July 19, 2005
Embangweni #28
Dear Friends and Family,
We are thinking now about getting ready to come home, as the
end of our third year is approaching. Bill particularly has been
quite busy preparing our co-workers to take over our work when
we leave. But also, we have been full of thoughts and emotions
at the idea of leaving this very special place. We have been told
that re-entry into our home culture will present us with some
challenges. We will pass along to you something that Beth wrote
recently about her thoughts and questions related to her experience
here in Malawi.
A life-changing experience
Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also” (Luke 12:34) and “for one’s life
does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke
12:13).
These words have really spoken to me through these last three
years of service in Africa. I have seen so much profound poverty,
disease, and death. So much grieving and suffering. But at the
same time, I have been inspired by a people who truly treasure
the “fruits of the spirit”—love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
(Galations 5:22). In the culture of the Tumbuka people of northern
Malawi, these values are taught to the children at a very young
age. It is striking the way the values are ingrained in the culture.
People in Malawi take time to respectfully greet each other every
time they pass. They treat indiscretions with great gentleness
and kindness. They are patient beyond belief. The country has
been peaceful since its independence 41 years ago. This is a tremendous
accomplishment on a continent full of war, turmoil, and even genocide.
When I think about our culture in America, I think of values
of personal independence, and self-sufficiency. I remember the
cliches of “make your own way in the world,” “take
care of your own,” “pull yourself up by your bootstraps,”
and “call a spade a spade.” Children are taught that
they must be somebody, make something of themselves, and be honest,
but don’t let anyone walk all over you. In my church I heard
other values—spiritual values—but in the culture as
a whole, my impression is different. I see money and power as
the overall values.
I have asked myself: Where do these values come from in both
cultures? In Malawi, I wonder how much the culture was influenced
by the early Scottish Presbyterian missionaries and after 100
years of teaching by the Presbyterian Church, which is the predominant
Protestant denomination in northern Malawi.
Where do our values come from in the United States? How much
influence does the church have on the way we raise our children?
When you contrast the two Bible stories about poor widows in
2 Kings 4: 1-7 and Luke 21: 1-4 with the parable of the rich young
ruler in Luke 18: 18-30, I think you see the dichotomy that we
Americans feel so strongly when we visit Embangweni. We see people
who have very little. It is frequent that we see people walking
by our house barefoot and wearing ragged clothing, which may be
all that they have.
In general bodies are very thin due lack of food together with
tremendous exercise. And here at the hospital, patients sometimes
come in with advanced conditions that you would never see anywhere
in the United States because they do not seek medical assistance
soon enough. These are people from the villages surrounding the
mission station or from remote areas. On the mission station itself,
you find people who are more affluent by Malawian standards. (Though
they wouldn’t be affluent by American standards.) We Americans
drive cars, wear nice clothes, have plenty to eat (and the missionaries
generally try to live more simply than they do in their home country).
This is the first third of the world versus the Two-Thirds World.
I think that as I began to establish relationships with individuals
and to experience with them some of their sufferings and their
joys, I began to see a very different view of my America. I felt
my values beginning to change.
Is nurturing relationships with kindness and gentleness more
important than earning a lot of money and having a nice house,
car, clothing, etc.? Is it more important to spend a lot of money
getting our children the latest toys promoted on TV than to teach
them about loving one another and to demonstrate for them the
“fruits of the spirit?” Do we give or do we receive?
Deep down within ourselves, which is more important?
These are a few of the many questions I have pondered. How can
Malawi become more like America and how can America become more
like Malawi? How can each contribute their best to the other?
There is so much to learn from the Two-Thirds World if we are
not too busy trying to teach them to be like us.
Then, there is the big question—are our Malawian friends,
colleagues, and neighbors happy? Are Americans happier? In Malawi
I do see great joy, laughter, dancing, and singing. Life is not
all misery. I don't want to give a wrong impression. But I doubt
that there are many here who even think about whether they are
happy.
So what does this all boil down to? I have indeed learned how
much I can get along without. There are things I considered necessities
like running water, electricity, heat, dishwashers, clothes washers,
vacuum cleaners, that I now know I can manage without. (But it
sure is nice to have them). For me, I think that loving and caring
for family, friends, and neighbors with joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
have taken a higher priority in my value system. This too, through
the love of Christ, is what makes me happy. And it is more difficult
to keep these values in sight in an affluent culture.
So what will happen when I return home? Surely I will be a different
person now. Will this really be a life-changing experience?
These are the ruminations of a novice missionary who is still
trying to put it all in perspective. We don’t spend all
of our time thinking like this. Mostly we are busy with work,
visitors and friends.
God Bless you all,
Beth and Bill
The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
337
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