and we poked it a little with sticks. The Africans came down and cut it to pieces to eat ... one of the most horrible smells I've ever experienced.

Today we had a day off and we went into town to get some breakfast and swim in the pool. Even with baboons trying to steal the food, and the pool being ice cold, it was a great day.

We head out into the villages for our next expedition in a couple of weeks. God really opened a door for us on this next trip. We have an opportunity to help evangelize at a conference for all the headmen of several different villages. Missionaries rarely get a chance to gather all of the headmen (leaders under the chief) in one spot for one event. They agreed to meet on our behalf so that we can evangelize to them. These men have great influence on their villages and leading them to Christ and establishing churches would be a huge step in winning their villages to Christ.

Pray- pray that this next expedition goes well and that God opens doors. Pray that the Lord goes before us and works on the hearts of these village leaders. Pray that through these leaders, God will win dozens of villages.

Pray for the Lord to guide me on what to do after AMT.

Pray for missionaries all over the world who are pioneering the Gospel. The Harvest is plentiful and the workers are few ... there's a lot of world out there that still needs Jesus, but have never had the chance to hear.

Thanks everybody for your prayers and support. I'll try and send more info as soon as I can. God bless!

~Phil.

2009-05-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

2009-05-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

From Karina

2009-05-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

Wabukabuti!
I don’t know where to begin. I feel so alive here, as well as so stretched. My team ranges in age from 18 to 32 years. About 7 guys and 6 girls. The base is on the edge of the Zambezie. We can see mist from The Falls. I can’t explain how beautiful it is. We have electricity a few hours a day. We have running water from a well. It runs out a couple times a day but for the most part its dependable. We have warm water at night by heating water from a big fire place.
Last Sunday we left for “the bush.” Meaning we went to an unreached village. We were the first missionaries to come to this village that the people knew of. Many villages know of God and Jesus Christ from the time of David Livingstone but it is more a religion. They will go to church in hope to go to heaven but there is no knowledge of the power of God or a relationship with Him. Witch-Doctors are very prominent. The people know that worshiping satan is wrong but they don’t understand that that is exactly what the witch-Doctor does. We camped out in small tents in sight of the village. There was no electricity, running water, or toilet. We started out the morning with praising God, praying, and encouragement from the Bible. We would then walk about 45 min to one of the villager’s fields to work for a couple of hours. We harvested ground-nuts (peanuts) or maize (like corn). Somehow my team was always put in a maize field. This consisted of peeling the husk off the maize not knowing what would fall out of the husk. Usually 5 small roach-like bugs, maybe some spiders, will fall over my feet. For the first day I would toss it to one of the guys if there was a big spider but then I came to the conclusion that its just a bug. We would have lunch at the villager’s home and hang out with the fam. Every group had an interpreter.
In the afternoon we would have a large group gathering for the village and maybe surrounding villages to come to. There were testimonies, singing, preaching, a skit, and last we would pray for those who wanted to become a Christian or for those who needed physical healing. Usually when there is illness the person is also demon-possessed because they go to the witch doctor for healing. The first lady I prayed for wanted prayer for the pain in her legs and poor eyesight. Wezee, one of the translators, came over and started praying for her. He was like “there is a demon in her” and started praying for the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. I wasn’t too convinced but I kept praying. He was shaking her telling the demon to leave. She collapsed on the ground. Her son came over and confirmed that she has been visiting the witch doctor and is demon possessed. When she came to, we asked her about her demon and if she wanted freedom from it. She told it to leave in the name of Jesus. She had a pearl-like necklace and bracelet on. We asked her about those. They were charms for the demon. We told her that she had to take them off so she did. We then explained to her the power of Jesus Christ and the importance of turning to Him and not the witch doctor. She felt much better afterwards. Her name is Ellena. PLEASE PRAY FOR HER! There were others that were freed from demons and had physical healing. The next day, I was praying for a lady who complained of pain all over. Wezee came over and started to speak to her in tonga because she didn’t know English. He told the demon to leave then in a deep raspy voice she started to speak in English, obviously it was the demon. His name is Joseph. We told her that she had to tell Joseph to leave in the name of Jesus. She did. We prayed and counseled her for a while.
My favorite part has been working with the kids. I can’t tell you how beautiful every child is even though they are in dirty ripped clothes with dirt and body waste on them. I can’t speak more than a few words to them but you can say so much with eyesight, smiles, hugs, singing, dancing, holding hands, and piggy-back rides. These kids are so precious but its like they don’t even have a clean slate to start on. Their parents take them as a baby to the witch doctor to get protection for their health so basically they are demon possessed from the get-go. I was trying to make friends with one little girl about 6 yrs old. I drew some pictures in the sand. It took her a while to get the hang of it but she started giggling after a while. It is common for a child to have no imagination or creativity because that’s not nurtured in them. Most girls older then 6 years would have a younger sibling hanging on their back.
On Tuesday there was a pastor’s conference for some villages about an hour away that Overland had previously reached. After the preaching there was a big soccer game that brought several villages together. After some preaching we had a big feast. During the preaching and game I stayed with the women. My conclusion is that if anyone ever complains of cooking when they have a stove they are delirious. First the guys killed the chickens. Once boiled, I fried the chicken in a big pot of hot oil over the open fire. I feel like so much more of a woman after surviving hours of the African sun with hot oil splashing, tons of tears from the smoke, fire burning my toes, and the African women laughing because they could grab up a hot pot but I would have to use my shatangy (wrap skirt). At the end of the day I let them know that they are my heroes.

