I guess I will start off what happened yesterday. I was in one community and Amai Theresa(FED) came to the community. I was buy taking photos and meeting with the different groups before she came. After she spoke to several of the groups she told me to gather my stuff and go with her. We were headed to a community named Mandala.
Edward was the driver and it seemed like we were going into no-mans territory. He was off-roading it at it's finest and I never knew the route he took went to Mandala. We were driving past the front yards of houses, right through the middle of a football(soccer) field, and going through what I thought was walking paths and not driving paths.I sure didn't ever take this route to get there! {[[ side note, Edward and I went shopping together this past Saturday and my bargaining line that made him laugh was, "the mountain your climbing is to high!"]]}Eventually we made it to where a new centre is being built. It was amazing to see the progression sense the last time I saw it.
There was a funeral happening in this community so there were not very many people out and about. We were watching the construction being done on the centre when all of a sudden one lady after another started to show up. We ended up handing out football(soccer) jerseys and shorts to a ladies soccer team. There is a league going between different communities which brings ladies together in sport. Usually, sports have only been played by men so this has been a huge step forward. The amount of joy on the woman's faces was evident, but then they kicked it into next gear. They broke out into song and dance and we were having a great party on a construction site. After the singing and dancing were over, there was obviously a bigger crowd that had arrived. We then handed out candy to the majority of the people that were present and headed on our way.
We stopped right next to a pond that had a Maize field on the other side of it. A Man came with us from the construction site and jumped out at this location to pick Maize for Amai (which she later gave away). I was just sitting and waiting when all of a sudden I saw a fishing!!! Oh Boy Oh Boy. I didn't ask FED or Edward If I could get out, but instead jumped up and took off. The boy jumped up and began to run for his life, LITERALLY! I then came back to the vehicle where FED and Edward were talking about what I was doing the whole time I was gone. When I made it back to my seat they said the boy thought I was coming to kidnap him and traffic him. Supposedly white men are part of the human trafficking(at least that's what children are told) and many young children run away. I was still not sure why this boy ran when there were other boys close by who didn't seem to mind me there.
When the man who picked the Maize came back Amai asked him to call all the boys over. The boys came because they knew the man. Amai noticed that the boy who ran from me had some pretty badly ripped up clothing. She asked him some questions but he would not respond to her. She then asked the friends who were present, and then a story unfolded. Once Amai found out the boys name, Robert, she then asked him questions and answers came out. Robert was not from the current village that he was in. His parents sold him to a chief and the chief was forcing him to be a herdsmen. Child labor, Robert wasn't able to go to school and he obviously wasn't being taken care of. Amai was going to send her Cousin(another chief) to have chat with the chief who was guilty of this crime. This conversation was either happening today or the next few days. The chief in question already has been accused of sexual abuse in the past, so the odds are up against him. Most likely, Amai will call in the cavalry(some government friends and police). Amai see's Somebody Cares as a pioneer in ended human trafficking in Malawi, especially that of children. Amazing how my passion for fishing turned into a crazy story.
On a personal note, I have been having some trouble sleeping through the night for the past week and a half. I would wake up and a specific prayer request would be laid on my heart. It's amazing to see how some of the prayer requests that were placed on my heart had answers to them the next day. Some amazing break throughs have taking place, one being a drug addiction and unhealthy relationship.
"Christ in me, the hope of glory (Colossians 3:30)." This has been the verse I've been going back to along with John 3:30 for the past week and a half. "He must become greater, I must become less."
Where do I start, allowing Christ to become greater as I become less. Recognizing that he lives in me, directing my steps. Do I recognize this truth? Do you?
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