Step by Step

Hi Family and friends,

Good news first - Today I called into Kamfinsa again and have made an appointment to take a group of four leaders from Mupitanshi next Tuesday- please pray that great things will come from this and that our leaders will be inspired to do something similar. I am very excited about it. The high school students are all back at school. Rebecca and Owen are in their last year, Grade 12 so they don't come home again until they have sat national exams in November.

The bad news - sweet little Gift the sick baby was dead the next day when I took the baby food to his mother. I was so upset! Two days later a 4yr old was abducted as they were walking home from the bush farm and we were all involved in searching for him. I took the parents to the police station miles away to register the loss.. Then we had a whole village meeting to which the people who live in the bush area where he went missing were instructed to attend. However only 4 men from that place came. I watched them closely and God told me to speak to them. I said, "You know the people. You know who has the child." They said, "Yes". So I took them to the Headman and asked them to confess. Apparently a woman stole the child and is hiding him in her home. On the information that these men gave a house to house search was to be carried out today - I wont know the results until I get back home.

On Monday I took HIV patients for blood tests and as I sat there in that clinic with 8 people who have this deadly disease they started joking and laughing hysterically. It seemed bizarre but I had to admire them.

Too many people have been coughing over me and this last week I succumbed to the virus and so I have been quite low and feel very homesick.

I have met a pastor who is looking for a church - I would love him to come to Mupitanshi. We are so in need of good leadership. We have lots of churches but few pastors. Rev Richard Musoyo is an ex-army man who has retrained as a pastor and he loves the word of God. He has just returned from a place in the north where because he preached the truth the people tried to poison him... this is true. Most of the deacons and elders were either married to several wives or had mistresses and the deaconesses were single and had dozens of children to different fathers. They didn't want to hear the truth. Here I have one teacher who is pregnant - she hasn't told me yet but its pretty obvious. She is not married and already has twins to a different man. God help me deal with this.

The difference about life here is that in NZ I'd read about all this in the newspaper or Women's Weekly magazine, but here I know everyone involved. It hits harder because of that. Africa is certainly different but I love these people.

That's the news for now. Be blessed . Keep praying for me to stay strong. I really appreciate your prayers. God is certainly working in this place.

Durelle