Just got a text from Candie. She slept about 4 hours between Addis Ababa and Rome, where the plane is refueling. She still has 8+ hours of flying time to Dulles, so please pray for more sound sleep.

For those who heard about the Ethiopian Airlines hijacking, Candie was not on the flight. She will be arriving in Addis Ababa in an hour or so and making the long flight back to the US. Please continue to pray for her safety and especially that she can sleep on the flight.

Malawi Adventure: The End is the Beginning

Nine days of discipleship and marriage and parenting instruction and five of those days the classes continued in the evening. The training included three presenters, a lot of small group discussion and individual application time. The staff and volunteers of Fishers, Trainers and Senders (FTS) gave an incredible amount of their time and energy to being trained. In addition, some of the full time staff spent 2-3 hours each day picking up and dropping off volunteers and staff so they could attend the training. Others, took public transport for hours and then were hosted in the homes of staff who live locally. Still others who live closer walked or took public transport every day. Every day, several times a day they gave thanks for the opportunity to attend such training saying that so many other people would love to be able to attend. Volunteers provided lunch and dinner most days. Other volunteers cared for the children of staff and volunteers. The most amazing thing? Unlike in the United States, the attendance did not drop off over the nine days. The final day had the highest attendance of all! One woman who heard about the training took a bus for five hours to attend the final day! These people were very committed and very eager to learn.

My teaching assignment was primarily discipleship. When I came I told them it was going to be like boot camp. They were actually enthusiastic about being challenged to grow in their faith and ministry capacity. I also told them that I would be learning along with them. I had never been to Malawi or even Africa before. Though I had corresponded with Louise, the Founder and Director of FTS, and been tutored by Sheryl France-Moran and two others who have been to Malawi, I was still significantly lacking in understanding of how life and ministry work here. Throughout the training I had to stop often and ask questions and learn before I could proceed. The illustrations, examples, and even images that I had used in the past simply would not work in this context. And though almost all of those attending spoke English well, there was still considerable need to clarify meaning of words and give them time to translate in their own language to ensure understanding. They were so patient concerning this challenge and in the process I learned some Chichewa. All this handicap in their teacher and they never once showed any sign of frustration or boredom. They were like sponges and continually responded and interacted to the teaching with great intensity. I was humbled and deeply grateful for the privilege of teaching these people.

The only reason this teaching assignment had any potential for fruitfulness is because of God's word. The truths hidden in it are not limited to a particular culture or language. God's word is truth across time--over 4000 years since it was first recorded--and God's truth is applicable to every tribe and nation. The important and difficult task for me was to get down to the very basic meaning of God's word so that these friends in Lilongwe could prayerfully and carefully consider what it meant for their lives and their ministry. I knew that this exercise--getting to the basic meaning of the texts--would be as instructive for me as it would be for those I was teaching. It forced me to re-examine every interpretation to try and eliminate anything that was culturally bound. It was so amazing to see how God's word indeed does speak powerfully to very different cultures. We used the teaching of Jesus as texts and we were often in awe of the penetrating power of these texts for such disparate contexts.

Equally as amazing was to see how much we have in common as people trying to be disciples even though our cultures are so different. Like us the Malawi believers  are tempted to look disparagingly at people who are on the margins of their society instead of loving them like Jesus did. I was especially surprised to find out that some churches in Malawi are very uncooperative with other churches and reluctant to partner for ministry to the communities they are trying to reach with the Gospel. Like us they get into a mindset of competition rather than cooperation. And we are the same in our tendency to get so absorbed in doing ministry we neglect our own spiritual growth. In this, especially we identified over and over again that we are the same. Being a disciple of Christ requires daily attention to making sure we are not just going through the motions and that we stay attentive to and dependent on the Spirit of God. He does not only want our service. He wants us. In this we are all the same and God's word speaks powerfully no matter the culture or language.

Tomorrow I start the 36 hour journey back to San Clemente. The discipleship training in Malawi has come to an end. But the adventure has just begun. Our closing exercise for boot camp was a prayer of commissioning sending each of us back to the place God has called us to. In discipleship training every end is a new beginning. How grateful to God I am for this Malawi adventure and the training I have received.

