We on the west coast side of the team finally arrived in Malawi at noon on Friday, April 1. We were picked up and after a brief respite at the hotel, we drove to the Madisi district to hook up with the east coast contingent at the evangelistic outreach of Fishers, Trainers and Senders ministry.
As we drove through the countryside, we were all struck with both the beauty of the land, and the stark need. We passed more than one coffin shop, (one advertised that it was open “24 hours”).
The children of all ages, the littlest ones still snuggled in on their mothers, swarmed the roads and seemed to mysteriously appear through the corn stocks.
When we arrived at the Presbyterian Church where the outreach was occurring, we were treated like rocks stars. Malawi is called “the warm heart of Africa” and within 30 seconds of stepping out of the van we were enveloped by that warm heart being greeting with joyous smiles, friendly handshakes and hearty welcome.
The children are quick to smile and race to meet us. While many adults know English, the kids in the countryside mostly do not. But that didn’t stop us from making friends. My son, Brooks became a minor celebrity. I think the children enjoyed seeing someone their size who is from another world. Bernie Wohlfarth, the director of Junior High and Young Adult Ministry enjoyed video taping and taking digital pictures of kids and then letting the kids see themselves immediately on video. He was pretty popular.
After church on Sunday morning, I took to taking a young girls’ Bible from her and pointed out a verse. Then she’d read the verse aloud. When she finished and looked up, we’d all say, “Alleluia, Amen.”
According to one youth pastor, ¾ of the children of this town have never seen Lake Malawi (which is like a kid from the far side of Chicago, never seeing Lake Michigan). But last night as we joined the 500 or so people who watched The Jesus Film on a soccer pitch, it was obvious to me that they loved seeing Jesus. They sang (oh the singing!) and danced and cheered when Jesus healed someone on the film.
On Sunday, I was asked to preach at a Roman Catholic Church. As a former Catholic, I was honored. And then on Sunday morning, it was announced that the Pope died. So, here I was preaching my first message in a Catholic church, in Africa, the day the pope died. It was a privilege and an experience I will never forget.
Bernie Wohlfarth preached at a small Methodist church after they sang for an hour and half. Other pastors from our group also preached in other churches in the village. It was an amazing joyous day of meeting brothers and sisters.
The contrast between the warmth of their love and the harshness of the poverty they live in (and this was a more developed community) was stark and depressing.
Throughout the week, we would meet people who greeted us with dancing and singing, who blessed us for coming and who prayed with us at leaving. But many of them, especially the children, we will never see again, for the mortality rate in this land of cholera and AIDS and disease is so excruciatingly high, that is almost unbearable.
Next week, the elders and I from this team will be asking the church leaders to approve a child sponsorship program through World Vision to begin immediately. If readers of this site would like to join us, we be honored to have you.
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