I wish that I could write all of you all individually and leave comments on Facebook but our broadband is so limited that it usually shuts me off whenever I try. Sorry!

There are so many stories. The people here are so hungry for the Truth. Please pray for the darkness to be broken, that the captives will be set free and that beauty will be given in place of ashes (Is 61). Pray that the truth of Gods power will be revealed.

Leza Akuleleke (God Bless You)

-Karina

2009-05-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

A Week in the Village

We just got back from a week in Nyawa, a Tonga village. It was about a 6 hour drive from Livingstone. It was a really great week. The people were expecting us and when we pulled up to the village, the whole village was there yelling and singing and cheering. they sang us songs and gave us a very warm greeting. We set up our campsite and slept in tents the entire week.

God really opened a great door for us the first night. One of the headmen Solomon, said that one of the boys in the village was sick. Jacob (The area manager for Overland) and Tom (Our Zambian translator), went to pray for the boy. He was laying in bed with a very rough heart beat, babbling random things. They prayed for him and after a few minutes, he sat up and told everyone he was fine. A lot of the old women thought he was lying at first.

We spent most of our days serving the people by helping them harvest maze and ground nuts in the fields. One day, a few of us helped an old widow by building her a table for her pots ... cutting down trees with axes, stripping rope from the tree bark ... my hands look like they got caught in a meatgrinder ... but they toughened up throughout the week.

We held two soccer games on separate days and had large meals of Nshema, Rape, Goat, and chicken for the entire village afterwards (We killed and prepared our own chickens and goats). We had the intention of going door to door doing evangelism, but the people were out in the fields all day. That's why we spent most of our time working in the fields along side them. We held several large meetings and gathered the village for preaching. There was already an established church there, but it was very legalistic and didn't stick much to the Gospel. A number of people made decisions to follow Christ or to rededicate their lives to Christ.

At each of these meetings we laid hands on people and prayed for them. I've never seen so many straight up miracles in my life. We prayed for dozens of people and they were all healed instantly. This really opened up a lot of doors because the rest of the week people were being brought to us for God to heal them. I really felt like an apostle in the Bible. Just last night, a group of people brought us a deaf boy and the Lord healed him instantly. There were a few demon possessed people as well, but I stayed away from that, cause I really didn't know what to do .. I just watched. The Lord really did cool things there.

The people bid us farewell this morning with gifts ... we got about 11 pumpkins, bags and bags of nuts, and they tried to give us a goat, but we didn't have room on the truck. We got home this evening and I had a shower after an entire week without one. I really appreciate toilets, too!

There are so many stories, but I can't write about all of them now. The expedition was great, and as AMT continues, the students will get more and more responsibilities on the expeditions. The final expedition, we will lead on our own without any Overland staff members. I'll write more later! Leza Mubotu (God is good!)

~Phillip.

ps. so what's everybody doing in Louisville?

2009-05-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

Safe Arrival in Livingston

2009-05-06T07:57:00.000-07:00

We saw Phillip off at the airport on Sunday afternoon (May 3). He and Karina (a girl from our church who was also going on this trip) left from Louisville for a 30 hour trip to Livingston, Zambia via Atlanta, London, Johannesburg.

Yesterday afternoon, Phillip posted on his facebook page that he had arrived safe and sound. Then he chatted with me for a few minutes about his trip. He and Karina arrived without incident with all their luggage intact. After all our previous trips to Kenya, this truly is an amazing feat. God is good. Here is what Phillip sent to us this morning:

______

Hey everybody!! I arrived in Zambia today without any problems. I just wanted to thank everybody who has been praying and supporting me on this trip. I ask that you continue to keep me in your prayers. I will continue to update you all as things start happening.

The camp here is beautiful ... right on the edge of a cliff above the zambezi river. In the distance, you can see the smoke rising from Victoria falls. I'll be sleeping in a small one person tent for the summer. I hear that next week we'll spend the week living in a village. I'll keep you all posted and I'll be putting some pictures up soon. God Bless!

~Phil.

Here are some pictures he took.

Phillip in Zambia

2009-05-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. This is Tom LeCompte, Phillip's dad. I created this blog so that Phillip's friends can follow his progress as he spends the next three months in Zambia working with Overland Missions. He is keeping most of his friends up to date on his facebook page and his facebook group (Phillip's African Adventure). Since not everyone is on Facebook, I'm hoping that this blog will fill in the gaps and keep everyone in the loop.

Standby for more...

Tom