If Bibles and materials are given them at no cost, they begin to take them for granted and don t take their study seriously. The missionaries charge a nominal fee for these items, and are even willing to take other goods as payment, such as bags of mealy-meal, chickens, or vegetables. One man traded his prized wooden stool, his only article of furniture, for a Bible. The stools, typically from 8 to 12 inches high and carved from a single block of wood, are one of their few artistic expressions. Survival is first.
Art is way down the list of priorities.
In another settlement in the district of Shangombo on the other side of the Zambezi, we found conditions even worse than in Mapatizya. In Ngandwe, a much smaller village situated about 20 kilometers from the Zambezi and much farther from any larger towns, the people greet us by gathering beneath a tree to sing. Their joy and excitement are evident, the songs engaging, but it is difficult for us to show our appreciation because of the thousands of flies that constantly attack our faces, legs, and arms. Daren and Shawna Davis, worshiping with their son, Micah, at a church near Mongu. Millet, a form of cereal grass, is the main crop and staple here, and the village is situated in the midst of large fields of the tall stalks.