We did not make it down to the Child Center today! Fortunately the ladies that work here are more than capable of taking care of the babies. They know that if they get a difficult case or someone is seriously ill and needs to be taken to the hospital they can come up to the house and let us know.
We had a house full of people today. The first one came around 8:30 and the last one left at 3:30. Today was the day that we invited many of the church leaders / treasurers to come to the mission house and meet with Divine. Many of them do not know how to work the account books for the various churches. Today was a day of learning for all of us. It is amazing to me that we thought we did such a good job of teaching them how to keep the books and then low and behold they are totally confused. During last month’s classes Timothy went over bookkeeping and the importance of keeping good records. Everyone seemed to understand and they even set up a couple sample pages but several of those that came today were still lost! Divine was so very patient with the men and by the end of the day I think they understood the process.
As the men were arriving this morning it was raining. It was not raining heavily but all the men were riding motorcycles and Timothy was the only one that had a rain jacket. The men were so funny; we could not sit out on the veranda because it was too cold! We moved into the main house and the ceiling fan was making them too cold! It was not really that cold but they were damp from riding in the rain. We offered them a coke and only one of them wanted one out of the refrigerator.
John Nchola, the evangelist that was accused by his village of being a witch because he helped his brother leave the village after he was accused came to the mission house this morning too. He explained more about the situation. He has been trying to get his brother to come back to the village to meet with the Juju (witchdoctor) and the elders to try and solve the problem. We asked John if they wanted to beat or kill his brother and he said no. His brother is not a Christian and he believes in Juju (witchcraft) and participates in it. He said that at this point what they want to do is for John’s brother to come back so they can perform the rituals to determine if he is indeed a witch and if he was responsible for the death of the lady who died in their village a couple months ago. I asked what they intended to do to prove him guilty or innocent. John said that they want to sacrifice a red and a white male chicken and cook the meat. They want John’s brother and anyone else that has been accused to eat the meat. The pagans in the village believe that whoever is guilty will die from eating the meat. Can you imagine such a thing in this day and time? John said that his brother has agreed to come back so maybe the case will be solved before too long. The whole thing is a big mess! John still needs your prayers.
Take care and have a great day!
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
