23/07/2026
STORIES FROM Stu-MM
(Story 2: A Mission Field Testimony)
"She Answered the Call... Then Everything Changed"
_A Mission Story from Lufwanyama_
Every mission field leaves behind memories that time can never erase.
Our mission to Lufwanyama was no different.
We were camped at Kambale Mission Site, where God worked in countless ways throughout the week. Every day brought new testimonies, answered prayers, and opportunities to witness His power. The entire mission was extraordinary.
Yet, among all the experiences we had, one particular event continues to echo in my mind. It constantly reminds me how real God's presence becomes when His people surrender themselves completely to Him and earnestly seek Him in prayer.
It happened on the Sabbath—the final day of our mission. The date was Saturday, February 28, 2026.
As usual, the local church members, missionaries and the invited community gathered for Sabbath worship. The service had been planned outdoors, and everything was progressing normally until, just before the sermon, dark clouds gathered overhead.
Soon, the wind picked up, and the approaching rain forced everyone to leave the open space and move into a nearby classroom.
Looking back, even fitting the entire congregation into that single classroom felt like a miracle in itself.
As everyone settled inside, the rain began to fall.
The prayer band quietly continued praying and singing hymns as the weather intensified. The heavier the rain became, the louder the thunder echoed across the village.
Only God truly knows what was taking place beyond what our eyes could see.
Despite the storm outside, the preaching continued.
When the sermon drew to a close, the preacher made an appeal for baptism which was scheduled to occur on that very Sabbath afternoon but due to some unforeseen circumstances was moved to afternoon the following day.
Without hesitation, one young woman stood up.
She was the very first to respond.
The congregation rejoiced. Voices of "Amen!" filled the room as others also stood to accept Christ's call.
It was a beautiful moment.
Or so we thought.
One of our missionary ushers, Mwaka Keembe, approached the young woman to record her details.
Suddenly, something changed.
She avoided eye contact, appeared visibly distressed, and quietly sat back down.
Mwaka moved on to assist the others while trying to understand what had happened. As she did, some local church members quietly mentioned that the young woman had previously experienced troubling spiritual manifestations and believed she was under the influence of evil spirits.
Moments later, she collapsed onto the classroom floor.
She began moving uncontrollably and soon appeared to lose consciousness.
Shock spread throughout the room.
The Dorcas mothers quickly rushed to help and attempted to carry her outside. Surprisingly, despite several women trying together, they struggled to lift her until some missionary brothers came to assist.
Meanwhile, our missionary prayer band, led by Aurick Maumbi and Miriam Nambaya, had been gathered in another classroom, praying specifically for the preaching service and for God's blessing, power and intervention upon the meeting.
When news reached them, they immediately came.
They surrounded the young woman and began praying earnestly.
_"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." — James 5:16 (KJV)_
For a long time, they continued praying.
There were moments when she cried out, moments when her body shook violently, moments when she appeared to retch, and moments of complete silence.
Nearly an hour passed.
Eventually, she regained consciousness.
She was given water, food, and allowed time to recover while the worship service came to an end.
After the whole Sabbath service, she made an unexpected request.
She asked the prayer band to accompany her home.
By then, it was already late afternoon.
I joined the prayer band as we followed her.
Our journey took us across muddy paths, through thick bushes, along narrow forest trails, and deeper into the countryside.
The cold season made the walk even more challenging.
As we continued, daylight slowly disappeared, and darkness began to settle over the forest before we finally reached her home.
Along the way, our team divided into two groups because another family nearby had also requested prayer.
Half of the team remained with the young woman, while the other half went to minister to the second family.
At her home, we were warmly welcomed.
Her husband soon joined us as we gathered together.
After reading Scripture, sharing words of encouragement, and discussing what had happened earlier that day, the conversation took an unexpected turn.
With remarkable honesty, the husband began revealing painful matters that few people knew.
He explained that before marrying him, his wife had sought help from traditional witch doctors and had obtained various charms and ritual objects without his knowledge or consent.
