Thonje Day

In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray's character wakes up each morning at the same time to the same song on the radio ... and relives the same day, every day.

Welcome to Thonje.

This is a remote village in central Malawi, where every man, woman and child has a lead role in their own personal version of this movie. Kids have one set of clothes; few have shoes. They eat the same meager meal of nsima (a corn meal product) and a few side dishes if available. The village dairy cow, one of the only sources of protein, recently died. Life is HARD. And at the end of the day, they go to sleep knowing they will wake up to the same story line the next morning.

Groundhog Day is the only movie that plays in Thonje.

But there is something else in Thonje ... the church. The people gather together in an old brick structure and sing praises. They thank God for their lives and family and friends. They have discovered contentment in the midst of survival.

And now they have the Living Word. Thanks to the Walk to the Manger, we were able to distribute several adult Bibles in the Chichewa language, along with some illustrated children's Bibles, to the church members who can read. Now they will be able to read about what they have experienced throughout their lives ... the reality of God's faithfulness, the peace of Christ, and the provision of Daily Bread.

I think the singing just got lounder! Listen to this great video of the women celebrating.