Good day to you from the wet streets of Lusaka. It is raining so hard in Lusaka Zambia that it is not easy to drive around. But I found a bit of time to say a word or two on this last day of 2008.
But before I write on, may I make a quick announcement.
MENTORING PROGRAM IS FULL
Due to the overwhelming response to our mentoring program, we have decided to close the doors. We have been oversubscribed. We received nearly four times the number that we needed and we truly are grateful to everyone that registered. We will be contacting you shortly.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN KASAMA
Mubita will be Live in Kasama at Kasama Lodge on Friday January 16th, 2009. Title- The Psychology of Women- The 7 Mountains Every Woman Must Climb. Don't Miss.
THE POST IS BACK
Mubita is back with his weekly Column on Leadership in Zambia's leading daily The Post. Join Mubita in the business post every Tuesday for an interesting and inspiring column.
BREAK THE MOLD IN 2009
I wish I could start this letter on a more celebratory note. But I must shoot straight. There are people who will try and frustrate your effort in 2009. They may not do it by putting the wrong kind of gas in your car or by literally throwing spanners in your spokes. They will do it by casting you in a certain way. I have noticed in life that people are intimidated by anyone who is dynamic, proficient, prolific, articulate, and motivated and simply put, different. If you posses any of these qualities then expect some trouble.
A few days ago I got a very sad text from someone who claimed to be my friend. As I read the text, I was so saddened by how limited they thought of me. In the end, what I saw were people who were so excited about what I was doing (still doing) now that they did not see me doing other things at all.
Here is what their text read in part; "Mubita I just want you to be aware that there is an article that has been in the making that is entitled, 'Mubita is now losing his focus-wants to form a church'. Mubita I won't mention the source….." I have never felt betrayed. What was hurtful about that text was that this so called friend had the audacity to even hide the source of the article. In fact any journalist worth their salt is supposed to contact the subject before publishing anything.
I told them to write whatever they wanted. As much as I love Zambia so much, I have found that people can be prejudiced and limiting. In America you are not limited by anything. You can become anything that you want. If Mubita Nawa wants to open a church I think that is the prerogative of Mubita Nawa. I don't know why people can be so scared of me. I am just a simple Lozi boy with a dream. And if they knew me well, they would appreciate that I have been in ministry and in Pastoral work for over 17 years. When I was in high school, my friends and I were small time pastors for two years. When I graduated, I served under Pastor Cyril and Nawa Phiri for six years. I was their finance man and I also helped them preach and lead the church in my little ways. When I went to the USA, I was in children's ministry as an ordained minister for seven years. Then I went to Christian Life Cathedral where I was ordained as a Pastor and served as Children's Pastor for just over a year. And those who know me from the USA can testify that I am a damn good pastor (excuse my French). So If I want to form my own church, what is wrong with that? Surely all this experience can't just go to waste as a travelling minister? What scares me the most about some people is that they are so scared of me and I have not even become anything yet. Can you imagine? I am not even half the man I am supposed to be. What about the day I realize my full potential?
If I am good enough to preach at your church and to teach your people on church leadership, you mean I am not good enough to teach and preach in an organization that encompasses all that I teach?
I wanted you to read an excerpt from my book The Roadmap To True Leadership. It reads:-
PRAY FOR ME
"So I need you to pray for me. Pray that I find my deepest and purest of passions. Pray that I may not stray from the purpose God has for me. Just because you can cook does not mean you should be a chef. But by the same token, just because you have never cooked does not mean you cannot be a chef.
I want you to be praying for me that I may use my voice to bless others. I really want to inspire people to become their best."
Now read another excerpt from a book I wrote seven years ago. It was my first book Why Not Defy the Odds and I wrote it when I was 25.
"but he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:10
"You must take a deliberate choice to look at things differently. I believe that every cloud has a silver lining. In fact, some of the things that you are going through right now may not be pleasant at all. But in a few days time, a few months or years, you will be praising God for allowing you to go through what you are going through. So you might as well begin to thank him now and save yourself a heart attack and a nervous breakdown.
The bible says all things. Not some things that we like and others that we do not like. All of them are ingredients for this great concoction of goodness and mercy that God is preparing for you. After all you will never appreciate electricity unless you understand that currencies flow in pairs and in different directions. A positive and a negative direction. How can you appreciate light if you have never been in darkness? You will never appreciate joy if you have never been sad.
So why me? Because you are special. You are the starring in a blockbuster movie. You are the main character and the protagonist in your own movie. You are highly endowed with grace and ability to withstand pressure. You may fall but you are not out. God is so positively confident in you that he says,
"No weapon formed against you shall be able to prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, though shalt condemn….."
God has so much faith in you because he knows that he who is in you is greater than the one that is in the world. He knows that His strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, do not panic. Be still and see the salvation of the Lord."
So to you my friend I say, do what God has asked you to do. If you believe in what you want to do then do it. As my former pastor Pastor Phiri used to say, "Never be scared of making a decision. If you discover that it is the wrong one, then change it."
Go out there and defy the odds of your life. If you are a lawyer and you are sick and tired of being a lawyer and deep down your heart you want to be a nurse, I say forget law and embark on nursing. People will laugh at you for a while. But you know what, eventually even a fool is respected for being a determined fool. Eventually even a drunk man is respected for at least finding his way home.
Your success must never be defined by what people call success. Your success must be defined by what you and God call success. If God is happy with you, I say go for it. After all, we can't live our lives through the measuring tapes of others.
As for me, I am cool. I am determined to become what God has destined me to be. If I have wings, then I am probably a bird. And I will fly at any given chance. If I have scales, I might be a fish. You know what I will do when I see water.
"My ultimate goal in life is not to be understood. My goal is to understand what my purpose is." Mubita Nawa
Some of us might never sing one hundred songs in front of an opera. But the one song we are given the chance to sing, we will sing it well. We will hit every note there is to hit and we will sweat while we are at it. If it is the right key then thank God. If is the wrong key, then thank God too because at least we sung the song. In the end, we are mortal beings with and intangible destiny that we define with each step of faith that we take.
Don't allow anyone to treat you as second class. You have just as much a right to become what you must become as everyone. Now go out there and do your thing.
My name is Mubita Christopher Nawa. I have one life to live and I will live it to the maximum. Stay blessed my friend and thanks for reading this e-mail.
And I am still the Lozi boy with a dream. "If others can do it, so can you."
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