Final Days in Malawi...

Wow, we have been home for two weeks, a whirlwind of activity catching up on things while we were away but I feel like it is important I close out our final days in Malawi with a “quick” blog post. These two weeks at home have seen me busy with the final preparations for the VBS team that is currently on route to Malawi and before they start blogging their experiences I thought I would finish sharing our final days in Malawi.

Monday, July 1st was a incredible meeting day.

It started in the head office from Timotheos with the weekly Monday morning opening with all office staff. Gerrit was able to reflect on Judges 6 where we see a pattern of the Isrealites doing evil in the sight of God and then the children of Israel would cry unto the Lord and he would deliver them. And in Judges 6:14 the Lord looked upon Gideon and said, “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” Gerrit was able to share that at times there can be very difficult and disappointing days, like they had experienced the weeks prior, but if we are doing the work that the Lord has sent us to do then we do not need to fear because the Lord will sustain us and sends us out with “go in this thy might”. This passage held special meaning for Gerrit in the previous week and was also the verse of their farewell sermon in Canada before travelling to Malawi - we were blessed to be sitting in the room while he shared parts of that with the team! Thanks for your leadership Gerrit - it is so appreciated!

After week opening the management staff of Timotheos Malawi and the Malawian and International board members travelled to a local hotel for our meetings. First the management team briefly shared their specialty. Mr. Gerrit Oomen conferred the process of implementing the upcoming management team changes and also presented the financials because unfortunately Mr. Clement Gopanikufa was unable to be there because he had a funeral to attend. Next Mr. Bart Lodder walked us through the areas of program growth and Ms. Playsant Munthali shared all the HR highlights of the previous year. These presentations are important for the board members but also the management team as it gives them a moment to stop and look back over the previous year and acknowledge what has transpired. At times in the day to day of the work, the progress can seem slow or disappointing to those immersed in it but yet when they reflect back, they see how far they have come. For the board members it is enlightening to be able to listen and then ask questions and delve further into a topic of interest or concern. We hope the discussions we were able to have assist the management team further in their duties and provide clarity in certain areas going forward.

Following these presentations, Ms. Janneke Duerink led the Malawian and International board members through a detailed SWOT analysis. She had already completed this same activity with the management staff and the officers (the next level of management) so we were all really interested to see how these three results would compare with each other. This activity was super engaging for the board members and led to some great discussions. After lunch the management team returned to the room and the board members were given the opportunity to explain some of the points from the SWOT analysis. Going forward the management team hopes to utilize these results in their strategic planning.

Once the SWOT analysis discussions were completed we said goodbye to the Malawian board members and the management team and then proceeded with the International Board Meeting (with Mr. Jason Lindhout and Mr. Seth VanderBoon on zoom). Connecting in a room altogether is highly beneficial for discussions and much preferred over the zoom meetings we have the rest of the year. Once again, we are thankful for the unity and the ability for all the countries (Malawi, the Netherlands, Canada and the United States) to connect and work together! Such a blessing.

It was a busy twelve hour day and I returned home again to Ben and the children who had a most wonderful day at the Oomens - water balloon fights, swimming, fires on the patio, smores and more to celebrate “Canada Day” and connect together. Lovely!

On Tuesday we visited the David Livingstone Christian Academy with Mr. Walt Rozeboom (USA) and Ms. Playsant Munthali (HR Manager). It is amazing to see the growth at this secondary school since my previous visit two years ago. The headteacher (principle) Mr. Chaklahoma and the deputy headteacher (vice principle) Mr. John led us around the campus - girl dormitory, boy dormitory, the maize mill, nurse office, and through the classrooms. Form 2 (grade 10) and Form 4 (Grade 12) students were writing exams that day but we were able to visit with Form 1 and Form 3. We were also able to meet my parents sponsor student, Lucia Frank, a sister of Ranen’s sponsor child as well.

A walk through the dormitories at DLCA

The cooking mothers at DLCA encourage Katie to try stir the rice for lunch... the smoke from the fire quickly affected Katie's eyes and she has a new appreciation for the work of these ladies!

