Unleashing Questions in the Warm Heart of Africa: Malawi.
Have you ever heard that it’s OK to have questions? Were you ever given permission to ask ‘why?’ Well, that was the main skill passed on in the training in Malawi recently, where Colin taught in team with Gareth and Leon. Gareth and Leon were given full permission to break in at any time, and pray with people or bring something prophetic if they sensed God was up to something in that moment. It is so much more effective working in a team, and also way more fun.
“I spend most of my time asking questions during training, which can make people uncomfortable”, says Colin, “and a lot of the pastors have no concept that this is OK, or even useful. They are worried that having questions means they are doubting God or calling Him unfaithful. We explored the topic of what the bible actually is, and tried to get clarity on how to apply it in their context. Sometimes the people I meet tend to use the bible as a book of rules, or a book of promises. Both of these definitions can be problematic - how do you know which rules apply to you now, in 21st century Malawi? How do the promises work when life doesn’t go as expected?”
Despite being worked so hard, and having their brains messed with, the Malawians gave Mobilise Global a really warm welcome. They say Malawi is “the warm heart of Africa”, and Gareth had been working for a while with some of the people already, so trust was already built. Colin had served several of them in online training already too. “There were 6 or 7 who I’d trained online, but I’d realised how much they had missed. For people who don’t speak English well, it’s a poor substitute for being there in person. Face to face you can tell what’s going in and what isn’t. I could re-phrase things or take more time to explain again … and I could see lights going on so that was really exciting. When people share their new realisations and it’s clear there’s some new understanding, I love it! That’s my rush! When I see it take root, and they start to get excited about Jesus and even understand the gospel itself in a fresh way, it’s the best feeling. Usually they immediately talk about sharing it with other congregations and networks of pastors.”
Our hosts were Suzan and Hastings, who lead a ministry called “Shine”, which reaches out to local villages mostly inhabited by muslims. “Shine” is amazing - feeding, educating, taking in orphans and vulnerable girls, and helping start businesses. The MoGlo team stayed in their house, ate Suzan’s goat curry and used their centre for the training. Watch out on social media because we will introduce you to Suzan soon! They receive a lot of funding from our friends “Jubilee Church”, a Regions Beyond church in Hull.
“Shine” have a real heart to take the training out - they have 50 or 60 pastors that they’re supporting in the wider regions, which you can only access by motorbike or bicycle. It was amazing to see their dedication to serve these pastors in places that might be considered ‘the forgotten corners’ that nobody would really visit. One of the churches only has one bible. The pastor himself doesn’t even have a bible! One guy drove from Mzuzu, 14 hours away, where he works with 20 churches himself, and is connected to a number of other churches in different networks.
We also had a little gang who work with the Yao people - a muslim group living in the southern end of Lake Malawi. They are doing such an amazing job with 90 bible study groups across the region. One guy we met was leading all that and another one of his leaders, Lyson, is currently working on translating the bible into their language, working 8 hours a day. Needless to say, Colin had a fantastic translator on this trip! Lyson is a man of huge influence so he was so grateful for the help in understanding the big story of the bible, and how it all works together.
So our trip had a great sense of momentum. Colin could plug straight in to what was already happening and shape it. Most of the students didn’t have any materials that they’re working through or any ongoing structure to their training, so we left them with 2 booklets each which will keep them going for months, and certificates for completing of the course. Colin also left his phone number as they want to start a WhatsApp group to share testimonies between themselves and keep each other updated and inspired. “Once you teach something, you start to really learn it”, says Colin, “and then you realise that there’s so much more to know. I expect them to come back and ask many, many more questions. That’s great because, as you know, I do love a good question!”
.