A Letter from Doreen

Doreen is a young girl. A sweet, kind, and inquisitive girl. She is Malawian, and she is from the southern city called Blantyre. Blantyre in my opinion is beautiful, and hilly, and full of color, vibrancy and a business city, too.

Doreen and I first met, back in April 2012, when I spent some time working at Rays of Hope. I was in BT just under two months, and did not know Doreen had grown so close to me. The day I declared it was my last day, she drew pictures for me, and joined some of the others when writing me notes. She wrote me a note, that I still have today, that says “I love you more than a cup of tea!” When I read this, I sighed, because I know Malawians LOOOOVE their tea, but then I learned that is a well known phrase in Malawi, for expressing love, I knew how sincere her note truly was. I melted knowing this, and her tears, made me cry… we hugged once more, and I drove off..

She has since been in my memories and prayers, and in my stories, for when I talk about the kids who do not have, but use all resources to set goals and hope to accomplish them too.
She wants to be a nurse. She wants to heal the sick. She comes from a poor family, and luckily has the opportunity to attend Rays of Hope Ministries.
Willie Mpasuka & John Zekeyo, loyal leaders in the community, both here and there. Mpasuka working on a Masters, at Eastern University, with the hope of bringing back more knowledge to further the work that Zekeyo is working on the ground in BT, now. They are literally providing hope and opportunity to the youth, young adults and the community at large. They are making academics a priority and leading like Christ, through their Christian leadership.
Since being back in Malawi, this past July, Holly and Ally were able to meet Doreen. We sang songs in the pitch dark night, as the power had gone out. She was in John’s house, able to see what education can do for ones life. Dinner was being prepared, as we hugged and share quality time, catching up.  Praise God, she was doing well, but studying A LOT! She was to sit for the 8th grade exam, which is a cumulative exam covering not just many subjects but many years of learning…
Pass this exam with high marks, get selected to secondary school.
Fail this exam, repeat 8th grade and try again next year.
The youth all across Malawi are under immense pressure, and to fail, its un-motivating, and trying.

Shown below is a letter from Doreen, as she shares an update about having to sit for the upcoming exam…
Doreen Gausi for Molly

….Today I received this email from my friend John, telling me 20 students out of 22 passed the national exam, and got selected into secondary schools!!

Thank you God for this amazing news! Thank you John and Willie for living and breathing for this city, and its children, its future.
Doreen is one of the 20 who made it!! 🙂

Amazing!

HiGhLiGhTs!!

With 20 days remaining with no particular order, my top highlights from my journey here in Malawi: 

• Hearing P-square(look them up) from my bed, in my net, down the hall from Tinashe Saka’s room
• Laughing everyday!! Seriously, I think I’m a happier person, since I laugh everyday, thanks to friends, like Tinashe, Za, Movuti, Willie, John, Arthur, Isaac, Mwai, Malason, Mike, Maclean, Michael, Sarah, Rike, Clara and my kids
• Walking or riding a bike to get around! Also, the custom of using Minibuses!
• Speaking confidently in another language and getting respect for it.
• Eating amazingly tasting dinners especially when the power has gone out
• The Sunsets here in the Warm Heart Of Africa
• Teaching English, at the same time as discovering a HUGE passion of mine!
• Visiting families and villages to our youth. Today, we came with openness, and left with sugarcane, sweet potatoes, and groundnuts.
• Learning the fruits of the spirit, through the lives of the humble hearted people here.
• Being bolder than ever before! Making new friends with fellow volunteers!
• Dancing with “Uncle Bruce” and the Rise Malawi staff!! (video to share)
• Spontaneously meeting the German Ambassadors Family, and spending time at the house with his family, all on his birthday! Bonus, meeting Emma, the coolest 7 year old; daughter to the American Ambassador.
• Lake Malawi, what a sight!
• Interacting with monkeys without a cage!
• With slower paced life, I have been able to really rediscover myself,
• A birthday party in the dark, with all my favorite foods cooked with love over charcoal stove inside, due to the intense rain; not to mention the bike taxi’s that got us to the destination without us falling in puddles and a birthday surprise that can not just change my life, but almost 100!
• Growing deeper with God as well as friends
• Experiencing a major political change, due to the death of a president. Now the 1st woman president; my first experience with such kind of event.
• Learning to appreciate the finer things in life

City Girl Goes Back to the Village; With another Poem in her Pocket

Yesterday, I left Blantyre. It was a bittersweet day, but I wanted to keep my promise to my kids in Madisi, and to my staff at Rise Malawi Ministries.
One of my new friends, Gilbert, who lives in Blantyre offered to drive me to Lilongwe, then from there, I caught a bigbus to Madisi.
Think of it as a little roadtrip, with friends and laughter, a fun truck stop for drinks, and then stories as we drove into the dark of night.
As we were driving, sadly I did not have my pen and paper…but in my head I came up with some ideas as I saw the sun setting.
Today, I came up with this poem inspired by what was seen….

