Church @ the village:
Sunday, April 12
It’s 10:47am, church “started” at 10. But we just began.
There are 16 people here. Including myself and 4 of my teammates. 7 children. And 4 adults.
We are in the classroom of Makumba Community School. Our team just sang “Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord”. It sounded beautiful, of course. (jokes)
We have no translator, except for the 14 year-old, Martha who knows a little English.
We sing Tonga songs out of a hymnal that only 2 people in this small congregation have, and no one really knows the words.
The little boy sitting at the desk with me is named Bobby, and he is wearing the same maroon school uniform shorts and dirty, off white shirt that he has been wearing since the village wedding on Friday.
A dog just walked in. So did 4 more men and 7 more children.
The walls of the school are covered in simple pencil drawings of feathers, futballs, cats and ducks with the Tonga word below (or at least that’s my assumption).
I look out the window to my left and see kids running around and others, playing with sticks in the sand. I see a 3 year-old girl, who I have grown to love dearly, squatting down in the sand, going to the bathroom.
Life is simple in Makumba village. No one is worried about being on time. No one cares if their clothes are dirty. But they have a level of respect for each other that is unlike any I have ever seen.
Every other weekend, we drive about an hour to this nearby village. We sleep in our tents outside of the school, and we cook meals over the fire.
We play with dozens of children for hours, and do door-to-door evangelism. Most of the people here are “Christian”. But what does that really mean? They all have answers to our questions, but none seem to be on fire for Christ.
Keep the families of Makumba village in your prayers.
The village is full of witch doctors.
The people are poor, both physically and spiritually.
But they are rich in love and generosity.
I know that The Lord sees these people and loves each of them dearly. I just pray that they learn to truly rely on Him above all else.
God is good. All the time. Because that is his nature!
xoxo
