Evangelism Partners International

Testimony From Malitas Phiri
Chama District – Missionary Raphael Zulu 2018

Malitas Phiri is 55 years old having 10 children at Chimchembele village has been saved from danger to life. This is great choice for this woman who has not gone to church all of her life of 55 years together with the family. This woman was a witch doctor and was a great woman to all the 14 villages around her village. When people would get sick they would go to this woman for help and pay $40-$100. This woman is very rich but the bad part is that most people go to this woman but didn’t get help. Many deaths happen in those villages but no one has given these people in this village the right message and hope. It was on 16th of September when we reached this village and started witnessing door-to door. This woman didn’t allow us to reach her home and even chased us from the compound calling us bad people and many bad names. In the evening time when we played our music the woman came and stood 30 meters away as she watched the Jesus Film. When I made the alter call, after preaching the good news of the Gospel, Ms. Phiri came forward from the crowd and made her choice to receive Christ and told me and the team to pray for her and her family. She asked us to help her burn all her magic tools and uniforms. Ms. Phiri, her husband and 10 children are now members of New Revelation Baptist Church.

Testimony From Samson Teya
Chama District – Missionary Raphael Zulu 2017

I am Samson Teya and was born in 1980 at Zoole Village in the area of Chief Chikwa. I was a pagan and I did not know God. My mother took me to church at the New Apostolic church, and then she stopped moving with me. Then I joined the Chipangano Church of Zambia, but I was not repented through these churches and stopped going to any church. It was worse for me and I was a thief destroying people’s properties without mercy. One day I was told that EPI was having a Jesus film show in our village and I wanted very much too see this film. The message which came out from the Jesus’ film spoke to my heart, including the preaching of Pastor Zulu, and then I repented of my sin and received Jesus Christ as my savior and Lord. I registered my name and joined the Baptist church. I was baptized and this time I am born again. I am a married man with three children who are now hearing the word of God and are very much involved in my church. I am thanking God for giving me new life, may God bless EPI. After some time, I was chosen to serve as a deacon in the branch church at Zoole village. Because I now know God, I am able to help others to know him.

Testimony from Lekiyas Ngundi (Former Witchdoctor)
Mfuwe Village

“I am Lekiyas Nguni, the former witchdoctor at Mfuwe village and I am a 65 -year-old man. I was not happy when the JESUS film team came to my village. I made an appeal to all the forces of witchcraft to spoil their program and destroy their property. Because I am the witchdoctor of the village, I make my living in fetishism and witchcraft and these men were preaching about a Jesus that was more powerful than my witchcraft. Even though I did not believe in their Jesus, I was afraid they would spoil my livelihood. But I saw that these men prayed for God’s protection and their programs went well with no breakdowns, I decided I would watch their Jesus film show. After hearing the story of Jesus I went to the missionary and asked him to pray with me to receive Jesus as my savior and my life has been totally changed. After the service was over, some men prayed over me for a long time and all the demons that had given me power left my body. I felt as if many weights had been lifted off me and I was so happy. Now I have joined the new Baptist Church that was started in my village and I have brought all of my family to the church. I have destroyed all my witchcraft tools and have even burned my former home. I was amazed that the new church members helped me rebuild my home and have provided so many things for me. Now when people come to me for witchcraft services, I tell them about Jesus and invite them to my church.”

TESTIMONY FROM PASTOR MUMTAZ MUKHTAR

My name is Pastor Mumtaz. I went to the village for church planting and for Jesus Film event. I visited  whole day village named Mariamabad. But when I went next day there Muslim man gave money to a person named Dilawar and said him to blame Mumtaz for  kidnapping a girl from this village. That background man is really resourceful and have influence in police station. With this influence they both went to police station and write a FIR against me and 3 more of our team members named Nasir Assi, Nadeem, Saleem. This blamed is very unethical. Police called me and threatened me and ask me where is that girl who kidnapped by you. I said to them I don’t know what are you talking about. They jailed me 2 days. My other team members petition in session judge and bailed me. When I appeared in front of Judge he frees me. Because, this is wrong report. This happened because of Jesus Film and Church Planting but God saved me. Praise the Lord. Please help us and keep praying for me. Blessings,

Pastor Mumtaz.   

TESTIMONY FROM SAIMA… sweeper in school

My name is Saima. I am working as a sweeper in school. I have been working since 5 years in this school. There teachers saying to me daily to convert Islam. They taught me about Islam too much since I worked.  Last few days I have changed my mind to leave Christianity and think its better to accept Islam. But, when Pastor Mumtaz team came in our village with the Jesus Film. I felt this is a normal thing like a normal Film. I am total illiterate. When they shown Jesus Film I amazed to watch this Film and saw the suffering of Jesus for me. The next day I went to school for work again they start to teach me about Islam but I already watched Film and strong in faith to Jesus. I said to them Jesus Christ pay the price for my sins and I will not embrace Islam any more. I am strong in faith. I will not change my religion at any stage. Thank you! Lord for this opportunity. Amen.

