Wow, Malawi. This was such a great month on the race. As I am writing this, I am about two months removed from that month, so much happened I will try to remember it all. The month started with a mini debrief, which was located at a facility in which my teammate Daniel McNair’s sister has been serving long term ministry. This was such an awesome place to have debrief. I was still recovering from malaria that weekend so it wasn’t the most enjoyable for me. However, I was glad Daniel got to see his sister and that we were able to stay at the compound she lives on. This month was our last month with our first teams and being reunited with the females after a month of ministry with the guys. Many teams had alumni team leaders serving with them, they are people who had already been on the Race, but chose to come back out for a short period after to help launch new squads. Those alumni leaders were to leave for back home and this month would be our first time serving without them. Certainly sad to see them leave, but at the same time excited for us to take more ownership of our Race. We spent the weekend at debrief visiting and saying our goodbyes, then team Kindle lead by Kearsten and Jesus, headed to Nkhata Bay. I didn’t leave debrief without receiving some inspiration from the Pastor that lived on the compound. His story was so inspirational. This man is an educated man who had plenty of opportunity to live an easier life in the city, but answered a call from God to live far from any luxuries, ministering to those in the area. He told me how God has provided for him and his family since he moved to Malawi. He showed me his garden and explained how small it was when he started, with only a row or two. Now, it has expanded and feeds not only his family but the orphanage they help to support and run. Another story that was cool, he said since people do not have much to give to the church, people oftentimes will bring livestock. So they were given chickens, he and his wife weren’t sure how to manage chickens so they bought a book that would teach them. When they received the book, they didn’t realize that the purchase came with many chicks included. Now they have plenty of chickens along with eggs to eat. Another gift was a rabbit, which was pregnant, now they have plenty of rabbits. He was very grateful to the Lord for what He has given his family and how He has and keeps providing for them. This Pastors vision for the ministry is certainly being fulfilled by our Father. I was glad that while I wasn’t being the most social self that weekend, I was able to talk with a man of faith like that.
So I didn’t know it going in, but this was going to be a month of prayer for me, I literally prayed over everyone I came in contact with and it was freaking awesome. We first stayed one night at a hostel in Lilongwe after debrief, we met our host as she lived in Lilongwe but own a hostel type resort in Nkhata Bay, the Butterfly Space where we were going to be staying. While in Lilongwe I noticed a couple camping out a VW van. The van was broken down as it was obvious there was work being done. I noticed them when we first arrived, but as our time there increased, I felt the urge to go pray for the couple. I finally gave in to the urge as I resisted for some time. I walked over and struck up a conversation with the two. They shared with me their story, they were traveling around Africa and meeting in different cities, they were in the medicinal marijuana business. We had a great conversation I shared with them what it was I was doing and at the end I got to pray for them, they were very accepting of the prayer. Again, I have no idea what will come from that interaction, but it was certainly created by God to serve His purpose.
We then travelled up to Nkhata Bay after our brief stay in Lilongwe and I was feeling better at that point, thank you Jesus. We all couldn’t believe where we were staying for the month, it was absolutely beautiful. The lodge was mainly for backpackers so many people come through there during a short period of time, this is a great opportunity for random conversations. Our host, who also owned part of the lodge, also started a school in the area, Stepping Stones and also had a connection with the local prison Chaplain, Joshua. These were to be our ministry opportunities. Our host gave us complete freedom in regards to how we were to manage our time while there, which was a complete change from previous months that were very structured. It worked out well for the team. The girls decided to spend a lot of time at the school, after going to the prison the first, I decided to spend all my time there. The prison ministry was awesome, it was an all male prison and they had a small bible study group that met everyday. I decided to go everyday and be with the guys. The time there I will never forget. Our time in between was nothing short of amazing as well. It seemed like every day we were being engaged with by either employees at the Butterfly Space, travelers staying there or locals from the community. We were basically in a state of constant ministry, which, even though it is difficult at times, is the state we should always be in. So since so much happened this month, I am going to post a few blogs highlighting some of the major moments that happened. Otherwise this post will take forever. So I will end it here, thank you again for reading and following along up to this point. If you aren’t on Facebook, find someone who does and look me up as I post a lot of pictures on that platform, as well as Instagram. Miss you all and will talk to you soon.
