This month, has been completely different than I expected, but oh so wonderful. Our ministry here in Malawi has shifted its focus from the community here, to our Squad. Our contact, Johan, saw the need for our squad to be ministered to and spend quality time with each other, in order to strengthen our relational bonds, and mature spiritually. He believed that this was the Lords will, so he completely changed the program. So, we have been spending some quality time ministering to each other and it has been a great month of growth so far. Its not without its challenges, no running water and living in a tent every day in 100+ heat is tough, but we are still pressing in despite the lack of physical comforts.
The other day was an amazing day. It was Valentines day, and the men decided that we would serve the women, all day. We did water and kitchen duty all day so they could relax, minister and spend time with each other It was such a joy to serve them and truly love them as they deserve to be loved. I know it was so new to some of them, and so different, but so good. On top of all the serving we put on an improvised 2014 mock winter Olympics. It was so off the wall and so random & funny. It was a lot of fun to do and I think the ladies really loved it. After dinner we passed out hand written cards and chilled chocolates ( chilled anything is hard to come by here ) to each of them. I don’t think they knew what to do with it at first, they were so shocked, but then they dug right in!
Lastly, we asked them all to trust us and close their eyes. We set up candles around our little dining hall/common area and five, foot washing stations. Then we shut off all the lights and the 10 men of Z squad proceeded to wash the feet of our sisters, in complete silence, 5 at a time, while another man prayed for her. It was one of the most beautiful and holy moments I have ever been a part of. We did this for all the 36 ladies od Z squad that were present.
Afterwards, Micah shared a few words with the ladies, explaining how the ceremony we had just participated in was a holy covenant, between us and them. A covenant to no longer simply be nice to them because they share their food with us and are nice to us, but to love them and serve them as brothers in Christ, and to always strive to propel them closer to Jesus. It meant so much to us as men to model this, and to them as women as well. I don’t think there were many dry eyes in the hall that night.
It was an honor to get to be a part of such a day. I was blessed to get a deeper glimpse of what a true man of God/Brother/Husband should look like in relationship to others, of how Jesus loved and still loves. The first to serve and the first to step up, intentionally choosing to be the first to die.
