Our brother, Robert Kashala, who has been given the responsibility to lead the new assembly in Maano, a remote place in Mwembeshi, had decided to go to the place earlier to do some visitation works. He had also created what we call a prayer-fasting chain schedule for believers in that area. In a prayer-fasting chain each person in church picks a day on which they will be in prayer and fasting to pray for the success of the meetings and to also prepare themselves for the meetings. However, two days before the scheduled meetings in this remote place the area experienced heavy rainfall and terrible flooding, making the roads impassable.

These video clips were sent to me a day before the meetings. I phoned Bro Kashala asking if meetings will be possible. His response: “Yes, meetings have to go on”. These brethren are soldiers of the cross and very resolute about their mission. I was encouraged. Bro Kashala had once testified:

“This is a farming area and people are always busy in the fields. So, when it rained, we still went ahead with evangelism because the rains kept people in their homes and that was good because we found them in the homes and we shared the Word“.

Well, when the day of meetings finally came, it was amazing to see the little classroom fill up. This is a sparsely populated farming area and people live far apart. This attendance warmed my heart, knowing that in places that seem like nothing can happen, the Word will still call out people.

First Day of Meetings

On the first day of meetings, 15th February 2025, I preached on “A Strange Touch“. In the beginning God touched the ground and formed man (Gen.2:7). It was a perfect touch because it made a body that was well complete and with no leakage anywhere. But then came the Touch of Sin on our bodies and what was once whole could now get sick and have running issues out of it. Good looked at that as unclean and declared: “Whosoever toucheth his bedding…shall…be unclean” (Lev.15:5), “he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue” shall also be unclean (v.7), “Whosoever toucheth anything that was under him shall be unclean” (v.10). The same applied to women – “Whosoever toucheth her bed…whosever toucheth any thing that she sat upon…” would be unclean (v.21).

The issue of blood could go on for a few days and one only needed to bathe themselves and wait until evening to be declared clean. However, a troublesome situation was when the issue of blood was a chronic problem. Even when one was in such a prolonged situation the Law did not spare; it still required one to be in isolation for that period – “And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean“(v.15). That was big trouble for one woman in Israel. She heard about all the great testimonies surrounding the ministry of the Lord Jesus but the Law imprisoned her; she had an issue of blood for twelve long years! First, she could not mingle with people and then people were not to touch her and she was not to touch anyone. But for 12 years? Think about her social and economic well being. Well, enough was enough and she decided to hide in the crowd and only touch the hem of Jesus’ garment (Luk.8:43-48). That was forbidden because whatsoever she touched would be unclean. But that day something strange happened. She came from behind and secretly touched the hem of Jesus garment and was made whole, that was Grace! Jesus felt disturbed, he turned around and asked, “Who touched me?” That was not a nice happy question. He felt a strange touch. It had brocken a law but which led to virtue leaving him -not to go and judge the woman but to heal her. Faith had healed her!

We broke into praises to God as we listened to these words of God’s grace. The atmosphere was electrified with the emotion of thankfulness to God. But more importantly we felt God’s love which reaches out to conditions that can trouble and even segregate us.

Second Day of Meetings

Meetings concluded on the second day with a continuation of how after the woman with an issue of blood was healed Jesus proceeded to go and pray for a dead person. A crowd followed him, but on reaching the funeral house, he did not allow everyone to accompany him. As he entered the house and told the people that the girl was not dead but only sleeping, the laughed him to scorn (Luke 8:53). Was that just a laugh? No. Whenever God is about to do something, one has to beware of circumstances, people’s faces, gestures or words that will work to weaken faith. The Lord was quick to put them all out of the house. Only six people remained in the room – the Lord Jesus, Peter, James, John and the father and mother of the dead child. These had a heart of expectation, a desire to see God’s power to raise that little child. The people were admonished to beware of what thoughts, circumstances or atmosphere around them that is trying to keep their hearts away from believing God. At the end of the service many came to the altar asking God to touch them.

The first time I had an evangelistic service in this place we had about three new people who came to the meetings. This time it was a blessing to the small classroom with a number of new faces.

The expectation and joy of hearing the Word was most encouraging. May God touch the hearts of the people in this place. We are praying for Bro Kashala for God to continue using him in this area in continuing to spread the Word. Amen.