Close your eyes
count to ten
The Sun has Gone to Hide
as we drive
the scenes have changed
The Sun has Gone to Hide
glimpses of light
pop out of the clouds
The Sun has Gone to Hide
time elapses
light gets dimmer
The Sun has Gone to Hide
Open your eyes
say “ready or not”
try to seek…
The Sun has Gone to Hide
_________________________

Happy to be back in the village, I hope to continue exploring my creative side. I pray you all find your creativity inside you too!
ziiiiiikoooomoo!!

100 Sunsets, and they are all so unique

Can you imagine 99 more prettier than this?!

Art Explosion!!!

My first abstract piece.
Turn it side to side, & it can be whatever you see!

Art Explosion!!!

The birth of my creativity!

Top 10

I began this post on Thursday by trying to recap in words how incredible my visit to Kondanani Orphanage was….and then, as my week went on, I decided to help you picture yourself here with me in the midst of all good things happening here. Please comment!!

1. Kondanani Orphanage visit: Met amazing children, staff and got to explore a safe place where orphans can experience life. Got to talk to the founders about my experiences with adoption and stories about adoption.
2. Spontaneous invitation to homecell prayer group with neighbors: Literally some girls said, “Come pray with us!” It was a great evening to enter into someone’s home and pray for the community, and our families.
3. Anges: She is a 13 year old, in 11th grade, writing her graduation exams this june. Her birthday was today! Last night, I joined her 2 brothers, (both rays of hope students) and her at her house for dinner. In the power out, we sang songs of praise to God, with light just from one flame. After 30 minutes or so, the lights lit up the house, and we broke bread together. Friday, the following day, I took Agnes out for bday cake! Now, 14, she inspires me, and I am so thankful that she has “befriended” me.
4. Making connections at a new church: A pentacostal church in town is where many expat and malawians and foriegners meet to worship together in English. Might be a glimpse of Heaven. People from Canada, Pittsburg/Messiah College (she knows some of my best friends) Asia, Congo, Sweeden, Malawi and beyond.
5. Students are impacted by my English classes: I’ve taken over teaching English for one of our camp leaders. Whenever I get the chance, I try to create creative ways of learning English. Also, I’ve hosted 2 English lessons for those who were interested in learning more! Both sessions, 10-12 kids came out and got special attention for 2+ hours! This has been encouraging to me, insightful and allowed me to become more creative! God is truly molding me. (I am interested in Teaching English…professionally! Comment if you know how its possible)
6. One of the guys from Rays of Hope Futbol team, accepted Christ! 😀 He is considered a youth, but possibly in his 20’s or late 20’s. He told Willie that he has accepted Christ into his life and even wants to share this amoung the team. This is actually the mission of the team.
7. Being Active: I’ve been a part of a ZUMBA class! My sister is always encouraging my family to be active; and my dad is always saying, “Take care of your body now, so your not aching later…” Through Zumba, walking around town, and even a bit of hiking I am learning to enjoy a healthy body. Not to mention, I attended a Salsa dance night here in Malawi taught by a scottish girl. Yes, she really knew what she was doing!
8. Finding love: God is Love, and I am learning He is my provider, and my shield. Reading the Bible is a bit easier these days, and living out the life Christ has laid before us, helps me stay focused on what life is really about. (Not to mention Iv had some really powerful conversations with friends this week about how God is moving in their life! Please tell me your stories, too!)
9. Art: Throughout the past few weeks, I can only attribute it to God that I’ve enjoyed painting with watercolors, drawing with pencil, and allowed my attraction to abstract art, to allow me to try my own. I’ve painted graffiti and during a prayer time — God gave me this beautiful picture. 😀
10. Lengwe National Park trip: Yay!! 120+ students, staff and the Rays of Hope futbol team, all packed lunches and boarded a charter bus. Singing songs, and chants, happy children they were, we were off! The futbol team had a game, and we took the youth to see this National Park! I got to play with monkeys! The kids seem to have a good time, but more trips would be way useful for them. 🙂 It was a beautiful place & forever these memories will be with us!

