The rain here in Malawi, as well as many tropical locations around the world, tends to be more aggressive than in the Northern Hemisphere. Rather than the typical light summer rains that blissfully kiss the earth like a soft dew, tropical rains come and go like the turning on and off of a kitchen facet. In a matter of minutes, it will accomplish the same amount of rain that a soft rain fall will do in a number of hours. But luckily for the Malawian people, this season is only from November till April. This allows enough time for them to grow one or sometimes two corps of Maize (corn) and then the skies will dry up for the next 8 months.
The sound of the rain is like music to our ears. It acts as a sign that the cool breeze will be passing through, the birds will be slightly quieter if it is still raining when we wake up, and the small trees that Jeff so passionately nurtures at the center will last another day. There is also a second side of emotions that comes with the crackle of lightning is the sky and the boom of thunder before the down pour. The looming thought that the VOH students will have to experience that same rain in their homes or on their walk home. In western society, it is easy to overlook the concept of safety when it comes to our rains because they are softer, and our buildings are designed to hold several hundred pounds of wet snow, so rain is not typically an issue. But here is Malawi, there is little need for heavy infrastructure on and around the roof due to the lack of snow. Between the unexpected wind gusts, and the heavy rains that can erode away at the dirt under the mud brick walls, it is not uncommon to have the roof of one of the children fly off in the middle of the night. Or have the walls collapse under the weight of the rain. So, this daunting reality plagues our thoughts as we hear the blistering winds, or the torrential down pours that bring the volume of our house up to 85 decibels (I measured), and that is with a ceiling panel between the tin roof and the room.
Initially, I was excited that Cyclone Freddy might come to Malawi. The winds, the torrential rains, it was an exciting thought to experience my first cyclone. Then I remembered that there are no shutters on our windows, and none of the windows fully shut, so wind and water will be getting into the house. Then the truly devastating thought about what the VOH children will have to experience. Lovely families, all under a single roof, some families as small as 3, others with 8 or more children, all in different kinds of homes. Some with cement floors and walls, and a sturdy tin roof, others with mud brick walls that you can see the outside through the gaps in the bricks, and roofs that consist of a plastic bag, and thatch, or thick grass lightly tossed on the roof. My moment of excitement was quickly crushed by the fear for the children and families who might become homeless from this storm.
To our luck, the storm did not reach Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, but it did devastate the lowlands south of us. For 4 straight days, it did not cease raining, with winds expected to reach up to 155km/h (96 mpg) and most regions experiencing 12 inches of rain. Our worst fears became a reality for so many Malawian families and, worse still, entire communities. Entire communities were swept away with the flash floods, near by mountains bought immense volumes of rain water that flooded regions above many of the rooflines of the houses still standing. And worst of all, many people were unable to leave the region, and lost their lives to this devastating storm. With 507 deaths in Malawi, 537 still missing in Malawi, and 362 000 individuals misplaced, there are few words that can express the pain that this country is experiencing right now.
It is hard to think of what may have happened if the storm had passed this far north. It is almost impossible for us to imagine putting ourselves in their shoes, as everything they have ever known washed away with the waters. Their stability, their communities, and their loved ones. But as hard as it is to imagine, it is something that we as Christians can’t overlook and ignore. Though it is hard, we are called to have compassion for those around us just as Jesus had compassion for the crowds of people even moments after hearing of His cousin John the Baptist’s death.
So If you have a few moments, over the next few days, and weeks, I would ask you to partner with us in pray for those who have lost everything. Prayer for their peace, prayer for their families, and prayer that God would work His miracles in their lives as He has many of you. It is a blessing to know that the country of Malawi is 83% Christian, so there is a large chance that many of those who lost their lives are with God now. But that also means that hundreds of thousands of our Christian brothers and sisters need our prayers more than ever as they face the hardest battle they will ever have to face, and we know, even one more prayer will make a difference in their lives as God continues to show Himself to them.
If you have the desire to help with the relief efforts but don’t know where to start, or you want to continue to stay up to date about what is happening regarding the relief programs, I will leave you with this links that will help you in your journey. If you wish for other ways to help, please contact us and we can give you more information personally.
https://www.unicef.org/malawi/flood-response
Zikomo.
-Jer
Our First Journey Together 