Out the door early this morning…5:30 am. We had a 6:00 am start time. When I climbed in the car they asked “American time?”
Ngokwe is 4 hours northeast of Blantyre…heavily Muslim. But they have asked to hear more of this Jesus. Initial conversations have been very encouraging.
So today we go to further establish a church in this region.
It’s cool this morning…mid 60’s.
What a way to spend a Saturday!
Evelyn was the wife of Pastor William, a large gregarious soul who laughed easily and was carried along by the desperate needs of his congregation in Nchalo.
Pastor William died September 22, 2012 of a heart attack. Evelyn then went with her two children to live with her mother.
Yesterday her mother died. Today as I spoke with her, Evelyn was without hope. Her nearly two year old son continued to nurse even as we spoke. Food is scarce so she continues to feed him.
I spoke of loss and sadness and grief and how it consumes our soul. All she knows is that all hope is gone. The church there can’t support their pastor, much less the wife of their previous pastor.
What will become of her and her children? Time will tell. Perhaps we will help her start a small business. It’s hard to speak hope in the face of such loss.
Philippians 2:27 NIV
[27] Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.
May God somehow spare Evelyn more grief and provide for her in ways that renew her heart.
The Alendo Hotel is in downtown Blantyre. By African standards it’s a find. $55 a night buys you a queen bed, a flat screen (with Aljazeera the only news and lots of soccer channels) a mosquito net, no a/c, free breakfast, and HOT WATER! The wifi is pay as you go and it doesn’t like Apple products (so far).
Marthias, the manager has an eye for meticulous service.
It has a school of tourism attached so man of the staff are students, clearly working hard to learn the tourist trade.
The leftover influence of the British leaves a sense of pride and propriety and eagerness to serve well.
As I gave thanks for a generous breakfast of fried eggs, sausage, French fried potatoes, baked beans and coffee, I was struck by HOW generous it was in light of the overwhelming poverty I’ll see in the villages today.
1 John 3:17-18 NIV
[17] If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
The path to the care center/orphanage winds uphill between countless buildings in various stages of decay.
For four years Simon has responded to the crushing poverty in the Delandi slums of Blantyre. His students are orphans, ages 1-8.
His school is five rooms including a tiny kitchen. Square footage is less than 800 feet. Even so he and five teacher/caregivers educate up to 100 children at a time.
Although they don’t get breakfast, they get two ‘meals’ a day…if you can count a ground corn paste called sima as a meal. Still it fills their empty stomachs.
Somewhere in the last 18 hours of flights I asked myself why I keep doing this.
The kids I saw in Delandi today are a huge part of the reason. We can’t make life better for all of them. But we sure can for some!
The skycap took one look at my bags and asked…”really…all these bags are yours?” Yep…all seven of them. Filled with shoes, clothing, cell phones, training books, and snacks. Six of the seven bags are shoes and clothing donated by generous hearts at GCC.
Fortunately, they all got checked through to Blantyre, where I’ll have help handling them.
This is a trip of blessing, for blessing.
It’s been three years since I’ve seen my friends. Can’t wait to see them and whatever God chooses to do as we visit many of “the least of these”.
A week from now I will be landing in Blantyre, Malawi. That afternoon I have two very important meetings: First with the caregivers of our children’s center there. Secondly, I will be meeting with the Presidential Advisor for Religious Affairs, Apostle Timothy Khowiva. Please pray for these important opportunities.
We also still need used cell phones. Our pastors there are far apart. Phones help them communicate.
If you have an old phone and charger, bring it this weekend or drop it off at the church office.
My dad’s in the hospital again. ICU this time. Likely pneumonia. Again. COPD is a nasty way to go. A slow merciless sense of suffocating.
This isn’t the first trip here. I’m not sure how many more there will be.
For whatever reason this time feels different. As if I am painfully aware that the best man I’ve ever known, the one I’ve measured myself against and by, all my life…that man is slowly going away.
Typically I take on my professional persona and just assess his care and his progress. Not this time.
This time I count his breaths. I study the lines on his face. And I ache for more time, more conversations, more answers to my questions.
But our days are numbered. And our loved ones more and more precious.
In 2008 Rick Briggs and myself made our first exploratory visit to Blantyre, Malawi. I’ll never forget getting into the van full of strangers with one singular thought: “I sure hope these men are who they claim to be…otherwise I’ll be a shallow grave shortly!”