This note from Candie, "Greetings from Maiawi!  The Lord has been gracious and powefully present in my time here.  Give Thanks!  I remain rested amd healthy!  Give Thanks!  I am learning much that will make me a better minister and teacher at SCPC.  Give thanks!  Please pray for the closiing day of our discipleship training today.  Also please pray that I will be able to sleep on the long flight from Addis Ababa to Wahington D.C.  This would help significantly in my return to life in SC without significant jetlag or fatigue.  And, of course pray that the seeds that have been planted in me will come back and sew spiritual fruit for years to come. " 

Here are a few more photos from the FTS Training at Mukani.

Candie visiting the Crisis Nursery in Lilongwe.

 

"Malawian Baby Dolls"

 

Candie in the Nkhoma Hospital Emergency Room

Malawi Adventure: Jesus the Host

A Malawian man told me his story. His mother died at the age of 10. His father died at the age of 14 and he was on his own. He had 7 brothers and sisters. By the time he was 18, four of them had died. Only he and two others remained. This young man's life was filled with pain and loss and he was at risk. Yet, here he is, now a married man in mid 30's in full time ministry and has taken in more children than he can count and currently is paying school fees for several children. Almost every person in Malawi has taken in multiple children and cared for them. Many of them are providing school fees for younger brothers or sisters even though they struggle to provide for their own children. This is a result of their extended family culture. What we call cousins, they call sisters and brothers. It is also a result of the ravages of extreme poverty and AIDS/HIV which has left many parents unable to care for their children and thousands of children orphans. 

So I am in Malawi and one of my lessons is on hospitality. What am I going to do? How can I teach these people anything about hospitality?! It is only God's Word that is truth for all generations, nations that can teach us together about a kind of hospitality that can be practiced anywhere in the world. If our view of hospitality is only possible in San Clemente but cannot be practiced in Malawi, it is not the truth and it is not the biblical view of hospitality. Teaching in Malawi I have learned also. What we discovered together from our study of Zacchaeus about hospitality applies to us wherever we live and whatever we have.  It is the hospitality of Christ that prevented this young man from becoming a fearful, angry, and lost orphan. The presence and love of Christ transformed him. At the very core of hospitality is being with and accepting others.

Biblical hospitality, being with and accepting people, is not location specific. Wherever we are Jesus is the host. It is his grace and mercy that is with us and accepts us--makes us part of his family and given us all that we have. He owns all of creation, and because He lives in us by his Spirit when we invite people wherever we invite them Jesus is the real host. Zacchaeus invited Jesus to his home but it was Jesus who was the host offering Zacchaeus much more than Zacchaeus offered Jesus. Whether we invited people into our home or whether we enter the home of another, or whether we meet somewhere else, the presence of Christ hosts us. It is Jesus who comes to us and because of this hospitality can be practiced anywhere.  Our wealth or poverty does not determine the quality of our hospitality. The presence and power of Christ brings more to us than anything we can provide. When we allow that presence and power to show through our lives we provide hospitable space where others can experience being with Jesus and seeing his gracious accepting love.

Biblical hospitality transforms guests. After being with Jesus and experiencing his gracious acceptance, Zacchaeus was a changed man. He could not remain the same. He who had been a cheat, became honest. He who was a thief became generous. He who was lost was saved. When we offer only our own resources people might be delighted but they will not be changed. But when we offer whatever we have as evidence of Christ's presence and loving acceptance they can be transformed by encountering the present and powerful Christ.

And let's not forget that Zacchaeus was an unlikely character to be transformed. The whole community knew he was a sinner. His job as chief tax collector meant everyone knew he was a thief. They grumbled when Jesus decided to go to his house because his reputation was well known. The least likely guest in our eyes just may be the one most likely to be transformed. 

This is biblical hospitality that can be practiced in Malawi or in San Clemente. We open our homes whatever they are like, we enter others whatever they are like, or with biblical hospitality we can create a third space to meet people. In all three cases, Jesus is the host who by his presence provides more than we could ever provide and when we allow others to see him through us, his presence, his acceptance--love--can transform those we invite and even those who invite us. 

Candie teaching the FTS staff