Here’s a quick reminder that I am still doing a GoRings fundraiser! They have a lot of incredible, handmade jewelry and they are created by a former World Racer. Go to gorings.com and select “Emma Williams” at checkout for a percent of the profits to go towards my Race!
Tinashe is a missionary serving in Malawi, which is her native country and where she grew up. She is the co-founder of RISE Malawi Ministries and she left Malawi for two years to go to school in the United States and earn her master’s degree at Eastern University just outside of Philadelphia. Her work is supported, in part, by my church, Antioch Christian Fellowship. It was such a pleasure to get to speak to her on the phone early on a Sunday morning (8am my time, 2pm her time), and when we got in touch, she had just given a message at her local church in Malawi.
Malawi has a population of about 15 million people, with 50% of those people living below the poverty line. There are also 1 million people in the country that are living with AIDS and about 7% of the girls in the country get to have an education. This is something Tinashe and her ministry are very passionate about. I remember one time she spoke at my church and she was so deeply moved by her desire for girls and women to be educated and independent, it actually made me want to choose a World Race route that included Malawi.
edited for clarity
EW: Thank you so much for taking the time to do this call and for letting me ask you some questions! We just have a few short questions. First of all, where in Malawi do you do mission work?
TS: I’m at RISE Malawi Ministries, that’s the name of our organization. In Malawi, we are in Madisi village, it’s in the Dowa district. We are about a one-and-a-half-hour drive from the city of Lilongwe.
EW: Great! So, what exactly do you guys do in your ministry there?
TS: Yeah, we have several programs here, but our main focus is education and children development. We have an afterschool program for 6-8th grade and we have a job training program for high school graduates from within the community. We train them with hands on training, so they come to our program and they run activities in our afterschool program. We also run a summer term. Summer term, we usually enroll 250-350 kids in 5th grade to 8th grade. We also have a high school.
EW: Wow! That’s a lot!
TS: So, the high school is for boarding and schooling. We have a hostel that fits 64 girls, and we have a house that accommodates 15 girls. Then we have a hostel with about 45 boys on campus.
EW: So that’s where they stay for school?
TS: Yeah, they stay on campus
EW: How did you guys get started there?
TS: Well, me and my friend, we are both passionate about rural ministry because we saw how so many children are dropping out of school and all that. We knew in Bible college that we had seen a lot of that in outreach ministry. And also growing up we did see a lot of that, so we had this passion from seeing what was happening and just from seeing how education has helped us to lead a better life.
EW: That’s very cool! So, through creating RISE Ministries and running it and everything, what would be one big thing God has taught you?
TS: I think God has taught me mostly about presence, the power of presence. So, you know how we wanna do things from a distance? And we don’t really wanna be there because maybe it’s scary. Like villages in Malawi, the water is not that good, and electricity goes out for days, and it’s just because we’re out in the bush. It’s not people that are considered important living in villages. People don’t want to live in villages because it’s just so remote. But the power of presence is that once someone is present here, then the children get to see who you are, and when they get to see who you are, they become who you are.
EW: So, like you’re an example?
TS: Yes. That helps them to achieve that dream, they dream differently because there is an image of transformation, you know?
EW: That’s so good, so interesting to think about. What’s your favorite part about Malawi as a place and your favorite part about being on missions in Malawi?
TS: I think the thing I like most about Malawi is how receptive people are to things. If something is going to benefit them, people are open to it. But, another thing I like about Malawi is I can preach the Gospel anywhere. We don’t apologize and say like I’m sorry I’m a Christian. I don’t have to make those disclaimers, you know? The freedom to share Christ that I have now, I love that.
EW: Yeah! That’s a really beautiful thing to be able to do.
TS: Yeah, thank you. And one thing I love about being a missionary to Malawi is that I grew up in Malawi. So, I know where the children actually have been, where a woman actually has been, or where a father actually has been. I know what they need because I have lived in it and I saw it in my family. I have this whole experience of what it is and what it takes to change. The kids understand me and relate with me easily and we connect easily. Another thing I love about being a missionary in Malawi is I have a master’s degree, so I am right there a model for the children and even for people in this village. You know, a Christian, educated, so I love what the Lord has done for me.
EW: It’s so incredible that you get to serve in your home country and be that light and that example to people. So, I know you mentioned when we chatted on Facebook that you hosted a World Race team, I wanted hear a little bit about what that was like?
TS: It was really beautiful, they participated in the ministries that we already had. But, also, we had specific activities that they were supposed to run. When we were planning to do a Christmas party, World Race was the one doing all the activities with the kids. Doing a nativity play, singing with the kids, and there was a group of kids that wanted to decorate the place for the party. Some people on the team were teachers, they were educated and very skilled at biology and mathematics. So, this team worked with high school students. Some students needed extra help with math, but also there were some kids that needed to learn more about biology. The other thing was teaching at our youth development and skills center, so high school graduates come and they learn how start a business, how to develop it, learning about leadership skills, communication, how to raise funds, and how to connect with people. One of the girls on the team was making stories with profiles for these students and also she was facilitating discussions on different topics. They also participated in devotions. We have devotions from 9-10 or 10-11 every day, and they would be a part of that. Yeah, so pretty much that’s what we did. Life-wise for them, they stayed at the house, all of them, there were six girls. They stayed in our office house and we gave them two rooms and they made their own meals. When we had the afterschool program, we would all have lunch together.
EW: It sounds like it was a cool experience!
TS: Yeah, it was very cool! And on their last day, we did a prayer walk through the training center. We were just praying about different things, families, the kids, and just that the Lord would visit the place in different ways. It was so cool.
EW: Do you know, are you guys going to host more World Race teams?
TS: Yeah, if they wanna come, yes! We want them! We want the World Racers to come and just serve the Lord. Our leaders and I spoke about hosting more teams, because they are just serving the Lord and it’s easier when you are bearing the burden together.
EW: Well, maybe my team will wind up with you guys! I mean, I don’t know where we’ll be but it would be cool to serve with you guys. So, I have one more question for you. Basically, what are three words that you would use to describe missions as a whole, and then a little bit about why you picked those words.
TS: Okay, so for me, missions is presence. That’s one. Why? Because when you are present, like I said, transformation is much easier. Just like Christ, you know, He became human and when He did that He spread the Gospel and it just kept spreading. So, presence is one of the words I’d use to describe missions. Also, I think missions is love. Why I say that is because we need one another to see what love is. Otherwise we can’t, you know? I need to have someone right there to show them love and see how Jesus Christ gives love. But also have somebody love me to see how it is to feel loved. It’s so easy to remain believing in the love that God gave to us through Christ and it’s easier to translate how we love God because we love God through people. Also, for me missions is unity, and why I say unity is because whoever comes to RISE, whether it’s kid within the community or internationals, I just see that we share this unity. We come together and share this faith. When we come together and share the things we study about to people, it just brings us together more and we embrace what we are doing. So, for me, missions is unity.
EW: I love that! That’s everything I have to ask!
TS: Thank you so much Emma!
EW: Yeah, I’m so glad we could talk, that we could connect even though we are on opposite sides of the world. I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with me and it’s really cool, too, to hear what it was like with you guys having a World Race team since I’ll be on the World Race soon! It gets me excited!
TS: Thank you! And you are welcome to come to RISE Malawi anytime!
If you’d like to learn more about RISE Malawi or donate to their mission click here
grace + peace
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