This is Margaret. We encountered Margaret and her mother sitting outside their tiny brick home while hiking down from praying onNkhoma mountain back in April. Their smiles and giggles were absolutely contagious as we began to sit and talk with them! They were breaking off and shucking maize from the fresh harvest. It was beautiful to be sitting with them amongst their environment and their lifestyle, talking, laughing and just being in fellowship. Then, emotionally unprepared, the next question we asked struck us with a bitter truth. “Who is this baby you’re holding?”
The baby with Margaret in this picture is her own. Margaret is 13 years old. She was taken advantage of by a young man who promised her financial security and then left her pregnant and all alone to care for the baby.
By the grace of God, her family has not abandoned her. Nor does He abandon her. Though, this will bring both trouble and isolation for both her and her family. Her father, already struggling, will have to face the fact that there is another mouth to feed. She will have to drop out of school and this baby will be threatened by malnutrition. Our hearts broke.
Whereas we want to relish in the joys, fun, and warm people of Malawi, (something very important to Y-Malawi), we certainly can’t ignore the fact that much of Malawi is broken and in pain. Poverty is real, disease runs rampant, water sources are unreliable, and little girls are becoming mothers far too soon. Daily, let us count our blessings and passionately pray for our brothers and sisters in the warm heart of Africa.
