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This is the typical view from the perspective of a missionary upon arriving somewhere for a visit. As the vehicle comes to a stop, the people stand and gather to sing songs of greeting, welcome, and thanks to God for sending someone to share His word with them. Most of the well-dressed men in front are preachers from the area. |
A visit from a missionary brings people in from all over the area. Here, women and children from different places gather under the trees on Saturday evening to rest from a long day of travel. (The men were similarly congregating elsewhere.) |
Since the church building was too small to accommodate people from so many churches, the Sunday morning worship service was held outside. |
A primary objective of this visit was to distribute Tshwa-language Bibles to the attending preachers, many of whom had never owned a Bible. Just imagine trying to preach every Sunday for years without even having access to God's Word! |
Those aren't pumpkins, they're a kind of drum, and this is a percussion choir of some renown in the area. By slapping the drums and hitting them against the ground, deep echoing sounds are produced to accompany their singing. It was an unbelievably rich sound. |
They also have a xylophone player. |
Here's a typical makeshift kitchen for such an event. Dig a hole, build a fire in the hole, rest the large pot above the fire. |