As it turned out these men were men who loved God and dreamed of reaching their country with the gospel. In time we joined forces and worked to develop Grace Community Church – Malawi.
In 2011 we found it necessary to discontinue the ministry partnership for a period of time due to persistent questions regarding accountability. I continued to be in contact through email, phone, and FaceBook. Over time the relationship was mended and we began dreaming of a restored ministry partnership.
Beginning in late 2013 I began personally supporting the work there with Bibles, gospel tracts, and individual support. The ministry has again begun to thrive with churches in more than 23 villages. Personally I have bought bibles, printed copies of a book written by the GCC-Winchester staff called Disciples Making Disciples. We use this to train pastors in Africa.
It’s now time to make another visit to Blantyre and the surrounding region. And I need your help.
I will be going alone…as a way of keeping costs down. My airfare has been paid, but I need help with other costs for the trip. Specifically, transportation to each of the villages (a rented 4×4) and food for all those who will be gathering in the villages for our joint meetings. The total cost will be $350-$400 a day for vehicle and fuel, and $200 per village for food. The total cost will be $3200. I will pay for my own hotel and food while in country.
On this trip I will be training pastors and teaching in each village we visit.
Please join me in reaching out once again to the people of one of the poorest countries in the world.
You can make contributions to Grace Community Church and earmark it Malawi trip or contribute directly to Paypal gccmalawi@gmail.com
Thank you for reading, for praying, and perhaps for contributing to this new ministry effort in Malawi and Mozambique!
So…I just saw a turtle cross the road. Well…actually he was attempting to cross the road. He was still in the other lane.
Fascinating thing about turtles crossing the road: no one every questions their motives. Chickens? They get their motives questioned all the time. Turtles? It’s less about why the turtle crossed the road and more about ‘do you thing he’ll make it?’
As I get older I think I have more in common with the turtles than the chickens. Chickens kinda dart here and there, rather self-serving…looking for something to eat. Turtles? If you see a turtle headed somewhere…you can bet he or she have somewhere particular in mind.
Truth be told though…what I really have in common with turtles is their shell. If you follow the creation story and believe that God did it all, then for some reason God gave turtles a shell. It’s clearly a protective measure. Untold turtle tragedies have been averted because they have the ability to just retreat into their shell and wait for the threat to get bored and just go away. It’s as if the turtle says…”alrighty then…I’m going to go into my shell for a while…and when you go away, I’ll be back!”
I think I find I’m a turtle when it comes to that. I’m not sure why. I don’t know if it’s a simple defense mechanism born of years and years of personal attacks in leadership and or ministry. Or perceived threats, as in “I don’t know if you’re safe…so until I know, I’m going to just peek at you from within my shell. Or maybe…I’m just a shell kind of person.
The hard part about living in a shell is that it tends to separate you a bit from those around you. As Henley wrote, “seems like every form of refuge has it’s price”. I happen to think that Jesus creates in us a heart that enables us to be brave and trusting and to venture out of our shell. And even to help other shell dwellers to venture out as well.
When we think of safety as a value in our church, that’s what we mean…those who feel locked up in their shells can stick their heads out and experience safety…a place where judgment is withheld, where love abounds, and all us shell dwellers can abandon our shells in the context of biblical community.
I came across a blog by Donald Miller about the meaning of life and how to find it. He, apparently, had come across the writings of Viktor Frankl on that subject. So…here I am…quoting Donald Miller quoting Viktor Frankl. Trust me…whoever’s quoting who…Frankl was right.
It occurs to me that you may or may not be aware of Frankl. Viktor Emil Frankl, M.D., Ph.D. was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor. One of his best works was Man’s Search for Meaning. It details the struggle to survive the Nazi prison camp he endured.
That said…when Frankl writes about finding meaning…be sure…he did his research under the worst and most tragic of conditions. Dr. Frankl says to find meaning we need three things:
1. Have a project you’re working on that requires your unique skills and abilities. And preferably a project that helps others.
2. Share your experiences in the context of safe loving relationships.
3. Find a redemptive perspective on your suffering and challenges.
Stop for a moment and ask yourself these questions:
Have you found something in life to apply your particular skills? Are you using what you have to help others?
Are you sharing your life with others in safe loving community?
Have you found a way to see good in your struggles and suffering?
The more this is true of you, the more you will experience genuine, sustaining meaning.
mikewoods 