Love Africa: slavery, sacrifice and a Source of new oil

OM International What happens when six hundred believers from different spheres of life, different generations and corners of the world gather together with one goal—to worship God? Well, exactly that: God receives the worship. From the 5-8 of August, OM Africa’s annual Love Africa Conference in Kabwe, Zambia, brought together ordinary and extraordinary people from all walks of life. Their backgrounds differed: one American man had developed wheel chair tennis as a sport; another was a headman from a remote village in Zambia. Others were wheelchair bound or hearing impaired, while still others had followed Christ to remote villages in Tanzania, Ghana and Malawi to share Christ with their Muslim brothers, who then also attended the conference. The conference was a time of fellowship, diversity, unity, power and mobilisation. Workers gave testimony of how God has transformed their communities through passionate followers of Christ. “It is an exciting time to be part of what God is doing in Africa,” said OM’er Heather Laba, who is originally from the U.S. but is working in South Africa with her husband. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else right now.” One participant, Laban, a teacher from OM Lake Tanganyika, said, “You know, I want to become president. I want to become a Christian doctor. I want to become a nurse. I can’t be all those things. But being a teacher, I can. For maybe, one day, one of my students will become president, and so I become president. So, I want to be the best teacher I can.” And from the testimony of one of his 10-year-old students it was clear that he was, indeed, making a lasting impact. “I see my teachers as my parents,” she said. “Thank you, teacher.” For many, these few days brought their focus back to issues of slavery around the world, to a renewed commitment to lives of sacrifice, and to meeting with the God of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath—the One whose oil never runs dry. Six hundred people realised their insignificance, yet opened their hands for God to fill. Six hundred have gone back to their communities to become world changers. Credit: OM International