Hi, my name is Carys Blume and the Jewells asked if I could write a blog post about the time that I spent with them observing their ministry. I want to apologize in advance because I'm not a very good writer and I might not do the Jewells and the awesome work that they are doing justice.
I spent six weeks with them getting to see their ministry grow firsthand. They, as you probably already know, are working on starting a lot of amazing things in this little village about an hour away from their house. Their plans are to start a school, open some sort of medical center, and many other things with the objective of offering these people a better lifestyle and more opportunities than they would normally ever have. They do everything they do out of pure love, and it's amazing to see God work through them with such a strong purpose.
I remember there was one day that I went to the village with Mr. John and Andy right after I had decided to come back from another organization because I didn't feel like that was where God wanted me to be. I selfishly really was looking for a clear signal from God that I had made the right choice. By the time we got there, there were so many kids there already waiting for Mr. John's message. Throughout his speaking, I was getting this overwhelming feeling of peace about my decision and joy about being where I was. But, there was a moment at the very end that completely made my day and made me truly see how much they need God but how present He already was in that place. Mr. John was explaining to the kids who the head of the church was. He was explaining that even though he was giving the messages, it wasn't him, and he asked who they thought it was. There was dead silence for about a minute, and then one little kid yelled out, “Jesus Christ!,” and Mr. John and I looked at each other just like, “That was really cool.”
There is no way to spend time with the Jewells and not immediately see how they are being used by God immensely. Some of my favorite times in Malawi were getting to see them teach. Miss Samantha is such a good teacher, and it was really amazing to get to see her be silly with the kids but still be able to command respect and obedience. She is real with them and, honestly, by what I could see, Malawi needs people that don't back down from conflict. That is who she is. She is one of God's warriors for sure. It was also amazing to see God's words flow through Mr. John with such honesty and all-up-in-your-face-ness (what I like to call it) because that's what God needs, people to speak His message all up in your face with no fear, no holding back, no shyness. It's amazing to see the respect and love they get by just talking about God the way they do.
It's also been amazing to see their boys grow in ways that many other kids don’t. They see things firsthand, at such a young age, that many people don't see in their whole lifetime. They have truly started to embrace the culture and be okay with having less. It's especially cool to see Jonah play guitar and sing for the people and truly start to be a part of that community. It's just awesome. It's cool to see that they are kids that can adapt and make friends and grow in a place that can sometimes not be that fun for kids. They are special kids.
With what they do, there is no way the devil isn't going to try to mess with them. It seemed like every day there was a new obstacle for them to overcome or just learn how to deal with. But I saw them each and every day deal with it head on, not letting the devil get any high ground. Although they might get discouraged at times, they always find what they need in God,s and I never once saw them give satan the victory. They are strong. Malawi needs strong people. Malawi needs the Jewells.
