Where we belong

We are closing in on four months in Malawi.  It is amazing how fast our time has gone, and yet these last few weeks have really made me realize how much I miss friends and family.  Dawn and I have been extremely blessed with the quick development of a great Bible study group, good friends, and invitations to lots of fun activities.  Still, with the coming and going of Thanksgiving, and Christmas right around the corner, we have realized that this amazing adventure does not come without a cost.

Before we left our home in Seattle, we were invited to have dinner with the Trotters, who are a couple who have known Dawn for many years.  Dr. Trotter and his wife spent a year in Kenya at Kijabe Hospital where Dawn spent two months when she was in medical school.  They have been good friends and mentors to Dawn over the years, and have also welcomed me into their home and lives. 

The Trotters gave me a few gifts to take to Africa.   One of the items was a book entitled “A dream so big” by Steve Peifer with Gregg Lewis.  For any of you who would like to get a sense of how things are in Africa, and the kind of work that organizations like the one I am working with (World Relief) are doing, this is an incredible read.  Steve Peifer was a very successful businessman in Texas, and had no desire to ever visit Africa let alone live there and become a missionary.  His wife had a lifelong desire to be a missionary in Africa, but God told her to put it on hold.  After the death of their youngest son (who was born with severe birth defects), they were deeply hurting as a family and decided to take a year to unplug.  They were given an opportunity to be dorm parents at a boarding school for missionary kids in Kijabe, Kenya (the same place where Dawn met the Trotters).  For the rest of the story you need to read the book.  Dawn and I have both just finished reading it and we cannot recommend it highly enough. 

There were numerous times while reading this book where Steve's words really resonated with me.  One example is that he would often say, “I am not a real missionary”, and “the real missionaries…” Most of those statements went on to describe how the parents of the students he taught were the real missionaries, and were really doing the work of the Lord.  That is often how I feel.  Though I volunteer for an incredible organization that is doing unbelievable work to care for the most vulnerable, I often feel like the people I work with are the true missionaries and I am simply blessed to be in their presence.  But I must accept that this is where the Lord has me, and He will use me if I let Him.  I don’t need to think of myself as an incredible missionary who is going to change the world, I simply need to be obedient and say yes to the Lord in each step, big and small.  That is what I am trying to do.

Last week, I found myself back in the very northwest part of the country in a district called Chitipa.  This is the area where we are working with a lot of local farmers (660 this year) to help develop a value chain for a cash crop called pyrethrum (a type of daisy used for natural insecticides).  It has been a really fun opportunity for me to work with an international team of men working to get this endeavor off the ground.  Through many Skype conversations, emails, budget renderings, the writing of an MOU (memorandum of understanding), and reworking of the budget, it looks like we are going to be able to move forward this year in our efforts to help change the lives of these farmers.  Being a volunteer, I am very mindful of the fact that this project will continue well after my time here has run its course.  So as much as my nature screams to take charge and take over, I have been having an incredible time being a member of the team and giving advice where appropriate.

Pyrethrum Nurseries (Dec. '14)

Pyrethrum Nurseries (Oct. '14)

Pyrethrum Flowers

Walking through a handful of nurseries that are growing the seedlings which will be transplanted into the growing fields during the next month, I took such pleasure in shaking hands and looking into the eyes of farmers who are working their butts off to improve their lives.  This is truly my reward!  Seeing the joy and hope in the eyes of people who have finally been given an opportunity to get out of poverty, and are willing to do anything to provide for their families.  I pray that those mental pictures of joy and hope never leave me.

We want to take this opportunity to wish you all a belated Happy Thanksgiving!  We are so very thankful for all of you who are doing so much to support us with your thoughts, prayers and finances, and friendship.  As we look forward to Christmas we want to again thank our Lord and Savior for the opportunity that He has given us to be here in Malawi.  Life here is not always easy or comfortable, but we are seeking to say "yes" to the Lord with each step.  Though we don't yet know the full purpose for this journey, Malawi feels like the place we meant to be in this time.   Please let us know if there are ways that we can be praying for each of you.

God Bless You!

John (and Dawn)