Field Trip – Continued:
Tuesday, 15th November.
We were shown to continue our trip the next morning and as we were preparing to leave, one of the committee members at the church came to greet us. She made a presentation of K50.00 to us on behalf of the church.
Deeply touched, we gratefully received the gift. To us, the amount of money held no importance because we knew that God had a purpose for that money. What was wonderful was that the people had given freely to complete strangers and we know that God will bless them for that step of faith .
As we began to walk out of the town we saw the house of a Pastor whom we had met the night before. We felt that he had so warmly welcomed us, that it would be very bad of us not to bid him farewell. During the course of sharing with him, he blessed us with K20.00, and on the way out his wife gave us another K5.00 to buy bananas. God is truly wonderful, and even plans our menus for us if we listen carefully!
We received a lift to a small place called Nkhamenya, where the driver insisted we pay him K20.00. This we did and were soon picked up again by a very large transporter truck. This truck was on the way to Tanzania and the driver told us that we were very “lucky” because he never stops for people.
We explained to the Tanzanian driver in our best Swahili (which is non-existent, but sign language for ‘God’ is universal!), that it was the Lord who had touched his heart to stop for us. We shared in this manner for a while and after giving us a ‘coke’ to drink they stopped the truck on top of the Vipya Plateau to share their lunch with us. Lunch was prepared and served underneath the large trailer of the truck as we sat on the tarmac. Looking out over the baking African valley below, God’s awesome power was very evident. As mere humans, we are absolutely nothing compared to His great and mighty power, yet His love for us is so great. How were we to know that we would be having lunch under such circumstances.
The driver dropped us off in Mzuzu without charging us any money. This is a miracle, because in Malawi many white tourists hitchhike throughout the country and because the country is poor, drivers of vehicles, private or company owned, are looking for an extra means of income. Especially where a white person is concerned because they are perceived as being “rich”.
Consequently, those who saw us together presumed that I was a wealthy tourist with my personal guide! Nevertheless, God knew the truth and watched lovingly over us day and night. That night we were welcomed at the house of another Reverend. His family cared for us, fulfilling our needs so that we were able to continue our trip refreshed early the next day.
Wednesday, 16th November.
Our first stop the next morning was the post office. It was my son’s birthday in four days’ time and I was sad at the thought of not being with him. Titus and I had prayed the day we started the journey that God might give us funds to buy an envelope and stamp so that we could send my son a note of encouragement. God understands our family relationships. He saw my love for my son, and being a Father Himself, had blessed us with the money the day before so that I could send a little letter to him. After posting the letter we waited for the next part of our journey.
A hardware company truck gave us a lift to Rhumpie, a small town under the Nyika Plateau. As we descended the weather became very hot. We had no shade in the back of the truck. The truck stopped in the middle of the dusty little town, and we duly paid another K20.00 for transport. It was midday.
On our way in we noticed a small church and decided to see if we could find anyone home. The Pastors wife greeted us and sent for her husband. After drinking many glasses of water and explaining ourselves, the Pastor literally ran out to go and call the members of the community together. He insisted that I rest on a canvas deck chair in the shade of the church building. He said, “I know mzungus (white people) like to rest after lunch”. I did not have much trouble obeying him, after all, he was an elder of the local church and I as a visitor, must fall under his authority!
Most of the rural Malawians are a bit apprehensive about hosting white people because of language and cultural differences. God had taught me through Titus and other precious Malawian brothers and sisters, how to adapt to many of the customs and foods. As I conformed, the people were made to feel more at ease with me and again there was testimony in our words by God’s grace alone.
I really began to understand that the “authority” which has been given to us through Christ Jesus is not some ‘mystical’ power, but is in fact, the lifestyle we lead. It was said of Jesus, “…He was teaching them as one having authority…”. Demons were afraid of Jesus because they knew He was ‘dead’ to the things of the ‘flesh’ and He would not give in to their temptations. We too, as we begin to live a laid down life, (dying to the things of a ‘selfish life’), will show the authority of Christ through us. That is why it was important that God’s son was in every way a man, so that we might have an example to follow.
A group of ladies gathered and we were able to share some precious things concerning their marriages and their roles as wives. All were extremely blessed and stayed for over two hours in the heat. As we started to finish, the men began arriving after work, so the ministry continued until evening. They were all amazed to see that I would actually bath in their traditional way and enjoy the food. The heat remained until about 9:30pm when we finally finished ministering, exhausted, but mightily blessed.
Thursday, 17th November – Monday 21st November.
The next morning, one of the brothers offered us the use of his phone to call our families. How wonderful that God thinks of small details. We were able to let our families know that we were fine. The first bus for Mzuzu left at 9:00am and by God’s grace, there was enough money for us to board it. The little community was so poor that we were able to bless them with some of our toothpaste as we left.
