The accident sent shockwaves across Zambia. It also raised questions about boat-safety standards and the availability of commercial transportation on the lake. The only regularly scheduled boat service was a large, government-owned ship that crisscrossed the lake once a week.
To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, September 27.
By Andrew McChesney
Editor’s note: One of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath projects is a mission boat that will sail on Lake Bangweulu in Zambia. Here is an inside look at the mission project. It is a project born out of tragedy.
Emmanuel Mwewa has sailed Lake Bangweulu many times. Boats are the main way of reaching the 100,000 people living on the lake’s islands. Boats are the main way that those 100,000 people can travel to the rest of Zambia. As a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, Emmanuel has crisscrossed the lake many times to encourage the 1,300 Adventists who worship every Sabbath in the islands’ 18 congregations.
But one visit stands out in Emmanuel’s memory. It was the day that he visited one of the islands for the funeral of 14 Adventists who drowned in the lake.
“It was so emotional because 14 coffins stood in one place,” Emmanuel said. “Both government and church leaders gathered on the main island of Chilubi. I was there. This was a big disaster for the country.”
The tragedy occurred on a Friday. Forty-two Adventists were sailing on a church-rented boat between two islands. The Adventists planned to spend the Sabbath engaged in mission outreach, including the promotion of an upcoming Pathfinder camporee. A strong wind was blowing across the vast lake, which is about the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut. Suddenly, a large wave crashed into the boat, and it capsized.
A nearby ship managed to fish 28 people out of the water. But 14 others, including a 2-year-old child, perished.
The accident sent shockwaves across Zambia. It also raised questions about boat-safety standards and the availability of commercial transportation on the lake. The only regularly scheduled boat service was a large, government-owned ship that crisscrossed the lake once a week. People who wanted to cross the lake at other times had to rent a boat.
At the funeral, a senior government leader appealed to the Adventist Church to help prevent the repeat of such an accident. He asked the church to consider providing a regularly scheduled boat service on the lake. The boat would supplement the services already offered by the government ship.
Leaders of the Adventist Church’s Northern Zambia Union Conference, where the lake is located, accepted the challenge.
“It is the commitment of the Northern Zambia Union Conference to provide a better system of transport,” said Emmanuel, who serves as the union’s executive secretary.
But the boat would cost U.S.$100,000, more than the local church could afford. So, the union asked for the boat to be included among the Thirteenth Sabbath projects for third quarter 2025. The request for the offering to cover part of the boat’s cost was approved at all levels of the church.
Emmanuel is excited about the opportunities that the mission boat could provide.
The boat, which would be able to carry 60 passengers, would operate a regular service on the days that the government ship does not travel. Passengers would pay a fare that covered only the boat’s expenses.
While the government ship has television screens that show advertisements, the mission ship would have television screens that show singing and preaching on Hope Channel.
“The boat will not only transport people from the mainland to the islands but also preach to them,” Emmanuel said.
He appealed to church members around the world to support this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering.
“As we think of how to spread the gospel on Lake Bangweulu, it is our desire that this boat will help save lives on the lake and save lives for the Kingdom,” he said. “The goal of the project is to turn a tragedy into a blessing.”
