As I anticipate this fourth trip to Malawi (which of course makes me neither an expert traveler nor an aficionado of Malawian customs and culture), I am well aware of those thoughts and feelings coursing through me.
For instance, my mind turns to those listings of clothes, medicines and books with the appropriate check marks; and yet, the attending questions almost always remain: Have I/we thought of everything? Even if all the items upon the lists are checked, might I/we have overlooked an essential “something,” not found upon the list? What might happen if I arrive in Malawi without...? Indeed, what might happen – apart from hearing that consistent African refrain: “God is good, and God is good all the time.”
Of course, details and planning are important, but so too is Sovereignty. Thus I remind myself of last year’s venture, when I needed to cut-short my visit to Malawi, because my little, kidney stone friends became vociferous. Upon that occasion I heard, and have heard subsequently, “You need to go home, so that your people can take care of you.” So home I flew, greatly aided and abated by the wisdom of the Kaning’a CCAP church leadership. Those little oxalate crystals strengthened a bond between the Kaning’a church and me.
In these moments of preparation, I am reminded of the cultural faux pas (or two or three or four) I have made, no doubt up to and including the recent present. As I hope to bring comfort and encouragement to those whose cultural orientation might be that of shame and honor, I will do well to quell some of my anti-authoritarian, US-freedom-and-rights tendencies. Instead, as I’m beginning to better understand, I will do well to recognize that I am very near the eighth decade of life; that I have received/earned certain degrees; and that I have gained some modicum of wisdom simply by the living of life. These I should not deprecate in the hearing of those who esteem age and certificates and wisdom, thus provoking unnecessary confusion and disappointment.
As I have thought of lists and cultural blunders, and as I anticipate Thursday’s 6am flight from Indianapolis to D.C., eventually landing me in Lilongwe at 12noon on Friday, my thoughts turn to “rest.” I need to rest prior to leaving on Thursday; I need to rest en route to Addis Ababa and then Lilongwe; but most essentially, I need live the words: “Be still and know that I am God.”
Faithfully,
Stan