Arriving in Mzuzu, we discovered that in fact there was just enough money remaining to catch another bus to Nkhatha Bay, on the shores of Lake Malawi. The heat in the African bus was unbearable. Many elderly ladies were not sure of their destinations and kept raising false alarms for the driver to stop. In one case we had to reverse back! The bus stops at each tiny bus shelter and there is a continuous trafficking of passengers causing a reshuffle of seating arrangements constantly. This is not the place for impatient city drivers!!
At the lake shore the heat is very intense. One thing about the Malawian heat, is that in the shade it is normally cool because there is always a gentle breeze. We asked some people if they knew of any nearby Christians. We were told to go up the hill to find them. We could only walk a few meters at a time because of the fiery heat and weight of our back packs. Eventually, after arriving at the top, we were told that a fellowship group met at the town hall, which was next to the bus station we had just left! At the bus station a young lady led us to the Pastor of a charismatic church. He lived at the top of the hill, so again we climbed, thank you Lord!
As usual, we were greeted with open arms and explained the reason for our visit. Church elders understandably are concerned when we arrive unannounced as they need to protect their members. Differences in doctrines have successfully split the church and caused fears in the hearts of men in positions of responsibility in the church.
The Pastor explained that he was about to leave for an evangelical outreach but that he would hand us over to a fellow ‘Pastor’ of another church (It later turned out that he was an elder, not a Pastor). Half an hour later, we were escorted to a room in a rest house (small hotel) which had been paid for us by the ‘Pastor’ whom we had not even met.
We were told that we could stay as long as we felt necessary and he would meet all our expenses. There are no words to describe what we felt. God had called on His children to open their hearts and they had responded without question. Many will be blessed because of their obedience. Glory to God!
We finally met our ‘sponsor’ and were greatly blessed by his openness. He owns two shops in the local market and has a wonderful testimony of how God gave him these businesses to help the body of Christ.
We visited many places of interest with him and God provided ample opportunities in the way of examples, to share deeper things of the gospel to this precious brother. The first night we shared to the brethren, there was a language challenge. I was teaching in English, Titus was translating into Chichewa and another brother translated into Swahili for some Tanzanians pre-sent. It was truly wonderful, although it took some time!
The days were extremely hot up until 10:00pm at night. On Friday night we accompanied our hosts to an all-night prayer session. We arrived at the venue, on the side of a steep mountain overlooking the Lake, by the light of a full moon.
What a glorious situation, praising God, hearing the word and teaching under the light of a massive silver moon reflecting off the waters of the Lake. Titus and I were awestruck at God’s mighty power. “Who is like unto thee, oh Lord among the Gods”. We finally left at 4:00 am the following morning, truly blessed.
Ministry the next day included sharing with some young girls and married women. They were very interested in the government of God concerning our family lives as Christians. In the evening we again shared under the light of the moon and open skies. We closed the evening with prayer and thanks giving to the Lord for hearts that He was touching.
Our host’s wife was expecting a baby any day and had come down with Malaria that evening. It was not possible to take her to hospital because the only vehicle available had no lights. We asked for some oil to anoint her. A dab of baby oil was placed on her forehead as we prayed for healing.
Our host wanted to take her to hospital at first light the following day. When Titus and I arrived the next day, we found her smiling and happily busy cooking. We asked if she had been to hospital to which she replied, “What for? The Father healed me last night after you prayed!”
On Saturday night at supper, our host asked if we would like to return directly to Lilongwe or continue down the lake shore? We said that we had no money to take a bus back and would probably hike first thing on Monday morning. He said that the Lord had shown him to pay for our bus fare straight back to Lilongwe. He said he would like us to come and minister at the Sunday service and then leave on the evening bus which arrived in Lilongwe at 3:00am the following day!
The Lord shared a lovely word through us to the Sunday school attendants, followed by a wonderful time of praise and worship.
We boarded the bus for Lilongwe after a sad farewell to the most precious brothers and sisters in Nkhatha bay.
The temperature began to cool as we ascended towards Lilongwe out of the Lake basin. We were a bit concerned at arriving home so early in the morning. However, the Lord took care of that by allowing the bus to break down. Another bus had to be arranged, adding at least a further hour to our travelling time.
As the new day dawned, we arrived and were able to walk home in the safety of the morning light (and His Light!).
God had blessed us as well as many others along our journey. It was our prayer that many would be brought closer to God by the work that He had done through us during this time. Indeed, this had happened – and God deserves all the glory and honour.
To those who blessed us and so willingly opened their homes to meet our needs – you know who you are – God knows who you are, and He will bless each and every one for their obedience….”
“…Time with The Master…”