Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Today was a pretty emotional day for us. It wasn’t as physical as the next several will be, but our hearts went through the wringer! Praise God that He is in control of every single situation and we can trust that He already knows the outcome!

We began our day with more challenge from Pastor Ed in the book of Joshua. We were reminded that the commanders in Joshua’s army were ready and willing to follow him. They were ready also, to drop everything and go to battle. They were also ready to prepare for battle then wait if needed. We, as Christians, as soldiers in God’s army against Satan, should be prepared for anything He asks us to do and willing to follow godly leaders as they serve Him as well.

We headed out first to visit Samuel’s wife, Liness, who has been sick with malaria. She was up and about but moving slowly and said she felt pretty weak still. But she had a beautiful smile and visited with us for a short time. Janine, Leah, Misozi and I had a chance to pray with her and give her a hug before we left. From there, we visited a private clinic that many of the HFF team use when needed. Ovi wanted to get tested for malaria as he was having some similar symptoms. Praise God, he does NOT have it.

From there we picked up one of the head honchos with the Zomba police department and the public relations officer. (Please forgive my lack of understanding the command structure—I think he’s a major r something like that. He’s pretty important is what I do know.) Anderson and Tionge are both believers with a real heart to both spread the gospel and improve the lives of the people of Malawi. They took us to the Zomba hospital to distribute Bibles to the staff there. Ovi took about 400 Bibles and many pamphlets with John and Romans. Pastor Ed shared a brief challenge of encouragement with a room full of staff then we passed out Bibles. Unfortunately, the group started to get rather rowdy—pushing and shoving and demanding more than one Bible. While I was never fearful of the crowd, they were definitely unpleasant. Turns out a second group had begun to push their way in to get the free Bible then leave before the first group had left. Anderson and Ovi gained control of the crowd and managed to get more order set. The second group filled the room again and Pastor Ed again shared a challenge with them and we handed out Bibles after—this time was much more pleasant and one woman stopped me to pray with her. I believe Janine & Leah had the chance to pray with another woman as well. We thought we were done  but when this group left another group came in! So we did it all again! If you’re a bit of a skeptic as I can be sometimes, you might think “many were just trying to get free stuff!” I thought that, too. But Ovi reminded us that even if this is the case, that Bible will make it into the hands of the right person at the right time because God knows and is in control of everything! So, those people who simply wanted free stuff will be the unwitting tools that God uses to spread His Word! I was reminded of what we studied in Matthew 13 last week. The parable of the sower.  When we spread the gospel, we never know what type of soil the seeds will land on. That is not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to sow and let God decide where the seeds land. Some seeds may be blown away or even carried away by birds to a far away place where it may land in good soil we never even saw.

After handing out Bibles, one of the hospital staff took us on a tour of several areas of the hospital. We saw most of the children’s wing and all came away very sad at the conditions. There were a couple of rooms with beds pushed nearly side by side and the doctor said that there are often 3-4 children in each bed! It was dirty and smelly and the staff do not have the equipment that is needed to properly treat most of these children. The looks of hopelessness on the parents’ faces was hard to take. The lethargy of the children was heartbreaking.

After the hospital we went to lunch with our two police friends. It was a wonderful time getting to know them and their heart for their people. Please pray for Anderson, Tionge and their relationship with HFF.

This afternoon we women took some time to work on our lessons since tomorrow we will begin three days of camps in three different villages. I’ve never done a camp but I’m told it will be a very strenuous day in the heat and sun. We will be running games for the children and teaching them songs and Bible lessons. Both because their children will be there and we are a rather large group of white people, we also expect to attract crowds of adults to teach as well! It should be a very exciting day! Please pray for boldness, energy and health as we present the gospel in several different ways and settings! We finished the day with another wonderful meal prepared and served by Lita! With full bellies and hearts prepared for whatever may come tomorrow, we are quickly heading to bed!

Thank you yet again for your prayers so far! Please comment if you’re following us so we know. It is a great encouragement for us to hear that you are following and praying along with us!