Street Evangelism

One thing that is nearly constant in Malawi is the power cut. Usually they are quite short, an hour or so of an evening, but Sunday is different - then the power often goes off between 7 and 7 (or a bit later in the evening) This has little effect in the villages - many of them have no power anyway. And it has less effect on the local population that you would think - for even in Mzuzu, the nation's third largest city, most people still cook on a wood fire. We have an electric cooker, so this week, as usual, there was no cooking done - instead, we go for an evening meal at one of the local restaurants, where they cook on wood. It also means that trying to do the Blog before church is a bad idea. But now the power is back.

Friday morning was spent in the continuing work of getting the new Mission House ready. In theory we should be out of the current house by next weekend. By then the new house should be habitable, even if there is still quite a bit if work to do. The man worry is still the pole from the local suppliers, ESCOM, for the house is still without electricity, which we need for so many things - including the internet. So we keep hoping and praying. The afternoon was a time of catching up on my diary, and getting ready for Sunday. As part of the catching up, I was given a picture taken on Thursday on the trip to Livingstonia - it was taken as I stalked the chameleon.

If Friday was a little quiet, Saturday was a complete contrast. I was joining the Mzuzu Evangelical Association. The group is led by a member of the local congregation at St Andrews, but is composed a people from all denominations in the city. About every two months they go out to presnet the gospel, with a programme of sport (volley ball or football), choirs (there are two regular ones - Redemption, from St Andrews and headed by the leader of the Association; and the Matabwa Fellowship - a group composed of people from all the churches in the area), drama, and a short (10 minutes in theory) Gospel presentation. They have been going just under a year, and sometimes draw crowds of one or two thousand.

This time was to prove a smaller affair. We went to a place known locally as Area 1B Market - a rather poor suburb on the edge of the city - just beyond some factories and a truck stop, surrounded by plots that are still being developed. As we arrived, we stopped opposite a wood shop, and I was surprised to see a young boy wielding an axe to cut mis-shaped planks into firewood. No thoughts of health and safety here.

Once we had arrived, the first thing to do was to get the ground prepared. We had the use of a Mzuzu Council building that was still under construction, with a small patch of ground between it and the main road running through the market. Stones were removed, rubbish was brushed to the side, and hole were dug to enable the volley ball posts to be put up.Then the guys played volley ball, and the crowd began to form - mainly children at first, drawn by the sound of the band tuning up and the sight of young men with a ball, but soon quite a good audience developed - most on the ground in front of the building, but some across the road, and many in the shade of buildings nearby. At its height the crowd must have numbered a few hundred, with people of all ages present.


Then the music started, as the two choirs sang with joy and gusto, and sounded very good - despite occasional strange noises form the PA system. There are very few occasions on which the people of Malawi can hear a free concert, and those who were present were certainly enjoying themselves, with many dancing away to the to the music - one even getting the musungos (Malawi for Travelers - in particular those of fairer skin) to join in. Along with the choirs, there was a young lady who had a beautiful voice - with one of her songs being I am coming, Lord in ChiTumbuka, the local language - with which the crowd joined in, and I added the base to the chorus.

Drama and preaching drove the message home, and a few responded to the call. I was then asked to give the final blessing. It was a good day - albeit a little long in the sun, leaving me slightly dehydrated by the evening.

It is interesting to reflect on the day, especially as smething similar will be happening in Blackwood on the weekend of November 10th as Chris Duffett - the BUGB President for this year - continues his Big Heated Evangelism tour of the United Kingdom. There was a spontaneity and freshness about the day that we cold not get in Britain - just imagine trying to dig a hole to put up a post on the sidewalk in Abergavenny! And there was a hunger in the crowd - one we have lost as we have been force fed with entertainment. Above all, there was a passion in the group to tell the Gospel story which we have perhaps lost in Wales. It will be interesting to go to Blackwood to compare the occasions.