Our month in Malawi was a month of growth, laughter, love, and blessings. Our contact, Pastor Blessings Mtete, is one of the most humble people I have ever met. He is a true example of what it looks like to be a man of God, to be a servant of God, and to trust God in any and everything.
I am reading a book right now about a pastor who did relief work in Somalia in the midst of their civil war. His family lived in Nairobi, Kenya during this time and he would travel back and forth. His sixteen-year-old son had an asthma attack, went into cardiac arrest, and passed away. 5 days after his death, one of the Somalia workers (Omar Aziz) showed up at their door in Nairobi and said, “I have walked here from Somaliland. I have to come to help bury our son, Timothy.” This man made a 5-day odyssey- walking through minefields, deserts, and mountains to get to Nairobi. I read about Omar Aziz and immediately thought of Pastor Blessings… yeah, he is that kind of man, he would walk for 5 days to be there for the people he loves and cares about. He would walk for 5 days to spread the Gospel and tell people about God’s love.
This past month, Pastor Blessings showed us this kind of love, this kind of humbleness, this kind of character. I watched him give freely and ask for nothing in return. I watched him run through tear gas just to make sure “his girls” (our team) were okay. I watched him love deeply, speak passionately, serve obediently, and worship beautifully. I watched him be Jesus to everyone we met. I watched in awe all month long… just soaking up his character and the person he is. I listened to him talk about his financial hardships and then watched him give generously to every church and fellowship group.
He invited us to his house one day to serve us coke and “toba” (the local Malawian drink). We walked into a house with no front door, no windows, and a dirt floor. We walked into a house mostly unfinished. We walked into a house where Jesus is the center. We walked into a house where I was humbled to my very core. This man struggles daily with things we would never even think about in the States- yet he still gives, loves, and worships freely. He is a man of God and he relies on God in everything. He lives a life of abandonment. I am a changed person just from meeting him and spending a month in his presence. There is something about Pastor Blessings that you just want to have. That something is Jesus. Every day I strive to be more and more like Jesus and Blessings just does. He is a special man and I wish all of you could have the honor of meeting him!
Team Elohim with Pastor Blessings
If any of you would like to support Blessings and his family in any sort of way, please contact me via email- [email protected]
