September 1999

Dear Friends,

It has been a long time since you have heard from us, and there is a lot of news and some practical information to share with you. We will start with the latter. In April, we finally got a post office box, which means that mail is less likely to get lost and we can check it any time, not just during working hours as with the postal bag. Our mailing address is now P.O. Box 1266, Lilongwe, Malawi. In June, we had a burglary and the thieves stole my IBM laptop on which we did all of our e-mailing. We have been unable to access our eo.wn.apc.org address and have since discontinued with that server. Please make note that our e-mail address is now fdimmock@malawi.net. And stay in touch! It means so much!

On to the news: National elections took place here in Malawi on June 15. These are only the second elections held since independence in 1964. During the first elections, five years ago, there was tremendous fanfare and media exposure. This year was comparatively quiet. While the event itself went fairly smoothly, there was the perception of intentional mismanagement of the voter registration process in the north (opposition stronghold), and a shortage of ballots in the same region at election time. The count was very close, with the incumbent president getting 51 percent of the votes. The opposition felt that the rigging made the difference between winning and losing and has taken the issue to court. There has been some violence in the north over the issue and no resolution yet.

The month of June was capped off, for us, with a robbery at our house on the night of the 24th. Four guys overpowered our night watchman and tied him up. One had a gun, so the guard, very wisely, put up no resistance. They used a scissors-jack to pry the burglar bars apart and came into the living room and found their way to the office. (We were in the house, but fortunately did not wake up.) They made off with a laptop computer connected to a docking station, a portable printer, a set of speakers, a camera, and my handbag (with keys to everything). They took Nathan’s gym bag and backpack, packed for school, presumably to carry the goods. They kindly threw out his school books, and when rifling through my handbag, tossed out my check books, Malawi driver’s license and family pictures. We were so grateful! The really amazing thing about the whole incident was the timing. An Irish computer expert had been stuck at our house for the first three days of that week waiting on his lost luggage. And his idea of fun was maintaining, cleaning up, and backing up our computers! He left on Thursday morning and the robbery occurred Thursday night. So we lost some valuable equipment (and the e-mail server and all mail files), but few work files or work-in-progress. It was all backed up, to the minute, on zip disks! Isn’t the Lord incredibly gracious?!

In thinking over our security system, we decided we could spend lots of money on alarms, more guards, better burglar bars, etc. or we could get a snake and keep it as a pet in our front yard (with a sign on the gate telling people it was there)! We all voted for the latter, and have put the word out that we are in the market for a python. They called us about one they had found at the golf club, but it turned out to be almost 30 feet long and took 10 men to handle it. We agreed that it would definitely deter thieves, but was a bit more than we needed!

We have been blessed this summer with visits from work groups from the Myers Park Presbyterian Church of Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Faith Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee, Florida. They shared their skills in computers, theology, music, and nursing and used their willing hands to help with some ongoing construction work at the synod headquarters. It is always hard (and tiring) to adjust to and assimilate so much that is new in a very short period, but both groups were wonderful and we appreciate the incredible effort and sacrifice it took to come. We pray that they received new insights and a great blessing from their visit with this part of the Body of Christ.

On the home front, there have been huge changes in our household. In May, we put in applications to a wonderful Christian boarding school in Kenya. Hearing that the waiting list was long, we hoped that our boys might be accepted in a few years, in time for their final years of high school. Well, in July we received word that they had been accepted for this September. We prayed long and hard and were convinced that this timing was of the Lord, so we spent the next two months in a frenzy of shopping, sewing, cleaning and packing, trying to get our two 13 year olds ready to leave home. We all flew to Kenya at the end of August and helped them get settled. The school is wonderful and well-organized. Their dorm is a very home-like with "parents" from Ontario, Canada, who seemed very nice, warm, and open. But even so, it was hard to leave them and we miss them very much here at home. We talk about them and pray for them every day. We have heard from them twice and, while the adjustment is hard for them too, they seem to be doing well. Their first term break is at the end of November and we are already counting the days.

Life, in general, continues to be full and satisfying, with Frank’s ongoing work in regional health coordination and local responsibilities with the Christian Health Association of Malawi and the Presbyterian hospitals here. The Lord challenges us daily to depend on Him. Psalm 91:4 says, "His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." When the fiery darts of fear, discouragement, or disillusionment assail us, what a comfort to know that He is a shield and a strong wall around us. Our true security is not in burglar bars, or guards, or a snake, or our own abilities or knowledge or faith, but in Christ and his wonderful promises.

Sincerely in Him,

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

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