Here's S.W. van der Merwe (son of HIM missonaries Johan and Hessie van der Merwe) walking through an open-air market in Choma selling Bibles.
This year there was a total of six teams who went to assist Uncle Piet and Aunt Hester with the Bibles. From left to right in this picture is Christelle Coleman, Gert Louw, and Brian Coleman. They are friends of the mission from Ladybrand, South Africa.
Here's another market picture. Usually when we arrive in a new area, we set up a little shop at the tailgate of the truck like in the last picture. A few people stay at this "shop" and the rest of us go out with backpacks of Bibles through the markets and the towns selling Bibles.
One day S.W. and Shelby sold a Bible to some street vendor who paid all in hundred Kwacha bills. You can see the handful of money--280 very dirty, worn out bills! The money takes a little getting used to! We sold the Bibles for 28,000 Kwacha or about $5.75. If we meet a person who genuinely wants and Bible but doesn't have that much money, we sell to them for what they can afford. We try to never turn away anyone who really wants a Bible.
One Sunday we were invited to a little church in a village about 20 miles away from where we were staying. Here's the pastor, an interpreter, and S.W. testifying. I was asked to preach. The people listened carefully and seemed to understand the message about the importance of having a pure heart.
Overall, the people of Zambia seem very industrious and innovative. Imagine making a living welding window frames with this homemade arc welder!
On the way home, we spent a day in the Chobe Game Preserve in northern Botswana. I'm going to try to post some animal pictures later this week. As the full moon was setting in the west, the sun was rising in the east. It was spectacular!
Animals, both domestic and wild, are a constant threat on the roads in Africa. Most people in America have seen deer crossing signs, but what about warthog crossings????
