Malawi, Africa: home to over 12 million people. With the per capita income of $210/per year, or less than $1 per day, Malawi also is known as the 3rd poorest country on the planet.
According to a recent UNICEF account, an average of 267 people in the country of Malawi, Africa are infected with HIV each day, in addition 139 people die each day as a result of an AIDS-related disease.
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8
Last Tuesday morning I headed an hour south to the Chikwawa district, which is located about 50 miles south of Blantyre. The drive takes you down the Blantyre hills into the plains of the Chikwawa where it is much hotter. I was heading down to have a meeting with a micro-finance organization, MLF.
MLF assists groups of women start and/or grow their micro-business by providing them with training, loans, and business advice. They are willing to work with any groups of 15-20 women that the churches can assemble. I have started talking to pastors to explain the program and get a level of interest. The first pastor I was working with was James Dinyero in Chikwawa. James oversees about 5 churches in the area and identified 2 churches that he thought would benefit from the program.
My trip to Chikwawa was supposed to be a brief meeting with the MLF representative. Honestly, I thought there was a 50-50 chance that I would actually meet up with him. Things here in Africa rarely turn out as planned so I was mildly optimistic that this meeting would happen, but I prayed that God would arrange things so that it would be a productive trip.
Shortly after arriving into Chikwawa I was able to find the representative as he was waiting for my arrival. After meeting for about 5 minutes he asked if we could go and meet James to discuss the program. I hadn’t planned on this happening on this trip, so I was thrilled that I was able to contact James and arrange a meeting that day. After a bit of off-roading through a village and a hike up a mountain we made it to the James’ house.
The MLF representative was able to share about the program with James and another church member and they were really excited. James will be moving forward with MLF to arrange the training and start of the program. This program will be offered to about 30 women in the church community and should start in the next few weeks. These micro-loans will give these women the opportunity to build their businesses, which will allow them to provide for their families. Most of these women have kids, husbands, and other relatives that will be directly impacted by this economic opportunity. It is probably safe to say that 120-150 people could have their lives radically altered through this program.
As I drove up the mountains heading back to Blantyre last Tuesday I reflected upon my day in Chikwawa. It was a surreal experience to help facilitate the connection between these churches and MLF knowing that this program could transform the lives of so many people. This was truly one of the most rewarding days of my time here in Malawi and one I am grateful to have experienced.
I want to thank all of you who have supported us through prayer and finances. It is because of your prayer and support that lives here in Malawi are being transformed and the love of God is on full display. Without you, these 30 ladies, and 150 or so familiy members, in Chikwawa would not have the opportunity to experience such a life changing experience.
A friend of ours read the below prayer in our small group the other night as we talked, reflected, and pondered the things that break God's heart. The words hit me hard and I have prayed it for Daniel and myself this week...and have adopted it as a prayer for the years to come for our family. I don't have to say much as the prayer speaks loud...so I hope that these words hit you the same way as they did me this week. May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep within our hearts.
May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God’s creations
So that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless us with just enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and
All our neighbors who are poor.
A few weeks back I posted a blog on new beginnings, new commitments…you know, what every blogger writes about at the onset of a new year. It was more of a test to see how many of you out there DO read our blog. No just kidding, really, I did want to hear what questions you had about what life is like here in Malawi…I’m just so thankful that there really is more than 2 of you out there who log into our site.
Before arriving in the summer we had absolutely no idea of what we were getting into, quite literally…we had no idea what kind of living arrangements we would be in (we had decided previously to live with our accompanying friends, the George’s), we had no idea what we would be eating, how we would be getting around, how much Chichewa we needed to know, how we would be doing our laundry or where we would go in case of a medical emergency….it was all quite “faith baffling”…you know, so thrilling and scary at the same time. And just to clarify in case it was misrepresented somewhere, I am no expert in Malawian life, on the contrary I am still very much a novice at all things Malawian…but I am here to share what I know so far in my 6 month African trek. So onto the questions...
First question comes all the way from the ever-so-wise Kelly in Jacksonville, FL. “My questions for you--you mentioned having a date night with your hubby before he headed back to the states- where does one go for a date in Malawi?? And how do you travel from place to place.”
Great question, Kel. Blantyre, though not the country’s capital, is the banking capital and I do believe the largest city in the country (there really is only 2 cities). Though your mind is probably thinking NYC or Chicago, it is hardly a metropolis by any stretch. We were surprised to find that Blantyre does have a few restaurants around town…Italian, Chinese, Indian and a few pizza places. Literally everything shuts down around 6pm when the sun sets but we are lucky that most of the restaurants stay open. You pretty much can’t get around town after sunset unless you have a vehicle. That Friday night we decided on 1 of the 2 Italian restaurants here…the mushroom risotto I had was so yummy and my date was charming and handsome! We do have a vehicle that we own jointly between our 2 families…it makes coordinating a challenge, but we prefer it that way…its one of those things we chose to do in order to live in community. (Maybe the “why living in community” question that many of you are thinking should be my next blog…I can hear your brains churning with questions.)
