In 2001, we faced one of the hardest decisions of our lives. A year earlier, we had moved to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with two main goals: to start a church and to find a good school for our children. We were thankful to succeed in finding an adequate school, but despite our efforts, we couldn’t get approval to start the church.
Leaving Tanzania was one of the hardest decisions we ever made. The dream of setting up a base for our mission was crushed, and we faced the tough reality of starting over somewhere else from scratch.
In 2001, our “somewhere else” was Lusaka, Zambia. We found another school for our children and once again began the long process of seeking approval to register our church. By then, our hearts carried the weight of disappointment, but we pressed on. And this time, God opened the door. The church was approved, and with it, a new chapter of life began.
Planting
Lusaka holds a special place in our hearts. Our children excelled academically, and the church experienced rapid growth. We had so many good experiences that when God called us to leave, we struggled.
Often, when you serve as a church planter or missionary, life can be tough. The call puts a target on you, and life, as we experienced in Tanzania, can be very disappointing. So, leaving a place like Lusaka was hard. However, when we remembered the blessings that came from obeying God’s guidance (that is, a church was started in Lusaka because we obeyed), we had no choice but to keep following God’s lead.
Dedication in Lusaka, Zambia
After many years and numerous church plants, we had the privilege of visiting Zambia two weeks ago to dedicate the main church building. Since 2001, the church has met in temporary facilities such as our living room, garage, tents, and a temporary pavilion (a structure with a tin roof but no walls).
So, you can appreciate the excitement we all felt in dedicating the building.
Today, there is not only one church in Zambia, but two, with plans for further expansion, perhaps even into neighboring Zimbabwe. And all of it began when our plans for Tanzania fell through, for when one door closes, God opens another.
Pictured: Jamie and Lea with Pastors Richard and Nadine who have been faithfully overseeing the church in Zambia since 2005 (for more dedication pictures, scroll down to the bottom of the page). It’s winter in the Southern Hemisphere right now, and it was a chilly morning when this picture was taken!
For a little more detail on Zambia, go to Lea’s blog and read, From Disappointment to Growth.
Update: Anna’s House
Anna’s House in Gatumba, Burundi (our outreach center for the especially vulnerable, including the elderly, disabled, and orphans) has been undergoing slow renovations over the past few months. Progress has been hampered by a fuel shortage in Burundi, making it difficult, costly, and complicated to transport materials to the site. Despite these challenges, we have made steady progress and hope to begin a “soft start” soon by opening the grounds to the community for basic services, such as showering and laundry.
Grateful
Thank you for the years of prayers and support that have helped make Zambia and other churches possible. God is faithful, and we are grateful!
Jamie, Lea, and Andreya
Book launch!
For those of you who knew Jamie’s father, Pastor Tom Peters, his sermon notes from his keynote prayer series taught in the 1980s are now available in book form. It is available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats. Search for the title: Teach Us How To Pray: A Legacy of Prayer by Pastor Tom Peters
Connect with us:
Email: JLPeters@africa-and-beyond.com
Online: www.africa-and-beyond.com
Lea’s blog: www.aculturalshift.com
Dedication Pictures, Lusaka, Zambia, July 2025
