WALK WITH ME

Road from our house to the bus stop

We went into the city of Mwanza again yesterday.  We had an appointment with the attorney at 11:30 am.  This means that we must get up early, get dressed, and have breakfast so we can leave the house no later than 10:00.  One of the things I look forward to each morning is that morning cup of coffee.  African coffee is absolutely the best ever!  It's funny though, because one of the things that Moses always requests that we bring him is coffee from the States.  He loves the Maxwell house coffee.  He thinks it is so much better than the coffee he has here.  That would be typical, I guess.  Just human nature. 

We rode the city bus again today.  The trip was no different than any other day....Goodluck insists that we sit in the front with the driver.  He thinks he's being considerate.  Little does he know that having the front row seat is torment for me!   I make sure I'm prayed up because I know that before we get to the getting off place in Mwanza that my nerves will be completely out the window! 

Once we jump off the bus in Mwanza, we then walk to the attorney's office.  It's not a walk just around the corner either.  I have been wanting to tone the muscles in my legs, God has heard my desire and He is making sure that this is granted!  We made it to the office just at 11:30.  Moses was waiting for us, but the attorney was not in.  Go figure!  Another revelation that we've had since we've been here is that time means nothing to these people.  You just go with the flow - don't sweat the small stuff!  So we wait....the attorney's secretary will call us when he gets in.  Meanwhile, we will go elsewhere.

We walked to a hotel restaurant to discuss arrangements for our ceremony this Sunday.  Would you believe that someone recognized us!  This just goes to show you that you have to be careful, because no matter where you go, you might run into someone you know!  Imagine that!  When we were here last year, we stayed at Ryan's Bay Hotel and met the Chef there.  We had given him a Bible before we left the hotel.  He has changed jobs and is now at this hotel restaurant.  He came over to our table, grabbed our hands and told Moses we were good friends of his.  He told him that we had given him a Bible and that he was so happy we had come "back home".  You must know that this warmed our hearts.  My great-grandmother, Grandma Hall, told me years ago that when you meet someone you should always be sure that when you leave them, that they feel better after you leave than when you came. 

The secretary finally called and we are on our way back to the attorney's office.  We met with him for a short time and as we stood up to leave, Eddie walked over to his desk and told him as the attorney reaches his hand to shake, that he would like to pray for him.  Oh my, this boldness of my husband sometimes makes the hair stand up on my head.  Thank goodness for the braids at this moment!   The attorney took his hand and said "I am a Muslim, but you can pray for me".  Wow!  Eddie prayed that his business would increase, that he would be blessed, and closed the prayer "in Jesus name".   We walked out of the room, Moses said "Wow!  I cannot believe that you just did that.  He is a Muslim, and he allowed you to pray for him!".  The awesome thing about this is that when this prayer is answered, this Muslim man will remember this prayer and he will want to know who is this Man Jesus!  We were not aware until that moment that he was a Muslim.  It seemed that from the moment he met us that he was drawn to Eddie, and there was favor with him.  He had agreed to help us with our project and it will make a huge impact on the future of this ministry.  God has opened doors for us that we will be able to share at a later date.    

We left this office and visited a friend of Gooluck's, Mr. Lema.  He had asked Goodluck to bring us by so Eddie could pray for his business.  He is the owner of "Glory to God Electronics".  We walked into his office and on his desk was an opened Bible.  How often do you see this?  He is not ashamed and does not fear that he will be reprimanded for his born again belief.  We joined hands and Eddie prayed for God to increase and bless his business, as well as his family. 

Peter, the tailor

Entrance to Peter's business

Now we go to the tailor that has made the clothes we have chosen.  This room that holds two peddle sewing machines, is approximately 10x10.  The owner is a small man, but he always has a big smile.  It is amazing the work that he does, not using patterns, just does his master work by measurements, material and scissors and a drawing of the style we chose.  Amazing!   Everything fits just perfectly and we leave, but not before we pray for his business as we have the others.  He gives us a big hug and says "Asante, Asante Sana! Bwana Asifewe!"  (Thank you, thank you very much.  Praise the Lord") 

This has been a good day!  It blesses our hearts to be able to pray so openly and touch the lives of people, as they touch and bless ours.  We go back to the house now, to be greeted with a hug & kiss from Maombi & Esther.  We brought them a pizza and you would have thought they were given a million dollars!   We end our night with a meal together, laughter, and praises to our Lord.  We go to our room, take our bucket bath and sleep with such peace in knowing that we truly serve a Mighty, Mighty God!