The Hike

Yesterday Wes and I spent the day preparing for next week’s ministry in Sinazongwe. We have to carry 20 sleeping bags, tents, and other camping gear, so it was a busy day of preparation. By late afternoon, we were tired of packing and decided to take a walk. We needed some exercise and just to be outdoors.

As we started off, we headed down the usual path away from our little town to the rural area which surrounds us on every side. We like to get “out” and breathe the country air and see the beautiful hills that surround Gwembe. We can’t see them from our house because of our tall grass fence and the many fruit trees in our yard.

We started off walking down the main dirt road, but it is boring. I suggested we take a path off the road that led through the villages. We’ve been this way many times, as it used to be our bike path.

After walking down the village path for about 10 minutes, Wes asked if we were going to make the “loop.” The loop takes us a good distance but ends up back near our home. The loop has some really challenging hills to climb. Because it was nearing 5:00 p.m., I suggested we do a shorter route. Wes said he knew of another path that would be shorter and get us to the same end.

At this point I was following Wes with little reservation as the path was wide and well worn. As we were approaching a village, two dogs came out running toward us. I don’t like strange dogs, having once been attacked by three at one time. I picked up a stone and told Wes we needed to turn back. He would have gone on, but for my sanity, he turned around and we started heading back.

Suddenly, Wes turned down a little foot path. I asked him, “Why are we going this way? Why don’t we just go back the way we came?” It seemed to me that this path (if you could call it that) was going in the opposite direction. Wes just said, “Come on, trust me.” But as we headed down this “new” path, I began to feel a little uneasy. I may live in Africa, but I’m not the most adventurous person by nature.

The path was narrow, rocky, and the grass was high. I had visions of snakes coming out of the grass and of getting lost. The path was leading us away from villages, which did not help my fears. Where was Wes leading us to? I should have trusted him; he is very good at directions, but I allowed my fears to take over. Fear does not bring out the best in me. I began to complain, “Why are you taking us this way? Why couldn’t we just take the wide path that is well-traveled? My complaining did not help the situation and didn’t please Wes. In fact, he asked if I could just be quiet for one whole minute.

We continued on. We came to a dry stream bed and Wes looked at me with concern, knowing he had led me to a place where we would have to be very careful as we climbed down the steep embankment. He gave me his hand, but I refused. If I was going to fall, I didn’t want us both tumbling down together. Wes went down first, and I came down on my…(use your imagination). It wasn’t as bad as I had thought, but now we were headed up a hill with no villages in sight, only trees and bushes.

We just kept going, the path becoming less and less of a path. Finally, we heard the sound of a motor. Out in the bush? Sure enough, there was a rather large village with a grinding mill. Relief flooded over me! We were back in civilization. I swallowed my pride and admitted that Wes had led us in the right way. As we continued on down the path, we came to a wide road again. Yes, the wide road meant that we were on our way home.

Once again Wes took a turn off onto a foot path. Not again, were my first thoughts. However, this time I followed feeling more assured that he knew where He was taking us. We came upon a very old woman carrying wood on her head. She could barely move and her eyes were almost completely shut. Wes, in his broken Tonga, asked if he could carry the wood to her home. At first she seemed a little nervous, but allowed him to take the load off her head. We couldn’t understand exactly where to take the load because her directions to her home were unclear. She just pointed and said she lived “over there.”

We asked a young boy who was watching, where she lived. His directions were not much better. He pointed to another young girl coming down the path with a load of wood on her head. We assumed he was saying that she was with the old woman. After asking the young girl if they were together, she led us to the woman’s hut. We dropped off the load and went on our way. It was not long and we were out of the bush, onto the main road that leads to our home.

What did I learn from this adventure? As I reflected on our experience, I realized that I need to learn to trust in the leadership that God has given to me. I don’t like the “unknown.” I want to “see” the way clearly. God doesn’t always allow us to see everything clearly, but He wants us to learn to trust in Him. He knows where He is taking us, and can use my husband to lead the way.

Proverbs 3:5-6- Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy path.

Let the Little Children Come

I’m sure I won’t have time to blog everyday, but I want to write this story while it is fresh on my mind. Today we went to our church here in the village of Gwembe. Because of our work as church planters, we often find ourselves in a different church each week. However, the Gwembe church has a special place in our hearts because we consider it our “home” church. When we arrived at church, the people were gathering. We went in and took our usual desk in the front of the room off to the side near the door. You might be wondering about the desk—we meet in a school.

A few adults arrived and then in walked the children with their bright cheery faces, some dressed up in their best attire, some in dirty clothes with no shoes. They are all special, from the cleanest to the dirtiest.

Some of the children are afraid of us with our white skin; others are intrigued and want to touch us to see if the paint will come off. Two little girls, Kabunda and Machila actually fight over who is going to sit next to us. At first it was just Kabunda sitting between Wes and me. Then in came Machila and squeezed in between us as well. Then came Machila’s cousin; Wes lifted her up on his lap. Next came Maxwell, also wanting to sit on Wes’ lap. Church began and it was obvious there was not room for two adults and three children on the bench. Wes picked up Maxwell and moved over one row to sit next to a man and his son, leaving the little girls to sit with me.

We stood to sing a song and Wes put Maxwell down. As Wes sat back down, the little girls noticed that Wes’ lap was free. First Machila climbed off the bench and went to sit with Wes. Then Kabunda, being the jealous type, climbed up on his other knee. Machila’s cousin held up her arms pleading with her eyes, “Me too!” Wes picked her up as best he could and she sort of just dangled in between the two lying on her back looking up into his eyes. I could not help but get tickled. Maxwell came to stand at his feet with another little boy, both looking up at Wes with pleading eyes. Maxwell started crying. By now everyone is looking at the situation and smiling. Oh, how I wished I had my camera.

After church Wes told me he knew the situation was distracting, but what could he do? All He could think of were the words of Jesus, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Luke 18:16.

Who knows, someday one of these children may look back and remember climbing onto the lap of the missionary, and as a result commit their life to following Jesus.