Family Heartbreak Becomes a Legacy of Youth Development in Zambia

A story of sorrow and loss recently became a legacy of support to Seventh-day Adventist education in Zambia when church leaders, a lay-led ministry, and other partners inaugurated the new Lisa Mack Education Center in Mwami, Eastern Province. The October 25 ceremony gathered more than 1,200 people for a service of thanksgiving and praise.

Honoring a Supporter

The new educational center was named after Lisa Mack, a nurse and longtime supporter and volunteer of Maranatha Volunteers International, a supporting ministry that builds schools and churches and drills water wells around the world. After her untimely death in 2021, her husband, David Mack, a businessman from California, United States, and his family decided to support the construction of the new center to honor her memory.

Mack shared how he had been saving for years to support initiatives driven by Maranatha. When his wife got sick, he decided to take a break from his business enterprises to become his wife’s full-time caregiver. “And when Lisa died, I committed the funds to make a difference in the lives of many.”

It hasn’t been a smooth ride, as the family still grieves the fact that their wife, mother, and grandmother is no longer with them. “There’s not a single day that we don’t miss Lisa,” Mack acknowledged. “But she had a heart for the education of children and young people. No doubt she would be delighted if she could see this center, even though a little overwhelmed because of all the attention received.” David and Lisa Mack’s son, J. J. Mack, concurred. “There’s nothing that my mom loved more than children,” he shared. “She felt genuine love for them. And I appreciate the fact that my dad decided to transform a loss into a legacy.”

A Mission-Driven Initiative

The new center, which will be the only secondary school in the area, includes 14 classrooms, a main hall that can double as a church sanctuary, and offices and restrooms, Maranatha leaders reported. It also includes the desks students need to enjoy a comfortable study experience. Behind the podium, mobile floorboards can be easily removed to open up to a baptismal pool. “We know this hall will become a place where many people will also commit their lives to God through baptism,” a local church leader told Maranatha leaders during a site visit a day before the October 25 inauguration.

“People are watching,” Harrington Akombwa, president of the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division of the Adventist Church (SID), said. “They see that the Seventh-day Adventist Church, through Maranatha, is providing schools and water. They see that [Adventists] are providing care. They see it, and then when they go around they tell the story. . . . They [do] the preaching.”

Addressing Maranatha, Akombwa acknowledged the far-reaching implications of this initiative. “What you have done here . . . you won’t be able to see how far it will go,” he said. Drawing on his own life story, Akombwa explained that “wherever I’m going and whoever I’m touching, it is because of my teachers, who raised me and created a world that was not there before.” His hope is that his experience can be replicated many times over at the Lisa Mack Education Center.

Words of Appreciation

During the October 25 ceremony regional church leaders, parents, and students shared how excited they are about the new facilities. For Moureen Phiri, a church member who is also mother of several prospective students, this is a game changer for the area.

Even though tuition is free, Phiri, a subsistence farmer, struggles to send her children to school with a full stomach and clean clothes. Even buying a bar of soap is a sacrifice, and children walk several kilometers each way from their hut to the school grounds, she shared.

Still, Phiri seem ecstatic and extremely thankful about the possibilities of the new school. Speaking in the local Nyanja language, she thanked church leaders and lay donors for their support. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the interest and commitment to Adventist education in this area,” she said with the help of an interpreter into English.

At the same time, Phiri shared her dreams for the new campus. “I also ask that this school may one day become a boarding school so that more children can come to this place to get an education,” she said.

A student selected to share some thoughts also emphasized the deep sense of thankfulness that she and her prospective classmates feel. “I stand here to share the gratitude I have in my heart,” she said. “Your kindness and commitment to education have brought hope to our lives. Thank you, Maranatha, for believing in us!”

From Loss to a Legacy of Salvation

In brief remarks at the end of the ceremony, Akombwa highlighted how the Macks’ attitude has implications for their lives and for the lives of those they will benefit through this legacy. “You could’ve been asking, ‘Why did God allow this?’ ” Akombwa told David Mack. “It could’ve even drowned out your generosity. But on the contrary, you decided to come here and let Lisa’s life be immortalized here.”

This also has spiritual undertones, Akombwa acknowledged. “The Bible says that the last enemy we will defeat will be death, and all of us must pass through that dark place when death comes to hit at us. . . . But Christ came and defeated death. And we can also triumph over death,” he emphasized.

Akombwa said that he believes that as we wait for the ultimate victory over death, “the time of waiting will be cut short, because many are going to come to school here.” He added, “[Students] are going to learn temperance, they are going to learn the law of God, which is wisdom to everyone. . . . In this place children will learn about the three angels’ messages. In this place men and women will be called to Jesus.”

Akombwa closed by emphasizing once more the potential of the Macks’ decision to leave an impactful legacy for as long as we are in this world. “From now until Jesus comes, Lisa will belong to us. We are going to grow and blossom, and we will be better educated thanks to this center,” he said.