Kay at 26 owns shop in Lusaka has travelled widely – [...]]]> I’ve just time early on Sat before bus with Steven today to Ndola to meet Congolese pair – AIC Bishop Evariste Numbi and Pastor Elie – to mention Kay and Innocence – brother and sister with mother in Brighton, UK and siblings everywhere – Pentecostal and Catholic.

Kay at 26 owns shop in Lusaka has travelled widely – speaks several African languages, and Chinese, offers free accommodation in her  large house in Lusaka, can carry a laptop back for team from mum – whom she visits each year – mum is boss – all very matriarcal. Innocence is 35 and runs electrical business ;also has friend who will remove virus from Steven’s laptop – that i gave him in 2008.

Kay, Steven and i had lunch and chatted. She has learning disabled friends. They’re a great team and will meet more often soon……and perhaps Innocence can do something with laptop i dropped – it still works but wont boot up….. i carried 9 into Lusaka airport this time….prayerful atmosphere in this Catholic training centre is beautiful…, caring, hospitablell of the love of Jesus…..soon i’ll be redundant and can trouble Asia – probably based around Kuala Lumpur…

Sorry this internet is too slow at uploading photos and i have to get to bed [...]]]>

these pictures are from Thursday evening’s meeting with the students. The man on the left in the third picture is the Father Superior Pedro Paul – the father on the right is Gian Battista. The whole college were very interested. 

Sorry this internet is too slow at uploading photos and i have to get to bed for 6am taxi to bus for Ndola. Just time to say that today has been the most blessed in all my travels – thanks to Steven and Kay a young Zambian busnesswoman we met on a bus. More tomorrow or Sunday from Kabwe. GOD IS FAITHFUL. .

At Lusaka airport i [...]]]> Thurs, yesterday was tops. On flight from London to Addis Ababa i met C a top security man from an English city who was interested in my journey and is considering carrying refurbished laptops for me to Juba. He’s also interested in our Juba Arabic. For 5 years he worked in Kabul!

At Lusaka airport i was met by Fr Gian Battista Moroni (whom i met last year on my 2 trips to Combonis in Rome) and Steven Kaombe from Mozambique. We are now close friends and after chatting over Chichewa texts Fr Moroni recommended that Steven (a Pentecostal pastor) lead the work in Chichewa as well as Yao and ‘Portuguese for Mozambique’. We Europeans have much to learn from Africa about Ecumenical relations. Catholics and Pentecostals often work together here – as Fr Mario Casella did with Elim Pentecostals in Uganda.

In his pagan youth, Steven worked hard at Karate – hoping to be employed as a bodyguard. That training is unlikely to be necessary in Zambia – but it’s good to be travelling with him!

Yeaterday evening was wonderful as i met about 15 students at the Catholic College (Formation House) in Lusaka – where Steven and i are staying. After we did a presentation – they told us of wonderful ministries with different prisons in Lusaka – one student took some children’s knitted clothes for Mother Theresa’s home here – where he works at week-ends. A Kenyan student wants to see easyGikuyu (for the Kikuyu – the ‘Royal’ tribe of Kenya).

Prayer meeting soon at 5.30 am – MORE LATER – WATCH THIS SPACE!

Pastor Elie’s passport isn’t expected to be available before March and the documents he can get for next week only allow him to travel 100 km into Zambia. So a few of us would have to travel to [...]]]> Bishop Evariste Numbi and Pastor Elie may not be allowed by the Zambian authorities to travel to Kabwe.

Pastor Elie’s passport isn’t expected to be available before March and the documents he can get for next week only allow him to travel 100 km into Zambia. So a few of us would have to travel to meet these two men in Ndola.

They have done so much in ‘easy’ and ‘veryeasy’ French for Africa, as unpaid volunteers, to set a wonderful example that this would weaken this conference. They would, of course, still be principal speakers in November and even this February conference with 14 or so delegates will move ahead.

BUT PLEASE LET US PRAY TOGETHER THAT THEY MAY GET PERMISSION TO REACH KABWE.

I arrive at Lusaka Airport on Feb 2nd and stay 2 nights with Italian Roman Catholic missionary Fr Gian Battista Moroni. I met Fr Moroni twice in Rome last year. He has been a missionary in a Chichewa speaking area of Zambia for 28 years.

I’m also met at [...]]]> The latest version of my itinerary is :

I arrive at Lusaka Airport on Feb 2^nd and stay 2 nights with Italian Roman Catholic missionary Fr Gian Battista Moroni. I met Fr Moroni twice in Rome last year. He has been a missionary in a Chichewa speaking area of Zambia for 28 years.

