Flood relief.

Here's a post I started almost two weeks ago. The weekend referred to as "this weekend" is 31st January to 2nd February. Sorry for the delay; thank you for grace.

In mid-January, the southern part of Malawi flooded to the point of devastation. Homes crumbled, maize fields vanished, and nearly 200 people died. Tens of thousands were displaced--the numbers of different reports conflict, but considering the number of people living in this tiny country, and the utter destruction wreaked by the flood waters, it is certain that an overwhelming number of people lost most or all of their material possessions in a matter of hours.

That happened more than three weeks ago.

Those people are still homeless and desperate.

This weekend a team from the academy here headed on down to hand out donations of maize and supplies. I joined four of my students and ten ABC staff members on a very intense weekend. We stayed at the foot of Mt. Mulange--that most beautiful and glorious of mountains, which I visited almost four months ago--and drove over miles and miles of well-pitted dirt roads to get as close as we could to the flood zone. Our accommodations were sweet, comfortable chalets, with a dazzling view of a mountain outside the window.

The mountain region truly is grand. This road was so very pot-holed, our heads made frequent contact with the ceiling, but the way the fog rolled down the rocky slope, meshing with high waterfalls, was enough to make the heart sing. 

 To be clear--and ethical--the people in the picture below were not flood victims. I just liked the kid's shirt in contrast with the lady's lovely chitenge.

 At one point, one of the vehicles was stuck in the mud. (This is an understatement. We were constantly concerned for the success of our vehicles, with numerous confirmations that our concerns were valid.) Anyway, at this particular point, a sizable crowd contributed to the effort to push it free.

We worked out of a school used as a site to help the victims of the floods, and we set up shop in one of the classrooms. Hand-drawn posters of the parts of the flower hung beside hand-drawn maps of Africa, decorating the simple walls that surrounded us. We set out hundreds of buckets--something like 460--and filled them with soap, dishes, Bibles, blankets, pots, and mosquito nets. Then people--numbering more than 460--lined up in order of village to receive the gift.

One mother carried in a chubby-cheeked baby named Fanny, and received a small blanket with baby cereal, a Bible, and a cup. A cup. A cup like the proverbial boy who wanted to slowly drain the ocean dry. One plastic cup. I'm pretty sure all of us felt a little like that boy--persistent in performing our task, but honestly, when we took a step back, we can't help but see it's still just one plastic cup for one little baby and her mom, one little baby of thousands that are now destitute.

 On Monday morning, some of our team members hiked a small portion of Mulange. The views were indescribably beautiful, from the sun streaming over the cliff to the rainy-season-blessed waterfall, to the tiny flowers along the trail.

 I know this picture is horrible, but I just wanted to prove I was there! With some wonderful people! And a guide who is still practicing his photography skills!

Working alongside my students gave me a chance to realize that I may stress to them the importance of handing in their project proposals on time or following MLA formatting, and I may pressure them to study harder for their next vocabulary quiz or to articulate their arguments well in class, but this is what matters: can they (can I) serve the neediest of people around us with hearts free of contempt, self-congratulations, and complaint? Can we show God's love to the people who ask for more than we give, to those serving with us perhaps not working quite as hard as we are, to those who stayed home for any number of reasons? Can we forget about ourselves and do literally everything only, ever, all for Jesus?

The answer, of course, is no. I failed so miserably on this trip to have the right heart, to show God's love, and to utterly forget myself. But God is so very gracious that, weak though our attempts at following him may be, he turns our strivings into works of grace for the least of these.