Njereza Church Meeting
Chikwawa District, Malawi
November 17, 2002

Njezere Village is located on the west bank of the Shire River in Chikwawa District, north of Chikwawa Boma, about an hour’s drive from Blantyre. Stephen Kasenda and I arrived at 9 AM, an hour before time for services to begin. This is a relatively new work. Brethren do not have a building at this time, so they meet in the Traditional Court building.

When we arrived, there were perhaps about 50 people present. They informed us that there would be a number of brethren coming from surrounding congregations, most of which were located across the Shire River. Since a crowd much larger than could meet in the Traditional Court was expected, arrangements were made to meet under the shade of the large trees next to the TC. After the set up was made under the trees, instead of sitting idle, the people sang. As more people began to arrive, they just joined in the singing. Their singing was excellent! Not only did they have beautiful voices, they sang with spirit!

Brethren living on the east side of the river were having difficulty in getting enough canoes to get them transported across the river in good time. Services had to be delayed until 10:30 because of this problem. Since God does not require us to punch a clock, I do not think He was discouraged with us because we started at the time later than was planned. 

Due to this area being a relatively new work, my subject was “The significance of the Church of Christ in God’s plan of redemption for mankind.” Good audience!

In the photo of the brethren, you see the trees under which the service was conducted. There were brethren representing 13 congregations in attendance. Of course, not all of the brethren from the other congregations were present. To the far left and to the front of the picture, the man in the blue suit is Bro. Getner, the preacher. Standing to his left is Group Village headman Njereza.

When Stephen and I left the village to return home, we noticed a pod of about a dozen hippos in the river enjoying themselves. We didn‘t notice any crocodiles, but we know they are there. For sure, the Shire is certainly not a river in which to go swimming. --Jim Franklin