Saturday morning started off the typical African way.  Last minute vehicle problems and the October heat already full swing. No need to stress though, God has given me the best angels anyone could ever ask for. Just as I turned the keys to find the truck would not start, a fellow missionary pulls up next to me and says 'Need some help?" With a simple smile exchange we make a plan for full base sweep in search of jumper cables. We strike gold at the Stirling's home and rendezvous back at the vehicle.Within seconds the truck is up and running. It is now 8:43 am and I am on my way to Nsongwe Village.

I enter the empty classroom and begin to arrange the desks around the room. I stop to see a small book less bookshelf labeled "Classroom Library" and pause for a moment. Maybe the books are just put away. Maybe the teacher has sent the kids home with books for the weekend, or maybe there really are no books. Hmm. I look up to see Malvina come in. Malvina is well known in the village and assists with the nutrition class taught to the mother's of Nsongwe twice a month. It’s  9:15 and only three mothers have arrived. She smiles at me and says "Don't worry they are coming."

By 9:30 there is 17 women sitting along the walls of the classroom. I decide to begin class and ask why everyone is so quiet. They reply to say they have been up all night for an all night prayer meeting at their church. It may as well been music to my ears. With a permanent smile on my face I assure them today's class will be fun and no one will get tired.

I then go over the benefits of Epsom salts and teach them simple home remedies for aches, pains, sprains, bites, infections, and constipation. I put a little in their hands and we taste the Epsom salt. We all immediately spit it out and begin laughing at ourselves. I then say it is not for cooking and so they should tell their husbands and children to not use it on their food. A few continue to laugh. I'm sure they are imagining their husband's reaction if he were to put it his nshima and relish.

We then put together hand washing tippy tappys made from 2 liter bottles and string. They all have a puzzled look on their faces as I punch holes into perfectly good bottles. I tie a few strings through the holes and put water in the jug. A woman comes up and holds it for me and with a simple pull of a string the bottle tips over and water trickles out. They all laugh and clap excited to see it works.

Malvina then takes the floor and demonstrates how to make peanut butter. We roast the peanuts over a bucket of hot coals and then begin to crush the peanuts with the mortar and pestle. Being the Westerner that I am, I get excited to see if this old fashioned way of making peanut butter will work. Every recipe I looked up included putting all the ingredients into a food processor! Several ladies took turns grinding. They sat comfortably on the floor and with a smile on their face they pummeled the peanuts into submission. Within minutes the room was filled with the smell of peanut butter. I walked over and peered into the mortar and much to my surprise was peanut butter!!! I clapped and laughed excited that it worked! We then cut apples in half and spread our freshly made peanut butter on the apples. As we passed the plate around the room many sniffed, poked and nibbled at this foreign way of eating groundnuts. However, without delay the room was full of smiles and chomping mouths filled with the delicious treat. It was a success! I asked who was going to try this at home and they all shot their hands in the air with joy and excitement.

I did a quick recap of the day’s lesson and then one of the mothers closed in prayer. I shared with them that I wasn't there to teach them how to be mothers or how to bathe and feed their children. But rather show them a few things along the way to make their lives easier. We may take for granted the easily accessible sink faucets in our kitchen that we send dirty hands to for prompt and thorough cleaning, or our endless box of antibiotic ointments for infected cuts and bites. We may not think twice about simple effective healthy snacks we add to our children's lunches, but I can promise you this.... the mothers of Nsongwe Village sure don't. Everything they learn they cherish. It opens their eyes to the things they can actually do to change their lives. Tell a mother about first aid, sanitized water and the nutritional benefits of groundnuts and she may listen. Show a mother how she can do first aid remedies to heal her hurting child, keep her home's water clean and add healthy affordable foods to her family's diet and she will never forget it.