The Power of Prayer

We gathered
we were open
Purified our hearts and
led by the spirit.
Time might say we are strangers
but, I’ll say we are exactly like what we were praying for; family.
Obeying the command of God to pray for the lost
We committed to one another, for the sake of our kin
we come from close-knit families to broken
homes…
I prayed for those who wait for the day, they can “kill the fattened calf”(Luke 15:23) for that ‘lost to the world’ sibling; lost and stumbling– return them
home
Lord, show them the Way. Let us celebrate! For when the lost have returned
Home.
God spoke to us, with knowledge from Isaiah,
let us do as it is written, (Isaiah 58:6)”I will tell you the kind of day I want–a day to set people free.
I want a day that you take burdens off others. (Isaiah 58:7) I want you to share your food with the hungry. I want you to find the poor who don’t have
Homes
and bring them into your own
Homes.
Dont hide from your relatives when they need help.”

Oh how I feel loved, encouraged and honored to be
“home”
with this family.
I pray this day will help me reconnect, love and add to a
Home
of such Foundation

I hope I never forget this day, the Power, the reality of all this life is.

One Hundred Sunsets and a Sunrise

I’ve seen a hundred sunsets & not even one sunrise
yet the sunsets here make me want to close my eyes and picture them for eternity.
I’ve seen a hundred sunsets & not even one sunrise
This concept surprises me, wondering why I’m suddenly so drawn to nature’s beauty…
I’ve seen a hundred sunsets & not even one sunrise
Onlookers think I’m delirious when they see the gaze in my eyes
I’ve seen a hundred sunsets & not even one sunrise
Wishing all the time I had dyes to put to paper to show you the creations from above
I’ve seen a hundred sunsets & not even one sunrise
The mingling of night saying goodbye expressed in shades of reds, orange, pinks, and blues…
I’ve seen a hundred sunsets & not even one sunrise
But I sigh, will I give myself the chance to see that one, sunrise…

The body, not a building…

What is the Church?
And is it a “make-you-or-break-you” life decision to attend?
Is church a building with pretty stained glass windows, or a choir of believers Praising the God who created them?

Before I left for this journey to Malawi, I sometimes “dumbed down” the gospel, hid my light under a bushel…
But now, the prayers of my supporters are coming to fruition in my life. I asked for people to pray Id be BOLD for Christ, and
BOLD in general. Jesus was Bold when He performed Miracles, and we can also be BOLD when we trust in Him.

I found myself walking…. where was I going, I don’t even remember, but 3 guys, (about my age) were passing me. I greet them in their native tongue and
surprised they laugh and say, “You know chichewa?!” Just a little caught off guard, they replied and there we stood for the next 25 minutes becoming
acquainted with one another. In those 25ish minutes, I was able to learn quite a bit.
Mike,
Michael
and
Maclean.
They love God, they believe in Him, and know Jesus, however none of the worship services they’ve attended taught them something new, or challenged them to know God
Deeper.
…..
It was one of those situations where I did not fully understand why we crossed paths, but THANKS BE TO GOD, I am so happy it did.
They are my friends now, we meet for nightly chats about
life,
education,
music (michael is obsessed with the rock music on my IPOD)
tv, cartoons,
art,
nature,
photography,
food (mostly bc I bring it up),
politics,
and
Faith.
I am continually challenged by my purpose in life, and how I represent myself and Christ to the world around me. One of my goals set out for my journey here was to be
BOLD for Christ.
Not
only for me, but for the sake of Christ, and for the sake of the lost. And it is also not for me to brag or boast about, but for me to be a challenged, humble and kind servant for
Christ, and others.

Many Christians are proud, and do boast, for they act as if sharing Christ is a thing to tick off of their “to-do list.”
However, the Jesus I know and the Jesus that is real in my life —
lived
LOVE.
Love is not just something to say, or a feeling, but its an action, rather a lifestyle.

In the states, my home community of believers live on the word that CHURCH is not a building, but a body of believers.
Jesus says in Matthew chapter 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.”…That is the Church.
So that day, I met Mike, Michael and Maclean, and got to understand their faith, we confirmed we are the body. We are the church.

Only if we Christians prayed continuously, repent for the hate we have for others and emulate Christ, can we house the homeless with a place to call home, spiritually.
Practically speaking, let us commit to prayer, love, and
living like Christ for this
might be the only way to reveal Christ to people who are searching. (or the
only way to reopen their hearts to really search for a place to grow deeper in their faith.)

I am thankful to the people in my life who encourage me to grow in my walk with God; learn more about the Word, rely on Scripture, love the poor as a lifestyle,
and
be the hands and feet of Christ.
Pastors,
Friends, old and new,
Activists,
Sisters,
Fellow Travelers,
Roommates, former and present,
Enemies,
Cell group friends
and
Children.