Monday, April 18th-Day in Review
Good evening, everyone. It is 8:00 pm here and our day is winding down, and it was a very full day.
We started the day by looking at Ephesians 1:3-6 for our morning devotional right after our quiet time and breakfast.
Today we needed to help the girls out with clothing a tad more. Karey needed a pair of shorts to wear in the evening time and another shirt, Janine was in need of a pair of shorts and also in need of contact lens fluid, since she has had her contacts in for the last three days.
Our first stop in Zomba proved to be a bust, but the second store we hit worked for shorts and shirt. Problem is in Malawi; saline solution is only sold at the eye doctors or a pharmacy and most are closed today due to a holiday.
By God’s grace we came across one [1] that was open, and they had the exact same kind that she uses back home, praise God right!
After settling in for the long haul without our luggage with the purchases, we also decided to purchase some fans for the mission house as well. All of the previous fans were no longer working, and if you have been in the summer, fans are something we decided to splurge on.
Then we were off to Kachere. Though school was not in session today due to it being a holiday, but Stanley has volunteered his time to teach the eight graders that did not get selected to go on to High school.
You see High Schools in Malawi are rare, so every 8th grader needs to test out and qualify for High School. Even though most of the students tested and qualified, only one was selected.
The rest can either stop schooling and try to find a way to make a living or they can redo the 8th grade and try to get in again next year. Sadly, some said there is no hope and gave up, but the majority of them decided to return and try again.
While that is good, it also creates a logistically problem with space. As many 8th graders return, there isn’t enough room for the incoming 8th graders. I’m sure you can see how this can spiral out of control quickly if something isn’t done to change it.
So even though it’s a holiday, Stanley volunteers his time and the students come to study more in hopes of getting into HS next year.
Next, we went to visit the chief of the village and see how she was doing. Last time we saw her she was having back issues. We wanted to check on her health and see how she was faring with her crops.
The chief has lost weight but still looks good. Sadly, her back is still causing issues, but now when the pain comes it goes everywhere.
Her crops are much like the rest of the Malawian’s we have spoken with in the villages. She has extraordinarily little yield and has no idea how she will make it through to next year, God will have to help.
I did post some pictures on FB, and the one with all of us on a front porch has the village chief in it along with her husband, Stanley, Samuel, Karey, Janine, and me. While there are issues, it was still good to see her again.
So far, each time we have visited someone, they have been joyful that we have returned, that we have not forgotten them. All of us have said, “It has been too long.”
Next, we went to see the pastor of Kachere, he is doin well, no, he is doing very well! When we asked how his crops were doing, he said about the same, meaning, about the same as last year!
He has donated to the feeding center in Kachere, to Ovi, to Samuel, to Stanley and others. In a time where everyone else’s crops are failing, his are thriving, and he continues to do what he has always done, give to others.
Before all of his crops were in, he was giving to help others out. Brothers and sisters, that is faith! Without knowing whether or not he would have enough for his family, he was giving to the feeding center and to others.
This is nothing new for this Abusa [pastor], this is how he has been the entire time Ovi has known him. What a testimony to others about the faithfulness of our God! If we are obedient to serve in the manner God has called us, no matter how radical it is, God is faithful that we will have what we need.
It might not be what we want, but it will always be what we need.
Karey was given the opportunity to see inside one of the better houses in the area and took some pictures to share, so please check out FB to see what the houses in Malawi are like.
On our walk back to the car to head to lunch we ran into the throngs of children that were following us. It is humbling to see how quickly my wife turned to the children.
She was writing “Jesus” in the dirt and taking pictures of them. I had to stop as I heard the giggling and laughter. As I looked at the beaming faces of the children I saw this woman in the center with a glow about her, filled with joy and contentment, that’s my wife yall!
What a blessing to serve our LORD & Savior together.
After Karey return from her tour, and Janine said goodbye to the children through many fist bumps we headed back to Zomba to get a late lunch.
As we were driving, Ovi received a call from a friend at Blantyre airport that our luggage was in! Yes!
Plans changed [tis normal on the mission field] lunch was cancelled, and we headed to the airport in Blantyre, about an hour away.
Everything made it through, though the tote tops did not make it in one piece, yet by God’s grace everything was there.
There was some confusion between the to people at the airport, Ovi’s friend said the luggage arrived yesterday [Easter] but the manager of lost luggage said no, it arrived today. In the end, it just doesn’t matter.
What matters is that God taught us a valuable lesson. We don’t need all the “things” we think we need to serve Him faithfully. None of us were ever really stressing the luggage, it was more like, if it comes, it comes, if it doesn’t, no biggie we’re not stopping.
To many times in this short life, I think we hinder what God wants us to do because we don’t think we have everything we need. The only “thing” we truly need is faith in God that He will equip us to do what He has called us to do.
Anyway, we stopped on the way back for a quick lunch, saw the other mission teams that were picking up their luggage as well and headed back to the mission house.
After a fantastic dinner by Lita and some great conversation and laughter, we debriefed and started to shut it down for the day.
Tomorrow holds another opportunity to honor God, to be obedient and to tell people about Jesus.
Tomorrow we will reach out to some that have stopped coming to church at Nasedegu, hut to hut, boots on the ground. We will share the gospel and invite people to church this coming Sunday.
Blessing from Malawi Africa, thank you for your prayers.
Pastor Ed