Oh Malawi! Malawi was our last month in Africa and last month of team Kindle. This month also looked completely different than the previous 3 months. My team lived in eco-lodge on the Malawi Lake. It was a beautiful place with a view of a lake that looked like the ocean.
During this month, my team were kind of ATL (Ask the Lord) ministry. We worked with a lovely host that had some ministry stuff set up for us to partner with, but since she did not live in Nkhata Bay she had us also do ATL ministry. We partnered with the prison pastor who held a bible study everyday with the prisoners. We also helped in the school our host built. I was able to teach math, which was freaking cool, but realized I don’t remember a lot of math nor can I do simple math without a calculator. It was alright though, I figured it out pretty fast. We also performed bible story skits for the kids every Friday for their assemblies along with performing Waka Waka for the last time.
Since these ministries did not take up that much time during the week, a lot of the month was finding a new love to read the Word, being bold to talk to strangers about God, building a lifetime friendship, and struggling a lot of with homesickness. The place we were staying was a place filled with nonbelievers and foreigners that were looking for something. The staff at the lodge were really kind and had a heart to know more of God’s Word. With their desire and my purpose to tell people about God, I started a bible study. It was something I wanted to continue when I left and now 2 months later it is still going. I am very proud of the people that are continuing to be willing to learn more about God and believe they will change the atmosphere that they live in. Besides doing the bible study, my time was spent talking to foreigners. I learned about a small country that has only 1 million people and a secret language. I also learned how many people are looking for something and just because you are traveling the world doesn’t mean you have everything.
I realized this about myself. The constant homesickness made my time in a beautiful place miserable; I am not going to lie. Most of the time I questioned what is my purpose here and how is my one month stay at this location going to do anything. I titled this blog “paradise wasn’t enough” because my view literally was like paradise, yet I woke up every morning to watch the sunrise and waves roll in and I felt purposeless. I struggled with having a heart for people. I found it easier to ignore people by going to sit in a coffee shop with my headphones in and not talk to anyone. Since the month relied on being obedient to the Holy Spirit, I would also say I was pretty disobedient too. I also realized how easy it was to get caught up with the idea from previous months that to be a good and faithful servant I should be working long ministry days of teaching children or labor days or preaching in a church. Which is not true in anyway because when I had those days I found myself doing a job and removing God from any work I was doing, so literally the opposite of serving him. So, what I am saying is if I did not have to spend my whole day doing a ministry job then the thing I really wanted and my heart desired, and still desires, was more intimacy with God and a location and a ministry will not fill that void.
This month like I said before was spent finding a new love to read the Word and through that, SHOCKER, found more intimacy with God. I love the prayer Jesus said in John 17 and how His love for us is endless. If you have not read it, go check it out and if you have, go check it out again and see how much the Lord loves you. He wants us to not be part of this world but part of Him. He wants us to have joy and not any joy, His joy. He wants us to be protected and sanctified. Jesus prayed for everyone that comes to know Him through His disciples to be one and not be part of this world. In my thoughts of what can I do to be the good and faithful servant I want to be, I found that Jesus was praying for me a long time ago. He prayed that those unbelievers would come to believe in Him and all His glory through my words. I don’t know another person as righteous as Jesus so I’m pretty sure that prayer was heard, and Jesus took the hard work off my hands. I freaking love Jesus because when you want Him, He is like “hi, I’m right over here!” I sought intimacy with God and He gave me that and more. He showed me how much He loves me and believing and tell others that He is good is good enough. I love that just being a child of God is good enough!
