Ants

I had all sorts of things I wanted to blog about, like how things are going here, what we are doing at the orphanage, how the kids are, even about how we are being creative with items we consider useless like empty water bottles, reused nails, etc ., but instead I decided that we’d talk about ants. We have plenty of time for those other topics later.

First Ray was sick, and now, I (Alice) have been sick the last few days. I have had some pretty bad stomach issues and been terribly congested. Esther has also been sick and even when to the hospital to find out she had malaria and pneumonia. This is just confirmation that we are starting to be effective in the Lord’s kingdom here because the enemy is threatened. However, he cannot keep us down. The kids came over to the house today to pray for me and it was powerful. They walked over to our house, taking the shortcut, of course.

You are probably thinking, what in the world does this have to do with ants but I’ll get to that. Since I have been sick, I’ve been doing quite a bit of laying in bed, sitting on the chair and reading my bible. I was sitting outside reading, praying and just enjoying actually being outside instead of in a bed under a mosquito netting this afternoon and started watching the ants. I have never really paid any attention to them before but they are interesting. There were a line of ants going one way and a line of ants going another way. Each time an ant encountered an ant going in the opposite direction, they both stopped and gave what appeared to me to be an ant greeting. (In reality, Ray told me they are checking to make sure the other one is going in the right direction.) This greeting very momentary but noticeable just the same.

This got me thinking about greeting people and making sure they are going in the right direction. We hear the word “Mzungu” (translated into “white person”) probably 200 times per day. Every time we drive out of our driveway, we hear it. Every time we walk in the market, we hear it. Every time we walk to the orphanage, we hear it. People are getting used to seeing us around and we even had a couple with a small child stop Ray when he was pulling into the driveway the other day say hello and asked if they could come over some time to visit. They were shocked that there were mzungu’s living in the neighborhood. Hearing “mzungu” is starting to be funny and we have started responding with “chabwino” (which means “where?”), as if we are shocked that there are mzungus around too. By the way, Malawians do have a sense of humor. Some of them laugh - others look at us with puzzlement as if we are crazy, which we may be.

Back to the ants…………I starting thinking that most people will respond or look us in the eye when we say “good morning”, “hello” or whatever to them. Some however do not. The kids love us. They now holler “Hi Mzungu” and we wave and smile. If only we could greet everyone we meet with the enthusiasm and the intentionality of the ant, making sure they were headed in the right direction, wouldn’t the world be a better place? Maybe, just maybe, that’s the only “Hello”, “Good Morning” or smile they receive all day. It is possible that it turns a bleak day into a brighter day. It is possible that it lets them know that they are important enough in the kingdom of God to be acknowledged. The Lord acknowledges each and every one of us, even on those days when we feel all alone in the world. Why not have a Christ-like attitude and acknowledge our neighbor, helping them along the way. Maybe it’s someone we aren’t particularly fond of, maybe it’s someone we consider “unclean”. But in reality, aren’t we all outcast and unclean?

I know some of you think I am an optimist but what does it hurt to think this way? Go ahead, try it……….greet your neighbor and every person you come across today, with the enthusiasm of the ant and check to make sure they are headed in the right direction.

Well, kunja kwada (the sun is setting) and the power just went off AGAIN, but tomorrow is a kunja kwacha (new day) so God’s blessings on your day!

Alice (& Ray of course)

PS – for those of you who doubt the power of prayer, before the kids came over to pray for me, I only had enough energy to go from the bed to the chair on the porch. After the kids left, I got up and made homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner. Thank You Lord!!!