They have their hands full

More than one thousand people to seal in a three-hour service! Where is that still possible? In Zambia, a New Apostolic stronghold. The Apostles have their hands full.

Zambia is a wonderful country with wonderful people. Situated in south-central Africa, it borders Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia. The New Apostolic Church there has a membership of over one million. The nearly 10,000 congregations are cared for by 30,000 ministers.

District Apostle Charles Ndandula is the national church president. He travels a lot and visits congregations everywhere. In mid April he was in the north of the country for a whole week, in North-Western Province. His agenda was crammed. He reports that a series of divine services and meetings had been planned. “Initially I had not planned to visit any particular congregation on Sunday, 24 April, so I used the opportunity to go to Ndola,” the District Apostle writes.

More than a thousand people sealed

The divine service took place in our congregation Ndola-Central. People from five neighbouring districts had been invited to Ndola who had so far only been baptized but not yet sealed. The local Apostle Aaron Katungu had been ill for quite some time and therefore unable to work. Regrettably, he passed away in September 2015. So there had not been any divine services in the region with Holy Sealing since the middle of last year.

The District Apostle has seen a lot, but what awaited him in Ndola was even unusual for him. More than 4,000 people had gathered for the divine service, and 1,304 expressed the wish to receive Holy Sealing. “That was very moving and at the same time a historic moment. The service lasted nearly three hours. It was very long, but that could not be avoided,” he said afterwards.

Ndola: a young old city

Ndola is one of the largest cities in Zambia with a population of over 400,000. It is the capital of Copperbelt province, an industrialized region in north-central Zambia known for its mine service industries. It is a young city—founded in 1904—and at the same time the second oldest in the country. This is one of the many secrets in this wonderful country with its many wonderful people.

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Peter Johanning
02.05.2016
Zambia, Holy Sealing, Divine service