We cried tears of joy

Our first day of teaching was pure gold……… We arrived at Ndgara, down miles of soggy wet muddy track. This is hard terrain, the land of no work, no economy and no clean water. Life is tough here. We taught here for the first time on our last trip, teaching as they requested on family planning, nutrition and hygiene. We didn’t know what to expect, had anything changed we pondered. Father had given me a word for them based on Mathew 16v19. He was handing them all keys with which to unlock solutions to their issues. I shared this with them and then asked for feedback on last time’s teaching……… we were blown away by the response. First Alice stood up, she had not stopped teaching, everywhere she went and to anyone who would listen. She had plunged into the family planning topic, even going with some of the ladies to The Dispensary (which is a 7 mile muddy walk) to make sure they had the contraceptive injection! Her neighbour about 22 years old already had seven children and was struggling to feed one child never mind seven. Then Esther spoke, she had been teaching groups of people on all the topics, but concentrating on the importance of boiling water. Even in the rainy season people walk seven miles for water, but this source is shared with the animals. Esther has been very effective in explaining how this was causing the children and adults to be sick, some even dying. Daniel was next, he told us he had nine children, the youngest about 3 years old was with him. He explained that the young one was the last because we had taught him about family planning. We sat and wept, tears of joy. The flip charts we had left proudly pinned up on the wriggly tin wall, we were humbled and reminded that a little teaching goes such a long way, and really does transform and save lives. These folk were still living in harsh circumstances, but they now have hope for the future. Their church is a small wriggly tin building with a mud floor, no electricity. They do have a long drop (hand dug toilet) but it is almost full, not pleasant, especially in the heat! They just haven’t got the money to build a new one. We would love to help them, if you feel moved to give a donation towards this go to http://www.pottersheart.org. We also had a session on mental health issues and making your own sanitary pads….. but more on that tomorrow. Please pray that the rain stops or the road will become unpassable!!

Linden x