voss adventures: Malta Trip

We started our morning with the Malta Experience Multimedia Presentation, to get a history of the 16 by 9 mile island. (Check out the youtube presentation by clicking on above underlined) Paul was shipwrecked here on the island....Acts 28!
Maltese islands have been moulded and governed by numerous countries, including the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Normans, the Aragoniese, the Knights of St. John, the French, and finally the British, which ended in 1979. The combination has made the nation unique. During the British rule, the Governor was a Christian, attending the Brethren church that existed at the time in Floriana, the city next to Valletta. When the British left, so did those attending the Brethren church. The building had been used as a church since 1938. They passed the key to their building in Floriana on to other Christians who continue to use the building today, though it was not used for a few years in the 1980's. During the 70's a traveling Brethren evangelist came, preaching on the street corner and was challenged by a young man. He challenged the young man to read the Bible, and as a result the young man became a Christian, leading his then girlfriend, now wife, to the Lord. In the 1990's the young man became the pastor of the current church, Knisja Evangelika Battista. They have moved from the original building, but the building is still being used as a prayer room. I found this information very interesting, since I was raised in a Brethren church!! The rest of the story....I found out that the evangelist, Ray Lentsch, is still alive and has written a book about his travels and experiences, titled His Last Command, My First Desire! My sister knows him, and he will hear, how 30 years later, the seeds he planted are being cultivated and reaped!

The Catholic influence is very strong here, with the church getting part of the taxes as they provide the public schools. Culture and religion are synonymous. Movies made in Malta include "Troy", "Gladiator", and "The Count of Monte Cristo".

On our walk to the Malta Experience, we visited the Lower Barracca gardens

and enjoyed the views of the Grand Harbour, looking back toward the town.

During the war, Malta was under siege for 40 straight days. Whoever controlled Malta controlled the shipping lanes into Europe, so it was a key country. However, it remained independent. This commemorates the siege.

On the way back, we passed the National Library,

and the "Buckingham Palace" of Malta.

After lunch we boarded the bus and got our first glimpse of Mqabba (pronounced Em hAb Ba almost as if you are hicupping... every consonant is pronounced, but the q is like a silent h sound)
All busses leave and return to Valletta, so we would walk about 3 or 4 blocks to catch the bus, which are just outside the city gates. Look one way, it is the gate,

Turn around, it is the busses around the fountain.

On the walk to the busses, we pass the shell of the Opera House, bombed during the war.

So....on to Mqabba! Mqabba is known for it's limestone quarries. It has more than a quarter of the nations quarries. On the western side is the coralline limestone, used in construction of fortifications, on the east side is a softer type, used in building today.

In these villages, the church is usually the center of town, which is the case in Mqabba.

The Lord led us to our first contact in the village. As we were walking around and getting acquainted with the area we would be working in, we came across a lady who was having trouble opening her door. Josephine was unable to get the outside doors open, and after trying for a few minutes, neither Jeremiah nor Bo could get it open either. We talked to her a little, and told her we would be back on Tuesday to see if she was able to get the door fixed. We found out later in the week that she was able to climb over a wall from her neighbor's house.