AP

Hi from Malawi …

Sorry for the silence – it reflects that fact that EVERY day has been so full and so tiring that I’ve had little opportunity to reflect, let alone creatively to write anything for the last ten days of mission. Here’s a brief pot pourri reflection.

That which we take for granted

At home: it’s a bed to sleep in, a kitchen to cook in and running hot water to shower under. For school: we need shelter, desks and chairs. When one or two of these so-called necessities are removed, we feel it starkly – we notice their absence. We’ve no complaints at all; we want for nothing here in Malawi despite often being without running hot water for showering, and visiting schools with no desks or chairs.

What about church worship: what do we need? Surely, it’s a secure building with power supply, pulpit and pews. One of the four teams visited a delightful congregation last weekend both on Friday for Bible distribution and again on Sunday morning for worship. We were blessed by witnessing the congregation’s warm devotion to God, their obvious love of the Gospel of Christ, and commitment to taking the good news to those outside Christian faith. They have none of this world’s goods, in fact we might conclude they have none of the requisites necessary for a church. What’s missing from the picture below?

No power supply, pulpit or pews. In fact: no roof, no flooring, windows or doors. Yet, week after week, every Sunday this congregation meets for the worship of God, Bible study, evangelism training and community outreach. Some church members bring plastic portable chairs for worship to sit on, the rest of the women sit on the floor, young men and women sit on bricks at the side, leaning back against the walls of the building. There’s a Sunday school of around 100 children meeting outside on the dirt and the youth group meet under the shade of a tree.

On Friday, we presented 250 Bibles – each to the neediest of members, then conducted a Bible study seminar with them. On Sunday, we joined with them for a 3hr worship service with Duan preaching (in Chichewa) – followed by a delicious Malawian lunch in the home of a church member Chimwemwe (Joy). We returned home rejoicing.

This is not the only roofless church we met in, and there are many and various pressing needs surrounding us. While we CANNOT come anywhere close to attending to every need we see (there are too many worthy causes) for some reason unknown to me, this one congregation touched my heart. Instead of being overcome with the needs of the world, it’s better for us to focus on just one cause at a time and attend to it faithfully. I ask: could we support Njale CCAP congregation (Presbytery of Livirizi Presbytery, Synod of Blantyre) and roof their church for them? The pastor, Abusa Frederick, is a faithful shepherd of his people, and the congregation is led strongly by committed elders of the church. 

For those with Google map or Google Earth expertise, the building can be seen by first locating the Liwonde Sun Hotel. Stay on the same side of the road, move west (i.e. toward Balaka) and take the 2^nd road after Mmanga Secondary School. Very soon down this road you’ll see a church structure in the shape of a typical Church of Scotland Celtic cross shape – that’s Njale CCAP.

To supply material for the trusses, other timber supports, roofing iron, 25 window frames and 5 doors wouldn’t be an insurmountable project for a local PCV church. We then could arrange a short visit one day to join in the opening dedication of the building. Such African community celebrations need to be experienced to be believed! I leave the need before you.

Islamic strategy

The more we drive north of Blantyre the more obvious is the presence of Islam. The multiplicity of small brightly coloured village mosques almost corresponds now to the number of well-established Presbyterian churches. 

CCAP has appointed keen and talented evangelists to be the ministers in these districts and we engaged in conversation about this Muslim strategy. This is their concern: funded by oil dollars from the Islamic states, it’s an internationally driven mission to bring Malawi into the fold. 

Whereas Christian mission usually begins with the conversion of people’s hearts to Christ through one:one outreach. Following the gathering together of converted Christian families, they meet for worship of the true God under a tree, then a shaky wooden structure and finally, along with sacrificial fund raising, a brick-walled building. The Muslim strategy is polar opposite. With international dollars, they build a new mosque in every village they can, even without attendees, and, from this attractive building, they entice, buy and persuade the poorest of Malawians to ‘come over’.  

Even attendees of CCAP, those without any genuine heart for Christ, and without understanding of the gospel are attracted to the offer of ‘free education’ for their daughters, meat for the meal table, shelter and kindness. But it’s all a bribe – and for what: an eternity outside of the presence of God. I place ‘free education’ in inverted commas because it’s not free at all – the obligation is that these daughters of the church will marry Muslim men!

One of the pastors specifically returned to us to thank us for the distribution of Bibles. “We often speak with a Muslim, wanting to show them the beauty of the gospel and the love of Christ, but NOW we have Bibles we can speak with more authority and more clearly.”

At Mgodi CCAP (Chiuta Presbytery) the Presbyterian church building is surrounded by Islam: there is a well-built and attractive mosque on the plot of land immediately to the right of it AND another to the left! Let’s uphold our CCAP ministers and their congregations all the more as year by year the Muslim dollar brings with it the menace and peril of Muslim faith. Without the intervention of our Almighty God, Malawi will become a prisoner to the darkness of a false religion.

The advantage of wearing a clerical collar

In this country, each Presbyterian minister without exception wears the traditional clerical collar. While preaching, most often the minister also wears a heavy black preaching gown as well – even in the heat! Although the PCA LONG AGO dispensed with this Scottish tradition, it’s important that Aussie visiting ministers adopt this custom as it assists the mission and ensures greater acceptance as we preach. While that may be hard to understand from Australia, it’s a position we’ve adopted following Paul’s advice in 1 Cor 9:22 “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”

However, there’s more to it. We were on the way to Lombe (let the map-reader find this) and while I was at the wheel I triggered an alarm among the local police by speeding through a hidden speed-detection camera. Pulled over by this very polite Malawian Police sergeant: “I have caught you cruising!” I apologised profusely for this, and then engaged her in a conversation about our Bible distribution mission. The result: she said to me “Today, I will let you go because of this” pointing to my clerical collar. Lesson learned!

By the numbers – total for three weekends

–        5,000 Bibles distributed, each with a bookmark

–        1800 carry bags for women

–        3,000 Hymnbooks provided for 12 congregations

–        16 sermons preached

–        20 Bible study seminars

–        10 Bible story big picture seminars

–        1000s km driven into the Malawian bush

Our 2025 mission is accomplished.

John P Wilson

Blantyre, MALAWI