Some days I sit in my bed and feel inspired to write a blog, only to open my computer and be at a loss for any thoughts that make sense. I am on my 289,743 attempt to write this blog and each time I get to a certain point before I realize that I’m simply rambling about things that have no focal point. It all comes down to the fact that Malawi is a place in which I’ve grown a lot and begun to see things in a new perspective. I see God working and molding people in ways I haven’t been aware of before. These are some things that have impacted me and made my heart feel all sorts of ways.
- Malawi is beautiful. When I arrived in Africa four months ago I honestly expected flat land with not much to see. Each country outdoes the last one and here I am in Malawi in complete awe. The green fields (thank you rainy season), hills and lonely mountains, bright pink sunsets, and stars that make my eyes hurt in all of their brightness. Beauty unlike anything I could have imagined.
- The desperate need for education. This has been on my heart since India but Malawi has instilled a deeper passion for education and the ability it has to make or break the poverty cycle within families. Malawi is the second poorest country in the world and kids are constantly being deprived of an education. Reasons for not having a proper education stem from financial burdens, parents not seeing the value because they were never allowed to have an education of their own, living too far from one and not being able to walk up to four hours each morning, having to keep up with crops and familial needs, and a plethora of other reasons. While this isn’t true for everyone, it’s the harsh reality for many.
With this being said…
- The value of school! Thanks to things like technology and nonprofits, more little ones are able to get an education. Some schools are still figuring it out and trying to work with what they have but lives are transforming nonetheless. Magic occurs when kids are able to hold their own textbook, read a book on their own, and take their knowledge home with them to teach their family. School is literally the most important thing when it comes to cultivating a better world. I’ve grown in my appreciation for classrooms, teachers that so lovingly pour into the younger generations, and how it really is a blessing to sit at a desk five days a week to learn and grow as an intellectual human.
- Women’s right’s and the lack of them. This is a hard subject to touch on and it’s also been a common theme among developing countries. In all transparency, I have wept, felt frustration, journaled in anger, and sat there in complete disbelief at the life many women are forced to endure, especially in Malawi. Girls are given no option but to drop out of school beginning as early as twelve years old due to them being pregnant because they’re told that’s all they are good for. Other girls are raped on their way to and from school on their walk that takes two to three hours. Then there’s the girls that are given the opportunity to go to another village for higher education only to be intruded on and harassed each night by teachers and surrounding homes that know they are not from there. There’s endless stories like this that leave a pit in my stomach and brokenness in my heart as I look into the eyes of women in village after village.
- Things can get incredibly discouraging BUT small revivals are popping up everywhere and norms are slowly changing. God has placed spirits of relentlessness on earth and He is moving through so many people and things. Leaders are rising up in love and humility, women are seeing their true worth in Christ, schools are prioritized by villages, and things like sustainable farming and sustainable development are becoming part of day to day conversations. All of this might seem small but it’s fostering an environment of change and that is rooted in the Lord.
It’s been one of those days that leaves me at a loss for coherency when it comes to blogging but I want to share it regardless. Just yesterday I was able to visit a girls school that is doing everything in it’s ability to build up females in what is good and true; that being of Jesus and His sweet love. They have a school that focuses on the individual and empowering them in who they’ve been created to be – a person of influence and great abilities, despite the obstacles in place. It’s opportunities like this that enable me to wake up and not feel helpless. Instead I am able to wake up and thank God for all He is doing and all He will do as long as each of us stand up to work hard and live a life that makes this world better by each passing day.
Lastly, thanks to each of you for being a person of strength and love. I cannot express how grateful I am when I take time to think of all the people at home who are already doing big things when it comes to living for God and spreading goodness. You’re the real deal. Keep on doing your thing.
Xoxo,
Emily
