Updates

2nd Update

https://www.facebook.com/100000244871210/videos/1727743267601230/

For those who may be interested in using our Updates for further individual reflection or within church groups, consider reading and wrestling with the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31, especially as it regards our relative wealth in comparison to the “Lazaruses” of the world who have not enough.

For further reflection: Who have been those in your life who have inspired your gratitude, generosity, giving, mission- other-mindedness?

For more about our year of service in Malawi in 2023, see montsmalawimission.org.

Thank you!

Update #3

It has been a consistent pattern of faith and experience: I have received more than I have given when it comes to the ministries and mission I’ve been a part of over the years, especially the month I spent in Malawi in the summer of 2000. My last night at the church in Mzuzu, they honored me with an evening meal and gifts, including giving me a Chief’s Chair, hand-carved from a tree trunk, an extremely precious commodity in Malawi. Receiving a Chief’s Chair was over-the-top generosity and honor on their part, much more than I ever could have deserved or given to them, especially because I learned so much, received so much, from them through the fellowship and worship and relationships shared during my stay.

Deb and I are going to receive so much more than we can ever possibly give to those we will be serving on the CCAP Synod Nkhoma’s campus in Lilongwe in ’23, but one thing we are going to do is share the stories of the gracious, generous, warm people of Malawi–their faithfulness as well as their struggle in the midst of such scarcity of material resources, healthcare, nutrition. We will be publishing articles, stories and video recordings churches may use as catalysts for Christian Fellowship gatherings of youth and adults and videos that may even be used as “Guest Preacher” sermons when pastors are out-of-town or on “holiday” (as they say in Malawi). (We hope the the Posts may also serve as catalysts for personal reflections.) And when we return in ’24, we would absolutely love to visit churches in PA and the tri-state area to share our pictures and stories and reflections of our year in Malawi.

We are asking churches and individuals alike to join us in giving and receiving; for mission committees to provide any amount of financial support (dollars go so far in Malawi and with our projected expenses: $10 is a day’s meals, $50 is a month of utilities, $100 is a month of phone/internet service, $200 is a month’s rent where we’ll be staying, $500 will cover the cost of our transportation for the year–two bikes).

May our service in Malawi and what we will be offering churches back home in the U.S., with our written and recorded Updates throughout the year ahead, be worth prayerful consideration and financial support. Thank you.

Update #4

• It is an English speaking nation; we are very poor at learning new languages.
• Chuck spent a month in Malawi in 2000, shadowing the ministry of Rev. Henry Mvula in Mzuzu and witnessing the poorest of Christians express the deepest gratitude for God’s grace and goodness and gifts; it is a nation in which to learn weightier humility and more mature faith; and due to this prior connection, there were church-leaders who made it easier for doors of volunteer service to be opened.
• Malawi is a relatively stable democracy with less risk of physical violence. It is simultaneously an uncommonly peaceful and crushingly poor nation.
• Current Crises that have wreaked havoc upon a generations’ long anemic economy: Covid-19, Hurricane Ana that wiped out meager crops as well as already faulty hydropower stations, the war in Ukraine that has led to increased prices for fertilizer and fuel, two of Malawi’s biggest imports, both of which are running out.
• As one of the poorest nations in the world; 70% of Malawians earn less than $2 a day. Only 34% have bank accounts. Tobacco accounts for 70% of exports at a time when demand has declining for decades. Most Malawians survive on just the food they grow near their homes.
• According to a colleague who has devoted the last 10 years to serving the people of Malawi, being a patient in hospitals in Malawi is like being in hospitals caring for soldiers during the Civil War in the United States. (Food is not provided to patients by hospitals; food must be brought in from family or friends; the same is true for those in prisons.)
• We believe God has opened this exceedingly promising door for us to volunteer our services in one of the poorest nations in the world; we expect to learn incalculable lessons through our experiences in and relationships with the people of Malawi regarding our inherent craving for more than we already have (i.e. my greed, idolatry, ingratitude, self-centeredness) and our hunger and thirst for the deeper things of God that nourish faith, relationships, souls and discipleship–namely, God’s life-giving loving-grace in Jesus Christ through the work and counsel of the Holy Spirit. May it be so!

Update #5

Update #6

While I was terrible at math throughout my school-days, my answer to this titled-question will include two equations: the first and foremost incorporating theological math; the second, numerical, regarding our expected expenses for the year ahead.

Most sincerely and significantly, the math of our mission is built upon the utterly extravagant provisions and purposes of God. (A library couldn’t contain all the books and articles written about God’s life-giving, life-transforming gracious gifts, but I will attempt a succinct explanation of the theological root of our missional motivation.)

