Dreaming...

   Today is John Chilembwe day in Malawi. The man is considered a martyr for the cause of equality and independence in Malawi. Having read up a little, I am glad that this man refused to accept the oppression of colonialists, but I must say, I have more respect than ever for Martin Luther King, Jr.
     See, today is Martin Luther King, Jr day in the States. I gotta admit, growing up this just meant a day out of school for me, which was something I appreciated. Sure I thought his speeches were kinda cool, and I was real sad that he died, but that was about as far as it went. I now see this man as a role model. I'm not saying he lived some perfect life- I'm sure a lot of you may disagree with some things he said. I'm not certain how his theology aligns with yours. Blah, blah, blah.
      But here's the thing- the man was incredible. He knew that skin color didn't determine anything about an individual, and he understood that violence was not the way to share that truth. He believed in the essential humanity of each of us, regardless of our outward appearance. He sowed love and understanding and hope.
     As a Caucasian American girl who grew up in the South and is now living in Africa, I've seen a lot. I've seen racism- humanity at its worst.  I've felt racism. I've been the minority, I've been the majority. I've harbored prejudice, and I've felt prejudiced against. And what I've discovered is that we all have our faults, and we all are sometimes scared of what we don't understand.  But education should cultivate understanding and the Holy Spirit should cultivate selfless love.
     The battle MLK gave his life fighting still rages in a lot of places, and it hurts me deeply. It breaks my heart to pieces to see friends, family, or strangers base their idea of a person on the individual's skin color. So today, I encourage you to look inwards. Examine your heart for any of the devilish fiend that is prejudice, and pray that you'll see through Heavenly eyes. After all, where man looks at outward appearance, God looks at the heart. Jesus didn't give His life to create a Kingdom divided by skin color. The Bride He gave himself for is one of many colors, languages, and cultures.
     I beg you, at some point in your life, to spend time in a place where YOU are the minority. I did, and it changed my life. So, my brothers and sisters, let's put aside our stupidity and learn to see ourselves as one tiny part of this beautiful, diverse, colorful creation. Learn to love.

A few Martin Luther King, Jr quotations I enjoyed:
"I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. . . that one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. "


“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” 


“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. . . The day we see the truth and cease to speak is the day we begin to die.” 


“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” 


“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” 

Unhindered

I think I mentioned at some point that I was doing a read through the Bible in 90 days plan...well, 90 days turned into...more than 90 days. I slacked off for a while (surprise) but I've picked back up in Chronicles and got to read the second account of the journey of the Arc of the Covenant to Jerusalem. So here's the story: David and his buddies are bringing the arc back home to rest with the Israelites, but they disobey the guidelines Moses set out for transporting it. As a result, the arc almost falls and this guy named Uzzah reaches out to steady it and when he touches it, God strikes him dead. No one was ever supposed to touch the arc- it was the physical representation of the presence of God, and therefore was most holy. So David panics a little bit at the realization of what he's bringing home and decides to leave the arc residing on the outskirts with this guy named Obed-edom for a while. Obed's family is blessed as a result, and David later decides to do things right and bring the arc into Jerusalem. This is a HUGE deal. There's a giant celebration and parade sort of deal with sacrifices being made, and music being played. And then there's David...

See, this is possibly my favorite story in the whole Bible. David himself just intrigues me on so many levels. I've often thought that if I have a son someday, I hope he'll be like David. Sure, the man made mistakes. Big ones. Ones that humanity wouldn't be prone to forgive. But even with all of that, David's considered a man after God's own heart. David LOVES the Lord. This love prompts him to do some things that seem unreasonable. I could cite them, but if you're curious just go check out 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. His commitment to the God who chose him to be king is inspiring to me.
So, the arc is coming into the city and there's a giant celebratory parade, and David- David wears a simple linen robe, much like that of the priests. No kingly garments. No jewels and crowns and fancy robes for the occasion. See, David knows this isn't about him. David's not trying to be something special. He's not trying to take the spotlight. David's caught up in the pure ecstasy of what this means. The presence of GOD- YHWH- is coming to dwell with him. He's prepared himself for this- He knew it was coming. He took the time to think this out and realized he should humble himself in anticipation. But now- in the moment- he's overwhelmed! It's just too much! The joy is bigger than He imagined, the realization so much greater than he could have foreseen.  The Spirit of the Living God is with him, and he cannot contain his joy. 

"And David danced before the LORD with all his might."

Oh, that I would rejoice this greatly in the presence of my King- my Savior. Oh, that I would be completely unhindered in my worship- that I would encounter the reality of the Living God in my life and daily dance with all my might at his renewed mercies each morning. That I would put aside my mistakes, let go of my shame, and bask in His forgiveness and love. That I would worship freely in such a way that it makes little of me and much of my Lord, that I would be a living testament to the joy and freedom and life found in the Creator God.  

