Painfully and Beautifully Broken

My heart has been painfully and beautifully broken. Of the 2 million orphans that live in Malawi, I got to play with, sing with, laugh with, and hold only a handful of them. Of all the children suffering from hunger and hopelessness, I got to serve a simple meal to only a few of them. Of all the people suffering from pain, illness, disease, and sorrow, I got to meet merely a few, greet a few of them with a smile and my broken Chichewa, and speak a few words of hope. That's all. That's it. That's the whole of it. And that is why I say that my soft heart has been painfully broken...

But in the midst of a time like this, as I think about packing my suitcases, and ponder my time spent here in Malawi, I was reminded of a story that I was told early on in my time here. It's a common story, and many of you may have heard it before. But humour me, because I need to tell it! The story is told of a young man walking along a beautiful sandy beach, leaving footprints in his wake behind him. As he walked along, he was grieved and broken-hearted by the sight of millions of brightly coloured starfish that were scattered along the shoreline. Leaning down on one knee and taking the time to look more closely, he realized that as the tide was going out, and the water receding back to the ocean, the starfish left behind on the shore were dying. With passion and an admirable frenzy, be began picking them up one-by-one and tossing them back into the salty water, and while doing so praying life back into them. With a thoughtful and curious gaze, an old man approached this hardworking soul, and touched him on the arm, saying, “Son, what are you doing? Why are you wasting your energy on these starfish? Surely you can't save them all! You can't really think that this is making a difference!?!” Grinning, with sweat dripping down his face but a twinkle in his eye, the young man looked closely at this old man and tossing one more starfish in the ocean said, “But it made a difference to that one!” 

And so I tell you again that my heart has been painfully but beautifully broken. Because even though I have lived in a country with hundreds of thousands of orphans, even though I have seen what it means for people in a village to be hungry, for people to wonder where God resides in such hardship, I have also seen the difference that HOPE can make. I have seen the difference that an organization can make for that one child, that one parent, that one family. Take for example the story of Thokozani. Thoko (as he was nicknamed for ease), came to the Ministry of Hope Crisis Nursery in Lilongwe from a local hospital with his mother who was suffering from mental illness. By the time Thoko arrived, he was very sick, wasting away from severe diarrhea and lack of a nutritious diet.

Admitted at ten months old weighing less than 4 kilograms, the staff at Ministry of Hope worked and prayed day and night to save his life, and God answered their prayers in phenomenal ways. He is now is a healthy and energetic boy who can often be found with a twinkle in his eye... as he is usually up to some kind of mischief! Believe me, it is amazing how within such a small period of time, a small child like this wormed his way into my heart, and me into his! It is all too fitting that his name, "Thokozani," means "Give Thanks," because that is what I have done each and every time I hold him in my arms...

And so I suppose you still might ask if any of this work makes a difference... By God's grace, Ministry of Hope has helped to save dozens of children like Thokozani... but there are hundreds of thousands more who will never receive their compassionate care. I have observed Feeding Programs where over 500 children are fed nsima and beans in a day... but there are millions more who go to sleep each night with bellies that ache with hunger. I have seen the marvelous work of Mobile Medical Clinics, of caring people who bring medicine and assistance to hundreds of people in a single day... but there are thousands more who will never see the healing hand of a doctor, nurse, or volunteer. But at the end of the day, I can tell you only one thing for sure... and that is the truth that HOPE has made a difference for the 500 children who did get to eat, for the hundreds of people who were treated with God's grace and good medical care, and of course, I can tell you for certain, beyond a shadow of doubt, that a big dose of love has made all the difference in the world...
                    ...for this precious child, Thokozani...
 

 Blessings to you all the way from Africa, and from Heaven above this Easter weekend... may you be filled with HOPE, and may you be blessed to be a blessing!