Holly and I recently returned from a productive time in Malawi and South Africa. There were three primary components to this trip, with a final cherry on top in Paris.
Physical and spiritual support for cyclone communities
Shortly after arriving in Blantyre, southern Malawi, we met with our Pathways coordinators, Bishop Edwin and Rev. Rabson. We formed a plan for how best to disseminate the wealth of supplies and finances that had generously been donated for Cyclone Freddy victims, and had been transported by our training partners, Scott and Laura Carter and Holly and me. The plan involved separating all the goods between the two communities of Mulanje and Phalombe, both at the base of the mountains that had been wracked by the storm, mudslides sweeping homes, medical clinics, churches, and businesses away, along with the people inside. With the money, Edwin and Rabson purchases food staples such as maize flour and other basic supplies to help the masses survive. According to our coordinators, Malawian government aid (from UN and NGOs) is not available unless you have connections with people in authority. So we were all too glad to draw near to these brothers and sisters, share the Good News of Christ with them, and then distribute much needed supplies.
Launching Pathways in Blantyre, Malawi
Following this unusual task (in my trips to Africa, this is the first time I’ve brought this much aid for struggling communities), we turned our attention to the training. Scott and I launched the new Malawi network with our workshop 1 (Jonah). Several participants had come with Edwin from the central region of Malawi, and others had come from Rabson’s connections in southern Malawi. The group grew much during our time together, and they are well poised to multiply the training throughout their regions. Meanwhile, Holly and Laura focused on offering training to a group of ten women who were teachers. The women picked up principles in healthy Bible study quickly, and they enjoyed delightful times together.
Exploring network possibilities in Capetown, South Africa
From there we travelled to Capetown, South Africa, my first time to this location. We met Pastor Allan who, along with his wife Lucy, was our gracious host for our time there. Despite frequent power load sharing when power was cut off for a few hours three times/day, and a number of interesting mishaps, the training with a gathering of about 25 ministry leaders went well. More work will be necessary before the launch of the Pathways program, but the leaders have a clear picture of how the program works and can plan accordingly. To top off that time, we were able to catch some fun sights around Capetown of Cape Point (the most southwestern point on the African continent), the meeting of the Indian and the South Atlantic Oceans, a sweet coastal community called Fishhoek, and penguins (yes, that’s right, penguins) in their natural habitat. This was a lifelong dream for Holly. These African penguins love the sand rather than the snow, and gather in masses on certain beaches.
One sweet testimony happened when Holly brought a Bible with a handmade cover from a girl at our church who wanted us to give it to someone in need. When we arrived at the training, there was a lady (Esther) present who did not have a Bible. Holly gave her the Bible and with joy in her heart she shared how the previous night God had given her a dream that God would provide for her if she came to the training. When Holly met her and provided the Bible, she said it was the answer to her prayers and her dream. Praise to our awesome God!
Final stopover in Paris on the way home
Having concluded these trainings, we made our way through Paris where we spent a couple extra days debriefing and processing and seeing some of the local sights before heading home. The interesting thing is that on Saturday I leave for Tanzania with my daughter Alyssa, and before reaching Tanzania we will stop again in Paris for a few days. I guess one way or another I’ll grow in my skills as a tour guide in Paris!
This was Holly’s second trip to Africa since we lived there, and again she did tremendously well and was an enormous asset to our training and ministry efforts, particularly with the women and children. Although she does not plan to travel regularly with me, I’m so thankful whenever she’s able to join me!