My mother told me a story soon after our house had burned to
the ground one Christmas Day. She returned to the pile of ash and rubble a few
days after the fire to find a single flower growing up in the middle of the
devastation that used to be her home. She fell to her knees and wept in that
moment as she was overcome with the knowledge that God was in the midst of it
all and she would survive.
I am reminded of this flower as I process all that we saw
and experienced in our recent trip to Malawi to visit our missionary friends
John and Samantha Jewell. I won’t dwell on the negative too much because it is
no more important than the fire that had occurred on that Christmas day over 30
years ago. What is important is what happens afterwards and how God makes
Himself seen to us.
When we arrived, we experienced jetlag like we had never
experienced before, and we were immediately ill with what felt like the flu. We
soon discovered that the rainy season had not yet begun. The pollution from 7
months of dry dust and smoke from burning trash were wreaking havoc on our
lungs and allergies. During this
first week of illness I got to be a guest lecturer at the African Bible College
for a group of young aspiring Malawian audiologist. I enjoyed hearing about
their language and their culture, and I felt a joy in teaching for hours on end
despite my raspy voice and facial mask I was forced to wear. Even in my illness
God gave me a new energy and excitement about teaching.
Don got drenched in an exploding water pump as he and John
worked on plumbing emergencies right before we attempted to make it out to the
village to meet the preschoolers. We finally made it safely out to Snoden’s
house where over 50 kids were being fed breakfast and 35 of them were staying
for preschool to be taught by his wife Susan. I was able to share some Raffi
songs with Susan and the kids and they mostly just gawked at my strangeness. I
worked with Susan on how to present circle time and centers while Don got to
work with Snoden on building plans for the new preschool and library currently
under construction. Don started to see how he could be used in this ministry
that he had just “allowed” me to be a part of.
At night we were told to listen for people walking outside
scraping the wall and the street with their machetes. I think they are supposed
to be the neighborhood watch, even though they weren’t much help in preventing John
and Samantha’s chickens from being stolen. They hire a guard to walk the
property at night and have one aging German Shepard to assist him and she
loves her job. Thanks to our jet lag and illness we slept so deeply that we
never even heard the machetes.
While we were there a new puppy arrived, donated by our
church. This puppy will hopefully grow into a reliable and faithful guard dog
that will be able to protect the family wherever they go. It would have been
comforting to have her on our outings to the “Scary Market” and the chitenj
e
market. Samantha, Andy and I were protected on one of these outings by an angel
in a truckee (small bike or motorcycle cab), who warned us of 6 men on their
way to do us harm as we were getting into the car at one of these markets.
Thanks to him and Samantha’s quick response we escaped with only a few
shattered nerves.
We never escaped the sweltering heat while we were there,
but we did get to take a long, air-conditioned car ride to Zambia for a safari
for 2 days. We immediately got to see antelope, Puku, Waterbucks, Bush bucks, a
giraffe and every kind of unusual waterfowl and bird you can imagine. It felt
like the guide was saving the best for last and sure enough towards the end of
our jeep ride we came upon a pride of lions who had just feasted on a cape
buffalo stuck in the thick mud of a drying up water hole. Not only were we
seeing things we had only seen on television but the sounds of the cicadas, the
buzzing of insects, the unusual and unfamiliar songs of the birds, and the
snorting of hippos in the river created a symphony of uniquely African
melodies. We dined in the evening along the river watching the hippos dig
deeper into the mud to stay cool and commented on the beauty we were
discovering in this place.
When we returned to Lilongwe we returned to the chaos of
pedestrians, bicycles, traffic, colors, horrible smells, smoke and millions of
staring eyes. I couldn’t help but feel that John and Samantha must have to be
constantly vigilant for the dangers that are more covert and subtle than
outright visible. It felt like you were always waiting for that lion to jump
out of bush and feast on your bones. However, the lions in Lilongwe might take
the form of a tiny bug or infection.
As we sat in the airport waiting to
leave Africa I wondered if I would ever return. I got to see and feel glimpses
of the “warm heart of Africa” in Malawi and what the people love about their
home. The birds are amazing and I’m not even a bird lover. The colorful produce
and fruits in the open markets and the baskets full of beans are a sensory
playground. The language is so different and seems fun to speak. The children
are easily entertained and not spoiled by technology. The animals we saw on
safari were magnificent. As a visiting American however, I mostly felt danger
and apprehension at what breakdowns would occur during the day every time my
feet hit the floor in the morning. I hear that missionaries here only last
about 2 years and I can understand why now. It doesn’t look like two years
would make much of an impact on this place with a mosque going up in every
village and the desperation and needs of the people so evident. I know Samantha
and John have a longer-term plan in mind and I pray that God will provide
safety, peace, and the resources to be able to continue growing their ministry
here. Maybe they will even be able to find the beauty of a single flower
growing out of the ashes that will encourage them to fight a little while
longer.
Raychel Hosch
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