Emma's Kids - Zambia

Isaac Katontoka was twelve years old when he was “picked.” That’s the term our field missionaries were told the street kids of Mulfulira, Zambia, use when they speak of being targeted by the Holy Spirit.

Isaac had been living on the streets for three years, since the age of nine. During that time he was exposed to violence in many forms. Most nights he slept on the streets or in dark corridors. On the few nights he returned home to his family’s hut, where food was scarce or nonexistent, he had to share floor space with six other people.

Like other street kids, Isaac was often beaten and humiliated by older kids, venders, even the police. Sometimes he had to flee from sexual abusers. He fed himself by picking up food from the streets or by begging. He also assisted bean vendors in their sales, and arranged for some of the beans to fall and be left behind so he could later resell them.

Any money that Isaac made, whether from selling or begging, he gave to his mother, who couldn’t afford to buy food. And because Isaac didn’t have money to go to school, what he wore didn’t matter. At one point he began smoking marijuana, because it helped him to forget his problems.

Then came the day when Isaac was “picked.” That’s the moment he met a worker from Emma’s Kids, a live-in program where children from the streets are fed, treated with tender care, and shown the love of Jesus Christ.

“I was in the chapel when Pastor Daniel was preaching,” Isaac says, “and I got saved.” His friends on the streets laughed when Isaac shared his experience with them. But, he says, “I did not care. Since that time I have never gone back to the streets.”

Today, at age sixteen, Isaac preaches and shares the gospel with compassion and zeal. On a recent Sunday, he delivered the morning sermon at a church in the bush. The church was Emma’s Kids’ first plant and is in one of the least evangelized areas of Zambia. The title of Isaac’s message was, “Come to Jesus.”

On that same day, Isaac interpreted the sermon during a service held in his home village of Kawama. The Emma’s Kids ministry has started a work there also, an area known for heavy involvement in witchcraft, drug trafficking, and drug and alcohol addiction. This new work is known as the Great Commission, with events staged on a slab of concrete. Most of the participants are children from the streets, kids who at one time were society’s “throwaways.”

One day a gentleman watched one of their worship gatherings from afar. He stood for a long time with his arms folded, listening attentively to every word. Then, without notice, he walked forward, knelt down, removed a packet of drugs from his pocket and laid it on the concrete before him. He gave his life to the Lord that day, and the children were excited to witness it. Isaac later said, “The Lord had shown me that something like this was going to happen.”

God has chosen these children from the streets to demonstrate his unmerited love. You have had a vital part in their rescue through your prayer support and financial gifts to World Challenge. Thank you for enabling us to be your hands extended, as we partner with Emma’s Kids to reach these precious children. We stand in awe at their spiritual maturity and fervency in prayer.