Our African Grandmother

Last week Wes and I went to the village of Mujika to visit our African Grandmother. She is 92 years old, but full of life and love. Elia accepted Christ as her Savior in our early years in Zambia, about 10 years ago. We fell in love with her, and she adopted us as her grandchildren. Although she has children, they are far away and do not take good care of her, so we have tried to watch over her as much as possible.


We called ahead to the pastor of the Mujika Baptist Church and asked him to meet us at her village. We had some things to discuss with him, and wanted to visit her as well.


As we came into the village, Elia began dancing with excitement. Although her dances are becoming slower these days, she never fails to greet us in this way. Elia was dressed up in her best shirt and wrap around skirt (chitenge) with a nice clean head scarf. She looked smart, as they say in Zambia!


As usual, Elia wanted to know where we had been. "I could have died and you would never have known," are the words we usually hear from her when we visit. She was right; it had been awhile since our last visit, due to a busy schedule and heavy rains. We apologized and tired to explain that we had tried to visit two other times in March, but both times the rains were too heavy and the road too muddy. She was very forgiving.

We sat down in front of her small home, on small stools that she brought us, and had a very nice visit. We talked about her maize crop that is about ready to harvest. At 92 Elia still does most of her own planting, weeding, and harvesting. We talked about her health, and she complained that she coughs a lot at night. She was hoping we had brought her some cough medicine. We asked her if she was still fishing in the nearby river, and she said that she was, although not as much. We talked about her age, and how God had given her many years so that she could continue to tell people about His love.


We asked her if we could take a photo together, knowing that each time we visit could be the last time we see her. Whenever we take her picture, we tell her to smile. Instead of smiling, she laughs. It is so cute!


As we began to take photos, the children from the villages gathered round. She invited them to join her. I imagine she is grandmother to many village children.

As we were about to leave, a thought came to my mind--I would love to know more of her story. I would love to write a book about Elia's life. So, I asked her if she would share with me if I would come to the village and spend some time with her. She agreed to do so.


I'm making plans to spend a few days in her village with Elia and a young lady, Elizabeth, who is our African daughter. We haven't set the exact date yet, but hope to do it soon. It is going to be a real adventure as she has no toilet or bathing facility, but Wes says he can try to rig something up for us to use.

I'm excited, but nervous because Elia is so full of energy, that although she is 40 years older than me, I'm just not sure I will have the energy to keep up her!