HIV/AIDS clinic, nutrition centre, schools and orphanage in Malawi assisted by St. Catherine’s

Last year my 18-year-old daughter Lucy, invited me to go with her to visit one of St Catherine's outreach projects in Malawi, Africa, and I agreed.

"Medic Malawi" centres around St Andrew's hospital in the village of Mutunthama, but extends to a nutrition centre, an HIV/AIDS clinic in the outlying villages, an elementary and a high school, a parish with 33 local churches and an orphanage.

Malawi is the seventh poorest country in the World. Life expectancy is 36 years. Ninety per cent of the population depends on agriculture to survive.

It is still hard to express the enormous blessing that we enjoyed. We spent 3 weeks living with the Rector Frank, his wife Eunice, and their extended family. We visited outlying villages travelling through the beautiful countryside along dirt tracks.

Worship was amazing. The harmony of the music and the liveliness of the rhythm was uplifting. I was honoured to take part in the services, although there are no women priests in Malawi-not yet!

Of course language was a barrier, but smiles and laughter overcame that. We became friends. We were privileged to enjoy times with the women in the community, many were members of the Mothers' Union (as I am ) , the world wide Anglican organisation with three million members.

Much of our time was spent in the hospital, helping in the pharmacy; in the nutrition centre with the tiny babies and mothers; and in the orphanage. There we played games, sang songs and looked at picture books.

There was much joy and a sense of gratitude, gratitude forGod's abundance and imminence in the present moment. Life is very fragile. There was much conversation and sharing about the enormously different worlds in which we live, both politically and theologically and yet what bound us as Christians, as Anglicans, as God's beloved family in the world, made leaving very hard. Please pray for the parish of All Saints and the ministry of the Anglicans in Mutunthama as they demonstrate God's unconditional love.