Mwandi

Keith and Ida Waddell made many a friend on their recent visit to the parishes of Fintry and Balfron. They have devoted their lives to the work of Mwandi Mission in Zambia.  Mwandi Mission is situated on the banks of the Zambesi River, halfway between Livingstone and Sesheko. The hospital and school are not funded by the government; therefore they are entirely dependant on funding from churches. And yet, in the face of all these odds, the school and the hospital are thriving, bustling with life and bursting out of its seams!

Keith is  a teacher, and is the headmaster at Mwandi Primary and Secondary Schools. Ida runs the hospital, the maternity ward and the satellite clinics (6 of them) where anti-retroviral treatment is given to HIV/AIDS sufferers. So, they are a husband-and-wife-team who teaches and heals. Which is exactly what Jesus did: He taught and he healed.

I am going to consult my kirk sessions and boards about different ways in which we could give them our support. I`m going to seek advice about the most effective ways in which we can run such a project through our system of Gift Aid contributions and retiring offerings. We`ll then announce our plans to the congregations and start the ball rolling. However small, however humble our contribution may be, it will certainly make a BIG difference to the young, the needy and the suffering at Mwandi.

But what impressed me most about Keith and Ida`s recent visit to us, was the gift they left behind:
They taught me something that we sometimes seem to forget:

How to love and give UNCONDITIONALLY.

They said: “WE don`t go to Africa to convert. That`s the work of the Holy Spirit. We go to HELP.
That`s it! And that`s the way it should be. Maybe we can learn from that...

We should always be willing to help and to love one another- UNCONDITIONALLY

And as an afterthought: Please go into their website at: www.mwandi.com and learn more about their inspirational work.