First time for everything

My trip to Malawi held a lot of firsts for me : first 3rd world experience, first time eating chicken gizzards, first time peeing over a hole in the ground, first time trying pineapple fanta...  I'm sure there's many, many other firsts I'm forgetting to mention, but I have never been to a country where it's common place to express joy and the celebration of God openly at such an intense level.  Where people are put first and where giving God the very best is always most important.  This open atmosphere allowed us to let loose in ways that we would never dream of doing at home and I have to say it's really liberating to just be yourself without feeling judged - especially with regard to appearance ('cuz there were a couple days where no clean clothes made it a bit ugly).  Regardless, seeing the contrast between their way of life and ours was eye-opening to say the least.  Dennis said 'Perception is everything.' and man is that the statement of the century.  My perception of many things has changed since Malawi.  I value people over time constraints more now than I did before, I'm not as focused on money because I have a new outlook on the phrase 'God always provides', I appreciate the luxury of hot showers, flushing toilets and toilet paper like you wouldn't believe.  Most of all, my perception of faith has changed.  I have a new appreciation for the 'big picture'.  We are all just vessels in God's big plan and everything that we do makes a difference whether we see it or not.  Our presence in Malawi makes a difference and with each passing year, our impact becomes more visible.  I pray that I will make it back to Malawi again so I can reunite with friends and see the changes that we have created on the Farm, in Mzuzu, and the communities that benefit from each new borehole we drill.

Cherann B.

To God be the Glory

Going to Africa has been the trip of a lifetime. I've made new friends, tried new food, sang new songs, slept in new places, traveled in a bus for 8 hours a day, drove around the side of a mountain, experienced pineapple fanta, had some admirers, and shared laugher and tears with my Malawi family.

It's really been a huge blessing to have been a part of this partnership and something much more than I can't even understand. Everything that I've done and everyone that I have bonded with in Malawi with always be a part of my life and that is something that will stay with me forever. That is a huge thing to think about because I have things and ideas and messages that I can hold on to and share with the world.

My favorite message from Africa, is to always put forth the effort to make a change, even of it wil be tough, because something bigger than this world can be the result of your actions. "God is good. Praise the Lord. To God be the glory. Halleluia, Amen." These are words that I will take from my Malawian family and share with the world around me. This has really been the trip of a lifetime. ~Anne Marie

I miss Malawi.

More then I ever thought I would.

I miss the nature, I miss the animals, I miss the simplicity, but most of all I miss the people.

Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine that I would miss the people so much, but those little kids.. I cant even find the words to tell you all what an impact they had on me.

I want to be back,

and I know I will find my way back to Africa for a much longer period of time... its just a matter of getting through school and finding the funds.

On my first post I said that this was just the beginning, the first chapter, the first few stamps in my passport.

Because Africa, or any 3rd world country in need, is home.

I pray for the well being of all of those living in Malawi.

I hope to return to see them soon.

Much love,

Mallory Petsche

I want what they have!

In getting ready for the trip to Malawi, I read all I could find.  I left that July day thinking that WE have so much and THEY have so little.  I came home with the opposite feelings.  You see, the people of Malawi have SO much joy and WE have so little time to do that with all our responsibilities
 and commitments.  Life does not get in their way and I really think their set priorities better than we do!  I want the time to share my joy for life.   I want to be able to dance and sing to show my love for God and not be afraid what people of thinking.  I want what they have.  Thank you Malawi

Ministry of Presence

What are you going to do? What DID you do in Malawi?

I've wrestled with those questions before and after each trip with our Malawi mission team.  In a results-oriented culture, our brains are trained to measure the impact of a mission trip in buildings built, walls painted and boreholes dug.  By those measures, everyone of our Malawi teams has failed miserably.

We haven't dug any boreholes, but we've visited several that our church has funded.  We haven't built anything, but we've visited churches, a tailoring school, a solar water pump and several other structures our church has funded.  We haven't painted any walls, but half of us did fertilize some crops for half an afternoon this year. (If you're a certain member of our group, you find bottoms of doors that catch on the floor, leaks in PVC pipes that need to be sealed and other miscellaneous projects that need to be done.)

By those measures, we don't really do anything on the Malawi mission trip.  We did do two three-hour sessions of Bible school and provide a meal for the children--although we just bought the ingredients, we didn't even cook it.  But even those two days of Bible school don't count for much when measured by the "spreading the gospel" definition of mission trips.  It was maybe 100 kids and 30 adults--that's only about 8 people per team member.

And somehow, the impact of the trip is far greater than anything we can do.

Rev. Daniel Mhone describes the partnership between AFUMC and the Malawi UMC as a Ministry of Presence--and that is exactly what we do on this trip.

Think about the single person that has had the greatest impact on your life.  The person who helped you turn your life around or the person that brought you back to church after wandering away.  Think about the spouse or mother or father or grandparent who taught you what it means to love and what it feels like to be loved.

If the United Methodist Social Principles did not discourage gambling, I would bet they did one thing above all else:

They were present in your life.

When you hit bottom, they were there.  When you failed a test in high school, they were there.  When you got married, they were there.  When you needed advice or someone to turn to, they were there.

