Today is Sunday! When we arrived at the building it was very quiet. We have been arriving early so that we can have some singing time before church. I peeked in the kid’s classroom and it was already full. The children were sitting in the room being so quiet and waiting for Wanangwa, their teacher. It made her happy.
A Large Children’s Class
We started our singing and soon more and more people arrive. The children’s classroom becomes too crowded and they go outside. The little classroom is probably 10 feet X 12 feet. I count as the children head outside. There were at least 52 primary children in that classroom!
Adult Class
Lawrence continues teaching the adult class on I Peter as he has been doing. After class, we get ready for worship. One of the men writes on the chalkboard who will participate today. I do not remember the preacher’s name but he had a short sermon on Working for Salvation. I didn’t understand the Tumbuka but I was able to follow along with the scriptures. There were a lot of responses. Some of the responses were asking for prayer, some had moved from another area to the church here, one young woman Rose wanted to be baptized and the local Mzimba Vocational School students came to greet us as they arrived for the new term.
Hygiene Bags
After church, there was a lot to do. The life groups were meeting to get a count of the primary school children for the giveaway. Wanangwa and I had already planned to give the hygiene bags to the school girls today so we took care of that as quickly as possible. One of the deacons was working in the building and teased us about where his bag was. The girls are very excited to have these necessities.
Rose is Baptized
Finally, we are ready to go to find water to baptize Rose. At least 10 people pile into the car and many others are walking. As we are driving down the road we suddenly veer off to a small path that crosses the soccer field and goes between maize fields. We stop the car and continue on foot. There is scripture reading, prayer, singing, and baptism and then we all greet our new sister 21-year-old Rose.
Lunch and Visitors
We head home for a late lunch after two. After lunch, I wash dishes. We are tired and sit down and sigh. In a few minutes, Mbwenu tells us we have visitors. Cadamunja and his wife have come to thank us again for taking their son to the hospital and giving him hope. It is distressing at any age to have an injury or an illness. We are thankful for the opportunity to make a difference in this young man’s life.
More Visitors
Wanangwa and Mbwenu go to Manyamula to get water and check on the shop. While they are away Bennett and his wife Esther arrive. Bennett is the Uncle to our last visitor Cadamunja. He is from Lilongwe. He too has heard about us taking Chiwemwe to the hospital and thanks us. Bennett has a business in Mzuzu and travels this way to visit his relatives and check on his business about once a month. They are very nice and invite us to visit them in Lilongwe before we leave Malawi. They brought a gift for Wanangwa and tell us to greet them.
No Bake Cookies
I decide to make a batch of no bakes and I was very disappointed they would not set up! Ugg!
Dinner
Esther and I discover the peas we bought at the market and forgot about. We set about shelling them and Wanangwa arrives with pork and starts preparing the pork and rice. She makes the usual soup and adds the green peas to that.
We eat and get ready for bed. A full but happy day!