Kwathu ndi ku Malawi

As an outsider who has not lived in the United States for over 3 years, the title waves that form on my Facebook feed from the popular story of the month, from the thousands that are out there to be chosen from, has been quite interesting to watch. What does it mean? Where do I fit into modern American events? How does it affect me as I sit literally another world away? A world in which people wonder daily if there will be an electricity blackout or water coming out of the sink or enough food on the table night after night. I’ve seen plenty of articles shared and floating around out there and I want to encourage everyone to remember that every single writer, including myself, has a bias and an opinion to try and get across and let us be aware that in emotionally charged times, emotionally charged articles fly around with misquotations, misrepresentations and pushes toward different ideas. Be careful what you read and take deep into your heart- both sides know the bias game well. ...

This week I was told, "you Peace Corps Volunteers are so brave." I don't think I would ever use the word brave to describe myself. Especially when all it is in reference to is my ability to use a minibus and bike taxi in Lilongwe city. So let me shed some secrets here. The week before I permanently moved to Malawi in 2013, as I was boxing up my entire life, I was streaming Netflix and preparing for the move when I had this overwhelming anxiousness that there was no way I would “survive” without such luxuries that had easily taken hold of my heart. For in the village where Peace Corps was to place me there was going to be no electricity, no Netflix/wifi, no running water, no computer, no car, reduction in cellphone service. In 2009 I first visited rural areas in Kenya and I knew what it could be like. So I was afraid the superficial cravings of my own life would become so evident. I was not afraid for my safety nor my health but scared that the strength of my characte...

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus.” John 9: 1-2 In scripture, Jesus does many miracles over the short course of his ministry. Over 30 miracles concern the physical healing of a man, woman, or child. But in the culture of his day, we can see by the verse above in John that many times physical deformities, illnesses, or diseases were associated with sin or some wrongdoing such that it had to be the result of some sort of punishment.  In Matthew, the first healing by Jesus recorded was the healing of a leper. Leprosy was also one of those diseases thought by the surrounding community in Jesus’ day to be punishment for one’s sins. It is known that lepers would live away from the community and were counted as “unclean.”   Even in the Mosaic Laws of the Hebrew Bible, those with skin infections were separated...