Visiting Chifwafwa

A couple of weeks ago we went out to another church at Chifwafwa. This village is a little more remote, and the people live more primitively. Our neighbor John was going there to preach. Since it is a very small assembly, he likes to support them when he can. They pretty much have one elder and a couple of women that are the regular attendance.

When we got there, a couple of the faithful members and a few children were waiting around. There is no meeting time (they don’t really live by the clock), so it starts whenever it seems right. In this case it was when the preacher arrived. This was a good thing, because we had car trouble on the way and probably would have been late. Once we arrived, the elder rang the bell, which was an old wheel hanging from a tree limb, struck by a tire iron. It was less of a “dong-dong-dong” and more of a “clank-clank-clank”, but it worked and people started coming.

We all filed into the little meeting house and took our seats.

Once we were inside and started singing, the place started to fill up. Apparently the word got around that there was a visiting preacher, because it ended up being a full house. Among the children, the word got around that there was a white baby in the house. More than half the people there were children, and they were pretty interested in the baby. When Crystal had to take him outside, they would all file out after her and “help” her put him to sleep. They watched us through the windows and sat in the back of the house.

John preached about two masters and two incomes, from Romans 6:23. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” After the service was over, we stood around and enjoyed mostly non-verbal fellowship with them. We brought a translator with us for the message, but most of us were limited to smiles and handshakes and the little stooping claps that the Lunda culture interprets as a greeting of respect.

Our daughter played with the children. They were amused that she wanted to give them leaves and sticks from the ground. Everything she finds is a treasure in her own mind.

It was fun day, and a bit of a different experience than most Sundays here. The Kalene church is much larger and more modern. On the way home, we stopped by the Zambina hydro-electric power plant that provides our electric power. It was built and is maintained by a U.K.-based trust that is connected with the descendants of the early missionaries in this area. It was an interesting tour, and I’ll write about that later.

Things are going well for us. We are only two weeks from leaving, and that’s hard to believe. We will be sad to leave this place and its beauty and people. At the same time, we are growing more eager to be home the closer it gets. Did someone say “Autumn”?  I love Ohio autumns, and it is one thing about living in Coshocton that I have looked forward to the most.

Prayer Requests

• The Kalene Hospital is beyond desperate for need of a couple of doctors. They are about a week away from being down to a half of a doctor for the entire 160-bed hospital. He can’t begin to meet the demand with the time he spends here. The government is in charge of hospital staffing, but have been far less than helpful in this round. Please pray for a couple of doctors to be assigned here, or for visiting foreign doctors to fill the need.
• Sakeji school is in need of some teachers. They have short-term help for this school term, but need some more long-term staff.
• For us, please pray for our preparation for travel. Pray that we will “be anxious for nothing” concerning our transition through South Africa. Last time it went very poorly, and I am having a hard time facing it again without worrying. We have a short layover, so there is very little margin for trouble.

We leave Kalene Monday morning the 26th, and plan to arrive back in Ohio on the 28th. We look forward to seeing our family and friends (if you are not in Ohio, I guess we’ll have to work something out).