Luke 18vs 1 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”

The majority of people living in the Shire River Valley in the southern part of Malawi are peasant farmers. The crops they grow are those that resist the hot weather condition like sorghum, millet, maize, cotton and rice along the river bank. The only industry in the area is the Sugar making plant owned by Illovo Sugar Ltd at Nchalo in Chikwawa district. Many educated youths in the area work at this industry after finishing school.

My parents are some of the inhabitants of this area; I emigrated from Nkhate, the eastern bank of the Shire River to Nchalo in search of employment. I got a job in the year 2002 at Illovo Sugar Mill as a Wages Clerk in the Agriculture department. With God’s Grace, I was soon promoted to the position of Senior Projects Accounts clerk in the Finance department in 2003, the position which I am currently holding.

Since Nchalo is just 12 kilometres from Nkhate my home area, I used to go and cultivate crops in the family lands. It was on Sunday the 25th of March 2012 when I sent my wife Mary and all my four kids home to supervise the weeding of our rice field and giving chance to the children to chat with their grandmother since it was end of term holiday for pupils. I promised to follow her on the following week end with monies to pay for our weeding contractors. When week-end came my journey was postponed because I was called on duty at my workplace.

It was on Monday the 2nd of April 2012 at 17hours just soon after knocking off when I departed Nchalo in pursuit for Mary. We cross Shire River on canoes along the way to Nkhate. People who peddle canoes along the Shire River dock on the route home usually knock off at 18hours. It rained heavily in the morning therefore riding bicycle on muddy roads delayed the speed of my trip. I arrived at the docking area Bankamu, very late and I found canoe peddlers who were on duty already knocked off.

I stood lonely and stranded on the western side of the Shire River with no one to peddle me to the other side. Upon knowing that the canoe owners live just some meters from the dock, I called with faith for their help to have me cross the river and meet my beloved family members. I stayed at Bankamu for almost one and half hours calling for boats but to no one could hear and came for assistance. Being habitual crossers by on the dock I knew names of some of the canoe owners and peddlers. When I persistently called them by names, they recognized my voice and sent a boy known by the name Mapekete with a boat and peddled me along the river to the eastern side.

This experience inspired my faith in Jesus Christ. When we call His Name persistently with faith, He recognizes our voice and come to our rescue. Like the woman in Luke 18 Vs 17-18 persistent cry for help ignites the helper’s attention which result in prompt assistance.

Mpeusa Mphonda – Nchalo Malawi Mmphonda@illovo.co.za