by Linda Johnson, Associate Pastor
I wish there was some way you could see what my mind sees or feel what my heart feels when I remember Malawi, Africa, after two separate VIM trips there. Walking into an African village is like walking into a National Geographic magazine from my childhood: huts with thatched roofs, dirt floors and no furniture, no electricity, an oil lamp and a clay pot for water, and no toys except some creative handmade balls to kick around. Imagine being a United Methodist family, lying down at night on grass mats on the dirt, cooking on a small charcoal fire, trying to prevent the death of a child from malaria or bad drinking water, comforting a sick child with no hope of getting to a doctor or hospital. Then worshiping on Sunday morning with joy and thanksgiving and a great love for God.
Imagine being a mother, wanting to raise strong healthy Christian children but with so little access to health care, education, Bibles, or books. Imagine being a father, dignified and proud, but unable to provide necessities for your family or unable even to imagine what we consider “necessities.” Imagine being a youth in the village, forming a UMY group, and being so excited the night before the Belmont VIM team visits that you can’t sleep. Imagine being the beautiful little girl on our Christmas Miracle posters and helping to give her a reason to smile.
Now imagine having a real church building in your village, which might well be the only building with a tin roof, a church that says that the UMC is there to stay, that you are connected to a worldwide fellowship that signifies belonging and hope. A building that could become a school as well so children don’t have to walk miles to school or not go at all because it is too far. A place for the UMW to gather for meetings, study, and worship, even in the rainy season, maybe set up treadle sewing machines to make things to sell and have a little money that would greatly empower the women and children.
With the needs so great in this tiny impoverished country you may react as I did initially, that a church building should not be our priority. But when asked how we could help, District Superintendent Daniel Mhone said church buildings in the villages. You see, the UMC in Malawi is already at work. They are evangelizing, preaching, teaching, and making Christian disciples; they are helping with farming education, even starting loan programs; they are teaching health care, family planning and AIDS education; they are serving the people in good John Wesley fashion, spreading scriptural holiness throughout the land. Our opportunity is to offer support and encouragement and resources to enable their work. Our relationship is not one of patronizing superiority; our relationship is as brothers and sisters in Christ in which we offer mutual affection and build one another up in the body of Christ. My Christian faith and discipleship have certainly been built up by witnessing the joy of their faith and the hope in their Christian commitment.
Our relationship with the growing UMC in Malawi is a great gift that has come to Belmont. For me, the miracle of our Christmas offering is that we get to participate in God’s work through the spreading of the gospel and the work of the church there. As Sue Mather says: ‘It is like seeing the Book of Acts come alive before your very eyes.” When I was there the first time I kept saying, “This is so biblical!” The entire Bible makes more sense to me now as I have stepped out of my comfortable life and witnessed God’s sweeping work of salvation across the world and throughout time. I invite you to get into this great learning, growing, and giving opportunity however you can and let God work a miracle in and through us this Christmas.
