Pastor Winfred (center) in worship at the Kasiya Church.
The baby’s name was Marvelous. And she was crying.
Many are surprised when they first learn that there are four different churches located at the Sons of Thunder Farm in Zambia but once you grasp the landscape and its expanse it is understandable. After purchasing the Farm, the first order of business was establishing a church in 1997. Since then, God has raised up pastors from among the Zambian people to shepherd these four flocks.
One of those pastors is Winfred Mubiana, truly a man with a servant’s heart. After hearing the call of the Lord he graduated from a Bible school at Sons of Thunder and then began to minister to the people in his village, called Kasiya. They would meet their new pastor in a grass hut, in a school or under a tree. While there one day, the Holy Spirit distinctly told Jerry Beall that a church building would be built at Kasiya and he shared that with Winfred not knowing the timing. Then the waiting began, earnestly and prayerfully! A couple of years passed by and I still recall seeing photos of Winfred waiting patiently and faithfully for this word from the Lord come to pass.
When the monies did come together it came about rather quickly. Suddenly construction began, the long awaited Kasiya Church was built and then its doors were opened just over two years ago to the great joy of many.
It was Pastor Winfred’s baby that was crying in the night just 10 months ago. His wife Harriet got up to tend to her and looked up only to discover a horrid sight. Zambia has experienced two very rainy seasons in the last back to back years and on that rainy night at Kasiya Harriet saw that the walls of their mud home were beginning to crumble. She quickly shouted for Winfred and they grabbed their children out of that portion of the house just moments before it collapsed. Had it not been for the cries of their infant daughter Marvelous, they might have experienced a tragedy of terrible proportions.
Winfred and Harriet were left with no choice but to collect what possessions they could and move their family back to temporary housing on the main Farm. Over the last couple of years Winfred had also become part of the trained medical team at the Sons of Thunder Clinic and has helped treat thousands of patients. He would typically go back to Kasiya on Friday afternoons and minister and preach over the weekend before returning for medical duty on Mondays. The roads to Kasiya were washed out completely over the last two years so badly that SUVs cannot even drive them. Thus, Pastor Winfred was given a bicycle to pedal back on Fridays by himself and would spend the weekends sleeping in the corner of the Kasiya Church while ministering to his flock.
Recently Pastor Winfred shared with the SOT staff news that the Lord had told him to end his weekly employment at the SOT Medical Clinic and return to permanent residence in Kasiya and preach the gospel. Monies again became available with perfect timing and in the interim a a new BRICK home was constructed for them next to the church. Three weeks ago Sons of Thunder turned out en masse for a celebration party for Winfred and Harriet and their children as they departed for their new home. An outstretched but unseen hand had kept this family from disaster, and the loss of their home resulted in the building of a new and better home. And little Marvelous is approaching her first birthday!
“O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.” (Psalm 98:1 KJV)
Pastor Winfred is devoted to the Lord’s calling. He trusts God with every aspect of his life and that of his family. He is a portrait of one who “waits on the Lord” expectantly. Earlier this year he shared with me that he believes there are approximately 1,000 people within walking distance to his church. He is deeply burdened for those people and wants to share Christ with them.
I am reminded through Winfred that we are not to stay on the “mountaintop” with God but that He desires us to go down into the valley in the drudgery of day to day living to bear witness to Him. It is easy to have faith in a “mountaintop” experience with God but it is in the valley of everyday living that one discovers whether their faith in Him is real or not. For our faith is not in a theory, but a Person. And our faith must willingly be worked out among other people….according to His purposes.
Please pray for Pastor Winfred and his family as they minister lovingly and willfully in Kasiya. We are very grateful for your support. Likewise, at Sons of Thunder we too feel a burden to reach out to people beyond our borders to minister and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Are you burdened also?