a year and a half ago today i sat stunned. there were a number of explanations for my silence. it could have been the 4 hour church service throughout the heat of the day... it might have been my astonishment at seeing 60 or 70 africans raise the roof (well..not so much of a roof as a tarpaulain) in praise to God, their provider... it could have been the sound they made... the melodies, harmonies and rhythm, rich in spirit... it was possibly the church collection, where the equivalent of 13 pence was gathered... 13 pence being enough to sustain life for a short while in this desperate place... or was it the village goat that was slaughtered for our consumption, complete with vegetables and maize.. the way we were undeservedly treated like kings? maybe it was the beauty of our new friends and their ability to see GOD    without the distractions of materialism, consumerism and self.  a year later i’m stunned into silence again. life goes on in ‘hope village’, chikwawa. praises resound in the church building where real hope is celebrated. the joyfulness of our malawian friends, amidst suffering and hardship can never cease to amaze me.

God whispers,

“having nothing yet possessing everything”

into my ear.

in the last year, Malawi has suffered from chronic food shortages and drought. in reality this means that our friends in malawi would go for days without food and resort to boiling roots and leaves to try and sustain themselves. these food shortages have a dramatic effect on the health of both young and old. chances of recovering from minor illnesses when food is scarce is slight.



now, 18 months on, Christmas is approaching and i remember my friend Ruth (above) amidst the excess of our festivities is the desperation of hers..and in the desperation of our poverty are her riches.