An old saw claims that Eve said to Adam as they left the garden, “I think we are going through a time of transition.” Lots of transitions are taking place in Malawi. One is a seasonal change. We had another hour of rain shortly after noon yesterday – not just a gentle shower, but a real torrent like on a summer Florida afternoon. Heat is up; humidity is definitely up and evenings are absolutely balmy. The recent rains have washed most of the red-brown dust from the trees. Now in place of dust, folks have mud to contend with. The world here is taking another baby step toward green.
The glowing purple of the jacaranda trees is disappearing and the red blooms of the poinciana trees are showing their color. The avenues lined with purple are being replaced by tree canopies bursting with brilliant blooms.
During the year 2007 the Malawi United Methodist Church has seen a leadership change. In January, Bishop Nhiwatiwa appointed Rev. Daniel Mhone as the Mission Area Superintendent after slightly over six years under the direction of Rev. Max Jawati. Rev.Mhone is bringing a dynamic vision for the church that seems to be enthusiastically embraced by almost all of the circuits. In some places the change is quite dramatic.
As part of the superintendent’s vision, laity are expected to be much more involved in the decision making in local congregations. The traditional way to organize a church in Malawi is for the pastor to be the “chief” or “headman.” The pastor was expected to control the money and make all decisions. The United Methodist system of committees and committees and more committees that we poke fun at in the USA is a radical change for most of the people. But it is a freeing change. The superintendent has asked Herb to do many lessons on local church organization and Sue to present sessions on empowerment of women. The people rejoice in this new freedom to make decisions but it is such a major change that they wonder if it is real. Many of the pastors discover that they have more freedom when they can act as counselors, advisors, and leaders rather than as dictators.
The recent Women’s Conference signified a new direction. It was a first time event. In a culture that is very male dominated, the women are daring to say that they have visions too. They wish to continue showing respect for men but they also are asserting that men are to respect women. Change is taking place in the culture and in the church. We met a young woman at one of the churches who is in her last year of secondary school (Form 4). She announced to us that she was going to be a lawyer and intended to be the first woman president of Malawi. Go girl!
Sue spent about two hours with the United Methodist Women of Madisi today talking about Christian home life. Husbands and wives have big tensions about money in Malawi. It isn’t just a problem in the USA. Money problems here take a somewhat different form but the issue of control is at the root of the conflict. While a new way of mutuality is developing and embraced by many, it is not without its challenges.
Times of change are also times of contrast. There are the beautiful flowering trees but much of the landscape is still brown. We see attractive modern homes but most of the people live in mud houses with thatched roofs that look like they will not keep out the rain. We visit villages that have no telephone service of any kind yet it seems like cell phones are at the ears of everyone in town. We can travel long distances on rural roads without seeing cars but experience rush hour crawl in downtown Lilongwe. These contrasts are signs of change coming to Malawi.
Thursday is another transition for us in our time here. Charlie flies out at 1:35 on his way back home to Virginia. It has been delightful for us to have him with us during these past two weeks. We think that in addition to his fascinating stories of safari he will have tales of travel down bumpy roads, dodging oxcarts, the joyful singing and the shouts of excitement when the soccer balls appeared.
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