Life in Malawi

When you live in Malawi, you generally hire some watchmen, a housekeeper, a cook and a gardener to work for you.  The watchmen are a necessity or at least you think they are to keep you from being robbed.  Even though when we were here before we had watchmen, a dog and alarm buttons and we still were robbed two times! 
The house we have rented already had a gardener and 3 watchmen that worked for the previous tenants so we kept them on to work for us.  I did hire a housekeeper as the house desperately needed cleaning and to be honest it is nice to have someone do your laundry and clean your house for only $50/month.  With hired help comes the added responsibility of being their health care, loan officer and helping with any other needs they have. 
At 4:30 one morning we heard a tap, tap at our bedroom window.  Andy got up to see who it was and it was one of the watchmen who asked to use our phone to call home about his sick child.  After calling he asked if we could go get his daughter and take her to the hospital.  Since it was 4:30 am Andy declined to take her (which of course makes you feel guilty) but somehow they got her to the hospital that day.  After a week in the hospital for pneumonia we paid MK4000 or $30 for her stay. 
About every other night we get a knock on our door from the watchmen requesting some kind of help.  Even though they are paid every two weeks they always need a cash advance for transport to visit a sick relative, reconnect their electricity or pay for getting a driver's license.  We deduct this from their pay (not the health care needs) and when pay day comes they get their pay minus the advances.  They can get their pay one day and the next they will ask for an advance.
It is easy to get frustrated and cynical but they are very poor people who don't know how to save and live for today.  If their family has a need and they have money they will help them which isn't a bad thing.  After thinking about this, I realized that they aren't really different than Americans.  Most Americans live beyond their means too.  We just have credit cards, bank loans, welfare, health care and other services provided by the government to help us out when we either spend too much or have some adversity happen to us.  We, as rich Americans, are to these people, what our government is to those in need in the States. 
This is again another reason why we as Americans need to count our blessings.  Even for those of you that have suffered hard times, it is nothing compared to the poorest here in Malawi.  We are thankful that we can help these people if only for a little while. 
The reason we are here is to not just help their physical needs but to give help them see that Jesus is the Bread of Life and He is who they really need.  We will be gone in a month but He will never leave them.

"If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"