Long time, no post! A fair amount has happened since we last posted, so here's a few highlights and things of note from the past month or so.
Being Part
of the Family
We've really started to feel a part of things here now -
which is really nice! Obviously we will always be the mzungu (white people) who
get shouted at in the street and draw attention whenever we go to a village, or
anywhere outside the city centre, or anywhere inside the city centre… But in
church we are experiencing being accepted as normal members on the monthly
rota. So to any Malawi friends reading - zikomo kwambiri!
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| L to R: Hannah, Stephen & Mercy Monjeza; Bekah; Scrivin, Cathie, Annie and Gogo Kamanga; me! |
One day in particular when we felt really a part of the
family is going to our friend Cathie's graduation! We road-tripped to a
different city with the Monjeza's (mentioned in previous blog - great people,
good friends) and sat under the shade of a tree entertaining (and being
entertained by) little Hannah Monjeza as we waited for the ceremony to finish.
A particular highlight was chanting "Cathie! Cathie!
Cathie!" and all dancing around wildly celebrating right outside the main
doors (I was filming this, due to being unable to "dance wildly").
Within church, we have been able to be open with sharing
feelings too, although are looking forward to friendships continuing to deepen.
I've really cherished the Saturday morning men's meeting as an opportunity to
discuss being vulnerable, mental health, bringing all our emotions to Jesus, and generally looking to the Bible as the source of our hope and joy.
In the women's meetings, Bekah has been able to preach a
couple of times about being weak and emotionally vulnerable. At women's, she's
also been able to have good opportunities of sharing and praying in small
groups for each of their struggles. Being away from home can be hard, so
Bekah's been really blessed by being able to cry and admit her own weakness to
some of the women. And she's really appreciated the love and support she's
received as she's opened up.
Also, Bambo and Mayi (Mr and Mrs) Kenghere had a baby boy
last week!! In a happy set of circumstances for Bekah it is normal here to
visit the family soon after the baby's born.
Baluti
Branch
Planning has come to fruition and there's now a new church
plant in Baluti (an area in Blantyre). Many members of the church who lived in
that area were struggling to afford to reach the city centre each week for
church. So this new branch will be blessing them as well as being able to reach
out to a whole new community.
In the week leading up to it we really got to experience the
amazing welcoming culture of Malawi first hand! As we went around the nearby
areas to get to know the community, welcome them to the church and to share
Jesus we were welcomed and invited to come and sit with them before even
introducing ourselves. At every house!! And this happened with other groups
too, not just us mzungu.
We may not be able to be super involved in this plant moving
forward due to language, but it was so encouraging to see God making
connections and meeting people in powerful ways. Another group met a guy who
was pretty angry and on his way to cause trouble and be violent towards his
wife. They learnt that she had recently left him because he'd had a necessary
operation which had unfortunately left him infertile. But they had the
opportunity to share the gospel with him and he accepted Jesus into his life!
He asked for forgiveness for himself, he asked Jesus to forgive his wife and he
forgave her as well, no longer wanting to cause her harm. So we're praying that
follow up is fruitful and leads to more like this guy!
Crusade
(not like that!)
To launch the new plant there was what they call a crusade -
two nights of praising, dancing and hearing about Jesus before the first Sunday
service! To be honest, there were quite a few frustrations. We really learnt
how timings could be…flexible, i.e. planned timings of 5pm to 7pm turning into
7.30pm to 10pm. We need to remember to have snacks on us at all times! Having
discussed a variety of things as a team this Sunday I think many lessons were
learnt to help us all going forward.
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| Publicity team making big noise on the truck: Robert, Daniel and Esau |
But despite some of these issues, God's love was shared and
it was joyfully received by many. There was singing and dancing aplenty! The
children especially were having an absolute blast the entire time. Bekah was
wondering if maybe we will all be children in heaven - full of joy, totally
carefree, loving where we are right now. Looking on that sight, it was hard to
disagree! I also had a moment of wonder as I realised my surrounding, sat in a
field thousands of miles from home staring up at the fading orange glow of
sunset and at the stunning star-filled night sky, hearing people dance and sing
to Jesus. Wonderful.
There's plenty of space for new people to be growing and
learning in this new church. Many have not been leaders before, but are really
stepping up and taking ownership. Even at CCC (city centre, where we attend),
there are now some gaps as people serving is spread that bit thinner. So there
is space for people to step up, and for more people to come in.
We need God's help though. So if you pray then please do pray
for these things! Pray for boldness in the Baluti congregation in loving their
neighbours and in serving this new plant. Pray that those who responded over
the last few weeks would join this new congregation, to continue following
Jesus and to be the first fruits of what is happening there.
There's so much else I could mention - teaching maths to kids
in a different language, loving chicken and chips a bit too much, Bekah getting baby cuddles, processing a
variety of emotions, enjoying admin and Liverpool doing exceedingly well. But I'll leave that for another time and leave you with a
quote from Scrivin Kamanga in a preach a few weeks ago:
"You are not a wheelbarrow, you are a child of
God!!"
Hallelujah!
Much love,
B&B
P.s. the resident cat, quirky has just plonked herself on my lap as I post this. Not happy.
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