Familiar in the Midst of Foreign

I was recently in a village in a rural area of Malawi to help with some media work at a conference for pastors. It was a great opportunity to experience life in Malawi.

I learned the importance of greetings in Malawian culture. I got to practice saying, "Ndili bwino. Kaya inu?" when asked, "muli bwanje?"

I learned how to eat nsima, which is made from maize flour. It looks a little like mashed potatoes but it's much thicker. I learned that to eat nsima properly, you pull off a small piece of it and create a ball of it in your hands and use it to eat the other food on your plate.

I learned how to take a bucket shower. Not as easy as it sounds.

But during the first morning of the conference I couldn't help thinking how foreign everything was to me. I was in a rural village in Africa, experiencing things I'd never experienced before, sitting in a room full of people I didn't know, and I couldn't understand what was going on because they were speaking a different language. I was wondering why God had brought me there, and I was longing for familiarity. This longing brought me to tears right there.

 

At the end of the day, the last thing on the agenda was a final hymn. Hymn 7 on the handout. I almost teared up again when they started singing, but this time it was because there was finally something familiar. They were singing “How Great Thou Art” in Chichewa. I started singing along! And as I thought of the words as I sang, I realized how much I really had to be thankful for:

“Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds thy hands have made

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout the universe displayed!

His power displayed through the sunset

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.

When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur,

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze

The mountains here are beautiful -- none of my pictures do them justice!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee!

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee!

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

That's me at the base of this massive baobob tree!

And when I think, that God His Son not sparing,

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in

That on the Cross, by burden gladly bearing

He bled and died to take away my sin!

When Christ shall come, with shouts of acclamation

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart

Then I shall bow, in humble adoration

And there proclaim, My God, How Great Thou art!

Mzimu wanga uyimbira Mlungu
Ndinu Wamkulukulu
Mzimu wanga uyimbira Mlungu
Ndinu Wamkulukulu"

The greatest of all God's creation -- His children!

So blessed

In that moment, I may have been halfway around the world, in a situation entirely unfamiliar, with new people, and surroundings totally different than what I'm used to, but that did not change the fact that I have salvation. God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up on my behalf. God knew in that moment I needed something familiar, and He used the gift of song to remind me of all I have to be thankful for. He is so great!

Universals

Since arriving in Malawi, I've been taking some very introductory lessons in Chichewa, the primary language spoken here. Unfortunately language learning comes slowly, so my understanding is still, of course, very limited. As I've been immersed in a variety of primarily-Chichewa-speaking settings, including church services each Sunday and visiting various SIM ministries, I've learned words like "zikomo," which means "thank you" and "Mulungu," which means "God," and "asungu," which means "white person."

So with the language barrier that exists, I'm learning to appreciate those things that are universal no matter what language we're speaking.

The first one I've found is a smile. Even when there's nothing to say because of the language barrier, a smile can say a whole lot.

Big smiles from the kids at the Rays of Hope summer camp

Another universal is the language of sports and games. You don't have to speak someone's language to kick a soccer ball with them or jump into a game of duck, duck, goose.

Kids at Rays of Hope play a group game

Several kids playing soccer as part of Sports Friends

 
The universal language of sports is what SIM's ministry Sports Friends uses as a platform for sharing the Gospel. Serving in more than 10 countries in North & South America, Asia, and Africa, the program is just starting to take off in Malawi through the work of a young couple here in Blantyre. Long-term, the vision for Sports Friends in Malawi is to train Malawian youth from churches across the country on how to start their own Sports Friends ministries in their communities.

After soccer, they hear a Bible lesson & practice memory verses

The final universal that I've encountered is during worship on Sundays. Although the services at Chilomoni AEC are entirely in Chichewa, after every component of the service, the leader says, "Alleluia!" and the congregation responds, "Amen!" Those are pretty much the only words I understand during the entire service. Alleluia and Amen: universal words to praise our God!

I was reminded of the song, “Come Christians Join to Sing:”

Come, Christians, join to sing
Alleluia! Amen!
Loud praise to Christ our King;
Alleluia! Amen!
Let all, with heart and voice,
Before His throne rejoice;
Praise is His gracious choice.
Alleluia! Amen!

Come, lift your hearts on high,
Alleluia! Amen!
Let praises fill the sky;
Alleluia! Amen!
He is our Guide and Friend;
To us He’ll condescend;
His love shall never end.
Alleluia! Amen!

Praise yet our Christ again,
Alleluia! Amen!
Life shall not end the strain;
Alleluia! Amen!
On heaven’s blissful shore,
His goodness we’ll adore,
Singing forevermore,
“Alleluia! Amen!”

Although I don’t understand much in the service past those two words, I am reminded each week of the global-ness of God. God is bigger than language. He hears the praises of His children in Chichewa just as clearly as those in English. Although I don’t understand the words, He does and those praises are sweet music to His ears. One day, people of every nation and tribe and language will be in Heaven together praising God! There won't be a language barrier anymore. On Heaven’s blissful shore, we’ll be singing forevermore the universal praise of our God: Alleluia! Amen!

We'll praise together with these sweet children. Alleluia! Amen!

Ones and Sevens and Hope

1 in 7. That's how many people in Malawi are infected with HIV/AIDS.

