As I have been making the final preparations for our trip this week, and especially as I have been finalizing the lesson plans for Bible School, I have been at times overwhelmed by reality... and confronted with my own lack of faith. I first felt a call to go to Malawi last year when Pastor Martha Ward was relaying the success of the first Bible School they offered at the church farm. Over 200 children came that day. The next day, they came back, even though there were no plans to offer the Bible School a second day. So she told our congregation that the goal for the next trip would be to bring people who would be able to offer TWO days of Bible school. God tapped me on the shoulder in that moment and whispered in my ear, "You can do that. You need to go." When I mentioned this to Martha, she was very excited and immediately said, "Why don't you bring your daughter to help you? They love to see other youth there." And God whispered to me, "Yes, she should go. This is part of my plan for her." I am still overwhelmed to have received such a clear calling for both my oldest daughter and I to go... yet, I am also still overwhelmed with how easily I can doubt or second-guess God's power and faithfulness.
Our lesson for Day 1 of Bible School will be about how much God loves us! We're using Psalm 23 as the scripture for our lesson. And as I was writing the script for our leaders, I couldn't help but think about the irony of verses like, "The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need."; "You prepare a feast for me." and "My cup overflows with blessings." We're going to be telling some of the world's poorest children that they have everything they need?? I really struggled with this for a couple of days. And I prayed about how to present the truth of this scripture... Mostly, I prayed, "Lord, help me in my unbelief." I have uttered that phrase more times than I can count this week. When I hear from last year's team members that some of the children didn't participate much in the activities that were planned because they are malnourished, or that most of them don't know how to hold a pencil or crayon, let alone know what to do with it... I am overwhelmed with unbelief - that in 2 Days we can minister in an effective way to children who are too hungry to play; who do not understand English and who cannot read or write. How can we even share Bible stories? How can I, a choir director and music leader, share my faith with them through music (sung, of course, in ENGLISH)? "Lord, help me in my unbelief!"
I still don't have all the answers, but I DO know that we can. We can and will share the truth of God's love for them... through interpreters and a tiny bit of sign language, and yes, MUSIC, we will share God's love. And we will provide a "big meal" for them - beef, nsima, a green vegetable and a banana - and we will give God all the glory for the food and water He provides. (After all, we'll be offering this Bible School at a FARM which is successfully growing crops during the dry season!) And we will most certainly be amazed by the people we meet - by their 'warm hearts,' their ability to be content with what they have (a lesson we Westerners could certainly learn), and by their strong faith ( as lesson that I certainly need to learn!).
What a privilege to be part of a team from Ankeny FUMC who will be offering ourselves as a token of the partnership that all of our congregation has with the people of the Malawi UMC! On Day 2, we'll be talking about friendship; we're using the story of David and Jonathan's covenant friendship to talk about the qualities of true friendship, and to share the message of Jesus Christ, our true friend. We have a covenant friendship with the people of Malawi, too. When we make these annual trips, we renew those bonds and remind them that we care about them, and we listen to them, and we are willing to make sacrifices to help meet their needs. Those are the qualities of true friends.
I hope those of you keeping up with us through this blog will also feel part of that covenant relationship! Your love, and support and prayers go with us - and in return, we will bring back many stories of the people we encounter, and of the amazing things that God was able to do, even in spite of my worries and doubts!
"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." (Eph. 3:20)
Peace and Blessings,
Melody Webb
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