Thoughts from CBSD

CBSD (Cool Big Sister Doyle) here with some new pictures! The group continues to bond wonderfully, and every day a new nickname is born based on a new inside joke. Such is the way with teenagers, eh? Although Uncle Kevin has a nickname too, now, so I guess even the “adults” are not immune…

My group went on a village visit on Monday, and it was an incredible experience. We visited a grandmother and grandfather of some of the kids at the center – they care for the children because the mother and father are both dead. Their daily struggles are incredibly different from ours, centered mainly around whether they will have any food to eat and whether their house will be safe from rain. When asked what her greatest wish was, the grandmother said simply, “A house that does not leak and where we can be safe.” In the whole world, her greatest wish is something most of us in America take for granted every day.

Like most Malawians, however, she was joyful, warm, and welcoming in spite of her poor circumstances. By the time we left, she made it clear that we were now friends, and if/when we return to Malawi, we should be sure to visit her home again. The next day, on the bus ride to the center, we saw her walking along the road to her field, and I shouted (rather too loudly – I had to apologize to everyone around me on the bus), “IT’S MY FRIEND! FROM YESTERDAY! SHE’S MY FRIEND NOW!” I waved and she gave a big grin and waved back as I continued to shout nonsensically, “MY FRIEND! MY FRIEND!” I’m not sure the students knew what to do with such a joyfully loud CBSD.

At the center, we are all loving our time with the Malawian kids. Every day, connections are made and/or strengthened through board games, songs, jump ropes, and football (aka soccer). Oh, the football. So much football. Football for life. I think our boys have sweated out the equivalent of Lake Malawi trying to keep up with the Malawians in football. But they love it, so we just keep handing them more water to keep hydrated.

The Bible lessons during VBS have been going very well, and our students are growing through the experience of sharing their faith with others. My group has been particularly challenged in working with the older Malawian students. Where we expected to be working with 10- or 12-year-olds, we are now working with high-schoolers, some of whom are older than our own team members. Coupled with the language barrier, it has been difficult, but the TKA kids are champs and are diving in to the challenge.

Those of you friends and family of the TKA team here in Malawi, be prepared: Every member of this team will come back changed. You simply cannot see what we have seen and remain the same. Hopefully, you will see us appreciating more of our daily gifts from God, thinking more about the privileges with which we’ve been blessed, and asking more questions about how God wants to use us in his plans. Mostly, though, we’ll try to find more joy in life, because we see so much joy in the people here.

Pray for us here to always remain open to the leading of the Spirit, because we have a unique opportunity to do amazing things here in Africa. We pray that God will show us how we can best bring His kingdom here to earth (as it is in heaven), in both big and small ways. Pray that the team continues to grow as a community of believers and that relationships continue to grow between individual team members – hopefully any students who were previously “acquaintances” can return as “friends” instead. Pray for good health and a spirit of encouragement and hope, even in the face of extreme poverty. And pray for those who are feeling a bit homesick, that they would be able to focus on appreciating the time we have here, knowing that soon God will bring us back safely to our loved ones.

From all of us here in Malawi, zicomo gwambili (thank you very much), and Mulungu akali nanu (God go/be with you)!