We are enjoying an evening of great fellowship and fun tonight at the Luwinga Lodge in Mzuzu. After dinner, our host Robert came over to tell us that when we leave there will be a great vacuum; that we must promise that this will not be the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning. (OR - that we could stay and become permanent members of the staff ..) And that demonstrates one part of this Malawi experience that has been so special: deeply-formed friendships can happen very quickly on this journey! Our team members seem to have caught on to this, as we've dropped our masks and embraced each others' true selves, while stepping far out of our comfort zones to be embraced by complete strangers-turned-lifelong-friends.
I know some of my teammates have already blogged about our inspiring stay with Joyce and her staff at Kayesa Inn; about the astonishing progress at the farm and the exciting two days of Bible school with both adults AND children; about the hope and pride we experienced along with the families of the Hope Tailoring School graduates; the uplifting time of Bible study and worship with the UMC in Mzuzu; and the success of pairing with those same church members to cook and share a huge potluck of Malawian and American dishes. At every turn of this journey, we have met, embraced, and then had to say 'good-bye' to these new friends. In America, I know that I struggle with opening myself enough to accept new friendships.. I tend to make acquaintances easily, but then keep those potential relationships at a safe arms-length. Hopefully, that is one of the changes that Malawi will make in me! On this journey I am learning to be real, learning to offer more than just a smile, handshake or hug, and learning to accept the love of God that we share when we accept the friendship of others.
Today, many pieces of my Malawi experience began to come together... We began the day by meeting the new class of students at the Hope Tailoring School. I immediately bonded with one woman in particular who has three children, similar in age to my own three. Her husband died six years ago and she has been struggling to take care of them. When she talks about being in the school, and about becoming a seamstress so that she can take care of her family, you can see both hope and excitement shinning in her eyes! When she hugs me tight and a smile spreads across her face as a camera is pointed our way, you can feel the bonds of sisterhood forming between us! When she and her fellow classmates break into song to express their joy and thankfulness for the opportunities they have been given, you can imagine that this is what heaven will be like! And when a tear trickles down my face as our bus begins to pull away, I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has brought us together, and that His will is being done!
Our day continued by traveling to an area outside of Mzuzu where over 3,000 people have very limited access to water. There are only 5 bore holes in this entire area, and even they are too far from some of the villages. We visited two sites there - one where we have financed repairs needed for one of the bore holes, and another where we hope to be digging a new bore hole soon. We heard the story today of how this location for a new bore hole came to be discovered.. which can only be attributed to divine providence. It was summed up in this way: "God told Copeland, Copeland told Dennis, and here we are." We drove through very rugged terrain up into the hilly part of Northern Malawi, then walked a ways beyond that to get to this location. It was beautiful! A majestic mountain peeking up from the grasslands surrounding it - but no water except for the shallow, still waters that remained from the rainy season - water that infected many if the villagers with dysentery last year. One of the village leaders said, "It is only by the grace of God that we are still alive." It was also in this location today that we met a father on bicycle, returning from the hospital with his young son who is sick with Malaria. In both of these situations, my heart breaks for them and for their needs. In both situations, we surrounded them in the moments we were together with our love and our prayers. And because of these and every other situation and experience we've encountered in Malawi, we will be humbled and amazed and grateful and open and hopeful and loving and changed.. at least, that is my hope.
And the more I get to know my fellow teammates, that is what I sense. We've had nights like the one at Kayesa Inn when listening to Joyce share her story with us led to a time of real and honest sharing with each other; nights when asking, "Where did you see God today?" led to spiritual discoveries about God's will and about our roles in it; and nights like tonight when hearty laughter and Fanta fun remind us of the joy that comes from being in relationship.
Some of us came to Africa to make these discoveries. But I'm not sure that these are discoveries and experiences that are limited to being here... My prayer for myself and my fellow teammates is that we will bring these discoveries home with us and make these changes a permanent part of our lives! My prayer for you is that you will be open to the Malawi experiences in your own life - those opportunities to lavish love on your friends and family, and even strangers; to pray with and pray over and pray for all those you meet who need God's blessing; to encourage children AND adults, especially women, to pursue an education and to live up to their full potentials; to be humble and grateful for what you have, and to be content with 'enough' and not wasteful; and to be open for the ways that God wants to use you to bring His kingdom on earth.
To my family - I love you all so much, and thank you for your love and encouragement in my life! It has been a double blessing for me that I have been able to share these experiences with Anne Marie!! Hopefully that means we will be bringing back twice as much of our experiences to share with all of you.
With love and blessings,
Melody
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