January 20, 2000

Dear Everyone,

First of all, a HAPPY NEW YEAR to each one of you! We are grateful and relieved that the First World did not "fall apart" with the turning of the century. There was never much concern about it here in the Third World, where "falling apart" is a fairly regular occurrence!

Many of you have heard about the tragedy that occurred here just before Christmas. We so appreciate the outpouring of loving concern expressed through cards and letters. For those who don’t know what happened, I will share about it briefly, and bring everyone up to date.

All during the month of November, our girls and their classmates had been practicing at school for a Christmas play based on Max Lucado’s "The Crippled Lamb." The story is about a lamb who, because of his crippled leg, cannot go to the fields with all the other sheep, but must stay in the stable. As a result, he is on hand for the birth of Jesus and is able to help keep the baby warm. The majority of the characters in the play were sheep (including our Jessie). And their costumes were homemade muslin jump-suits with cotton wool glued all over them. The final production was on Friday evening, December 10, in the small chapel of the African Bible College. Katie read the opening scripture taken from Luke 2, and did a great job. Then the lights were dimmed and the children, bearing candles, began slowly coming down both aisles singing "Silent Night, Holy Night."

Suddenly there were piercing screams and three children were completely engulfed in flames before anyone knew what was happening. Fire and panic spread. Two more children caught fire. Most of the other children and some of the adults headed out the door. Jessie was knocked down but not hurt. Adults close to the burning children beat out the flames with their hands and rolled them on the carpeted floor to smother the fire. The most badly burned children were rushed to the medical rescue service where doctors and nurses worked to get them stabilized, rehydrated and bandaged. They were later flown out to a burn center in Zimbabwe. Everyone else was left traumatized by what they had witnessed and experienced.

The following Monday was a school day. Everyone was very subdued. Some parents and doctors came in to talk with the children and to pray for the children who were burned. The chance to talk about it and cry and pray together was helpful for everyone. That night, we received word that the child who was most badly burned had died in the hospital in Zimbabwe. Her name was Damalis Munthali and she was 10 years old. Her body was brought back to Malawi on Tuesday, and the whole school was at the airport to meet her casket. We had a small service at the airport, which was very moving. Each class laid a wreath on the casket and then together they sang her favorite Chichewa praise song, "Yehova, Atamandike" (God, you are the only One). School was closed early for the Christmas holidays.

That happened over a month ago, but it remains a daily part of our prayers and our conscious thoughts. The fire and its aftermath was and remains incredibly traumatic. Our kids were affected by what they saw and experienced. But they have been able to talk about the event and their feelings and we have prayed daily for their friends who survived the fire. The new school term started on January 10. Joseph Johnson (age 6) and Vinjeru Mkandawire (9) are both back at school. Their scars are still evident, but they are doing really well. The other two, more badly burned girls, Sarah (6) and Immaculate (10) are in South Africa, where they were transferred for better care. We have heard that they are recovering steadily, their skin grafts are "taking" and they may be able to come back to Malawi very soon. This is truly good news. The quicker they recover and things return to "normal," the quicker all the children will regain some sense of security. The school had a pediatric psychiatrist come down last week (from a missionary counseling center in Nairobi). He was excellent and a great help to both the children and the parents.

The school is bearing the entire cost of the evacuation and treatment for the children. The evacuation cost $23,000 and the treatment in South Africa is costing $5,000 per week. They have used their reserves and are now using money for next year’s school supplies. We are all praying that God will honor their commitment to the burned children and replenish the accounts from His great storehouse. If you are moved to help, the contact information for checks is: African Bible College, P.O. Box 103, Clinton, MS 39060. They should be made payable to African Bible College and designated on the check: "for children burned at academy." The contact person is Buck Mosal, (601)922-4988.

Please continue praying for everyone. Grieving and healing is a long process. Pray specifically that time will heal and ultimately erase the associations between Christmas, candles, fire and fear.

I promise to write another, more upbeat letter soon, but wanted you all to know about what has been uppermost in our minds and hearts lately. We are doing fine, secure in God’s love and goodness, even though we cannot answer the question "Why?"

We hope that all is well with you, and that you have entered this new year with confidence in our great and merciful God.

With love from all of us,

Nancy, Frank, Nathan, Moses, Jessie, Katie and Andrew Dimmock

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