Living Water

John 4:14
"But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

It has been another beautiful week in Malawi. I can’t believe it has been over two months since I stepped off the plane. What an incredible journey God has taken me on so far! I cannot imagine what my life would look like if I had never taken the leap of faith and traveled here, to Malawi.

Each time I sit down to write a blog post, I have a difficult time figuring out how to express all that I am experiencing here. The simplicity and focus of my life is just so foreign from the American culture. Joy is found in successfully baking a cake, watching the brilliant red sunsets, or just driving the unfamiliar roads of Africa. One of these drives was to the Children of the Nations orphan home.

 I love that I can travel ten minutes down the road and hang out with orphans for an afternoon. The set-up of this particular ministry is like a foster home- housing about twenty orphan kids from ages 1-17. They live with two “parents” and several “aunties” who care for them. So far, I have just had the opportunity to play games and sit with them. But building those little connections is still meaningful. By the end of my second time there, the kids were already calling me “Auntie Dani”. From what I can tell, they have many people and teams come to see them, but just as one-time guests. I am excited to be a consistent part of their lives and not just another visitor. Building relationships may be difficult, but I think it will be so worthwhile. This past week my visit was a bit different than the usual (Not that any week there has been usual). In addition to the orphans from Children of the Nations, there were also about forty or so village children present. They were all seated on the dirty, concrete floor listening to a Bible lesson. Since I had jumped in the week before and taught some hand motions for the Ten Commandments, I was put on the spot again. If I’ve learned anything in the profession of teaching and just in being in Malawi, it’s that you have to embrace the uncomfortable.

 

The next portion of the day is what rocked my view of the world slightly off kilter. We were asked to help hand out old clothes and shoes to the village kids. You would think that this would bring immense joy, which it did... at first. But quickly, the scene turned into pandemonium. There was just not enough to give. Girls were ripping dresses from my hands; boys were kneeling at my feet begging for broken pairs of sneakers. What struck me in that moment was that not only did we not have enough to give, we would never have enough to fill their needs. No matter how many dresses were lovingly sent from America, there would never be enough to satisfy.

 

This seems like a horribly depressing thought process-and yes, there was an intense ache inside my heart accompanying this realization. But my main concern was- what can I leave them that is lasting? Sharing Christ and His love with them is ultimately what is important. If I give them a sip of my water bottle, I quench their thirst for a minute. Yet if I can help them come and drink from the fountain of living water, that never runs out, they will never be empty again. I don’t think I’ll ever be okay with the fact that the children here go without food, clean water, shoes, and other basic necessities. Furthermore, I hope to continue to do all I can to satiate those needs. However, there is only so much I can do. The rest has to be surrendered to God’s loving care. He is truly the only one who will ever be able to rescue them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All that to say, God is continuing to change my heart and open my eyes to the reality of life in Africa. The longer I’m here the more I recognize how ignorant, sheltered, and coddled I have been. I think I understand less than ever before. Even so, there is one thing that I do know: there is no where else I’d rather be than in Malawi.