Day 6

Day Six

It seems to us that God had His hand in the weather this week. Again today we set out under a beautiful African sky to go to the work we had at hand. It was a day of FINISHING TOUCHES. This week has gone so well. We have been truly blessed and we pray that we have been a blessing to both the people of Ntshongweni as well as to the guides who have been with us.

We began our work today all up at the orphan homes. These houses were begun five years ago on Pastor K’s first trip. As you can see from the photo, these humble homes are a great blessing to the orphaned children who live in them. Not only are they warm and dry, but they offer a spectacular view of God’s finishing touches on the region. The two 2200 liter water containers were delivered this morning and then the plumbing was added to them. They will collect God’s good rain water to aid the people in the homes.

After that brief work on the ridge, we headed down to the community center to put a few finishing touches on the chicken run. The chicken run was attacked on all sides! We had to put the finishing paint on the coop building, to attach a drain that would catch runoff from the chickens into a drain field and we had to put together the final nesting boxes and the roosting poles. It was great to see the final rush of activity that put the finishing touches on the project. And God was gracious, we brought our work to an end. Our two young ladies from Pittsburgh even painted a sign that hung over the entrance. How great it was to see the project we begun brought to its finish.

After our lunch break, we had some odds and ends to do but several of us took the time to sit on the ground and make ourselves available to the little kids. They love this so much! They crawl all over you, placing your hat on themselves and hugging, tickling, and generally enjoying you. Our own guitarist, Ken Wunsch, took some time at this point in the day to entertain the students of the crèche. Using a borrowed classical guitar, he played guitar for a good half hour with the children. They sat so quietly and were truly transfixed by his God-given talent. There was applause after every piece. This also brought about some guitar playing from Musa, one of our Zulu friends. It was a true finishing touch to have the crèche filled with the sounds of music, including a video of our own MLCS kids singing Siyahamba.

However, there was one more finishing touch hat made our work even more enjoyable – CHICKENS! Fifteen laying hens were brought in and were put into their new homes. The man who delivered them told us our chicken run was like a chicken Hilton Hotel. We spread out straw in the yard and filled the water containers and feed boxes and enjoyed watching them settle into their new homes. It was such a joy that even the kids of the village all enjoyed petting and watching the chickens. It seemed like the proper end to a week of hard work.

As always when you come on a trip like this the finishing touches that are hard to do are the goodbyes that are exchanged with people with whom you have spent the week. Hugs, handshakes, and waves were exchanged. And we wondered who put the finishing touch on whom. We know that God has used us to bless them but we know that they have blessed us with their faith shown to us in worship, working side by side with them, and their love shown to us in help, food, and hugs. Perhaps it is best said that we both put the finishing touches on each other.

In your prayers please include our team’s journey home. There is a lot of miles for us to cover, both in a plane and by car; ask for God’s holy angels to attend us. Pray for the congregation in Ntshongweni that they might ever grow in reaching out to their neighbors. Pray also for Martin Luther Chapel and its ministry, as well as our brothers and sisters of Peace Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh et al., who were our companions of faith. May God help us to see our callings and our ministry to those whom God has placed us near.