Friday: The Mission and the Last Conference

Today we began early leaving for our conference at Mbozi which on the way to the Zambia border. Before going to the host church of the Mbozi conference, we stopped to pray with Pastor Duncan and his wife, Mary, at a new church mission in Ilolo. Floyd and Pastor Ephraimu led in prayer for the mission. The mission is almost one year old and has over 10 members—many children greeted Pastor Duncan jumping up and down hugging him and reaching up for him to pick them up. As a note, Pastor Duncan and Mary provide a home for seven orphans in the area. The mission is located in a very difficult area. Most people are afraid to even go to the area. Ilolo is famous from witchcraft and many other criminal activities. Yet, Duncan and Mary are confident that God has called them to serve here. We received a warm welcome at the church and began teaching. The group was composed mostly of pastors and their wives. Today we changed our teaching schedules. Floyd taught, then Bonnie, and Bernard finished. The two previous days we each taught about an hour at a time. Today, we each taught around one hour and forty-five minutes. Bonnie had the toughest job as the church was hot inside during her teaching. Bernard taught in the afternoon and clouds kept it cool. Floyd taught first in the morning and it was okay. Bonnie did a great job of teaching. Raymond, Sadiki, and Ephraimu and his team led in the worship and music. At one point the it seemed everyone was dancing at the front of the church. Bonnie and I joined in. They really enjoyed that we would join them—they had not had wazungu (white people) join them in dance before. We had a delicious meal of beef in sauce; roasted chicken, great rice, pineapple, and avocado. As always we had water and soft drinks. The pastor the church led in the giving of gifts to the Daily Breach Life team. Mbozi is a big peanut area. Each one of us was given about a kilo of peanuts. Bonnie and Neema called the women together and gave out the gifts from American women. The women were encouraged to use the knitted cloths as reminders that someone is praying for them. They committed to pray for those who knitted the cloths even though they do not know any of them. The Mbozi women loved the cloths. We left Mbozi stopped by Duncan and Mary’s house for coffee. Then, we headed back to our home over the past four days. We stopped by to see Mpeli’s mom (who is home from the hospital) and his father, James. Women are generally known by the children’s name. So, Mpeli’s mother is known as Mamma Mpeli. James Mwaisumbe is a pastor who has started five churches over the year. We had a great time talking with them and sharing in prayer for Mamma Mpeli and James. Tonight, we were shocked. For the first time, we received everything we ordered and it took only 1.5 hours to get our dinner. The young lady who served us did a great job. A young man also took care of a “towel” crisis and sprayed for mosquitos for us. When we arrived, there was one towel for Mpeli and Neema, one towel for Floyd and Bonnie and no towel (nothing) in Bernard’s bathroom. Mpeli and Neema went back to spend the evening with his family. Tomorrow is a late breakfast and then heading back to Iringa. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement during the conferences of the past week.