TESTIMONY LUNGISANI LUNGU- HEADMAN KALIMAKHANA VILLAGE

The EPI team traveled to Kalimakhana Village to set up the Jesus film show on warm February evening in Eastern Zambia. People began to gather and watch as the team began setting up the 92” screen and then began to play music. As always, the music was very different from the local native music and naturally people began to arrive from all directions even from surrounding villages that were close by. One of the people who showed up to find out the source of this unusual music was the headman of the village Lungisani Lungu. This headman did not go to church and was not especially a religious man, in fact he was married to more than 10 wives and was a bad man.  He moved from village to village just to get married to other woman at the same time he was a drinking, smoking and nyau dancing. The people in his village didn’t have peace and joy. After the Jesus Film had been shown, Deacon Charles Lungu preached the gospel message and headman Lungisani was one of the people touched and when the altar call was given, he was one of the ones who came forward to trust Jesus as his savior and was saved from that day. In the morning the headman called the people in the village to tell them what had happened to him and that he no longer lived in sin. Pastor Iwell Phiri was summoned to help the people in the village understand how to make good choices. From that meeting 17 people joined Golgotha Baptist Church and all are walking 7km to attend services.

TESTIMOMY ANASTAIA PHIRI….FORMER WITCH DOCTOR

“Two years ago, on the final day of our project in 2013, we set up the Jesus Film Show in a large open area next to a school in Kolomo village. It was a Saturday evening and the weather was ideal for doing a film show with a moderate temperature for the middle of June in Zambia, Africa. As always we set up the film show early to allow time for playing music to help attract attention to the showing of the Jesus Film. One of the people who heard the music and decided to attend the event was the witchdoctor of Kolomo village along with his entire family. He admitted later that he had come to disrupt the meeting. After showing the film, I preached the simple gospel message with Iwell as my interpreter. After preaching, we extended an altar call for those receiving Christ to come forward. To our amazement one of the first people to come out of the crowd was the witchdoctor and his family. The next morning Bethel Baptist Church was planted and when we arrived for the planting of the church, the witchdoctor and his family were already there sitting on the steps of the school building where the church would be meeting. Almost exactly two years later, we arrived at the recently completed church building of Bethel Baptist Church and almost like a magnet my eyes were drawn to this man who I knew was Anastaia Phiri. Oh how my heart leaped with joy as we drove up and stopped the bus. I knew it was him but he looked so different. This was a man who had given up everything he owned to follow Christ. The morning after he was saved, he contacted Iwell and asked for help with burning everything he owned, including his home. He was making a clean break with his former lifestyle to begin a NEW LIFE with Jesus. As I taught the men’s class of 22 men and then brought the message for the Bethel church service, I could hardly keep my eyes from falling upon this man that God was so remarkably changing. He took us to his new house after the service and showed us all that God had restored to him, even more than he had before. His crops were the best in the village. Another life changed in Zambia, Africa. It would have been worth travelling half way around the world, if he were the only one who came to Christ.”

Testimony from Msale Village
Msale village is located in Sinda North under Chief Kawaza. This village is in the rural area and no one has reached this village with the gospel before. Msale village is surrounded by four smaller villages about 7-10 KM apart. We set up the Jesus Film on December 7th and began to play music as people were coming. A very large crowd from surrounding villages gathered for the showing of the film and after the gospel was preached, to our amazement, one of the first families to come forward for the invitation to receive Christ was the headman of the village, Mr. Msale. After the time of counseling Mr. Msale said to Iwell, “ Thank God for you pastor for coming to my village and bringing the good news about Jesus. This village has not received the true gospel for more than 40 years but today we have known the true gospel and the Jesus film. The headman and 6 children and one wife have joined Adonai Baptist Church. The headman did not go to church from the time he was born and the headman is 75 years old amd his wife is 55 years old. This family did not believe in God but in the traditional ways and all in this village were very much amazed that he came forward to receive Christ as his savior.
Not only the headman of Msale village was saved but when the invitation was given the witch doctor also came forward to receive Christ. Eunice, a woman of 52 years, was not a believer all her life and was a bad woman in msale village. She had been a witch doctor for over 30 years and had become rich selling charms and magic. God touched her heart and opened her eyes to the truth about Jesus and she gave her life to Christ. She told Iwell “This is truly the best day of my life. Thank you for bringing this good news to our village.” She asked me to come and help her burn all her charms and magic thus enabling her to begin a new life.