Cape Town Adventures

     I believe I mentioned in a previous post that Aly and I were planning to spend a week in Cape Town after Christmas.  Well, these plans certainly came to fruition and on December 27th our friend Michelle drove us to the airport and we began our journey!

    On our first flight, I managed to somehow secure an entire row to myself. There were three seats and I was the only one there. It was pretty excellent. Aside from that little blessing, there was also CHEESE on this flight. SA airlines apparently serve a meal on basically every flight. I wasn't overly hungry, but I decided to see what airline food was like in Africa, and was overjoyed to see a nice little block of cheese on my tray. Now, you can get cheese in Malawi, but generally it's quite expensive and relatively tasteless. I'm not sure how or why this is true, but it is. So- first thrill of our short venture back into the "Western world": Cheese!

     The rest of our day went very smoothly and we found ourselves being shuttled from the airport to our hotel by a wonderfully entertaining little bus company we stumbled upon and arrived at our hotel with no problems! We were pretty tired from a day of travel, so we basically stumbled into our 11th floor room of the Capetonian Hotel (google it, Dad...it was very safe!), turned the AC as cold as we could bear, and snuggled into bed. 

   Our hotel had a beautiful complementary breakfast each morning, and a shuttle every hour to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, which is the location of a GIGANTIC mall- two stories, various restaurants and a food court, several department stores, a grocery store, and 2 movie theatres. Needless to say, we took advantage of this and spent our first day shopping at the mall and at the surrounding shops that were a little more boutique-esque or incredibly touristy. We resolved not to buy anything that first day, but (I'm sure this will come as no surprise) our resolve was weakened by the discovery of a Build-A-Bear Workshop! So we made adorable little bears and gave them South Africa shirts, and they now enjoy a position of honor on our beds in Malawi. The other highlight of this day was the discovery of McDonalds and Subway in the mall. We ate at one of these two restaurants every day for the rest of the week. 

    We decided to do a bus tour of Cape Town that went through the city, up to Table Mountain, and down to the beach. This was an excellent choice.  Let me just say- Cape Town hit the geographical jackpot. It's incredible. The beauty is just beyond belief. Table mountain has recently been declared a natural wonder of the world, and it's majesty certainly proves that this position is merited. It's surrounded by other mountains as well, and the whole scene just takes your breath away. Additionally, the city has some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen! The water is clearest blue (and from what I understand, frigid!), and the beach has a combination of sands and rocks that seems perfect. Apparently all the South African celebrities hit up the clubs along the beachfront, as do various American and European stars. We just enjoyed the beauty from the bus. We took pictures, but I'm afraid they really don't even come close to the rapture of actually seeing this place in person. The tour also took us through some historic parts of town, such as the renowned District 6, which was actively involved in opposing apartheid and was later demolished by the government. Much of it is still in ruins, but what has been restored stands as a testimony to the strong will of the citizens of this area and the ruins remind us of the deathly and destructive nature of racism. 

    The other big event for us during the week was the opportunity to see Phantom of the Opera performed. It was absolutely fantastic. Many of the cast had studied in Cape Town, and most were South African.  They were fantastic. I told Aly that the Phantom was my first love, and always will be. I saw the play performed in Birmingham when I was in 6th grade, and have loved the story ever since. I still firmly believe that Christine made a mistake in choosing that pretty boy Raoul.  But I digress...  The point is- this was definitely a highlight of the week- I absolutely recommend it and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

    The rest of our week was spent in various ways- watching movies, shopping, wandering the streets. Aly got a haircut, we got our nails done, we bought some fun jewelry and clothes, and we enjoyed all of it. As a side note- we watched The Help while we were there, which was really interesting. Fantastic movie, for sure. It was strange sitting in a theater in Cape Town watching Jackson, MS on the screen. It was also interesting looking at the movie in light of apartheid and all that did to the country of SA.
    Overall, our trip was fantastic. We enjoyed our time there and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Simple comforts we would've taken for granted in the U.S. were all of a sudden luxuries. Air conditioning, drinkable tap water, no power outages, traffic lights, road signs, shopping malls, television, and fast food...ahh...such wonderful things! At the end of the week, though, we were glad to come home to Lilongwe.  It's nice to be with friends again, to speak at least a tiny bit of the language, and to enjoy the familiarity of our current home. Thanks very much to those of you who were praying for safety and who are still praying for us as we're here. We appreciate it and need it every day. Happiest of new years to you and yours, and thank you for sharing in this journey!