Mr. Zulu

      On one of our mornings out in Petauke, Karissa and I met Mr. Zulu. He is a carpenter; we sat down to chat with him on one of his many covered couches. Around the yard are various chairs, sofas, and tables in different stage of construction. The cloth covered couches are all sitting around the yard. It is dry season in Zambia and the nationals know not a single drop of rain comes out of the sky during dry season. So Mr. Zulu can work and store his couches out in the open air without fear of ruin. Our guide in Petauke is Margaret. She tells us, she has seen Mr. Zulu working on his couches every Sunday as she walks to ch. Today is the first day she has spoken with him though. The blvr congregation meets in a building right next to Mr. Zulu’s workshop. As we talk to Mr. Zulu, we learn he has 11 children all with the same wife. Mr. Zulu is 70 years old. Sadly, there has been a break in his relationship with his wife and 3 years ago he moved away from his family to Petauke. Karissa takes the lead as we speak to him about Gd grace. Mr. Zulu confides in us that his wife had disappointed him some years ago and he had moved away as a source of punishment to her. He would not reveal what she had done to hurt him but he seemed very solemn and sorry that the incident occurred. “You know, you have the opportunity to follow J.C. example in showing forgiveness to your wife,” Karissa states. She then tells him again the story of J.C. and how he sacrificed himself for us and forgave us though we did not deserve it. Mr. Zulu seemed genuinely touched by the story. He said, “What you have said has touched my heart, I think that I am ready to go home and see my wife again.” He said he wanted to make plans to travel home again at the end of the year. We encouraged Mr. Zulu that while he was still separated from his family he should join his brothers and sister across the road at the blvr congregation. However, on Sunday as we passed by his workshop on way home from ch, we greeted Mr. Zulu, he was still hard at work on his furniture.