A couple more pictures.....

One of the four antenna's at the top of the radio tower pointing towards the center of Kasempa.

Ron and Bridget Wint, with there baby Sekela sitting in front of the new radio station!

Chris and I at the top of the 100ft. radio tower. I think it's safe to say that this is the best view in town !

We're back.......Missions Prayer tomorrow night 1/21 at 7:00 !

Hello everyone, I just wanted to take some time to talk a little about our trip. First off let me tell you that it was VERY difficult getting updates on here. There was no internet access in Kasempa save a little rigged laptop with a cell phone modem, and then when we got to Lusaka, the two internet cafes I went to were so slow that I couldn't even load this site in order to update. So I apologize for the lack of posts, but truly this time it was beyond me! Let me also write a special thank you for all those that had been praying for us. Our entire team felt your prayers, and we were all so encouraged to know that our CC Philly family back home was interceding on our behalf. So many things that could have gone wrong and slowed down or stopped our progress were bypassed by the Lord. I'll just mention a couple so we can all praise the Lord for His mercy on us.

1. Around 10 hours into our 13 hour trip there (driving from Lusaka) I noticed a steep lack in power with our van. We kept driving thinking it was because we were going up some big hills, but later after we arrived we found a huge problem with our fuel filter. We should have been stranded in the middle of the bush (at night) but the Lord carried us that last 3 hours to our final destination. And I won't even talk about how the Lord gave our guys wisdom on fixing the problem with the rubber from a stethoscope!

Also, 2. one of the key pieces for us to set up the radio tower, a 10 ft. steel jib pole was not in the container when we got there. We just happened to find a 10 ft. piece of pipe in someones back yard there in town. This was a huge miracle, as metal like this is pretty much non existent in this small village in Zambia. This enabled us to set up the pulley system to pull each 10 ft. section up to the top of the tower.

3. The rains were held off during the day. Ron and Bridget told us that each rainy season there is usually a week or two where a reprieve is given and it doesn't rain during the day. It just so happens that those two weeks where when we got there to set up this tower! If it had rained (poured) during the day everyday as it usually does during this time, we wouldn't have gotten the tower up. I could talk about tires that were down to the metal and still not blown, or crucial pieces needed for the radio station that were missing, and how we found them in Lusaka, and then how we found a driver ( from a nearby hospital) that just "happened" to be 13 hours away in Lusaka, and driving up to Kasempa the day we needed the parts ! From every angle it was clear that the Lord was guiding us every step of the way, and we thank you guys so much for laboring in prayer for this trip! It couldn't have been the success it was without your prayers!

So when we left Kasempa to head back to Lusaka, it was 4:00 A.M. on Thursday. As we pulled out we saw the light on top of the 100 ft. tower blinking. We passed the radio station which was working at 100% capacity, and we turned our radio to 90.7 F.M. to hear Pastor Joe sharing the Word! It was a moment that I will not soon forget.

I will post more on the visit to the leper colony, our day with the orphans, and the times of teaching in a couple of days. Also, look out for a couple of guest posts from some of the team that were on the trip.

Blessings,

Carlos

The Tower is Complete !

Hello everyone, sorry for the lack of updates. the small "internet cafe" in the town has been down for weeks now. I was able to rig something up with a top-up phone card and laptop in order to get online for a couple of minutes. Thanks for all of your prayers. Things have been going really, really well. On the tower side of things, the tower (all 100ft) of it is all up. The antenna's and wire are all connected, and we are now working on connecting everything in the actual radio station room in order to get everything running. We will be making some test broadcasts later today (Tuesday). The town is very excited, and when up and running will be sending signal 40 miles away ! This again will be the first F.M. radio station in the entire area!

On the teaching side of things, I have been able to teach to different pastors and church leaders almost everyday including at the School of Ministry at Lumba Ministries. It's been a blessing to seek the Lord with these pastors - some of them having walked 30 miles (2 days) to attend the day of teaching! Tomorrow we will travel to a village 60 km away to meet with pastors and teach the Word, and seek the Lord together (it's close to Kafue National Park) way out in the bush! We ar expecting many to come. Please keep that in prayer.

We spent an awesome day with the orphans on Sunday. We had a great time playing ball, and other games. We had a great big meal for them, and then passed out some Calvary Cougars shirts as well as other supplies. The joy in the eyes was very evident! We ended with a time of teaching from the Word, then some worship and prayer. It was a great day.

Please continue to pray for wisdom to finish the final touches with the radio station so that is can be fully functional before we leave. Please also pray for a safe journey as we head back to Lusaka on Thursday or Friday. I will try to update when we get to Lusaka. Thanks again for all of your prayers, we have felt them, and seen the power of God taken place in so many areas! (I'll share those stories later) !

Blessings,

Carlos

News from the Team Kasempa

Here is the latest update from the team:


After arriving in Kasempa in the middle of the week, the team dived right into the work laid out for them. The radio tower is up to 90 ft. (out of 100) already, and is now almost complete. Everything has gone great with the building of the tower, and the rains have held off (which is key). The heat has not, however, and the guys climbing the tower are getting red being up there! But everyone is rejoicing that the Lord has prospered their work so far. Lumba Radio 90.7 FM is a joint effort between Calvary Chapel Philadelphia, Galcom International, and Lumba Christian Ministries, and many other friends and prayer partners. This is the only radio station in the area.


Carlos taught the weekend gathering of the school of ministry friday night and saturday night. The men were excited to receive handouts with Carlos' study on missions. There was a very large turnout on friday night especially.


Today some members of the team were able Got to visit the nearby leper colony. They found that a family of hippos had recently come up and destroyed the crops which support the little community, and they are now struggling to eat. Ron & Bridget and the local missions hospital (Mukinge) will be working to help repair the fields. Carlos is planning to return to the leper colony tomorrow.


Information and pictures are also being posted by ron at the Lumba website.


Please continue to pray!