There is an embroidery shop near our house.
Word travels fast…I mean, really fast, here in Zambia.
What do those two things have to do with each other? Well, we found out today from our friends who found out from their house-worker who found out from [your guess is as good as mine] that 15 Million Kwacha went missing at the embroidery shop. 15 Million Kwacha is about $3,500 USD. Whether it’s 15 million or 3.5 thousand, it’s a lot of money – especially here.
Apparently, the owner of the shop hired a witch doctor to come and find “who done it.” He came yesterday and made all the workers drink a special potion, probably made out of herbs or something. And he was coming back today to point out the culprit.
On Derek’s morning run, he saw all of the workers sitting on the curb in front of the shop looking sullen. He didn’t know why, but it sure didn’t take long to find out. They were waiting…waiting for the witch doctor to come…waiting for the sentence to be pronounced.
I’m not sure what the punishment will be for whoever got caught. My guess is jail and then hard labor. We’ve also heard that if a person is of weak constitution when sentenced to hard labor, they often don’t make it out alive.
It sounds like a weird, unhappy fairy tale. “Once upon a time, a guy stole a bunch of loot. A witch doctor came and made him drink a secret potion. And the bad guy was never seen again. The end.”
But it’s not a weird fairy tale – it’s life here. Poverty is horrible. Stealing is tempting. Witch doctors have power. And people die.
That’s one of the many reasons why we’re here – to bring the hope of Christ to people who are desperate but don’t know what they are desperate for. Please keep praying for us!
Derek and Kristin Dearth 