Malawi, the warm heart of Africa, has been teaching me so much about walking the life of a disciple. It has been teaching me how to pick up my cross every day and follow Jesus. It has been both spiritually and physically draining, but God has been with me every step of the way. And through it all, I have seen countless rewards.
Ministry, for me, the first month of Malawi was extremely different than the ministry I have now. But I have loved them both and have seen the fruit from both. The first month I lived with my old team, Dauntless, and Team Meek. So, there were 13 girls living with our amazing host, Blessings, and his family. They were a beautiful family, full of love and laughter, and I feel so blessed to have crossed paths with them. We had two different ministries while living with Blessings: one was the neighborhood kids and the other was our scheduled ministry.
I truly considered the neighborhood kids as a ministry because everytime we would walk outside, they would run to us with massive smiles on their faces, while chanting our names. We would run to them and hug them and love them, even as they would pull our hair and jump (2 or 3 at a time) onto our backs. But, we loved them all the same and would spend our free time sitting on our pourch, singing songs with them and playing with them. Blessings even told us one day, that their parents were awed by all the love we were pouring out onto them. I have missed them dearly since I have moved hosts.
During the week, Blessings would give us a variety of ministries a week. It ranged from holding and feeding abandoned babies to playing soccer with youth. Along with that, we danced with widows and preached to workers at a hair salon.However, there were 2 days that stuck out to me the most. One was when we went to one of the boys soccer games and the other was when we spent the day at Blessings’ church with an organization called Children of the Nations.
During my time with Children of the Nations, which helps feed children in desperate need, Jesus cast open my eyes to the overwhelming amount of love he has for his children. He showed me that his love is vast and he surely has not forgotten these little ones with pleading eyes and hungry bellies. On this day, we were able to just spend time with these beautiful kids and love on them. And within just a few minutes, with 2 to 3 children clinging to each of my arms, my heart burst. I wanted to so badly to give each child a pair of shoes and a hefty meal and 2 loads of love. I wanted to embrace all of them in a massive hug, but the Lord showed me that he is already doing that. He is embracing them and caring for them, and I need not worry. He adores his children.
The second day that will stand as a light to my time in Malawi was when we went to the boys soccer game. However, I spent little of that time actually watching the game. Nearly all my time was spent clustered with the children of the town. At first they were timid of us, and would run the other direction if we even came near them; I suppose they had not seen many mzungus (white people) in their day. But soon enough, they warmed up to us and the next thing I knew I was surrounded by dozens of wondering faces, staring intently at me. I stared back, also in wonder. I looked from face to intricate face, all different and all beautifully-crafted by our father. Just looking at their faces and into their big brown eyes gave me so much joy and in that timeless moment, Jesus planted that love he has for his children into my heart, and I have felt changed every day since. My love for people, specifically children, has been altering me daily, showing me what it truly means to follow the second greatest commandment to “love your neighbor.”
With this love growing inside me and dozens of Malawian children peering at my white skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair, I decided to do the one thing I do best: smile. I smiled at them and their smiles gleamed right back at me. I love smiles. Smiles shine and light up every space. They are a way to connect with people and share pure joy. People should smile more often. Then, I started to sing one of the songs I learned at camp, and they would repeat every word. We sang song after song, ranging from baby shark all the way to Sound of Music. My heart was overflowing with love and joy. But then, I ran dry of songs to sing and words to chant, so I got up to walk back towards my team. Two steps later, I looked back and saw a crowd of my new, little friends following me. So, I began to march, and alongside me they would march. Then, I would skip and again, alongside me they would skip. My heart felt heavy saying goodbye to those children that day, but I left with a deeper fire in my heart. A fire fueled by love and compassion.
*Upcoming: Blog about the ministry I am doing this month*
