Philippians 4:4

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

My family had the great privilege this summer to visit our sister congregation in Malawi, Africa. This south central nation, known as the "Warm Heart of Africa", was our home for two weeks as we shared fellowship, helped in the building a new church, visited various projects funded by our church/denomination, and planned for further expansion of the partnership between the Migowi CCAP (Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian) and Beulah Presbyterian Church.

My family has spent time in the past in third world nations so we were fairly well prepared for the poverty that we would encounter. But this time things were somewhat different. Our past God led adventures had been in non-Christian environments, sometimes full of hopelessness. This trip surrounded us with brothers and sisters in faith which resulted in an overall atmosphere of hope. Malawi, the fourth poorest country in the world is a place of great physical needs. Most of the things we take for granted are not available. If we were to become seriously ill or injured, adequate care was in South Africa, several hours by plane.

But yet even though the folks in Migowi (a small village that does not even appear on most maps) have little according to our standards, they are happy. Now you have to work hard to live in this type of remote environment. Water is drawn at public wells. Toilets are, well you can imagine. As the area is very dusty, people bathe twice a day. But that is done with buckets of water heated over fires. Meals are simple but take hours to prepare and once you are done, it is time to start the next meal. Clothes are washed in streams and generally speaking, it takes most of the hours of daylight to just keep your household running.

One of the main things that I have learned from this visit is that Paul's message to the Philippians was also written for the people of Malawi and the USA. In many ways, I think some of the folks we met in our African adventure are better focused than many I know in the states, having a clearer idea of what God desires and how to bring glory to His name. I will share some of that as the week progresses. Lest you think of this place as some sort of utopia, when I asked the pastor of our sister church what was the greatest issue in the church, it was materialism. There really is little difference between people around the world, in both the good things and the bad.

Mark