June 7 - Visiting with the Fluegges And A Trip To The Market

Saturday, June 7th, 2008 – Bill

Last night we enjoyed a late-hour “evening fellowship” session with Glenn, covering topics from the sacrament of baptism and the difficulty Africans have with accepting it, spiritual warfare among Christians and pagans with the Moba tribe, and contemporary worship in America. Apart from his wife, Glenn doesn’t have the opportunity to sit on a roof contemplating these theological issues with other like-minded people so it is good for us to be here. We are learning a lot from each other.

We also spent some time talking about the dependency Africans have on foreign aid and the balance between weaning them away from this dependency without making them feel abandoned. It’s a real struggle for American missionaries who come to Africa to make a difference. They (we) come to help, but help must be provided in a way that does not hinder the long-term advancement of the church in a culturally accepted and sustainable manner.

This morning, Sue and Eliana took us to the market. This is definitely the place to be on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Hundreds of people are at the market selling goods for everyday living. Food, clothing, cooking utensils, moped fuel, and a small amount of packaged/processed goods. Brian, Matthew and I did purchase some of the beautiful cloth that we will bring to the tailor later this afternoon. Susan helped us negotiate and we appreciated the opportunity to engage local people in the marketplace. Brian played pied-piper to the children who flocked to him once he started taking pictures.