Four weeks to day I trust that I will once again have landed safely at Kamuzu International Airport, Lilongwe, Malawi. Having left Indianapolis at 6am, October 19, I am scheduled to land in Malawi at 12:50pm the following day, October 20. Hopefully throughout that flight – in fact, throughout my entire stay in Malawi – my little kidney stones will remain quiet. They haven’t voiced any complaint since last October, 2016.
As in the past, my hope is to encourage pastors and church leaders, all the while seeking to strengthen and deepen relationships: certainly my relating to them, but more importantly, their relating to one another and to our Lord. This will happen in a structured manner, as I teach and lead twenty-to-thirty pastors at a retreat site, where we will gather Monday evening, October 23, only to part Thursday afternoon, October 26. Hopefully within this four-day span, the Living Word will have refreshed us, as we share together in John’s Gospel, using the resource I’ve written, The Sent One.
This strengthening will also occur, as I meet with church elders and deacons the following week, October 30 to November 4. The intent and resource for these leaders will be the same as for their pastors, but we will study and learn together upon successive evenings, 6-8pm, with extended time on Saturday morning. We estimate that approximately one hundred elders and deacons will gather for these moments of teaching, sharing and learning.
With great anticipation and thanksgiving, I look forward to this my fourth visit to Malawi; and yet, I know that I will always be their guest. Clearly, I am not Malawian, and I remain foreign to much of their culture; but what I have been given, I gladly share, trusting that they will use what they glean from me, reinterpreting it for the advancement of the Kingdom of God in their midst. Thus, as I no doubt will seek to remind them, I will be present with them not unlike the Apostle Paul’s approach to the believers in Rome:
“For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you--that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine… For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”. (Romans 1:11-12, 16)
Through “2017 Ramblings” I hope to share my experience with you.
Faithfully,
Stan