According to him, these items had brought fear into their home.
He spoke about disturbing experiences during the night, constant spiritual unrest within the family, and the strange manifestations his wife had been experiencing.
As he continued speaking, it became clear that the situation was much deeper than we had imagined.
Then came the words that changed the atmosphere completely.
The husband confessed that he had already been considering ending their marriage.
He felt overwhelmed.
He no longer knew how to live with everything that had been happening.
As he spoke, some of the items were brought out for us to see.
There were bottles containing unusual liquids, strings tied around various objects, and other items associated with traditional practices.
For many of us, it was the first time we had ever seen such things up close.
The atmosphere became heavy.
Tears filled the young woman's eyes.
Imagine discovering, in front of young strangers, that your marriage was on the verge of collapsing because of choices you had made years before.
She was only in her early twenties.
For a moment, no one spoke.
The silence said everything.
Only then did we realize that what had happened during the church service was only one part of a much bigger struggle.
Here we were—a group of young missionaries, most of us, if not all of us, also in our early twenties.
None of us had marriage experience.
None of us were trained counsellors.
Yet we now found ourselves sitting in the middle of a marriage that was falling apart, a family living in fear, and a young woman desperately needing hope.
The following morning we would be leaving Kambale camp site for a baptism ceremony at Kapilamikwa camp site before finally leaving Lufwanyama.
Humanly speaking, there wasn't much time.
It truly felt like a "now or never" moment.
But while the situation seemed impossible for us, it was never impossible for God.
_"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." — James 1:5 (KJV)_
We prayed.
We surrendered ourselves completely to Him.
And then something beautiful happened.
As the conversation continued, God began giving wisdom to the young missionaries.
Scripture after Scripture came to mind.
Words of counsel flowed naturally.
Principles about forgiveness, repentance, grace, marriage, commitment, and God's power to restore were shared with a clarity that none of us could have produced on our own.
Looking back, I remain convinced that God Himself was leading that conversation.
Little by little, hearts began to soften.
_"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation." — 2 Corinthians 5:18 (KJV)_
The husband listened.
The wife listened.
Tears turned into honest conversation.
Conversation turned into forgiveness.
Forgiveness opened the door to reconciliation.
By the end of our time together, a marriage that had stood on the edge of collapse had been restored.
The family chose to surrender everything connected to those traditional practices.
They willingly handed the objects over to us so they could be destroyed.
For many of us, it was the first time we had ever been entrusted with such a responsibility.
By then, night had completely fallen.
Rain began to fall once again.
Holding the containers filled with those objects, we walked back through the dark forest paths toward our campsite.
As we walked through the rain and the darkness, we sang hymns at the top of our voices.
Not because we were fearless.
But because we knew the God we served.
Along the way, those objects were disposed of, and we continued our journey back to camp with hearts overflowing with gratitude.
The greatest surprise, however, was still waiting for us.
The following morning, before our mission team departed from Lufwanyama, the young woman returned.
_"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." — 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)_
This time, she was not alone.
Her husband stood beside her.
Together, they publicly surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ through baptism.
God had done far more than we expected.
He had not only answered prayer.
He had restored hope.
He had reconciled a marriage.
He had strengthened a family.
And He had reminded a group of young missionaries that His power is made perfect in human weakness.
That mission taught me a lesson I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
God does not call the qualified. He qualifies those who answer His call.
_"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise... that no flesh should glory in his presence." — 1 Corinthians 1:27–29 (KJV)_
If we completely surrender ourselves to Him...
If we faithfully pray...
If we make ourselves available...
God can use ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.
I went to Lufwanyama with Stu-MM expecting to witness God working.
I left knowing that I had experienced it for myself.
— The End —
Narrated by: Elijah Chimbini
(Br. Elijah was the Lufwanyama Mission Bemba Translator during all the Crusade Presentations by the mission preacher, Br. Emmanuel Ng'ambi)
Editor: Parison Kamwela
Student Missionary Movement (Stu-MM)
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