Over the last month in Malawi, my team and I decided to create our own ministry in the mornings when we had a little downtime, and this quickly became one of my favorite things we did in Malawi.
My team and I went to the grocery store and bought lots of treats. We started to call this the “Go where the Spirit leads you” ministry. Each day, we would go out on the streets and literally go wherever the Spirit led us. We had no plan, no expectations, but rather, we fully relied on the Father and where he was going to take us.
We would hand out cookies and suckers to everyone we passed along the road. One day, we took many turns, walked down a few dirt roads, passed not much of anything, debated several times if we should turn around, but the Lord led us exactly where we were supposed to go.
We came up to a hut, and instantly, I knew we had come to a special place. We walked up to the young girl that was outside the house, and she began to talk to us. We handed her some sweets, and then we had a mini photoshoot with her. It was as if we had known her for years. She had a little boy that quickly captured all of our hearts.
After praying over them, we left that day, but after returning back home, our team looked at one another and said, “We are going back there.”
The very next day, one of my teammates and I went back to the house to take peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The young girl wasn’t there, but her mother was. After 20 minutes of trying to communicate in any way we could with her, we were at a loss. We wanted to help her around the house but had no way of communicating that to her, and she did not understand.
In Malawi, they speak Chichewa, so I stepped back and said, “OK, God, what do we do now? Is this language barrier really going to keep us from doing your work?” And instantly, the Lord said, “No.”
I called my host, and he gave me a phone number to a man. I called, and a man who didn’t even know me sat on the phone for 15 minutes and translated for us. We asked if there was anything that we could do around the house, but she misunderstood the question. She went on to tell the translator that they needed a new roof for their home, they needed food, they needed blankets, pillows and clothing.
Instantly, I began to think, “I have to meet these needs, but I have no way to.” After all of the translating, we helped her with dishes, cooking and cleaning their home.
On our way home, I began to pray about the needs the Lord had just handed us. I knew there was not a way I financially could meet the needs. Later that evening, my mom said a donor had contacted her and wanted to donate for me to help a family. I said, “OK, God. You are so good.”
Before leaving, we were able to bless this family in more ways than I ever thought possible. We provided a new roof for their home, several bags of food, a huge bag of clothing and a bag of household items that everyone will need at some point.
We took the stuff to the family, and I have never seen so much gratitude and excitement. It was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen. Throughout the next week, we saw the young girl wearing several of our clothes, and it was so rewarding.
One of the biggest struggles on the race is actually wondering if I made a difference, and this was one of the times I truly felt like I had left a huge impact on a family.
The Lord taught me one thing through this: Find a family and love them. Wherever you are at, whatever you are doing, the impact that one person can have on a whole family is so incredible. I’m going to say it again: Find a family and love them.
Show them Jesus. Pour into them. Seek them out. Make them feel loved. Allow the Father to use you. Allow the Father to provide. Allow a family to see the Lord’s goodness through you.
It is one of the most rewarding feelings you will ever experience. Find your family.
Keia Blair is a Seymour native who attends Cincinnati Christian University. During her nine-month mission trip around the world, she is submitting a series of blogs that will appear in The Tribune. Send comments to [email protected].