Recently I returned safely from a three week trip to Malawi. The return journey involved a 43 hour trip with five plane flights. I spent four days in Blantyre in the south and the remainder of the three weeks in a Presbyterian mission in the north in Ekwendeni.

While in Ekwendeni, I was a guest in the home of Jim and Jodi McGill, two PC(USA) missionaries who have been in Malawi since 1990. Jodi is a clinical instructor in the School of Nursing at Ekwendeni, and Jim oversees all clean water projects for the Livingstonia Synod and Marion Medical Mission. [Read more about the McGills' work in Malawi.] It was a delight having dinner with them and their six adopted children — ages 18 months to about eight years of age.

Background on my assignment

About 30 percent of Malawi's population is Presbyterian, so the Presbyterian Church is a major provider of social services. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) sent me to help the Development Department, the disaster relief arm of the Livingstonia Synod, which covers the northern part of the country. Most of Malawi's 9 million residents are peasant farmers, hopefully growing enough maize and vegetables to feed themselves. They live in rural villages with a common well for water. Houses are often made from sun-baked bricks and have a dirt floor and corrugated tin roof.

The focus of the Development Department is to help rural Malawians become self-sustaining through improved agricultural programs and, when possible, using irrigation methods to overcome droughts. The Department also digs shallow wells and bore hole wells to provide drinking water.

Rainfall in Malawi has been reduced during the last five years. Even in a good year, certain "pockets" may not get enough rain at the right time to result in a satisfactory crop. Per the local newspaper and my discussions while there, 2006 will be a difficult year for some areas. While driving about 200 miles from Ekwendeni to the Lilongwe airport, we saw stunted and wilted maize fields in the central part of the country.

When droughts hit, the Development Department canvasses villages in the stricken areas and, with the help of village leaders, assists the most needy families with direct maize distribution. The Development Department, which is funded by about 25 donor organizations from Europe and North America, has a 2006 budget of $1,150,000 and employs 101 people.

Besides providing funds, at times the donor organizations like PDA may provide direct technical assistance in building capacity — helping the organizations develop their staffs with improved skills. That is where I come in — as a financial advisor and teacher. My job was to evaluate the Development Department's financial reporting systems and procedures which are all done manually with handwritten journals and ledgers, and to prepare them to install a computerized general ledger system. Only about 10 percent of Malawian businesses and organizations have a computerized general ledger.

In my 10 working days in Ekwendeni, I developed nine major recommendations to improve their financial operations, including the installation of the Quick Books general ledger system. I made a 2-hour presentation to the senior management of the Synod to compliment my 10 page report identifying the required implementation steps. Because they have never been exposed to many of the managerial techniques and concepts used in the U.S., they were vitally interested and asked many questions. They adoped eight of the nine recommendations and agreed to send PDA and me a monthly progress report. The computerized general ledger installation is scheduled for August.

What inspires me to go to these remote areas, endure substandard living conditions and take some health and personal safety risks is the feeling of appreciation of the people. I know that my "back room support" to the Development Department is integral to their receiving of funds, which in turn prevents starvation, improves health, reduces disease and sustains families.

In Matthew 25:35-40, we are called to feed the hungry, offer drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, take care of the sick, welcome strangers and visit the prisoners. I thank PDA for allowing me to share my talents in fulfilling this mission of the Gospel.