David was commended from Scrabo Hall, Newtownards, Northern Ireland, in August 2009 to serve in Malawi for a year.
I first went to Malawi with a friend for a three-week holiday in 2007, staying with mission workers John and Priscilla Finegan. This visit opened my eyes to a part of the world that I had never before seen or experienced, leaving a deep impression on me.
From the day I returned to Northern Ireland I hoped that it would be possible for me to return to Malawi for a longer period to serve the Lord. Eventually the door opened for me to go and I took the opportunity. At the time of writing, I am a third of the way through the year. Time has gone by so quickly.
John and Priscilla, with whom I am staying, run a Bible Correspondence School, using Emmaus Bible courses. Before I came I wondered how much of a help I could really be and what there would be for me to do. Ever since I arrived, the limiting factor has not been the amount of work there is for me to do, but my ability to keep at it! It’s 30ºC in the coolest part of the house and there is no fan yet again - another power cut!
There is so much office work to be done, whether marking a bundle of courses, entering results onto the database, scanning paper-based courses to be converted to electronic form, or collating and stapling booklets. There has never been a time when I’ve had nothing to do.
However, I haven’t spent all my time in an office - far from it! Every day I have opportunities to meet with different people, sometimes in their homes and sometimes around town. At any time I have opportunities to experience the work in which other missionaries are involved. This could be attending a Bible study or outreach in a village area.
Every week a local believer and I have a meeting for street children. This work is very challenging and it takes me right out of my comfort zone. However, it is eye-opening to see these children, who have so little, full of life and enthusiasm. It’s a privilege to be able to spend time with them and to help in whatever way I can.
I find Malawi a fascinating place to live. When I’m out and about, my surroundings intrigue me. Because not many people own motor vehicles in Malawi, roadsides are always very busy with a constant flow of pedestrians. People who live here have no reservations when it comes to talking to others - everybody talks to everyone! This is a great help to foreigners. It’s difficult to feel lonely when everyone is so friendly.
This does not mean that I never feel homesick. Some may be put off taking a year out to do short-term work for fear of being overcome with feelings of homesickness. Of course, this depends on individual personalities, but all I can say is that the rich experiences far outweigh these fears!
Yesterday, I accompanied a Christian friend to his uncle’s funeral. Although the man who died was my friend’s uncle, to my friend he was his ‘dad’. The situation with a lot of families in Malawi is that instead of children being brought up by their birth parents, they are adopted by other relatives who take on the role of parent. We set off by minibus at 6 am and arrived an hour and a half later at the funeral location.
We reached the house and joined the other men outside. Family members came over to my friend, asking him to enter the room to see his uncle’s body for the last time. He returned upset. His uncle had died of tuberculosis and his body was unrecognisable, his head having swollen considerably. He explained to me that he had never been to a funeral of a family member before and was unsure of how to behave and what he was supposed to do.
The rest of the morning was spent outside, silently sitting on the ground. Occasionally, women weeping hysterically would enter the room where the body lay. It was so different from funerals I have attended in the past, where many people hold in their emotions. Gradually, more people arrived until there must have been at least 300 present.
The service began at midday, two hours late, and lasted for an hour. Most of my friend’s family are Roman Catholic and the service was conducted by a Roman Catholic priest. Thereafter, lorries transported everyone to the village where the body was to be buried. The reported half-hour journey ended up taking three times as long.
Arriving at the village so late in the afternoon, I turned straight round to go home again. We avoid travelling at night as roads are dangerous. I went back to town by bicycle taxi and then took a minibus to Zomba. The journey took three hours and I was extremely relieved to be home!
This is a typical experience in Malawi and provides an insight into what life is like here. I hope you may be encouraged to consider short-term work. This year for me is a rewarding experience and most of all it is a privilege to spend this time serving the Lord in Malawi.
I know that you may be interested in praying for me, but it is so important that you pray for Malawi as a country. The need here is massive and there are many problems. While Malawi has attracted much mission interest from all over the world, there are very few mission workers with a heart to preach the gospel. There are vast opportunities for outreach within the areas of health and education.