Our Son

Our son is older than we are. In fact, he is 84 years old. His name is BoNelson. He lives in the village of Kawilizhi. He came to know Christ through the ministry of one of our missionary couples, Kit and Mary Ann Smith, who were living in another part of Zambia at the time. He told them that he wanted to go home and share Jesus with his village. He returned to Kawilizhi just at the time we were beginning to plant churches in his area. Since that time, God has started a small church in his village. The Smiths returned to America, and he felt sad. We promised to come to his village to see him as often as we could. Each time we came he would say, “I’ve been crying for you people.” One day, out of the clear blue, he started calling me (Laurie) his mother. I found out that is because he considered me his spiritual mother. As time went by, he began to say that Wes was his father (his spiritual father). The Smiths, he told us, are his great mother and father because they led him to the Lord. Bo Nelson is a very special man. He is not a rich man, but is rich toward God. Every time we come to his village we find him reading the Bible and taking notes in a little book. Other times we find him teaching someone the Bible. Every time we come to his village he gives us a gift. We feel so humbled. We stopped at his village the other day to make some plans for ministry. He was so embarrassed that his wife was gone and could not make us something to eat, that he went to the little village store and bought us each a package of biscuits (cookies) and some sweeties (candy). It is hard to accept such a gift from someone who has so little, but we know that God will give back so much to him in return. One last thing I must say about Bo Nelson, About a month ago when we went to his village he told Wes that he is praying for Wes to live to be 130 years old so he can share Jesus with many people in Zambia. I told Wes, “Have fun without me!” This last visit he also added that he is praying for me to live to be 120. Figure that one out!