February 2005

Dear Family and Friends,

Today is my birthday, so this is not so much a newsletter per se as the sharing of a time of reflection. In the still hours of this morning over a cup of coffee I reminisced a bit, remembering various times, places, and people along the way who have been part of my life’s journey.

One person particularly on my mind is Bishop Peter Nyanja, who I saw over Christmas in Malawi as I visited a dear friend and caught up with others after 8 years away. A bishop of the Anglican Church, he has presided over the central region of Malawi for 27 years. From the time he was a boy he’d always wanted to be a bishop, and he became Malawi’s youngest at the age of 32. He’s now the longest standing bishop in the country’s history.

I remember the first time I met Bishop Peter in 1995. I loved him immediately! He was so full of life, so joyous, and he had laughter so spontaneous and full—the kind of person you just want to be around. I also quickly grew to adore and respect several of priests from the area—men of such integrity and commitment, with a love for people and for God that permeated their lives and that of their families. And fun! My, these Malawians could laugh!

But Bishop Peter hadn’t always been like that. Though he had been a bishop for many years and had taken his work seriously, when his robes were off his lifestyle was not what one would expect of a man of God. Though he had a wife and children at home, it was no secret that he also had a girlfriend (mistress). So things were very different then. The priests who were committed to living lives that reflected the life of Jesus—the same ones I came to know—were scattered far out in the rural areas at that time, rarely be seen or heard from!

But a day came in 1993, when a man Bishop Peter had come to know and respect confronted him with his behavior and lifestyle in such a way that Bishop Peter recognized how far he was from what God desired him to be. His experience in that moment became a transforming one—one in which the reality of the love of Jesus Christ for him was so real and powerful that his heart was broken.

He was so convicted of his own failures that he called a meeting to include all his priests, his wife, and his family and confessed openly the things he had done, asking each for their forgiveness. One thing I’ve seen in African Christians is their willingness to admit to wrong and to acknowledge it to those they have wronged. Pride, political correctness, and legal ramifications aren’t considered—they respond to God’s word and direction and just do it!

Perhaps one of the reasons for the feebleness of the church today is that the world does not see that we believers reflect Christ in our lives as His life exists in us. Or does it?! If we have invited him into our lives and experience even a touch of his love for us, how can we not want what he has to offer us? How can we not want to be transformed more into who he is and who he wants us to be? He certainly is able and wants to be part of our lives—so why don’t we let him? These are the personal challenges confronting me in my life with Christ, who I so love and so long to be like yet so often fail to give him that freedom to work in me.

But back to Bishop Peter. His life began to change dramatically and powerfully, as God began to bring healing into his life. Things began to be shaken up and set right in his life and in the diocese. Some things changed immediately, such as bringing back the priests he’d sent to the outer limits of his territory! But others took time, such as the healing and trust of his wife and family.

A Malawian friend living in South Africa didn’t believe it was the same man when I first spoke of him—until I told her the story of his personal encounter with Jesus. She agreed that was the only thing that could have changed him so significantly.

Bishop Peter is on my mind today because his days on earth are numbered. Cancer has spread through his body and has now partially paralyzed him. My last words to him on leaving Malawi were, “The next time I see you will probably be in heaven.” At that his radiant smile returned—and that is how I will remember him. What a wonderful man—and what a powerful remembrance to me of the extent of God’s grace and love for one such as Bishop Peter—and me.

Other farewells

Two other dear friends have passed on this month, both suddenly—one, a lifetime friend of our family, the other a more recent but also very special friend. My condolences and love go out to Jim and the Van Maren family on the loss of Shirley, Jim’s wife. And to Helen Yon on the sudden loss of her husband, Elmer.

Contact details in the United States

I will soon be leaving for the States. My “home base” from March through May will be my brother Tad’s home in Sacramento at 4881 Hinchman Way, Sacramento, CA 95823. Phone: (916) 428-3178. My email—for now—will remain the same. I will also be in the Los Angeles area for several weeks at some point. I am looking forward to seeing as many of you as I can.

Until then,

Cindy

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 61