Despite what the date of this post might say, I’m actually writing this on Wednesday, 4th November, but I’m currently far from the land of electricity and internet connections so I’ll only be able to upload this once I’m back in Lusaka in 10 days or so. You find me now sitting on my bed in the Falconer Home listening to kids voices and running feet in the corridor next to my room. I arrived here at about 7.30pm yesterday and it’s now 7.30am. I’ve got half an hour before breakfast and I’m still too sleepy to face lots of excited little kids, so instead I’m going to hide in my room a little longer and take advantage of a chance to write about the last week while it’s still fresh in my brain...
What a week it’s been! Everything has changed. But let me start at the beginning...although that feels like a long time ago now.
We started the week with a visit to Chingola. We wanted to meet with the five pastors there and encourage them before we left. It was a non-stop trip driving the 340 km there on the Monday and back again on the Tuesday.
We met with the guys on Monday afternoon, although only three of them were able to make it due to things happening at the last minute. It was great to see them again and we spent some time chatting about what next...just throwing up questions really. During the conversation it became apparent that there has been some upset within the group and one the pastors is feeling disappointed and let down by the others to the point of considering stepping down from the work. It became a really hard conversation as the pastor in question shared that he was upset but did not want to say why. Knowing this now and looking back on the times I have seen all five of the pastors together this year, I can see that the signs of this were there...but at the time I didn’t quite put two and two together. Anyway, we didn’t manage to get to the bottom of why one pastor was feeling like this, but we did manage to agree that it would be good for them all to meet together and talk about what has or hasn’t happened to lead to the current situation and see if they can learn from it and grow stronger rather than eventually reaching a point of division. As it happens, we had already asked our friend Cornelius (from Nchelenge) to visit the guys in Chingola towards the end of November and this will be an ideal opportunity for the five pastors to get together with someone they trust present to help bring direction and a neutral opinion! Please pray for this to be a time of honesty and growth and for all the pastors to have greater understanding of each other as well as for unity amongst them.
It was a really hard afternoon in the end and I left Chingola with a heavy heart. I was once again sad to say goodbye to the guys there, in the end we had not seen two of them to even say goodbye and it had been a tough meeting. Having said that though, I can really see the changes that have happened in the area through the groups that have been meeting to study the Rooted in Jesus course. As I said when I wrote about the conference I can see the beginnings of groups of people choosing to do something to help their own villages and really growing in their relationships with God. This is all amazing and really encouraging. The five pastors have agreed to talk together and try to understand the difficulties that have arisen and I am sure they will all pray about it between now and the time they get together. So, although there may be a bit of a challenge at the moment and some hard conversations to be had, there is also an opportunity for them to come through the difficulties stronger. As my lovely mum said to me on a number of occasions when I was moaning about something or other “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. I have to say, I agree with her! So my prayer for the guys in Chingola is that this hard patch they are going through won’t lead to a fracturing of their group but instead will bring growth and strengthening.
By Wednesday we were back in Mkushi and now it was time to say goodbye to all the gang there. We did it in style having everyone round for a late lunch and all squishing into our living room on a variety of wicker sofas, camping chairs, cushions and anything else there was to sit on! It was great to see everyone together and have some fellowship, eat some food and get to know each other a little more. Needless to say all the food vanished - we had not made enshima which is the normal part of the meal that fills people up so the rice, pasta and bread all disappeared in a poor attempt to make up for enshima! It was so lovely to have a big group of friends round and as we were sat there I couldn’t help but be amazed by the fact that three months ago we had rocked on up to Mkushi not knowing any of them and now here we were talking about how the small ideas we have begun to plant could be moved forward by this group of people. It was a real reminder of how God can bring people together in his way at his time.
Once our house had emptied and we had cleared up the millions of pots and pans it really dawned on me that it was time to go now. We had finished our list of things to do in Mkushi for now and the only job remaining was to pack up. So, pack up we did. It took a fair while...it really is amazing how much stuff you (well, I) can accumulate in just three months! But before too long I was once again looking at all my stuff squished into my suitcase and my rucksack. I’m happy to say that my bags do seem to be less full now than when I set off - I’m not quite sure how that is, but I’m not complaining.
Come Saturday morning, we were off...well, I almost wasn’t. Having recently had a few troubles with my car battery I’ve had to bump start it a few times. With everything piled in the car, I hopped in only to find the battery was as flat as a pancake - d’oh! So, I quite literally had to be pushed away from our beautiful home in Mkushi! It sort of suited my mood in a way...I really didn’t want to leave, but had to and I needed a bit of a shove to get me on my way. I drove away slowly and sadly but I shouldn’t complain. I’ve had the chance to be involved in something amazing things going on, meet some more fantastic people and live somewhere really beautiful and as I said when I left Kenya, I would rather have that experience and then a few sad days when I leave than not have the experience or the sad days.
By lunch time I was back in Lusaka and big shops! I spent the afternoon gathering various art supplies to bring with me to the Falconer Home, but I’ll save all that for next time I write.
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Thank God for:
- all the people we have had the privilege of meeting and working alongside.
- continued safety and good health.
- calling me to be involved in the work He is doing here and all He has been teaching me.
Please pray for:
- unity and understanding in the groups overseeing the work in Chingola, Mkushi and Nchelenge.
- encouragement for the guys in Mkushi as we leave them to begin groups in their villages.
- Peter and his family in Mkushi - since writing the above I have just heard that his wife, Melody, died the other day from a massive asthma attack, incredibly sad news.
