Right now I am in Poland thinking about my time in a country a couple thousand miles to the south. A small little country in southern Africa called Malawi. The whole country sits next to a giant lake called Lake Malawi. The lake is the third largest in Africa and is known as the calendar lake because it is 365 miles long and 52 miles wide.
Our ministry sight was amazing and challenging. First of all this was an all squad month, meaning our entire squad of 45 people was together at this one location. The bible school we were staying at is run by Zahandi ministries and sits on a hill overlooking a village nestled between a few mountains and the beautiful Lake Malawi. We were camping the whole month and had no running water and very little electricity. So our first mission was to serve each other. Each morning a team had to wake up and carry water from the well to the kitchen because there is no running water. This is about a half-mile trek uphill while carrying a jug of water. We became very thankful for the rainy days where water was collected from the roof of the bible school into big basins connected to the drainpipes. We also ministered to each other. We would have devotions and worship in the morning and every night a team would stay up all night praying for the rest of the squad.
Along with serving each other we were also serving the people at the bible school and the community. As a squad we had many different responsibilities. Throughout our stay our squad worked on the property that the bible school was on. We worked on wells, planted trees, dug foundations, installed solar panels, prepared ground for farming, leveled washed out roads with ho and shovel, and helped build a library. We also did all the cooking and cleaning for each other the entire week. It was a great experience acting as servants to the body of Christ.
Along with serving the bible school we also ministered to the community. We had teams praying for the people at the local clinic, and teams playing soccer with kids and visiting the elderly in the village. We had a team that spent time at a funeral for a local woman that had passed away. I spent most of my time there on a team that was in charge of organizing and running a soccer tournament for the local community. We organized this tournament so that we could gather people together and share the gospel. We had 12 teams participate and the whole community came and watched the games. It turned into a great opportunity to share the gospel in word and in lifestyle to the community.
Along with being able to lead worship and play guitar in worship with my squad, I have also had the opportunity to lead and play for a church on Sundays. I was asked to preach at the church on our last Sunday there. It was great to just be able to serve the church in that way. After church there were so many church members that thanked me for playing the guitar in their service. All of their worship otherwise is done acapella. Scratch that. All of there worship is done in incredible acapella. Either way, they were still so thankful for me coming and playing what little guitar I know and singing with them. It was very humbling.
Because of the Muslim influence here the ministry we are doing is primarily relational. The best way to reach the people is by earning their trust and respect and this comes not thru speaking the gospel but thru living it daily. In I Corinthians Paul says “I have made myself a servant to all, so that I may win more of them” and in Mark 10 Jesus says ”and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom to many.” As followers we are called to give our lives into servitude to our brothers and to the world.
This month has been a huge reminder to me about the servitude of true ministry. Ministry can be seen in many different ways. It can be seen in preaching and ministering to people but it can also be seen in your actions like hauling water for your team or mixing cement for a new library for a bible school. I have been so thankful for the tough parts of this month that involve humbling yourself and serving others. They have helped me more deeply realize the servitude I have seen in my parents’ life through their ministry and have given me a deeper understanding and respect for their influence in this area of my life. I am so grateful for parents that lead me to servitude.
In the local language Chichewa zikomo means thank you and right now I am so thankful for my experience in Malawi. How it challenged me and brought me joy in the simple things in life like running water and electricity and even though I loved bike taxis I am thankful for transportation where I am not stacked on top of someone or stuffed into the bed of a truck with 45 other people. I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve alongside the rest of my squad and grow deeper with them. But most of all I am thankful for the time to serve and learn more about the ministry of servitude.
Zikomo Malawi and all the people of Zahandi ministries.
