AP

Gratitude

THANK YOU to all PCA congregations and every person who contributed so generously to the Malawi Bibles Appeal, Hymnbook purchases and the sponsorship of TEAM members and hire vehicles. We have purchased over 8,000 Bibles and 3,000 hymnbooks and hired four very reliable vehicles for three weeks. All your contributions have been put to Gospel use with great effect both now and into the future. As a value-add, during the course of the mission we have raised a further $21,000 – sufficient to leave an order with the Bible Society for another 1,000 Bibles. Thank you for praying. 

The effect of just one Bible

During our thank-you banquet, the director of the Bible Society of Malawi spoke to us about the gift of just one Bible. He reminded us that each Bible we present has an effect on four other people – as the Word of God is read and shared with spouse, neighbour and friends (so, 5,000 Bibles presented x 4 = 20,000 lives affected). But wait, there’s more: he reminded us that each one is also a multi-generational gift as father teaches son and mother teaches daughter and the same book is passed down to the next generation. That ancient man of wisdom was right: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days” (Ecclesiastes 11:1).

Images and impressions

Things are so different here in Central Africa. Through each of our senses (sight, sound, taste, touch and smell), powerful and lasting impressions form. At times it all bombards us, but then we absorb some of them so that we begin not to notice so much. I’m thinking of the continuum of impressions coming from everyday life – of observations that remind me of principles and issues of life. 

For example, there’s the village well (pictured below). At home, we alternately turn the cold or hot tap for OUR benefit. It’s all so easy. Here it’s a struggle to reach the well, and for some it’s a long trek. It’s an arduous and thirsty part of the routine of daily life: water MUST be drawn each day for each family’s survival. My mind goes to Jesus at the well. John 4 says: “Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well … when a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’” Jesus’ word to the woman “I will give you living water” has a more apparent meaning here. Here in Malawi, the metaphor feels closer. Water is life.

Then there’s children. It seems that they’re always there. You cannot tell where they’ve come from, they just appear. On the side of every road, in every village, each time you step out of the car, at every church meeting – children appear, wide-eyed and keen to talk. By the roadside, outside the church or inside as part of every worship service. We always pause to greet, speak and teach (see the picture below). Milling round so aimlessly, they seem ever so grateful for any act of kindness, a word from God, a small gift of a pencil or a random ball. How important it is to take every opportunity granted to us. My mind goes to Mark 10: “People were bringing little children to Jesus … but the disciples rebuked them. He said to them: ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’”

There’s an attractiveness about life’s simplicity here in Malawi. Or, is it just lack of complexity, or the reduction of the usual multiplication of duty. Because life is tied to basic necessities, it’s slower, unhurried, uncomplicated. Moving around is less intense. Transport is by foot, pushing bikes with three people on them, motor bikes laden with packages, crowded mini-buses, or more like this pictured below: two oxen, a yoke and wagon. 

Engaging in our weekly supermarket shopping is an art-form. And it’s full of choices. It’s not simply “Buy bread”, but which bread? White or whole grain? High-fibre, low fibre? High GI, low GI. Gluten-free? Here, food comes not in an array of tightly stacked supermarket shelving, with different types of every article, but more like this (below) – a choice of one grain (maize) with no alternate brand, version or texture. 

Time is an interesting concept. The sun rules daily life more than the clock. Daily life begins in a way that coincides with the rising sun and, mostly, it finishes just after sunset. Clock-time is certainly used, but not relied upon as we’d expect. It seems that as a favour to visitors a time to meet is mentioned, but it can be more of a guide than a rule. It maybe that you arrive late to a meeting, but all you need say is: “I have been delayed” and that’s totally acceptable without profuse apologies.

It seems that everyone here is trying to eke out an existence from bare essentials, living in homes that are bare shells. What we see is austerity. Yet, aside from the day when Blantyre exploded in a street riot, with tear gas in the air, there is a consistently quiet and gentle spirit. For the most part, we have met with people of courtesy, patience and resilience. We are always met with a smile. Austerity all around. All the distractions of our western life are missing, but they don’t complain.

I remember that David Livingstone mentions in his 1850s journal that he saw the smoke of a thousand villages – which tugged on his heart as he pictured those people without the love of Christ. I’m not viewing this so generously – there’s always smoke in the air. Cooking with charcoal burners, piles of raked leaves left to incinerate, unattended fires by the roadside, continually in our eyes and clothing.

Afterword

Some of you, upon reading my MBM (5), commented on the roofless church, Njale CCAP: “From the pictures, it didn’t seem entirely roofless”. The same impression can be gained by viewing the church from Google Earth. These are good observations, but let me assure you: it is totally roofless. What you see is a flimsy temporary structure held up by ‘sticks’ and loosely nailed roofing iron – all standing within the walls of the brick structure. When the rains come, because the shelter is within the church, all the water falls off the loose roofing and floods into the building.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to our Malawian host – Rev Colin L Mbawa (PTC graduate). Colin, together with his wife Shirley and their two daughters Lois and Miriam cared for us with grace and favour. This mission was Colin’s vision and it was his prayers to almighty God and his patience with us that made it possible. A more gracious host family than the Mbawas you could not find.

Thanks to our generous supporters from PCA and for Kevin Murray’s strong support of both the appeal and the mission – without your gifts it could not have gone ahead. Special mention to PWMU (Vic), Mt Evelyn PC, Donvale PC and Hume PC who each sponsored a hire vehicle for the long-haul delivery of Bibles along difficult and dangerous roads. Finally, we honour the memory of Emily Wilson for the provision of all fuel costs which were a donation from her estate. Emily was a committed and caring support of PCA’s Central Africa Mission and her photo still adheres to a dusty notice board on the wall of the P&O Dept of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blantyre.

Finally, my sincere thanks to my incredibly devoted and talented TEAM. The contribution of each of the 15 members of the TEAM was first-rate. They remain, for the rest of my days, a genuine part of my memory.

John P Wilson

Blantyre, Malawi