Christmas and New Year Greetings from "the warm heart of Africa"!

That season of the year that represents our only hope has again arrived! We are in the midst of it. How shall it impact our lives? Perhaps not at all. If not at all—what does that mean for the people of Malawi? Where is the hope for
people who live in the sixth poorest country in the world?

Emmanuel means "God with us." But does this make a difference in our lives? Is the power and love of God reflected in our daily living? How has God transformed our lives this year? In what ways have we, the people of the United States, become God’s new creations, instruments of hope for the people of Malawi?

There is a wall in Jerusalem called the wailing wall, the one remaining wall of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed in 70 A.D. Everyday, devout Jews come to this wall to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, a city in which there is no peace, where there is much hatred and strife between Arabs and Jews, between Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Walls of racial, cultural, and religious differences keep us in conflict, at war. They keep us from trust and equitable distribution of the world’s resources. These walls separate us and prevent us from being "the one family of God."

In Malawi the dual legacies of colonialism and imperialism have left their mark, created walls between Africa and the Western world: walls that divide, that keep us apart, that prevent us from having the abundant life and the joy of our salvation in Malawi and in the United States. These are the legacies of colonialism and imperialism: (1) Western culture has been imposed upon Malawi, robbing Malawians of their dress, language, music, dance, and cultural values under the false claim that Western culture is superior to Malawian culture. (2) Political, social, and economic oppression of Malawian people by colonial and imperialistic nations has left Malawi robbed of its resources and indebted to the industrialized nations of the world. (3) There has been a betrayal of trust: Westerners promised saving life to Malawians through Christianity, education, health services, and development assistance, but at the price of taking from Malawians their freedom, their dignity, and the resources of their land.

These legacies have created walls of enmity that divide God’s people. The spoils of these legacies are a materially impoverished Malawi, a deep-seated prejudice and distrust between black and white people, and a spiritually impoverished United States.

Once trust is lost among people it is extremely difficult to regain! How do we begin to heal the wounds that exist between the Western world and Africa? How do we break down walls of pain and distrust that have been fortified over a century? How do we rebuild trust and reestablish "the one family of God"?

The answer became clear on one of our recent Lay Training Centre trips to teach lay leaders in Dwangwa Presbytery. Our journey from Mzuzu to Dwangwa took us from the northern to the central region of Malawi by way of a major Malawian highway essential for commerce and uniting these two regions, which tend to be divided by geography and tribal differences. From the north, as you draw near to the central region, the road crosses the Dwambazi River. Unfortunately, the bridge that connects the road was washed away in a flood two years ago. Due to dwindling material resources in a plummeting economy the bridge is yet to be rebuilt.

Alternative routes around the river are long and costly, fuel being extremely high. So the people have improvised. During the dry season, they have built a provisional bridge, piling stone upon stone from the bottom of the river up. Stone upon stone carried by one person after another, each adding to what becomes an immense number of stones. These stones have been bound together in layers of wire. In so doing the people have created a temporary bridge to unite people on both sides of this river.

During the rainy season the water rises—stones begin to be wash away, and people come to rebuild this provisional bridge, one stone at a time. Eventually the rains and rising waters overflow this stone bridge. But when the dry season returns people again begin to rebuild this bridge one stone at time—stone upon stone. It is a lengthy, tedious process that often seems fruitless. Yet for at least a few months of the year these extraordinary efforts bring unity and life to people of the northern and central regions of Malawi.

When I saw this hope and devotion in building a bridge little bit by little bit I caught a glimpse of the commitment and vision necessary to rebuild trust and unity between the people of the Western world and the people of Africa. Walls will be broken down and bridges built only through the work of the basic building blocks of every community, the human relationship. Trust will be rebuilt and community restored between the people of the United States and the people of Malawi only through the hard work of establishing personal relationships one at a time!

This healing process requires our time, our long-term commitment, our personal involvement, our patient search for understanding, our willingness to be changed, our sharing our lives and personal resources, our perseverance in love and devotion.

Jesus Christ (Emmanuel, God with us) came to earth for this reason: to break down the walls that divide us, to make us the one family of God. Ephesians 2:14 says: "For he (Jesus) himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility."

How will this Christmas and New Year season be different for us? Will we maintain walls of division or build bridges of unity, one relationship at a time?

A Joyous Christmas and Hope-Fulfilled New Year In the Unity and Love of the Christ Child.

Rev. Deborah A. Chase

The 2000 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 40