Gules

Tuesday, June 26, 2012, was a super great day!  It was so incredible that I can't begin to tell you all about it in just one post.  So, this will be the start of a series of maybe three or five or.....

Right after breakfast we headed out to do home visits with Sarah.  We walked up to the bus stop in Ntcheu, with people constantly calling to her and waving.  She talked with us about her life, her ministries and living in Malawi.  It was obvious that she is impacting Ntcheu for the glory of God.  Spending this day with Sarah was encouraging and inspiring.
    We found a minibus, climbed aboard and waited.  The plan was to get off in Mulengeni and walk to Isaac Village.  Although I did not have a clue where either of the places were, I was still surprised when the minibus stopped in the middle of nowhere - literally - and Sarah told us we were to get off.  We exited the minibus, it drove away and we were left standing on the side of the rode.  We blindly followed her as she began walking on a path that seemed to appear out of nowhere.  Sarah told us we had crossed over into Mozambique and would be meeting up with Mtinga (more about him later :)).  The village was pretty much deserted.  But then all of a sudden people and noise came around a far corner heading on the main road through the village.  Gules.  Two men dressed all in black, with black stuff rubbed all over their faces and any exposed skin and with large scary masks over their mouths danced with machetes several yards ahead of the rest.  They looked mad, angry, evil and the machetes looked very dangerous.  One of the men came to within a few feet of Rob and shook his machetes at him.  Ok, yes, that was a tad freaky.  Behind the two machete dancers came three men decked out in feathers - ceremonial feather headdresses, loincloths, wrist bands and shin coverings.  They were dancing and beating drums.  And behind them came hundreds of children - all chanting.  That sight was overwhelmingly sad.   Ok, now if you don't know, gules are what we would call witch doctors.  It seems as though we wandered into the village at the precise time that the gules began the ceremonial walk to a funeral that was being held at the other end of the village - thus explaining why it was almost deserted. 
    Needless to say, it was quite an experience - the gules, costumes, dancing, chanting children, machete threat, etc..  But the reality has stayed with us.  This was a typical day in the rural village in Mozambique - and in rural Malawi.  Several of the nights we stayed in Ntcheu we could hear the not so distant drums and we were told that the gules regularly march past the home of the Burns family. 
     As the parade was passing we met up with Mtinga and .....