Our last week in Malawi flew by, much like all our weeks there. After our trip to Zambia for safari, we completed three more three day camps with the student volunteers. Each camp seemed to be even better than the last as the volunteers blossomed into great teachers. As with so many things, we all really became proficient and comfortable just in time to leave and move on to the next chapter in our lives.
I struggled with illness our last week and a half, which was frustrating. I wanted to be out living wide open and fully. Instead I had to listen to my body and miss a few days of camp. My immune system was not use to communal living and I just couldn’t stay away from all those cute kids and their not-so-cute germs. I finally took some antibiotic and kicked the junk.
The last camp was such fun. I worked with the teachers one day and played with the “rug rats” the other days. We had a great time doing yoga in the field (see pictures in an earlier post.) Brett played a fierce game of soccer with the little ones and was totally “schooled” by a 10 year old boy in sandals. The boys decided to play shirts and skins. Brett was on the skins team and got quite the stares when the boys saw his white chest.
Our night guard, Vito (below with us), got sick with a GI issue and also had an external hernia from his belly button. Vito’s son came to ask for our help, so Brett was his escort to the clinic. Brett HATES belly buttons, so watching the doctor put Vito’s hernia back in was quite a show for Brett! Vito made a full recovery and was back to his cheerful, willing, helpful self.
John (with us below), the house manager, became a good friend to us both. When I looked in John’s eyes, I felt sure that he knows God in a way that most of us do not. Just looking into his eyes made me feel closer to God.
John lost his grandfather while we were in Malawi. His grandfather was in his 90’s – an amazing oddity considering the life expectancy in Malawi is 40 year. When we spoke and I was offering my condolences, John spoke with such conviction about the better life his grandfather would have in heaven. It struck me that religion and faith seems very necessary in this culture. They live such hard lives here on earth; they must have some hope of something after this in order to get through.
That made me consider religion and faith as more of a choice in our culture; that choice being a luxury of sorts because we live such good lives that the idea of heaven is not our sustaining promise of salvation.
I was reading on of our college volunteer’s blog. He wrote as a daily journal. This is part of his entry from that same day. None of us talked about this with each other, so I found it so interesting that he too was struck by John’s unwavering belief.
“January 9: Our house manager’s father recently past away so he left to pay his respects. But as he as leaving, he said that everything is alright because this life is nothing, and the life in heaven is everything to look forward to. I wonder if every Malawian has that attitude towards their life. it makes me feel guilty that sometimes my life is so good that I don't even look forward to heaven.”
I helped one of our translators, Humphreys write his college entrance essay. I felt it was an honor and I really enjoyed helping him with it. We had many long and interesting conversations during our trip. One day on the bus we had a discussion about the concept “ignorance is bliss.” It was early in the trip, and I was really struggling with this concept and wondering if the good we’re trying to do was worth the angst we might cause the villagers when they start the inevitable comparisons. Humphreys turned the question around on me. He asked if I thought I would be changed from what I was seeing in the villages. I said of course I would. He asked if I would feel frustrated and motivated to change and create change. I said of course I would. He said the exposure to diversity is much the same for both of us. He explained,
(paraphrasing…) “When we interact we’re both changed. We both see things that we never have before and are left with strong feelings of jealously, anger, injustice, frustration, guilt, hope, hopelessness. Our work is to come to terms with these feelings in order to have peace. This work is our growth. We are all better from that exposure and consequent growth.”
Ummm… wow. What a truly amazing human being. This was just one of many reminders that we had way more to learn than we had to teach.
Humphreys in his Highland Homes shirt from Brett.
I am so thankful that Brett and I went on this journey together. It has been wonderful to be able to remember people, places, and stories with each other, and to share in frustrations, joys, and sadness. It helps to know he feels it all too. Two of the volunteers on the trip made an incredible video of our trip and we have watched it often since our return. The first time we watched it was the 3rd day home. We both had tears in our eyes that the other could so easily understand. Love, love, love that man.