We had an interesting discussion in the one classroom when Mr. Rozeboom mentioned he was from the USA and someone brought up the name President Obama - the children reacted very positively and this led to an interesting discussion - we asked them why they felt this way towards President Obama and one student piped up because of the colour of his skin and being “like them”… we agreed with them that yes, Obama appears to be “like them” but then led the discussion to what is more important - the heart of man. We encouraged them to see past the exterior of man and to consider there is one thing that matters WAY more… the heart of man. One day we all must die, whether we have dark or light skin, and meet the same God.

Diving a little deeper into (my thoughts on) this… we noticed as our students get older some of them express a “large desire” for a “better place” in this world - for instance, both times I visited DLCA I have had students ask me “after my exams, could you and your family just take me to Canada” and this brings up very divided feelings for me. On one hand, I can understand, these students see and meet people coming to visit from other parts of the world, often bearing gifts who travelled in a plane to get here; the students are financially supported through education by someone on another side of the world, so naturally their tendency would be to feel like WEALTH is on the other side of this world. But yet, it appears they have such a misconstrued understanding of life on “the other side of this world” - like it is very easy, very wealthy, paths of gold, overabundance of happiness, etc - but is it? Are we better off in a place that has such wealth that to some degree they don’t “rely on God” or are we better off in a place so dependent on God for every need that it keeps us a beggar?

This time I was interviewing a Form 4 student and just before I started videoing he said to me, “please just bring me to Canada if I don’t pass my exams” and so I asked him, why do you say that, do you think life will be magically better in Canada? He replied, well is it not better there then here and I explained - it is DIFFERENT. Yes, there are major differences, access to food for example, but it is not like if you come to Canada all your worries disappear - you still need to work hard for your living, study to pass exams, it can be difficult to “get ahead” and yet, yes, there are earthly benefits that surpass understanding of someone living day to day in Malawi. But, is it better…. we will leave that to be pondered upon.

Just a little more on this topic before moving on, I was touched by one of my children who was “puzzled” when a teacher at the child care centre encouraged his class to say “Canada YAY!” when we were in the room and we explained to the teacher, no, “Malawi YAY” would be more appropriate because that is your country, these are your citizens of the country and we truly pray that through the Christian education they are receiving that they may one day make a significant impact in the families, communities and country around them. Truly, we pray that each child and student may be a link in breaking the cycle of poverty by being impacted through God’s Word. That is our desire.

Before ending our visit at DLCA with a delicious lunch of rice and beef with the head teacher & deputy head teacher we visited with a handful of students in a classroom - having one on one conversations. We took time to encourage them in their studies, see where their personal interests lie and attempted to encourage them to persevere and make a difference. A wonderful hour together.

Mr. Rozeboom explaining the challenging way a carpenter he met in Khomabasa a few days prior climbed the ranks of carpentry in Malawi. Hard work and perseverance is SO important in this society and economy.

From here our family continued on to Lake Malawi for two nights to debrief and connect before our long flights home and back to our reality - busy life in a different country. Seeing the natural beauty of Malawi was also special to experience with our children and having time to converse with them before leaving was crucial to the processing of what we all experienced.

On our last evening in Malawi we met over dinner with all the expatriate workers and spouses as well as the visiting board members for a time of fellowship. Cornelis Bosch, board member from the Netherlands, ended the night with a powerful question to all - upon departing how can everyone else around the table remember you in prayer. The answers varied from please pray for God’s Spirit to work mightily in Malawi, to more expatriate workers, to have an abundance of love for others to be able to continue to give, to more love within the families of the locals, to guidance and humility. Truly a beautiful way to end a most wonderful trip.

Although none of us felt ready to leave Malawi, we were beyond excited to be able to see the youngest two members of our family again. Now it is hard to believe that we “have only been home for two and a half weeks”… at times it feels so long ago already as we return to the busyness of Canada. Back to our responsibilities, back to our routines… but I know we will never forget our trip and the impact will live on.

Please continue to remember the work being done in Malawi in prayer for only through God’s Word and the blessing of the Spirit will we be able to have an impact on the children there.