Another full heart :-)

This weekend I was blessed in so many ways. I was able to go out to do outreach in a village not once, but twice. I am brimming with joy and my heart is full after this weekend.

Saturday morning I was able to go out with the Chisomo Idea and help coach underprivileged boys and girls in soccer. We went out with the intentions of coaching just the girls team, but this being Malawi, plans changed a bit and we were able to interact with both the girls and the boys. The Chisomo Idea is an amazing organization that provides a soccer academy for the underprivileged. As I was looking around watching both the boys play soccer and the children standing on the sidelines watching, I realized something amazing was happening here. The Chisomo Idea was teaching the boys (and girls) not only how to play soccer, but to be role models. The boys were learning self-esteem and confidence. They were learning responsibility. It was so cool to watch the faces of the little ones not yet old enough to play. They were gleaming with the joy of the possibilities to come. They were itching to be old enough to put on a scrimmage jersey and take up with the team. It was amazing knowing all that comes with putting on that jersey. The boys were looking forward to something- they were looking forward to a better and brighter future. One that not only contains countless hours of practices and scrimmages, but responsibility, hopes, and dreams.

The girls were just as inspiring. One girl (who reminded me of myself when I played soccer all those years ago) showed up dolled up in a fancy dress. I thought for sure she was going to be one of the “typical girls” (at least the stereotypical American girl... which, might I add, is not so typical) who is scared to get dirty and break a nail. Boy was I wrong. She was all over the field, slide tackling her teammates, slamming her body into her opponents and the ground in a sacrifice to get the ball. She had spunk. It was amazing to watch these girls come alive on the field.

It's incredible how God works sometimes. I remember the last time I walked off the soccer field my senior year of high school very well. I cried like baby because I knew it would be the last time I played soccer. And so far, I have been right. But here I am, in Africa, showing kids love- God's love- through this amazing sport that dominated my life and heart for 13 years. I couldn't help but smile and laugh at how blessed I was (and am, because I hope to continue to work with the Chisomo Idea) to help out.

I was also able to go out to a village this morning, where I had the opportunity to go to a village (“local”) church. When I was leaving in June last year, I was upset with myself because I never made an to opportunity to go out to a village church. It was an amazing experience. The worship was extraordinary. There were not one- not two- but three choirs. Even though everything (except the sermon, which was given by one of the ABC professors) was in Chichewa, there was no translation needed for the worship. The intensity in which this church was worshiping God was awe-inspiring. You could feel His Spirit there with you. The church was not only packed with people, but full up of God's Spirit.

Today I learned what it means to really love those around you. Today I was shown how to be selfless. After Reverend Brown spoke, they informed us that they were going to give us a small gift. A procession line of women came to the front where we were standing and handed us gift after gift. We ended up getting a huge box of peanuts, bundles and bundles of onions, heaps of tomatoes, lots of peas, and a chicken- a live chicken. The average person in Malawi lives on less than a dollar a day-a lot of these people lived on less than a dollar a day. And they gave us more food than we knew what to do with. I have never been so selfless. I continue to be humbled beyond belief in Malawi. I wish I had the heart to be able to so selflessly give. I am learning so much from my neighbors here. They are showing me what it means to worship, what it means to be selfless, what it means to love your neighbor more than yourself. What it means to love God. It seems like the more I am here the more I am falling in love with this beautiful country and the beautiful people that live in it.

a picture of the gifts that they gave us (minus the skateboard)

First day out in a village- Mobile Medical Clinic

Today I went on the first mobile medical clinic of the year. Mobile medical clinics are clinics that are sponsored by the Ministry of Hope. The Ministry of Hope is also the organization that runs Crisis Nursery, which I have written about before. (Maria, the baby that I wrote a blog on last year was from the Crisis Nursery). Mobile Clinics go out almost weekly (when there are funds for them) during the dry season. Basically, a group of people travel out to a remote village and set up a make shift clinic. There is a nurse practitioner as well as a pharmacy. Everyday ailments common to the area- pneumonia, malaria, worms-ya know, the type of stuff we encounter all the time in the States- are able to be treated at these clinics. For anything more severe the patient must go to a more developed clinic/ hospital.

After we arrived and I got over the stares of hundreds of people for being the only white person there, we had introductions. During the introductions (which were in Chichewa, so I had no idea what was being said) I made a point to look around and see exactly who we were treating today. There were lots of babies/ children and grandmothers/ grandfathers. Now whether the parents of the children were out in the fields working, or dead from HIV/AIDS or other illnesses, I do not know. But it broke my heart to look out at the faces of these grandmothers and grandfathers who were having trouble walking themselves, toting around three, four, five children of all ages. What broke my heart more was the older children- maybe 10 years old- caring for their younger brothers and sisters. When I was ten years old I barely knew how to tie my shoe, let alone take care of another human being.

As I was looking around I started to notice their feet. Many did not have shoes, and those who were fortunate enough to have them, had shoes on that were nowhere near their size. I can't imagine what it must be like to have to wear a pair of shoes day in and day out that is two or three sizes too small or big. And to consider yourself lucky for having the blessing of something to put on your feet. As I was looking around, my eyes fell on this one old man. His feet were so tough they looked like stone and they were caked white with dirt and grime from walking for years and years without anything to protect them. I kept looking at his feet and reminding myself how very blessed I am.

Later, when I had the privilege of visiting the long drop, (a version of a toilet that makes an outhouse look luxurious) I was reminded of this old man again. As I entered the tiny room and saw that the floor was covered in excrement, my first thought was 'my poor shoes'. I didn't want to get them dirty and covered in human waste. Oh the audacity I have. I was worried about getting my SHOES dirty, while there were hundreds of people right outside that didn't have the privilege to get their shoes dirty. They had to step in they filth and grime barefoot. How dare me. If that poor old man had to use the long drop, he wouldn't have a choice but to step in everyone else's waste. He may have never had that choice.

How different our worlds are. Me, being American, has to get used to using a long drop. I have to get used to not having the luxuries of running water and toilet paper. There are people all around me that have no idea what that kind of luxury is like. The people I was around today were more concerned with the luxuries of basic medicine, of not having worms and parasites ravishing their bodies. The people I was around today knew that having shoes was a blessing. Oh how much I take for granted. Oh how much I have to learn when it comes to living without. When it comes to living simply. When it comes to understanding the blessings that I have.

Take a second and look around. Thank God for all that you have. Thank God for your electricity, for your running water, for the medicine you have in your bathroom, for the availability of healthcare (even if it is expensive at times-its available), for more than one torn and tattered outfit, for shoes. Thank God for all of this and more, because we are so blessed.