It happens oh so often when people think of ministry in Africa. Most peoples first thoughts are of casting out demons, singing and dancing around fires, speaking in tongues, feeding starving babies and orphans, and caring for victims of AIDS and HIV.
However, I experienced none of these during my first month of ministry in Africa while in Malawi. Our ministry contacts in Malawi were Mr. John Ghent and his wife whom we called Mama Ghent and their ministry called Bethel Chapel Missions. Mama Ghent is one of the sweetest people I have ever met and showed true hospitality.
I remember her greeting us as we arrived late the first night with a big smile, a warm embrace, and the words “Welcome! Feel free! This is your home!”
This was their first time to host a World Race team and their enthusiasm was a great energy boost for us especially since we were jet lagged from practically four days of straight travelling from Ecuador.
Pastor Ghent was talked to us about his hopes and dreams for the month and even the future. He was also very interested in learning each of our gifts and using those gifts to serve for the month. It was the first time a ministry contact had taken the time to do that.
So after a few days of rest, talking, and planning, our team and Pastor Ghent developed a plan. We would be spending the month teaching seminars to the leaders and the adults of the churches that belong to Bethel Chapel Missions as well as Kid’s Club for each location.
In addition to that, we also raised funds, as you may already know from a previous blog back in January, to buy Bibles for the people of the churches. We raised enough funds to buy 329 Bibles. It was so exciting.
For the seminars we were each given a certain topic. The topics included, Inner Healing, Conflict Resolution, Church Growth, The Importance of Children in the Church, The Power of God, How to Support the Church and Finances, Rising Above the Poverty Mindset, and How to Grow Spiritually.
I spoke about “How to Grow Spiritually.” If you know me personally you know I enjoy speaking and just talking in general. You may laugh because you know it is true. I also will admit that my topic was the longest. I did shorten it quite a bit by the end.
Our first seminar and Kid’s Club was in Blantyre. After that we got to travel to the bush south of Blantyre and work with churches in a couple different villages.
We took a very small minivan to the bush and it was very evident that we had made it to the village. We were about a mile or so from the church when a big crowd of people came out and surrounded the van. They were singing, whistling, dancing, and running down the road with the speed of the van. They guided us all the way to the church. That was how they greeted us. It was so exciting and such a great experience.
We stayed in our tents, took bucket showers, cooked our meals over coals, and used outhouses. It was a challenging but super fun time filled with great memories and experiences.
The kids were great. They not only had a great time during Kids’ Club but learned some great Bible stories and truths through skits, games, and songs. We were also able to share the Creation and Salvation stories with them. The response was so encouraging.
The people of the churches responded very well to the topics and discussions. We received feedback about the seminars and how they helped. So much of what we talked about the people had never heard. It was so encouraging to them and to us as well.
Although we moved around a lot and did not get to spend usually more than a couple days with each church we met some really great people with whom we had great conversations and were able to pray with. We also experienced some of the most beautiful songs of praise and worship with a bit of dancing as well as true fellowship and servanthood in the the church.
It was such a meaningful ministry because we believed and saw how our ministry was benefiting the leaders and the people of the church. We often forget to thank God for how He works in the little ways. We often take for granted the simple yet meaningful things such as being able to teach. We did not come across any demon possessed people or witness a miraculous healing but we did see people grow and learn and it was a beautiful thing. I have to say it was probably my favorite month of ministry during my time in Africa.
