Mapunga Springs

This past Sunday we all loaded up in the Loves’ “family” car (everyone being Carlos included). We drove to a church that I had never been to or had even really heard them talk about. On our way, Rick started to tell me about the church and how it was established a little bit over a year ago by Sam. It was basically a house church because it was a very small church with five members that literally meet at a member’s house.

When we arrived, we were greeted by two men, and we were welcomed into their kizaza (a hut that has a thatched roof but doesn’t have any walls that enclose it). They had a couple of little one-person benches and three larger chairs and two “mats” (old corn meal bags) for the children to sit on. Of course, when we walked in they wanted the mwngu (white person)/ guest to have the nicest chairs/benches. So we sat down with the two men, and someone else showed up, and we all visited until another person showed up.

Rick started asking one of the men questions, and the man shared his story with us. He was born again last May when Sam (the Love’s teammate) was teaching the men in his area and trying to start a church. He told us that several years ago he attended an evangelical church for a while. His wife was unfaithful to him and wanted to divorce him. He went to the churches leaders, and they didn’t do anything and pretended like nothing had happened. His wife wasn’t punished, and was allowed to continue sinning. So after she divorced him, he stopped attending the evangelical church and wasn’t going to church anywhere else.

He had visited a group who called themselves a church of Christ, but were definitely not because they still followed the traditional African beliefs. Some of the church leaders were involved in a “floating coffin” ceremony. This is a ceremony that is practiced in situations where they believe that the deceased died “randomly.” In other words, the deceased didn’t die for any obvious reason (illness, accidental death, etc.). They believe that in these types of deaths, the deceased had been “witched.” In the ceremony, everyone gives the person who holds the coffin money and pays that person off. If someone doesn’t or isn’t able to give money to the person holding the coffin, they are assumed to be the person who had the deceased “witched.” This person is then killed. After he saw the church leaders participate in this ceremony, he didn’t want to have anything to do with that church congregation. Sam and some others were doing Bible studies to start a church in the area, and he was baptized and became a member of the church that was being started.

The church consists of five faithful members. The man who shared his story with us was the same man who had given his house to the church and was in the process of “shifting” (the word they use for moving) to his new house that he had just finished building.

He asked us if we would pray for their church because they were having a hard time growing more than the five members. They had been doing Bible studies every week at different nearby villages to teach and encourage others to become Christians. But despite their efforts, they still weren’t growing. I think that the other church nearby that claims to be Christians but still practice the traditional beliefs is what might be scaring people away from the church they are trying to start.

I admire these men so much because of their commitment to continuing what they believe God is calling them to do even though the fruits of their work might not be evident right now. They are devoting everything they have, including their homes.

I would like to ask you the keep the church in Mapunga springs in your prayers and keep the people that they are reaching out to in your prayers.

All Consuming Fire

Yesterday was probably the most thrilling day I have had this summer in Mumena. Yesterday morning on my way over to have breakfast at the Love’s, one of their huge pigs had gotten out of the pig pin and was running around in their yard. I went to get some help to put it back in its pin. After putting it up I helped Karen feed and water the pigs. I ran inside and had a quick breakfast and we all loaded up for church.

When we arrived at the church they told Rick that he was going to be doing the lesson and asked if he needed a translator. He said no. I think they were kind of surprised. He did the whole lesson in Kii-Kaonde (the local language). Lydia sat next to me and drew in my journal a picture of Noah’s ark.

Lydia's drawing of Noah's ark

After church we headed home and I was just thinking of how nice it was going to be to have an afternoon off to relax. When we got back I did the dishes while Karen got lunch ready. Rick had gone outside for something and he could see a fire that was fairly close to Humphrey’s house and farm. Humphrey had gone to church with us and was going to have lunch with us. Rick told Humphrey he had better go and check to make sure that his family’s farm and house was okay. I could hear crackling and popping from inside the house even with the water running so I knew it had to be close. I walked outside and could see smoke all around.

Rick ran up to the top of the kizaza (a hut on top of an old termite mound) to make sure that it wasn’t going on their fields. I climbed to the top of the kizaza to see everything and I could tell it was a lot bigger than any of the other grass fires I had seen. Rick ran down and broke off a branch and started walking down towards their field and called Humphrey to help, who had reported back that his house and fields were all safe and it had just passed them.