That is what we do.  We go.  We visit villages.  We visit old friends.  We participate in a tailoring school graduation, in a church service and Bible study, in a cooking demonstration.  We disconnect from Facebook, from Twitter, from the trivial things in life.  We might stay in contact with home, but during the day, we are fully present.  And  when we go, we bring the presence of an entire congregation with us.  It's not really us and our team that go, it is the love and the prayers of an entire church.

I don't know the verse, but it constantly comes to my mind, "Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am also."  When we are present, when we allow ourselves to listen to God and go, when we join together with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Malawi, God is present.

The thing about a Ministry of Presence is that it's not about making God present in the lives of the people from Malawi.  It's about making Him present in all our lives.  God's love is not debits and credits.  If I give you X love and you give me Y, I don't have Y - X and you don't have X - Y. Somehow love gets multiplied.  We both come back with far more than we gave ourselves.

So if you want to know how you can experience Malawi without going, do your best to be present in all you do.  Don't multitask.  Do your best to be fully engrossed in the lives of the people you love.  Be present, and God will be there also.

I did my best to bring home enough presence for everyone.  I hope you don't mind if I didn't have time to wrap it.

Phil

2%

We were asked to put our own words into a “Final Blog” as we’ve now safely returned home. I can’t possibly get everything into mine, as I’d want to include most of the 46 pages from my personal journal I wrote for my own family. I don’t want everyone’s eyes to gloss over from that.

I thought Pastor John’s last blog from August 2^nd (“Still Work to Do”) simply put, probably captured the feelings of most of us on the team. If now meeting another team member and asking “How’s it going?” I seem to feel their answers from the look in their eyes before they speak. I get it…

I think we all FEEL somewhat the same from our experience, and it’s really hard to just put into words. We’re back 98% into our everyday lives, but that last 2% still hasn’t yet processed. That 2% is the love and hospitality of Reverend Copeland and his family, the other Methodist families, Lester and the progress at the Farm, Robert’s hospitality at his Lodge, the wonderful people of Malawi, the countryside beauty, the markets, the poverty everywhere, borehole dedications, chickens, goats, oxen, and baboons. That 2% is the daily devotions, team laughter, “Malawi time”, “Sure” (from Dennis) and the music. My gosh, the music. Whether a spontaneous duet on the bus from Melody mixing with our brothers from Malawi, song in the Churches, Kayesa Lodge, or wherever. I already miss someone asking me every day “Where did you see God today?” The looks from children, whether they’re making bracelets in Bible School, lined up to see these strange looking folks visiting their orphanages, or seeing their face on a picture for the first time. These are just a tiny bit of the 2% we’ve brought back with us to Iowa and our families.

I love these memories God has created for me, and letting me spend two weeks mixed with an incredible group of like-minded Christians. Thanks again to the 15 new friends I've made from the team, and for allowing me to spend two weeks with you in mission.

I hope our team is able to share many, many of their own memories with everyone back here at home. Hopefully, some of their stories may inspire the next group of folks from our church to make a trip this coming year. Seriously, God’s work IS being done in Malawi because of your donations, prayers, and time. This work is best viewed with your own eyes. If you can’t make it for one reason or another, please consider sending your prayers or support to someone that can. 

 

Peace,

Bob DeMay

Still work to do...

Don't go to Africa. Specifically, don't spend time in a country like Malawi. You are BOUND TO MISS the people. You are destined to wish you were still there!! You'll end up feeling empty and lost for at least a week after you return. 

Don't get me wrong, my family is here and they are my everything. I love my wife more each day. I love my kids immensely.  I don't want to leave them again for two weeks any time soon!

But you don't realize how tiring the "rat race" is until you get a few days to step out of it. 

We had a sheltered existence in Malawi.  We saw poverty, but didn't have to experience it ourselves. We saw disease, famine, and illness, but were protected by careful choices and medication. I am aware that living in Malawi is far different than visiting Malawi. This is especially true considering the privileged and sheltered life we are afforded in United States.

I pray for my brothers and sisters in Africa who live a life that is at times much more difficult than my own.  But, while it's probably unhealthy and borderline sinful to do so, I also envy them.  I do miss the person I "was" while with them. I miss how effortless friendship and love seemed to be. I miss handshakes and "how are you(s)" that were more than passing courtesies.  I miss conversations that all seemed to be centered around faith and community experiences. I am more tired today than I have been in weeks.  I know some of it is jet-lag and transitioning back to Iowa time. But some of it is expending energy on things that don't seem meaningful but are necessary in our culture. 

I wouldn't make it two weeks on my own in Malawi. It's easy to play the role of "missionary" on a team that is built and prepared to succeed, both spiritually and financially. So I hope as you read this you understand I'm not making these comments in a vacuum. 

So I guess I started this blog with the wrong words. Please, go to Africa. Or, take a few weeks to be in mission and service somewhere... even if its close to home. But be prepared to either miss it when you return, or bold enough to try to change your world to match your experiences.  I hope I find the courage for more of the latter as soon as possible.

I'll be praying for you. Pray for each other. 

John Wagner