But, honestly, I am not sure who was impacted more, the people of Mwingi, Ngongoni, or me? I tell you the truth, I am learning some lessons.
The women of the church amazed me the most. Despite our language barrier, they welcomed me with open arms and were the most incredible servants I have ever seen. Every morning four or five women, carrying babies on their backs would walk for miles to Pastor Makonge's house gathering wood along the way to build fires for cooking and boiling water.
The bush Africans have the most incredible sense of community. From sunrise to late at night, family, friends, neighbors and the community at large were coming and going, stopping in for a cup of tea, a bowl of porridge or any number of meals you can create from corn, beans, potatoes and an occasional chicken. In African culture, if you have 10 members in your immediate family, you better prepare enough food for 18-20 because YOU WILL HAVE guests.
The women in the picture on the left were making Chapti's (similar to a very thick tortilla) while the others were cooking in the kitchen. As I mentioned in our last post, the area we were in was heavily saturated with religion and witchcraft. Pastor McKonge had warned us and told us to have prayer covering before we left Nairobi. He said that many ministers have had vehicle accidents traveling to and from Mwingii. The day before we were to leave, Paul saw in a vision the witchdoctors gathering. Fifteen minutes before leaving our apartment, Rick Montgomery from our home church, skyped. It was 2:45 AM Rick's time and he woke up, felt led to pray, and gave us a call. Here is what happened.
Just as the Lord had showed Paul, two witchdoctors had indeed gathered together and were found walking in circles around Pastor Nicholas' church. When discovered, the witchdoctors were run off. The next day, one of the two withdoctors was found running naked and out of his mind near Pastor Nicholas' house. Apparently the weapon the enemy formed against us did not prosper and in fact was returned to the sender! But that's not all...
After visiting Pastor Nicholas' church, we went to his home, which is nestled at the foot of some very large mountains. As we were walking up to his home, we were watching three young boys walking their goats down the side of the mountain. In the presence of several witnesses, we saw one of the three boys fall conservatively 90 feet from a precipice 400 feet high, bounce off the side of the granite mountain, flipped over and slammed to the bottom below. Miraculously, the young boy landed on his feet, regained his composure, and began walking after his goats. Everyone that observed the incident, told us that had the boy been hurt, the Kamba tribe would have superstitously attributed the boy's death to our presence in the area. Our ministry would have been discredited and we probably would have been run out of the region. Oh, the faithfulness of God.
Without calling ahead, we showed up at a public school, met with the headmaster and administrator and found favor with them. The headmaster called all her teachers together and we were able to visit with them for about 10 minutes. Then, as only God could have coordinated, the school had previously called a meeting of parents and they were already assembled. Paul was able to encourage the parents to train their children in the way they should go. But first, they need to know the way to go so he shared Christ with them, the students and the teachers. Woo Hoo !! We left a soccer ball and the children were thrilled. The school's gymnastic team performed and Micah and Kaden tried running hurdles and long jumping with the boys.
Before we left, we hiked a mountain and peered into a cave where the Africans hid during the colonial period. One of the men brought a gun just in case we came across a wild animal but fortunately we forgot to bring a "torch" (flashlight) so we did not enter the cave. We did however see the bats flying in and out of the cave and the boys thought that was pretty cool. Driving in Africa at night is NOT an option. We made that mistake once and seriously endangered our lives. The highways here are not lit so they are pitch black, the roads are very narrow, filled with pot holes and most are not striped. When you pass a car at night, you have to turn your turning signal light on so the oncoming car can determine the width of your vehicle. The police set up spiked baracades about every ten miles and they stop you for bribes. Crazy. So now, anytime a travel plan is being made, driving at night is non-negotiable. Needless to say we were home before dark.
Today we spent the day resting and repacking and tomorrow we leave for the Masaii Mara. I am really looking forward to it. For two nights, we are going to sleep in a plush tent guarded by Masaii warriors, listening to the lions hunt in the distance. During the day we will visit the national game reserve and look for the big five: elephants, lions, cheetas, rhinos and cape buffalo. Earlier this afternoon Micah said, "I wish it was time for bed. I want to wake up and go to the Mara." The boys have far exceeded our expectations of them for this trip so we hope this will be a nice reward. Thank you for caring enough to read this long entry. :) Danielle
Interesting bush tidbits:
* The climate in the bush is so dry you see moisture coming from a person's mouth when they talk.
It looks like they are breathing smoke.
* A church tithe can consist of a bag of beans, a single egg, papaya fruit or a shilling. (I was so
humbled during the offering. I wish I could have taken a picture of the men and women bringing
what little they had. I have never seen such sacrifice.
* Out houses do not have toilet seats but are simply a hole in the floor.
* You appreciate the warmth of the sun when you are taking an outdoor shower.
* Young children, four and five years of age can carry water jugs for the family.
* If you dig a hole in the floor of a dried river bed you will eventually hit water. Once you do, you
need to surround the hole with briars to keep the wild animals out.
* You can make rope from the leaves of a Yucca plant and you can use the big tall spike to make pew
benches.
I have learned so much from the African people.
