Like Father Like Son

Grant, Steve, and Eli had a great trip out to the bush last week.  It was a special time for Eli because he was able to share a Bible story with the kids (the story of David and Goliath)!  He was nervous - but we are so proud of him for giving it a try.

The guys also had really good visits with the villages.  Kilimary was especially encouraging on this trip.  Below is an excerpt from Gran't journal of their time there...

"...I told them we understood their daily struggle with ancestral ways versus Christian ways but that Steve and I, our families, and our church partners pray specifically for them and this struggle.  During this discussion, Emanda said that one day when he was walking near another village, one of his friends asked him about what the white people were doing in Kilimary.  He told them that we had come to “mampivavaka” (literally translated make pray – a term used for pastors and missionaries).  His friend answered back that they too had missionaries that had come to make them pray and had brought food, clothes, shoes, water, and other materials.  He asked Emanda what we had brought.  Emanda said that we brought the truth of the gospel.  He told his friend that we had become friends and they didn’t need all those other things because the gospel was changing their lives. 

Emanda also said that he didn’t trust some pastors and church leaders.  He said that two different church leaders had borrowed $50 from him.  He was never repaid the money borrowed.  He went on to say that we were different because we practice what we preach.  We preach to only have one wife, and only have one wife.  We preach not to steal, and we don’t take money and leave town.  He said that they trust us, and listen and respect the things that we teach.  He told us that they do this because we had built a good relationship with them first and that meant a lot to them."