Standing under a single bulb illuminating a rustic pulpit in Nsanje, Malawi, David Carter could not see all of the audience members in the dark, but he said many in the congregation saw the light.
Carter, pastor of nondenominational Rock Falls Church on Valley Falls Road, recently made his first mission trip to the country in southern Africa, and he said the people and experience had a deep impact on him. He and son-in-law, John Chavis, spent three days conferencing and three nights crusading.
"It's done something for me," Carter said. "It's made me more loving and appreciative. We take so much for granted because we're so blessed."
Many of the attendees walked from miles away - some even came from Mozambique - to stand or sit on concrete pews because, Carter said, they were "hungry to hear the Gospel."
"You could see the gleam in their eye," Carter said. "Everybody walks, and they were walking several miles. I was so humbled by that."
Carter first started thinking about Malawi when he met Richard Lutwama when Lutwama visited South Carolina in February. Lutwama, CEO of Star Radio in Blantyre, Malawi, told Carter that August would be a good time because temperatures in that part of the Southern Hemisphere would be similar to spring in Spartanburg. Lutwama arranged for Carter to preach on a syndicated radio program and meet with Pastor Michael Jonas Jack in the extreme back-country town of Nsanje.
"It was an incredible time of ministry, and many lives were touched with the Gospel," Jack said in an e-mail. "We think that God sent Pastor Carter with a great purpose to visit my area."
Carter also had the opportunity to go on a safari at Liwonde Nation Park, where he saw hairy baboons and had a hair-raising experience as elephants began flapping their ears from less than 50 yards away. He said the safari guide recognized that the elephants were becoming aggressive and decided to turn the vehicle around. They, however, got stuck briefly.
"You are in their domain," Carter said. "I don't know if I'd want to see lions."
Carter also saw a man sharpen a pencil with his teeth, ate goat meat for the first time and heard a chicken cluck then go quiet after Carter ordered a menu item listed as "KFC" that required a 45-minute wait.
Aside from making the personal and spiritual connection with people from a different culture who mostly spoke a different language, Carter said he was most touched by the generosity of those with the least.
On the way to the safari site, a child approached their vehicle, and Carter said he gave the child what he had - a half-full plastic bottle of Coke. Rather than chugging the drink, Carter said the child gave half to a friend.
"I didn't see kids fussing and fighting," Carter said. "They are so thankful because they don't have anything."
Carter and his wife, Sherry, have three children and nine grandchildren. He said he feels a calling to return to Malawi next year to continue missionary work much the same way that he felt a calling to become a pastor 33 years ago.
Though he'll have a year under his belt, he might not be able to tame those elephants or other creatures.
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