Village Life

Wow, I'm back. Sorry its taken me so long to write. The bandwidth on our server is very small. It is sometimes hard for me to get on the internet. I also have some pictures that i will post very soon, hopefully this week,

Well let me get down to business...

Day 1
We left sunday may 10th. We arrived in a small village called Siachombo. When we arrived the villagers greeted us with songs and dancing. It was totally awesome!! I got a little emotional watching how they greeted us and welcomed us in for the week. After this we unloaded our truck and set up camp. We ate some stew and then bedded down for the night.

Day2
We woke up ate some oatmeal and then headed out to work in the fields with the villagers. My group worked with one of the leaders in the village named Solomon. On our way out to the field and 8-10ft. Black Mamba slithered right in front of us and went across the trail. In Africa this is a very unique thing to see. Black Mambas are very territorial and can stand up to 3/4 their length. They can also strike at least that far. The good thing is that the snake left quickly and moved on. Well, after seeing the snake we were all very cautious as we stepped through the maze fields that were all taller than us. We harvested ground nuts (peanuts) for about 2 hours and ate frsh watermelon while we were out. We then headed back to the camp and stopped by Solomon's house before we got there.

Later on this day we got to slaughter a goat. I know for some of you this will be hard to take but this is a way of life for villagers here. We ate the goat that night.

Day 3
We headed into Nyawa Village to do some ministry there. We slaughtered chickens for food that night along with a goat. Im sorry i have to add all of this in there. We had a church service with the villagers and then played a soccer game with the young men of the village. We lost by one point. After the game we had a n evanglistic presentation where a couple of people gave their lives to Christ. After this we had a huge meal with the Villagers of Nyawa. Their staple food around here is Shema. Shema is a corn mash like substance.

Day 4
We headed out this day and my team worked with a widow and helped her around her home. We helped her buiild a shelter for her to keep the maze in all year. We then heade back to our camp and got ready for our evening evangelistic meeting. At this meeting my eyes were opened to a whole new realm of spritual warfare. In the villages they have witch doctors. These witch doctors use different means of healing. A lot of the warfare that goes on in these villages is demon possession. The villagers open themselves up to all kinds of evil and curses. Many people received salvation at this meeting along with some people being healed of different ailments.

Day 5
We headed out this day and went to another village nearby called Siamani. Here we worked in the fields for a couple of hours and then headed back into the village to do some evangelistic ministry. There were 2 or 3 people saved at this meeting. Every village has what is called a headman. The headman is in charge of the village and answers to the chief. The chief is on charge of the whole kingdom. In these kingdoms there are several villages. Some of the headmen are in charge of 8 or more villages.

Day 6
We then went to a village named Natiko. There we met at the school forst and then headed out to the fields to harvest maze. We harvested then headed back into the town to play soccer against the young men of the village. We lost again by one point, but i do have to say that our team had gotten better since the last game. We then held our last evangelistic meeting and 3 men gave their lives to Christ. We then headed back to camp and had a huge meal with our village.

Day 7
We said our goodbyes. It had been a great week of ministry and we had really connected with the people. Our ministry there had started and now will continue to go on with Overland. Jake a guy who is in charge of the villages we minstered in will now continue meeting with these villages and disciple and raise up leaders and in the future plant churches in each one.

I know this is a lot to read but i just want to keep everyone informed. It has been amazing and challenging all at the same time. God is continuing to challenge me in every area of my life. Continue to pray for our team here and the ministry that will be done. I love you all and will continue to keep you posted on African life.

I will hopefully post some pictures this week. Love yall!!!!!