Look close and you can see Zach surrounded by all the kids as he tells stories!

We shared our stories today with many people in the compound of Mandanga. Overall, the missionaries did not feel that this compound was as receptive as Kapalanga, the one we went to yesterday. However, Todd's team was asked to come to someone's home and pray over his sick wife. The team that Michelle was on, with Abby, Zach, and one of the missionaries, was invited into a yard of a man who was a Baptist. He wanted his family to hear our stories. Several adults gathered in the yard. They brought out stools for their guests (that's us) and they sat on the ground. The stools are very small and low to the ground, so you kind of perch on them. They went to their neighbors huts and borrowed more stools so we would all have a seat. Even the elderly sit on the ground. You cannot refuse to sit on the stool or you will offend them. They feel this is the only thing they can do for us, to honor us by giving us a place to sit. One of the men in the yard was blind. They all listened to our stories and when we were finished, the blind man said he believed God had sent us there today to encourage them. He said it was so encouraging to hear children (Abby and Zach) tell these stories from the Bible and it made them want to teach their children to know these stories, too. Following that visit, we talked with several ladies who were selling fry bread in the market. They listened to our stories and when we finished and asked them what they thought and if there was some decision they needed to make, 3 of them (who are part of one of the cult churches here), said they wanted to follow God's way. They said they had never heard the story we told about Jesus dying for their sins. They said they wanted their children to go to Sunday School so they could tell the stories of Jesus like our children could. The recurring theme for us today seemed to be that our children telling these stories is making a bigger impression on these people than we realized. Tomorrow we will go back to Kapalanga and share with more people. The missionaries have asked our family to sing some tomorrow at the market. Then on Friday, we will go back to Mandanga. The headmaster of the primary school asked if we would come to the school on Friday and sing and share stories with the students. Continue to pray for these dear people. Also, thank you for your prayers for Christian's ears. He seems to be much better.

Gabrielle helping out with the young children with Zambian onlookers.