Deb and I believe to the core of our being that Psalm 24:1 is as true as any mathematical theory: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it….” We have life; we’ve had an abundantly good life (more than we could have expected or deserved); we have family and friends; we’ve had good health; we’ve enjoyed countless adventures and pleasures; and, most crucially, God’s grace broke-through our self-centeredness to inspire faith and what we hope and pray has been on ongoing growing and outward-focused understanding of faith; we have been blessed with talents we have felt called to use not just as a means of income and prosperity but to be used in service to others–Deb within nursing and me within pastoral ministry.

Deb and I also believe God’s economy of grace is relevantly and expectantly true as presented in Jesus’ parable of the Merciful Master (Matthew 20:1-16), who showed grace to ALL and gave equally to ALL those called to work in the vineyard–those who began work the earliest and thought they deserved even more and those who worked just an hour at the end of the day and who were considered undeserving by those who were hired (shown grace) first. God has created each and every human as God’s good, beloved, deserving child created in God’s own image, which is the spirit of grace and generosity in which we hope to serve our Malawian sisters and brothers.

Finally, Luke writes, “To whom much is given, much will be required.” Sounds so simple and yet it has taken Deb and me a lifetime to respond to our sense of call to “Go” and “Give” and “Serve” people who are among those considered least across the globe of nations. (Most people we have told about our upcoming year abroad have not heard of Malawi; in fact, they say they thought we said we were going to Maui.)

In the big picture of all we have received and all we have saved, what we will be giving-in-service will compare to a drop of rain in draught-stricken Malawi. Nevertheless, we will humbly and gratefully contribute our drops of giving of time, talents and monetary donations, trusting that God will use them there for God’s good and gracious purposes.

Update #7

Sorta feels like the night before Christmas as we wrap-up packing our 6 check-in pieces of luggage (2 additional pieces–$350 each–for the donations of medical supplies, power point projectors and gifts) and our 4 carry-ons; and as we hide away all other items in the house so that our 30-year-old renter can move in next Thursday after we’ve left for our farewell meal with family in Bethlehem before being dropped of at a hotel next to the Philly Airport to which we will be shuttled early early Friday morning in hopes of landing in Lilongwe 23-hours (yeah, right) later, to begin our 35-year-old dream of living, learning and serving those who among the poorest of the world’s poor.

We are extremely grateful for those who have generously graciously donated towards our year of expenses in Malawi; the amount donated to this point is just over 20,000! (towards our projected expenses of $35,000). Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For those wondering about the math of our expenses, here is a quick breakdown:

• $10,000 — Airline travel to and from Malawi
• $7000 — Food & essentials
• $4500 — Rent & Utilities
• $3500 — Tithe to ministries & missions within Malawi
• $2500 — Travel in Malawi
• $2000 — Website
• $1500 — Travel Vaccinations, Visas and Fees
• $1500 — Phones & Internet
• $1000 — Donation and Accounting Services
• $500 — 2 bicycles (yes, I’m planning to bike from Malawi’s northern tip to southern tip in an effort to raise additional monies for specific mission projects in Malawi.
• $500 — Supplies and Gifts to Give to Malawian Support network.
• $500 — Contingency expenses (Malaria medications, unknown unexpected costs)
• Total: $35,000

We sincerely hope more churches will engage with us once we hit the ground and begin sending back updates, stories and videos of the amazing women, men and children we will be getting to know, work with and serve throughout our year in Malawi. If you are connected to a church, please pass along our website as well as our email address: chuckdelos@gmail.com. We will also be using WhatsApp: Charles Monts. And finally, our Facebook page: On the Road Again: Malawi, 2023.

See you from Malawi!

Update #8

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your financial and prayer support. Thank you for sharing in our upcoming exciting adventure of faith and service. Doing mission overseas has been a long-term dream of ours and we leave on a jet plane this Friday at 6:30am!

And we’ve already experienced our first mini-miracle: Chuck has severe Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), which requires a cocktail of four meds, including two “controlled-substances” his neurologist told us cannot be legally prescribed beyond a 3-month quanity. The problem is that the meds are not available in Malawi. Chuck was just going to have to grin and bear it and be resolved to be sleepless in Malawi for 8 months. But… low and behold…when Chuck picked up his meds yesterday, the Neurologist’s office had mistakenly called in a year’s worth of both meds and the Insurance company also overrode the limit and Chuck left the pharmacy with a year’s worth of the very important RLS meds! What!?!

Now we will be praying we get through Customs without being arrested for drug-smuggling (we do have documentation we hope will help us get through Customs).

There are many Bible verses that are alive and active as we prepare for the Journey:

• Ps 24:1: The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.
• Ps 27:1-2: The Lord is our salvation, whom shall we fear?
• Ps 36:5-10 (paraphrase) Your steadfast love reaches the heavens, your righteousness is like majestic mountains, and your justice like the great deep. How priceless is your unfailing love.
• Romans 5:39: Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ.

We are going forth in that love we will be giving and receiving, praying you will be upheld by this same love.

Blessings on your Journey of Life, Faith and Love,

Deb