July 21, 2021
The government of Malawi recently empowered the police to strictly enforce mask wearing to counter a troubling surge in Covid-19 infections. The police are taking this newfound authority seriously and, as I know from my many visits to this impoverished nation, they are overly zealous in their enforcement. The people, long-suffering as usual, carry on.
Stress on stress is the reality for Malawians. They are in the grips of two pandemics- HIV and AIDS (which has been wreaking havoc for over 20years) and now C-19. This on top of systemic poverty is enough to break a nation’s spirit.
But no. I’m constantly amazed and humbled by their child-like faith and joy. They sing, dance, and pray as though all is well with the world. And for them it is. Their culture is a day-to-day existence. Very little concern is given about tomorrow. Indeed, it’s as though Jesus’ word in the Sermon on the Mount is their rule of life: “Think not what the morrow bringeth, sufficient unto the day is the trouble thereof”. They seize the day. They believe God will look after tomorrow. Their faith is an inspiration.
