Morning Devotions

The people in my life that I love the most believe in a higher power, including the founders, staff, and children of the Home of Hope Orphanage, Mchinji District, Malawi, Africa, where I had the merit to live for several weeks. The founder of the orphanage, the Reverend T. Chipeta, who is affectionately known as agogo amuna (revered grandfather), is in fact a Presbyterian minister who thought he was retired until he received a vision to start the orphanage. The orphanage began in 1996 with a donation of $6.00 U.S. and 18 children. Of course his wife, agogo akazi (revered grandmother), was behind him all the way!

The guest house at the orphanage is quiet at 5:00 a.m. Someone rings a gong in the tree in front of the meeting hall every morning at about 5:15 a.m. and all of the children head toward the hall for morning devotions. The dawn is a special time. A time to count your blessings; a time to look toward God and to ask for help for the upcoming day; a time to remember what is important in your life; a time to listen to, and strive to accomplish, what God has planned for you. In the pre-dawn mornings at the orphanage, you can hear the faint voices of the boys singing, encouraging the sun to rise through the trees by the hall.

The walk across the grass is wet with dew and a little treacherous on account of the holes, rocks and chickens. I didn't want to risk a fall but found it hard not to hurry - you can hear the boys singing and it's the kind of singing that speaks to your soul...it's not from a song book, there is no formal training, it's singing from the heart and from the hearts of their parents and from their grandparents...it is singing that truly is a gift from God and so is freely given back to God as their gift during morning devotions.

The hall is rather dingy. When there is electricity there is light but it's not very bright. The girls are on one side of the hall and the boys are on the other. The pastor, head teacher and several others are in the front of the room which is also where the residents of the guest house sit during devotions. I greet the pastor and take my seat in a green plastic chair amidst a small swarm of mosquitoes and other random critters, thankful for remembering to apply my morning dose of 80% Deet repellent.

The little children stumble in while rubbing sleep from their eyes and find seats in the arms of the older girls and boys in the front rows. They are so sweet. They sit on benches, on plastic chairs and on woven cane mats in front of the benches. Agogo akazi sits in a green chair by the side door and every morning I love to watch her watch all of her children - she has over 400 orphans in her care now and several hundred more needy children that come to the Home of Hope for food and education.

I listen to the boys sing their songs. I see agogo akazi with her hands folded serenely in her lap. I see the pastor and the head teacher and the man who leads the prayers. I see the dingy hall with a banner made by school children in a priveleged country and during that most personal time, I wonder. How would I have answered the call to come out of retirement in my 70's and start an orphanage? I'm thinking I would have pretended I didn't hear the call and I give thanks to God who has honored me to be among these people.

If you are inspired by the Chipetas and would like to donate to further the advancement of their vision and orphanage, donate to http://www.raisingmalawi.org/ and designate the Home of Hope Orphanage as the recipient.