Planting Malawi August 2009

August 2009

Planting Malawi EMMANUEL INTERNATIONAL MALAWI INTERNATIONAL MALAWI

PRAYER & PRAISE: • Praise for a year of ministry in Malawi. God has generously provided for us in health and finances. We are thankful for our strong team of faithful supporters.

• Andre’s parents are visiting us so we’re looking forward to our time together (29/0816/09). Praise for Dad’s amazing recovery.

• It’s the month of Ramadan. We work in primarily Muslim areas and we also have a guard who is Muslim. Pray for effective witness for Christ.

• The girls go back to school in September.

Isaiah 61.3

an update from the VanWoerdens in Malawi

A Year in Malawi [looking back on our experience] It’s hard to believe that we’ve been in Malawi for a year but we first touched down on Malawian soil a year ago on August 20. We still remember vividly coming in for our landing that day and having that sinking feeling, wondering, What have we gotten ourselves into?! Now looking back, we’ve experienced a lot of things here in Malawi, most of which we couldn’t have even imagined. From stories of poverty to the sound of laughter and dancing and singing to enjoying the best of Malawian cuisine in a rural village, life in Malawi is difficult to

imagine, really. We’ve been ambulances, food processing, part of irrigation projects and and village savings and loans. planting drought tolerant Emmanuel International is docrops; we’ve mobilized vil- ing a lot of great work here lages to repair a dike and and we’re privileged to be a prevent flooding, we’ve wel- part of Jesus’ mission of transcomed international teams to forming lives. give a rural school a make[see A Year, p. 2] over; we have built shallow wells to supply safe drinking water and “Suppose you see a brother or sister handed out mosquito who needs food or clothing, and nets to provide protection against ma- you say, “Well, good-bye and God laria, and a host of bless you; stay warm and eat other activities, like well”—but then you don’t give that food distributions, person any food or clothing. What tree planting, beekeeping, bicycle good does that do?” James 2.15-16

Felista’s New Wheels [a transformation story]

People in Malawi are very dependent on maize and nsima as a staple food. Food utilization training (above) is about using alternative foods and improving nutrition. Photo album online (53 photos).

Last year when we were fixing the dike at Namasalima, I saw a young girl in the village walking on her knees because her feet were deformed. I didn’t see her again until we were renovating the school in the same area last April. She had a red wheelchair that sat out sid e her c lass room (classroom: brick building devoid of desks or teaching materials except a blackboard). Everyone else sits on the floor so she does too. Besides, with about 350 students in her class there wouldn’t be room for her wheelchair anyway.

We discovered that the front wheels of her wheelchair were broken so the chair had to be tipped back on its back wheels so she could be pushed to and from school by a friend, 3km on a rough dirt road. I guess a wheelchair can’t be expected to last very long when it’s only used “off-road,” in dirt and mud all the time. Her name is Felista. She is 13 years old and has 3

younger siblings. Around home she walks on her knees but to go anywhere she’s not only dependent on her wheelchair, but also someone pushing her. [see Felista, p. 2]

Felista’s old wheelchair at her family home

P L ANT IN G M AL AWI August 2009

Felista’s Tricycle But thanks to a generous friend from Rotary Canada who has remembered Felista, she now has a new set of wheels. Earlier this month I took a health care professional from Malawi Against Polio to assess and measure her for a new tricycle, which we gave her one week later. With a big grin on her face, Felista peddled around her village. She sent kids scattering everywhere as she focused on mastering the technique and not really watching where she was going. I’m sure that next time I go back to Namasalima, I’ll meet her on the road somewhere, off to visit some friends, enjoying her independence. She will even be

able to help out with the family chores, fetching water at the well or taking maize to the mill for dinner. Felista’s life has been transformed. And even though I only played a small part, I was blessed to be part of witnessing her story.

A Year in Malawi Life for us here has also been, shall we say, an interesting experience. Admittedly, Zomba is probably the nicest place to live in Malawi, but we have learned to live with a lot less stuff. The city has progressed beyond mere survival but we’re a long way from a culture of convenience. Electri-

Felista’s tricycle cal outages often leave us in the dark, the bakery doesn’t always have bread, and you can’t count on getting money out of the bank machine. We do have vendors selling wooden carvings at our door, but there are only so many carvings you can buy, especially when they’re all the same. Eager vendors quickly become more of an inconvenience when they insist you need more carvings and “looking is free.” But inconveniences aside, we still have so much more than most people around us. Our white skin attracts strawberry vendors and beggars wherever we go. We’re asked for money several times a day and children call out, “Give me my money.” But you can only help so many people. Before we came to Malawi, we

were told this would probably be the hardest part – surrounded by poverty, or rather poverty-stricken people, and not being able to assist them all. “Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing,” Jesus’ brother said, “and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?” (James 2.15-16). Sometimes it feels like we’re being targeted for a daily test of our faith. We wish we could do more because the need is so great. But we do what little we can to be Jesus’ hands and feet. And the best place to minister is at home with the people that work for us and we have the opportunity to build relationships with. The need here is great, but Jesus compared the Kingdom of God with a little yeast, a mustard seed, and a cup of cold water. So we do what we can with the resources and opportunities God gives us.

Thank you for your prayers and support through the past year!! Andre & Alexandra VanWoerden [Lara, Talia, Ezera] Private Bag 12 Zomba Malawi 265.888.169.380 (Andre) or 265.888.169.382 (Alex) [email protected] vw-mw.blogspot.com

Emmanuel International Canada PO Box 4050 Stouffville ON L4A 8B6 905.640.2111 [email protected] www.eicanada.org