1 to 107. That's the teacher to student ratio in most public schools in Blantyre, Malawi.

Those are two sets of numbers I've learned about this week as I've been putting together stories about two different ministries here.

But thankfully I've also learned about Hope. And how two different ministries are seeking to bring it to those who are included in and impacted by these two sets of numbers.

HOPE for AIDS is caring for that 1 in 7 who are infected with HIV/AIDS through their Home-Based Care Programs. They're caring for the 7 in 7 who may not be infected, but are affected by HIV/AIDS in one way or another. They're caring for AIDS orphans through their Orphan and Vulnerable Child Care Programs. They're trying to reduce that 1 in 7 through their Prevention Programs. They're doing all this by Enabling the Church, training faithful volunteers on how to care for and educate their fellow Malawians on the reality of AIDS and the Hope of the Gospel.

Bringing Hope to this little one. (photo credit: Rebecca Dawborn)

 

And this one. (photo credit: Rebecca Dawborn)

Rays of Hope is giving kids who can't get the teacher attention needed to succeed in school a place to get the help they need for learning. During the school year, they provide an after-school program to help almost 110 kids with homework and tutor them in subjects they're struggling with. They start off the program each day by feeding the kids, knowing that no child can learn when he is hungry. They use the feeding program and tutoring as an avenue to teach kids about God, incorporating daily Bible studies and prayers into the program, teaching them about the only true Source of Hope.

Children singing during the after-school program.

In the summer, Rays of Hope runs a 5-week camp for approximately 200 kids each year. Incorporating Bible lessons, sports, arts & crafts, English lessons, and more, the goal of this camp is to provide a safe and healthy environment for kids when they're not in school.

The Rays of Hope leadership team

They let me be in the girls' picture!

These two ministries are faced with huge challenges presented to them by the ones and sevens of the statistics. It's only through the huge God whom they serve that they can bring Hope into those lives. Our God is a God of Hope.

I'm hoping to have the stories I wrote about these two ministries finalized and put on the SIM Malawi website soon. I've been having some technical difficulties in figuring out the website, but hopefully those will be resolved soon! Also, I hope to be getting some more pictures on here in the next few weeks. In the mean time, you can "like" SIM Malawi on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SIM.Malawi) to learn news from the different ministries and how you can pray for them!

Exciting News!

I got some great news this week -- my support for the trip is only $30 shy of what I needed to raise! Praise God! Thank you so much to everyone who supported me financially. It has been amazing to see God provide through all of you! I am so blessed.

So because of this great news, SIM was able to proceed with booking my flight. I am departing for Malawi on July 5! Please be in prayer for me as I try to make all the necessary preparations. For so many months this has felt so distant and now it is a reality and is so very close! I am realizing how much there is to do in such a short time.

If you would like to be added to my email list to receive updates/prayer requests while I'm in Malawi, please let me know by emailing me at ldtaylor12@gmail.com. Thanks again for your support and prayers!

Malawi!

So I'm starting this blog in preparation for my mission trip to Malawi, Africa this summer! For those of you who don't know, I'll be going there in July for two months through SIM.
 

SIM is an international, interdenominational mission agency that works in 65 countries in Africa, Asia, and South America. The purpose of SIM is to glorify God by planting, strengthening, and partnering with churches around the world by evangelizing the unreached, ministering to human need, discipling believers into churches, and equipping churches to fulfill Christ's Commission.

My time spent there will be doing a Communications Internship. I will be spending most of my time in one of Malawi’s main cities, Blantyre, and my work will be to help cast the vision and share the story of missions and the church in Malawi. To do this, I will be visiting the ministries on the field, capturing human interest stories, and then helping to organize and send out this information in creative ways such as through journalism, website development, and other forms of media. This work will help engage various audiences, including the SIM Malawi field, the people of Malawi, SIM sending offices, publications, sending churches and supporters, and secular groups and media, in how God is working in Malawi.

To go on this trip, I need prayer support more than anything. Whenever you think of it, please pray for me and for the people and missionaries in Malawi that I will be interacting with.

Thanks so much to all of you who have already begun to pray and who have generously supported me financially! I am so blessed by each of you. I have only a few days to raise the remainder of my funds (about $1,000). My funding deadline is June 9. It seems like a big amount, but I know that God is a big God and that He can provide in big ways! It has been a huge blessing and growing experience to see how He has provided so far! If you feel led to partner with me through prayer or financial support, I would really appreciate it. Giving can be done online through SIM's website, www.sim.org/giveusa, or checks can be made payable to SIM USA with my STA #038324 on the memo line and sent to SIM USA, Attn: SIM Receipting, P.O. Box 7900, Charlotte, NC 28241. SIM will send you a receipt of your tax-deductible contribution.

I will provide more updates as they come. I was in Charlotte, NC at SIM USA's headquarters a couple weeks ago for short-term orientation and it was such a blessing. I got to meet several other women who are going on short-term trips this summer to other parts of Africa, and I got to meet many SIM missionaries, a couple of whom had spent significant amounts of time on the mission field in Malawi! SIM had cool signs up on their campus of all the different countries where SIM is located. I got my picture taken in front of the Malawi sign. Lord willing, in just a few weeks I'll be 8,156 miles from where I was then!