ee-taow! It is truth!

The first three days of last week were a chronological bible teaching! Franz and Brenda led the class and they began it off with a puzzle. They gave us a puzzle for children 8 and under, but didn’t give us the picture of the box. Easy, right? Well, after a few minutes of not being able to figure out where the pieces went, we finally said the magic phrase—“This would be easier with the big picture on the box”. Well, isn’t it the same with the bible? In school and church we are given stories in the bible, bits and pieces, but never have I had the opportunity to sit down and have the story of explained throughout from beginning to end. Franz started in the Old Testament and went through the New Testament, explaining stories of Abraham, Moses, Joseph, and Jesus to highlight God’s constant grace and mercy shown to us. Then the last day we watched a movie of the gospel being presented to a tribe in Papa New Guinea. The tribe lived in fear thinking that their ancestors would send spirits to kill them if they didn’t follow certain traditions. A couple went and lived with the tribe for 4 years, learning their language and their culture, before they even mentioned God. Then they held classes and everyday, everyone from the community would come to listen to the gospel in their native tongue. It was such an awesome testimony to the power in God’s word and just the desire within people for something greater with hope and love that will cast out fear—Jesus. It’s sometimes hard for me to realize that there are people in this world who have never heard of God or the hope of salvation. Seeing this movie really opened my eyes and put a new passion in me to share my faith with others! (And no mom, I don’t plan on going off to a far away tribe any time soon so don’t let the tears start going yet!)

Thursday and Friday we had a man from ACTS clinic, an AIDS clinic in the community, come and speak to us about AIDS. Him and his wife run a Christian clinic in Masoyi where they estimate about 35% of the population has HIV. He was very informing, but the neatest part of it was seeing how God is taking control of the disease. Nothing has changed—AIDS is still a terrible thing and not something anyone should want to live with, but Harry explained that there is now medicine that can help someone with HIV lead a more normal life. However, the disease carries such a stigma in African cultures that often many will die, not because they can’t be treated, but because they won’t be treated.

On Thursday we went to Kabowkweni and served about 100 children a meal of pop, chicken stew, beets, and coleslaw. Pop is basically steamed cornmeal and water mixed into a sticky substance. At first it looks like mashed potatoes, but once you taste it you realize the texture is really grainy and not as delicious as potatoes! Monique, Eunice, and I put the food on plates while Carla carried the plates to the children. The time we had there was really great. I spent most of my time chasing the little boys around in the playground area. Then a few would come and attach themselves to my legs until I tickled them and they would run around again. The kids there are so precious. I asked Eunice at night what kind of houses most of them lived in. She said, and I’ve heard this before, that many live in child-headed houses where the oldest child, maybe around 13-17 years old is in charge of the house. Others live with their aunts in houses that are too small or have leaky roofs where the rain falls through. Even though I keep hearing that the children are the head of the houses, I can’t wrap my brain around it! I can barely care for myself now, at the age of 20, without my parents. These children are leading lifestyles that I can’t comprehend or even imagine.

This weekend we went on a retreat with the church we attend during the week to lead the children’s program. First off, it was nice to get away from the base for a weekend to relax. We also had the opportunity to talk with different members of the church, so it feels more like a home now. And we were able to have a hot shower for the first time in weeks! Truthfully though, I was happy just to be in a place that we could shower. Our water at the base was turned off when we woke up Friday morning and now that we are back, and it is Monday night, it still isn’t on. Once again, I am thankful for every drop of water. Harry even mentioned during his talk on AIDS that if Africa had clean water it could reduce the amount of children that died young significantly. The retreat was a great time though and we had a beautiful weekend for weather. It seemed like the first time we’ve had 3 sunny days in a row and I even got some sun, imagine that!