While in Africa we visited a remote village called Manyika. We drove 48km from the main highway on a dirt road that was so rocky, pot holed, and rutted that the van we were in broke down 1km from the village after a rock punctured the transmission. (Click on the picture to the right to enlarge)As we walked the last leg, we were met half-way by the women of the village. They were singing us a welcome song (as they do customarily in this part if the world). They hugged us like we were old friends coming in from a long trip, and though there was a bit of a language barrier we were welcomed by each women as they told us how happy they were that we had come. Once in the village we got a tour of the church, and the “facilities”. I use that word lightly because there was no electricity, running water
, and therefore no toilets! The girls were the first to christen the “restrooms”. These restrooms consisted of thatch walls, no roof, and a hole in the ground that had bees and flies living inside.
On our way to the village we had to stop and pick up some chicken for dinner. They were nice white chickens full of life and headed down the green mile. The girls had mentioned we wanted to see them “prepare” the chickens, so once we were all settled into our tents the ladies of the village came and called us to see the chickens being prepared. The process was simple, and looked like easy work.
We hosted a VBS for the orphans which was a full day of games teaching and crafts. It was scheduled to begin at 9am. Around 9am we were standing there with about 15-20 kids and wondering if anymore were coming. Then out of the tall grass around us children began
walking out of nowhere until there were more than 160 kids. We did not know where all these kids had come from or how they had even heard of the VBS, but it was obvious they had been talking about this for weeks. We spent the day teaching the kids about the armor of God, and we made bracelets, decorated gift bags, made book marks, painted faces, played games, and the kids were with us from 9:30am through lunch until about 5pm. That night we were exhausted as we sat around
the fire with some of the local national pastors. We had brought s’mores to share with them and the pastors were hil
arious. They had never had marshmallows, and only liked them cooked over the fire.
Prayer Request
Since we have been back God has continued to put these people on our hearts. One little boy has been in my prayers. He is one of the orphans in the village. This particular boy is deaf, and with no means by which to learn sign language I wonder how much he understands and is able to communicate. He was a sweetheart and was by our sides every moment the sun was out. I just ask that you pray for this boy. I do not know his name, but God knows. I just have this hope that maybe there is someone who can one day go and spend a few months teaching these people sign-language so this boy can communicate.
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