Malawi so far has been real…..daggum amazing!!! I’ve been so super pumped for Africa ever since I signed up for the race and now that I’m actually here I still can’t believe it. We’re here at The Butterfly Space and I have zero complaints. We were pretty busy at the beginning of the week helping primary school with there final exams before their Christmas break. Every morning a few of us will go to nursery for a few hours helping Seren the nursery teacher out, who we’ve come to get pretty close to. The others stay with an older guy named Steven at the hostel to help with construction and various other projects.
Steven is a 63 year old retired preacher, very kind hard worker, and very knowledgeable man. I’ve gotten to know Steven very well since we’ve been here. Even with a somewhat small language barrier we still have some very good, laughable and on the occasion deep conversations. He reminds me of my dad and grandpa back at home which is a very high compliment. I’ve gained some knowledge from Steven that I think we can all learn from and that I plan on keeping with me for the rest of my life, he modeled a true Christian to me.
Every single morning before he does anything he makes sure that he greets everyone with a very warm smile and a hello followed by a how are you. Steven doesn’t have much, we’ve talked about his living situation and how he struggles sometimes with bills and food. What impresses me is even with the little stuff that he does have he’s ALWAYS willing to give so much. I know he doesn’t have much judging from the many holes in his clothes and the amount of holes in his shoes. He only has one pair of shoes and 2 shirts and one pair of pants that are in good shape and he wears them to church every Sunday morning. Even with all that being said he always has a smile on his face and is always willing to share his last peace of bread. He makes sure that we’re fed and have something to drink before he has anything. I see so much of Jesus in him that I can’t help but to smile and be in such a good mood any time I have the opportunity to be around him. I’ve been told that my happiness can bring more happiness to the room but I can only hope that some of him rubs off on me and that I can be more like that for the rest of my life! Spread some cheer around and not just for the holidays, spread it 24/7 and 365 days a year as Steven does!
