I in them and you in me.

Enduring high temperatures, dust, sickness, poverty, and hunger continue to plague the southern district of Malawi.

Poverty holds people captive when they continue practicing witchcraft, promiscuity, and drunkenness.

People are very open to Christianity,

quick to respond to the Gospel of Jesus,

but slow to change their traditional ways and beliefs which hinders maturing in Christ.

The majority of believers in the church have

a very shallow faith. Much discipleship is needed.

www.irisglobal.org

I in them and you in me.

We had just landed in Lilongwe. The air was thick and tangible. It enveloped us. As we walked away from the plane, we were consumed by a cloud of darkness. We could not see. Blindly, I searched, but I could no longer see my team. All I could hear were screams from the sea of black before my eyes. I would open and close my eyes, but eventually I could not distinguish the difference. All was lost in the thick, oily darkness. We were swallowed by fear. I was abandoned in confusion.

This is a dream that I had a month ago regarding my trip to Malawi. After many weeks of prayer, I was assured that this was a dream from the Lord. He was telling me about the spiritual climate of Malawi. The spiritual battle in Malawi is evident, tangible. It does not hide. Witchcraft is openly practiced. Superstition strongly influences decisions. Malawians accept spiritual causes for death and illness more readily than scientific explanations.

Compared to my current spiritual climate in the U.S., Malawi is reversed. Here in the U.S. the spiritual climate is hidden and disguised. The spiritual battle subtly infiltrates my life through the media I consume and the articles I read. Practical, scientific explanations are more readily accepted than spiritual. Here in the U.S. the enemy attacks with undercover cops, yet in Malawi the battle is on the front lines. If you do not fight back with the sword of truth, you will be lost in the darkness.

Though the war tactics are different, I find it interesting that the dominant religion in both countries is Christianity. According to the research I found, 73% of Malawians profess to be Christian. Yet, this version of Christianity usually mixes with traditional beliefs of witchcraft and superstition. Similar to Christianity in the U.S., when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are instantly challenged to live in the world, but not of it. It is a battle to be spiritually distinct, yet true to your cultural beliefs and practices.

This is the battle for young Christians in Malawi. As the above excerpt states, Malawians are quick to respond to the Gospel, but slow to change from their traditional ways. This is the present battle for missionaries and Christians in Malawi.

My hope is to be an encouragement to the body of Christ in Malawi during my stay. Though we may have different cultural values and beliefs, we are united under the headship of the same Lord, who is Lord over all. My prayer is that young Christians in Malawi will mature in their faith. That they will value the Kingdom culture above their own, abandoning all for Christ.

Even as I write these words, there is a fear of imperialism engrained in me. I write those words with caution because I believe that it is not right to impose one's cultural values on others. I do not wish to impose American Christianity on Malawi, but rather promote Jesus' Kingdom of Heaven. I do believe in the culture of Jesus Christ, which is radically different than my own. Jesus' culture is profoundly different from the culture of the U.S. and Malawi. Here is a definition of a Jesus culture:

They love one another [...] And he, who has, gives to him who has not, without boasting. And when they see a stranger, they take him in to their own homes and rejoice over him as a very brother [...] And if there is among them any that is poor and needy, and if they have no spare food, they fast two or three days in order to supply to the needy their lack of food [...] Such, O King, is their manner of life. [...} And verily, this is a new people, and there is something divine in the midst of them.

Aristides to the Caesar Hadrian

My prayer is that my team (of which I am the only Christian) and the people of Malawi will see the culture of Christ on display. That Christ may be glorified by the body of Christ. That each brother and sister of Christ I meet will display the unity of the body of Christ globally. Though we live in different spiritual climates, though we live on different sides of the world, we are united in Christ. We are one, as He is one. My prayer is that, by witnessing the unity and the power of Christ through my interactions with fellow believers in Malawi, young Christians will be encouraged to live unabashedly for Christ. That they will die to the flesh and live in Christ. That instead of conforming Jesus to their traditional beliefs, they will allow Jesus to permeate their lives and align their beliefs with His.

Pray for unity in the body of Christ. Pray for boldness. Pray for Jesus' culture to prevail. Pray for encouragement. Pray for strength. Pray for radical worship. Pray that we will walk in the power of Jesus Christ, because even the darkness is as light to Him. 

As you sent me into the world,

so I have sent them into the world

[...] The glory that you have given me I have given to them,

that they may be one even as we are one,

I in them and you in me,

that they may become perfectly one,

so that the world may know that you sent me

and loved them even as you loved me.

John 17: 18; 22-23