Africa 2013 Day Two

It's close to 10:00p.m. and we are just arriving back from a day in the African bush. We filled up our dear friend and guide Noah's Toyota van this morning and I noticed as we were pulling in that his low fuel light is on. We have driven through and visited with many villages today. Today was mostly dedicated to following up on villages where Nathan and his previous groups had done evangelism, planted churches and drilled much needed water wells. Probably the most exciting and the one that made a huge impression on me is a church called Living Waters. It is in a very remote village and it was amazing to drive up and see the Pastor, an African national, standing there waiting. He was overjoyed to see Nathan and it was awesome to walk with them to the tree where it all started. It was under this tree that they had the first service preached by a layman that Nathan had brought on a short term mission trip. In the fourteen months since, the church has constructed a temporary shelter in which to meet and has grown to a membership of almost 500 with over 250 in attendance every Sunday Another important work in remote locations is the provision of fresh, clean water. Because the water table is so very deep in this area hand dug wells are few and far between making it a tremendous burden for the women and children to walk often over a mile with heavy buckets on their heads to get water each day. These simple open wells have served a great purpose for many years but they also present risks. First, they have furthered the malaria epidemic in Africa because open wells are breeding grounds for mosquitos. Secondly, animals often wander into these open holes and fall in and die. It is virtually impossible to retrieve them so people then drink water that has been contaminated by the decaying carcass. The new wells like the one pictured on yesterday's blog entry are completely enclosed and extremely efficient. I watched today as a little boy who could not have been more than three years old barely moved the pump handle and yet it provided enough water for his older sister to drink from. We spent a part of our afternoon visiting these wells that were paid for by the generosity of one of Nathan's former church members. The pictures we took will be his first look at what his investment provided. But, only in eternity will he really know the full effects of this sacrificial gift of 5 wells for 5 desperate villages. After visiting the wells, we drove back to the village of Melinge which is the site of Calvary Baptist Church and the Hope House for Children. We met with the chief of the village yesterday for a preliminary celebration but we then planned a major celebration for the whole area for today at 4:00p.m. We contributed some money so that they could slaughter and cook two goats which was sure to draw a crowd since meat is a rare treat in this village. On the way there we heard the same chilling chanting of the demon spirit worshipers we had encountered on the road yesterday but today they were in full regalia and shrieking loud enough to be heard a kilometer away. Nathan asked our guide to get us there so we drove as far as we could and then went on foot to this patch of ground surrounded by trees. The contrast was surreal because just a few minutes away was a gathering of Christ followers celebrating all that God had accomplished. When we got to the site where the ritual was being held we found out that they were having a "ritual of the tomb" honoring one of the former chiefs that had died a few years ago. Again, there were over 500 people there and even the trees overhanging the site were filled with young africans who had climbed up for a clear view. We could not get close enough to see what was going on but the pastor of Living Waters suddenly led us in a human chain right through the crowd and we found ourselves in the inner circle of this demonic rite. Seeing something so evil through spiritual eyes was surreal. They were dressed in grotesque costumes and their dances were violent. As they danced they would point to sections of the crowd and demand that they pay them money. One by one, these precious villagers, without money to feed the starving children under foot, would go to the center and give these demon dancers what little money they had. The dancers would stuff it in their pockets and demand more and more. The Lord opened our eyes to see this for what it was- a demonic worship service and this was the devils way of taking up an offering! Our guide reminded us that by now we were late to our Hope House celebration and we were forced to leave suddenly. It's probably a good thing because Nathan and I were trying to figure out how to preach the gospel there and I doubt if they would have been happy with that prospect. We left with broken hearts and our best ministry option- praying against those demonic spirits. We are praying still. On the way to the van, they brought a young girl to us who was approximately 10 years old. She had a huge growth bulging out of her mouth that they said they believed was cancerous. It covered almost her entire bottom lip and chin and made her precious countenance so distorted she was unable to smile. It was such a touching moment for me to gather a group around her and pray fervently over her for God's healing touch. She has no chance of any medical help. God is her only chance. Please pray for her we will call her Lilly. Meanwhile back at the Hope House a huge crowd had gathered of over 500 people and the chiefs and people of nearby villages came to celebrate the Hope house as well. It was here that I pulled out a game that Coach Currie had given me which I call "The rock." Actually it consists of two laminated squares of cardboard and a long rope. Two young men stand on the squares with the rope between them and one tries to pull the other off. Without even being able to speak a word I demonstrated it and they immediately began a tournament with the winner staying to take on all comers. At the conclusion, I awarded the game to two brothers and I am sure it will be played now at all village gatherings. I also met a most amazing man at the village with a smile as big as Texas. He had only one arm but I was told that he played the guitar! Of course I was intrigued so I followed him and he brought out this crude but beautiful guitar he had made from a one gallon metal gas can and the branch of a tree with steel wire. And he brought his children out and as they sat on the ground together he strummed with his one hand and formed the chords with his foot and together they sang the most beautiful worship music. Nathan informed me that he made these crude guitars and then sold them to help his family and so four thousand kwacha later it was mine! (Don't worry Trinetta that's not as much as it sounds). Now I just have to get creative to find a way to get it home on the airplane. Nathan knew he was going to have to speak through a translator to the village chiefs and he asked me if I had brought my frisbee. Those of you who know me realize that in high school I was voted most likely to carry a frisbee so- yes, I had my frisbee. It is customary for a guest to present the chief with a gift and guess what?...the frisbee turned out to be that gift. The translator told me that he wasn't sure what to call it so when he translated to the chief he said that we were giving them "a flying plate." They looked confused until Nathan sent one of the young men out long and through it to him. Then the villagers cackled like hens at the site. They laughed and cheered as we threw it back and forth. Nathan left to go take pictures of the Hope house and for the next hour I taught the young men how to throw it properly. Too bad we ran out of time for frisbee golf. The banana trees and stacks of corn husks would have made excellent targets! At the close of his talk Nathan did an amazing job of preaching. Telling the people that the only reason there was a Hope house...or hope of any kind in the world was because of the saving grace of The Lord Jesus Christ. As we drove away one thought filled my mind...God had put this little place on the map. A year and half ago there was little laughter and little "Hope" in this village. Then God sent a group of Christ followers, just regular church members who were willing to burn some vacation to go to Africa and walk through the bush sharing the gospel. And the rest as they is HisStory! My closing question: "Will you go next?"