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Marion's Mission in Malawi
 4th June 2024
Marion Ferrari reports:
I have just returned from two months volunteering in Malawi, ‘the warm heart of Africa’. The people are very friendly and welcoming, but also very materially poor. Many still do not have electricity or piped water. Most survive by growing maize and other crops, and trading small piles of veg, rice or charcoal at the roadside. For many, it is a hand to mouth existence, the main concerns being how to feed and school the children and how to pay the rent. There is no benefits system or NHS. But this means they pull together as a society, they need each other, the extended family is strong, the village or local community is also caring for each other. They don’t suffer from our pandemic of individualism and loneliness. I was privileged to attend the funeral of a young boy, the whole community turned out, probably a thousand of us sitting on the forest floor as we buried him. The family is accompanied in their grief and they raised money to cover the expenses
It was the same at a wedding; I felt there was a lot we could learn. After the church service, we went back to a family house, then the older married relatives and friends gathered with the bride and groom to give their advice! Sadly it was all in Chichewa - I would have loved to have understood what was said!! Then after a meal we went to the reception. It was in fact a big fund raiser for the new couple, with everyone coming up to throw lots of small bank notes into massive baskets! This was to cover the costs of the wedding and help the new couple get established!
Poverty without some of the institutions that we rely on also means that people are more aware of their need, more desperate and so more open to supernatural help. I experienced that people were open to the message of Jesus and the new life he offers. I ended up praying for lots of people for healing, knowing God can heal, but honestly out of my depth – just calling on God to meet these people’s needs. I was amazed as some people were instantly miraculously healed- it was their simple and desperate faith in Jesus that healed them. I was also overwhelmed by peoples’ love and generosity to me personally, despite their circumstances!
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