Mawenzusi

The name of the village in Kifipa is “Cold Stone” but it has nothing to do with ice cream shops. It is a village where a few years ago a short-term missionary went to show the Jesus film. From that a community of new believers was formed. They built walls and the community grew. Another missionary helped fund the roofing of the small church and the community grew. Once, twice, now three times the walls have fallen in. The building they made was like the village itself struggling but surviving. In fact despite the struggles with the building, the church is growing. There is an old Ethiopian proverb that says, “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” This church will become skillful through their struggles.

As we entered the village we were greeted by a half dozen donkeys, a testament to the villages economic strength as a transport city. Most of the people in the village are farmers of course, but they supplement this income by carrying fish from the nearby lake Rukwa to Sumbawanga and other cities where they can sell them in the market. They use donkeys to carry the fish up the mountain.

As we arrived at the pastor’s house we heard a crowd gathered in the courtyard. The home was a traditional Tanzanian house with several small buildings including a pit latrine, a place to bathe, a small kitchen room, some bedrooms, and a sitting room. All of these buildings form a square with an open courtyard in the middle. The congregation met in the courtyard on small benches and grass mats. Sunday school had already begun when we got there but our arrival ushered in many others who may not usually attend the service.

We traveled with a long time pastor who makes up what he lacks in education with great passion and a pastoral heart. He had asked us to visit the church with him because it had been many weeks since he had been at the church and he was charged with overseeing this church as well as 7 others in and nearby Sumbawanga. He was tired from conducting a funeral in the city earlier in the week and another in a village further off. Biking for half a day to get to the village would have been too much for him.

In the service, I was asked to say something to the congregation as is customary when visiting a church here. Being the first visit to the church, I introduced myself but talked mostly about Palm Sunday. I remembered the donkeys. Here people don’t talk much about the triumphal entry of Jesus. They did not even mention the palm branches or the shouts of Hosanna. Instead, they remember Christ coming on a donkey. I talked a bit about the entry but talked more about how the church falling echoed in the reality of Christ’s body being broken. Like the death of Jesus did not kill the church, the falling of a building did not kill the true body of Christ in the village of Mawenzusi. Like the resurrection of Christ’s body on Easter, the body of the church lives on in the Christians who make up the community. And likewise the building too will rise again. After saying all this we gave a gift of about 20 dollars to the church towards the rebuilding project. You would think I gave them a new Crystal Cathedral from their reaction to the gift.

A little encouragement is all the church needs. They will rebuild from out of the rubble. Visiting the church building again after the service we saw the reason it fell was lack of cement holding the bricks together and other construction flaws based on inexperience in building and lack of money to buy cement. The gift I gave them is a little more than half of what it will cost to repair the wall that had fallen. A little more cement and they could prevent more falls in the future.

A seed has been planted. Another has watered it, so the story goes that Paul told the church at Corinth. More graphically, my friend and pastor, Mwanisawa called me and all Christians, “Punda ya Bwana”. (Donkeys for the Lord- could be translated in other words). We thank you for providing for us so that we can pass your gifts on to others.

In Him who calls us to be his hands and other parts in this world,
Zubers