Dear Friends,

The big event this week was definitely the Matondo on Sunday. In the local language Matondo means thank you. Matondo is held twice a year here, in June and in December. Basically Matondo is a celebration thanks God for bringing you through another six months of life and giving back to God what He has given to you.

We had been preparing for Matondo for a the last couple months, so I was very interested to see what it would be like. Several weeks ago envelopes were handed out to everyone, and we were told to fill the envelope with money. Now you didn’t just get one envelope but you got one for each group you are a part of. I got three; one for the area where I live, one for the youth, and one for the Corps Cadets.

Then on Sunday the day of Matondo, we brought our envelopes with us to church and gave them to the leader of the group the envelope was for. During the service the leaders brought up the money and gave it placed it in a large bowl at the front of the church. Something I found interesting was that some groups in something symbolizing their group. For example, the envelopes from the Corps Cadets were placed inside the Corps Cadet manual and the envelopes for the Mother’s League were put inside a purse.

Giving is very important here. There is a collection taken at every meeting, even at rehearsals and Bible Studies. But it is not just at church. From a young age the children are taught to give some of what they have to their friends. I often see the children at school breaking off a piece of their bread or candy to share with their friends. At home it often seems like we have a mentality of, “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours.” But here it is more like, “What’s mine is ours.” I believe this is one of the many lessons that God has brought me here to learn. I mean what we have is not really ours anyway but was given to us by God, so it makes sense to want to share with those around us and to give back to God what He has been gracious enough to give us.

Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

Tracy Pilewski