Footsteps into Mashabo

Any good evangelistic series would not be complete without being accompanied by its own unique set of hindrances, and unexpected events. This set of meetings in Mashabo could not be any different.

Our plan was to leave campus Friday afternoon with all our supplies, bedding, and a weeks worth of food. The local tractor would carry us easily to our destination in plenty of time to settle in and prepare for the evening meeting. The afternoon was spent gathering everything of importance for the next 9 days together. Finally at about 3:30pm we were ready to go, but the tractor was nowhere to be seen.

As more time passed it became evident that it was highly likely we would need to walk if we were going to arrive in time for the evening meeting, so we gathered together the absolute essentials and began our jungle trek. Five individuals set out for the five mile walk, each with a backpack, and with two extra containers of food; it was almost 5pm.

In the beginning the walk was pleasant, the group chatted heartily together, and developed a strategy for carrying the containers of food between themselves. One of the bags of food was carried between two people, with one person possessing each handle. The other container was actually a bucket, which Andre and I balanced on a large stick between us, and each of us carried one end of the stick. It seemed, however, that as distance passed, our burdens grew heavier. Andre’s wife, Natoya, is pregnant, so after traveling for awhile I offered to carry her backpack, and we added mine to the stick we were carrying.

About halfway to our destination, night had already fallen, and we walked the jungle trail in the dark. Very quickly I decided it was prudent to replace my sandals. It is nice to walk barefoot through the jungle in the light of day, when one can see where their feet are being placed, but at night I discovered there are many painful objects that earnestly seek out the tender sole of unsuspecting feet to inflict pain. Not ten minutes down the road my faithful left flip-flop breathed its last, and was no more, it had broken. Lovely, my only pair of shoes with me, that meant I would have to resume stumbling barefoot in the dark hoping to avoid the many roots, fallen branches, or other such objects.

And stumble we did. In hindsight, it is evident that Andre and I had the short end of the stick, so-to-speak, with our load, and the other members of our group showed no mercy and marched along at a rapid pace, poor Andre was stuck with barefooted me. As the miles trudged by, we rotated our load from shoulders, to arms length and back again, praying for the end to arrive.
Finally, at 6:48pm, we arrived at the primary school where we were going to hold our meetings. The field was dark, we were tired, and not a person was in sight. We stopped at the head master’s house to pick up the needed keys, and found out that several people had been there around 6pm but had since left, and the church elders had never arrived. We picked up our burdens one last time, and walked up the hill to the building that would be our home for the next 9 days.

With only 12 minutes until the supposed meeting time, no generator until the rest of our things arrived the next day on the tractor, no people to speak to, and nothing set up for an evening meeting; all hope of having our first meeting slowly faded, much to our disappointment. We gathered together in the tiny two room apartment that would be our home for the next 9 days, ravenously devoured a simple supper, and discussed what to do. The verdict was have Friday evening worship together, go to bed, and be ready tomorrow for the first night of our series.
Then someone in the group noticed a group of about 10 young men loitering in the field in front of the primary school. It was quickly decided to have our worship outside, and possible include the young men if they were interested. As we gathered on the sidewalk in front of the school, singing praises to God with these young men whose faces were hidden in the dark, and Andre gave a shortened version of the planned sermon, we had the first informal meeting of our evangelistic series.

That night, sleeping on the wood floor with only blankets and pillows, we were welcomed into this new experience that would challenge and stretch us. Little did we know how wonderful the next nine nights would prove to be.