Second question comes from our always-encouraging friend, Tina in Huntersville, NC. Tina had several questions, but I just picked a few. “Where do you sleep? How long is night? When you say neighborhood, what is that? A village? City block? The three houses sitting together? What is a day like at an orphan care center? Do they spend the night there, too? What are the church services like?”
First, I have to publically thank Tina for all the cards that she has sent our way here…they make us smile and feel loved. Ok, where do we sleep? We have a house that we live in together (the “McGeorge” residence) that is kinda out of town a bit…about 10 minute drive down this very long, dirt, bumpy, and sometimes muddy road. Night begins around 6pm when the sunsets (give or take) and the sun rises around 5:30am (I’ve converted to being a morning person here…love the early sunrise.) Neighborhood is pretty loose term…but yeah, there are neighborhoods here in the city…no strip malls or neighborhood pools to speak of. Village is also seen a little here…a cluster of many houses where a chief still resides over the rules of that small community. You will find bigger and more of a village with huts/thatched roofs outside the city. Sometimes only just a footpath or a road will separate a village from another. A day in the Orphan Care center: each orphan care center cares for up to 100 children under the age of 5 yrs at each center, the children arrive in the morning and stay until noon, they receive a hot meal, vitamins, clean water, education from the trained teachers, support for their families (many of them are orphans but live with next of kin, or maybe a mother is still alive but needs support). They do not stay the night at these centers as they have families to stay with…it is a safe haven and a place where they can be cared for during the day while their family members work. Church services: SIM (the mission we are with) in Malawi works with the African Evangelical Church (a very small denomination here in Malawi)…we attend an AEC church right up the road from our house. Church services are mostly in Chichewa. My favorite part is at the end when everyone lines up walking out of the door, shaking hands and saying hi to each person…its fun to greet each one…impossible for a church back home, but a great part of relationship building. Thanks, Tina, for the questions.
And the very fun and lovely Michelle from J-ville, FL (way to represent J-ville) asks, “My question for you would be about that garden! Did you have locals help you? How much reading did it require or did you already know about that? Do you have to weed it often?”
Well, our jungle…I mean, garden is flourishing but really not because of any of us. We do have a gardener and very good friend who has helped us from day 1. Security is a must around here and a great way to have security is to have someone who is on the property during the day when we aren’t…Nasho, is our gardener but also acts as our daytime security, as well as our very good friend! We simply gave him packets of organic seeds that we had brought over (and a few that we bought here) and told him to go ahead with it. So, no, I really can’t take any credit for the garden at all…I DO take credit for the yummy from-scratch spaghetti sauce that I make regularly with all the tomatoes and fresh basil!
My dear college roommate, Judy from Chambersburg, PA asks, “What do you miss the most about the states? What kind of medical care is there in case you need it?”
I know this is cliché, but I really do miss all of our dear friends and family…and our precious nieces and baby nephews! I feel like I miss our families the most when a joyous occasion happens that we aren’t there to be a part of, like the birth of our nephews (in Sept & Jan) and my brother-in-law’s wedding, Christmas holidays and birthdays, and our church’s big move! We miss our church a lot…I think worship is a big part of what I miss weekly, I will be an emotional mess the first Sunday that I can sing worship songs in English! I also miss Hershey’s chocolate & DQ ice-cream, but I would have sounded too shallow if I listed that first.
As far as medical care goes, we are thankful that Blantyre has 2 private hospitals…a Seventh Day Adventist hospital and another private hospital. These two hospitals have great doctors and nurses. Both Daniel and I have been lucky that we haven’t been sick enough to go to the hospital ourselves, but a few of our friends have and came out in great shape! If we needed urgent care that wasn’t found here in Malawi our insurance would evacuate us immediately to a hospital in South Africa. We are in good hands!
We spent a little time with some of the Samarian's Trust kids yesterday! What a joy they are...ahhhh, our hearts walk away so blessed and so heavy for these children...more of their stories to come later. The boys played football (obvi) and the girls played...drumroll please...NET BALL and we (Kayla and I) also learned some new songs with clapping. 100 Kwacha to whoever can really understand our words in the video below! (ps: the exchange rate this month 146Mk = US$1)
ast Tuesday morning I headed an hour south to the Chikwawa district, which is located about 50 miles south of Blantyre. The drive takes you down the Blantyre hills into the plains of the Chikwawa where it is much hotter. I was heading down to have a meeting with a micro-finance organization, MLF. 