I’m also met at the airport by Steven Kaombe who will travel from Mozambique and be my companion throughout my time in Zambia. Steven travelled to Lilongwe in Malawi for ‘easyBibles’ meetings in 2008. He is a very talented translator, particularly into Chichewa and Yao but also Portuguese. With his wife Grace he is also doing Nyanja – one of her mother-tongues.

Feb 4^th – we move to Kabwe, Zambia and meet with 15 translators and checkers of ‘easy to read’ Bibles from 8 nations (DRC, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya and possibly Lesotho) at Acts Bible Church in Kabwe, Zambia from Feb 4-13^th. Rev Ignatius Chumwe, the pastor and the congregation are providing very generous hospitality.

Please pray that Bishop Evariste Numbi (African Inland Church, DRC – Lutheran) and Pastor Elie Kakudji will get permission to travel further south than Ndola and join us in Kabwe.

At this preparatory conference we shall listen to one another and hope to improve our abilities to produce, check and field-test the over 20 languages represented. I shall start as Chairman but hope to hand this over as the Conference progresses. Please pray that God will take hold of these meetings and surprise us – for His Glory!

Email partners – because of distances and costs – are Ethiopia, Egypt, Uganda and possibly Southern Sudan (I met a wonderful Bishop for this new country last Thursday in North Wales).

Then if all goes well, in November, or earlier, the aim is to meet again – as a larger group from even more countries – with African leadership – each language having completed at least the 4 gospels at the ‘easy’ level and 100 gospel stories at the ‘veryeasy’ level for a FULL AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR ‘EASYBIBLES’.

Feb 13^th – Steven and I travel to Livingstone in Zambia seeking contacts from Botswana, Angola and Namibia.

Feb 18^th – Back to Lusaka

Feb 19^th – fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to meet Abraham Getachew and 2 friends to move Amharic and Oromo forward; then to London.

LATEST NEWS!! Two friends – one from Nairobi,  Kenya and the other from near Arusha, Tanzania have already said that although they’re not able to come in February – they hope to attend in November. Praise God!!

Delegates have to find their own bus fares as well as doing the work as volunteers in the first place. This time i’m only paying bus fares for 2 people -who are working fluently for the poor people in their own languages.

Please email me if you wish to contribute – some people have helped already; BUT i’ll also be raising funds for the ‘book printing and posting’ CHARITABLE CLUB in the Britannia Building Society in March. Obviously it is best to help Africa by getting the printing done there. As i travel, i shall be seeking information from printers like the African Inland Press i once visited in Mwanza, Tanzania.

The bottom 2 books are inside and outside of the same book – [...]]]> Below next to the spirally-bound light blue book in ‘veryeasy’ French – made with the generous help of Ian Melton (Cefni Computers) and Richard Johnston, are 4 books from my old friend Phil Roberts a professional printer and FIEC pastor from Stoke, UK.

The bottom 2 books are inside and outside of the same book – ‘veryeasy’ Chin Bible Stories – translated and ordered by Pastor Hmung, a Baptist General Secretary from Mandalay, Myanmar.

After i’d put in the order, Phil told me that he’s visiting Myanmar  in Feb. Another of God’s coincidences!

The yellow books in the photo are more than 10 years old and they are very strong. I carry one with me on all my travels.  We shall experiment with both systems and also soon – with printing in Africa.

Please pray for her hip operation on Feb 9th. Lydie has spent 15 years as a missionary in Tanzania – please pray that she will be able to return.

My host in Lusaka [...]]]> Lydie from a French-speaking part of Switzerland has agreed not only to check the easyFrench from DRC – BUT TO OVERSEE FRENCH FOR EUROPE.

Please pray for her hip operation on Feb 9th. Lydie has spent 15 years as a missionary in Tanzania – please pray that she will be able to return.

My host in Lusaka is gradually improving from pneumonia – please continue praying for Evaristo.

I can now realistically call it an ‘African’ conference today – after my Egyptian friend Fr John, who has been doing veryeasyArabic has agreed to be [...]]]> Rev Ignatius has wonderfully mentioned that his church in Kabwe will find at least 12 free beds for the duration of our Africa Conference for ‘EasyBibles’. Feb 4th to 13th.

I can now realistically call it an ‘African’ conference today – after my Egyptian friend Fr John, who has been doing veryeasyArabic has agreed to be an email partner – and my Scottish Comboni friend  (also Fr John) having just returned from Kampala has told me of a distinguished Ugandan friend who will make another excellent email partner.

That makes a total of 8 countries hoping to attend Kabwe and 3 countries who wish to be ‘email partners’ – so far!