Karen and the kids all wanted to see also so they all climbed up to the top of the kizaza where I was at. All of the sudden the flames got very close to their fields and got very large so Karen asked if I could stay up with the kids. She ran down and ripped off a huge branch from one of the trees. After that happened I knew that it was very serious! I was standing at the top watching huge flames come closer and closer. Rick, Karen, Humphrey, and Carlos were hitting the grass that was on fire with all their might to stop it from getting any closer to their fields. All of the sudden to my opposite side, closer to the house I heard more crackling. I looked over and more of the fire had spread! Karen ran that way to try to stop the fires and Humphrey started to yell up to me to get the kids down before it possibly could become unsafe. I grabbed Caleb and Emily and carried them down with Lydia trailing right behind. On our way down Karen asked if I could help. The kids ran to their house. Humphrey grabbed me a huge branch and we went running towards the fire. All the things I knew about fires started running through my head. When I go to the fire I started beating it and I could feel the heat as the fire grew bigger and bigger. I had no idea how to properly and efficiently put out a grass fire besides calling 911 and lots of water which neither of the two were really an option, so I just continued to beat it with all my might. I kept thinking to myself… well I do have one skill that I know to help with fires and that is… to stop drop and roll if I were to have fire on myself but that wasn’t very helpful either for putting out a fire. Hehe

We were able to stop the fire on one side because there was a fire-guard (which is a line of preplanned burnt grass to prevent fires from passing that point). But we had the other side, which was a lot closer to their house and thatched fence. Me, Karen, Humphrey, and Carlos were there until it finally stopped.

Rick had said to one of the men, “God’s fire is going to be much bigger, so each person must be ready before Jesus comes”.

One of the houses that the chief had given the missionaries here called “the pink palace” the fire had gotten very close to also. Rick and the two boys (Humphrey and Carlos) were able to help a family near that house. They saved their two cows (one which was pregnant). It was pretty ironic because those same people who they helped saved their cows were the same people who had been letting their goats go wherever they wanted. They had been destroying everyone’s fields. Just earlier that morning they had destroyed the crops that a group from the states had planted to test to see how it would grow. So they could help the people in the area to better their gardens. But even though they had been destructive Rick and the boys still helped them.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31-32

We were going around to try to help everyone around that needed help. Loveness (one of the teachers), who had been causing a lot of trouble in the community. We were told that they needed help at her house. We were in the car and we zoomed over to her house.  She was out of town. Her whole maize pile caught on fire and her pig pins all caught on fire. By the time people got there to help two pigs were chard to death and basically the whole maize pile was chard. Someone said that it’s nice as Christians to be able and willing to get the chance to even help our enemies.

            “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also….But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” Luke 6:27-35

Here are some pictures from the day:

The Love's field

Me and Humphrey watching the fire burn up his school's farm

Me beating the fire

Once was a white towel...now it is black

Muloolo!!!

Muloolo!

(I will be posting more this week but here is a quick update for today.)

Muloolo: I’m sure you’re wondering what this word means.

It means snake!

Yesterday afternoon, one of the native boys who is like a son to the Loves came up to their back door saying, “knock, knock” (which is common for people to do here). Karen opened the door. The boy, whose name is Humphrey, said, “Karen, can I have some water?” while holding his arm straight out in front of him. She asked what he needed it for, and he said “Oh, a snake just spit at me and almost bit me.” Karen was taken aback by this and said, “Wait…WHAT happened?!” By that time she had started to walk him to the bathroom to shower off. Rick walked in and heard what happened, and he told us to pour milk where the venom had gotten on him so it wouldn’t burn his skin. Karen and I rushed to get some milk. We took Humphrey outside and had him take off his shirt and started dousing him with milk (which looked so funny!). We could see where the venom had hit him, and it was all over him, including his face. It had just missed his eyes by a few millimeters. Thank God it didn’t get in his eyes, or he could have been blinded for a few days. After he took a shower, Karen got him some clean clothes and fed him. He told us that he had accidentally kicked something, and when he looked down, he saw a huge snake. Suddenly, it started to rise up towards his face, and he knew to start walking backwards away from it. After it was at the same height as him and spit, it went back down and went away in the grass. When Karen asked him if he was scared, he said, “Yeah, I was very scared” with the most calm voice. His voice was so calm that you would never know that he was scared or that anything bad had happened.

Here is a picture of the milk being poured onto Humphrey: