Night of Prayer

A night of prayer is a relatively common event of the churches in Malawi. I have nothing to compare to it in the church in the States. These nights usually are called for to seek God’s guidance for major events coming in the life of the church. I have had the blessing of participating in two such nights in the last two weeks.

The first was New Year’s Eve. This is a relatively common practice. Instead of a wild party or a calm social gathering in someone’s home, the church sponsors a night of praise and prayer for the congregation and especially for the youth. Much of the program is designed to appeal to the youth. This year at Limbe congregation the sanctuary was packed, mostly with youth. There were over 1,000 people who came for the night to pray and sing and hear powerful preaching. The event began about 8 p.m. with the church choirs leading in music. Special musicians and guest preachers had been invited to lead the celebration. One of the groups invited was the orphans’ choir from Likhubula House, a youth retreat center of the Synod that works with orphans from the area. This choir has traveled throughout Malawi and has been to Scotland to sing. The youngest of the group is 6 and sings with gusto. They delighted the congregation with their drumming and dancing as well as their singing. One of the benefits of living in a large city in a small country is the easy access to “media stars.” Radio and television in Malawi has produced “stars,” local gospel singers who have a great following. Three of those stars sang and lead praise during the night’s events. The crowd came to life when they stepped up to the chancel to sing their popular songs. The preaching was powerful and well received. But the highlight of the night’s event came at the stroke of midnight. The pastor led in prayer just before the time, thanking God for 2010 and then he led the countdown to 2011. There was great jumping and cheering as the hour struck. Just as in Time Square, people hugged and kissed and cheered. All this joy was followed by prayer again, committing 2011 to God. Then the singing and preaching resumed, going on until 5 a.m.  A few of the younger youth found pews for sleeping, but most made it through the night. It was a joyful time.

Likhubula Orphans' Choir

This past Friday night, I joined the elders and deacons of Limbe congregation for a night of prayer again. This, however, was different from the loud celebration of New Year’s Eve. This was prayer for God’s direction for the new leadership of the church. The new session clerks and other church officials were dedicated to their offices on January 2. The evangelism committee of the church (which does much more that just evangelism as we define it in the North) felt that the proper way to induct the new team was through prayer. So the leaders and supportive church members were invited to a time of prayer and commitment. About 250 came for the night. The praise team and band were present to assist with music. The focus of the night was commitment to Godly leadership. The committee had invited a number of elders to preach on 8 topics that included confession and repentance, spiritual disciplines, integrity, servant leadership, unity and anointed leading. Each presentation led into a time of concentrated prayer, followed by singing and praise. This was an 8 hour program of prayer that, in the end, seemed like an hour or two. It was a powerful time of God’s building up the leadership of the congregation. We left with an overwhelming sense of God’s leading and of unity among the leadership.

The church here is not perfect but one thing it understands and practices is the power and presence of prayer in the life of the congregation. This is one of the things that I treasure about the church in Malawi.

Malawian Travel

The roads of Malawi are a challenge many times, but after you have driven them for awhile, you tend to forget that fact and just go. Every once in a while, however, you are reminded of the challenge. That was the case Christmas Day.

Jean and Chimwemwe were here while Jean’s foot was healing from a burn she received when water splashed out of the pot onto the charcoal burner and the hot ash of the charcoal landed on her ankle. She was recovering, but walking and jarring the foot was still painful. I am scheduled for surgery on my left hip in just a week and jarring of that hip is painful as well. So smooth roads were what we both needed. They were not what we got. Charles and Alinafe had invited us to their church, which is on the Mozambique border. We were eager to have Christmas with family, but it came at a price in travel. The government is constructing a new road from Mulanje to the border, but it is far from finished. The road to Mulanje is tarmac and a delight. That is about an hour of the trip, about 80 kilometers from Blantyre. There are another 70 kilometers to Chiringa, where Charles and Alinafe live, but the road is under construction and so it is rough traveling. The first leg of the construction is like a washboard, so travel over 30 kilometers an hour is dangerous. The car rattles along the way and the riders are bounced up and down. The slower one goes the less bounce, so we crept along that leg of the trip to Phalombe. From Phalombe to Migowi is better. We breathed a sigh of relief to realize that the road had been smoothed out for the tarmac to come and we sailed along at slightly over 40 kilometers an hour. This felt like speeding after the first stretch. But one we got to Migowi, the road changed drastically. The first layer of tarmac had been applied but there was no sealer on it, so there were to be no cars on it. That meant that we took a “diversion,” a detour on hastily constructed “side” roads that generally paralleled the construction road. This diversion was just a dirt path alongside the construction.  Because there had been rain, the path was rutted in places and mushy in others. We had to carefully steer through the mud areas, praying not to get stuck. Where the mud was somewhat dried, the ruts were deep and had to be navigated carefully, to not bottom out and do damage to the undercarriage of the car. I longed for my old Isuzu truck that was high and could go anywhere. I had to take care in the Honda CRV. While it is 4-wheel drive, it is not high and so must be handled with care. I have learned that the hard way, from a hitting rock and having it cost a small fortune to repair. So we proceeded with great care over the rough terrain. The last part of the diversion went through the Chiringa market area, near the church. Even though it was Christmas Day, it was still a market day so the place was packed with vendors set up everywhere along the road, including at the small opening to the path that led to the church. Charles met us at this intersection to negotiate a way for us to drive among the vendors, cajoling some of them to “move shop” to allow us to pass, down a steep grade, around a rock and between two building, then along a rough path among trees that lead to the church building.

The construction part of the journey had taken almost 3 hours. We left home at 6 a.m. for a 10 a.m. worship service. Jean was certain we were going to be much too early. We arrived at 9:58, with 2 minutes to spare. Charles assured us we had done well. Had it rained during the night, we might not have been able to make it at all. The service was great fun and the meal with the family was a delight, but then we had to head back by 3 p.m. to make it off the dirt roads before dark. Travel in the daylight is hard enough. We didn’t want to attempt it in the dark. It was another 3 hours of bumping and bouncing over rough terrain. Coming to the tarmac was a blessing. The last hour of the trip seemed to fly by. When we got out of the car at home, we realized how hard the trip had been on both of us. We both ached. A hot bath and quick meal and we all headed for bed. Jean commented that she was not going to complain again about the hour long dirt road ride to her house. It was smooth in comparison. It is good sometimes to be reminded of how much we take things for granted, like smooth roads.

Skills Development Graduation

One of the great things that has happened during the past months is a Skills Development class that was offered at Chigodi to 11 young women from the community. This six month class included teaching in English, Bible knowledge, home economics, sewing, tailoring, knitting, cooking, agriculture, and business management. The young women were tested in all these areas the beginning of December and graduation was held December 15. It was a great time for all involved, an accomplishment for the young women and for the Center.

Guest of Honor inspects the garden

The graduation was done in grand Malawian fashion. This meant, first, the selection of a guest of honor. The staff voted to invite Dr. Silas Ncozana, who eagerly accepted. The rest of the guest list included synod officials, Chigodi church officials, village headmen, and family members of the graduates. This numbered about 60 people. Then there needed to be a meal for them and gifts for the honorees and distinguished students. Displays of the students’ work had to be arranged, for the guests to see their accomplishments. Certificates were prepared for presentation by the guest of honor. These included photos of the graduates and lamination for protection of the important document. Then the hall had to be decorated and seating arranged to honor all in attendance. All of this was made possible by a generous donor from Scotland.

Graduation day dawned cloudy. We prayed that the festivities would be completed before the rains arrived, since the displays were spread throughout the campus. God answered. When the guest of honor arrived, the skies were dark, but the rains held off until all the displays were seen and the group was gathered in the hall. The displays included the garden, cultivated with organic fertilizer, the open air kitchen with a safe, 3 “burner” mud

stove, then a trip to the hostel, and extended

classroom to see the home making display and the foods and clothing produced by the graduates. This tour took about an hour. At every station, the guest of honor asked questions and offered encouragement to the graduates who were presenting their projects.

The students then gathered to march into the hall and the graduation exercises began. That is when the heavens opened and the rains came, but we were all safely inside, dry and secure. The weather did not dampen the spirits of the participants. Poems, skits, presentations and speeches filled the room that had been the student’s classroom and was now the assembly hall. Clapping and cheering and singing accompanied each presentation. The room erupted when the students were called forward to receive their certificates. When the top

student was named, it seemed that the rafters shook. They were all so proud of one another’s accomplishments. The teachers beamed with pride.

When it was my turn to speak, I found my voice full of emotion. Yes, I was touched by the work and accomplishments of these young women who now had new skills to benefit their families and to expand their hopes for the future. But I was also overwhelmed at the progress of Chigodi Women’s Center in just a little over a year. God had done amazing things to bring about this program, to give new life and new hope to the Center as well as to the participants. This time last year the Center had been closed – no programs, no money, not even water. Now we were graduating a class of students, equipped for a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11). This was a graduation, as all are, of beginnings and promise, not just for the graduates but also for the Center. God had done a wonderful work. I could only praise him for that.

The graduates

Hilda, the top student

Days' Inn

You haven't heard from me in a while because I have been busy as an innkeeper. One of the reasons I have a 4 bedroom house is so that I can entertain guest, usually international guests, but certainly not limited to internationals. The month of December gave cause to rejoice at a large house. From December 1 to December 31, I had house guests, sometimes one at a time and others multiples, some international and many Malawian. The blessing was that there was always room at the Inn.

The month began with an unexpected visitor from Scotland who needed a place to stay and regroup before launching into various projects in Lilongwe. She stayed a week, but not alone all that time. Charles was in and out. It is about 4 hours one way to Charles’ home, because of road construction, so it is difficult to come and go in the same day. When he comes for Synod business, he uses “home” as a natural stop over. He was in and out twice during the week that Susan was with me.

Thomas uses the house the same way because transportation to Chuita Presbytery is difficult because of its remote regions. The day Susan departed, Thomas arrived for two days, coming and going on presbytery business. In the course of his time at home, we talked about his wife Jean, who had had an accident with a charcoal burner earlier in the week and had seriously burned her ankle and foot. It was not healing. The three of us discussed it over the phone and decided that the best thing would be for her to come to Blantyre to seek medical attention and to have a time to stay off her foot, or at least not have to go out in the dust and mud to cook and use the bathroom. But she couldn’t easily travel on multiple mini buses, with a burned foot and a little boy, so Sam Ncozana and I took Sam’s 4-wheel drive to get her. (Mine is not high enough for the rough mud ruts in the most remote areas.) With Jean and Chimwemwe came lots of other visitors, mostly her family here in Blantyre area, to check on her. Some just came for meals and others came for overnights, like her brother and his friend, a young theology student who needed to take care of business at the Synod while here. That took time, so they stayed over. Thomas was in and out during this time, since his family was all here. Chimwemwe had a great time with his friends here in Blantyre as well. They were here from the 13^th to the 30^th. Since Jean was recovering, I had the joy of giving Chimwemwe his evening bath. That became a highlight of our time. Regardless of how busy the day had been, there was always time for “a swim” in Mummy’s tub. We giggled and splashed in delight every night. We just ignored the other house guests for a few minutes of “fun in the tub.”

For the Christmas holiday, I had invited the young couple from Zimbabwe who stayed with me last year, but their plans changed a bit. Jared and his son came to spend Wednesday night before Christmas, before catching an early morning bus to Zimbabwe where he would do research on his senior paper for the Theological college, and see some family along the way. So they came, spent the day and left early the next morning to catch their bus. Debra, his wife, and their infant son arrived two days later for 5 days, She and Jean are great friends from the college, so they had a good time over the Christmas holiday, both minus their husbands who were busy with church responsibilities but able to enjoy one another’s company. In the midst of this, were Thomas’ and Jeans’ birthdays. Thomas’ is Dec. 23 and Jeans’ is Dec. 24. Of course we had to celebrate. There were parties for each. It was nice to have Thomas here for at least a few days before the busyness of Christmas for pastors.

About mid way through the month, Sam came with 4 dogs. They were his but Thomas wanted two of them for watch dogs at his place in Chiuta. His plan was to replace the two with two from a Dutch doctor who was leaving to serve in Tanzania. The problem was that his dogs didn’t get along with the new dogs, so he wanted to house all of his at my place until we could arrange to get two of them to Chiuta and decide what to do with the others. He was hoping I would take them. (I finally agreed to one). So in addition of multiple house guests, I had 5 dogs as well. Fortunately, they are outside dogs, but they are noisy outside dogs. Maxwell, my gardener and my right hand man, took the brunt of “hosting” the dogs. He is a blessing.

Had I only been an innkeeper, this would have been an easy time, but I have other responsibilities in my portfolio that increase at Christmas time, like graduations and Christmas parties at Chigodi, Christmas parties for the house staff, beginning at a new church, regular church services and special Christmas services, session meetings and retreats. So there were times when I dropped off groceries and ran out the door to the next event. Debra and Jean especially managed well on their own, for which I was most grateful. The day Jean left,  with Sam and the dogs, Charles returned for Synod business.

The blessing was that we were never “over booked.” There were always enough beds for all who were spending the night. We did a great deal of sheet changing and laundry, but unlike the biblical story, there was always room at Days’ Inn. Praise God. So, if you are in the neighborhood, feel free to drop in and spend a night. There is room.