Summary Note for Malawi

Greetings from the Warm Heart of Africa!

Let me begin by stating that our God is simply amazing and showed me time and time again throughout this adventure that He is in control and we do not need to worry! From the planning, to the fundraising, to traveling, to the time spent in Malawi; I was constantly reminded that when we trust in our Father, greater things happen than we could ever imagine. The people of Malawi are some of the most welcoming and hospitable people I have ever met. It is the warm heart of Africa and they don’t let you forget it! The customary way for people to greet one another is to say, “Mulibwanji,” which means, “How are things,” and the response is always, “Ndili bwino. Kaya inu,” which means, “things are fine, what about you?” All of this is usually said over a long handshake. The culture is very relationship-oriented rather than being task-oriented.
I lived in the Ministry of Hope Office, located in the capital city of Lilongwe, with several other interns. Although not the most attractive city, Lilongwe offered many much-appreciated luxuries, such as running potable water, electricity (with the occasional black-out), and even internet. This is not the real Malawi. Over 90% of Malawians live out their entire lives in the village setting. These villages consist of mud huts with straw roofs, no running water, no electricity, minimal education, and no medical care. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and also has one of the highest percentages of people living with HIV/AIDS. Ministry of Hope is working to combat the staggering statistics by operating two crisis nurseries, six feeding centers in six different villages, a preschool program, mobile medical clinics, and a scholarship program for students to pursue further education.
I have been fortunate enough to experience a small portion of each of these ministries. The babies in the crisis nursery stole a piece of my heart the moment I stepped inside the building. Currently there are 17 babies under the age of 2 and several nannies occupying less than 1500 square feet. Needless to say, it is a little cramped. When at the nursery, I spent my time playing, feeding, changing cloth diapers, and just loving on the babies. Some of the babies that I became especially fond of are Shawn and Fi-Fi (twins, one of whom started walking while I was there!), Rachel, Impatzo (which means gift), baby Ruth, Chisomo, Elenati, and Feruke. I could have brought a few of them home with me! Two things that these children need in prayer are to pray for their care and well-being and to pray for their home situations.
One of the newest branches of Ministry of Hope is the operation of the Mobile Medical Clinic. This clinic travels on a rotating schedule to the different villages where Ministry of Hope feeding centers are located. While in Malawi, I was able to assist with the operation of two medical clinics in the villages of Khwamba and Chimon’gombe. This clinic consists of a registration table, a station where medical complaints and history is taken, a station to take vitals (this was my job), a clinician, a doctor, a lab technician, and a pharmacy table. This entire operation, as well as the Lilongwe crisis nursery, is run by one amazing woman named Mwawi. We treated 205 patients in 5 hours at the first medical clinic and about 125 patients in only 3 hours at the second clinic!
Ministry of Hope was founded about 10 years ago by a young man named Fletcher who started feeding orphans in his village from his backdoor. Today, Ministry of Hope operates six feeding centers in six different villages that are all located about 1 hour outside the capital city of Lilongwe. The feeding centers look like what we would refer to as a concrete picnic pavilion with a few offices attached. Three days a week, anywhere from 100 to over 200 children gather from miles around to the concrete floor of the center to receive a hot meal of nsima (Which is made from corn maize meal and is somewhat like very thick, tasteless grit cakes. This is used to eat the other parts of the meal with.), sometimes rice, shredded greens, and beans. The feeding centers also host preschool classes every morning and provide a secure place for children to gather and play.
One of the most memorable and impacting experiences was staying in one of these villages with the feeding center director’s family. I stayed in a village named Selengo with Jimmy and his family of ten people. The village is located at the end of a dirt road and about a 25 minute drive from the nearest paved road. I bounced along in an old land cruiser down the bumpy dirt road while dodging cows pulling carts, goats, people on bicycles and people on foot. Although it is early in the morning, everything already seems to be stained the color of the soil, a bright brick red.
My stomach is full of butterflies because I am on my way to give a sermon to Malawians in a village church in about 30 minutes! I was walking through this village the previous week and greeted a man and his wife. The man spoke broken English and asked me what denomination I was. Being nondenominational simply does not exist in Africa; therefore I stated I was Baptist because the church I had been involved in during previous years was Baptist-based. It turns out that this man is the pastor of the ‘Selengo Baptist Church,’ who was thrilled to find this out, and asked me to come and speak at their Wednesday service. God has a sense of humor doesn’t he?! Of course I could not decline, so here I am on my way to preach at a church in a remote village in Africa. The church was an open-air building with a chalkboard and concrete pulpit up
