This month we are working in Malawi again..but we are at a place called Salima Bay. The place that we are staying at is right on Lake Malawi..but it looks like a beach. Its a very beautiful place surrounded by Monkey Island and Lizard Island, and when its a good day you can see Mozambique on the other side. Here we are working with a missionary couple from South Africa, they run this place we are staying at…which they call a conference center for Christians They have been here in Salima for 11 months, which is amazing because usually missionaries that come here to live only stay 6 months. We are surrounded by a major Muslim community. Theres a Mosque right next to us so we hear the call to prayer six times a day, which includes 4am. The spiritual war fare is very intense here, all of us have experienced the enemy trying to attack us..from malaria, stomach issues, chicken pox, to parasites, and just tiredness.
The missionary couple decided to give a two day class on various topics…unity, pride, humility, along with some other things. And, it has really hit me hard! God is throwing out all the junk in my life and creating a clean heart. I have realized how negative I’ve been and I’m deciding to change that. I don’t want to be a negative person anymore!
The other night the missionary couple prepared for us a typical Malawian meal that none of us knew what was going on. We were told to go into the conference center and to wait, that they had a “special night” for us and they were going to spoil us tonight. We anxiously awaited, as they entered the conference room with two pans. They prayed, and then assisted that they serve us. They handed everyone 4 slices of plain bread and poured each of us a cup of hot tea with three spoonfuls of sugar. They told us to eat!
First of all I’ve never liked tea and secondly I don’t like crust on my bread, so I immediately pulled off all the crust and ate the bread, then asked the guys in my group if they wanted the rest..because they always finish my crust off…as I was handing my plate the husband missionary grabbed my plate and put it next to him, then I tried to drink the tea but it was too hot, so I grabbed my Nalgene of water and started drinking it..the husband missionary…grabbed it from me and said I cant have it. I was like okay, theres a lesson behind all of this. After everyone was finished he got up and asked who had left overs, 5 people were eager to give up their bread. He then said for all of us to stand up that didn’t finish eating, then he started talking about how spoiled and rude we are. How if we were in the villages this would be the exact meal that they would give us…and how all the villagers eat 3 times a day is one slice of bread and tea, but they think so highly of us that they would give us four slices of bread..a whole days worth of food. And, how if we didn’t finish eating their food that that would be considered rude, that its like saying we don’t like the food they have given us, and that its not good enough for us.
WOW, that about killed me…that hit me like a flying turd. I felt so spoiled, rude, and could just smell the stink of my attitude.
I realized my attitude at that point and thought about how spoiled I am and if I don’t like something that I just pass the dish to someone else. God is creating a “new” me and though its hard get through it…i do admit that its going to be a great change:)
