Malawi day 4 - Well Water & Guli Won Kulu pt. 2

Water shouldn't be a privilege, it should be a given. Everyone should have the ability to drink water free of parasites and disease, unfortunately this isn't the case.


For the past couple of years I have been visiting the Chimpapha Village and am hoping to see this relationship continue for years to come. I believe that in order to better another person or community you need to be willing to walk through life with them...over a long period of time. This can be an incredibly difficult thing to do, but the end results, so often, are eternal. As I've gotten to know the people of Chimpapha better, I am frustrated with the amount of death that they have to deal with because of treatable problems. I was told that death is so normal here that it has become a neighbor to them...this shouldn't be.

By starting with the basic needs we can begin to bring long term change, so we are addressing malaria and clean water. Today, we brought 250 nets to distribute to the church members in Chimpapha and will be hanging about 200 more in the huts of those who don't attend the church tomorrow. The village is divided into two sections, one for the Christians and the other for the Guli Won Kulu's. The Guli Won Kulu cult is a very dark religion that is practiced by most of the people in the rural communities. Each net will have an invitation written in Chichewa that says, "Given to you by the Chiuzu CCAP Church", which our high school students are currently making as I write this.

For the past year I've been thinking about the water in the village. I'm angry at myself now that I didn't take care of this problem sooner. It's easy to go back to normal life in America and push the struggles of the world to the back of our minds. I write about this often but I still just get so bothered when we/I complain about "uncomfortable situations" that we live through; if we have water to drink and food to eat then we are blessed. I've been having long conversation with Chief Malika about the struggles that they deal with. Last year she walked me through the village and showed me the pump that is broken and the location where a new one is needed. I've thought about this need all year long and am bothered that they are still drinking water that is full of filth. It's a simple fix...drill a hole...find clean water and then change an entire community. The only barrier is money.


I pulled a bucket of water up from the well as 50+ people from our team stood and watched. When the water finally came to the top there was a unanimous sound of disgust. The water was brownish in color and was filled with swimming bugs, what if this was the only water you had to give to your children? Would you give it to them, knowing that it could kill them? As we talked about this later, our team was bothered...which is a good thing. At dinner two of our team members committed $4,000 to help build the wells, shortly after that another came and said they would give $500. My goal is to raise at least $12,000 by the time I leave Malawi. Here's the thing, change only happens when people risk and step outside of their comfort zone. I believe that more people on our team will step up to cover this cost but I also feel that many of you reading this need to help as well. I can't get online much here but I will be checking my email, paulguntherjr@gmail.com, and waiting to see how much you will be giving. Dr. Jack Chinchen (the founder of The African Bible College) said that you need to expect God to do miracles, I believe that you will help this village see a miracle before I leave.

I'm meeting with a man named Hassan Makdu tomorrow morning. He drills wells and I was given his name from someone here. I am praying that he will commit to drill these wells for us before we leave...I'll figure out how to pay him later!

Finally, on a side note (seem to have one of these every day), I had another face to face interaction with a Guli Won Kulu. As we were driving to one of the chiefs houses I heard a deep guttural scream that sounded like an evil scream from the caricature Chewbacca from Star Wars. I looked to my left and in full witch doctor outfit was a man running toward us. His face was painted white and was was dressed in full Guli Won Kulu tribal gear. He ran right by our vehicle, freezing each one of us, and then began to chase the villagers for money.

It's a dark world we live in...I'm glad that I have been blessed to have found the light.

Speak Love, Act Love, Live Love.
Change the World.

Paul


- Posted from the other side of the world