The Widows of Chinuple

Chinupule is in one of the areas they call a “semi-urban village”. I call it a “slum”. The houses are concrete shacks. People live packed like sardines. There is no land for gardens. Unemployment is nearly 90%. There are no services, no sanitation, no sewer. You must watch where you step. Crime is high.

We sat as honored guests in stiff high-backed chairs, a sea of women and children on the dusty ground at our feet. We applauded acrobatic performances and politely laughed at dramas when we had no idea of what they were saying. Sewa, the project manager, leaned over to me and whispered, “Lizzie (they tend to add an “e” sound to the end of English words), look at how many widows. They care for the orphans.” The women were many. And they are old! They are missing teeth. Their clothes are torn and sag over their slender frames. Their faces are weathered and do not return my smile.

Monday morning I met with Sewa to ask her if she could help me implement an idea, to set up a bible study where I could meet with these widows and women once a week. I approached Joyce Makungunya, a woman from our church who speaks very good English, to ask her if she would translate for me and help me lead the time with the women. My intention is to share leadership with a Malawian in anything I start so that continuity will be ensured after I am gone. Every Monday now for the past 4 weeks we have met with the champions of Chinupule, the women and widows who care for the orphans.

Mai Gonthi is one of the widows with whom we meet. She had 10 children. 7 have died. From the 7 who died, there were 15 grandchildren who have come to live with her. There are many small ones, most are in primary school. She does “piece work” to earn a little money but it does not bring in enough to feed them all. “We adults can eat anything, but the children need more.” She is concerned about their nutrition. Now the nights are getting cold. The children share one blanket. Each week 4 different women share a glimpse of their story with the other leaders and myself.

Since we have started, 3 women from St. Columba join me now in the leadership. Lucy Mauluka brings her drum, Joyce Makungunya translates, and the executive leader of the Women’s Guild, Joyce Chatata, reads the scripture in Chichewa. We meet under a tree outside a dilapidated concrete building where volunteer village women work with preschool children. We include the children in the opening time of singing and dancing. They cannot keep away from the sounds of the beating drum. Once we settle into our bible study, the teachers take the little ones back into the building so we focus and share. Often it is still difficult to hear over the voices of the children but that is okay.

I have never read scripture like I do today. It has come alive for me. I understand what Jesus is talking about in new ways. I step back in time and see the world through different eyes. I know what he means when he speaks about widows. I understand the radical steps women took to be with Jesus amidst a circle of men who traditionally and culturally excluded women. I understand faith and prayer in new ways. I have been blessed!

Last week we read two related healing stories involving a woman and a beloved daughter from Mark 21. At the end of our time together, I was curious to hear how the women understand these stories of miraculous healing. “I know all of you have lost children, husbands and many loved ones. I know you have been on your knees, just as desperate and sincere as the father in today’s scripture whose daughter is dying. I know you have pleaded with God, cried out to God to spare and heal. How do you make sense of these miraculous healing stories?”
Heads slowly nodded as the question was translated. Silence. And then one by one, they responded. “I have loved, but I know Jesus loves them more.” “Life in heaven is so much better than this life.” “It is difficult, but just as the woman waited 12 years, so we will wait on Jesus.” I sat in silence, humbled and in awe.

The first week we started with 8 women and I thought, "Good, this will be intimate". The second week there were 20. The third week it rained. They were so happy when we arrived. They did not think we would come. 15 - 20 women walked through the cold rain to come to a study they were not sure would take place. This week we had 30. They have been asking for Bibles since we started. They love the stories. I love their faces. They laugh as I make a connection between their culture and the time of Jesus. When we read the story about Martha and Mary, I pointed out that Mary’s decision to sit at Jesus’ feet, while Martha was cooking, was as radical as one of them joining the men in the evening as they gather around the fire. They laughed and shook their heads, grasping the radical disobedience Mary demonstrated toward society, yet the total obedience given towards God. They light up when I suggest a new twist or insight into scripture. (Of course none of what I present is my own; I borrow left and right from commentaries.) I noticed some of them bring little pads where they jot notes and scripture references. So Terra made notebooks for all of them, folding and stapling printer paper and covering them with construction paper. We also bought each a pen. I don’t think all of them can read and write but the other leaders told me they will take care of each other. Sure enough, I saw one writing scripture references in four of the notebooks for the others. When they are at home, their children will read for them.

This week we read the parable Jesus tells in Luke 18 of the widow and the unjust judge. They loved that story. I suggested that Jesus shows us that widows during the time of Christ and in their culture may seem powerless/worthless to many in this world but that Jesus holds up the widow again and again throughout scripture as having a special relationship with God, a unique place in bringing the Kingdom of God here on Earth. They went wild.