Today we (Annie, Mike, Casey, and I) headed out to the village, Katondo. We were going to do four home visits. These visits are set up by the feeding center head and are usually for families that are in need. For the most part, they tend to be families where the father has died and the mother is struggling to provide for her family. On our part, we come with supplies (sugar, salt, soap, detergent, body lotion, and I brought fruit) to give to the family. It reminded me of something my high school used to do for families during the holidays. We used to get a bunch of food together (say for thanksgiving- so green beans, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, etc) and we would put it in the a bag and ding-dong ditch the house! I know sounds strange but it was a lot of fun!
Anyway, the ride to the village was as usual a ride in itself! I feel as though I have ridden the Indiana Jones ride from Dland or gone to Mexico to build a loft house again (for those of you readers who were on that trip you know what I’m talking about!!!) Today’s trip was a bit more bumpy than normal because John was driving. He is a big burly man who is built like an ox, but is always smiling and joking like a 5 year old. He also doesn’t know his own strength at times…a pat on the back …is not a PAT! But he never means to be so rough! Lol.
When we got to the village, they wanted to show us their chicken coops, which I am noticing is a big thing to them. I went over to look into the house and a chicken jumped up to the ledge. It shocked me a bit because I jumped back and started laughing- as did everyone else. SO that was fun!
We finally went to the home visits which were quite eye-opening! The Malawian people are so hospitable. They open up a bamboo tarp for us to sit on while they are sitting in the dirt. We would sit and ask them questions about their lives and they could do the same to us. It was a very open conversation. The first few visits all four of us remained together until the last two houses.
The last visit was by far the best. Annie and I split off to do one by ourselves while Casey and Mike tackled the other. For the most part the beginning of the home visit was the same. Toward the middle though, we were asked what we did back home. When I replied that I was a student they were shocked. The translator said that they were out of school by the time they were my age. That made me think so I asked him to ask them what age they thought I was. Their response was AWESOME! They thought I was 16 and that Annie was 12. WE both had a good laugh about that! We told them our ages and that shocked them more!
It was a very humbling experience hearing about their lives and struggles. In comparison to America, their lives are filled with adversity, yet their attitudes and perspective on life is so strong and grounded in God. Their strength truly comes from God and it was amazing to witness! It made me realize how much I take for granted and what kind of fervor I should have for my relationship with God. God has truly been my source of strength while I am here and I hope that He remains so when I return home!
Focal verse: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize…” Philippians 4:13a
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