Selengo Baptist Churchfront. Jimmy, the feeding center director, was expecting me and took me to his family’s home where I left my things and then we immediately walked up the hill to the church. People had already started to gather and they sang songs in Chichewa (the native language) while waiting for the rest of the congregation to arrive. It is not an understatement when people describe Africans as having rhythm. They have their hands, their feet, and their voices and they know how to use them!
Pastor and wife of Selengo Baptist ChurchIt was amazing because as soon as I stood up to begin speaking, the butterflies disappeared and I was enveloped in a sense of comfort and boldness. I read 1 Corinthians 12 and spoke about how we have value because we have all been created in the image of God, who chose us even though we are sinners. That each of us has been given a unique set of gifts and abilities designed for a specific purpose long before being born. For this reason, we must encourage one another and look at each other as brothers and sisters that all contribute in a unique and necessary way to the Body of Christ rather than judging one another. We also talked about not letting circumstances determine our faith. The people of the church were so appreciative of just having me there that they gave me a HUGE bag of ground nuts and a bottle of coke! This church is praying that a sister church from the US will partner with them, so if you are interested please contact me!The family I stayed with in Selengo were the most hospitable people I have ever encountered. Upon my arrival, they slaughtered a goat and when I was leaving they killed a chicken for our last meal together! They offered me the best of everything they had and I feel as though I became a part of the family after staying only a few short days. The women in the village astound me. From sun up to after sun down, they are performing different tasks to run their homes that often involve hard physical labor and a baby strapped to their back. They made me feel like a
Selengo Feeding Center Director and familysissy to say the least! I did however try to help where I could. I even learned how to carry large buckets of water on my head! While in the village, I also helped teach preschool, play with the village children, learned how to play soccer ‘African style,’ and met with a group of women living with HIV/AIDS.
This group of women had come together to support each other and I feel is a great new focus group for ministry of hope to be involved with. These women live in villages, some with families and husbands, some without, no income, no medical treatment, and no way to provide even food for their families. After meeting with them and the feeding center director, I decided to help the women in one way I knew how. With the help of your support, I rented an acre of land for one year next to the Ministry of Hope garden in Selengo. Working with Jimmy and Andrew (who went to school for agriculture and manages this garden), we drew up plans for a community garden for these women to share. The garden will also include immunity-boosting plants and produce that will help the women to combat HIV/AIDS. I just helped them get started by renting the land for the first year and paying for the seed, land prep, and irrigation prep. After this, it will be their responsibility to use it wisely, with the oversight of Jimmy and Andrew, and then they can sell the surplus to provide some sort of income for their families.
The last day of my stay in the village was the most memorable. I feel this is the day that confirmed to me that I had formed real relationships with these people and that I wasn’t just ‘an American tourist.’ A few days before, a village elder had passed away and was having a traditional/tribal funeral. Up the hill in the village, people began to beat drums and traditional dancers danced in costume on Thursday afternoon and did not stop until the burial on Friday afternoon. On Friday, I was invited to come to the traditional ceremony so Jimmy and I walked to it. To get there, we had to walk through the village where hundreds and hundreds of people had gathered and were all sitting outside eating. On the other side of the village, there was a large circle of about five hundred people watching the traditional dancers. I felt as though everyone was looking at me and I was definitely the only azungu (means white person) for miles and miles! It was very crowded, but the women insisted that they squeeze me in up to the front so I could see. The dancers were covered in costumes constructed out of straw, strips of cloth, leaves, and other random things. You could only see their hands and feet and they danced all over the place to the beat of the drums with movements that seem alien to us.
As I write, I am still trying to absorb and unpack all the details of this adventure. It is truly amazing to look back and see the tapestry
of events that God weaves together to bring us to where we are today. It is never a question of our own ability, but our response to God’s ability that really matters! I hope this is just the first adventure of a life-long journey that God has prepared for the future! If you are interested in learning more about Malawi, Ministry of Hope, or how to become involved, please feel free to contact me. My email address is scowcroftla@montreat.edu and my travel blog URL is http://laurensfannypackfiles.blogspot.com/.

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." Ephesians 6:19-20

In Him,
Lauren Scowcroft